Shen Huiyin, the deposed empress, is passionate about agriculture. She improved rice varieties for Great Qi and enriched its treasury, only to earn the contempt of the foolish emperor and the jealousy of his favored consort. An imperial decree orders her to marry into Northern Liang, a bitterly cold land, as though she were being discarded. Carrying her agricultural books, she steps into this desperate predicament and stakes her life on a three-month grain-growing challenge. She melts weapons into plows and draws water from the wilderness. Through her genuine expertise, she wins over the fierce generals of Northern Liang and earns the devoted protection of its king. Three years later, this once-desolate land has become a fertile paradise beyond the Great Wall. Those who once looked down on her regret their actions, while she stands in the middle of the wheat fields, with thousands of people kneeling behind her. The realm she cultivated with her own hands is a thousand times more vast than the gilded cage she once called home.