My whole family is ungrateful I’m reborn and will lead the army back to power.

Ruan Liuzheng disguised herself as a man to take her twin brother’s place in the army, fighting for nine years to secure peace for the Great Jin Dynasty. Upon her triumphant return, she received a fabricated letter claiming her mother was dying and rushed back to the capital. At the city gates, she was ambushed by masked assailants who shattered her kneecaps and drugged her. When she awoke, she overheard her brother Ruan Changzheng confess to her mother that he had orchestrated the attack to steal her military honors and cripple her permanently, ensuring she could never claim the rewards or expose his deception. Her younger sister, Ruan Yunzheng, an adopted daughter, participated in spreading rumors to destroy Liuzheng’s reputation. Betrayed by her maid Banxia, Liuzheng was thrown into a well by her brother. As she died, she vowed revenge before waking up nine years earlier, just as she received the fateful letter.

In this second chance at life, Liuzheng burned the letter and instructed her loyal lieutenant, Pan Zhan, to deliver a memorial directly to the Emperor confessing her true identity as a woman. She rode into the capital openly as General Zhaoyong, shocking the populace and the court. Before the Emperor, she pleaded guilty to deceiving the throne but argued that her brother was born with a disability, making her service necessary. The Emperor, relieved that the powerful general was a woman and thus less politically threatening, stripped her of her command but spared her life and the lives of her family. Liuzheng then returned to the Ruan residence, where her brother was waiting to confront her. She ordered Imperial guards to beat Changzheng’s legs, replicating the torture he had inflicted on her in her past life, while claiming it was necessary to validate his fabricated disability.

Liuzheng revealed that the Emperor already knew the truth about the family’s plot and that the beating was the only way to save everyone from execution. Her father, Master Ruan, and mother, Madam Song, accepted this explanation, prioritizing their survival and the imperial gifts Liuzheng brought back. Liuzheng announced she had been granted a grand mansion in the prestigious Black Robe Lane by the Emperor and invited her entire family to move in with her. This move shifted the power dynamic within the household, as her parents and brother became dependent on her status. Ruan Yunzheng, who had previously enjoyed favor as the obedient adopted daughter, found herself relegated to the servants' quarters, causing her mask of virtue to crack under the pressure.

Liuzheng also reunited with her childhood wet nurse and her family, whom her mother had previously expelled, establishing a loyal support network within her new estate. Meanwhile, Prince Su, a powerful nobleman with whom Liuzheng had a hidden connection from her time in the army, sent a lavish gift of gold bars to mark her move into the mansion opposite his own residence. Liuzheng accepted the gift strategically, recognizing the political value of aligning with Prince Su against the Crown Prince’s faction, which supported Ruan Yunzheng. She also learned of an impending mudslide at the family’s summer retreat that would kill her grandmother and other relatives in her previous life, prompting her to summon her grandmother back to safety immediately.

The story follows Liuzheng’s meticulous efforts to dismantle the family that betrayed her while consolidating her own power. She navigates court politics, manages her household with strict authority, and prepares for future conflicts with the Crown Prince’s faction. Her brother remains physically disabled and resentful, her mother favors the adopted daughter Yunzheng, and her father is driven by greed. Liuzheng remains cold and calculating, determined to ensure that those who harmed her in her past life suffer consequences, while using her military prestige and imperial favor to secure her position and protect those who were truly loyal to her.