Chapter – 02
After so many years together, Yin Ning had truly come to regard Empress Xu as her mother.
She was also well aware of what was troubling the Empress.
So, seeing her mother crying so sorrowfully, Yin Ning wanted to comfort her, to tell her not to be so frightenedâthat they were far from being at a dead end.
After all, over the years, relying on the Palace Intrigue System that had been bound to her since birth, she had secretly pulled quite a few strings behind the scenes. At critical moments, ensuring their survival wouldn’t be a problem.
However, before Yin Ning could speak, a young eunuch suddenly rushed into the mourning hall from outside, his face full of panic, shouting in terror:
“Y-Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The heavensâthe heavenly signs are abnormal! The heavenly signs are abnormal!”
…
After a flurry of chaos and commotion, when Yin Ning stood outside the mourning hall and gazed at the translucent celestial screen in the sky, even sheâsomeone who had traveled through time from the modern eraâcouldn’t help but feel a surge of astonishment.
She had originally thought that traveling back in time to ancient times and being bound to a Palace Intrigue System was already strange enough, but she never expected a celestial livestream screen to appear as well.
The Jingming Emperor and the others couldn’t understand the content on the celestial screen, but Yin Ning, with her rich modern life experience, recognized at first glance that this was a countdown trailer for an online livestream.
And there was only a little over a minute left before the livestream officially began.
However, unlike Yin Ning, who was a reborn soul, the Jingming Emperor and Empress Xuâtrue ancient peopleâcould not remain calm in the face of this unprecedented miracle of the celestial screen.
The Jingming Emperor’s expression was tense, his eyes fixed intently on the translucent screen.
He had never truly believed in gods, ghosts, or demons, but just moments ago, he had urgently ordered someone to summon the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
When Empress Xu saw the Jingming Emperor’s current expression, and thought of his earlier attitude of brushing aside the Crown Prince’s cause of death, a sudden idea struck her.
So, she cleared her throat and said to the Jingming Emperor with a serious expression:
“Your Majesty, do you think it’s possible that Lin’er truly died with a grievance, and that’s why he manifested today to cry out for justice?”
The Crown Prince’s name was Yin Lin, and “Lin’er” was the childhood nickname the Empress had given him when he was young.
Upon hearing the Empress’s conjecture, the Jingming Emperor immediately furrowed his brows.
If this had been before, he would have certainly scolded the Empress, telling her not to be paranoid and talk nonsense.
But now, with the appearance of the celestial screen, he found himself momentarily at a loss.
Yin Ning knew that the celestial screen was not actually the Crown Prince’s manifestation, but she could also tell that her mother was trying to use the celestial screen as a pretext.
So, furrowing her brows slightly, she said to the Jingming Emperor with a serious expression:
“Father, I believe Mother’s words are not unfounded. Among the common folk, there has always been the saying of the spirit returning on the seventh day. Today happens to be Elder Brother’s seventh-day memorialâperhaps he is right here beside us at this very moment, watching us.”
Just as Yin Ning finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew past. Everyone was so startled that they couldn’t help but shrink their necks, and some even turned pale with fright, their lips beginning to tremble.
Even the Jingming Emperor, who was usually composed and restrained, furrowed his brows tightly, beginning to consider whether he should order a thorough investigation into the truth of the Crown Prince’s death.
However, before the Jingming Emperor could make up his mind, the celestial screen suddenly flickered, and then a figure of a short-haired young woman appeared in the frame.
The woman sat in a black gaming chair, smiling at the camera as she greeted:
“Hey, my darlings, sorry to keep you waiting! I, Liu Sanqi, am back!”
“For this episode, we’re going to introduce the ninth ruler of the Great Jing Dynasty in historyâthe legendary sage monarch, Emperor Jingwu!”
Hearing Liu Sanqi’s words, the Second Prince, Third Prince, and others who had been secretly rejoicing over the Crown Prince’s death were all stunned, their eyes widening in shock.
