Chapter 57
As it turns out, fools sometimes have good luck.
Li Qinqin's vote was indeed right; in "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," the final victor in this struggle for the throne was none other than the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen.
When Xu Ying's side story revealed the fates of many princes and the ultimate victor for the throne, the poll thread on the Taxue Forum, which had been gradually fading away, was instantly pushed back to the top of the trending list by excited readers.
Countless netizens who had previously voted flocked to the thread to chat animatedly.
- It's the fourth one. What's going on? It's a bit unexpected, but also a bit reasonable.
I have mixed feelings right now.
Who isn't?
- What a pity about the Eighth Prince.
I want to say that His Highness the Crown Prince is so pitiful...
- The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince are probably the ones who are more miserable. As for the Crown Prince, the Emperor has been good enough to him. Even after he was deposed, he was reinstated. It's just that he himself is not good enough!
- February is so cruel! We've watched so many little ones grow up, and she's so heartless!
A woman who isn't ruthless won't have a stable position.
- The upstairs channel is messing around; this isn't a palace intrigue channel.
- I was terrified of Fourteen! She actually wavered between her own brother and Eighth Brother. What was she thinking? Luckily, Ma Lu was there, otherwise she might have been imprisoned.
-Hehehehehe I guessed right, OP, OP, come out quickly!
Speechless. I guessed it was the eldest prince, but he was the first to be eliminated. I'm so ashamed of myself. [Facepalm]
If you knew I supported the Sixth Prince, you would also feel sorry for me.
-Pfft, didn't the Sixth Prince openly withdraw from this struggle for the throne?
-I bet he was just pretending to be weak to fool others, but it turns out he was just a simple pig, not a tiger at all.
......
After reading the extra chapter, Li Qinqin went to leave a message to claim her prize.
It's unbelievable! She actually guessed the correct answer by accident and won 1,000 Feihong Coins from the host.
"This fourth one is the best!"
She was humming a song, feeling incredibly happy. You see, she's usually someone who can't even win a scratch card, so this time she really got lucky and hit the jackpot! Hahaha!
Xu Ying also came across this post.
She actually wanted to vote at first, but considering that she was the author herself, it was somewhat suspicious of cheating, so she voluntarily gave up voting.
Seeing the replies again at this moment, I couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
February Sky: What a pity, if I had voted, I would be one of the winners now.
Mayfly: Then why don't you throw it?
February Sky: I'm the author, and I don't really feel right about voting.
A gentle breeze: I voted, I voted for the Eighth Prince.
February Sky: !
Mayfly: Why did you choose the Eighth Prince? Tell us about your thought process. [Passes microphone]
A gentle breeze: Because the Eighth Prince came from a humble background, yet possessed great personal charm, a reputation for virtue and competence, and was not lacking in cunning and shrewdness, such a person was clearly destined for a high position.
A gentle breeze: I thought that Er Yue was portrayed this way so that he could become the next emperor. What a tortuous, moving, and inspiring story!
February Sky: Smith Marseille, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Mayfly: Hahahaha!
Gentle Breeze: @FebruarySky Do you know who started this post?
Upon hearing Qingfeng's words, Xu Ying immediately realized that things were not simple. She racked her brains and suddenly thought of someone.
February Sky: Could it be a mayfly? [Sweating profusely]
Mayfly: Bingo!
Mayfly: You're right, I'm the poster.
February Sky: ...You really have a lot of free time.
She truly hadn't expected that Fuyou would have so much free time, worrying about which prince in her novel would ascend to the throne while she was still updating her own novel!
Mayfly: Hehe, this is so much fun! My post already has almost a thousand comments. If I leave it for a while, it might break ten thousand.
A gentle breeze: Her main purpose was to listen to the voices of netizens who were breaking down in their defenses.
The ending of the princes in February was quite tragic. Many netizens watched "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" from beginning to end and naturally developed feelings for the characters.
Break through defenses?
Xu Ying disagreed with this.
In her writing, these princes at most lost their power, but they were still alive and well. They were not imprisoned, nor were they given infamous names like Aqina or Seshe. Their ending was already quite good.
February Sky: Actually, this is already my beautified version. Don't you think it's good enough to just be alive in the power struggles of the imperial court?
Mayfly: You're a living devil!
Mayfly: Try killing them off in your writing, and your book fans will instantly take over your comment section.
Xu Ying fell silent.
Without historical records to back it up, book fans wouldn't prepare themselves for a tragedy beforehand. If she were to write according to historical facts, her fans might actually go crazy in her comment section.
*
"Legend of the Qing Dynasty" has officially ended.
On the other hand, its popularity is just beginning, because many readers who don't like following serials or are afraid of a bad ending are just getting into it.
Xu Ying then checked the author's backend and discovered that her earnings had increased rather than decreased after the new book was completed.
This is truly cause for celebration!
Just as Xu Ying was happy about the increase in her account balance, "Empress Wu Zetian" finally came to its finale.
That afternoon, before the TV series even started airing, hashtags like #TheEndingOfWuZeTian# and #TangNingShuang# had already appeared on the trending topics list.
Tang Ningshuang is really famous now.
A leading role in a TV series propelled her to the status of a top-tier star. Her past scandals and grievances were finally seen and addressed by someone willing to go to the trouble of clarifying things for her.
Du Jing, who also starred in the same drama, performed very well, but his ascension to the next level was slightly less than that of Tang Ningshuang.
However, he was already quite satisfied.
