Huang Ru died unjustly in his previous life, then is reborn at a crucial moment when calls for reform are beginning to rise. By then, the country’s old system has been riddled with abuses for years, and reform in the imperial court is proving painfully difficult. Using the advantage of his rebirth, Huang Ru keenly reads the shifting currents and resolves to find the emperor a new path to reform. He carefully drafts a memorial and submits it, earning the emperor’s favor. But the conservative faction sees him as a thorn in its side. Invoking the laws of the ancestors, they vilify and suppress him throughout the court, filing one impeachment after another as rumors run rampant. Influenced by the conservatives, the emperor also begins to misunderstand him. Huang Ru must break through the constraints the old system places on officials while struggling to choose a side between the conservatives and the reformers. At the same time, the nation is in peril, and he must drive reform forward quickly or see the country head toward ruin. As he works to clear up the emperor’s misunderstanding, betrayal and manipulation by the conservative faction plunge him into a crisis of trust. Even when reform finally succeeds, he must endure the pain of losing someone he cherishes. Yet Huang Ru never backs down. He remains devoted to reform, striving to change the nation’s fate.
