Back to the Song Dynasty as a Prince: The Supreme Eunuch

Introduction to the Novel The Prince of the Song Dynasty: The Peerless Nine-Thousand-Year-Old

The Jade Emperor Zhang Yongren is mistakenly detained by the underworld, and his soul falls into the mortal realm, where he becomes Zhao Chen, a displaced member of the Great Song imperial clan. Thus begins a legendary trial spanning the Three Realms.

Soon after arriving in the mortal world, he meets a beggar named Xiaoshitou at a ruined temple, who gives him a steamed bun. A jade pendant bearing the imperial clan’s insignia awakens his identity, and he forges a life-and-death bond with Zhan Zhao, the reincarnation of Kui Mulang. From comforting displaced people and clearing the canals to containing an epidemic, he holds fast to the principle of putting the people first, gradually earning Emperor Renzong’s trust and being named the “Nine-Thousand-Year-Old,” with real power in his hands. Along the way, he joins forces with underworld soldiers, including Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Emperor Fengdu, to defeat the Jin’s corrupted spirits and resist the steppe tribes. Together with Bao Zheng, he dispenses justice by day in the mortal world and by night in the underworld, executing corrupt officials and suppressing Japanese pirates. Alongside the Yang family generals, he guards the borders and leads the storm-tossed Great Song toward an age of prosperity.

The story is built around the Three Realms working together: Taibai Jinxing delivers imperial edicts from Heaven, Judge Cui assists with trials in the underworld, and Zhan Zhao protects the emperor in the mortal realm, breaking down the barriers between immortals and humans. At its heart is the belief that the will of the people is the will of Heaven. Zhao Chen transforms from a Jade Emperor who looks down upon the Three Realms into a prince who bends down to listen to the people, finally realizing that “a prosperous age does not depend on miracles, but on the people standing together.”

After the Jade Emperor returns to Heaven, a century passes. Bao Zheng becomes the Tenth King of Hell, ruling the netherworld; Zhan Zhao resumes his post as a guardian star official, protecting the Southern Gate of Heaven; and the Yang family generals become guardian stars of the borderlands, protecting the realm. In this way, they all continue their guardianship by other means. The novel combines the twists and turns of court intrigue with the passion of battlefield clashes and the warmth of bonds between immortals and mortals, painting a sweeping picture of “the Three Realms joining together to protect the everyday life of the human world.”