The soul of Shen Yan, a doctor of history, traveled through the first year of Chongning in the Northern Song Dynasty and became "Sanlang", a young book copying boy struggling to survive in Bianjing. With no household registration and no way forward, the only clues are a blood-stained jade pendant and "Su Erniang from the south of the city". In order to survive, he stepped into the residence of Zhang Shangying, the censor Zhongcheng, but was involved in the "Hua Shi Gang" shocking corruption vortex. The edge of his pen hides murderous intent, and his ink buries thunder. He relies on modern knowledge to survive the dangers of court strife, and even gets a glimpse of the secrets of the palace lady Lin Yue who entrusted her with her life.
The remaining lotus has withered, and the lotus seeds are hidden deep. What Lin Yue protects with her life is not gold and silver, but the monstrous conspiracy of the remnants of the false emperor to restore him! The sky-burning fire in Yushi Mansion, the deadly crossbows in Gongyuan, the bloody battle in Bianhe River, the earth vein melting furnace in Dicui Peak... The murderous plots are all linked together. Shen Yanzhi was trapped in the net of Cai Jing and his son, the torrent of Fang La's rebel army, and the shadow of the puppet emperor's remnants, and became the "key" for all parties to compete for.
He holds the dark gold sheet and the black key in his hand, and carries the fragments of the "Emperor's Edict" on his back. With the residual lotus as his guide and the lotus seed as his heart, he must peel off the layers of disguise in the confusion of the overthrown fire in Bianjing and the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, and search deep in the mud for the "bitter lotus seed" that ends the millennium conspiracy. This is a life-and-death game that spans time and space. He uses his pen as a sword and wisdom as a shield. In the light and shadow of the prosperous times and the elegies of the end of the world in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", he struggles to survive, asks for the truth, and writes a shocking legend of troubled times.
