Chang'an Inkstone of the Tang Dynasty

During the Dali period of the Tang Dynasty, the "Ghost Ship Case" suddenly occurred in the West City of Chang'an. False evidence from the empty ship pointed to the prince's rebellion. Su Yanci, the demoted former judge of Dali Temple, was ordered to investigate the case. He and his nephew Shen Yanchen followed clues such as crossbow arrows and cocklebur seeds in the feudal town and led to the old unjust case of deposing the prince Li Ying ten years ago. During the investigation, various forces took turns to enter the situation: Prime Minister Pei Chongguang was forbearing to protect the innocence of his old master, Princess Ning'an coveted the imperial power and wanted to seize the list of the old ministers, and Liu Qingmei, the musician of the Jiaofang, wandered around with her father's hatred. Xiao Che, the seemingly loyal commander of the imperial army, was actually the real culprit who framed the deposed prince. He used the ghost ship case to blame the prince and Pei Chongguang, and colluded with the vassal town to usurp the throne. Because Shen Yanchen is Xiao Che's nephew and a secret guard of the emperor, he is deeply involved in the choice between loyalty to the emperor and family affection. Su YanCi dismantled the conspiracy step by step and gathered ironclad evidence such as Xiao Che's forged evidence and secret letters from the vassal to confront all parties in the main hall. In the end, Princess Ning'an defected, Shen Yanchen captured Xiao Che, and the deposed prince was redressed. Xiao Che was executed, Pei Chongguang went into seclusion, the princess was placed under house arrest, and Liu Qingmei was pardoned and left. Su Yan resigned and was reinstated, and continued to guard Chang'an with Shen Yanchen. However, the appearance of the dark shadows in the dark alley and the old talisman of the Forbidden Army heralded the beginning of a new conspiracy puzzle.