[History + Underdog's Rise + Face-Slapping + Breaking Through with Chess + Satisfying Read + Slow Burn]
In Lin'an, the chessboard has always been a stage for the powerful.
Shen Yan, a menial servant, plays with stones he picked up in Caoke Lane. When Su Qingwan, the daughter of a powerful minister, holds a chess tournament to choose a husband, she cracks open the iron curtain of class. Clutching his worn-down pieces, Shen Yan enters the contest, ready to face a room full of nobles and wager his life against fate.
There is Liu Changgeng, a noble scion with treachery hidden behind his fan; a rebellious young lady who taps the board with her silver hairpin; and a menial servant with a brutal face who secretly carries warm buns. Between the black and white pieces lie a poor boy's first step toward knocking on the door of opportunity, a female chess player's life-or-death challenge, and a sword to tear through rigid social barriers.
From street-corner chess bets to a contest before the emperor, from the mire to the golden palace, they carve out their lives with chess pieces. A chess-playing soul can grow even from the mud; women can shape the world too; and even the lowliest stone can smash the ivory chessboard of the powerful.
This game is not about winning or losing. The wager is the rules of an entire age.
