In the twenty-fifth year of the Kaiyuan era, the Tang dynasty stands at the height of its glory. A dou of rice costs ten coins, nothing is left unattended on the roads, and the 108 wards of Chang'an shine bright as day. That same year, Zhang Jiuling is dismissed as chancellor, Li Linfu takes power, the crown prince dies suddenly, and copper from the imperial treasury quietly slips out of the Left Treasury under cover of night. Eighteen years later, the drums of war will thunder from Yuyang.
Chen Ke, a security officer at the Shaanxi History Museum, is on the night shift, keeping watch over the gilded silver ewer decorated with a dancing horse holding a cup in its mouth. He opens his eyes and finds himself lying in a pile of frozen corpses at a burial ground in Chang'an. He has become a low-ranking constable in Chang'an County, one who has just "drowned."
He cannot save the Tang dynasty. He knows this better than anyone. But before the house comes crashing down, someone has to protect as many people as they can and salvage whatever they can. To save the Tang is not to save the empire of one family, but to preserve the lamplight in ten thousand homes.
I just want to write some good books, real books