The HORRIFYING Life of a Child Emperor in the Forbidden City

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Tonight’s descent into forgotten history takes us behind the vermilion walls of the Forbidden City — where you are not a warlord, not a rebel, not a victim of plague or execution. No, your fate is far more prestigious. And far more suffocating.

You are a child emperor of China.

Crowned before you understand the characters in your own name. Worshipped from a distance. Obeyed by men you’re not allowed to contradict. For the rest of your life, you will live in a palace you cannot leave, enact rituals you cannot question, and smile at portraits that no longer resemble you. You are the Son of Heaven. And yet, slowly, quietly, you will vanish while still breathing.

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