The Book and the Sword
Louis Cha
 The Red Flower Society is a secret society that aims to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule in China. The society is led by a total of fifteen leaders with Chen Jialuo as chief. The fourth leader Wen Tailai is ambushed by a group of soldiers and arrested on the Qianlong Emperor's order because he knows a secret about Qianlong's birth and the emperor wants to silence him. The story's development is mostly based on the society's repeated attempts to rescue Wen Tailai. The heroes encounter some Islamic tribesmen, who are pursuing a convoy of hired escorts, who have robbed them of their holy artefact, a Quran. Chen Jialuo aids them in defeating the mercenaries and recovers the holy book. He earns the respect and admiration of Huoqingtong, the daughter of the tribe's leader. Throughout the story, some of the heroes eventually find their rights after braving danger together. The couples Xu Tianhong and Zhou Qi, Yu Yutong and Li Yuanzhi, are married after two lengthy subplots. Chen Jialuo and the heroes follow the trail of the convoy escorting Wen Tailai and arrive in Hangzhou. There, Chen Jialuo coincidentally meets the Qianlong Emperor, who is disguised as a rich man, and they strike up a friendship. However later when they discover each others' true identities, they become wary and suspicious. Qianlong's best warriors are defeated by the society's leaders in a martial arts contest and the emperor feels humiliated. He wants to summon his army to eradicate the society, but refrains from doing so as he is aware of their strong influence and connections in Hangzhou. When Chen Jialuo finally rescues Wen Tailai, he is shocked to learn that the Qianlong Emperor is not a Manchu, but in fact, a Han Chinese. Even more shockingly, Wen reveals that Qianlong is actually Chen's older brother, who was replaced at birth with the Yongzheng Emperor's daughter. Chen Jialuo and the heroes take Qianlong hostage and try to persuade him to acknowledge his ethnicity. They suggest that he use his authority to drive the Manchus out of the Central Plains and assure him that he will still remain as emperor after that. Qianlong reluctantly agrees and takes an oath of alliance with the heroes. At the same time, the Qing army invades northwestern China, where the Islamic tribe lives, and Chen Jialuo travels there to help his friends. He meets Huoqingtong again and her younger sister, Kasili (Princess Fragrance). Chen falls in love with Kasili and finds himself entangled in a love triangle, because Huoqingtong also has romantic feelings for him. The Islamic tribe is eventually annihilated by the Qing army and Kasili is captured and brought back to the capital Beijing. The Qianlong Emperor is attracted to Kasili's beauty and tries to force her to become his concubine but she refuses. Chen Jialuo infiltrates the palace to meet Qianlong and remind him about their pact, whilst affirming that he will persuade Kasili to marry the emperor. Kasili later discovers that Qianlong has broken his promise and is secretly plotting to destroy the Red Flower Society, so she commits suicide to warn Chen. The society's members are angry with the emperor for renouncing his oath and they storm the palace. Qianlong is defeated and forced to come to a truce with the heroes. Chen Jialuo and his friends then return to the western regions after paying respects at Kasili's tomb.