He had died once before. Twenty years of integrity and twenty years of hard work came to nothing when his investigation into corruption in the grain transport system led him to Xiao Jingyan, the Grand Secretary. In the end, they forced him to drink poison, leaving behind nothing but a cold corpse.
But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself and his family’s ancient mirror returned to twenty years earlier.
This time, he would rewrite his fate.
Yet the ancient mirror passed down through the Lin family revealed that things were far more complicated than he remembered. Someone had been watching him from the shadows thirty years ago. The truth behind Prince Ning’s death pointed to the emperor on the throne. The true murderer of his mother had long since turned to bones, yet countless minions remained, ready to stir up trouble.
He rose from a poor scholar to the regent’s seat, laying out a grand plan over thirty years. He opened border markets to secure the frontier, distributed land to support the people, and established schools to cultivate talent. Not for power, but so that those who had died in his previous life would not die in vain this time.
When at last he stood at the pinnacle of power, he passed the ancient mirror to his son, Kang’er, and sent him on a journey west.
“Some roads must be walked alone.”
Years later, Kang’er ascended the throne. The ancient mirror lay quietly on the imperial desk, reflecting a vast realm stretching for thousands of miles.
Two lives, thirty years spent setting the board, all to win a peaceful world.
