This is the legendary story of Jing Yi's rise from palace maid to empress and her ushering in of the Great Sheng dynasty's golden age. In the early years, she outwitted the women of the imperial harem, reformed the court, and put down rebellions. In the middle years, her reforms were met with natural disasters such as plague and drought, as well as internal and external threats, including incursions by neighboring states and factional strife at court. In the later years, Xiao Jingrui and his son Xiao Chengqian took up the mantle, resolving the crisis with Western Qin, stamping out smuggling, and repelling foreign enemies. Through political reform, cultural exchange, and economic development, they sustained Great Sheng's prosperity, making the golden age Jing Yi began a legend for the ages.
