A high-ranked Manchu family, related to the Emperor himself. The oldest son was blinded by a stone in a strange accident ten years earlier, so that the family's traditional military post went to his younger brother instead. But their mother has suspicions about what happened. Meanwhile Josei has returned to Beijing for his father-in-law's birthday and to see his family again. (His wife complains about how cramped the bed is when he's at home.) Among the guests in his father-in-law's household is Reishuu, a distant relative, who has been sent away by her husband's family for suspected infidelity. But the husband still loves her and seeks her out in secret. The divorce was ordered by his parents and he didn't have the courage to resist.

Reishuu protests her innocence to Josei's wife, who asks her husband to clear Reishuu's name. Untangling the trail of rumour and slander leads Josei to the Manchu family where he learns of the odd undercurrents there. As Eika tells him, the older brother is adopted and the younger his parents' natural child, but it was the younger boy who was sent to fosterage when the family fell on hard times. Now the younger son is actively courting the divorcee, but the older one comes to fall in love with her and she with him. Then an unexpected murder happens. Josei solves the case with his brilliant detective's skills.

The government exams for positions in China's great bureaucracy. Held every three years, these are the only door to power and position for the people, but anybody can advance in the world if he does well. Josei and his superior Shukujin are appointed the examiners for this set of examinations. (Which involves being kidnapped, basically. You're told to go see your superior about something- he says You're an examiner- and off you go, with no chance to go home and change clothes even. It's supposed to ensure impartiality.) For three days examiners and candidates are secluded inside the examination building, the candidates in individual tiny rooms. They can bring no valuable possessions or anything that bears writing. On the second day they're given their examination forms and have 24 hours to answer the questions. It's not unusual for men who have spent years in study for this day to kill themselves when they see how hard the examination is, and the building is said to be haunted by the ghosts of students who have hanged themselves in despair. This year is no different. A student sees a ghost at night- the ghost of a woman- and next day a candidate is found hanging in his room. But all is not as it seems. A story of obsession and revenge.

At these examinations as well are two aged candidates, cousins, who have spent fifty years trying to pass. Now one has succeeded but the other has failed, and in an excess of disappointment this man suffers a heart attack and dies. But again all is not as it seems. A study in the damage that the obsession with worldly advancement can cause. In this case it's the old man who has the last word. "You don't know how it is," he tells Josei. "You passed the examinations at fifteen and married a famous beauty. You've always walked in the sunlight. What can you understand?