THE PEONY HEAVENS SUNKEN IN THE LAKE

Lam Xi Hun, the last strategist of a family looted and extinguished by war. With cunning and courage regarded as rebellion, he strives to close the war in Luoyang by resisting the Empress's decree. Yet he is drawn into the political vortex of Wu Zetian's court. Lam Xi Hun does not shun evil, for behind every victory, evil is still required-depending on how it is directed. In the eyes of the people, he is a traitor; in the eyes of the ministers, a threat; but in the eyes of the war's victims, he is the last hope to end the death of their descendants.

Through his friendship with Yang Ju An, a destitute noble poet who records war tragedy in satirical verse, and Cui She Bi, a poetess trapped between love and politics, Xi Hun faces a great dilemma: defend the people or submit to his fate. At its peak, he plants bombs across Luoyang up to the borders, threatening to blow up a nation should the war continue, forcing the enemy to hesitate before sending more lives to die.