Autumn Trapped in a Deep Courtyard Beneath the Wutong Trees

Wen Shijin grew up with his mother aboard the largest flower boat in Jiangnan, and was known by outsiders as the son of a prostitute.

When he was sixteen, his mother fell ill. To earn money for her treatment, Wen Shijin studied while doing the dirtiest, most exhausting labor.

Then a wealthy merchant who had come to Jiangnan for business paid to solve his predicament and funded his continued studies. In exchange, Wen Shijin became the merchant's page, or, as the world called it, his plaything.

Though the merchant treated him well, Wen Shijin remembered his mother's dying words: he had to escape his lowly status and carve out a future for those who came after him. When their three-month arrangement ended, Wen Shijin left a letter behind and set off for the capital.

Years later, Wen Shijin advanced from the metropolitan examination to the palace examination.

As he entered the Golden Throne Hall he had dreamed of for so long, he never imagined that the merchant he had met in Jiangnan years ago would now be seated high above him.