As the least favored son of the old emperor, Xiao Qi had only three wishes in life.
One: for his mother to be healthy.
Two: to ride into battle and protect the peace of the northern frontier.
Three: to help his elder brother, the crown prince, ascend the throne and safeguard the people of the realm.
At the Hundred Flowers Banquet, the old emperor had a rare fit of benevolence and celebrated his mother's birthday. Xiao Qi seemed to catch a glimpse of his first wish coming true.
The Jing River flooded, leaving the people displaced. To provide disaster relief, Xiao Qi traveled to Jincheng with his elder brother, the crown prince. The treasury was empty, local officials and gentry were in cahoots, grain prices rose by the day, relief funds were embezzled, and the people could barely survive.
What Xiao Qi saw were the ruins and broken walls swept away by the flood. What he heard were crying children and wails everywhere. Corpses littered the roads, people resorted to cannibalism, and refugees rioted.
When he was at a loss for what to do, Xiao Qi once again witnessed his elder brother's wisdom. He was certain that if his brother became emperor one day, he would be a wise ruler who brought prosperity to the people.
But when they returned to the capital, everything was turned upside down.
Xiao Qi didn't want to be emperor. He was ignorant, had no strategies for governing the country, and had learned nothing from the books he read as a child.
He couldn't be emperor.
All he wanted was to ride and shoot, to wield a blade and spear, to become a great general like his grandfather and protect the northern frontier. He wanted to be the sharp sword in his crown prince brother's hand, with the Great Sheng cavalry reaching wherever its point was aimed.
Xiao Qi truly didn't want to be emperor. What was so great about being one? You worked yourself to death every day, had no control over your own life, and had to look at those repulsive old faces while they spouted nonsense with straight faces, forbidding this and rejecting that. I want to have them all beheaded!
This emperor's job is not easy.
Two powerful leads, pseudo-incest
Theme: To devote one's life to the people
