Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were best friends, but they parted ways because of their different opinions on Xining Reformation. At that time, Zhao Xu, Emperor of Northern Song Dynasty, was in power. The Northern Song Dynasty tried to appease Liao and Western Xia. The dispute between Reformist Party, leaded by Wang Anshi and Conservative Party, leaded by Sima Guang, increased the political risks and uncertainties of Northern Song Dynasty. At the critical moment, Liao and Western Xia planned a conspiracy to put Northern Song Dynasty in an irreparable situation. The strange case of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang brought them together to investigate the truth. Then, Northern Song Dynasty won the Battle of Xihe. Zhao Xu was so excited that he gave Wang Anshi his jade belt as a reward.

Could Wang Anshi and Sima Guang become best friends again? In the turbulent situation of Northern Song Dynasty, could they put aside their past conflicts and turn danger into safety? Can they fulfill their youthful oath, live and die together, and leave their names in history?

Thousands of years later, all things are gone. Only the fragrance of laurel branch remains, and the river flowing in vain, as the sound of eternal injustice.

This story is completely fictional. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Couverture: The National Palace Museum Collection. Jiang Tingxi, Sweet Osmanthus (detail), during the Qing Dynasty. © 2024 NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM.