At ten, Jiang Shaohua stepped into the capital's glittering courts. By sixteen, political machinations bound her to a marriage she never sought. Before twenty, widowhood claimed her, leaving her to nurture her son through endless, solitary nights. The bitter consequences of her youthful decisions haunted her relentlessly—each choice a wound that would not heal. She perished consumed by anguish and defiance, her gaze fixed open in refusal to accept her fate. Then, against all odds, her eyes opened to a second chance. Armed with the knowledge of her mistakes, Jiang Shaohua charted an entirely new course. With each deliberate move, she ascended methodically toward supreme authority. In this reborn life, her destiny belonged to no one but herself. The empire would bend to her will.