Heart racing.
Blood pressure soaring.
On the verge of spitting blood!
Breath catching in their throats!
This described Wang Zhan, Duke Shen, Lu Fengqiu, and others.
Men represent Yang, women represent Yin.
Men are Qian (Heaven), women are Kun (Earth).
To rectify the order of Yin and Yang and Qian-Kun meant that Princess Shunyang ascending the throne would constitute a reversal of Yin and Yang?
The decree summoning the Crown Prince suggested that the appearance of the Sky Screen, revealing the future, was all to give the Crown Prince an opportunity to learn and improve?
In other words, Heaven recognized that Princess Shunyang’s reign would be accomplished and admirable. But she was ultimately a woman, disrupting the natural order of Yin and Yang and the righteous path of Heaven. Therefore, Heaven deliberately sent the Sky Screen while Princess Shunyang had not yet ascended and the Crown Prince was still in position, narrating the great achievements after her enthronement, so the Crown Prince could learn from it, recruit talents, and according to the Sky Screen’s guidance, seize—no, establish the accomplishments that originally belonged to Princess Shunyang?
Silence.
Stillness.
Lord Shangshu Sheng, your perspective is quite novel and innovative.
Emperor Hui’s eyes lit up.
The eyes of some ministers lit up.
This way, they could have both a male emperor and a prosperous era!
Marvelous!
Truly worthy of you, old fox Sheng.
Wang Zhan, Duke Shen, and Lu Fengqiu gritted their teeth in secret.
Amid the court’s silence, varied thoughts, and restless stirrings, Zhu Xuanyi smiled and asked, “Lord Shangshu Sheng, why do you think it is me, not the Crown Prince, who ascends the throne in the future?”
“Perhaps the Crown Prince fell ill or met with misfortune. Since we have the Sky Screen, we may learn of it in the future and certainly avoid it.”
The Crown Prince died.
Killed by you.
You harbor malicious intentions.
“Ah…”
An incongruous sigh cut through the tense and solemn silence.
Emperor Hui looked toward the source of the sigh: “Duke Shen, why do you sigh?”
Duke Shen stepped forward: “Your Majesty, I was distracted just now, thinking of my eldest grandson. He has recently been studying divination. His tutor has already taught him the solutions, but he always solves them incorrectly… causing the tutor to complain to me. I have been worried day and night, and never thought I would be so improper in court. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
This frivolous, teasing lament—even high-ranking officials like the prime minister and ministers dared not utter a single laugh.
Some could only secretly rejoice in their hearts.
Like Wang Zhan, who lowered his head, barely suppressing the shaking of his shoulders.
The Crown Prince and Sheng Mian’s faces instantly darkened.
That old scoundrel Duke Shen, relying on the late Empress Shen’s life-saving favor and years of dutiful conduct, had won the Emperor’s favor, and now he openly insinuated in court, subtly mocking the Crown Prince’s incompetence.
Emperor Hui’s expression also turned unpleasant.
“Your Majesty.” The Minister of Personnel stepped forward. “If Heaven offers and you do not take, you will suffer the consequences; if the time comes and you do not act, you will incur calamity. Where the heavenly opportunity lies with which Your Highness, we should simply observe quietly.”
Emperor Hui’s expression relaxed slightly, and he nodded: “Your words are very reasonable.”
Zhu Xuanyi’s heart sank little by little, down into an icy lake.
Matters had reached this point, yet her father and the ministers were still fantasizing that the Crown Prince could seize the opportunity presented by the Sky Screen to prevent the scenario of a woman ruling the world.
In the end, they simply could not accept a woman as emperor.
Sitting in the carriage back to the Princess Manor, Zhu Xuanyi nearly shed tears.
Her father loved her, yet he was unwilling to punish the Crown Prince who had caused her child’s death, and unwilling to pass the supreme position of the realm to her.
Her father’s love for her was like his love for a small cat or dog.
The title of Shunyang, treatment comparable to the Crown Prince’s—these could be taken back at any time.
He had never been willing to grant her real power.
“How can a woman become emperor?”
A man’s loud and impassioned questioning voice reached Zhu Xuanyi’s ears. Already upset and irritable from seeing through her father’s fragile love, she immediately furrowed her brows upon hearing such words.
But soon, she heard a crisp, mocking yet proud female voice.
“Haha, men can govern the world, but do women lack the brains for it? Since ancient times, we women have been suppressed by you men, so we couldn’t become emperors! But today, the Sky Screen has declared that Princess Shunyang will become an emperor in the future—and she will be a great one!”
Zhu Xuanyi’s brows relaxed, and she slightly curved her lips. She opened the carriage window to look and realized the carriage had already arrived near the Princess Manor.
Lin Zhitong asked, “Your Highness, the commoners have gathered in front of the Princess Manor. Should we disperse them or take a detour through the side gate?”
“They are merely curious about me. Since they are curious and wish to understand me, how could I coldly shut them out from a thousand miles away?”
The carriage slowly moved forward. Lin Zhitong did not disperse the crowd, and the people gathered outside the Princess Manor, seeing the princess’s carriage, stepped aside to make a wide path.
The carriage stopped. Zhu Xuanyi declined Lin Zhitong’s assistance and stepped down alone, standing before the Princess Manor.
The sun gradually sank in the west, its remaining glow casting upon the plaque at the entrance. The characters for “Princess Shunyang Manor” seemed gilded, shining brilliantly and radiantly.
