In the autumn of the 23rd year of Jiajing, a mysterious case of "shadow puppets demanding lives" broke out in the Western Market of the capital - Zhang Fugui, the shopkeeper of a silk and satin shop, fell behind the counter. An old black shadow puppet lamp next to him was glowing with cold light, and the corners of the civilian shadow puppet's mouth on the lamp had a strange arc. The government designated rickshaw driver Li Erlang as the murderer based on a "quarrel", and the neighbors lamented their injustice.
Shen Qingci, a down-and-out scholar, has a lot of knowledge but fails in many trials. He makes a living by helping people write documents, but he has a "fiery eye" that is good at observing details. Entrusted by Li Erlang's mother, he wanted to defend the young man, but he bumped into an "unruly" girl at the crime scene - Su Hongxiu, the daughter of a doctor.
This girl, wearing a short coat and neatly tied up hair, dared to accuse the official in public of "knowing how to do an autopsy with a hammer" and bluntly stated that the cause of Zhang Fugui's death was strange. One relied on clues to peel off the cocoon and the other relied on medical skills to detect fatal doubts. The two gradually changed from the mutual suspicion mode of "a sour scholar paired with a wild girl" to a partner who joined forces to pursue the murderer.
As the investigation deepened, they discovered that Zhang Fugui's death was not an isolated case - carpenters outside the city and businessmen in Nandu died one after another of "shadow puppets demanding their lives", and the identities of the deceased actually pointed to an old corruption case ten years ago. As they approached the truth, anonymous threatening letters and late-night pursuits followed one after another. Even the "sudden death" of Su Hongxiu's father had hidden secrets.
A shadow puppet lantern connects three lives and ten years of old grudges; can a down-and-out scholar and a sassy medical woman find out the mastermind behind the scenes in a capital protected by officials, and clear the name of the dead and the wronged?
