Chapter 1
In October, the autumn rain was misty.
In a classroom at Yuncheng University, the four large characters "Zhaoxuan New Policies" are projected onto a white screen.
Every Monday morning, the content is dry and boring history of political reforms. Shen Yao covered her mouth and yawned; she was feeling sleepy.
Are there any students in our class with the surname Chen?
As get out of class was about to end, Shen Yao received an assignment: to give a presentation for the next class on the relationship between Emperor Zhaoxuan and Grand Secretary Xu Xuan.
The lecturer said, "You are lucky to be born in the 21st century. If you had lived during the Zhaoxuan era, I'm afraid you would have had a hard time finding a spouse."
Shen Yao frowned.
The lecturer's words, though exaggerated, are quite true.
Throughout the reigns of Emperors Zhao and Xuan, there was not a single official in the capital with the surname Shen, and officials of the fifth rank or above with the surname Shen were almost extinct throughout the country.
Emperor Zhaoxuan deeply resented the Shen family, and his hatred extended to their relatives and friends.
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The Shen family was very famous in the Min Dynasty, but of course, their reputation was not good. Similar to the Heshen family, they were recorded in historical records as extremely corrupt.
At that time, Emperor Zhaoxuan's father favored Consort Shen. In order to establish her son as the crown prince, he did not hesitate to confront the court officials for nineteen years, which is known in history as the "struggle for the succession".
This was a real hardship for Emperor Zhaoxuan. His birth mother was just a palace maid, and the two of them had been neglected by the emperor and bullied by the imperial concubine since childhood.
So, as soon as his father, the emperor, passed away, Emperor Zhaoxuan began to settle scores with the Shen family.
"The Imperial Concubine committed suicide to be buried with the late Emperor, her son died suddenly, the entire Shen family was wiped out, and all their property was confiscated by the Imperial Treasury. Officials in the capital who were associated with the Shen family and those who had dealings with the Shen family have all been suspended from their duties pending investigation."
Shen Yao rested her chin on her hand, reading the terms on the computer screen, slightly lost in thought.
"Everyone says that Emperor Zhaoxuan was benevolent, but actually... he wasn't that benevolent."
She shook her head and began searching for Grand Secretary Xu Xuan again.
"That's a jerk."
After reviewing the information, Shen Yao quickly drew a conclusion.
Xu Xuan was the son-in-law of the Shen family, but after the new emperor ascended the throne, he was the first to jump out and smear the family, and even forced his wife to commit suicide in prison.
In an attempt to clear his name, he openly described his wife as having "a face like a peach blossom but a heart like a snake."
Afterwards, he even had the historian record it: "He performed an act of putting righteousness before family, and was praised for his noble character and integrity."
...
Perhaps because they shared the same surname, Shen, Shen Yao felt a little disgusted.
If Emperor Zhaoxuan's extermination of Shen was due to a personal grudge of more than a decade, then Xu Xuan's actions were nothing short of blatant acts of a despicable person.
Use and discard – this is the spirit of the literati and civil officials, often referred to as the "scholar-official spirit."
Then the two found common ground and became a model of ruler and minister throughout the ages, their names remembered for generations.
"One is a hypocrite, the other a true villain. If I were to transmigrate into the Shen family, I would eliminate them both immediately."
And then, she really did time travel...
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