Chapter 1: Prologue

Some year, in the early hours of the morning.

Beijing, Bijia Mountain, a mine shaft.

"Old Zhu, sneaking in like this—won't the professor scold us?" A big fat man, backpack on, shone a flashlight back and forth through the pitch-black tunnel.

Zhu Xu's hands never stopped fiddling with his phone, clicking away as he stared at the screen, playing a game with total indifference: "Relax. If we really find Prince Hui's tomb, that old man won't scold us—he might even give us a raise..."

The fat man grunted in acknowledgment, then turned to Zhu Xu and said, "Old Zhu, you really think Prince Hui's tomb is still down here?"

Zhu Xu kept playing as he walked: "Don't worry. I've combed through the Ming History, the unofficial histories, the Twenty-Four Histories, and every chronicle there is. I'm absolutely certain."

The fat man sidled up next to Zhu Xu and chuckled: "Old Zhu, is it because this prince's name is only one character off from yours that you're taking this so seriously?"

"Of course—five hundred years ago, we might even have been one family." Zhu Xu laughed too. As for why he wanted to find this tomb—first, it was the archaeological instinct for the hunt; second, sheer curiosity. That Wanggongchang explosion had long been rumored to be an atom bomb, and to this day no conclusion had been reached.

Suddenly, the fat man sniffed the air all around, nostrils flaring, and said, "Old Zhu, do you smell something?"

Zhu Xu's face changed in an instant. He spun around and ran, shouting, "Fat man, run! It's gunpowder!"

Boom—boom—boom—

Before Zhu Xu could even turn, a wave of searing fire rolled toward them, swallowing both men in an instant.

—

—

The Great Ming, the forty-fourth year of Wanli, the imperial palace.

"How is the young master?" An old eunuch, face full of anxiety, looked at the sickly child on the bed and asked the imperial physician beside him.

The physician was likewise drenched in sweat, trembling so badly he could not speak.

This was the Crown Prince's sixth son. The seventh son had just died in infancy—if this one died too, he would likely be buried alongside him.

"Say something!" The old eunuch grew frantic, his voice cracking like a drake's.

The physician hurriedly rose and stammered to the old eunuch: "The young master was born deficient. He now hangs by a thread. We might try a drastic remedy... to test it!"

The old eunuch was an old hand by the Crown Prince's side. Hearing this, he knit his brows tightly—this was a critical moment for the Crown Prince, and he absolutely could not afford to cause a stir. He paced in place, then gritted his teeth: "I'll take responsibility. Go ahead and try!"

The physician quickly replied, "Yes, Your Excellency."

'That year, Zhu Youxu, sixth son of the Taichang Emperor of the Great Ming, was saved by a drastic remedy. In the second year of Tianqi, he was enfeoffed as Prince Hui.'