When a laboratory explosion sends modern forensic pathologist Jiang Li's soul back to the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty, she becomes the daughter of a bondservant family in the Imperial Household Department. A eunuch's sudden death in the Palace of Heavenly Purity leads her to pierce the palace's mysteries with a scalpel, but also draws her into the deadly whirlpool of the Nine Princes' succession struggle. The cold-faced Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, wraps prayer beads around her neck and forces her to use the corpse as evidence; the Imperial Astronomical Bureau declares that “a rebellious star will plunge the realm into chaos,” and Kangxi wants to execute the strange soul. Japanese silver ingots, Mongolian witchcraft, and Western poisons appear one after another...
With a dissection knife in her left hand, she annotates The Washing Away of Wrongs. With her right, she embroiders golden dragon designs on court robes. She is torn between political scheming and genuine affection. When history decrees that Yongzheng will betray the whole world, he hides the bloodstained autopsy notes and writes “I offer you the realm as my betrothal gift” on an inserted page.
Truth and obsession both become blades. This time, she dissects corpses, examines human hearts, and cuts into the blood-soaked heart of an emperor.
