Cold, stern boss top × logic-monster illegitimate son bottom
(Late Ming Dynasty native Jinyiwei, North Office Commandant's Office Hundred-household Officer Zhou Li × modern forensic technician, transmigrated into the body of an impoverished Jinyiwei Banner Officer Shen Yan)
Winter, the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. The snow in the capital lies three feet deep.
The Jinyiwei North Office has just recruited a low-ranking Banner Officer: Shen Yan, the illegitimate son of the Shen family of the Earl of Xuanping's estate. He's timid and frail, owes thirty-seven taels and six mace to a gambling house, and looks unlikely to survive three days.
But his direct superior, Zhou Li, has his eye on him from the very first day. When this man looks at corpses, crime scenes, and people's hearts, his gaze is too accurate and too sharp. He doesn't seem like a useless man anyone can manipulate.
Zhou Li asks, "Which side are you on?"
Shen Yan answers, "I'm on your side, Hundred-household Officer."
Content notes:
1. Four volumes, approximately 600,000 words. Mystery-solving and political intrigue. Consider waiting for a good number of chapters before starting. Please add it to your collection.
2. Slow-burn character growth, no coercion, no contrived drama, and love that develops over time. The couple discuss cases with one hand and romance with the other. They do both, and do them well (not really).
3. A straightforward happy ending: the two get together, with no other interpretation.
4. History isn't changed. The Ming falls as it must, though events along the way differ.
One update a day, aiming for 4,000+ words, usually around 18:00.
If an update is delayed or won't be posted that day, I'll post an announcement.
Theme: I have wrestled with myself for a long time.
