After the Ganlu Incident, the Tang Empire teetered on the brink of collapse.
Eunuchs held power, regional warlords ruled like kings, and the Niu-Li factional strife raged on. The last glimmers of the empire’s former glory had long since faded.
He was Li Chen, Prince of Guang, whom the world considered foolish. For thirty-six years, he had endured silence, mockery, and disdain.
But who could have guessed that beneath that dull, vacant expression lay eyes that saw through the palace’s nine layers?
One snowy night, the former emperor died suddenly. The eunuch Ma Yuanzhi believed he had everything under control when he placed the “fool” Li Chen on the throne, intending to make him a puppet.
Little did he know that the new emperor’s brush had already filled countless nights by a solitary lamp with deadly schemes for the imperial court.
Thus Li Chen, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the last great ruler of the late Tang, used an iron hand to rein in the eunuchs, suppress factional strife, and recover the Hexi and Huangshui regions, ushering in the “Dazhong Prosperity.”
Yet beneath the flourishing empire, turbulent currents still ran deep.
**“All my life, I’ve been acting in a grand play.”**
**“In the first half, I played the fool. In the second, I played the sage.”**
**“But in the end, the Tang Empire is no play.”**
**A solitary lamp shines on the snow; the snow reflects the land.**
This time, he will make the world see clearly who is truly moving the pieces.
