The moon-patterned silk in the hands of the corpse found in the palace well conceals the most dangerous secret of the previous dynasty: “When the Marquis's Pearl appears, the prophecies will begin.”
Pei Qingxian, a female official in the Court of Palace Supplies, is forced to form a life-and-death alliance with Imperial Guard commander Yuchi Zheng and Prince Wen, Li Chongmao, as she investigates the death of her close friend. Following the directions of the “Xuanji Diagram,” the three break into sealed-off forbidden sites, only to discover that the supposed imperial treasure is actually a royal heir raised among the common people, and that the mysterious chart is really a roster of spies planted to overthrow the court.
Empress Wei's iron grip, Princess Taiping's bronze fish tally, and the gold mud seals left behind by a mysterious third party: multiple forces circle them like ravenous tigers. When the bones in a mercury-sealed chamber point to the Longmen Grottoes, and the dying words “The pearl is no pearl, the diagram no diagram” expose a shocking deception, they finally reach the heart of a game in which the fate of the Tang Dynasty is at stake.
But the true identity of the player behind it all is far more terrifying than they could have imagined.
