In the winter of the first year of Yongxi's reign, a floating corpse was fished out of the Juma River.
The deceased held half a sealing wax ink feather in his palm, and held half a bronze crossing plaque in his arms.
Linxiyi's young official Shen Yan's hands were shaking when he was doing the autopsy - he had seen the lines on the ferry sign. Five years ago, his father Shen Boyan died in this river carrying the same thing.
Officials said that his father was a traitor to the enemy and died of a sudden illness.
But Shen Yan knew that his father was sunk to the bottom of the river.
From a floating corpse to three military depots, from the border posthouse to the privy court. Three crossing cards, a secret letter, and an old case that had been buried for five years revealed the fate of the entire Northern Territory of the Song Dynasty.
