Qi Country.
In the eighth month of the fifth year of Jianhe, the Qi Emperor Xiao Jue issued an edict of abdication, relinquishing his imperial title.
Prince of Jingling, Xiao Cheng, ascended the throne, renaming the era Zhengchu.
All throughout Qi Country, people celebrated the accession of the new Emperor.
Within the great prison of Tai City, the burning torches illuminated a chorus of sobs.
With a new Emperor came new courtiers, and many nobles and men of merit instantly became prisoners at the foot of the throne. The deposed Emperor, now secluded in Changding Palace, was as if living in the most honorable of cages.
In Chongming Hall, where the blood-stained azure stone tiles had been cleaned, the air was now tinged with a refreshing, light fragrance, as if the deadly battle had never occurred.
Autumn had arrived, and the wind howled at night, wailing under the eaves of the palace.
