Chapter 5 Ignorance is the Most Deadly
Du Qianqian.
The eldest daughter of the Vice Minister of Works was born mentally challenged. After falling into the water, she regained her senses. A monk who was traveling by came to her door, did some calculations, and congratulated her, saying that her soul had returned to her body.
Parallel spacetime tunnels occasionally have rifts, and some dying souls accidentally travel through them.
These souls can have varying degrees of impact on the world, and the target of Heaven's current appeal for help is precisely an entity that has caused a great disturbance.
With a modern mindset, Du Qianqian is flamboyant and unconventional. Coupled with her casual recitation of poetry, she instantly attracts countless eyes—princes, civil and military officials, cold-blooded killers, and legendary doctors from the martial arts world… She moves among them and ultimately chooses a prince, ascending to the position of empress.
If she had only acted this way and had not harmed any innocent people, there would have been no need to interfere.
After all, the neighboring Japanese alternate world is about to be riddled with holes because the Heavenly Dao turns a blind eye to the fact that it has cleansed some demon king from the world.
But Du Qianqian is different.
She copied poems and lyrics, earning the reputation of "the most talented woman in the capital" and attracting a large number of admirers.
She also boasted that she couldn't get along with pretentious young ladies, preferring to dress as a man and befriend princes and noblemen, which naturally aroused the jealousy of many noble ladies.
At the princess's spring banquet, Du Qianqian will uncover a conspiracy against her.
She discovered that she and her lover were locked in a room together. If they were caught, her reputation would be ruined. She refused to swallow this insult and was unwilling to take the risk.
So she forcibly pushed Ling Wei, who happened to be passing by, into that room and took her place.
To prevent Ling Wei from escaping, Du Qianqian gritted her teeth and simply drugged the two people in the room.
She herself quietly hid, waiting for the crowd of people catching the woman to arrive.
As the incident escalated, the mastermind behind it was exposed, and Du Qianqian emerged unscathed, even using the incident to deliver a resounding slap in the face to the perpetrator.
If this were a wish-fulfillment novel, this scene would undoubtedly be her shining moment as the "leading lady".
As for Ling Wei?
The daughter of a deceased fifth-rank official was already considered to have married up to a high-ranking marquis's son, and she should thank her for facilitating such a good marriage.
As for that man's infamous reputation in the capital, and the fact that several people died in his backyard?
She selectively ignored this and continued to insist in front of the Second Prince that she wanted to be with only one person for life.
Ling Wei ultimately chose to end her own life.
Du Qianqian found out, but simply sighed lightly, "Chastity is never something a woman can hide beneath her skirts. This girl is too fragile..."
She then continued to immerse herself in her emotional entanglements, eventually rising to a high position.
Later, with the secret protection of that top assassin, anyone who hindered her or angered her met a fate no better than Ling Wei's.
Du Qianqian only pretended to scold him a few times afterward, then sweetly comforted herself: "Brother Mu is just an invincible straight man in the universe, he only knows how to use such a rough method."
However, the terrible consequences caused by Du Qianqian go far beyond this.
Most devastating was her ignorant and fearless "pioneering".
In modern times, she was an uneducated delinquent who couldn't make gunpowder, but after browsing Douyin (TikTok) and learning about unofficial history, she discovered that gunpowder was accidentally obtained by a Taoist priest while refining elixirs.
So, in order to secure her position as empress, she recruited a large number of Taoist priests and ordered them to refine elixirs day and night, with a clear objective—"explode the furnace!" Those who successfully blew up the furnace would be richly rewarded!
It wasn't that there weren't loyal and upright officials who risked their lives to offer their advice, but the Second Prince (the future emperor), who had already been swayed by Du Qianqian's pillow talk, forcibly suppressed it.
The people were restless, and even officials were trying to curry favor with Empress Du. For a time, alchemy became popular, which even shook the foundations of the country.
When the neighboring country's iron cavalry seized the opportunity to invade, their forces pointing directly at the capital, Du Qianqian's extraordinary luck once again manifested itself.
Just before the city fell, her alchemy team finally "successfully" achieved their goal!
With the help of this "divine weapon", the dynasty's army miraculously drove the enemy back.
However, by this time, the Zhaoyin Dynasty had already been severely weakened by this farce of nationwide alchemy.
