The Great Qin Empire has fallen, and its territory has been carved up among five states. In the grand halls of Qi, sleeves conceal sharp intentions, while military tallies have long gathered dust.
Xiao Yan bears the bloodstains of two lineages: he is both a royal descendant of Qi, though not of its ruling surname, and a surviving scion of the old Great Qin dynasty. His father died in battle, and his mother passed away in lonely seclusion. A single imperial marriage decree suddenly elevates this dissolute young noble to the status of a royal son-in-law.
The king grants him jewels and honors, yet a blade of frost lies deep in his eyes. A brother’s son, an heir of the former dynasty: either identity spells hidden danger.
The princess lowers her eyes, silently sizing him up beneath her luminous gaze. The ministers nod, smiles concealing hints of steel. Envoys from the other states move through the halls, their probing eyes seeking to pierce the old realm sleeping in his blood.
Between the bloodstained seams of his father’s armor lies a secret trace pointing toward the depths of the palace. In his mother’s yellowed pages of poetry, the dying embers of the empire’s past remain sealed away.
Will he become a cup of wine growing cold at a magnificent banquet, or take up his unfinished brush and write a new line amid the ashes of history?
The board awaits. The first move is silent.
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