The imperial queen Wan Niang dies a horrific death on the birthing bed—her body torn open by black, wriggling insects. She wakes up reborn, nine months before her doom. Trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, she uncovers a thousand-year-old curse: every woman in her bloodline must die eight times, giving birth to monsters instead of children. This is her ninth life. She will no longer wait to die. She will break the curse, even if it costs her everything