Gu Changming, a clerk in the Household Division of Pingyang County, spent 12 years copying the Yellow Registers—memorizing every detail of the household records for all 23,000 county residents. When a fire destroyed the official archives and his master was murdered to silence him, Gu Changming was framed for dereliction of duty. Teaming up with ordinary citizens, he battled deeply entrenched corrupt forces—defending the identities and justice of common people.
