What happens when revenge, love, and power collide after a frozen lake nearly kills everyone? The original ending of Rebirth (冰湖重生) — the sequel to the hit drama Princess Agents (楚乔传) — delivers shocking answers. While the TV sequel disappointed many fans, the novel Agent Princess at 11 Places wraps up every major character’s journey with brutal clarity. One becomes a queen and mother of three. Another builds a kingdom from nothing. A third gets his revenge but dies alone. And one princess falls so deep into hatred that she becomes the land’s greatest enemy. Here is what really happened after the ice lake.
The Agent Turned Queen
She started as a slave. In the original book, Chu Qiao (楚乔) is a modern special agent who wakes up in a slave’s body. She fights alongside Yan Xun (燕洵) against the Great Xia (夏) dynasty. But she also watches helplessly as hatred eats him alive. When Yan Xun uses her as bait to kill Zhuge Yue (诸葛玥) at the ice lake, something inside her breaks. She realizes they are no longer on the same path. After being rescued from the frozen water — and hearing that Zhuge Yue is dead — she cuts all ties with Yan Xun.
She then travels to Bian Tang (汴唐)to recover. There she reunites with Li Ce, an old friend. Soon civil war erupts in Bian Tang, and she helps Li Ce crush the rebels. But tragedy strikes: Li Ce is murdered by his own mother. On his deathbed, he hands her his young son and his entire kingdom. She becomes Xiuli (秀丽) King, ruling as regent for the child emperor. Meanwhile, Great Xia falls into chaos. Barbarian tribes invade. She races across the land, uniting four kingdoms into one army and becoming their supreme commander. She defeats the invaders.
After the war, she follows Zhuge Yue to Qinghai (青海) and marries him. He names her First Queen of Qinghai. Over the years, she gives birth to three children: Zhuge Yunzhou (诸葛云舟), Zhuge Yunsheng (诸葛云笙), and Zhuge Yunye (诸葛云晔). When he declares himself emperor, she serves as his closest political advisor. Finally, she achieves her lifelong dream — abolishing slavery on the land she calls home. And she keeps the man she loves by her side until the very end.
The Noble Who Built a Kingdom
He was born into privilege. Zhuge Yue came from one of the most powerful noble families in Great Xia. He and Yan Xun — then a hostage prince from Yan Bei (燕北) — were once close friends. But everything changed when the emperor slaughtered Yan Xun’s entire family. Yan Xun never forgave him. Years later, at the ice lake, Yan Xun used Chu Qiao as bait to trap and nearly kill Zhuge Yue. He fell into the water, badly wounded. By a miracle, he survived.
But the world believed he was dead. His own family immediately turned on him. They disowned him, humiliated his supposed remains, and erased his name from their records. That betrayal killed something in his heart. He cut all ties with his past and traveled to Qinghai — a land most people called barbaric and worthless. But he saw something else. With raw talent and ruthless determination, he conquered the region, built a private army, and crowned himself King of Qinghai.
For years, he worked in the shadows. He secretly helped Chu Qiao whenever he could. They met again in Xian Yang (贤阳) after she broke with Yan Xun and fled to Bian Tang. Through Great Xia’s civil war and the barbarian invasion, their bond grew stronger. When he finally took the throne as emperor, he did something unprecedented — he abolished the royal harem. Chu Qiao remained his only partner for life. Their kingdom prospered. Their children thrived. Among all the characters, he and Chu Qiao got the happiest ending.
The Avenger Who Got Everything but Love
He was once a bright, open-hearted young man. Yan Xun never cared about rank or status. He admired Chu Qiao for who she was and spent time with her naturally. Love quietly grew between them. But fate had other plans. The emperor of Great Xia wanted to provoke Yan Xun’s homeland into rebellion. So he murdered Yan Xun’s entire family — and forced him to identify their mutilated bodies at the Nine Abyss Platform. From that day on, hatred became his only fuel.
He stopped at nothing. He used Chu Qiao as a pawn. He set traps. He lied. He manipulated. When she finally realized what he had become, she walked away. But his obsession paid off. He toppled Great Xia, united the Eighteen Prefectures of Hongchuan (红川), and founded the Great Yan Empire. He then married Nalan Hongye (纳兰红叶), the eldest princess of Huai Song (怀宋), as his empress. They got along well enough, but a wall always stood between them. When she died of illness, he ruled alone.
He got exactly what he wanted — revenge and an empire. But he lost the only person who ever truly mattered to him. Yan Xun sits on his throne, surrounded by power, with no one to share it with. The novel does not paint him as a villain. It paints him as a man who chose hatred over love and paid the price. He won his war. But he lost everything else. Some victories are emptier than defeat.
The Princess Who Lost Herself
No character falls harder than Zhao Chun’er (赵淳儿). She begins as the emperor’s legitimate daughter — a spoiled, innocent princess who believes the world owes her happiness. From a young age, she adored Yan Xun. She dreamed of marrying him. Her father even arranged the engagement. What she did not know was that she was nothing but a chess piece. Her father used her. Yan Xun used her. Everyone around her saw a tool, not a person.
When the truth came out, something snapped. She stopped being a princess. She became a creature of pure revenge. First, she arranged to be sent to Bian Tang for a political marriage. Then she staged her own “loss of virtue” to provoke a war between Great Xia and Bian Tang. She faked injuries to rally troops against Chu Qiao. She even tried to burn Chu Qiao alive. Years later, she reappeared as the wife of the Prince of Jing’an (靖安) in Bian Tang.
By then, she no longer cared who got hurt. She sparked wars between kingdoms. She opened the gates for barbarian invaders, watching them burn and slaughter across Yan Bei. Thousands of soldiers died because of her schemes. When the allied armies finally defeated the barbarians, she vanished without a trace. The once-pure princess had become the most hated person on the entire continent. Her story is tragic — but also deeply hateful. She chose every evil act herself.
