Mango Academy: The Great Tang Detective, Part Two: Storms Under Heaven

[An Academia of Detectives fanfic] [The Great Li Temple Detective] series, book two. For the full setting, read the first book first.

“Not many friends, but they're all at this table” became the most heartbreaking prophecy: the table was still there, but there weren't enough people left to fill it.

In the first year of Pingzhi's reign, a new emperor ascends the throne, drought ravages the land, and Nanzhao invades. Tao Budiao goes undercover in Henan Circuit and uncovers a case of embezzled relief grain involving Liu Pi, Prefect of Zhengzhou, and Liu Zekun, Magistrate of Xingze County. County Deputy Pei Qingyang dies in the line of duty. Tao Budiao pushes for reforms as a result: surveying and measuring farmland, replacing civil officials with military ones, and reinstating the Six Fan Gate. But an emergency erupts in Youzhou: Yan Lin is killed after discovering that the Pinglu Jiang clan and the Fanyang Lu clan are smuggling goods to the Khitans. Tao Budiao goes to Youzhou to investigate, but is poisoned and left on the brink of death. Cao Qianchong risks his life to save him. At court, the young emperor Chen Tong falls out with his ministers over Princess Zhaoyang's political marriage and secretly establishes Six Fan Gate spies to monitor the officials. He Baodan oversees the transport of supplies for the expedition to Japan, when a mysterious fire breaks out at Laizhou's Baolong Granary and the case must be solved before the deadline... The road to reform is deadly at every turn.