Shi Buyu came into this world with a smile.

At the very moment of her birth, lightning split the sky and a thunderclap brought down half the Shi family's outbuildings. Days of torrential rain followed, swelling into catastrophic floods that left countless victims in their wake. Before long, whispers spread through the capital that a Calamity Star had descended to earth.

And the child was unnervingly precocious, with a memory that never forgot a thing. She picked up everything, good and bad, with startling speed. The rumors grew more lurid by the day, until even the palace sent someone to investigate.

As if granting everyone's unspoken wish, Shi Buyu died at the age of three. Too brilliant for this world, they said.

Fifteen years later, the Loyal and Brave Marquis entrusted with guarding the border stands accused of betraying his country and abandoning his city. The entire Shi household is condemned. Every voice in the capital curses their disloyalty and dishonor, and even that long-dead Calamity Star is dragged back into the light.

Sitting by the window, Shi Buyu heard the talk and laughed. A Calamity Star? Fine. She might as well live up to the name.