Shen Yizhi, a well-read graduate student, transmigrates into the body of a baby in the fifteenth year of the Wanli era.
The good news: his family owns fields and shops, so they have plenty to eat. The bad news: this dynasty has only fifty-seven years left. He remembers every detail of Chongzhen hanging himself at Coal Hill, the Qing army entering the Pass, and the bloodshed across Jiangnan, but he can't say a word. Who would believe a baby who can't even roll over?
For now, he decides to stay alive. Read books, take the imperial exams, make friends.
But the more he reads, the stranger things get. While everyone else buries their heads in formulaic essays, he casually writes pieces that leave the whole room astounded. At a literary gathering, he tells a story offhand, and it spreads across Jiangnan. Suzhou bookshops chase him for manuscripts, fellow degree holders chase him to start poetry societies, and even the prefectural academy's professor hands him a lifetime of notes.
Before he knows it, he's become a legend in the literary world.
He never wanted fame. He only wanted to live peacefully as a wealthy gentleman through the turmoil. But once fame takes hold, there's no stopping it. Today, admirers come to visit. Tomorrow, people travel a thousand miles to ask for his writing. The day after, even the prince's residence sends him a formal invitation to serve.
He keeps his head down and reads, but the more he reads, the greater his reputation grows. The greater his reputation, the heavier his responsibility. And the heavier his responsibility, the harder it becomes to pretend he knows nothing.
Until one day, the country falls and the emperor dies.
He closes his book, lets out a sigh, and sets out on the road he never wanted to take.
