The Great Zhou Dynasty, the divine capital of Luojing.
The night was dark, except for a few slight mechanical sounds coming from an abandoned courtyard in the northwest corner of Prince Yong's Mansion. A rockery stone covered with dead vines was quietly removed, revealing a hole that could only allow one person to pass through.
A slightly embarrassed figure came out, first looked around warily, and then quickly patted the dust on the brocade robe. The moonlight was like water, reflecting his young and handsome face. He was the young prince of Prince Yong's Mansion and the emperor's nephew - Chu Yi.
He looked back at the bottomless secret passage, then at the dimly visible market lights beyond the high wall, and let out a long sigh of relief. Those clear eyes with a hint of boyishness were full of yearning for freedom and a trace of unnoticeable anxiety.
"Father, mother, concubine... Yi'er doesn't want to be that caged bird after all." He thought silently in his heart, and flashed in his mind the hypocritical politeness in the court, the emperor's uncle's seemingly caring but actually scrutinizing gaze, and the eyes in the palace that were called protection but actually monitored. His parents died fighting for the country, leaving him alone, enjoying all the glory, but also being restrained. Although this palace is large, to him, it is just a more ornate prison.
He tightened his grip on the long sword wrapped in coarse cloth on his back - it was a relic left by his father, named "Autumn Water". It was said that he had fought with his father on the battlefield and drank countless blood. Now the sword was not unsheathed, leaving only silence. Then he touched the few scattered pieces of silver and a simple map in his arms. This was all his belongings in the world.
