It focuses on vivid depictions of the lives of women in ancient times and their intimate encounters with clients, while also sketching a diverse cast of characters: women of the demimonde, streetwise ruffians, people dependent on the powerful, greedy and corrupt officials, shrewd merchants, and theatrical performers. The story depicts all manner of bizarre social phenomena, including how cunning women use trickery, mediocre officials abuse their authority, officials and merchants collude in secret, and public power is used to avenge private grudges.
