The Ink-Black Clouds of the Danqing Calamity

On the Dragon Boat Festival in the sixth year of Xuanhe under the Northern Song, a sudden fire broke out at the Hanlin Painting Academy. The Tang dynasty masterpiece Lady Guo on a Spring Outing was consumed by the flames. The court initially assumed it was an accidental fire, but a partial shoeprint was left at the scene.

The male and female leads transmigrated to the Northern Song after visiting an art exhibition, and became embroiled in the case. Fortunately, Emperor Huizong, Zhao Ji, trusted them and entrusted them with the urgent task of tracking down the missing masterpiece.

But their investigation faced obstacles at every turn. It turned out that eight years earlier, they had cut off a villain's source of wealth. Now, using the painting as bait, he had lured them into a trap of revenge.

With the road ahead shrouded in uncertainty, this earth-shaking case, in which arson was used to cover up the truth about the painting's theft, was only just beginning.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.