The Shadow of Zhige

In the fourth year of peace and rejuvenation in the Northern Song Dynasty, Imperial City Secret Service agent Xu Qiushui sneaked into Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom under the alias of businessman Li Qingshu. The superficial task is to draw a city defense map, but in fact, it is secretly tracking down a Liao spy code-named "Ye Xiao". In Youzhou City, he met and got to know Xiao Chenyue, a noblewoman of the Liao Kingdom, and the two secretly fell in love during their trials and dealings. As the investigation deepened, Xu Qiushui discovered that "Night Owl" was actually related to the massacre of the Xu family fifteen years ago. At the same time, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty marched personally, and the army came to the city. In the battle of Gaoliang River, the Song army was defeated miserably. Xiao Chenyue risked her life to save Xu Qiushui in the chaos. On the way to escape, Xu Qiushui learned about the existence of the "Zhi Ge Plan" from the diary left behind by his father - a peace plan promoted by far-sighted people from the Song and Liao Dynasties. His father was silenced precisely because he discovered that the plan was being used by the warring parties on both sides. All the truth is revealed: the Xu family murder case was the victim of a political conspiracy, and "Night Owl" was the betrayer of the plan. Xu Qiushui took Xiao Chenyue to the south of the Yangtze River incognito, and transformed into Qiu Hen, the teahouse owner, just to protect this hard-won peace. Ten years later, an iron plate engraved with Khitan secret text broke the tranquility. All forces took action after hearing the news, and Xu Qiushui realized that the secrets of the year were still sealed. In order to protect his family, he had to regain his old skills and follow the clues to find the legendary "Yuan Ting" secret cave. In the final confrontation, he chose to seal the dossier containing the entire truth forever. From the dark blade of the empire to the tea guest of the Jianghu, Xu Qiushui finally understood that the real way to stop the war is not to change the general trend of the world, but to protect a pure land in troubled times. He put aside the hatred between his family and the country and chose his own path of redemption.