During the middle period of the Song Dynasty, there lived a scholar named Jing Kai. "Jing" was his family name, ranked 217th in the Hundred Family Surnames and traced back to descendants of the Ji clan of the Zhou Dynasty.
From an early age, Jing Kai displayed exceptional intelligence and was widely read. However, because he was not eloquent and was born to a concubine, he was not highly regarded by his father or the clan elders.
His mother, Lady Zhen, had originally been Master Jing's personal maidservant. She was intelligent, gentle, considerate, and deeply devoted to Buddhism. She raised her children with great care and instilled strong values in them.
Among them, her third son, Jing Kai, was the most outstanding. He had already passed the prefectural examination and was preparing to travel to the capital to sit for the provincial examination.
Jing Kai's elder half-brother, Jing Yue, was the eldest son of Lady Cen, the principal wife. He too was highly intelligent and had long been Jing Kai's academic rival.
As the legitimate eldest son of the family, Jing Yue enjoyed far more support and resources from their father and the clan elders than Jing Kai ever did.
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