The Bright Moon Is Like Frost

In the thirty-first year of the Hongwu era, Zhu Mingyue, the daughter of Zhu Neng, entered the palace under a false identity to serve as a companion reader, with the actual intention of assisting the Prince of Yan in his secret usurpation of power and to provide support from within the palace. In July of the fourth year of the Jianwen era, the Prince of Yan launched the Jingnan Campaign, which was successful, and the northern army advanced into Yingtian Prefecture. As they approached the city, a great fire broke out in the palace, and the Jianwen Emperor went missing in the flames. Thus, Zhu Mingyue's undercover career in the palace came to an end.

After the Yan King ascended the throne, Zhu Mingyue, who had just reunited with her father after leaving the palace, was once again drawn into the competition for the position of crown prince. In order to spare her father from difficulty and to prevent her family from being embroiled in the struggles for imperial power, Zhu Mingyue agreed to Yao Guangxiao's conditions once more, assuming the identity of the long-lost daughter of the Shen family, Shen Mingzhu, to investigate the truth at the Jinxiu Mountain Villa in Yunnan Prefecture. However, as she inadvertently encountered the Yunnan vassal king Mu Sheng, the two of them joined forces to resolve the ensuing political disputes through a series of fortuitous events. Yet, as the villa in Qujing was surrounded by tea merchants seeking justice, the greatest hidden danger in the southwestern border—the Yuanjiang Na clan—gradually came to light. At this moment, Zhu Mingyue, who had not yet escaped Mu Sheng's control to go to the Shen family, was forced to follow the Mu family's army for a thousand miles to escort a caravan for trade, arriving at Dongchuan Prefecture. During her interactions with the Dongchuan governor Sun Zhaokang and others, the capture of Zhang San and Li Si, descendants of the Hang people and antique traffickers, revealed a deeper intention behind what seemed to be a simple escort mission. Subsequently, with the capture of Shen Mingqi, the head of the Shen family, Zhu Mingyue received another task from Yao Guangxiao.

Zhu Mingyue did not hesitate to fall out with Mu Sheng and, alone, rushed to the perilous Yuanjiang Prefecture. With the help of the dead soldiers, she became a candidate for the sacrificial maiden of the Na clan in Yuanjiang: candidates of various identities, the secrets of the Divine Sacrifice Hall, scheming maids, the ruthless matron in charge, the man-eating great shaman, and the eccentric lady of the chieftain...

Zhu Mingyue overcame numerous difficulties and ultimately met with the local chieftain Na Rong of Yuanjiang. After reaching an understanding with Na Rong, he agreed to grant her the status of a ritual servant, providing her the opportunity to search for the Jianwen Emperor in Menghai. Following the instructions given by Yao Guangxiao, she aimed to find and verify the authenticity of the 'Jianwen Emperor' in the depths of the mysterious Menghai, while also seeking and identifying the so-called 'Imperial Jade Seal': the competition among her companions, the lurking shadow guards watching from the dark, the eccentric old monk, the enigmatic Prajna Tower, and the surveillance of the Nine Nether... As Zhu Mingyue delved deeper into her investigation, she discovered that behind all of this lay an even more terrifying great secret...