After so many years together, Yin Ning had truly come to regard Empress Xu as her own mother. She was well aware of what troubled her mother's heart. So, seeing the Empress weep so bitterly, Yin Ning wanted to comfort her, to tell her that they were far from hopeless. After all, with the Palace Intrigue System that had been bound to her since birth, she had secretly made many preparations over the years, enough to ensure their survival in a crisis.
However, before Yin Ning could speak, a young eunuch suddenly rushed into the mourning hall from outside, his face panicked, shouting in terror:
"Your... Your Majesty! A great calamity! The... the heavens show an anomaly! The heavens show an anomaly!"
...
After a chaotic commotion, when Yin Ning stood outside the mourning hall and looked at the translucent canopy in the sky, even she, a transmigrator from the modern world, could not help but feel astonished. She had thought it strange enough to have traveled back in time and been bound to a palace intrigue system, but now a sky canopy livestream had appeared.
Emperor Jingming and the others could not understand the images on the canopy, but Yin Ning, with her rich modern life experience, immediately recognized it as a countdown timer for the start of an online livestream. There was only a little over a minute before the broadcast officially began.
Unlike Yin Ning, the reincarnator, Emperor Jingming and Empress Xu, genuine ancients, could not remain calm in the face of this unheard-of miracle. Emperor Jingming's expression was tense, his eyes fixed intently on the translucent canopy. Though he had never truly believed in ghosts or gods, he now urgently ordered someone to summon the director of the Imperial Observatory.
Seeing the Emperor's demeanor, Empress Xu recalled his earlier dismissal of the Crown Prince's death and suddenly had an idea. She cleared her throat and said solemnly:
"Your Majesty, could it be that Lin'er died with a grievance and has now appeared to cry out for justice on this day?"
The Crown Prince's name was Yin Lin; 'Lin'er' was the childhood name the Empress had given him. Upon hearing her guess, Emperor Jingming frowned deeply. In the past, he would have scolded her for being paranoid and talking nonsense, but now, with the sky canopy's appearance, he was momentarily at a loss.
Yin Ning knew that the sky canopy was not the Crown Prince's spirit, but she also saw that her mother intended to use it as a pretext. So she furrowed her brow and said earnestly:
"Father, I think Mother's words are not baseless. Among the people, there is a saying that the soul returns on the seventh day. Today is just that day for Eldest Brother. Perhaps he is right here, watching us."
As Yin Ning finished speaking, a cold wind blew, causing everyone to shudder and shrink their necks. Some even turned pale and their lips trembled. Even the usually composed Emperor Jingming furrowed his brow, beginning to consider whether he should order an investigation into the truth of the Crown Prince's death.
But before he could make up his mind, the sky canopy suddenly flashed, and then the figure of a girl with a short bob appeared on the screen. She sat in a black gaming chair, smiled at the camera, and greeted:
"Hey there, my darlings, sorry to keep you waiting! I, Liu Sanqi, am back!"
"In this episode, we'll be introducing the ninth ruler of the Great Jing Dynasty in history—the legendary sage monarch, Emperor Jingwu!"
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince, Third Prince, and others who had secretly rejoiced at the Crown Prince's death were all stunned, their eyes wide. Ninth ruler? Emperor Jingwu? Legendary sage monarch?
At that moment, a conjecture arose in everyone's mind: was this sudden sky canopy foretelling the future?
Even Emperor Jingming's gaze toward Liu Sanqi on the canopy became intensely scrutinizing. According to the order, he was the seventh emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty. That meant the Emperor Jingwu mentioned on the canopy was the emperor after the next one.
Liu Sanqi on the canopy had no idea how much impact her brief words had on Emperor Jingming and the others. She looked into the camera and said lightly:
"Those of you who studied middle school history should know that when Emperor Jingwu took the throne from Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, the Great Jing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse."
"So today, before introducing my idol Emperor Jingwu, we must first discuss how 'brilliant' this Emperor Jingli, Yin Rui, really was. In less than seven years on the throne, he nearly squandered the empire his father, Emperor Jingming, had handed down to him!"
"Tsk tsk, every time I think of Yin Rui's 'awesome' achievement, I truly understand why, whenever historical streamers list the greatest prodigal sons in history, our Emperor Jingli, Brother Rui, always ranks at the top!"
Beneath the canopy, Emperor Jingming's face had turned ashen as soon as he heard Yin Rui referred to as 'Emperor Jingli.' The posthumous title 'Li' was a classic evil posthumous name. Since ancient times, any monarch who received this title was a tyrannical, brutal, and foolish ruler who brought suffering to the people.
