
A noisy gang of thieves swarms a locked stronghold, hammering, torching and scheming to break through iron doors and a stone cell that seems impossible to breach. Their leader, a seasoned outlaw named Lin, tries every trick—fire, ladders, even digging—while a stern official, Ling, watches with cold calculation. The frantic clash of tools and smoke sets the stage for a baffling crime that hints at deeper motives beyond simple loot.
Beyond the violent assault, the story widens to a tangled web of merchants, family inheritances and a charismatic fortune‑teller in bustling Guangdong. A prosperous silk shop, a disputed partnership, and a mysterious “nine‑life grievance” draw together shady officials and ambitious relatives, each seeking advantage in the tightly controlled world of the Yongzheng era. Listeners will be drawn into a vivid portrait of early‑18th‑century intrigue, where greed, honor, and superstition collide long before the final resolution is revealed.
Language
zh
Duration
~2 hours (125K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2008-05-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1866–1910
A sharp-eyed late Qing novelist and journalist, he turned the upheavals of his time into vivid fiction. His best-known novels mix social criticism, drama, and a strong sense of a world changing fast.
View all books
by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Jianren Wu

by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick