Shen Zhiwei, the concubine of the Hou family, was originally an inconspicuous existence, but she was involved in the whirlpool due to a strange "falling into the water case" - her fiancé Xie Lin died by the lake late at night, and all the evidence pointed to her who had given him wine. In order to clear his grievances, Shen Zhiwei relied on his meticulous observation to find flaws in the silk hanging on Xie Lin's robe and the strange mud on the soles of his shoes, overturning the "accidental" conclusion.
As the investigation deepens, the body of the maid A Ling is fished out from the abandoned well. The clues behind the two murder cases are intertwined, pointing to the secrets that the Hou Mansion has hidden for many years. Among the layers of incense ashes, gold foil, incomplete account books, and fire cases in the old courtyard, the old case of Aunt Liu's dystocia and hemorrhage three years ago surfaced. Shen Zhiwei temporarily joined forces with Pei Yan, the young minister of Dali Temple, to withstand the pressure of the Hou Mansion, find the truth among lies and murderous intentions, and uncover the layers of secrets about human life, conspiracies and old grudges under the glorious appearance of the Hou Mansion.
