Reborn Together With the Duke I Hold the Chess Pieces While He Wields the Blade

Shen Zhao was born with the destiny of the Phoenix Star, destined to become the Crown Princess of Great Yan. Raised by her family to serve this purpose, she entered a political marriage with Crown Prince Xiao Xuanzhou. On her wedding night, however, she discovered the truth behind her engagement. Xiao Xuanzhou had been secretly involved with her twin sister, Shen Qingrou, who was believed to possess the fate of a Lone Fiend Star. Betrayed by her husband and her own family, Shen Zhao watched as her eldest brother peeled the skin from her face while her parents stood indifferent. Xiao Xuanzhou intended to prove that a woman with a ruined face could not hold the Phoenix destiny, thereby justifying his replacement of her with Shen Qingrou. As Shen Zhao lay dying, her eyes gouged out on the orders of the Crown Prince, a headless corpse identified as Xie Chenyu, the Duke of Jin, offered her a chance at rebirth in exchange for her help.

Shen Zhao awoke fifteen years in the past, during her own coming-of-age ceremony. She retained her memories of the previous life and immediately recognized the treachery surrounding her. When Xiao Xuanzhou arrived with Shen Qingrou, claiming the younger sister was the true Phoenix Star who had saved his life, the Shen family panicked. In her previous life, Shen Zhao had been obedient and desperate to please the Crown Prince. This time, she coldly accepted the loss of her status. When Xiao Xuanzhou attempted to force her into the role of a secondary consort, she publicly refused. Instead, she declared her intention to choose her own husband from the assembled guests, setting strict conditions that excluded most eligible nobles.

Xie Chenyu, the Duke of Jin, stepped forward to claim Shen Zhao’s hand. He was a legendary war hero and a political enemy of the Crown Prince. By accepting his proposal, Shen Zhao secured an alliance with a powerful figure who also appeared to have been reborn. Xie Chenyu revealed that he had dreamed of their ghost marriage and sought her help to change the fate of his house, which was destined for ruin. Shen Zhao agreed to provide him with knowledge of the future, but on the condition that she controlled the board. Their first move was to ensure that Xiao Xuanzhou suffered immediate misfortune upon receiving the imperial marriage decree with Shen Qingrou. True to Shen Zhao’s prediction, the Crown Prince broke his leg shortly after the decree was issued, validating Shen Zhao’s claim that the shift in Phoenix Star destiny had triggered his downfall.

The conflict escalated as the imperial court became involved. Xiao Xuanzhou, desperate to maintain his image, brought in a new Imperial Astrologer, Immortal Master Lianping, who declared Shen Zhao a baleful star and Shen Qingrou the true Ziwei Star. During a palace audience, Lianping mistakenly identified Shen Qingrou as the baleful star due to her poor etiquette, only to reverse his judgment when exposed. Meanwhile, Shen Qingrou was secretly bound to a Black Lotus System that fed on resentment to grant her the ability to speak fluently. However, the system failed to activate because Shen Zhao had already moved past her emotional attachment and hatred, leaving no energy for the system to consume.

Shen Zhao’s strategy relied on exposing the Shen family’s hypocrisy and the Crown Prince’s incompetence. She refused to reveal Shen Qingrou’s stutter publicly, allowing the family to cling to false hope until their inevitable collapse. Simultaneously, she aided Xie Chenyu in recovering a missing merchant fleet that had disappeared at sea. The return of this fleet brought immense wealth and political capital to the Duke of Jin, strengthening his position against the Crown Prince’s faction. As the story progresses, Shen Zhao and Xie Chenyu work in tandem to dismantle the power structures that destroyed them in their previous lives, turning the tables on Xiao Xuanzhou and the Shen family while navigating the treacherous politics of the imperial court.