Ember Throne, Primal Origin

In the final years of the Tianqi era of the Great Jing, the court fell into ruin. Great clans held the reins of government, imperial authority was little more than a formality, and scholars from humble families had no hope of ever getting ahead.

Shen Xu was once a prodigy from a humble family, famous throughout the capital. But a top great clan framed him, pinning the grave charge of colluding with the enemy on him. His entire family was exiled, while he was stripped of his scholarly honors, branded, and reduced to the status of a lowly bondservant, enduring humiliation from all sides.

At the very bottom of despair, with no one to save him, he could only endure and lie low, hiding his talents and keeping his head down. The once earnest scholar shed his naive softness and saw through every filthy rule of the court and every tangled interest of the great clans.

After three years in hiding, he returned to the capital. He cast off his youthful scholar's air and came back with a composed, calculating mind. Using his broken body to set an intricate scheme in motion, he seized the chaos of the age to shatter the great clans' century-long monopoly.

With every step calculated and every trap dismantled, he stirred up the treacherous court, checked powerful ministers, overturned old rules, and reshaped the government.

He sought neither hollow fame nor petty gain. He wanted only to carve a path forward for the humble, bring order to a troubled age, and set the court straight. A commoner, he would take control of the Great Jing's vast realm.