Prologue

The bustling marketplace was a lively scene of diversity; vendors selling fruits, pork, duck, fish, household necessities, small toys, and all sorts of goods, all intermingled in the ever-flowing sea of people. This was a remote small town in the countryside, where the majority of the crowd were local farmers who tilled the fields for a living. They seized the opportunity of market day to buy some necessities and return home.

A young man of polite demeanour stood out from the crowd. He was guiding a boy of delicate features through the bustling market. The man, seemingly in his mid-twenties, had a cultured appearance. He wore a blue suit jacket, paired with a white shirt underneath, and black-framed glasses, emanating an air of a literary scholar.

The young boy, whose features mirrored the man's to a large extent, was about six or seven years old. Clasping his father's hand, his round eyes flickered around with curiosity. "Daddy, where is grandma and grandpa's home? Are we there yet?" the boy asked, his eyes roaming around the marketplace.

"We'll get there soon; their house is just in a village down the town," the man replied. "Haoran, stay here and don't move. Daddy is going to buy some fruits; wait for me to come back."

Spotting a fruit stand nearby, the man patted the boy's head, gave a gentle admonition, and headed toward the fruit vendor. The stand was under a shelter, no more than seven or eight meters away.

The boy watched his father interact with the fruit vendor, his bright eyes wandered curiously around. Seizing the moment when his father was not looking, the boy swiftly disappeared into the crowd.

The mischievous boy gleefully ran around the marketplace, stopping and starting, sometimes peering curiously at the vendors' stalls, and at times darting around the market, filled with joy.

"Hey there, young man, want to buy something?"

A shady-looking street vendor noticed the boy. Seeing his affluent dress and bulging pockets, the vendor quickly called out to him. The boy, intrigued, approached the stall. Displayed on the stall were all sorts of weird and ancient items, most of which looked quite worn. Among them, a black item resembling a ring caught his eye.

Born into a wealthy family, the boy was not short of children's toys. However, he was particularly interested in these unusual trinkets. The ring's surface was slightly concave in the middle, with mysterious symbols etched into it that he couldn't understand, which piqued his interest.

Curiously, the boy couldn't resist picking it up for a closer look. The ring was completely black and dusty, with a cold, metallic feel to the touch. However, upon closer inspection, the boy was a bit disappointed as the ring was not in perfect condition, with a crack at its base.

Seeing the boy put down the black ring and turning to leave, the vendor, who had an ulterior motive, quickly called out to stop the boy:

"Hey, hey... young man, don't go."

"That ring you just held, called the Qianlong Ring, is a treasure passed down from my ancestors. My great-grandfather told me that this ring was once worn by an ancient emperor."

"Worn by an emperor?" The young boy was clearly inexperienced in the world. Hearing those words, his eyes lit up, and he quickly retorted: "Really? Are you willing to sell a family heirloom? Don't think I'm easy to fool just because I'm young."

The merchant observed the young boy uttering his doubts, but also saw his eyes shimmering with desire at the sight of the black ring. A feeling of delight emerged within the merchant as he proceeded to convince the boy:

"Heh... believe it or not, I wouldn't be selling this if I wasn't in urgent need of money for my wife."

"What's a wife?" The young boy asked, perplexed.

"Uh... a wife is... uh...," the merchant felt somewhat awkward by the question and laughed it off, "You'll understand when you're older."

"Do you want it? If so, I'm willing to sell it to you at a loss."

"How much is it?"

"How much do you have?" The merchant asked, unsure of how much money the boy had.

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stack of red banknotes.

Seeing the fresh, crisp, hundred-yuan bills, the merchant's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. His heart started pounding wildly, and he began to breathe a little faster. He estimated the boy had at least two to three thousand yuan - a fortune in these times. He was right to have identified this young boy as a 'ripe target'.

"Five thousand!" the merchant blurted out an exorbitant price without a second thought.

"That expensive?" The boy frowned. Even at his young age, he knew that was a large sum.

"Heh... something once worn by an emperor couldn't possibly be cheap, right?" the merchant replied, appearing utterly convinced of his argument.

Thinking it over, the boy found some reason in the merchant's words. His frown eased as he began to count the money; one, two, three... upon finishing, he counted about 31 bills.

31 bills amounted to only 3100 yuan, a significant shortfall from the 5000-yuan asking price. The boy frowned again.

"But I don't have enough money..." He said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"How much do you have?" the merchant pressed further.

"3100." The boy recounted and confirmed.

"Ah~" The merchant feigned a sigh: "Alright then, let's settle for 3100. I'm in a hurry to get to my wife and need the money. Since you really want it, I'll give you a discount."

Hearing the merchant's words, the boy, who initially didn't have much hope, lit up and quickly agreed: "Okay, okay, I'll take it. Here's the money." After he said that, he handed over the money to the merchant and picked up the black ring. He wanted to put it on his finger, but his age meant the size was not a perfect fit. Instead, he pocketed it and with a face full of joy, he disappeared into the crowd.

After watching the boy wander off, the merchant quickly gathered all his items under a cloth, bundled it up, and hurriedly left the market. Today had been a highly profitable day for him - the broken ring he'd picked up in the mountains had unexpectedly fetched a handsome price!

All hail rich young masters!

...

A so-called "emperor's ring" now belonged to a naive young boy, oblivious of the tempest this artifact would stir in his future life.

Our story begins a decade later!