Facing this most favored princess, whose status rivaled the Crown Prince’s, and this future wise ruler Emperor Zhao Wen verified by the Sky Screen, the previously noisy and arguing crowd fell silent in unison, their gazes fixed intently on Zhu Xuanyi.
Zhu Xuanyi was also somewhat surprised. Looking at these people—some fervent, some doubtful, some curious—all wholeheartedly gazing up at her in this moment, she sighed softly within her heart.
Inadvertently, her eyes met those of a young girl.
The girl was dressed very plainly, but her eyes were exceptionally bright. She stared unblinkingly at Zhu Xuanyi with immense fervor and anticipation.
In that instant, Zhu Xuanyi suddenly thought of someone long trapped in darkness seeing the dawn, or someone drowning in a deep lake grasping a floating log.
The pain inflicted by her father unexpectedly dissipated. Bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, she smiled serenely and spoke to these watching people in the simplest, most straightforward words: “What would you all like to say to me?”
For a moment, the previously arguing and clamorous crowd failed to react. Or perhaps, even with the princess’s gentle inquiry, they could not forget her exalted status as a princess of the realm, where not a single word or action could afford the slightest offense.
“Your Highness, you are truly remarkable!”
Zhu Xuanyi followed the voice and saw it was that girl with the astonishingly bright eyes!
“You speak of my future self,” Zhu Xuanyi replied with a slight smile. “From the Sky Screen’s description, she does sound remarkable! I myself don’t know how that will be achieved.”
“But that is you, Your Highness! How could you not know?” Delighted that the princess had responded to her question, the girl’s face flushed slightly with excitement. “This humble one has long heard that Your Highness investigated and punished corrupt officials in the provinces, eliminating harm for the people. Your Highness is the most remarkable!”
Encouraged by this girl, others grew bolder.
A woman beside the girl asked, “Your Highness, when will the court attack the Northern Barbarians? My son was killed by Northern Barbarians… Your Highness, please march against them and avenge my son…”
With that, the woman began to sob mournfully.
A young man immediately followed, “My brother was also killed by the Northern Barbarians! Princess, if you march against the Northern Barbarians, please take me with you! I want to avenge my brother and all our Dayin brothers and sisters slain by the Northern Barbarians!”
A scholar remarked, “The Northern Barbarians are brutal and vicious. The court has sent troops multiple times without a single victory, instead offering tribute to buy peace…”
“Silence!” The scholar was cut off sharply by a young girl before he could finish. “Have you forgotten what the Sky Screen said? Expand our territory! Though we couldn’t defeat the Northern Barbarians before, Princess Shunyang will surely crush them in the future!”
From the crowd, several voices chimed in agreement, not just one but many.
“The 《Surrender at the Terrace of Rest Under the Reign of Zhaowen》! One day, the Chanyu of the Northern Barbarians will kneel and surrender his sword to the Princess!”
“The Princess is the ruler recognized by Heaven!”
“Princess, my cousin lives in a border town—she was captured by the Northern Barbarian bandits. Can you save her?”
“Princess, I saw women in official robes on the Sky Screen. Does the Princess intend to appoint women as officials?”
“Princess, may I become your male consort?”
“Princess, what if the men at court refuse to submit to a woman?”
…
The crowd buzzed with fervor, voices rising and falling in succession. Zhu Xuanyi listened attentively and, when the time was right, gave Lin Zhitong a subtle signal.
Lin Zhitong steadied the crowd.
“You’ve all shared many thoughts just now—support for me, praise, curiosity, expectations, and also doubts.”
“To be honest, when the Sky Screen revealed that I am the future emperor, I was filled with trepidation, for I had never entertained such a notion before.”
“When the Sky Screen spoke of Emperor Zhaowen’s achievements, I trembled with awe. Because I don’t know how those feats were accomplished—can I truly achieve them?”
The common people listened with rapt attention to her heartfelt confession.
“The future is ever-changing. From the moment the Sky Screen appeared, it was destined that nothing would unfold exactly as the Sky Screen foretold.”
“Right now, I am merely a princess. Though my father the Emperor dotes on me, I am still a princess with no right to inherit the throne. In the future, will I still become emperor? Will that era of Emperor Zhaowen—with clean governance, harmonious people, and a prosperous nation—still come to pass? I do not know.”
“I believe no one can be certain—and neither can you.”
Hearing this, the people nodded involuntarily. Yes, would His Majesty still allow Princess Shunyang to become emperor? What would happen to the Crown Prince?
“However, one thing is certain.”
Everyone gazed up at her. Zhu Xuanyi smiled gently, her tone soft yet resolute: “Whether I remain a princess, become emperor, or am reduced to a commoner, I will spare no effort to do what benefits the nation and its people. I will strive with all my might to ensure the people of Dayin live better lives and that Dayin grows more prosperous and powerful.”
Utterly sincere, devoid of ornate rhetoric, her plain and heartfelt confession moved her to the brink of tears. A young girl shouted, “Well said! Princess, I believe in you!”
A chorus of agreement followed.
“Princess, this humble one believes in you too!”
“Princess! You can certainly do it!”
“Princess, we await the better days you’ll bring us!”
In the end, a thousand words condensed into a single name: “Princess Shunyang!”
“Princess Shunyang!”
…
At the back of the crowd, Lu Fengqiu, who had abandoned his carriage, squeezed through the throng. The shouts around him rose to the clouds. Gazing at the woman bathed in sunlight before the gates of the Princess Manor, he thought:
This is the sovereign I, Lu Fengqiu, am destined to serve!
I shall spare no effort to help her become the Emperor Zhao Wen foretold by the Sky screen!