In addition to following the novel's original plotline, the drama introduces new characters, including Li's brother-in-law Zheng Ping'an, played by comedian Yue Yunpeng, who is tasked with an espionage mission to gather evidence of Lingnan's top official colluding with a powerful figure in the royal court.

Shortly before a preview screening of the drama in Beijing on June 3 in a room stacked with his books to sign for fans, Ma shared with China Daily that he felt as if he were struck with favor by the literary gods, compelled to forgo rest and write the novella in just 11 days.

"I didn't have time to think. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Ideas flooded my mind non-stop. For the first time, my brain worked faster than I could type. For those few days, I was completely immersed, writing from morning till night, skipping meals and sleep. I didn't care about the daily word count limits I had set for myself. I lost track of my son's homework and canceled outside engagements. I was fully devoted to getting the story out," he recalls.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Ma worked at an international enterprise for 10 years after graduating from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Describing himself as "an insignificant figure" back then, Ma says he was a good listener and observer of the conversations and events around him, gradually accumulating inspiration for his novels.

One example — Li sends his dirty suit to the laundry and asks for it to be returned the next day upon his arrival in Lingnan. However, people laugh at him as if he's a fool.

"The inspiration came from my experience during my first trip to Guangzhou. It was the rainy season and I had only brought two sets of clothes, thinking I could wash one and wear the other, then switch once the washed one dried. I didn't realize that was a mindset from living in the north — it didn't work like that down there," Ma explains.