Su Mingwei, Merchant Daughter of a Marquis's Household

During the Xiantong era of the Great Liang, Su Mingwei, daughter of a former Salt and Iron Office judge, became a “salt merchant without household registration” after her father was convicted. She lay low for three years in a coastal fishing village, secretly studying the ancient text Song’s Guide to Boiling Seawater. Using the age-old technique of scraping away alkali and leaching brine, she improved the salt-drying process and brought her fine, snow-white salt to the Yangzhou Salt License Office. She had hoped her skill would restore her family’s fortunes, but instead she was drawn into a vast web of corruption linking the Jiangnan salt guilds and the authorities. From the Salt Transport Commissioner’s office to the smugglers’ river strongholds, everyone had their eyes on her “golden salt formula,” a recipe that could upend the industry.

As she navigated the exploitation of the brokers and the schemes of her competitors, she discovered that the “accountant from a rival firm” who kept helping her in times of crisis was Shen Yanzhi, the newly appointed Salt Transport Commissioner, investigating the case in disguise. He used her ledgers to map the salt fields, while she embroidered a moisture-proof charm onto his clothes as he changed. Their partnership, each with their own motives, gradually grew into an unspoken understanding. But when the old case resurfaced, revealing that her father had taken the blame to protect the salt workers, Su Mingwei realized that the salt license in her hands was not only the lifeblood of trade, but also the key to exposing corruption at court and clearing her family’s name.

See how a sheltered young woman wields ancient texts like a blade, carving out a way forward under the iron laws of state-controlled salt and iron. Amid shifting political schemes, she will weave her own legend in the world of commerce.