Lubuwei, the celestial horse trader, has won. Appointed minister, he is rich, powerful, and the woman he loves, the little dancer Zhaoji, will soon give him a son! But his taste for power does not simmer, he wants more, and above all he desires to thwart this "legalist" madness that invades minds and oppresses the people under abusive laws. This is why he accepts a strange bet: to impregnate his companion in the bed of the young King Yiren and thus make him the official father of his own unborn child, while planning to later, secretly, exchange the newborn for another baby brought back from a distant land. The plan seems perfect, little Zheng is born at the royal court, the "replacement", Golden Fish, is found. All that remains is to make the exchange...