Chapter 68: Mr. Li, if they don’t believe her, she will show her true heart…
In the dilapidated temple, a bonfire using the statues of gods as fuel illuminated the entire hall. The voice of witch Lu continued to ring out, echoing slightly in the hall, as if history was reverberating in this small space.
In the eighteenth year of Xianheng, the crown prince died suddenly, and the dispute over the succession to the throne became centered between the eldest daughter and the second prince.
Originally, judging by virtue and seniority, the eldest daughter who was both civil and military should be made the heir, but both the muddy and clear streams tacitly chose the second prince.
There are two main reasons for this. First, since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only two princesses have successfully ascended the throne. One of them was hastily succeeded to the throne while still in her cradle, and was driven off the throne by her young and strong uncle in less than 20 days.
Secondly, although the previous empress was a wise ruler who worked hard to govern the country, she introduced a large number of female officials in the process of rectifying the administration of officials.
The civil service group was worried about repeating the same mistake and having female officials come to share the territory of the gentry, so they would rather give up the eldest princess who was known for her virtue and support the relatively mediocre second prince.
Although the second prince's personal charm is not as good as the eldest princess, he is famous for his courtesy to the wise and humble. If he comes to power, he will definitely give preferential treatment to the nobles.
Emperor Xianheng was a gentle and loving father who did not want to see his children killing each other. Seeing that all the ministers recommended the second prince, he granted the eldest daughter a piece of rich land and summoned her to the palace to keep him company many times to prevent her from being suspicious.
Emperor Xianheng's love for his daughter aroused suspicion among the second prince and his staff, who thought that the emperor favored the eldest daughter more.
Assassination attempts against the eldest princess continued one after another, but she dodged them all with her extraordinary skills.
She knew in her heart that the emperor would not make her the crown prince despite the opposition of his ministers, precisely because he did not want to conflict with the civil service group. He felt guilty about her, which was why he kept rewarding and appeasing her.
The eldest princess's feelings towards her father also became complicated.
When she was a child, she was in poor health and often suffered from nightmares. The empress passed away early, and the emperor took pity on the young girl, so he reserved a room for her in the Purple Palace. She lived in the Purple Palace until she was seven years old and was taken care of personally by her father, the emperor.
The relationship between father and daughter has always been very good.
The eldest prince at that time, who later became the crown prince, was born to the same mother as the eldest daughter. Naturally, he was happy to see that his younger sister had a close relationship with their father.
For a long time, the three of them lived like an ordinary family, leading a simple and happy life.
But later, Emperor Xianheng could not resist the ministers and appointed a empress, and then he had the second prince and the second princess.
Although Emperor Xianheng publicly stated many times that this would never shake the Crown Prince's position as heir to the throne, people in the court and the country were still unsettled.
The former queen is no longer with us, but the new queen is a noble lady from a prominent family, so she naturally has many allies.
It was just that the Crown Prince was there, and there was nothing to criticize about either his status as the eldest son or his usual style of doing things.
The forces supporting the second prince were not yet powerful enough at this time.
Emperor Xianheng was just hoping for a lucky break, hoping that the imperial power would be smoothly transferred to his hands.
Unfortunately, not only did his own health deteriorate, but the crown prince also suddenly fell ill after a border patrol and passed away suddenly on the way back to the capital.
The royal family's conflicts gradually came to the surface with the death of the crown prince.
The second prince relies on the nobles and regards the throne as something in his pocket. The eldest princess controls the imperial guards, so how could she just sit there and wait for death?
The emperor was indecisive, but his children were all decisive and ruthless. The second prince hired a group of killers, while the eldest daughter took drastic measures and used tax inspections as an excuse to eliminate the wings of the aristocratic families.
In the 20th year of Xianheng, the demon king of Beidi invaded the border and abducted a large number of people. The eldest princess rushed to the front line and led the troops to repel the enemy.
