During the Tianbao period of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Chang'an City was as prosperous as a dream, but it also concealed turbulent waves. Wei Ran, a young school clerk working at the Hongwen Museum, accidentally discovered that in a case of rebellion by a border general more than ten years ago, the names of key people had been repeatedly obliterated, leaving only traces while sorting out the secret files of the former dynasty. This strangeness was like a fish bone in his throat, driving him on a dangerous path to find out the truth.
Recommended by his close friend and laid-back poet Cen Feng, Wei Ran met the most beautiful opera singer Su Lianyi in Pingkang. Her song "Neon Clothes and Feathered Clothes" is stunningly talented and beautiful, but there is a coldness and sadness hidden between her eyebrows that are incompatible with this prosperous age. As the relationship deepened, Wei Ran discovered that this extremely beautiful woman seemed to be inextricably linked to that dusty injustice case.
From the clues in the files to the conspiracy in the palace of the powerful minister, from the luxurious banquet to the long street where murder is hidden, the fates of Wei Ran and Su Lianyi are closely intertwined. When he finally lifted the gorgeous veil called "Smoke and Cloud of the Prosperous Tang Dynasty", what he saw was the heinous crimes of framing loyal people and stealing the country and corrupting the people. Faced with the powerful forces that cover the sky with one hand and the unfathomable heart of the emperor, how can a scholar and an actor fight against this boundless dark night with the light of fireflies? This is not only a struggle for loyal souls, but also a difficult choice between the torrent of history and personal love.
