The once-prosperous Zhongyong Marquis household was brought to ruin when Duke Wei was accused of colluding with the Northern Liang Prince and plotting treason. A single imperial decree condemned the entire Duke Wei household to execution. Those of us connected to them by marriage or kinship were spared, but stripped of everything and exiled to this godforsaken frontier, where we were sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor. In the end, Xiao Ling (Shen Jinghong) secured the realm with an iron fist, purged its corruption, and forged a new world order.
