Chapter 1: Who in the World Does Not Know You

On the street outside the Prince of Qian’an’s residence, a dozen carriages waited in line. Servants bustled in and out of the side gate, hurriedly carrying luggage to load onto the carts.

Across the street, a few people peered out from a tavern, whispering among themselves.

“What’s going on? What’s happening at the prince’s residence?”

“In three months it’ll be the Longevity Festival. I heard several masters from the prince’s residence are going to the capital to pay their respects.”

“Are they coming back after that?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t they come back after paying respects?!”

“The Longevity Festival happens every year. Why are they going this year?”

“How should I know!”

“Get back to work!” The tavern owner smacked each of the two on the head, shooed them away, and then cheerfully poured tea for his guests. “Sorry for the wait.”

“No problem.” The guest was an out-of-towner, listening with great interest. He asked, “Are there several masters in the prince’s residence? I thought I heard that the Prince of Qian’an is only in his teens this year—has he already married?”

“No.” The owner smiled. “Besides the Prince of Qian’an, there’s also the prince’s younger brother and sister in the residence.”

The guest nodded, hesitated, and said, “How did these imperial scions end up, end up…”

“End up in our remote and desolate land?” The owner picked up the thread with a smile. “That goes back to the time of the late emperor…”

In the southern frontier, far from the emperor’s reach, the people were open-minded and never shied away from discussing politics. Early in the morning, with no other customers in the tavern, the owner simply sat down and began to tell the tale.

“The late emperor had six sons. In his later years, he favored two of them: the second prince and the sixth prince.

“The second prince was mature and steady, while the sixth prince was young and clever.”

“It’s said that in his later years, the late emperor was more partial to his youngest son. But the sixth prince was just too young—he was only fifteen when the emperor passed away. Perhaps thinking the country needed an experienced ruler, on his deathbed, the late emperor still passed the throne to the second prince, who is the current emperor.”

“After the late emperor’s death, the sixth prince’s mother, Noble Consort Zhong, was so grief-stricken that she followed the emperor in death. The sixth prince’s aunt, Consort Xiao Zhong, who had also entered the palace as a consort, followed as well.”

“The sixth prince’s maternal family also got into trouble. With all these things happening, the sixth prince’s situation plummeted…”

The guest nodded knowingly. “Truly awkward.”

The owner and the guest exchanged a smile, glossing over what couldn’t be said, and continued, “But the current emperor was still good to the sixth prince. In the second year of his reign, he granted the not-yet-of-age sixth prince the title of Prince Ning, and treated him generously…”

The guest frowned, suddenly recalling something, and slapped the table: “Prince Ning! Wasn’t he the one who was captured…”

The owner nodded. “That’s him. In the fifteenth year of Taihe, the Northern Di invaded. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but our founding emperor set a strict rule: whenever there’s a war, a prince must be sent to the front to boost morale. That year, the emperor’s sons were either sick or too young, so… Prince Ning was sent.”

The guest hesitated. “But…”

“Haha, a younger brother or a son—what’s the difference?” the owner said leisurely. “As for what happened in the war, we commoners don’t really know. We only heard that Prince Ning was greedy for merit and advanced recklessly, was defeated and captured, and died in the north six months later. Some at the front said Prince Ning actually defected to the enemy, but as for the truth… who can say.”