He used to be a minor celebrity, but now he's a household name. Although he doesn't have many die-hard fans, he has a huge following among casual fans. Just ask him, how many people wouldn't recognize him if he walked down the street now?
That was enough for him.
As the audience waited anxiously, evening slowly approached. Instead of keeping them in suspense, the Xilaiduo platform released the final two episodes ten minutes early.
After dinner, Xu Ying and Lin Zhongxu sat down together in front of the television.
Grandma Wang also sat down with them.
Xu Ying had no idea that Grandma Wang was also watching the show until one day when she and Lin Zhongxu were chatting about Wu Zetian at the dinner table. Grandma Wang chimed in, and the two of them realized that Grandma Wang was also watching the show on her phone.
Isn't that just a coincidence?
The two decided to invite Grandma Wang to watch the big screen together.
Xu Ying and Lin Zhongxu had both read the script for "Wu Zetian", so they roughly knew what the plot of the last two episodes was like. However, Grandma Wang was completely unaware of the plot and watched with great interest.
The story begins with Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi lying on his sickbed, on the verge of passing away.
Empress Wu Zetian lay on her bed, showing her grief.
Although she loved power, Emperor Gaozong was, after all, the person she had truly loved and who had saved her. In the face of Gaozong's death, the wariness and scheming between the two were temporarily put aside, and only true feelings were revealed.
This scene made Grandma Wang sigh deeply.
"Oh dear, Meiniang is truly heartbroken!"
Xu Ying and Lin Zhongxu sat on either side of Grandma Wang. They exchanged a glance across Grandma Wang and found the scene inexplicably funny.
Lin Zhongxu rubbed his nose, trying hard to suppress his laughter. It's no wonder he couldn't concentrate on the TV; he was with his grandmother, and she was being so emotional, it was really hard for him to watch!
The two young people couldn't get into it, but Grandma Wang could.
In the drama, Wu Zetian ruled from behind the curtain after Emperor Gaozong's death, seizing absolute power. She later deposed Crown Prince Li Xian and installed another son, Li Dan, as emperor. All of this made Grandma Wang frown.
"Why is Meiniang doing this? When children grow up, you have to let go. If she continues to rule from behind the curtain, even if her son becomes emperor, he will still rebel against her."
She sighed and said softly, "She's still young and doesn't understand human nature..."
Upon hearing Grandma Wang's words, Xu Ying and Lin Zhongxu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Laughter echoed throughout the living room, leaving Grandma Wang bewildered. She turned to look at the two of them separately and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Grandma Wang doesn't use the internet much, so she still doesn't know that Wu Zetian eventually became empress herself.
Based solely on the knowledge she had been instilled with over the years, she believed that the female protagonist had reached the end of her power once she became empress dowager and began ruling from behind the curtain.
“I think it’s best to stop when she’s done her thing. She can have her fun as the Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain. If she goes too far, she’ll be in big trouble when the Emperor comes to power.”
Throughout the history of the Yu Kingdom, how many of those empress dowagers who ruled from behind the curtain ended up with good results? Weren't they all killed by their sons who held power under various pretexts?
She's an intellectual, so she knows this much.
"Hmm..." Xu Ying was unsure whether she should give away any spoilers, "Grandma, just keep reading, there's a surprise coming up."
That was all she could say.
"Yes, yes, there's another surprise coming up, a big surprise!"
Lin Zhongxu chuckled mischievously, now more interested in seeing his grandmother's reaction than watching TV—it was so funny to watch her in a serious manner.
Grandma Wang was puzzled.
She muttered something like, "You two kids," and then continued watching the last episode.
In the final episode, the female lead indeed ascended the throne, becoming an unprecedented and unparalleled empress. She named her country Zhou, and ruthlessly suppressed dissent. She also promoted reforms to the imperial examination system, elevating scholars from humble backgrounds...
The series of tightly-paced plot twists left Grandma Wang speechless.
Xu Ying peered over to observe Grandma Wang's expression and noticed that her usually clear eyes now held a hint of dazedness.
Grandma, are you alright?
The old lady is getting on in years, and she is inevitably a bit stubborn. Xu Ying was afraid that she wouldn't be able to accept the idea of a woman taking a position of power. It's okay if she can't accept it, but it wouldn't be worth it if she got sick from getting upset.
"I'm fine," Grandma Wang said slowly, enunciating each word. "I just never imagined there was this path. How did she become the emperor...?"
Grandma Wang felt that she had been psychologically impacted.
She felt that the TV series was progressing too fast. Before she could fully process her complicated emotions, the plot had already moved on quickly. She felt that she needed to watch it again when she got back to see how Wu Zetian ascended to the throne.
She thought that the fact that Meiniang became empress was the most shocking thing for her.
However, later on, Wu Zetian even had a male favorite appear. Looking at the young and handsome man kneeling at the heroine's feet, Grandma Wang didn't know what expression to make.
"This...this...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Her voice was weaker than before, sounding guilty and short of breath.
Grandma Wang thought it wasn't good, but the majority of netizens didn't think so. Almost as soon as the male concubine appeared, the TV series' comment section was flooded with comments like crazy.
-6666666
-I'm a male concubine!
I don't know why I feel like laughing.
-The Empress is mighty! Aa ...
- Hahahaha, I didn't expect this part. It's normal for an empress to have a few male concubines, right?
- I'm dying of laughter, both brothers are male concubines.
Princess Taiping is really something else! She's the one who sent the two brothers over there, hahaha!
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