Dayu had been in power for hundreds of years, and maintained the balance of imperial power with the "separation of powers among the three divisions" (the cabinet was in charge, the censor was in charge, and the military department was in charge of the army). However, nowadays, the emperor is sick, the prince is promiscuous, and the kings are ready to take action. The mother of Emperor Jinghe's eighth son, Chu Yan (also known as Mingwei), died young. Because her birthday coincided with the death of the late emperor, she was raised in a Taoist temple outside the palace since she was a child. She was ordered to return to the clan at the age of nineteen. He seemed to be a "marginal prince" with no foundation, but he was involved in the bloody game between the princelings (relatives of the mother's family in power), the three princes (supported by the Military Aircraft Department), and the fifth princes (backed by the Jiangnan nobles). There is a rumor in the capital that "the dark star appears in the purple wall, and the eight dragons seize the blood of the direct descendants to fill the sky." An invisible war is spreading quietly from the inscriptions in the imperial study, the rumors in the teahouse, and the files of the Ministry of Punishment...
