The deposed prince Xie Yanzhi was framed and demoted to a commoner. He burned all the imperial examination papers in the world overnight and vowed to replace false writing with practical knowledge. He joins hands with Shen Zhaoyi, a female official from a poor family, and Qin Tieyi, a border soldier, and Liu Shuangnian, a salt merchant, to set off a storm that overturns the thousand-year talent selection system. When the imperial power, nobles, and merchants are all involved, who is the real master of the country's destiny? What is burned is not paper, but the lifeblood of the entire dynasty.