When he heard the subsequent words, unable to suppress the raging fury in his heart, he kicked Yin Rui, who was already kneeling before him, so hard that he tumbled backward. The kick was without any restraint; Yin Rui let out a miserable scream, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, as if his internal organs were injured.
Yet, looking at Yin Rui's pathetic appearance, Emperor Jingming felt no guilt. Instead, his eyes gleamed with undisguised killing intent. When Yin Rui accidentally met his father's gaze, he was so terrified that his face turned as white as paper, and his body, which had been trying to get up, went limp on the ground.
Yin Ning looked at him, trembling like a quail, and her face showed undisguised contempt. Everyone present seemed unremarkable but was secretly observing everything around them. Naturally, they all noticed Yin Ning's disdain for Yin Rui. But no one found it strange, as it was well known that Yin Ning always spoke her mind without concealment.
On the canopy, Liu Sanqi continued:
"Generally speaking, even the most incompetent monarchs put on a facade in the early years of their reign, revealing their true nature only later when they had consolidated power."
"But our Emperor Jingli, Brother Rui, as the top prodigal son in history, could hardly be compared to ordinary people."
"So, within the first month of his ascension, he created the famous scene that shook the entire Great Jing Dynasty: 'Every gaze is full of fear; the whole city is veiled in gauze.'"
"Since this story isn't in our history textbooks, let me briefly tell you what heinous things Emperor Jingli did."
"I believe many of you have heard of the 'four joys of life': a long drought finally gets rain; meeting an old friend in a distant land; the wedding night; and success in the imperial exams." *1
"Therefore, in ancient times, when two families were engaged, if the groom was still young and planned to take the exams soon, they would schedule the wedding after the exams. That way, if the groom passed, the two families could celebrate a double happiness."
"This was exactly the arrangement for Cheng Ruoxuan and Weng Chengjin. And indeed, Weng Chengjin, though not among the top three in the palace examination, still placed in the top tier of the second rank—an excellent result for a young talent!"
Beneath the canopy, in the rear garden of the Cheng family.
Cheng Ruoxuan had been admiring plum blossoms with her visiting cousins when the canopy suddenly appeared, startling them all. But what surprised her even more was hearing her own name from Liu Sanqi's mouth. If it had been only her name, she might have thought it a coincidence. But when she heard her fiancé Weng Chengjin's name, she understood that Liu Sanqi on the canopy was indeed predicting their future.
Hearing that Weng Chengjin would rank in the top tier of the second rank in the palace exam, Cheng Ruoxuan couldn't help feeling happy for him. But then, recalling that Liu Sanqi was about to introduce the heinous acts of Emperor Jingli, her clear eyes clouded with worry.
At that moment, Weng Chengjin, who was preparing for exams at Ziyang Academy on the outskirts of Jingshi, felt the same complex emotions, even a bit uneasy.
An ant trying to shake a tree is laughably ignorant of its own strength. *2
Weng Chengjin knew well that if the emperor, Emperor Jingli, wanted to do something, no one could oppose him.
His close friend Shao Hangyu, who was with him, noticed his pale face and patted his shoulder reassuringly, but didn't know what to say.
On the canopy, Liu Sanqi continued:
"After passing the imperial exam, Weng Chengjin naturally began preparing for his wedding with his fiancée, Cheng Ruoxuan. After discussions, the two families decided on late autumn of that year. However, in September of that year, Cheng Ruoxuan's father, Cheng Shan, fell ill with a cold and never recovered."
Hearing the familiar name Cheng Shan, Emperor Jingming raised an eyebrow. By then, all the high-ranking officials had been summoned back. Emperor Jingming immediately looked at a thin, stern-faced middle-aged man among them and asked:
"Censor Cheng, is your daughter named Cheng Ruoxuan?"
There was only one Censor Cheng in the court—Cheng Shan, a supervisory censor of the fifth rank. Hearing the emperor's question, Cheng Shan stepped forward from the group and bowed:
"Your Majesty, my only daughter is indeed named Cheng Ruoxuan, and she is engaged to Weng Chengjin, son of Weng Qi, the Director of the National Academy."
Although the officials had already guessed, hearing Cheng Shan's confirmation caused an uproar. Even Yin Ning couldn't help but cast a probing glance at the slightly gray-haired Censor Cheng.
On the canopy, Liu Sanqi continued: