Feng Zhao is ambushed by treacherous ministers and falls off a cliff, barely clinging to life. She is rescued by Jiang Wuya, an extraordinary county magistrate. Under his governance, the county thrives and its people enjoy a prosperous life. Armed with ingenious strategies for serving the people, Jiang is entrusted by the female emperor with a golden token granting him authority to execute first and report later, as he travels the land conducting inspections. From a poisoning and murder case at the Huainan saltworks, to a black mine in Xishan where countless people are enslaved, and secret dealings with foreign enemies at the Yunzhou frontier, Jiang Wuya infiltrates dangerous places alone and carefully sets traps to expose the treasonous, immensely corrupt prime minister. His actions unleash a storm of bloodshed and turmoil throughout the imperial court, as he single-handedly brings down the deeply entrenched faction of treacherous officials.