Autumn of the fourth year of Yuanyou. In the dead of night in Bianjing, a strange fire at Sima Guang’s former residence reveals an unidentified charred body clutching a fragment of Su Shi’s Dongpo Yuefu. On the fragment, the ink of “Immortal by the River” is still wet, and the handwriting points straight to Su Shi, who has just returned to the capital and stands at the center of a political storm.
This is no ordinary murder, but a political noose carefully laid. The Old Party is divided, the New Party lies in wait, and currents run deep through the court. Anyone could be the killer, and everyone is prey. Su Shi, leader of the Shu faction; Cheng Yi, master of the Luo faction; Cai Jing, a strategist of the New Party; Wang Chaoyun, his confidante; and Xiao Po, a page whose past is shrouded in mystery: five key figures are drawn into the maelstrom by the fire.
Within a limited time, Su Shi must untangle layer upon layer of false accusations and factional attacks, find the true culprit, and clear his name. But as the investigation deepens, he uncovers more than a murderous plot: there is also a manuscript left by Sima Guang, powerful enough to shake the foundations of the state, and a shocking prophecy pointing to “disaster among the Yuanyou faction, born within the walls.”
