Shen Yanqing, the Grand Secretary of three reigns, submitted seven memorials requesting the abolition of the imperial estates which were shelved; he threw down his seal in the Golden Throne Hall to resign, and retired to Qingshi Village with his wife Su Wantang to farm. Though he appears to till the pastoral fields, he is actually laying out a chess game, deeply uncovering evidence of the corrupt eunuch Wei's corruption of salt taxes and usurpation of imperial estates. Su Wantang, possessing unique skills, uses a weaving shuttle as a blade; the couple, one strategizing and one martial, confront the corrupt gentry Qian Mancang and the eunuch faction's forces. Several imperial decrees successively rushed to the field ridges, and the emperor repeatedly implored Shen Yanqing to return to the capital. Eventually, the criminal evidence came to light, and the eunuch faction was brought to justice. After the turmoil settled, Shen Yanqing rejected court power and position, returned to the countryside with Su Wantang, guarded a plot of good farmland, and kept tens of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in his heart.