During the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song, Zhou Cheng, a tycoon in the Jiangnan grain transport trade, uncovered the secret smuggling of salt and iron by Cai Jing's faction. Framed for the crime, he died with his name unjustly tarnished. His young son, Zhou Xinxin, carries his father's ink-painted chrysanthemum jade pendant and, with his little sister and loyal servants, narrowly escapes an ambush in the reeds along the canal.
Drawing on the business connections his father left behind and a trail of clues, he allies with an upright censor, battles the villains' lackeys, uncovers traps in hidden waterways, and ventures into an old residence in Lin'an.
The pendant hides a secret, the business ledgers record crimes, and spies lurk all around. A mysterious organization bearing the ink chrysanthemum mark also begins to emerge. A quest to clear his father's name becomes a storm that shakes Jiangnan's government and grain transport trade. Watch how, when cornered, this young man upholds loyalty with a merchant's integrity and uses courage and wit to unravel the mystery.
