In the winter of the thirtieth year of Yongxing, Emperor Shengyan died, and Crown Prince Ning succeeded to the throne. In the first month of the following year, he changed the era name to Chongde. Now it is the fifth year of Chongde.
Emperor Rui Ning was eccentric and tyrannical. He had restrained himself somewhat when he was the crown prince, but he still formed cliques, pursued personal gain, and committed all sorts of evil deeds.
Because he was well-behaved and filial in front of Emperor Yan when he was still the crown prince, he was greatly favored by Emperor Yan. Even if Emperor Yan occasionally heard rumors of the crown prince's arrogant words and deeds, he would not really believe them. That's why he was able to inherit the throne smoothly.
Now that he has ascended the throne, he acts with increasing recklessness. He entrusts all state affairs to two trusted ministers—Chancellor Liang Shen and Grand Commandant Zhang Chao—while he himself spends his days indulging in debauchery and revelry in the harem. He has increased the severity of punishments, and even takes pleasure in killing people with his favorite concubines on the execution ground. He is fond of extravagance, constantly undertaking large-scale construction projects, and if the national treasury is insufficient, he will increase exorbitant taxes, causing widespread resentment among the people.
Chancellor Liang Shen and Grand Commandant Zhang Chao had a long-standing feud. The Grand Commandant held military power and was adept at flattery and sycophancy. Chancellor Liang Shen, on the other hand, was upright and incorruptible and had repeatedly advised Emperor Rui against his decadent and dissolute behavior. As a result, Emperor Rui gradually grew tired of the Chancellor and instead became particularly close to the Grand Commandant.
Nowadays, Zhang Chao acts arrogantly, accepting bribes on a large scale and selling official positions. He deceives his superiors and subordinates, not only drawing salaries without working, but also repeatedly embezzling disaster relief funds allocated by the imperial court, amassing a huge fortune for himself.
Emperor Yan left behind seven princes, including Emperor Rui, and three princesses. The eldest, Emperor Rui Ning, is 46 years old, and the youngest, the Third Princess, is just 17 years old.
All seven princes had come of age and had been granted fiefdoms and were already stationed there. However, Emperor Rui, fearing that the princes might rebel one day, had three princes killed and one imprisoned on trumped-up charges over the course of five years, with Zhang Chao's instigation. The remaining two princes now lived in constant fear, dreading the day Emperor Rui's blade would be turned against them.
The remaining two princes are the third son of Emperor Yan, Prince Hua, Xuan Yuanlie, and the fifth son, Prince Yu, Xuan Yuanhao. Prince Hua, Lie, was born with a ailment and has always been in poor health, requiring constant medication. According to the imperial physicians, it is already a miracle that he has lived to his current age of over thirty.
Jade King Xuanyuan Hao was twenty-seven years old, in the prime of his life. He was gentle and kind, as warm and refined as jade, hence the title he received was "Jade".
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There is a great river in the southern part of the Central Plains called the Ling River. The Ling River originates from the plateau area in the southwest of the Central Plains. Its main stream flows through hundreds of large prefectures before flowing into the East China Sea in the east. It has as many as a thousand tributaries and is about 20,000 li long.
The middle reaches of the Lingjiang River contain thirty-seven relatively prosperous prefectures, which are the fiefdoms of Yu Wanghao. These are collectively known as the Thirty-Seven Prefectures of Jiangnan, with the largest being Dong Prefecture.
The territory of Dongzhou is vast and rich in resources. The people live a prosperous and peaceful life. Under the rule of the Jade King, everything is in good order. Therefore, Emperor Rui has not yet found any fault with the Jade King so that he can be punished.
Within Suicheng, the largest city in Yanzhou, stands the Jade King's Mansion. The mansion is vast and elegantly constructed, with orderly distribution of artificial hills and stone carvings, and winding bluestone paths leading to secluded groves of vegetation.
In the backyard of the mansion, in a corner surrounded by trees, there is a quiet room. It is already winter, but today is a beautiful day. The warm sunlight shines through the sparse branches and leaves, breaking into dappled patterns that enter the latticed window.
The room was a study, decorated in an elegant and refined style. A row of bookshelves was placed against the wall at the far end, filled with books categorized by subject.
A large desk was placed in front of the bookshelf, with inkstones, pen holders and other items neatly arranged on it.
A sheet of Xuan paper was laid out on the table. A tall man was bending slightly, looking down, and painting on the paper.
The man wore a spotless white brocade robe, half of his hair was tied into a bun with a gold and jade crown, while the other half of his hair cascaded down, softly lying on his back.
He stood by the window, sunlight streaming through and illuminating his face with a soft glow. His long, lowered eyelashes cast a faint shadow on his face in the sunlight.
The man was handsome, with a face like jade, gentle eyebrows and eyes, and soft lips beneath a straight nose.
From a distance, his tall and elegant figure standing in front of the table was like a beautiful painting.
Slender, fair fingers gently held the brush, moving it lightly across the pristine white Xuan paper. Soon, a woman's face appeared on the paper. The woman in the painting wore an intricately styled bun, adorned with a phoenix hairpin, and a large hibiscus flower bloomed on the other side of her hair. Her face was only the size of a palm, with a delicate nose and cherry-like lips. Strangely, however, the area around the woman's eyes was blank.
As the man finished painting, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved his brush to the eyes. He paused for a while, and a drop of ink fell with a "plop" onto the rice paper. The ink spread and stained a small black patch in the blank space of the eyes.
The man was startled and quickly removed the pen and placed it on the pen holder.
He picked up the Xuan paper and saw that the woman in the painting was perfect, but half of the eye area was blank and the other half was covered with ink, so the painting was ruined.
He shook his head and smiled.
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