Starting Out in Song Times with A Dream of Splendor

This is the story of a good-for-nothing young man from a later era who finds redemption after arriving in a world that resembles the past, a thousand years ago. As a young man, he proudly hears his name announced at the Eastern Flower Gate. As the saying goes: “With spring breeze at his back, his horse’s hooves fly; in one day, he sees every flower in Chang’an.” For the sake of the people, he submits a memorial and is thrown into prison, saying: “A person of noble ideals and benevolence will never seek life at the cost of benevolence, but will give up life to fulfill it.” Sent away to serve as a local official, he governs with integrity, oversees water conservancy, and seeks justice for the people, never wronging ordinary folk. The local people cherish him. He writes books and establishes his teachings, sweeping away the gloom over the literary world. His disciples call him a sage after Confucius and Mencius. Throughout his life, he fulfills all three paths to immortality: great deeds, great virtue, and great words. In this novel, the heroine is three years older than the protagonist. There’s really no need to keep debating their ages.