After Qi came Tai Kang, Zhong Kang, Xiang, Shao Kang...
Generation after generation of Xia kings carried on the Xia Dynasty.
Some were wise and mighty, some mediocre and incompetent, and some benighted and debauched...
But no matter what, the Xia Dynasty's rule passed from one generation to the next.
During this time, there was the turmoil of "Tai Kang's Loss of the Realm," as well as the glory of "Shao Kang's Restoration."
But overall, under the suppression of the Nine Tripods, the Human Race's Fortune never suffered any major setbacks.
And so, without anyone noticing, the Xia Dynasty founded by Da Yu endured for more than four hundred years.
By then, the throne of the Xia Dynasty had passed to its seventeenth ruler, Xia Jie.
Xia Jie, whose personal name was Lü Gui, was skilled in both letters and arms and strong enough to wrestle a tiger.
Yet Xia Jie was not remembered for his civil or military achievements.
He was remembered for his debauchery and tyranny.
At the beginning of his reign, he still had ambition and hoped to continue the glory of his ancestors.
But as his power grew more secure, his true nature gradually emerged.
He doted on a woman named Mo Xi, obeying her every word and granting her every whim.
To win Mo Xi's favor, Xia Jie embarked on vast construction projects and built an extravagantly luxurious palace called Qing Palace.
The palace was fitted with jeweled chambers and jade terraces, corridors inlaid with ivory, and beds carved from white jade. It was lavish beyond compare, and its construction devoured the people's wealth.
In addition, Xia Jie had a huge wine lake dug inside his palace, large enough for boats to sail across.
He ordered three thousand drinking champions to beat drums along its