A modern tax and finance worker dies suddenly from overwork, only to transmigrate into the body of Lin Yan, a poor young man at the end of the Hongzhi era. His parents were driven to their deaths by crushing taxes, and all he has left to cling to is half a jade pendant bearing the character Yu. With nowhere else to turn, he seeks refuge at the Yu residence in Jinling, takes the surname Yu, and endures life as a servant. But a vicious young master from a collateral branch sets traps for him, and a mystery hidden in the grain accounts conceals a deadly threat.
Using his modern expertise in taxation and finance, he breaks through the predicament and establishes his authority, earning the support of an elder in the household. But then he is caught up in a feud among the great families. The Liu, Su, and Zhao families join forces to siphon off grain profits and collude with tax officials. The Yu family's decline turns out to conceal a shocking conspiracy, and even his transmigration was no coincidence!
When the other half of the jade pendant bearing the character Lin comes to light, a secret letter passed down through the generations reveals an ancestral pact. A traitor lurks within, and deadly traps follow one after another. At the autumn grain gathering, he faces a fight for his life. Armed with modern knowledge, this poor young man who has assumed another surname stands on the brink of the chaotic Ming Dynasty. With accounts as his blade and schemes as his shield, he takes on the great families, roots out the traitor, and challenges the imperial court. In an age when taxes are as ruthless as tigers, he vows to carve a bloody path to prosperity for the poor and bring peace and justice to the people of Jiangnan!
