The Arrow That Struck the Son of Heaven

The Zhou royal house is on the verge of collapse, and the feudal lords are rising up. As his father lies dying, he leaves Ji Tao with one final command: “Hold Zheng first. As long as Zheng stands, the Zhou house still has something it can pass on.” But what awaits Ji Tao is no secure throne, but a dangerous game. He receives his title before his father's spirit tablet. His mother favors her younger son, his maternal relatives reach into the ducal palace, the palace guards refuse to obey their new lord, and the king at Luoyi is left with little more than a precarious claim to legitimacy. From Zheng to Shen Palace, from the countryside to Luoyi, from a handful of salt and a bolt of cloth to a difficult road, Ji Tao gradually comes to understand: what he is fighting for has never been just a seat of power. Along the way, he also meets Deng Man, a woman physician. One saves lives, the other struggles to survive. They come to know and cherish each other, yet chaos and reality keep driving them apart. This is the story of a Spring and Autumn prince who takes charge of Zheng, defends it, and ultimately upholds Zhou through Zheng. Here, Zhou means more than the king in his palace. It means the order of the realm that lets ordinary people carry on with their lives!