Whether it was poisoning the Crown Prince or raising an army to rebel, every incident Liu Sanqi mentioned left the crowd beneath the Sky Canopy stunned. Nobody had imagined that the usually gentle and refined Third Prince, Yin Wen, could commit such shocking deeds.
In the palace, outside the Golden Throne Hall, the scene was so silent that only the sound of Yin Wen kowtowing and begging for forgiveness could be heard. Emperor Jingming looked at Yin Wen, tears streaming down his face as if he deeply regretted his actions. He laughed in anger and gritted his teeth:
"Fine, I've raised two fine sons! Both of you have made me proud!"
Hearing Emperor Jingming's icy voice, which was clearly at its peak of fury, Yin Wen felt even more anxious and panicked, like an ant on a hot pan, but he had no idea how to respond.
During Liu Sanqi's last broadcast, Yin Wen had secretly gloated over Yin Rui's misfortune, even wishing Liu Sanqi would reveal more scandals about Yin Rui. But now the tables had turned. As Liu Sanqi began to mention him, Yin Wen wished the Sky Canopy had never existed at all.
In the rear palace, Yin Ning was sitting on a couch by the window in Kunning Palace, together with Empress Xu and her teacher Shi Qingyuan. Yin Ning and Shi Qingyuan had long suspected that the Third Prince was the mastermind behind the Crown Prince's murder, but Empress Xu had no idea until now.
Yin Ning hadn't told her because she lacked solid evidence and didn't want to add to Empress Xu's worries. Besides, anger harms the body. Empress Xu's mood had recently calmed down, and Yin Ning planned to inform her once she had conclusive results.
But fate had other plans. Liu Sanqi's broadcast not only saved Yin Ning the trouble of further investigation but also revealed the killer's identity to Empress Xu. Although the Crown Prince hadn't been close to Empress Xu, he was still the child she had carried for ten months. How could she not have feelings for him?
Upon learning that Yin Wen was the culprit, Empress Xu felt both rage and hatred, wishing she could flay him alive. When she heard that Yin Wen would later rebel, she clapped her hands in delight, declaring that heaven had eyes and justice was served.
Empress Xu rarely dealt with court matters, but she knew Emperor Jingming well. She didn't think he would spare Yin Wen after learning of his future rebellion. Like Yin Rui, Yin Wen was now as good as dead.
Thinking that Yin Wen would soon walk the path to the underworld, Empress Xu felt somewhat relieved.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi looked relaxed as she spoke to the camera:
"I'm sure many of you know that being the Crown Prince in ancient times was no easy job! It was one of the highest-risk positions, sometimes even more dangerous than being the emperor!"
"Today, let's first talk about how the Third Prince, Yin Wen, killed his elder brother, the Crown Prince Yin Lin."
"To be honest, it all started because Yin Lin couldn't control his lower half, which gave Yin Wen an opportunity."
"Yin Wen's scheme wasn't that complicated—it was just a honey trap!"
"The concubine Shu Xianwei, whom Yin Lin favored the most, was actually a spy secretly planted by Yin Wen in the Crown Prince's mansion."
Down at the Crown Prince's mansion, upon hearing Shu Xianwei's name, the Crown Princess Jiang Xinyue was momentarily stunned, then let out a cold laugh.
She had found it suspicious when Shu Xianwei suddenly drowned two nights ago. But she never imagined that Shu Xianwei was a spy sent by Yin Wen. Thinking about how Yin Lin had doted on Shu Xianwei among all his concubines, even having her serve his medicine before his death, Jiang Xinyue found it bitterly ironic. She almost felt Yin Lin deserved his fate.
Jiang Xinyue's relationship with the Crown Prince had always been cold. She had only given birth to a daughter, and compared to the younger, more beautiful concubines, she had little appeal. The one who had won Yin Lin's favor in recent years, Shu Xianwei, was only nineteen, half Jiang Xinyue's age.
