The Phoenix's Power (Part One)

Her legitimate elder sister, though not yet of marriageable age, has been raised by the clan as a prospective crown princess, while her younger brother was granted a title at birth as a little marquis.

Xie Yuwei, by contrast, is the hunter's daughter who was lost by her wet nurse in infancy and only recovered by the Xie family at thirteen.

Her Grand Princess mother disdains her as coarse and unrefined; her elder sister, all honeyed words and venomous heart, fears she will divide their father's affection, wearing two faces before and behind closed doors.

Yet only Xie Yuwei knows the cold-blooded cruelty beneath her father Xie Zhouyu's refined, elegant exterior; only she sees the wolfish ambition behind that gentle mask.

Be it her exalted mother the Grand Princess or her precious elder sister the prospective crown princess, they are nothing but pawns in Xie Zhouyu's game of power.

Xie Yuwei was born with a gift for psychological warfare. Rather than die unnoticed in the rear chambers of the princess's mansion, she wants to live in silken luxury.

Her mother is pampered and holds no real power; her sister has beauty but no brains and cannot be relied upon. So Xie Yuwei can only cling to the hand that moves the pieces and make a pact with the tiger.

Her sister is lost in love and of no great use, so she will take her place; Xie Zhouyu wants the Jin dynasty to change hands, so she will become the crown princess, bear Xie Zhouyu's son, poison the crown prince, and raise the child to the supreme throne.

The madness of the Xie family is inborn.

Ps: Neither the male nor female lead is a good person; the male lead is a pure refined scoundrel, and the female lead appears fragile but is ruthless at heart.