Strange Case Notes from the Han Dynasty

Beneath the peace and prosperity of Emperor Wu’s Han Dynasty, undercurrents churn: tangled interests in the state monopolies on salt and iron, resentful princes left in the wake of the decree dividing their fiefs, eerie mysteries involving sorcery and witchcraft, and clashes along the Silk Road in the Western Regions. Together, they form a web of bizarre cases and sinister plots spreading across the land. Wei Zhao, former magistrate of Du County, was demoted for his uncompromising integrity, but won Emperor Wu’s favor and was appointed deputy inspector of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Accompanied by Zhao Yi, a loyal and courageous commandant from the Imperial Guards; Su Heng, an ingenious physician and Mohist heir; and Jing Liu, a streetwise Chang’an constable, he takes the imperial seal and decree and journeys across the realm. They expose blood curses in the countryside, investigate apparitions in the palace, hunt down Silk Road bandits, and unravel suspicions surrounding the princes. Moving between a system of rule that cloaks Legalist principles in Confucian virtue and the bizarre folk arts of the common people, they uphold justice amid political intrigue and trials of life and death. Every strange case conceals a twist, and every confrontation showcases their wit. From Chang’an’s wards to the deserts of the Western Regions, from the fertile lands of the Three Auxiliary Commanderies to the perilous reaches of Bashu, they wield the Embroidered Uniform Guard as their warrant and truth as their blade. In the grand age of Emperor Wu, as he expands the empire and reforms its institutions, they write one legend after another: “With an iron face, they crack the arcane cases; with loyal hearts, they protect an age of prosperity.”