Volume One, Chapter One: The Puppet Emperor—Emperor Xian of Han

In the first year of Xingping, on the thirteenth day of the first month, Chang'an lay under a grim, killing stillness.

A heavy snowfall had fallen the night before, and the branches of the locust trees lining the streets were laden with thick white rime, looking from afar like soldiers wrapped in funeral hemp.

In front of the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, bronze phoenix roof tiles dripped with three-foot icicles. Beneath the eaves, golden bells hung motionless in the biting wind, as though even sound itself had been frozen by the winter.

The fourteen-year-old Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, sat upright upon the gilded imperial throne in the Bright Hall, the twelve strands of white jade beads on his crown utterly still in the morning light.

He lifted his gaze slightly and, through the swaying jade pendants, saw the blinding white glare reflected from the snow outside the hall.

When he had been forced to take the throne at the age of nine by Dong Zhuo, he had been moved with Dong Zhuo to Chang'an.

Four years after ascending the throne, after the turmoil stirred by Dong Zhuo and the havoc in Chang'an wrought by Li Jue and Guo Si, Liu Xie, as a puppet emperor, still carried within him boundless ambition, but reality was merciless. He was a sovereign in name only, with neither power nor troops, dwelling in only a few chambers and attended by a handful of palace eunuchs and young maidservants.

The only blessing was that Fu Shou remained at his side, someone with whom he could exchange the ordinary talk of home and hearth; yet even that could not ease the resentment and unwillingness gnawing at his heart.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious hour has arrived." When the Grand Minister of Ceremonies, Wang Yi, came forward bearing the black-cloth cap, the hem of his dark official robe brushed the crimson carpet with a rustling sound.

The old minister, past fifty, had both hands trembling slightly, whether from cold or fear none could say—at the foremost place below the steps, Li Jue's black iron armor shimmered with a deep blue chill.

As the Minister over the Masses, Zhang Xi, recited in his aged voice, "On this fine and fortunate day, the first investiture begins," Jia Xu, who presided over the rite, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He saw that when the young Son of Heaven received the leather cap that symbolized sovereign authority, the finger on the gilded taotie pattern came to an abrupt stop.

On that pale hand, blue veins surfaced faintly, like a spring stream sleeping beneath the ice.

A soft click sounded.

The ivory comb in the hands of the palace attendant Miao Si suddenly fell to the floor.

This old eunuch, who had served three emperors, discovered in terror that the jade hairpin binding the little emperor's hair had somehow snapped cleanly in two.

At that very moment, a disorderly peal of bells rose suddenly from the bell tower outside the hall:

Dong! Dong-dong! Dong-dong-dong!

Jia Xu whirled around and saw the feathered imperial guards stationed outside the hall hurriedly pressing down the red tassels on their helmets as the wind whipped them up.

Without anyone noticing when, a blaze of fiery clouds had spread across the horizon; crimson radiance surged in like a blood tide, dyeing the entire Weiyang Palace a dusky ochre.

A demonic gust, carrying pellets of snow, burst into the hall. The twenty-four bronze crane lamps were snuffed out at once, and the hanging black draperies rose into the air like giant serpents.

"Protect His Majesty!" Fu Wan's shout was swallowed by the whistling wind.

The crown of the Minister over the Masses, Chunyu Jia, was blown away, and his gray-white hair scattered like coarse thatch.

In the confusion, no one noticed that the young man on the throne suddenly straightened his back, and the dullness in his eyes was replaced by a brilliance sharp as the cold stars.

When Liu Xie came to, he felt a wave of dizziness, as though countless fragments of memory were surging through his mind: he, a shut-in from the twenty-first century, had actually crossed into the body of the last emperor of the late Han? A puppet emperor with no soldiers, no officers, no power, left entirely at the mercy of others?

And in just two years, he was to be escorted to Xu County by the warlord Cao Cao, condemned to endure that thirty-eight-year life as a puppet?

Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the once-daily Sign-In System!

Liu Xie stared intently at the system prompt: once a day... a sign-in system?

Why did this system feel so indecent?

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xie realized that among the women around him now, besides Fu Shou, who had entered the palace half a year ago and had not yet shared his bed, there seemed to be another noble lady who had come in a few days earlier—someone surnamed Dong, perhaps?

So could he sign in twice?

Would his back even hold up?

Liu Xie hesitated, then seemed to remember there were still a few palace maids as well.

...

Daily... day... day... day...

How many days was this supposed to go on?

