In the Imperial Palace in Chang An, panic has set in after a spate of deaths involving the daughters and consorts of the Emperor. They have all been found floating drowned in the various ponds and lakes of the Imperial Gardens and their bodies all bear bruise marks on the back or side of the neck, which are signs of of having been knocked unconscious before they were thrown into the water.

3 of them were favored consorts of the emperor, one of whom is pregnant. The other 5 of them were the emperor's daughters.

The killings stopped after the 8th victim. No one ever found out who did it.