The ninth ruler? Emperor Jingwu? A legendary sage monarch?
At this moment, the same speculation arose in everyone’s mindsâthat this suddenly appearing celestial screen seemed to be prophesying the future for them?!
Even the Jingming Emperor’s gaze toward Liu Sanqi on the screen instantly turned sharp and scrutinizing.
Because, in order of succession, he was the seventh emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty.
That meant the Emperor Jingwu mentioned on the screen would be the emperor two reigns after him.
Unaware of the tremendous impact her brief words had just dealt to the Jingming Emperor and the others, Liu Sanqi on the celestial screen looked into the camera and said in a relaxed tone:
“Those of you who’ve studied middle school history should know that when Emperor Jingwu took the throne from Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, the Great Jing Dynasty was actually on the verge of collapseâ”
“So, before introducing my idol Emperor Jingwu today, we must first take a look at this Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, and just how ‘brilliant’ he was, to have nearly squandered the empire his father Emperor Jingming had passed down to him in less than seven years of his reign!”
“Tsk tsk, every time I think of Yin Rui’s ‘amazing’ achievement, I truly understand why, whenever history streamers list the greatest prodigal sons in history, our Emperor Jingli, Brother Rui, always makes the list and ranks right at the top!”
Beneath the celestial screen, the Jingming Emperor’s face had turned ashen the moment he heard Liu Sanqi refer to Yin Rui as “Emperor Jingli.”
The posthumous title “Li” was a classic example of a derogatory epithet.
Since ancient times, every ruler who received this posthumous title had been a tyrantâcruel, brutal, and responsible for bringing suffering to the common people.
So, upon hearing Liu Sanqi’s subsequent words, unable to contain the raging fury in his heart, he kicked Yin Rui, who was kneeling before him, so hard that the man was sent tumbling to the ground.
The Jingming Emperor held nothing back with that kick. Yin Rui couldn’t help but let out a miserable cry, blood immediately seeping from the corner of his mouth as if his internal organs had been injured.
Yet, looking at Yin Rui’s pathetic state, the Jingming Emperor felt not a shred of guilt. Instead, his gaze toward Yin Rui instantly turned into an unmistakable, icy murderous intent. Yin Rui inadvertently met the Jingming Emperor’s eyes and was so terrified by the look in them that his face turned deathly pale. His body, which had been trying to get up, went completely limp on the ground.
Yin Ning watched his quivering, cowardly form, her face contorting into an expression of undisguised contempt.
Everyone present appeared to be keeping a low profile, but in truth, they were all secretly observing the situation. Naturally, they all noticed Yin Ning’s disdain for Yin Rui.
But no one found it surprising, because in everyone’s view, Yin Ning had always been this straightforward and uninhibited in character.
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi looked at the camera and continued:
“Generally speaking, even the most incompetent rulers will make a half-hearted attempt to conceal their true nature in the early stages of their reign, only fully revealing their real face after consolidating absolute power later on.”
“But our Emperor Jingli, Brother Ruiâas history’s ultimate prodigal sonâhow could he be compared to ordinary people?”
“So, in the very first month of his ascension, he directly created a scene that shook the entire Great Jing Dynasty: ‘Every gaze held terror, every face in the city was veiled in shame’!”
“Considering this story isn’t mentioned in our history textbooks, Sanqi will briefly talk about what exactly Emperor Jingli did that was so appalling.”
“I’m sure many of you have heard of the saying ‘Four Joys of Life’âthey are: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and success in the imperial examinations.”
“So, in ancient times, after a betrothal, if the groom was still young and planned to take the imperial examinations in the near future, both families would arrange the wedding to take place after the examinations. That way, if the groom succeeded and passed the exams, the wedding would be a double blessingâjoy upon joy.”
“Cheng Ruoxuan and Weng Chengjin were a pair of childhood sweethearts who had exactly such an arrangement. And although Weng Chengjin didn’t place among the top three in the palace examination, he still ranked in the upper echelon of the second tierâa remarkably good result, truly a young prodigy!”
