Purple Star Imprisons the Dragon: The Young Emperor Breaks the Formation

In the winter of the seventeenth year of the Yuanqi era of the Dayin Dynasty, twelve-year-old seventh prince Zhao Chen is proclaimed emperor by Wang Cheng'en, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, following the late emperor's death in Zichen Hall. He faces a power struggle and challenges to his legitimacy from Prince Yan Zhao Jin, Prince Ning Zhao Yu, Chancellor Liu Chengfeng, and other powerful members of the imperial clan. He even survives an attempt by Empress Dowager Liu to poison his tea, thanks to the protection of his shadow guard, Mo Ying. After ascending the throne, he swiftly responds to an invasion by a hundred thousand northern tribesmen. He forces Liu Chengfeng to donate his family fortune to fund the army, then engages in a deadly struggle with Liu and his faction through a series of plots involving a fire at the imperial estate, a nighttime raid on the chancellor's residence, and a coup at Fengyi Palace. In the end, he kills Liu Chengfeng at Qingya Valley in the southwest, but the lingering poison of Heart-Eater Powder leaves him physically weakened. He must still face the threat of the northern tribes' new ruler, Aguda, and conspiracies from the Western Regions as he holds fast to the vast realm.