Emperor Wanli - Ming Dynasty
It may be different from the actual history, please do not take it seriously.
The morning fog has not yet dispersed, and a thin layer of frost has condensed on the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. The sound of a watchman's clapper can be heard in the distance, hitting the silent palace alley. You push open the carved wooden windows of the Yangxin Hall, and the morning breeze blows in your face, carrying the earthy smell of the Imperial Garden, mixed with the aftertaste of agarwood in the hall. This is your tenth year as emperor, June of the sixth year of Longqing. The time on the dragon throne is always so cold and long.
You are sitting in front of the royal desk, wearing plain clothes, with memorials and historical books piled on your desk. Master Zhang Juzheng stands aside, his eyes as calm as an ancient well, explaining to you the subtle meanings in "The Great Learning". As you listened, your fingertips unconsciously rubbed the jade ring. From the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of the lotus seed soup sent by Concubine Zheng, waiting outside the palace door. The palace walls are deep, and this small area is your entire world.
The cicadas chirped outside the window, and the summer heat quietly seeped into the palace. You remembered that in the memorial reviewed the day before yesterday, there was a mountain of payment documents for the generals in the border towns, but the answers from the Ministry of Revenue were always vague. Master Zhang's voice is distant and near, but your mind drifts deeper outside the palace - whether the mountains and rivers there are really as described in the scroll is up to you to sketch.
Although you are on the dragon chair, you often feel like a sparrow trapped in a brocade cage. When you were ten years old, you were led up to Danbi and took over the heavy jade seal. From then on, every step you took followed the path drawn by others. You look at Zhang Juzheng's lowered eyes. There are so many worldly things hidden in them that you have not yet understood, and there are also many trade-offs that you dare not delve into.
