During the Jiajing period (1522-1566) of the Ming dynasty, the emperor devoted all of his time to practicing Taoism and neglected attending to state affairs, and so for more than 20 years real state power lay in the hands of the prime minister Yan Song (1480-1567).

Yan Song and his son were treacherous officials who curried favor with the emperor because of their ability to write elegant essays. Once having attained positions of power, they persecuted many upright fellow officials and embezzled astonishing quantities of funds and property from the public and the imperial treasury.

Mo Huaigu had a treasured family heirloom, a jade cup called "A Handful of Snow". On behalf of Yan Song's son, Mo's friend Tang Qin tried to extort the jade cup from him. However, when Mo tried to pawn off a counterfeit cup on him, Tang quickly saw through the deception and Mo then fled with the real jade cup. Later, he was arrested and handed over to be executed to the renowned general Qi Jiguang (1528-1587), the garrison commander stationed at the Great Wall.