Crossing the Agarwood River

I Work as a Coroner in the Imperial Harem, and the Noble Consorts Line Up for Examinations.

(Note: All the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, wellness, gynecological care, and ancient autopsies in this story is real. The final chapter will provide a summary of the wellness tips for everyone!)

Shen Du is the least coroner-like coroner in the Great Zhou dynasty.

While others dissect corpses, he makes medicine. While others solve cases, he samples herbs. The incense that rises from the chimney of Agarwood Hall is always a mix of the fragrance used to fumigate corpses and the smoke of brewing medicine.

Before Consort Hui’s burial, Shen Du lifts the burial shroud and discovers a strange smile frozen on her lips.

She was buried alive while still conscious.

The empress wants her remains moved. The noble consort comes to probe for information. Between these two towering figures of the inner palace stands a lowly coroner, whom everyone takes for a reckless fool.

But no one knows that he examines not corpses, but the human heart; he makes not medicine, but consequences.

From the noble consort’s calming tea to the death warrant in the Cold Palace, from the old case of a prince’s untimely death to the secrets surrounding the late emperor’s demise, every corpse has a story to tell, and every herb points the way.

Three thousand beauties fill the imperial harem, and every one of them has a secret. And this coroner, of all people, has eyes that can see straight through them.