Snow on the Old Homestead

[Rivals | Fake playboy | Court intrigue | A touch of ensemble cast]

[Sharp-witted, cunning young lady with maxed-out combat skills x outwardly and inwardly very different, unruly heir to the princely house]

Legend has it that the Records of the Eighteen Hells say:

Those who frame and provoke others enter the Tongue-Ripping Hell, where their tongues are hooked and their throats torn.

Those who sow discord between family members are trapped in the Iron Tree Hell, pierced by sharp blades.

Those who embezzle and commit arson fall into the Volcano Hell, where flames consume them.

Those who cut corners and use shoddy materials descend into the Saw Hell, where their bones are shattered and their bodies dismembered.

“If anyone in this world commits the evil deeds recorded in this book, the ghosts of the Eighteen Hells will track them down. No one can survive.”

Wen Zhixu had just completed her studies in Wangchen Valley and returned home when she heard that her senior brother had gone missing. Remembering his words, she took on the task in this time of danger and set out to find him.

Shen Zhaoxing, heir to the Prince of Huai, holds the sinecure of an official in the Yunnan Office for Clean Government, yet spends his days parading around in the guise of a carefree pleasure-seeker.

The court and the public alike say he is lazy by nature, knows nothing of serious affairs, and is not worth worrying about.

Just as Shen Zhaoxing had begun to think his playboy act was flawless, a young woman who showed up uninvited while he was investigating a case easily saw through the façade he had spent years cultivating.

From then on, the two constantly clashed, neither willing to give way.

Meanwhile, during their repeated pursuits of criminals, a merchant's daughter and the adopted son of the Imperial Medical Academy's director became entangled in the affair as well.

The four met through these events, each with their own agenda, and worked together to solve one strange case after another. Along the way, they discovered that an unseen hand was controlling the outcome of cases that seemed entirely unrelated.

Later, at a palace banquet, Wen Zhixu caught sight of her senior brother and tried to approach him to find out what was going on. The next moment, a figure in blue blocked her path.

Shen Zhaoxing smiled without warmth. “Yuanyuan, you’ve clung to me shamelessly for so long. Was it all just to find that man?”

Wen Zhixu’s eyelid twitched. Suddenly, the person she usually found most irritating and frivolous seemed to give off a dangerous, unfamiliar air.

As the cases unfolded, the four began to glimpse secrets involving a Rouran hostage prince and a covert plot in Bang'an.

In the midst of these strange events, the punishments of hell descended upon the mortal world. As their bonds deepened, the four would ultimately unravel the layers of truth hidden within the great game for the realm.

(Blurb screenshotted on 2025.12.05)

Theme: Love knows no bounds and can cross mountains and rivers