The impoverished scholar Jia Duanfu accidentally discovered a concubine of the marquis's household in a secret affair and picked up a gold hairpin.
Late at night, the beautiful concubine slipped into his study beneath the moon and offered to trade a secret of her own for his silence.
After that night, the noble principles in Jia Duanfu's heart crumbled.
If integrity couldn't earn him respect, then he would wear the mask of a saint, take hold of other people's secrets, and scheme his way forward, navigating a world of power, desire, and intrigue.
From a down-and-out tutor forced to depend on others, he rose steadily through the ranks until he became a high-ranking provincial official, powerful and influential.
He appeared upright and honorable, while cunning filled his heart.
When everyone who had once looked down on him had become stepping stones on his climb to power, it was clear who had won in the treacherous sea of officialdom.
