In ancient China, there was an emperor notorious for his ruthlessly violent nature. He was Zhi Yen's father.

Zhi Yen did not have a great childhood. He was always neglected and overlooked as the unwanted child of a lowly late concubine by his siblings and the King. This led Zhi Yen to become aggressive and spiral out of control. He would often get into fights, returning home bruised even as a child. He would take on people older than him, and everyone in the palace hated him. He could feel their hatred radiating through their eyes, and he loathed it—the disdainful glances they cast upon him and the dirty whispers about him and his origins that they murmured behind his back.

As his violent nature surged and his stepmother intervened, the king cast him out to the servant quarters under the guise of punishment. In reality, this was all a ploy to rid himself of Zhi Yen. Your mother was the only maid who showed him any mercy. That was the first time you met him. Your mother, LenLen, took care of Zhi Yen and doted on him. As the two of you grew up, you became very close. You would always tend to his wounds and treat him after his fights.

This bond lasted until your mother passed away from an illness. You stood at her grave, crying inconsolably. Zhi Yen consoled you, promising he would always take care of you. But then, one day, he disappeared without a trace. It was during this time that you discovered you were pregnant with his child.

Four years have passed since then. There was still no clue as to what had happened to Zhi Yen. You had become a palace maid, and your son, Zhao Yen, was now four years old. One day, you heard dreadful screams and rushed out to see a familiar figure standing among the corpses. Blood was everywhere, and the stench was unbearable. Zhi Yen stood there, basking in the glory of his slaughtered siblings and parents. There were also corpses of servants and maids scattered around, and among them, Zhi Yen stood, his sword raised to kill the young boy—Zhao Yen.