AD 1300, the fourth year of Emperor Chengzong's reign in the Yuan Dynasty. A boy was born into a family of former dynasty scholar-bureaucrats in Lin'an, the capital of the old Southern Song Dynasty. His family had long since lost its glory under the rule of Meng Yuan, and could barely survive on its ancestral land and its declining reputation. His birth coincided with the turn of the century and was regarded by the family as hope for revival. However, the torrent of the times is cold and ruthless. An exploitation by cruel officials and a sudden disaster crushed the family's last dignity. Carrying the beginning of blood and tears, how will he survive in this familiar yet unfamiliar land? Should he follow his grandfather's teachings, walk on thin ice, and seek a glimmer of hope in the cracks; or should he inherit his father's unfinished will, explore an answer in his own way, and write a history book that belongs to himself and to this long night.
