Xia Qing, the emperor's eldest son, was also the greatest disgrace to the royal family. His birth mother was a lowly palace maid whose name was never even recorded. Xia Qing endured hardship from childhood. His father did not regard him as a son, his younger brother did not regard him as an elder brother, and there was nowhere in the vast palace for him to belong. He studied hard for years and endured humiliation for over a decade, waiting only for a gust of wind, one that would carry him soaring out of his misery. At last... the northern wind began to blow.
