The Beast-Taming Prodigy

In the fifteenth year of Daxuan, the nineteen-year-old Emperor Zhu Chengming was poisoned by cinnabar and had little time left. In the court, the Empress Dowager ruled behind the curtain, the National Preceptor held power, the Manchu ministers were arrogant, and the Han ministers were divided. Everyone was waiting for him to die to carve up the final power. However, this young emperor, sentenced to death by the imperial physician, made a shocking deal at his last court session before abdication, using the Imperial Seal as a bargaining chip. With the condition of allowing the Second Prince to succeed the throne, he forcibly extracted three iron laws from the Empress Dowager and the National Preceptor: the Ghost Market shall not be destroyed, the salaries of Han ministers shall not be reduced, and the merit-based promotion system shall not be abolished. The Manchu ministers were furious, and the Han ministers wept. No one knew that these three seemingly compromising terms were cracks Zhu Chengming had chiseled in the high wall of Manchu monopoly on power—seeds buried in the heart of the empire. After retreating to the Western Garden, he quietly awaited death. Meanwhile, the twelve-year-old Second Prince stared at the Imperial Seal, scheming how to take revenge on the National Preceptor, unaware that what he was taking over was a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. This was the last battle of a puppet emperor, laying the final foundation for the Han people.