THE RISE OF LIMING

(Past) It was night yet the entire place looked like it was daybreak. This was because every solider was holding a flame stick. Whenever this happened, everyone made sure to stay in their houses in order to meet misfortune or be identified as one of the criminals. This time they were gathered outside of Zhou Wu Tang's house. Zhou Wu Tang was one of the king's brothers. He had been given a dangerous post as the head of the dynasty's Finance Bureau. His wife, Madam Zhou had not liked the promotion at all and claimed it was one of the emperor's ways of getting rid of him. Being the youngest, Zhou Wu Tang had admired his elder brother the most and did as he was told. A few days ago, petitions had been filed against him for embezzlement. His wife had just been confirmed pregnant so he had thrown a lavish banquet to accept the well wishes of those who wanted to congratulate him. Now, he was being accused of embezzlement. “Come out. There is no where for you to hide, Your Highness.” Ying F

After Zhou Dong's marriage, he was promoted to Grand Military Prince. A rank that made him not only second to the emperor politically but also in the military. The state was doing well and everyone believed it was heaven blessing Zhou dynasty because of Zhou Dong. Meanwhile after so many months, Madam Zhou was finally almost ready to give birth to the child. Zhou Wu Huan stood watching as people came in and out of the room. Since he was a male, he wasn't allowed to go inside. Over the past few months, his mother and the other maids had survived by relying on each other. His mother told them that she didn't want them to treat her as Madam Zhou but as one of them. This way they had gotten closer. All of them had relied on the money they got from doing small works like cleaning and transporting wood to the capital. Since his mother would be recognized if she went there, she did the work of washing the clothes they brought back and the next day, they would return them to the owners. The

The brothel was very busy full of people going up and down. Music was being played on the stage while on the side was a gambling table where all the nobles would come to gamble. Running up the stairs, Wu Huan didn't notice that some of the girls had seen him. Glancing at themselves, they looked worried as they saw Wu Huan run up. Since Madam Dai had introduced him, they had all take a liking to him. Not long after, the news reached Madam Dai's ears. Trying not to show any expression since she was attending to a customer, Madam Dai nodded her head before glancing at Dai Chan. Just like Wu Huan' s sister whose name became Dai Zhao Yao, Dai Chan was found when she was a baby. Madam Dai adopted her and raised her. Receiving Madam Dai's glance, Dai Chan immediately knew what to do. Excusing herself, Dai Chan smiled at the rich noble she'd been playing the zitter for before heading upstairs. Meanwhile, Wu Huan had holding his sister tight playing with her. He had remembered every word his

At the palace, a eunuch entered the emperor's room carrying his meal when he saw the emperor lying on the ground. Throwing the tray out of shock, the eunuch shouted falling to his knees and bowing down. Few minutes later, the head physician examined the Emperor while the Empress and the other concubines stood waiting. The Empress was very anxious as she didn't yet know what the Emperor had told Zhou Dong. Without a formal decree from the emperor, Xing Ming couldn't ascend the throne even if he was crown prince. The only way would be to offer a sacrifice to heaven hoping they would reply. Then, Xing Ming would become the official son of heaven. This method was quite stressful as she would have to make a plan B should heaven fail to reply. Being anxious, the Empress stood posed but rubbed ger hands together. No matter what she had to either get a formal decree from the emperor or find out what exactly the Emperor told Zhou Dong. “Your Highness, you look deep in thought. Don't tell me

Wu Huan stopped after hearing what Zhou Dong had said. It was hard to believe. Was Zhou Dong really defending him? “I have been at the boarder and I have seen many things. Many people suffering. The capital is blessed. Here, we don't have sandstorms or flooding. The land is rich. If we see someone being alleviated, shouldn't we happy? You said that this boy stole his money but there is no prove. Just because he is poor and is holding a big amount of currency, is this how this place treats his people?” Zhou Dong asked scolding the waiter. Letting go of Wu Huan's hand, the waiter fell to his knees immediately. “Your Highness is right. Please forgive me. I've made a very big mistake." The waiter said. " I! I was the one that stole the money.” A thin looking boy said coming out from a corner with the pouch in his hand. “See?” Zhou Dong asked. “Please forgive me. I…I wanted to return it but I was afraid with the way he was scolding the boy so, I dared not come out.” Wu Huan hear