She beheaded the demon king with the power of thunder, and built twelve Jingguans with the corpses of the demons, forcing the demons to retreat to the mountains and forests, and no longer dared to set foot in the human world.
After this battle, the eldest princess became famous, and the group of civil officials, which was not a monolithic group to begin with, began to show differences. A group of gentlemen who took it as their mission to "establish a mind for heaven and earth, and a destiny for the people" changed their allegiance and joined the eldest princess.
The second prince and the eldest princess have long been at loggerheads, and he knows that once the latter comes to power, he will surely be killed without a burial place.
In order to save his life, the desperate Second Prince contacted the remnants of the Demon King and joined forces with the demons to launch a surprise attack on the eldest princess on her way back to the capital.
The demon drove a group of civilians to attack the army. In order to cover the civilians' escape, the eldest princess was shot in the chest by the archers ambushed by the second prince.
The sharp arrow was smeared with poison and no medicine could cure it. The eldest princess knew that she, like her brother the crown prince, would not survive to return to the capital.
Before she died, she made a decision that none of her staff expected.
She had no children yet. Those who did not want to retreat to the countryside or submit to the Second Prince's subordinates took her seal and returned to the capital to seek refuge with the Second Princess.
Everyone was shocked. The Second Princess and the Second Prince were born of the same mother and had always been unknown. How could they accept such hostile forces?
However, the eldest princess said firmly that the second princess and the second prince were definitely not of the same kind. The Great Zhou had been established for 800 years, but natural disasters and man-made calamities had continued, and there were signs of the country's demise. If there was no wise ruler to turn the tide, the people would be in great suffering.
"If you gentlemen still care about the people of the world, please believe me this time."
Everyone was moved by the eldest princess's last words. What she cared about in the end was not revenge on the second prince, nor resentment towards her father's weakness, but to put aside her own position and plan for the country wholeheartedly.
The body of the eldest princess was sent back to the capital. The whole city was in mourning. Emperor Xianheng's hair turned white overnight. He guarded his daughter's body and refused to see anyone.
Although the second prince felt guilty, he was still mostly proud. His father only had two children left. If his father didn't pass the throne to him, how could he pass it to his sister who was useless?
He couldn't help but hold a celebration banquet, but he could never have imagined that his blood-related sister would actually bring the eldest princess's personal guards to surround his mansion overnight.
The second princess, wearing armor and holding a sharp weapon, said: "I have clear information. There is a demon inside the second brother's house."
The drunken second prince tried hard to prop up his limp body, saying, "Whose instigation did you listen to, sister? I am also heartbroken that my elder sister was ambushed by a demon."
Before this, the second princess had always been good-tempered and had no opinion of her own. The second prince once thought that this was a child born by some palace maid and was registered under the name of her mother.
It was not until this day that the second prince realized that he and his sister were indeed a family.
His sister was even more ruthless than him.
After searching out the Demon King's relics, following her order, the eldest princess' personal guards, who had long been unable to contain themselves, swept through the Second Prince's mansion like a gust of armored wind.
When the strong wind died down, the mansion was already a river of blood.
Under the Second Prince's bloodshot gaze, the Second Princess personally beheaded his three children in the hall.
The second prince's wife committed suicide out of grief, and the second prince yelled at his sister: "You are my biological sister!"
He has already thought about what title he will give his sister when he ascends the throne!
The second princess looked indifferent. Just when the eldest princess's subordinates were secretly excited and thought she was going to make an impassioned speech to denounce her brother's shameful behavior, she just said calmly: "The throne is a good thing. It can turn people into ghosts. If my second brother can fight for it, why can't I fight for it?"
This statement greatly disappointed the remaining followers of the eldest princess. What they wanted to support was a monarch like the eldest princess who cared about the people, not a tyrant who only knew how to play with power.
Many people became disheartened and retired to their hometowns. The second princess never tried to keep them and just let them leave.
Only a small number of people stayed, and the following year was the most tragic year since the fight for the throne.
