In the nineteenth year of the Tiande era of the Great Liang, fifteen-year-old Qi Zheng is sold into a merchant's household in Suzhou as a young page.
The Prince of Wei, ordered to tour Jiangnan as its governor, arrives quietly in Suzhou under an assumed identity.
Faced with a dilemma, he follows his mother's instructions and visits three great scholars in turn.
All he gets is three promising young men recommended by those scholars.
Three days later, outside the mansion where the Prince of Wei is staying, the prince and his companions wait eagerly.
But the only person who arrives is Qi Zheng.
As shouts of reprimand suddenly ring out around him, Qi Zheng slowly takes three invitations from his robe, each delivered to him through a different channel.
From that moment on, fate brings them together, turning the world upside down. A golden-scaled carp becomes a dragon and soars to the heavens.
Many years later, having risen from a poor family's page to become a powerful chancellor and personally helped two wise emperors ascend the throne, Chancellor Qi begins writing the memoir later generations will revere as scripture:
"At first, my dream was simple: ride the finest horse, sleep with the fairest beauty, drink the strongest liquor, and see the grandest sights. Hey! I never thought I'd actually get it all..."
