Shen Zhiyao relied on three ingenious strategies to defeat an army of one hundred thousand with thirty thousand, causing Southern Yue to submit a letter of surrender and beg to leave the camp. The Emperor studied the secret letter and, the next day, betrothed her to the Crown Prince. When noble ladies insulted the frontier army, she leveraged the Empress Dowager's influence to ask the Cui family to donate gold; when Northern Di invaded the border, she proposed opening border markets; when a corruption case offered amnesty for past offenses upon repayment, officials vied to confess. The Crown Prince went from disliking her to being thoroughly convinced, rushing to catch her hand the day their boat capsized in the center of the lake. Ten years later, he ascended the throne, and she finally became the Empress.