Chapter 1 The Sky Appears
In the spring of the twenty-fourth year of Hong'an.
On the horizon, a semi-transparent light gray brocade cloth hung high, and sunlight shining through this canopy made the sky appear even more gloomy.
The sky was silent. When it first appeared, everyone was panicked, but a few months passed in the blink of an eye, and it just hung there harmlessly on the horizon, as if it had always been there.
The slight wariness everyone had about the sky dissipated.
As planned, Zhou She put on civilian clothes, took some silver, and prepared to go out for fun with a few cronies.
Before he could even step out the door, his mother's voice came from behind him: "Zhou She."
Zhou She froze: "Mother, we made an agreement a long time ago..."
"Come back." Behind him, a middle-aged woman dressed very formally reprimanded him expressionlessly, "What kind of behavior is this, lounging around all day? Your father is waiting for you at the manor; he has important matters to discuss with you."
Zhou She couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "You guys decide."
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately stepped back to avoid his mother's loving slap, and said in a flustered manner, "I know, I'll be right there."
After changing into formal clothes and sitting in the carriage, Zhou She couldn't help but wonder what could be so urgent.
In fact, he could probably guess that there were only two things: first, after his coming-of-age ceremony next year, he should also play his role and contribute to the history of family marriage alliances.
Secondly... Father has wanted to advance further for a long time. Last winter, the Emperor suddenly fell seriously ill, and the appointment of the Crown Prince is imminent. I'm afraid Father won't let go of this opportunity to help the Emperor ascend the throne.
However, we still need to discuss these two things with him.
Zhou She was well aware of his own position.
Nineteen years ago, Zhou She, who died of illness, came here and was reincarnated as the eldest son of a princess. His pitiful ambition vanished the moment he learned his true identity.
With a father who is a high-ranking official and a mother who is a princess, it's only a matter of time before they die a life of leisure!
Fortunately, his parents knew early on that he was a hopeless case, and after struggling with it for a few years, they gave up: he was hopeless, truly hopeless.
When they had their second son, Zhou She was left unsupervised, and his role naturally shifted from being a pillar of the family to a parasite.
Therefore, Zhou She thought about it carefully and found it really hard to understand: there was no need to tell him about important matters, and for minor matters, he could just have someone pass on a message. Why make a special trip?
Just then, the carriage stopped; we had arrived at the princess's residence.
As the eldest daughter born when the emperor was still a prince, the princess's residence occupied a vast area, was in an excellent location, and was magnificent and grand in scale.
Zhou She usually lived in a garden in the suburbs and rarely came back, mainly because he didn't want to run into his brothers.
Unfortunately, he happened to run into it this time.
The Zhou brothers were like oil and water, and they would fight whenever they met. Zhou She was the elder brother, and he had a younger brother who was five years younger than him.
Zhou She's younger brother is named Zhou Ze, who just turned fourteen this year. But despite his young age, Zhou She has never won an argument with him.
"Big brother," Zhou Ze said, blocking the doorway.
Zhou She pretended not to see him and started to walk inside. However, Zhou Ze moved aside, blocking his way completely, and he could only give a perfunctory reply: "Ah, second brother."
"I heard that Father has found a good marriage for my eldest brother, and he's going to be a live-in son-in-law?"
I've never heard of it. Even if it is, so what?
Zhou She was in a very good mood and said with a smile, "Yes, it's rare that they don't look down on their elder brother... Sigh, I need to hurry up and learn the rules for men."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at his younger brother and added earnestly, "You too, look at your face, it's so dark. Don't let your sister-in-law look down on you."
Zhou Ze's face darkened even more.
Zhou She had won a great victory and was about to leave triumphantly when he suddenly heard a male voice: "What nonsense are you and your brother talking about? Get back in here right now."
This is the truth behind why Zhou She could never win an argument.
Every time Zhou Ze got angry and cried, his father would intervene. Zhou She was indifferent: "I've already become a playboy, so what if you scold me? Ignore it."
According to Zhou She's usual practice, he should have left by now. But he was here to discuss serious matters with his father, so he had no choice but to continue walking in, explaining as he went, "I was just joking."
Zhou's father stood outside the study, his face as black as coal. Seeing Zhou She slowly approaching, he immediately began to berate him.
"Look at yourself! Do you even have a proper posture? You're about to turn twenty, yet you never strive for anything..."
Zhou She immediately slid to his knees and covered his father's mouth, saying, "I was wrong."
Zhou She was already very familiar with this confession process. Zhou's father was not surprised at all. He paused, feeling rather thirsty, and then said, "Come in with me."
Zhou She followed his father into the study.
Zhou's father walked behind the desk and sat down. Zhou She handed him tea, then stood in the room like a wooden stake, mentally commenting on his father's words.
The first thing Zhou's father said was: "The second daughter of Vice Minister Gu is both beautiful and talented, gentle and virtuous. I have already made a marriage agreement with Minister Gu. In a few days, you will go to Vice Minister Gu's residence to finalize the betrothal."
Zhou She was taken aback. He had seen the second daughter of Vice Minister Gu before, but he didn't remember her appearance. It wasn't that he had any objections, but rather...
My father actually told him about it; he wasn't as autocratic as before.
It was clear that Zhou's father was just mentioning it casually, not intending to wait for his reply; the real issue was yet to come.
"I told you long ago, your brother is a good student, so don't cause trouble, or you'll ruin his future..."
This is a well-worn topic, so I'll skip it.
"There are only two brothers in the family, so you should help each other. Don't go against your younger brother..."
Let's skip this point, as it's not very informative.
