Chen Yan, a Hanlin Academy editor, discovers the original text of the Founding Iron Laws during a raging fire. It has been altered for three hundred years. The founding emperor’s true intention was that “the emperor and the people should govern together.” To protect this truth, Chen Yan is forced to flee.
Seventh Prince Zhu Zaikun sees the truth of imperial power amid blood and fire. He smashes the Imperial Seal and writes three words on a blank edict: “Abolish the monarchy.” For the first time, the banner proclaiming “The world belongs to all” rises above Hanshan City.
The orphan Gousheng was eight when Xu Jie traded his own hand to save his life. Carrying an urn of ashes, he walks from Shandong to the capital, then from the capital to Jiangnan. At eighteen, he finally understands: that banner was never meant for one person to carry alone.
The blood of three generations. The fire of three lives.
Burning for six hundred years, all so the people of this land can
live on their feet.
