Why did the previous Empire collapse?
Yin Yunlan couldn’t help but nod. This was indeed a question she had constantly pondered since ascending the throne. This youth truly knew how to grasp the mind of a sovereign. However, from the look of it, the conclusion he reached ran contrary to her own.
Inside the prison, Yin Qiubai’s voice interrupted the female emperor’s thoughts.
“Because of the calamities of war!”
Yin Qiubai’s answer aligned with the conclusion Yin Yunlan had drawn.
Mu Qingbai smiled, “And what started the war?”
“Because the Emperor was debauched and immoral, disregarding human ethics…”
“Utter nonsense! Just two words: the people’s will!”
Yin Qiubai was silenced.
Outside the cell, Yin Yunlan nodded slightly. That was actually a fair summary.
“I’ll ask you again. Do you know why the previous Empire lost the people’s will?”
Yin Qiubai pondered briefly and was about to answer when Mu Qingbai mocked, “Don’t tell me you’re going to say again that the Emperor was immoral and ignored ethics?”
Yin Qiubai was stifled. That had indeed been her planned response. But from Mu Qingbai’s tone, that clearly wasn’t the answer.
“Then what do you say was the reason?”
Mu Qingbai rolled his eyes, “Can you at least try using that empty head of yours? Of course, it was because the people had no food to eat!”
He pointed at the little monk, “In your hometown, if people from eight to ten surrounding villages starved to death and many had to eat Guanyin clay just to survive, then at that moment someone offers you a bowl of meat porridge and says joining the army will keep you alive, wouldn’t you follow him?”
The little monk was stunned, then smacked the ground, “Forget meat porridge, if I’m about to die, even a bowl of coarse grain porridge and I’d sell my life for it!”
Mu Qingbai turned to Yin Qiubai, spreading his hands, “See? In today’s world, human life is worth less than grass. The essence of the people’s will boils down to one word—’food.'”
Yin Qiubai’s lips parted slightly, taking a while before she could close them.
“Then a new problem arises. How did the food disappear?”
Yin Qiubai answered, “Continuous natural disasters, barren land, no harvests—naturally there was no food.”
“Then what does natural disaster have to do with the female emperor?”
Yin Qiubai still seemed half-comprehending. The truth was right on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn’t quite speak it. It felt like a loose thread slipping between her fingers—clearly close, but unreachable.
She looked up again to see Mu Qingbai’s half-smiling expression and felt a surge of frustration.
Yin Qiubai pointed at Mu Qingbai, blushing with anger, “Ask me again and I’ll make you roll on the floor!”
Mu Qingbai scoffed, “You little girl, I can beat ten of you…”
Before he could finish, his world spun. The next second, his face was already pressed against the floor.
Yin Qiubai sneered and returned to her seat.
Mu Qingbai lay dazed for a moment before slowly getting up under the gaze of the other two, pretending as if nothing had happened.
“Ahem! The root of chaos isn’t military power but natural disasters. Though the world seems barely stabilized now, the disasters continue…”
“Wow! After such an embarrassing fall, he can just keep talking like nothing happened?!”
The little monk shouted in disbelief.
Mu Qingbai paused, pretending not to hear, “As long as the root cause of chaos remains, even if the female emperor strips the military power and halts military rebellions, she won’t be able to stop rebellions from the people!”
The little monk was even more shocked, “I yelled so loud, and he still pretended not to hear! To endure like that, he’s no ordinary man!”
Mu Qingbai’s face turned red. He glared fiercely, “I’m a condemned prisoner! Show me some respect! If you push me too far, be careful I don’t take you with me when you’re asleep tonight!”
The little monk immediately covered his mouth and curled up in the corner.
“Ahem… Rebellions by the people will eventually turn into military uprisings. But with military power stripped, who will quell those rebellions? At this rate, within a few years, chaos will rise again!”
Mu Qingbai chuckled, “But that has nothing to do with me. I’ll be executed in three days. You all can enjoy this chaos yourselves.”
Yin Qiubai suddenly stood up and shouted toward the outside, “Guards! Let me out!”
She had to report this to the emperor immediately!
If what Mu Qingbai said was true, then stripping military power would be the beginning of chaos!
Mu Qingbai laughed, “She’s crazier than me. This is death row! Instead of yelling for the guards, why not shout your grievances?”
The little monk pointed weakly outside, “Big brother, look.”
Mu Qingbai turned around.
A jailer had arrived at the death cell, opened the door, and led Yin Qiubai out.
“…”
Mu Qingbai stood there stunned for quite a while, until both Yin Qiubai and the jailer disappeared from view.
“Amazing!”
…
Yin Qiubai strode out of the dungeon. After just a few steps, she spotted a grand armchair ahead.
Yin Yunlan sat upon it, watching her with a doting smile.
“Your Maj—” Yin Qiubai froze slightly.
“Already a General of the Nation, and still so rash.”
Looking around, not a soul was in sight.
Yin Qiubai said urgently, “Your Majesty, I have an important report!”
“No need. I heard everything. Also, there’s no one else here—no need to speak formally.”
“Yes~”
Yin Qiubai suddenly looked uneasy and asked, “Your Majesty, when did you arrive?”
Yin Yunlan smiled without answering, instead chiding, “Just a raving brat, and you’re already shaken like this?”
Yin Qiubai quickly said, “But I don’t think he’s crazy, and… and…”
“And you think what he said made sense? Heh, what a joke. He just happened to guess a bit correctly.” Yin Yunlan shook her head.
Yin Qiubai urged, “Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
“I was just on my way to Mirror Lake to seek Master Cen’s opinion. Stopped by to bring you out.”
Yin Qiubai hesitated.
Yin Yunlan frowned slightly, then suddenly seemed to understand and chuckled, “You really believe that boy has the ability to govern a nation?”
Yin Qiubai wasn’t certain either. But at this point, she had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
“Your Majesty, if you’re not in a rush, listening a bit more with me couldn’t hurt.”
Yin Yunlan shook her head helplessly and sighed, “I know you don’t want our Soldiers and Generals to suffer losses. I understand. But you mustn’t grab at straws in desperation.”
“Perhaps he does have some redeeming points. That bit about History as a Mirror wasn’t bad. But the rest… utterly absurd.”
Yin Qiubai quickly said, “Your Majesty, since you admit he had a point, that proves he’s not entirely useless. Listening further might spark some insight.”
Yin Yunlan stared at her sister for a long while and sighed, “If you want to fool around, I don’t have time to accompany you.”
With that, she swept her sleeves and left.
Yin Qiubai watched her back, wavering slightly.
Could it really be that this was the only path left… no other choice?
“I opened my eyes in my eighth life and found myself turned into a girl—and a very pretty girl at that!”
“I was sitting in a vehicle, neon lights dazzling outside the window, and the driver—oh, sorry! I forgot, you don’t know what a driver is. It’s just a coachman. His name was Herzog.”
The little monk tilted his head, “What a strange name… and then?”
“Then I got smacked.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t huh me. What about you, why are you in here?”
“I… the next cell was full, so I came to stay for a couple of days.”
“But if I recall, that next cell was for those caught visiting prostitutes…”
Standing at the cell door, Yin Qiubai watched the two inside, then slowly closed her eyes in despair.
She had indeed been too naive. How could she have pinned her hopes on a lunatic who spouted nonsense every now and then?