Welcome to Echoes of History, a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by History Hit.
I'm Matt Lewis.
The petals fall gracefully to the ground,
drifting downward like downy feathers dislodged from the nest of newly hatched songbirds.
Then, they're crushed under the stomping feet of the crowd.
The flower festival is a vibrant spectacle.
It dazzles both with the color of tens of thousands of flowers
and with the hundreds of thousands of people who gather in the streets of Chang'an
to watch the parade of blossoms on their way to the Imperial Palace.
There, the displays will be judged at the flower banquet.
Whatever their station in society, anyone may enter the palace complex to admire the bouquets.
The most beautiful specimen will win untold riches.
But you already know who will win.
The same person who has won for years: the emperor's right-hand man, his Prime Minister.
Rumor has it that the Prime Minister spares no amount of money in securing
both the best flowers and the best opinions in his favor.
There are other darker rumors about how he obtains flowers—
rumors that stir anger in your heart because your village knows the rumors are true.
The Prime Minister desires to have not just the best but the most flowers in the parade,
and he doesn't care how he obtains them.