The Jade Pendant Case: A Forensic Heir and a Stern Magistrate

In the middle years of the Great Jing Dynasty, peace and prosperity reign on the surface, but undercurrents swirl beneath. At court, the Crown Prince’s faction and Prince Jing’s faction are at each other’s throats, secretly vying for control of the military and the treasury. Local officials collude with powerful clans and merchants, corruption runs rampant, and stolen government silver, poison smuggling, and serial murders are all on the rise. Suzhou in Jiangnan is a prosperous region, a hub for salt, medicinal herbs, and silk, as well as a focal point for competing factions. It is a chaotic place where innocent people are framed and wrongful convictions abound. Coroners hold a very low status and are regarded as members of a “base profession.” Their techniques are rudimentary, allowing them to identify little beyond external injuries. Prefects rely heavily on confessions to solve cases and lack systematic forensic methods, making it easy for killers to exploit loopholes and masterminds to conceal the truth. Xie Heng is demoted to Suzhou to investigate the truth behind his elder brother’s death and the case it leads into: a major conspiracy involving the smuggling of government silver in Jiangnan and a string of murders. Lin Yan’s transmigration happens to be the key to unraveling the mysteries.