Chapter – 03
Unlike Empress Xu, who was delighted by the commotion, the Jingming Emperor had always valued decorum and naturally could not allow such fighting to continue.
So, with a single heave, two burly imperial guards forcibly pulled the struggling Cheng Shan and Yin Rui apart.
Cheng Shan truly loathed Yin Rui to the core. Even knowing the guards were acting on the Jingming Emperor’s orders, he still tried to throw another fierce punch at Yin Rui, who hastily scrambled behind another guard for protection.
Yin Ning rolled her eyes at Yin Rui’s cowering display, her voice dripping with contempt:
“Too embarrassing to even watchâa complete and utter coward!”
Yin Ning hadn’t lowered her voice, so everyone clearly heard her mockery of Yin Rui.
And her assessment of Yin Rui happened to echo exactly what everyone present was thinking.
Even the Jingming Emperor felt so humiliated at this moment that he wished he could immediately sever all ties with Yin Rui.
He felt that having such a son was a stain on his otherwise illustrious reputation.
However, he didn’t reveal any of these thoughts openly. With a composed expression, he raised his hand and waved, signaling the two guards to pull Cheng Shan and Yin Rui apart to opposite sides.
And in this brief moment of silence, everyone clearly heard Liu Sanqi’s voice from the celestial screen:
“In a single day, his childhood sweetheart and fiancĂŠe and his future father-in-law had both died because of Emperor Jingli. Naturally, Weng Chengjin was consumed with hatred for this lust-blinded tyrant. Although there’s a saying that ‘a scholar may plot rebellion, but ten years won’t see it done,’ fortunately our ancestor Weng Chengjin was no mere scholarâhe was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.”
“So, he made a silent resolution in his heart: he would assassinate Emperor Jingli, using the tyrant’s blood to honor the spirits of Cheng Ruoxuan and Cheng Shan, who had died unjustly!”
As Liu Sanqi spoke these words, her face was filled with admiration for Weng Chengjin. However, her spoilers sent a wave of shock through those beneath the celestial screen.
Cheng Shan, who had been glaring furiously at Yin Rui, looked up at the celestial screen in utter astonishment upon hearing Liu Sanqi’s words.
He had never expected that the gentle-tempered Weng Chengjin would dare to do something as audacious as assassinating the emperor.
Cheng Shan’s heart was suspended in midair, his tension so great that he even forgot to breathe.
“Schemes succeed through secrecy; they fail through leaks.”
On the celestial screen, Liu Sanqi looked into the camera and said:
“Generally speaking, for something as earth-shattering as assassinating the emperor, everyone would keep it tightly under wraps beforehand.”
“But Weng Chengjin knew that his actions would likely implicate his parents and the other branches of the Cheng family. So he chose an opportune moment to gather all the families together and told everyone of his plan.”
“This idea of Weng Chengjin’s naturally terrified everyone, but facing their shocked expressions, he told them that if anyone wanted to report him to Emperor Jingli, they could do so immediatelyâhe wouldn’t mind, as it would be a perfectly reasonable choice. But if no one wanted to expose him, then everyone would have to consider leaving the capital in secret as quickly as possible, to avoid being implicated and punished after the deed was done.”
“Remarkably, not a single person who learned of Weng Chengjin’s plan wanted to expose or stop him. They were all equally grief-stricken and outraged by the deaths of Cheng Ruoxuan and Cheng Shan. However, they also didn’t intend to follow Weng Chengjin’s advice to leave the capitalâthey wanted to stand with him, through life and death, sharing his fate.”
“And so, on one ordinary morning court session, as the eunuch announced the end of court, Weng Chengjinâstanding in the ranks of officialsâseized the opportunity and charged at Emperor Jingli. His dagger even slashed through the dragon robe on Emperor Jingli’s body. However, because the guards came to the rescue in time, Weng Chengjin’s assassination ultimately failed.”
“In the face of an assassination attempt by such a minor official, Emperor Jingli was, of course, enraged beyond measure and immediately ordered that Weng Chengjin be cut into a thousand pieces.”
Beneath the celestial screen, in the Cheng family courtyard.
Cheng Ruoxuan’s eyes had already reddened when she heard Liu Sanqi say that Weng Chengjin planned to assassinate Emperor Jingli.
Earlier, when she learned that her father Cheng Shan had been beaten to death by Emperor Jingli’s guards while trying to save her, she had been consumed with grief and fury, wishing she could tear Emperor Jingli apart with her bare hands.
But she didn’t want Weng Chengjin to get entangled in her affairs any further.
She understood that for Weng Chengjin to oppose Emperor Jingli alone would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariotâsuicide.
So upon hearing of Weng Chengjin’s plan to assassinate the emperor, she already knew his fate.
After all, Liu Sanqi had mentioned at the very beginning that Emperor Jingli’s reign had lasted nearly seven years.
And the events Liu Sanqi was revealing on the screen all took place in the first year of Emperor Jingli’s reign.
Nevertheless, even though she had foreseen the outcome of Weng Chengjin’s failed assassination, when she heard that Emperor Jingli had ordered him to be cut into a thousand pieces, Cheng Ruoxuan felt as if an iron vice had suddenly clamped down on her heartâthe pain so intense she could barely breathe.
