In the twelfth year of the Republic, outside Qianmen in Beijing.
The old proprietor of Wantong Pawnshop was barely cold in his grave when three venerable elders from the Beijing Pawnshop Guild came knocking, demanding the "year manager" position. If the young master didn't come out and explain himself, Wantong would have to give up its place.
But the young master, Shen Zhiqiu, was only sixteen.
In mourning, he couldn't receive outside visitors. A Duan inkstone delivered from Tianqiao by a storyteller drew everyone's gaze toward the bamboo curtain. From behind it, in just a few words, the boy deduced the inkstone's true origin from its ink stains, finger marks, and hidden inscription:
The Forbidden City.
The inkstone had come out of the palace and passed through several hands. And how many other inkstones were making their way to Japanese antique dealers in the city? Meng Bancheng was knocking at his door, people close to Puyi were looking for him, and Mr. Yaba had begun coveting the notebook his grandfather left behind.
That notebook held half the Forbidden City's hidden treasures.
The young proprietor had never stepped out from behind the curtain, yet he was already at the very center of the storm.
He smiled and poured a bowl of hot tea for every visitor who came calling.
And then he slowly sharpened the knife hidden behind the teacups.
