Dreams and Shadows of the Liao Dynasty

The Great Liao has enjoyed a century of peace and prosperity, its realm as beautiful as brocade.

In the capital, music and dancing fill the grand mansions behind vermilion gates and towering walls. Along the rivers and waterways, countless ships race north day and night, carrying coal, grain, banknotes, and weapons. In the imperial cuju grounds, two hundred thousand spectators gaze up at the Son of Heaven and celebrate the peace.

But beneath the skin of this golden age, everything has long since rotted away.

Officials keep taking their own lives. Dirty money vanishes overseas. The Western Depot’s hounds kill in the dead of night. Two factions of the Ming Cult secretly struggle for power. The fabulously wealthy merchants of Yingjun use trade and charity as a cover to move the empire’s wealth abroad. Everyone thinks the emperor is obsessed with ingenious devices and indifferent to state affairs, but no one knows he has long been making moves in the shadows. Everyone thinks Chief Councilor Yeli holds the empire in his grasp, but no one knows that a net is quietly tightening around the palace, the secret police, the imperial clan, the border armies, and even the palace selection of consorts.

- Yuwen Xuanxi: A disgraced Western Depot official on the run, ruthless and suspicious, torn between an entanglement of passion and conscience.

- Kaidong: The Great Liao’s only prince, enfeoffed as Prince of Wei. He dreams of reform and gradually learns the art of power.

- Tan Youchang: A low-ranking official from a humble family, sharp-witted and patient. As he struggles to protect his family and survive, he is drawn deeper into political intrigue at every turn.

- Yuxin: The Great Liao emperor. Seemingly carefree, he secretly places eyes and ears everywhere as he vies with powerful ministers for control of the court.

- Chief Councilor Yeli: A towering power at court with a deeply entrenched faction. He controls the empire’s political landscape, yet is also trapped in the struggle for power.

- Liu Yifei: A former courtesan, clever and perceptive, she uses tenderness and cunning to hold on to Prince Wei’s favor.

- Hongjila Liuli: Prince Wei’s principal consort, intelligent and capable. She seeks to make her mark despite the constraints of ritual and custom.

In this golden age, the world is a chessboard, and all living beings are pieces.

But what if the pieces start devouring one another?