Beneath the celestial screen, in the back courtyard of the Cheng family estate.
Cheng Ruoxuan had originally been in the garden admiring the plum blossoms with her cousins who had come to visit. The sudden appearance of the celestial screen had naturally startled all of them.
But what surprised Cheng Ruoxuan even more was hearing her own name spoken by Liu Sanqi.
If only her name had been mentioned, she might have dismissed it as a coincidence.
But when she heard her fiancĂ© Weng Chengjin’s name as well, she understood that Liu Sanqi on the celestial screen was indeed prophesying her and Weng Chengjin’s future.
Hearing that Weng Chengjin would rank among the upper echelon of the second tier in the palace examination, Cheng Ruoxuan couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy on his behalf.
But the next moment, remembering that Liu Sanqi had just said she would introduce the appalling deeds of Emperor Jingli, a trace of worry crept into Cheng Ruoxuan’s clear eyes.
At this moment, Weng Chengjin, who was studying at Ziyang Academy on the outskirts of the capital, felt just as conflictedâif not even more apprehensive.
A mayfly trying to topple a mighty treeâlaughably overestimating its own strength.
Weng Chengjin knew very well that if the Son of Heaven, Emperor Jingli, truly wanted to do something, ordinary people had no way of resisting him.
Weng Chengjin’s close friend Shao Hangyu was beside him at the moment. Noticing Weng Chengjin’s pale complexion, he patted his shoulder reassuringly, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi continued:
“After Weng Chengjin passed the imperial examinations, he naturally began to prepare for his wedding to his fiancĂ©e Cheng Ruoxuan. After discussion between the two families, who had known each other for many years, they decided to set the wedding date in the deep autumn of October that year. However, in September of that year, Cheng Ruoxuan’s father, Cheng Shan, fell gravely ill after catching a cold, and his condition showed no signs of improvement.”
Hearing the familiar name Cheng Shan, the Jingming Emperor raised an eyebrow.
By now, the high-ranking court officials had all been summoned back by the Jingming Emperor.
He immediately looked toward a thin, stern-faced middle-aged man among the officials and addressed him:
“Imperial Censor Cheng, is your daughter named Cheng Ruoxuan?”
There was only one Imperial Censor at courtâCheng Shan, who held the position of Investigating Censor of the fifth rank junior grade.
Upon hearing the Jingming Emperor address him, Cheng Shan stepped forward from among the officials, bowed, and replied:
“Your Majesty, this humble subject’s only daughter is indeed named Cheng Ruoxuan, and she is betrothed to Weng Chengjin, son of Weng Qi, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy.”
Although the officials had already suspected as much, hearing the confirmation from Cheng Shan himself still caused a stir among them.
Even Yin Ning couldn’t help but cast a scrutinizing glance at Imperial Censor Cheng Shan, whose temples were already touched with frost.
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi continued:
“Cheng Ruoxuan had an exceptionally close relationship with her father, Cheng Shan. Having lost her mother at a young age and with Cheng Shan never remarrying, Cheng Ruoxuan had been raised single-handedly by her father. For this reason, before her marriage, the person she worried about most was her father.”
“Now that her father was gravely ill, she was naturally consumed with anxiety, even intending to discuss postponing the wedding with her fiancĂ©. However, this idea of hers was stopped by Cheng Shan, who believed that the chosen date was the most auspicious wedding day in nearly two years and didn’t want to hinder his daughter’s marriage.”
“But I wonderâcould it be that Cheng Shan refused to delay the wedding because he was afraid he might suddenly pass away soon after?”
“After all, even today, there are still customs in many places that forbid descendants from marrying within a year of an elder’s death. And in Cheng Shan’s era, such rules were even stricter, requiring children to observe three years of mourning before they could marry.”
