Beneath the splendor of a golden age, undercurrents churn; where the history books fall silent, secrets emerge. During the Tianbao era, the Tang Empire reached the height of its power. The Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Robe danced amid dazzling prosperity, while countless barges on the canals brought wealth pouring in. Yet beneath this radiant image, which dazzled all nations, sinister shadows were quietly spreading.
Li Qingque, a descendant of court historians serving as a Collator at the Hongwen Library, worked in a lonely, austere government office. While sorting through secret palace archives, he unwittingly touched the most sensitive nerve of the empire. The Rainbow Skirt melody concealed a bewitching, wicked sound; a web of corruption lay hidden in the depths of the canals; treasonous designs were wrapped inside paper armor; and incense smoke in Taoist temples masked the secret arts of witchcraft and poison… Every volume of secrets pointed to a plot to overthrow the dynasty. Drawing on Tang-era texts such as the Six Statutes of the Tang, Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Xuanzong, and The Deeds of An Lushan, this book reconstructs a vivid and thrilling world of the Tianbao era from the gaps in the historical record. This meticulously researched historical mystery takes you back to a Tang sky where splendor and shadow burned equally bright.
