In the third year of Yong'an in Daliang, no one dared to violate the thirty-seven iron laws of the imperial city.
"The bell must not be rung after noon. Anyone who violates this rule will die of drowning within seven days."
"You can't look back when you walk in the lane at night, and you can't answer when someone calls your name from behind."
"The red paint on the palace walls must be repainted every year, and the blood of the person who painted it must be mixed with cinnabar."
In the monthly files of the Zhenfu Division, there are a number of officials and civilians who died suddenly in "accidents". No one thought anything was wrong - because these "accidents" happened to violate a certain rule.
The newly appointed Qintian Supervisor Zheng Shen Yanqiu discovered that every law, every palace rule, and every festival custom in this imperial city was slowly and accurately executing some unspeakable "rules." In the three hundred years since the founding of Daliang, emperors of all dynasties have secretly spread a secret——
"Rules are not for following, they are for feeding."
