Shen An, the son of a poor family, has a poor family, but he has the ambition to govern the country. From the childhood examination to the palace examination, he won consecutive victories and entered the court as the top scholar. However, the glory of being named on the gold list is fleeting. What awaits him is the intricate forces and undercurrents of the government. He thought he could help the world with his knowledge, but he found that a smile from a powerful official was worth thousands of words.
From editor of the Seventh Rank Hanlin Academy to chief minister of the cabinet, Shen An spent twenty years completing the journey that others would take in their entire lives. He solved a major fraud case in the south of the Yangtze River with his vast knowledge, shocked the government and the opposition with his achievements in the peace talks in the northern Xinjiang, and single-handedly stirred up the chess game in the world. Above the court, he was careful at every step; in the struggle for power, he was strategizing. But when he finally stands at the pinnacle of power and overlooks all living beings, is he still the young man who only wanted to make a living for the people?
This is the history of a person's growth from a scholar to a powerful official. It is also a human game about ideals, calculations, loyalty and betrayal.
