On the day the new candidates were announced, Shen Mo, a scholar from a poor family who had passed the imperial exams, realized for the first time at the Qionglin Banquet that he possessed the "Eyes of Truth": he could see a faint glow when someone spoke the truth, and a murky haze when they lied. He witnessed the hypocrisy of official society beginning to show itself, but also saw the sincere light between his mentor, a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Su, an upright censor. After the banquet, his mentor proposed paving the way for his rapid rise: marry the daughter of a powerful Ministry of Revenue official allied with Prince Zhao. The light around his mentor's words was faint, and Shen Mo was stunned. He refused, admitting that he and Wanqing, Su Censor's daughter, had already pledged their love to each other. His mentor's smile faded, a sign that trouble was on the way.
