The Great Qi Dynasty's First Female Coroner

Forensic pathologist Ding Yuning died unexpectedly after staying up late to write an autopsy report, when it triggered the toxins in her body. She transmigrated into the body of a mysterious woman in ancient times, also named Ding Yuning.

When they first met, he was Zhao Xingren, the top constable in Qingping County, and looked exactly like Zhao Xi, her late boyfriend who had worked in law enforcement. But because she was dressed in black from head to toe, Zhao Xingren mistook her for the culprit in the “Girl Blinded in Both Eyes” case, and she was pulled into the investigation. Drawing on her forensic expertise, Ding Yuning helps Zhao Xingren solve case after case, including the “Murder in the Haunted Locked Room” and the “Killing by the Ghost Mother in the Dark Cave.” Behind each baffling and eerie case lie the dark depths of human nature, the ravenous grip of greed and desire, royal authority placed above the law, and the backlash caused by extreme oppression.

The perilous and strange process of solving these cases also brings Ding Yuning's bizarre and ignoble origins to light. Her father and brothers were executed for treason, their bodies separated from their heads. Her mother and younger sister both served the same husband, a violation of human bonds that earned them the world's scorn. And Ding Yuning herself betrayed her country and abandoned her family. One “Night Raid Across the Frozen River” sent 300,000 of her own people to their deaths.

Zhao Xingren: Yuning, in this age when royal authority reigns supreme, we cannot put an end to the people's suffering at its root. But as a human being, even if I must endure a thousand cuts and the pain of having my bones scraped, I, Zhao Xingren, am willing to stake my life in this contest with the imperial family. I would have no regrets, even if I died nine times over. You are the one regret of my life: I cannot spend the rest of it holding your hand.

Han Que: Ding Yuning, the so-called righteous people of this world uphold propriety and the law, admonish women to abstain from pleasure, and forbid them from entering the halls of power. But whether they call you a villain or a worthless woman, whatever you choose to do, I, Han Que, will do whatever it takes to help you achieve your aims. But could you turn back and look at me, even just once?