[Lies at every turn + woman disguised as a man + golden finger + cunning fox coroner vs. aloof loner + three fated encounters + faux propriety + scheming wolfish magistrate]
In public, she is Shen Chu, the astonishingly talented coroner of the Dali Temple who solves one strange case after another.
In private, she is Shen Chuchu, the fake wife of Xie Qingyan, the Dali Temple's assistant minister who holds a favor over her head and demands repayment.
On their wedding night, the legitimate Shen Chuchu sleeps alone, while the coroner Shen Chu and Xie Qingyan unexpectedly spend a night together, becoming hopelessly entangled.
From then on, Shen Chuchu is aboard Xie Qingyan's pirate ship, with no turning back from the endless path of lies and excuses.
A woman's corpse on a pleasure boat, a murder at a Buddhist temple, golden bones smashed to pieces, the bizarre death of a princess, a dried corpse outside the city, a head and body separated during a sacrifice...
Through one heart-pounding case after another, Shen Chuchu joins forces with Xie Qingyan to unravel tangled mysteries and solve strange crimes, bringing justice to the world.
When her identity is finally exposed, the mortified Shen Chuchu packs her things and runs away on her own.
But Xie Qingyan, incomparably elegant and handsome, pins her against the wall with an arm around her waist. “After deceiving me for so long, now that you've had your revenge, are you going to abandon your husband and child?”
Shen Chuchu pales. “I'll admit to being your wife, but where did that child come from?”
Xie Qingyan scoops her up. “You'll have one soon.”
