In the Great Jing Dynasty, the third year of Jinghe, the rains of Jiangnan fall as they always have, soaking the gray-tiled roofs and white walls, and nourishing a land steeped in literary tradition.
Wu County in Suzhou Prefecture has been a place of flourishing letters since ancient times. The fragrance of ink from the Qinhuai River drifts along the Grand Canal into ordinary lanes. Sons of humble families hope to pass the imperial examinations and bring honor to their ancestors, while scions of great houses rely on their inherited privilege and seek to add further glory through the examinations. Some wield their brushes like swords and speak their minds plainly; others hide treachery in their hearts and lay traps in secret.
Amid the misty rains of Jiangnan, a young man named Lu Dong carries a battered bookcase on his back and steps through puddles on the stone-paved road, heading toward the examination hall that will determine the honor or disgrace of half his life. He does not know that his path ahead holds both the favor of the literary stars and hidden shoals and reefs, as well as blades lurking in the shadows, ready to sever his road to success.
His literary talent has already spread through the markets and lanes. He can recite exquisite lines of poetry at a moment’s notice and compose perfectly matched couplets with a flick of his brush. But to turn all that learning into the robes of a scholar, he still has countless hardships to endure.