Jiang Xinyue knew she couldn't compete with those young concubines, so she focused on raising her daughter. Yin Lin's death had complicated her daughter's marriage prospects. At thirteen, her daughter was just reaching the age for betrothal negotiations. With Yin Lin as Crown Prince, her daughter could choose from any family. Now, everything had changed.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi was detailing the inside story of the Crown Prince's death:
"In Yin Lin's eyes, Shu Xianwei was a beautiful orphan girl presented by his subordinates to please him. In reality, she wasn't an orphan at all; she had elderly parents. Yin Wen threatened to kill her parents unless she became his spy and insinuated herself into Yin Lin's life."
"Historical records only mention that Yin Wen had Shu Xianwei administer poison, but they don't specify how she did it."
"In preparing for this broadcast, I looked up some materials. According to an unofficial history, Yin Wen had a very insidious poison recipe that causes rapid organ failure, making it look like a natural death."
"I'm not sure if that's accurate, but historically, Yin Lin's cause of death was recorded as a sudden illness."
"For a secret as deadly as poisoning the Crown Prince, someone as ruthless as Yin Wen wouldn't trust Shu Xianwei completely. So he threatened Shu Xianwei's parents again, hoping she would take her own life."
"Shu Xianwei had never had a choice in her life. Once more, she had no choice. She walked alone into the cold, deep lake on a dark night and ended her young life."
Under the Sky Canopy, Empress Xu had initially hated Shu Xianwei for killing her son. But after hearing Liu Sanqi's account, she pursed her lips. Shu Xianwei was merely a pawn in Yin Wen's hands, with no control over her own fate.
"Mother, Shu Xianwei drowned two nights ago," Yin Ning said.
Empress Xu stared at Yin Ning in shock. She had been agonizing over how to deal with Shu Xianwei, but now the problem was solved—Yin Wen had silenced her forever.
Many palace maids and eunuchs in the rear palace were watching the broadcast on the Sky Canopy. They couldn't help but sigh over Shu Xianwei's life, feeling a sense of shared sorrow.
On the broadcast, a contemptuous smile curled at the corner of Liu Sanqi's mouth:
"There's a popular saying online that fits Yin Wen perfectly: 'Better to believe in ghosts than to believe a man's mouth.'"
"After Shu Xianwei drowned herself, Yin Wen didn't keep his promise to spare her parents. Instead, he planned to uproot the entire family and kill them too."
"In Yin Wen's view, killing two old people he had locked up was a piece of cake. But that's where things went wrong."
"Shu Xianwei's parents had been locked up in a secluded courtyard. Yin Wen thought his moves were discreet, but just as the assassins were about to strike, another group suddenly appeared and rescued the old couple."
"Yin Wen was furious, realizing he had been watched. But since the old couple knew nothing, he felt somewhat relieved."
"Later, Yin Wen tried desperately to find out who had rescued Shu Xianwei's parents, but even when he was sentenced to death by Emperor Jingming for rebellion, he never learned the truth."
"Of course, we descendants now know that it was Emperor Jingwu—she—who sent people to rescue Shu Xianwei's parents."
Because Liu Sanqi was live, no subtitles appeared on the Sky Canopy, so nobody noticed her use of the feminine pronoun.
But as soon as she finished speaking, a loud crash sounded in Kunning Palace. The teacup in Shi Qingyuan's hand had shattered on the floor.
Empress Xu was startled. She looked at Shi Qingyuan and noticed her unusual expression. Thinking Shi Qingyuan was also startled by the cup, she comforted her:
"It's all right, Teacher Shi. I'll have someone clean up the shards."
Shi Qingyuan: "..."
Shi Qingyuan gazed at Yin Ning with a complicated look. She knew that Shu Xianwei's parents were hidden in one of Yin Ning's estates on the outskirts of the capital.
At that moment, even Shi Qingyuan's heart raced wildly at the guess that had formed in her mind. Her breathing became rapid. She found her conjecture too shocking. Could the legendary sage-emperor Emperor Jingwu be a female emperor?
Shi Qingyuan thought most people would doubt her sanity if they knew what she was thinking. But she had a strong premonition that her guess wasn't baseless. After ten years as Yin Ning's teacher, she knew how extraordinary her student was. She had often regretted that Yin Ning wasn't born a man, believing she could have achieved great deeds.