[Historical Romance] [Household Intrigue] [Legitimate Daughter] [Business] [Female-Centered] [No Female Rivalry] [Taming the Man] [Loyal Guard with Two Faces] [Pure Romance] [One-on-One, Both Chaste] [Political Intrigue and Romantic Rivalry] [Secrets of a Shipping Empire]
After sixteen years of secluded Buddhist practice at White Horse Temple, Kong Yaoling returns home only to learn that control of the Grand Canal's lifeline is a monstrous crime. Wherever the Kong family's shipping banners pass, even the Yellow River's corpse grease can be washed into gold lacquer fit for a Buddha. The family's wealth stands atop a pagoda built from countless bones. Their ships carry not grain, but the people's blood and sweat; the deity enshrined in their Buddhist hall is no Buddha, but a giant crocodile devouring the nation. Behind a facade of worship and prayer, they consort with powerful officials, manipulate the court, and prey on the common people. Even the Yellow River's floods are turned into a tool for extortion.
Her father wears his ambition openly, her grandmother has a snake's heart behind her pious words, and her mother hides her true intentions. In this mansion, glittering on the outside and steeped in sin, Kong Yaoling must tread carefully. The guard's identity is a mystery, too. She must protect herself in this blood-soaked struggle among relatives, while the suffering wrought by the shipping monopoly torments her conscience. River pirates, starving refugees, and fraudulent grain stores force her into the clash among Emperor Xianwen, Empress Dowager Feng, Prince Mu, and the Kong family. Torn between family, morality, imperial power, and Buddhist compassion, can the morning bells and evening drums cleanse the blood that stains the Luo River?
