A low-ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard sifts through clues amid the rotting corpses in the imperial prison.
He discovers that the fatal wound on a victim’s neck came from a signature hidden weapon belonging to Yan Song, the Grand Secretariat’s chief minister.
Lu Bing, the Guard’s commander, gives him an ultimatum: “Either identify Xu Jie, or your whole family will be buried with you.”
He chooses a third path: send a message to Xu Jie and use him to strike back at Yan Song’s lackeys.
Emperor Jiajing is obsessed with alchemy, so he offers him an “immortality pill” and wins the emperor’s favor.
When the embroidered spring saber is pressed to Chen Mo’s neck, do you really think Lu Bing is your mentor?
The newly bestowed python robe still reeks of blood when Lu Bing visits late at night. “His Majesty wants Xu Jie dead.” He sets down a bloodstained bundle. Inside is the head of the physician who helped Chen Mo bury a body all those years ago.
