The Jiangnan Legal Advisor's Cases

In the mid-Daoguang era, the Jiangnan region's governance was corrupt, with intricate official networks. Local officials acted selfishly, gentry and merchants colluded, grain transport was fraudulent, and the imperial examinations were tainted. Countless wrongful cases were buried in archives, leaving grievances unredressed. Su Yanchen, a commoner advisor, witnessed his family's injustice and his father's wrongful dismissal, leading him to abandon the imperial examinations and dedicate himself to studying the Qing legal code and forensic techniques. He became one of the foremost legal advisors in Jiangnan. Though without official rank or power, he could uncover false cases and discern truths with his keen insight. When the new governor Lu Jingsong arrived, he found a backlog of cases and corrupt officials, so he hired Su Yanchen to handle the province's difficult criminal cases. Thus, a commoner advisor navigated the Jiangnan officialdom, unraveling cases of floating corpses, clan murders, exam fraud, grain transport corruption, salt smuggling, and wealthy family mysteries, all connected to a vast web of corruption involving officials, gentry, grain, transport, and salt. He fought against entrenched official malpractice to bring justice to the people of Jiangnan. — Description from novelcodex.org