Chapter 1: Prelude
Prologue
In the autumn of the third year of Chunjia, a scandal that shocked the imperial court occurred in the Great Qi.
Consort Shen, who was favored by the Emperor above all others in the six palaces, eloped with the Imperial Guard Leader, Bu Yuegui, while the Emperor was on his autumn hunt in Mount Jiezhi.
The two fled nearly a thousand li to the west, attempting to hide in the foreign land of Huihe.
Consort Shen gave birth to the bastard child she had with Bu Yuegui on the road.
They were finally caught by the Feathered Forest Army at the border. The two committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the bastard child also died in the chaos.
Also in the autumn of this year, an evil deed occurred in the Capital City of the Great Qi, Bodu: the Matriarch poisoned her illegitimate son.
Consort Wen, the Matriarch of the second branch of the Ru Yang Bo Mansion, out of jealousy, poisoned and killed the eldest illegitimate son born to her favored concubine, Consort Song.
However, the Ru Yang Bo Mansion kept the matter secret, so few people knew about it.
Dear readers, a new book is here! If you haven’t read my previous book 《Zhe Yue》, you can go and take a look. Highly recommended.
