The Emperor's Eternal Joy

Prologue

In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness. The Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, was overcome with grief. Longing for his son, he appointed Zhu Biao's son, Zhu Yunwen, as Crown Prince. From then on, Zhu Yunwen was known throughout the Great Ming as the next emperor.

In the sixth month of the first year of Jianwen, the newly enthroned Jianwen Emperor, Zhu Yunwen, discussed plans to reduce the power of the regional princes with his close advisors Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai, and others. The Prince of Yan was too powerful to deal with directly, so they began with the Prince of Zhou, his full brother by the same mother. Of the more than ten princes, all were demoted to commoners except the Prince of Xiang, who burned himself to death.

But how could the Prince of Yan simply sit by and await his fate? In the seventh month, he raised an army and marched south under the banner of "Pacifying the Difficulty." In the sixth month of the fourth year of Jianwen, Yingtian fell, and the Prince of Yan's vast army swept into the imperial city.

Four years later, on a street in the capital of Shuntian, a handsome man in fine robes stood before the imperial palace and slowly removed the bamboo hat from his head. His black hair, bound with a white jade crown, was darker than night and soft as silk. His features were as distinct as if carved from jade. His eyes cast a casual glance, and his faint smile passed like a cloud. In an instant, every word for beauty seemed inadequate when applied to him, even bordering on sacrilege. He put his bamboo hat back on and turned away, leaving as calmly as if everything behind him were merely decoration. His white robes were utterly spotless. Though they were nothing more than ordinary coarse cloth, he wore them with an otherworldly air, as if he were far removed from the mundane world.

The street vendors couldn't help taking a few extra looks, privately wondering which family's young master he was, and why they had never seen him before.

Inside the palace, songs and dances filled the air. Zhu Di, seated in the place of honor, silently watched the man in black kneeling before the throne. After a long while, he waved his hand. The man in black bowed and quietly withdrew...