A Song to Drown Rivers

Her beauty is a weapon. Her heart is the battleground.

In the kingdom of Yue, Xishi is praised for a face that could topple dynasties—a blessing, they say, in a girl’s quest to marry well. But when her beloved sister is brutally murdered by soldiers from the rival kingdom of Wu, beauty becomes something far more dangerous.

Chosen by the sharp-minded military strategist Fanli, Xishi is given a treacherous opportunity: enter the Wu court, seduce its volatile king, and dismantle a kingdom from within. Her body becomes armor. Her grace, a dagger. Her mission: vengeance and salvation for Yue.

Under Fanli’s brutal tutelage—in song, seduction, and silence—Xishi transforms into the perfect spy. But with every lingering glance and whispered lesson, the bond between them deepens into something perilous: a love neither of them can afford.

Inside the palace of Wu, she plays the perfect consort, navigating a nest of vipers—advisors with hungry eyes and a king whose kindness masks cruelty. Every smile is a lie. Every step, a trap. And the closer she draws to power, the more she risks being exposed.

Torn between duty and desire, Xishi must choose: her heart, or her homeland. Because in a game where kingdoms rise and fall on a single breath, love may be the deadliest betrayal of all.