On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi looked at the camera and said:
"Many of you dear viewers may have heard this saying: to breach a fortress, the best way is from within.
"Just as the Najie had hoped, Emperor Jingli's sudden return brought no small impact to the Great Jing court at the time.
"Because even though Emperor Jingwu had been on the throne for two years, there were still those who believed his claim to the throne was illegitimate. Moreover, because Emperor Jingwu strictly investigated corruption, some officials even privately remarked that it was more comfortable and enjoyable to serve as an official under Emperor Jingli than under Emperor Jingwu.
"So, when Emperor Jingli returned to Great Jing, ambitious men began to stir, attempting to overthrow Emperor Jingwu's rule by supporting Emperor Jingli.
"However, the moment Emperor Jingwu saw Emperor Jingli again, that absurd farce of two emperors reigning simultaneously was brought to an end by the decisive Emperor Jingwu.
"At the time, during the morning court, Emperor Jingwu directly summoned Emperor Jingli to appear before him.
"And while the court officials were bewildered by this move, Emperor Jingwu, once Emperor Jingli had arrived, simply drew the sword from an imperial guard, and with one thrust, stabbed Emperor Jingli to death—the act was extremely clean and swift.
"According to the court historians, the entire assembly of civil and military officials was utterly shocked and astounded.
"No one had expected Emperor Jingwu to resolve the crisis of Emperor Jingli so simply and brutally, once and for all."
On the Sky Canopy, the netizens in the live stream were clearly excited about this, and the barrage of comments came in quick succession:
<<Even though I already knew about this, hearing Sanqi tell it again still feels so satisfying!>>
<<As expected of Emperor Jingwu, who bears the title 'Brutal Emperor'—he acts with lightning speed and decisive ruthlessness!>>
<<If you ask me, our Emperor Jingwu was still too kind. A fatuous ruler as heinous as Emperor Jingli should have been sliced into a thousand pieces!>>
<<A thousand cuts wouldn't be enough! How many people did he kill? Thank goodness Emperor Jingwu just offed him and didn't let him continue enjoying a life of luxury, otherwise those he wronged would never rest in peace even in the underworld!>>
<<Emperor Jingwu did an awesome job!! A devoted fangirl wildly cheers for Great Emperor Jingwu!!>>
...
"After stabbing Emperor Jingli to death in one stroke, Emperor Jingwu announced to the court officials that he had just killed a spy sent by the Najie.
"Emperor Jingwu told everyone that he was very familiar with Emperor Jingli—even if he were burned to ashes, he would still recognize his figure. The 'Emperor Jingli' before them was actually a fake arranged by the Najie tribe, so killing him was the only way to vent their hatred. As for the real Emperor Jingli, he had surely died long ago at the hands of the Najie, and his bones were now discarded somewhere unknown.
"I must say, sometimes I feel our Emperor Jingwu has a certain mischievous streak in his words and actions.
"Both Emperor Jingwu and the court officials knew full well that the Emperor Jingli he killed was the real one. But after Emperor Jingwu declared the identity a fraud and debunked it, even those who disagreed couldn't refute him, because Emperor Jingli was already dead and gone, and arguing over authenticity was meaningless.
"As for the Najie, who had wanted to see Great Jing become a laughingstock, they were furious when they learned that Emperor Jingwu had pulled the rug out from under them by killing Emperor Jingli. They felt they had wasted such an important bargaining chip, and had only helped Emperor Jingwu strengthen his control over the court!"
Under the Sky Canopy, in the palace, Yin Rui had long turned livid when he heard that Emperor Jingwu had killed him with a single thrust. So when he caught a glimpse of his consort Liu Jingya's mouth curling up despite her lowered head, he became even more enraged and directly hurled insults at her:
"You venomous woman! What are you smiling at?! Do you think I can't guess? It must have been you who secretly orchestrated everything, causing my son to bear the eternal stigma of patricide!"
In Yin Rui's view, the Emperor Jingwu mentioned on the Sky Canopy must be one of his descendants. He had four sons now, and judging by age, character, and ability, the eldest son, born of Liu Jingya, was the most likely candidate.
Liu Jingya hadn't expected that her momentary, involuntary smile would be caught by Yin Rui. However, faced with Yin Rui's furious outburst, she remained calm.
Noticing that even Emperor Jingming was now looking at her, Liu Jingya put on an innocent expression and said in a confused tone to Yin Rui:
"Your Highness, you must have seen wrong. I was not smiling just now."
"Ha! I saw it clearly, and you still have the nerve to deny it?!" Yin Rui glared at her with hatred, venting all his pent-up anger onto her. "You lowly wench, don't think I don't know—you'd rather become your son's empress dowager than be my empress!"
Hearing this, Liu Jingya's eyes reddened instantly. She hurriedly lowered her head and wiped her eyes with a silk handkerchief, looking deeply aggrieved and miserable.
Empress Xu knew in her heart that Liu Jingya might not be as innocent as she appeared, but she didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Jingya wanting to be empress dowager. If given the choice, she would also prefer to be empress dowager rather than empress.
However, though she understood Liu Jingya, Empress Xu had no intention of intervening in their marital quarrel. After all, even if Liu Jingya and Yin Rui called her mother, she had no real blood relation with them. In this palace, the only person she truly cared about and couldn't let go of was her daughter, Yin Ning.
Empress Xu chose to stay out of it, but Emperor Jingming could no longer tolerate Yin Rui continuing to make a spectacle and disgrace the imperial family. He turned to the chief eunuch, Yuan Li, and said through gritted teeth:
"Go and gag his mouth! I don't want to hear another sound from him!"
Yuan Li knew Emperor Jingming was furious, so he quickly led two minor eunuchs over and stuffed a piece of cloth into Yin Rui's mouth.
Yin Rui, humiliated by such punishment in front of everyone, was naturally even more outraged and mortified.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi now wore a mischievous smile:
"Speaking of which, if Emperor Jingming knew about this in the netherworld, he should really thank our Emperor Jingwu!
"If it weren't for Emperor Jingwu's decisive action in killing Emperor Jingli, who knows how many more jokes Emperor Jingli would have made!
"But then again, I'm really curious—if Emperor Jingming learned in the underworld that the successor he chose turned out to be such a worthless, fatuous ruler, would he be so angry that he slapped himself, thinking he had truly been blind?"
"Alright, that's all for today's live stream, dear viewers! See you next time—don't miss it!"
As Liu Sanqi disappeared from the Sky Canopy, the canopy slowly faded and vanished from sight.
However, in the palace, the atmosphere was rather awkward after Liu Sanqi's remark about Emperor Jingming's lack of discernment. Finally, Emperor Jingming himself broke the silence:
"Choosing such an unfit successor, I am indeed ashamed before our ancestors! Fortunately, heaven has blessed us and sent Lady Liu Sanqi to give us a warning. It shows that our Great Jing dynasty is favored by heaven and destined for prosperity!"
Hearing Emperor Jingming set the tone like this, the ministers naturally offered their congratulations.
But Emperor Jingming was in no mood for flattery, so before long, he dismissed the court officials and sent them home.
Nonetheless, as they left, everyone noticed a detail: although Yin Rui had been ordered to be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, Emperor Jingming kept Yin Rui's four sons in the palace, asking them to stay for a while.
This signal from Emperor Jingming was not hard to interpret. Clearly, he believed that the Emperor Jingwu mentioned on the Sky Canopy was probably one of Yin Rui's four sons. Many shrewd people began to calculate in their minds, considering whether to get in touch with the maternal families of those four imperial grandsons in advance, so as not to miss this rare opportunity to render meritorious service to the future emperor.