The Emperor and His Thief

Blessings from Heaven

In a distant land, there exist two empires: Qin and Zhu. They had been at war with each other. It was foretold that the two could not co-exist. One must disappear for the other to stay but one of the descendants of the first Emperor of Qin decided to change that. He wished for peace so he worked hard at achieving precisely that. Unfortunately, he did not live to see it but the seeds of peace were sown. His son, managed to realize his dream and such, the two Empires became allies.

The peace lasted for hundreds of years. That is, until an incident where the Crown Prince of the Qin empire and his party were assassinated while visiting the Zhu empire. In retaliation, the Emperor of Qin beheaded all the princes and princesses of the Emperor of Zhu. This retaliation was delivered despite the princes and princesses having been sent over for political marriages throughout the year. This, in turn, sparked the flames of war once more; one that raged on until present day.

The lands of the Qin and Zhu Empires were stricken by droughts. For years, they had yet to receive a drop of rain from the heavens. It was said that the droughts had been brought on by the wrath of their ancestors. It was to the point that both Empires had to sign a truce because they couldn’t even feed their armies.

The Empress of Qin, who was currently pregnant, worried for her child. She worried that, because of the droughts, her child wouldn’t be able to get enough nourishment to grow up. Months passed, and during one cold night, the Empress found herself in labour. She was struggling and her condition wasn’t good enough to begin with. She fought for hours until finally the cry of a young child could be heard.

“It’s a boy!” the midwife announced aloud, relief and bliss emanating from her words. The exhaustion from hours of struggle disappeared from the midwife’s face the moment the baby’s cries resounded within the room. She handed the crying baby to the Empress who gently held the boy, her face brimming with pure happiness. Outside, as if answering the boy’s cries, the land which had not seen a drop of rain in years, finally received its blessings in the form of a heavy downpour. “Your Imperial Majesty, it seems the heavens answered this child by blessing us with rains…” the midwife seemed to cry in joy. Now that their droughts had ended, they finally saw the light. Just then, the door opened and a eunuch entered the birthing chambers.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor has arrived!” he announced and after that declaration, a figure dressed in black clothes decorated with golden dragons entered. The Empress just smiled warmly as she saw him.

“Royal Husband… our child… is a child that is blessed by the heavens. His cries summoned the rain and one day…” the Empress didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence as the Emperor interjected.

“One day, this child will succeed Zhen and rule this Empire after Zhen. He will lead this Empire with a resolute and firm decision, for he is the child of heaven. Steward Wong, send out the Royal Edict. From today onward, Qin YiJun, fourth prince of Emperor Qin WuZhen, the prince blessed by the heavens, is the crown prince of the Qin Empire!”