After his soul enters a body in the Ming Dynasty, Shen An finds himself trapped in a desperate situation from the start.
Burning with a fever and near death, he is a lowly clerk with no chance of taking the imperial exams and enemies closing in all around him.
The only person he must protect is his younger sister.
Armed with a modern perspective and a careful mind, he rises from the Criminal Affairs Office of Shuntian Prefecture, joins the Western Depot, investigates strange cases, takes on the powerful, and steadies the court.
Others enter officialdom through the imperial exams; he rises to the top as a minor functionary. Others rely on family connections; he changes his fate through sheer force of will.
From a mere secretary to a powerful cabinet minister who serves three reigns, he takes an unconventional path into the heart of the Ming court.
