The Guangdong Customs Warehouse

When Kangxi opened the seas to trade, the Guangdong Maritime Customs was established to collect duties.

Shen, a low-ranking clerk in the treasury, handles tax silver, goods, and a pile of old accounts no one wants to look at too closely.

His superiors want him to balance the books, the merchants want him to bend the rules, and whenever foreign ships dock, everyone wants a cut from the warehouse.

Others rely on connections. He relies on the numbers.

With a ledger and a pen, he will rise from a scapegoat set up to take the blame to someone no one in this customs house can afford to ignore.