In central Beijing’s Qianyu Alley of Chengqing Neighborhood, a widow named Lu Shanrou lived. Having lost two husbands, she carried a reputation as a “husband-killer.” However, her fame for solving cases far outweighed her infamy.

Lu Shanrou was known to crack cases ignored by the authorities—such as identifying the true and false daughters of a noble house or locating the will of a wealthy merchant who passed without time to communicate it. She even solved cases that the government couldn’t handle, such as the murder of a newly appointed official in the Chenghuang Temple and a eunuch’s family massacre.

There were rumors of a romantic connection between the brilliant widow and Wei Cuicheng, a commander of the Jinyiwei. Wei Cuicheng sternly denied it, saying, “That’s absolutely not true!” But secretly, he thought, “It wouldn’t be bad!”