Ding. An unknown error has occurred in the system. Binding failed. Loading failed...

Ding! The system has reloaded!

Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Great Han National Fortune Revitalization System.

The instant the mechanical voice rang in his mind, Liu Xie felt a stream of scalding heat pass through his spine.

At last, a proper system had arrived!

Instinctively, he clenched the armrest of the throne, the scales on the gilded dragon head biting painfully into his palm.

1. By enacting benevolent policies, promoting the loyal and worthy, and weakening powerful ministers, feudal states, and regional warlords, you may gain national fortune points. These may be spent to summon historical figures from one hundred years from now, up to before the end of the Qing dynasty, or to enhance the host's abilities.

2. By winning the support of the people under your rule, you may gain popular support points. These may be exchanged for grain, seeds, weapons, and other supplies.

3. General information may be obtained through this system.

4. The system will trigger random missions; completing them will yield rich rewards.

5. As this is the first system binding, you have received a beginner's gift pack. Please check it carefully.

After reading the system introduction, Liu Xie's pupils shrank sharply.

And at that moment, the fierce wind suddenly ceased, as abruptly as it had come.

Through the swaying jade pendants, Liu Xie saw Li Jue using the sheath of his blade to part the billowing curtains, the eyes beneath his black iron face armor gleaming with savage light.

Behind this Western Liang brute, Guo Si's fox-fur cloak was covered in snow grains, making him look like a beast bristling with rage.

Jia Xu brushed the snow from his official robe and looked thoughtfully toward the throne— the hem of the young emperor's ceremonial robe was still trembling slightly, but that puppet-like vacancy from before had vanished. In its place was something that reminded him of the bronze sword of the old palace in Luoyang: a sharp, cutting edge.

Seeing Liu Xie standing motionless, Wang Yi held the black-cloth cap in both hands and looked puzzled. "Your Majesty?"

Liu Xie steadied himself, drew a deep breath, and his fingertips trembled faintly.

"Continue."

His voice was low and resolute, utterly unlike before.

When Wang Yi placed the black-cloth cap upon his head, Liu Xie's gaze passed through the swaying jade pendants and fell upon Li Jue, standing at the head of the ministers below the steps.

The man in black armor had narrowed his eyes slightly. He showed not the slightest trace of reverence, and was watching every detail of the ceremony, scrutinizing the expressions of every official in the hall.

"On this fine and fortunate day, the first investiture begins." Zhang Xi's aged voice echoed through the great hall.

Within Liu Xie's heart, there arose an unprecedented clarity. He knew exactly what awaited him after this coronation.

"The second investiture, with the leather cap."

When the palace attendant removed the black-cloth cap and replaced it with the leather cap symbolizing military authority, the gilded cap felt heavy in his hands. Liu Xie traced with his thumb the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper inlaid upon it.

According to ritual, these should have been set with white jade, yet now they had been replaced with cheap fish bone.

He suddenly gave a soft laugh, and the sound startled Lu Kui, the Taipu, nearly causing him to drop the ceremonial vessel in his hands.

This object, meant to signify control over imperial power, had become a token fought over by all sides.

When the king of Qin lost his deer, the whole world hunted it.

And when the Han loses its deer, I, Liu Xie, will turn the tide and restore the Han for another three hundred years!

When the final ceremonial crown was lowered onto his head, Liu Xie heard a crisp crack from his neck.

Four hundred years of Han imperial rule now hung upon this not-yet-grown body.

He should have bowed toward the Ancestral Temple, yet suddenly he turned toward the southeast—toward the burned ruins of the old palace in Luoyang, toward the remains of the Imperial Academy overgrown with wild grass.

"Your Majesty!" Li Jue's armor clattered loudly.

Ignoring him as though he had not heard, Liu Xie bowed deeply to the empty air: Han, I have come.

As he rose, the jade pendants of his coronet swayed violently, revealing the streak of bright red at the corner of his mouth—blood from the tongue he had just bitten through.

"Marquis of Chiyang." The young emperor's voice was very soft, yet it silenced the noisy hall in an instant. "Is my crown heavy?"

The air seemed to freeze. Li Jue's eyes narrowed to thin slits.

Li Jue rose slowly, his black armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "A crown is like the sun and moon. How could it not be heavy?"

His gaze was as sharp as a blade, but Liu Xie seemed not to notice.

Their eyes met, and an invisible contest unfolded amid the music of ritual and ceremony.

Liu Xie knew that from this moment on, he was no longer that puppet emperor at the mercy of others.