Rui Xin, a modern exam-prep instructor, transmigrates to the Qin Dynasty and becomes a down-and-out scholar who has been convicted for his words and is about to be expelled from Xianyang. At court, she draws on modern project management and essay-writing techniques to pinpoint the problems with expanding Xianyang Palace, astonishing everyone and making a stunning reversal from prisoner to a "Qin prodigy."
But this is only the beginning. Thanks to her profound insight into systems and human nature, the First Emperor, Ying Zheng, sees Rui Xin as a useful "blade." Using performance reviews as her starting point, she begins by reforming the officials of Xianyang, establishes the Great Qin Performance Office, and presides over history's first civil service qualification exam. She deftly introduces modern organizational management, performance assessment, and talent development systems into the massive war machine of the Qin Empire.
Her path is strewn with obstacles. She must vie for influence with military aristocrats like Meng Tian and Wang Jian, contend with powerful ministers such as Li Si and Zhao Gao at court, and face the verbal assaults of the former nobility of the Six States and the Confucian school. Along the way, she and the idealistic Prince Fusu become both teacher and friend, exploring a "new path" that might bring lasting peace and stability to Qin. She also develops a profound bond with the aloof emperor Ying Zheng, one that begins in mutual exploitation and ends in a complicated connection between confidants.
As the wheel of history rolls on, every effort Rui Xin makes quietly alters the empire's course. Can she use modern knowledge to truly turn Qin's fate around? And where will the complicated feelings between her, Ying Zheng, and Fusu lead? This is a high-stakes gamble over ideals, power, and civilization, and she is already at the very heart of the era's turmoil.
