Painted bones of a wealthy family

Wei Yinzhao carries a secret she would take to her grave: her blood, worth a thousand pieces of gold, can prolong life and foretell the future. Every powerful figure in the dynasty covets her living body. After her family is massacred, she spends five years in prison, then changes her appearance and returns under the name Shen Ci'er, becoming the most sought-after maid in Prince Jiuxi's household—where her enemies, a father and son, reside. Xie Da is cold and restrained, a man of strict self-discipline, like white jade set before a Buddha. Xie Erjie is wild and violent, burning like fire across open land. She steps into this gilded gate carrying hatred, and the one who falls into desire loses his self-control. The one who once stood tall now bends his back to defy the world. The two brothers capture her, protect her, and torment her in the name of love—unaware that this delicate, boneless body will burn come nightfall. Poison seeps into her blood, and a hundred insects gnaw at her bones. The itch is so unbearable she digs her nails into her wrists, but the trembling will not stop. Whoever falls first loses. She is both pawn and player, poison and antidote. Returning to the wealthy household, she uses her body as bait and her painted bones as a guide, vowing to settle her family's blood debt and force the ghosts hidden behind painted skin, bones, and rouge to show themselves one by one.