“Cheng Ruoxuan was nineteen at that time, already considered a late marriage by ancient standards. If she had to wait another three years, she would be twenty-one.”
Beneath the celestial screen, in the Cheng family courtyard.
Cheng Ruoxuan had already suspected that the events Liu Sanqi spoke of on the screen might be four years in the future.
After all, she and Weng Chengjin had become betrothed before the autumn provincial examinations this year. Weng Chengjin had already passed the provincial exams, but since he was still youngâonly fifteen, like herselfâboth families had decided that he would skip next year’s spring metropolitan examinations in the capital and instead devote four more years to intense study, so he could take the exams with greater confidence.
Now that Liu Sanqi had directly mentioned her age, Cheng Ruoxuan was even more certain that her father, Cheng Shan, would fall seriously ill four years from now.
Thinking of how her father would work in his study until very late every night after returning from the government office, Cheng Ruoxuan resolved in her heart to persuade him to change his routineâshe absolutely couldn’t let him continue ruining his health like that.
While Cheng Ruoxuan was worrying about her father’s health, Yin Ning in the imperial palace couldn’t help but glance at the Jingming Emperor’s dignified figure.
Yin Ning had been reborn into this ancient world through fetal transmigration.
Although she sometimes privately complained to Empress Xu that the Jingming Emperor was an old stick-in-the-mud, Yin Ning had to admit that her father the Emperor was truly fond of herâhe had rarely refused her requests.
After so many years together, Yin Ning had come to know her father the Emperor’s character quite well.
So she understood that he was unlikely to relinquish power until his very last moment.
As for Cheng Ruoxuan’s current age, Yin Ning had a rough idea, since Cheng Ruoxuan had once attended a palace banquet with her father.
Yin Ning could still remember that although Cheng Ruoxuan had been young at the time, her delicate features were already exquisitely lovely, with a hint of intelligence in her brows and eyes.
Combining Cheng Ruoxuan’s current age with what Liu Sanqi had said on the celestial screen, Yin Ning’s heart grew heavy.
“Father, you must be sure to rest well from now on and take good care of yourself. Don’t keep treating your body as if it were made of iron!”
As soon as Yin Ning said this, all the princes and officials present turned to look at her with stunned and shocked expressions.
There wasn’t a fool among those standing here.
If Yin Ning could deduce that the Jingming Emperor’s remaining years were few, others could tooâbut no one dared to spell it out the way Yin Ning had.
The Jingming Emperor’s mood was hardly light at this moment eitherâafter all, no one would be happy to suddenly learn they had only a few years left to live.
But seeing the genuine concern for her father in Yin Ning’s clear eyes, he still felt a measure of warmth in his heart.
He gave Yin Ning a slight nod. “Do not worry. My health is fine. I will also have the Imperial Medical Institute present some medicinal prescriptions for recuperation.”
Having witnessed his own father’s mad obsession with alchemy and immortality, the Jingming Emperor had always been wary and averse to medicines, rarely willing to take pills.
But now, after hearing what Liu Sanqi had said on the celestial screen, the Jingming Emperor felt that perhaps he should take proper care of himselfâhe couldn’t afford to avoid treatment out of fear.
Seeing that the Jingming Emperor’s expression had clearly relaxed somewhat because of Yin Ning’s words, many officials once again raised their estimation of the Eighth Princess.
Whether it was Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, or the as-yet-unidentified Emperor Jingwu, everyone present currently had only one emperor: the Jingming Emperor.
So for the officials, understanding the Jingming Emperor’s shifting preferences and aversions was of paramount importance.
However, these were the concerns of those seeking advancement. At this moment, Cheng Shan was more concerned about his daughter Cheng Ruoxuan’s future.
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi looked into the livestream camera and spoke clearly:
“Because of Cheng Shan’s persuasion, Cheng Ruoxuan did not postpone the wedding. But Cheng Shan’s condition still showed no improvement. Having exhausted all medical options, Cheng Ruoxuan turned to burning incense and praying to the Buddha, hoping the gods would bless her father and restore him to health.”
