Xu Sinan, a modern archaeology graduate, awakens in the body of a sixteen-year-old fisherman’s daughter in the drought-stricken Jizhou region of the Da Sheng Dynasty. Her family, the second branch of the Xu clan, faces immediate expulsion by the elder branch, led by her greedy uncle and aunt Wu Cuihua, who seek to seize all family property while leaving the second branch with nothing but a broken boat and a dilapidated hut. Rather than succumbing to despair, Xu Sinan asserts control, demanding an equal split of the land and the ancestral house. She outmaneuvers her relatives by leveraging village sentiment and legal precedents, securing ten acres of land and the house while ensuring the elder branch retains the burden of managing the drought-affected fields. The separation is finalized, granting Xu Sinan’s family independence and a strategic advantage for the future.
Following the split, the family moves into their abandoned straw hut, facing severe poverty and the threat of starvation. Xu Sinan, determined to protect her family and achieve wealth, recalls her knowledge of a nearby shipwreck in the Forbidden Sea, an area shunned by locals due to superstition. She convinces her brother, Xu Qianxing, to accompany her to the site. They successfully retrieve gold chains, jade artifacts, and a precious white jade statue of Mazu, the Sea Goddess, from the wreck. Their return is met with hostility from Cui Jinfeng, the village head’s daughter and Xu Sinan’s childhood rival, who accuses them of violating the sacred waters and demands their hands be chopped off as punishment. Xu Sinan counters the accusation by presenting the Mazu statue as divine proof of her mission, turning the villagers’ superstition to her advantage and forcing Cui Jinfeng to kneel in repentance at the temple.
The discovery of the shipwreck leads to a pivotal encounter when Xu Sinan’s father rescues a drowning Siamese man named Dechan. Xu Sinan, utilizing her knowledge of ancient foreign languages, communicates with him and learns that Siam has abundant, inexpensive rice. Recognizing a lucrative opportunity, she seeks out Pei Zheng, a young scholar and merchant from the capital who is also in the county. Pei Zheng is searching for ambergris, a rare medicinal ingredient, to save his ailing grandmother. Xu Sinan facilitates a connection between Pei Zheng and Dechan, securing a partnership. Pei Zheng, impressed by Xu Sinan’s intelligence and navigational knowledge derived from her grandfather’s logs, agrees to take her and her brother to Siam to trade.
As they prepare for the voyage, Xu Sinan provides critical technical advice, recommending the construction of a ship with a pointed hull and watertight bulkheads for safety and efficiency. She also offers a partial navigation chart, earning Pei Zheng’s trust and a financial reward. The partnership is solidified, with Xu Sinan handling crew recruitment and Pei Zheng managing shipbuilding and supplies. Meanwhile, Pei Zheng reveals his dual motivation: to alleviate the regional famine through grain importation and to gain imperial favor for his upcoming examinations. The story concludes with the family poised to embark on a dangerous maritime journey, marking the beginning of Xu Sinan’s rise from a impoverished fisherman’s daughter to a powerful merchant in the Da Sheng Dynasty.
| Date | Group | Release |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c22 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c21 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c20 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c19 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c18 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c17 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c16 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c15 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c14 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c13 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c12 |
| 2026-08-11 | shanghai fantasy | c11 |