The Fifth Year of Xuanlong.
January.
The days were cold.
Snow began to fall.
Emperor Jie formally ascended the throne. He issued a command to the realm, continuing the policies of the Late Xuanlong Emperor. He would carry on treating the Liang People with kindness, honoring the Three Sects, granting privileges to the Nine Noble Families, and driving five million Zhou People back to Old Zhou.
The realm was at peace.
An era of tranquility.
Tens of millions of Liang People celebrated as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, for a wise ruler had emerged.
However.
In the Land of Cold and Bitterness.
Tens of millions of starving Zhou People, their eyes red with fury, lay dormant like wolves, sharpening their fangs and claws.
Meanwhile, on Imperial City Street, right at the foot of the Emperor's throne, a new medical clinic and apothecary had opened. The proprietor was a young man in a Profound Robe.
He was unremarkable in appearance, but his smile was kind.
'Jie.'