“However, it was precisely on one such trip to the temple to pray that Cheng Ruoxuan accidentally encountered Emperor Jingli, who was traveling incognito.”
“According to historical records, the moment Emperor Jingli laid eyes on Cheng Ruoxuan, he was utterly captivated. Ignoring Cheng Ruoxuan’s protests and those of her servants, he forcibly abducted her and took her into the palace.”
Beneath the celestial screen, Cheng Shan’s hands were clenched into fists, his face livid as he glared at Yin Rui, who had once again kneeled not far before the Jingming Emperor.
In the Cheng family’s back courtyard, Cheng Ruoxuan was also pale with fright, her hands cold and trembling slightly within her sleeves.
Her eldest cousin, seeing how terrified the young girl was, pulled her into an embrace and comforted her softly, saying that these were events that hadn’t happened yetâand could never happen now, because with the celestial screen’s advance warning, the current Emperor would never pass the throne to a worthless, incompetent fool like Yin Rui.
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi’s expression revealed a hint of anger toward Emperor Jingli as she spoke:
“After learning that Cheng Ruoxuan had been taken into the palace, Cheng Shan and her fiancĂ© Weng Chengjin naturally rushed to the palace, hoping to have an audience with Emperor Jingli and beg him to release Cheng Ruoxuan, who was already betrothed.”
“Unfortunately, no matter how many times Cheng Shan and Weng Chengjin kowtowed and begged for an audience outside the palace, Emperor Jingli never appeared. Eventually, he even found their loud cries outside irritating and ordered the guards to drive them away.”
“However, since Cheng Shan and Weng Chengjin had dared to enter the palace under such pressure, they were naturally unwilling to leave easily. So, acting on Emperor Jingli’s orders, the palace guards turned brutal against them.”
“Cheng Shan was already gravely ill, and after being beaten and kicked by those burly guards, he died on the spot, his life ending right there in the palace. As for Weng Chengjinâa scholar with no physical strength to speak ofâhe was beaten half to death and couldn’t even get out of bed for over two months.”
“What made Weng Chengjin even more despairing was that after he recovered, he learned from his parents that Cheng Ruoxuan, who had a fiery and unyielding temperament, had refused to submit to Emperor Jingli’s coercion and had dashed her head against a pillar in the palace on the very day she was taken there, taking her own life.”
When Cheng Shan heard the news of his own death, he had still been able to suppress the raging fury within him.
But when he heard that his daughter Cheng Ruoxuan had been driven to dash her head against a pillar by Yin Rui, he could no longer hold back. He lunged at Yin Rui, punching with all his might, pinning him to the ground and beating him mercilessly.
Although Yin Rui was much younger than the middle-aged Cheng Shan, he had indulged excessively in wine and women in private, leaving his body strong on the outside but weak within.
Coupled with Cheng Shan’s rage-clouded mind and intense emotions, Yin Rui was powerless to fight back and could only cover his head and dodge left and right.
No one present had expected that Cheng Shan would dare to strike Second Prince Yin Rui right in front of the Jingming Emperor.
So for a moment, everyone was stunned into silence.
Seeing Yin Rui bruised and swollen after being beaten by Cheng Shan, Yin Ning exchanged a glance with Empress Xu beside herâboth their eyes shimmering with amusement at the spectacle.
Especially Empress Xu. Ever since the Crown Prince’s sudden death, she had harbored a burning hatred for all the other princes, believing any one of them could be the true murderer.
As for Yin Rui, who had always hopped about like a flea, she had long loathed him to the extreme, finding him utterly repulsive.
So now, watching Yin Rui being beaten like a stray dog, Empress Xu couldn’t help but inwardly cheer Cheng Shan on.
[Quotations: 1. Song Dynasty Wang Zhu’s “Joy”; 2. Tang Dynasty Han Yu’s “In Jest to Zhang Ji”]