"His Majesty is currently selecting tutors for several princes. Although you don't like studying, you can't be a playboy forever. I've already recommended you..."
My father's foresight... well, wait a minute!
It cannot be ignored!
Zhou She quickly snapped out of his drowsy state, and in his shock, he didn't even have time to use a respectful form of address: "I'm already so old!"
Zhou's father remained silent, staring intently at him.
Zhou She was not intimidated. He sorted out his thoughts, maintained his composure, and explained earnestly, "Father, His Majesty would not choose someone as old as me to be his tutor. He needs to be young so that we can develop feelings for each other."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou's father's eyes.
Zhou She thought his father had been persuaded and was about to press on when suddenly he heard his father slowly ask, "Don't you know the ages of the princes?"
"..." Zhou She was speechless.
Father Zhou tapped the table and said calmly, "His Majesty has five sons. Except for the Sixth Prince, who has just turned one year old, the others have all come of age."
Yeah?
Zhou She genuinely hadn't paid any attention to this.
His mother was the eldest daughter, and she was almost forty now. Among the princes, the eldest was certainly not young either, but Zhou She seemed to remember... the emperor's eldest son had died young many years ago, and the oldest surviving prince was no more than twenty-four or twenty-five, right?
Seeing that he was slowly coming to his senses, Zhou's father first instructed him, "You must not tell these things to outsiders."
Then he slowly said, "His Majesty fell seriously ill before the New Year, and it seems that he will soon be establishing a Crown Prince. How can we miss such a good opportunity? Among the princes, only the Third Prince is considered intelligent, so you will go and serve as his tutor."
Zhou She thought to himself, "I knew it would be this mess." He had no power to resist, so he could only say, "What if it's not the Third Prince..."
"Aren't you very good at dealing with people?" Zhou's father's gaze shifted. "Don't overlook any of the princes. Don't offend them. When His Majesty chooses the crown prince, he can only pick someone from among them."
Zhou She opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but his father had already closed his eyes impatiently, ready to send him away.
Seeing this, Zhou She had no choice but to drag himself away, silently chanting in his heart: Alas—the brave warrior departs, never to return…
"Stop." Behind him, Zhou's father suddenly called out again, his voice hesitant. "Are you singing?"
Zhou She was shocked: "I can hear the songs in my head? Dad, do you have mind-reading abilities?"
Just as he was about to obediently admit his mistake, he saw his father suddenly stand up, and with a loud crash, even the chair overturned. He was completely unaware of this, and only asked in a deep voice, "Who's outside!"
Zhou She snapped out of his daze and realized that his father wasn't talking about him. He calmed down and finally heard the voice, vast and distant, a woman's voice coming from beyond the heavens.
Accompanied by cheerful music, the female voice sounded particularly lively.
[Hello everyone, long time no see! Did you miss me? I've been busy organizing materials lately, so I've been putting things off for a while. Luckily, a lot of artifacts were recently unearthed from the mausoleum, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about Emperor Ningzhong.]
Zhou She peeked out and exclaimed, "Wow—!"
Amazing high-tech, amazing metaphysics. Although he had long suspected something was wrong with the sky, what was going on here?
Zhou's father rushed out of the study. He saw that the originally gray and silent sky had somehow turned into a colorful one, with a line of gaudy characters written on it: "Eternal Tyrant".
“What is this…” Zhou’s father’s usually calm voice gradually weakened.
Inside the palace, the emperor heard a loud commotion outside and had himself moved outside. Looking up at the sky, he wondered, "How come my Ning Dynasty has a tyrant who lasts for ages?"
Tianmu, unable to hear them, continued:
The Ning Dynasty, which dates back more than a thousand years, is still talked about today because of its advanced national strength, flourishing culture, and prosperous economy.
Of course, besides daily battles between fans of the Ning Dynasty and the Sheng and Qing Dynasties, arguing about which was the most prosperous era, the Ning Dynasty also boasted the most eccentric emperors. Emperor Ning Zhongzong, whom we'll be discussing today, is a prime example.
Although it was an extraterrestrial object, the woman's voice was remarkably clear and pleasant, and everyone understood what she was saying. As for the incomprehensible "battle," it was naturally selectively ignored by everyone.
The royal family members shared in the pride: "Although we don't quite understand, we are undoubtedly living in the most prosperous era. The Ning Dynasty's prosperity owes a great deal to us!"
As for those eccentric emperors, they were selectively ignored.
Emperor Ningzhongzong is a figure whose reputation is extremely polarized. Those who like him call him a wise ruler, while those who dislike him condemn him as a tyrant.
The tyrannical theory is widespread, with some even suspecting that Emperor Zhongzong forced his ministers to obtain the document. Of course, this is somewhat insulting, considering he was lying in his coffin at the time; he certainly wouldn't have been in the mood to threaten his ministers. If he had threatened them, it would have been Emperor Cheng's doing.
Ning Dynasty.
From the highest levels of government to the lowest commoners, the entire court was in an uproar. Countless people hurriedly knelt down in the fields, wondering if a deity had descended upon the world.
Isn't this describing our current dynasty?
Looking back, no Zhongzong has appeared yet. Could this female voice, whether real or not, be a fairy from the future? Or a god? A celestial master?
Of course, what surprised the common people was not Emperor Zhongzong; they could only understand one word: tyrant.
Will this peaceful life still be disrupted?
The members of the royal family dared not be negligent and immediately craned their necks to look at the sky. They couldn't skip class when it involved their own family matters.
Zhou She did the same, but not because he was interested in Emperor Zhongzong, but because...
He was so bored in ancient times, why wouldn't he enjoy being able to gossip about the royal family?
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