A bloody case ensnares two generations of loyal subjects.
A skeleton sets the entire court ablaze.
On a rainy night in Bianjing, Yan Tangwan, a junior official at the Court of Judicial Review, takes on a baffling murder case. Beneath the bones, he uncovers an old injustice the dynasty had deliberately buried. The case is a web woven around powerful ministers at court and hidden currents in the martial world alike.
He joins forces with a highly skilled commander of the Imperial City Division, the well-informed master of the Hundred-Knowledge Tower, a genius coroner who understands the language of corpses, and an heir to the Cai sect, who can make flowers appear from his sleeves. Together, they unravel a maze of interlocking mysteries. But they soon discover that every step toward the truth brings them closer to the dynasty’s most dangerous secret.
This is a war fought with human hearts as the game board and truth as the blade. When clearing the names of the wronged and preserving peace across the realm are placed on opposite sides of the scales, their choices will redefine what it means to be loyal and what it means to be treacherous.