“However, Emperor Jingli’s intention to have Weng Chengjin dismembered was destined to fail. Because Weng Chengjin had never expected to return alive from the palaceâhe had taken poison beforehand.”
“Unable to torment Weng Chengjin, Emperor Jingli was, of course, even more enraged. He wanted to vent his fury on Weng Chengjin’s parents and the other branches of the Cheng family.”
“But when the palace guards made a grand show of going to arrest them, they found nothingâthey had come up empty again.”
“It turned out that Emperor Jingwu had anticipated Weng Chengjin’s plan to assassinate Emperor Jingli. After Weng Chengjin entered the palace, he had someone knock out Weng Chengjin’s parents and those members of the Cheng family who were willing to die alongside Weng Chengjin, then bundle them up and smuggle them out of the capital.”
“So even though Emperor Jingli turned the entire capital upside down at the time, he found nothingâleft to rage impotently in the palace, hopping mad with fury.”
Because Liu Sanqi was broadcasting in a livestream format, those beneath the celestial screen had only been able to hear her voice up until now.
However, the barrage of comments that occasionally flashed across the livestream screen were visible to everyone, and they all seemed to understand them instinctively.
Before Emperor Jingwu had appeared, the comment barrage had been somewhat sparse, but as soon as Liu Sanqi mentioned him, the number of comments on the celestial screen instantly surged:
[“Hahahaha, At critical moments, you can always count on our charming and amazing ancestor Emperor Jingwu!]
[Exactly! Whenever I watch historical dramas about the Great Jing Dynasty, no matter how difficult the situation, the moment my great Emperor Jingwu appears, my wildly thumping little heart immediately calms down.]
[Although I hadn’t heard of this event before, this is definitely something Emperor Jingwu would do.]
[Tsk, how can the gap between people be so vast? I feel like the gap between Emperor Jingwu and Emperor Jingli is even bigger than the gap between humans and pigs!]
…
Beneath the celestial screen, reading the descendants’ praises of Emperor Jingwu, although Cheng Ruoxuan and Weng Chengjin were not in the same place, they both let out a huge sigh of relief at the same time.
Cheng Ruoxuan’s eldest cousin, seeing that her younger cousin’s tense little face had finally relaxed a bit, gently tapped the tip of her nose and teased her to cheer her up:
“What’s this? You’re not happy that we wanted to go to the grave with you?”
Cheng Ruoxuan looked at her cousin, who still had the heart to joke about such a thing, pouted, and protested:
“Happy? What’s there to be happy about? All of you living wellâthat’s what would make me happiest!”
Meanwhile, at the academy, Weng Chengjin was also sharing his thoughts with his close friend Shao Hangyu:
“It’s truly fortunate that Emperor Jingwu stepped in to help. No wonder Miss Liu Sanqi and those later generations hold such deep admiration for him!”
From the information revealed on the celestial screen just now, Weng Chengjin had already gathered that Liu Sanqi and those posting comments lived in an era far, far into the future, long after their own dynasty.
With only Shao Hangyuâa friend he had known since childhoodâby his side at the moment, Weng Chengjin was surprised to hear his friend sigh in response:
“Brother Weng, how can you still be thinking about that? Now that Miss Liu Sanqi has revealed your assassination plan against Emperor Jingli on the celestial screen, how can you ever pursue an official career in the future? Which examiner would dare to employ a scholar as ‘lawless’ as you?”
Hearing his friend’s words, Weng Chengjin was momentarily stunned. Then, a smile of acceptance spread across his face:
“If the path to officialdom is closed to me, I can always open a private school in some remote mountain village.”
Weng Chengjin knew Cheng Ruoxuan’s character well and believed she would be willing to live that kind of life with himâretreating into the mountains, enduring simple meals and a quiet, uneventful existence.
Seeing that Weng Chengjin, having worked so hard to pass the provincial examinations and being only one step away from success, could still be so open-minded, Shao Hangyu found himself admiring his friend’s true character even more.
Then a sudden thought struck him, making his eyes light up.
After cautiously glancing around to confirm they were alone, Shao Hangyu suppressed his excitement and said to Weng Chengjin:
“I suspect things might not be so dire! Think about itâEmperor Jingwu could have stood by and not gotten involved in your affairs, but he chose to help instead. This shows he’s truly different from ordinary emperors!”
Seeing the contemplative expression on Weng Chengjin’s face, Shao Hangyu continued:
“Moreover, do you remember? Miss Liu Sanqi called Emperor Jingwu a ‘legendary sage monarch’ right at the start. For such an exalted title to still be recognized by later generations after the longć˛ćˇ of history shows just how extraordinary he truly is! So if Emperor Jingwu ever does ascend the throne in the future, Brother Weng, you might very well be able to make a comeback!”
After listening to Shao Hangyu’s analysis, Weng Chengjin also felt that his friend’s reasoning was quite sound.
And if he had a choice, he would actually prefer to serve under Emperor Jingwu’s reign.
