'Members of the imperial family died in a fire accident', 'Both emperor and empress are dead', ' Who inherits the throne? Princess Alice, or Prince Alan? ' Who started the fire?', ' Is it the end of the empire?'. newspaper articles discussing the incident in the imperial palace that day spread like wildfire, the crown princess went to labour after hearing the news from an express messenger and died during her postnatal period.
'The throne was passed on to me, ' the Prince said, ' I was leading the campaign when I heard about the news. I returned to the palace immediately. ' I listened to every word my uncle said, analysing every word coming out of his mouth, his deadpan face, because I had to pry him to get to know more about what happened. I was satisfied with the few words he gave me because whenever I try to coax him to tell me more, he refuses.