身为腐败政权麾下警官的沈炼在执行任务时，意外卷入了一场阴谋。为了证明清白，他试图从北斋那里探寻真相。
In the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Shen Lian (played by Chang Chen)—a Jinyiwei officer from the Northern Internal Security Division—kills his colleague Ling Yunkai (played by Wu Qiang) during a mission to purge seditious elements, doing so to save the painter Bei Zhai (played by Yang Mi). Subsequently, he must fend off the suspicions and investigations of Lu Wenzhao (played by Zhang Yi) and Pei Lun (played by Lei Jiayin), while also being coerced by a mysterious woman into setting fire to the Jinyiwei’s Records Office. Caught in the turmoil of a chaotic era, Shen Lian and Bei Zhai find themselves entangled in a deepening romance. Yet, a massive conspiracy is being orchestrated in the shadows. Amidst this, ordinary lives are trapped like ants in a slaughterhouse, and a battle that touches the forbidden—a clash that could trigger catastrophe—is on the verge of erupting.
