Jiang Hui, a gentle and refined Vice Minister of Rites, hides a bloodstained copy of the Dao De Jing in his sleeve. To uncover the truth behind his father’s death in battle, he uses the official system of four ranks and eighteen plumes as a chessboard in a life-and-death struggle with Lu Yannian, the Grand Secretary who guards his family’s good name. A broken jade pendant changes hands seven times, and four auspicious omens conceal the murderous schemes of a former dynasty. When the two former classmates, whose paths have since diverged, uncover their teacher’s final words, they realize that the bloody game was set in motion twenty years ago. In the end, was the survivor the one moving the pieces, or a blade in someone else’s hand? Who is he, really?