The people were destitute, and the dead lay everywhere; it had truly become a living hell.
Du Qianqian treads upon the corpses and blood and tears of countless people, achieving one "face-slapping comeback" after another.
This is no longer a personal grudge.
...
The spring banquet was held in the private garden of Princess Xiao Yue, the only daughter of the current emperor.
Princess Ryan was an extraordinary person in herself.
The current emperor does not value women, so his harem is small and his offspring are few, with only three sons and one daughter.
The second prince, Xiao Yu (born to the Noble Consort), and the third prince, Xiao Heng (born to the Virtuous Consort), are about the same age. The fourth prince, Xiao Jin, is the youngest, only eight years old, and is the legitimate son of Empress Xie.
Princess Xiao Yue of Ruian, as the eldest imperial heir, is already twenty-five years old and is the eldest legitimate daughter of the late empress.
The late Empress and the Emperor were childhood sweethearts. Although their families were not prominent, their affection for each other was deep.
Not long after the late Empress passed away, Princess Ruian was personally taken in and raised by the Emperor, and was greatly favored by him.
The Emperor even broke the ancestral rule that "women are not allowed to attend court," allowing her to attend court and participate in state affairs like an adult prince, treating her equally.
There have been rumors that the current emperor favors a princess, and that Princess Ruian may be able to recreate the glory of Empress Yongning.
However, the princess's birth mother died early, her maternal family was not powerful, and as a woman, she was ultimately not well-regarded.
Especially as the two princes grew up and their maternal families became increasingly powerful, and Princess Ruian was betrothed, the supreme position was still out of her reach.
Not long after the princess got married, she followed the emperor south to provide disaster relief. When she returned, her princess residence had an extra little cousin from the prince consort's family, whose family had fallen on hard times.
The people of the capital were abuzz with discussion. They assumed that the princess, with her pride, would never swallow this insult, and everyone was prepared to watch the spectacle unfold.
Unexpectedly, the princess not only allowed her cousin to live in the mansion, but the prince consort even openly took her cousin on outings and took away the hairpins and pendants she had her eye on. She was only worried that the prince consort would be unhappy because of this.
Some say Princess Ryan was deeply infatuated.
Many people praised the prince consort for his skill in managing his wife, while secretly mocking the "sycophantic" princess.
Without exception, they had no doubt about the princess's true feelings for her husband.
The garden where the banquet is being held today was personally bestowed by the Emperor when the Princess came of age.
The garden features pavilions and towers arranged in a harmonious and varied manner, with ever-changing scenery at every turn. A stream is channeled through the garden, winding its way through the landscape, and exotic flowers and plants adorn the area, creating a blend of imperial grandeur and the refined elegance of southern China.
When Ling Wei arrived with Madam Lin and Gu Qingyu, the garden was already filled with elegant ladies, laughter, and lively conversation.
The banquet followed the usual practice of being divided into sections:
The ladies gathered on the high pavilion by the water, sipping tea and chatting leisurely; the young girls played in groups of three or five along the winding paths and corridors lined with flowers and trees; and the gentlemen played games like pitch-pot or recited poems in the open pavilion on the opposite bank of the stream.
After Gu Qingyu came out, she was surrounded by the other young ladies.
Because the Gu family valued education, her upbringing differed from that of ordinary young ladies. Coupled with her inherent pride, she had no true confidantes.
Later, Gu Qingyan passed the imperial examinations in three consecutive years, and various women who approached her would mention "your brother" in every sentence. She lost interest and stopped accepting invitations from others.
At this moment, in front of outsiders, Gu Qingyu maintained an impeccable ladylike demeanor, smiling gently and responding appropriately.
Ling Wei thought of how Gu Qingyu had been grumbling all the way in the carriage when they arrived, saying how troublesome it was and how she didn't want to go, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
When someone curiously inquired about Ling Wei's identity, several scrutinizing gazes fell upon her.
Gu Qingyu immediately took Ling Wei's arm affectionately, her voice clear and bright: "This is my cousin."
Most of those probing or calculating gazes vanished instantly. Ling Wei wore the same polite smile as Gu Qingyu, blending seamlessly into the elegant crowd.
After a while, the people dispersed.
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