When Shen Lulu was eight, her father, Shen Huaian, told her he was taking her to a wonderful place where food and lodging would be provided. Little did she know that he was sending her to live right under the emperor's nose. Shen Lulu believed she was merely a poor girl who had been sold off cheaply. Only later did she discover that her seemingly penniless father, a low-ranking seventh-grade county magistrate, was actually a secret pawn the emperor had kept hidden for thirteen years, destined to earn a marquis title with a single stroke of his blade. As a little money lover, Shen Lulu relies on the street-smart wisdom she acquired while scraping by in Qingzhou to survive the perilous inner palace, where people are devoured without a trace, becoming a prickly little survivor who slips through the net.