The thirty-eighth year of the Founding Ancestor of Great Shi:
The First Prince, Prince Xiao, launched a coup, and Chancellor Zhao Youzheng restored order at court. Beyond Jingzhou, the Second Prince, Prince Yong, led the border troops against foreign enemies, while the Third Prince, Prince Huai, commanded the army against the rebels. In the end, Prince Xiao’s treasonous forces were crushed.
The aging Emperor of Great Shi fell gravely ill after the upheaval and died. The throne passed to the crown prince, Zhou Huaiyi, who was only fifteen years old. The following year was renamed the first year of Yuanlai.
Worried about Great Shi’s future, the late emperor left the new ruler a secret edict: when the empire faced a crisis that threatened its survival and the loss of the throne, extraordinary measures could be taken to eliminate every opposing force…
For years, Prince Yong guarded the northern frontier, holding off the Northern Yan for a time and securing a brief peace. At court, with Chancellor Zhao Youzheng and Prince Huai’s support, Great Shi managed to stabilize its rule.
Then, on the night of the winter solstice in the fourth year of Yuanlai, Xiao Quan, Minister of Rites of Great Shi, was assassinated in his own residence. An assassin was captured that night, but months of interrogation yielded nothing. The following year, the spring imperial examinations’ chief examiner became embroiled in a new political crisis. In the second month of the fifth year, the emperor secretly ordered the Inspectorate to send someone to meet with the assassin held by the Court of Judicial Review, hoping to find a way through the deadlock…