Perhaps it was because he knew that he was not famous enough, or perhaps he learned from history and was worried that his uncles would follow the example of the previous dynasty and kill his niece to usurp the throne, or perhaps he was simply crazy about killing.
The second princess killed thirteen vassal kings in one year, which frightened the royal family so much that they ran to Emperor Xianheng and cried.
After Emperor Xianheng buried his beloved daughter, he became bedridden and unable to get up.
Hearing the royal family members recount the cruel methods used by the Second Princess, this usually gentle, even cowardly emperor smiled miserably: "If it had been done earlier, how could I have been separated from Ke'er and Xu'er?"
In his words, he actually suspected that there was something strange about the death of the late crown prince.
The royal family quickly changed from filing a complaint to distancing themselves from the matter, but Emperor Xianheng had already decided to seek justice for his two children.
Despite his sick body, he killed all the royal family members in one day, and when he was dying, he did not forget to kill the second prince who was under house arrest in the palace.
Emperor Xianheng, who had been weak all his life, on the last day of his life, held up the second prince's head, which still showed signs of fear, stumbled in front of the second princess, and said with a miserable smile: "Let your second brother watch you ascend the throne. This is the throne he has always dreamed of."
Looking at the seemingly crazy Emperor Xian Heng, the Second Princess remained as calm as a piece of ice. She knelt on the bluestone bricks slowly and said in a deep voice: "Father, you have a long and blessed life. You are just suffering from a minor illness and will surely recover. Why do you say that?"
Emperor Xianheng was stunned and looked at his daughter straight in the eye for the first time. Only then did he understand why his eldest daughter entrusted her with her affairs after her death.
Even at this time, she was able to speak without any loopholes.
She may not have the integrity of the eldest daughter, but she will definitely be able to hold that position well.
"Good." Emperor Xianheng showed his first smile since his eldest daughter's death. "You are very good this way."
He threw away the second prince's head, gasped, wrote the imperial edict of succession with his own hands, then closed his eyes with relief and went to see his wife and children.
The second princess picked up the blood-stained imperial edict and walked to the throne. In the second year, the reign title was changed to Yongxi.
In the same year, an old subordinate of the emperor's eldest daughter in the inner palace asked Emperor Yongxi for permission to retire.
She was once the fastest knife in the hands of Emperor Yongxi. Seven of the thirteen princes died at her hands.
Some of these princes did intend to seize the throne, while others just wanted to be rich and idle, but they were still killed by her own hands.
Before Witch Lu said who this person was, everyone had already guessed it.
"Are you worried that when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog will be cooked..." The girl in green could not help but ask because she was outspoken.
Witch Lu shook her head, and no expression could be seen in her eyes which were filled with white film. No one knew how her eyes became what they were now. There must be a story behind that.
Witch Lü said, "I asked to leave the capital and come to Fengzhou because the head of Yaowang Mountain asked me if I was willing to wait for someone here."
"That person has superb medical skills, is compassionate, and has a recipe for saving the world, but because his actions are somewhat different from secular customs, he is easily misunderstood. If someone can follow him, it will definitely save a lot of trouble."
After a moment of hesitation, a helpless smile appeared on the wrinkled face of Witch Lady Lu: "I have been waiting for her for twenty-one years. If I wait any longer, I don't know if my old bones can stand it."
The scholar and the escorts all showed admiration on their faces.
The girl in green said with a strange look on her face: "How come your words are exactly the same as what my elders said?"
Witch Lu was stunned.
The girl in green introduced herself, "My name is Yin Chan, and I am a disciple of Mohist. My elders asked me to come to Fengzhou to wait for a kind-hearted person who can help her fight this natural disaster."
"Could it be that the person you are waiting for is the same person I am waiting for?"
Yin Chan fell into deep thought.
Li Zhou straightened his chest.
Such a specific and apt description...haven't these two idiots figured it out yet?
"The person you've been waiting for has arrived," she said confidently.
If they didn't believe her, she would show them her true heart.
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