In the thirtieth year of the Jiajing reign, the Daoist Emperor hides away in the Western Garden, refining mercury and concocting elixirs. The Grand Secretary Yan Song racks his brains over a piece of court poetry. In the northwest, Altan Khan repeatedly charges into the Central Plains, while in the southeast, the Japanese pirates are addicted to pillaging. Zhang Juzheng is pulling his hair out over flattery essays, Qi Jiguang is still kneeling on the washboard, and Li Shizhen quietly leaves the Imperial Medical Institute...

The decayed continues to rot, while the new is beginning to sprout.

In Jiangnan, there are graceful dances and melodious songs, the warbling of swallows and orioles. The transmigrator William Turner wears a confident smile and calmly opens a scroll of officialdom...