Chapter 16: Found Two
“From an unfavored prince, to crown prince, and now ascending the throne as emperor, he was too impatient. His foundation was unstable. If he didn’t choose to cooperate with the Ying family, either he would have to wait until the conflict ignited, and many forces would seize the opportunity, or he could bring out the ancient fragments. A newly crowned emperor like him wouldn’t be taken seriously by the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”
“Not only would he fail to benefit from it, but he would also hand the enemy an opportunity for no reason.”
Zhou Yunxing’s throne had been snatched. Although he had already been the crown prince before ascending, his eagerness to take the throne showed that there were many who didn’t accept him.
His position was unstable, which is why he wanted to end the battle for the throne as quickly as possible.
“Then why choose the Ying family?” asked Prime Minister Ying.
The Ying family’s base was in the southern continent, and in truth, they had little contact with the Great Zhou Dynasty, which was based in the eastern continent. On the contrary, the Shen family had close ties with the dynasty.
In the late emperor’s harem, many of the consorts were from the Shen family, and even the empress came from the Shen family.
“The Shen family supports the Great Zhou Dynasty, but not necessarily Zhou Yunxing. Choosing the Shen family would be like sending a meat bun to a dog with no return. On the other hand, choosing the Ying family would at least earn us his favor.”
At that moment, Ying Ming suddenly spoke, “Father, I am willing to lead the Ying family’s disciples into the ruins for exploration.”
Prime Minister Ying nodded, “This is no small matter. You must be careful and prioritize your safety.”
“I understand, Father.”
…
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The entire Great Zhou Dynasty became incredibly lively. All the people flocked to the streets to celebrate the day.
Seeing this scene, one might have thought Zhou Yunxing was loved by the people.
But in reality, the people didn’t care who sat on the throne. Whoever could fill their bellies and give them a good life would earn their loyalty.
At noon, Zhou Yunxing’s enthronement ceremony was finally successfully held.
Many guests, such as Ying Tong, who came to witness the event, had been seated early in their assigned places. Civil and military officials, along with members of the royal family, gathered outside the grand hall of the palace.
In addition, many itinerant cultivators had also rushed here today, just to witness the enthronement ceremony with their own eyes. After all, in these times, it wasn’t easy to encounter an emperor’s coronation, especially in an empire like the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The last time an emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty ascended the throne was five hundred years ago.
Moreover, this coronation ceremony was somewhat different from previous ones.
The old emperor appeared in person, standing on the high platform with a stern expression, wearing a dark dragon robe. As he watched Zhou Yunxing approach step by step, a complicated emotion flashed in his eyes.
For the first time, the aging emperor clearly realized that he was truly old.
He looked at Zhou Yunxing and said in a deep voice, “The future of the Great Zhou Dynasty is now entrusted to you.”
The young emperor smiled slightly and replied with a bow, “I will not disappoint your trust, Father.”
This scene made some of the royal family members, who had been planning to stir up trouble, glance at each other in confusion.
What’s going on? Wasn’t His Majesty forced to abdicate?
How could he say something like that!?
Some even began to suspect that the old emperor standing above might be an imposter hired by Zhou Yunxing.
But they all knew that such a possibility was almost nonexistent. After all, besides the royal family, there were also civil and military officials who had been with the old emperor for decades, even centuries.
Even if these officials chose to pretend they didn’t recognize him, the guests who had come to witness the ceremony were not so easily fooled.
Soon, after a series of tedious rituals, Zhou Yunxing was officially enthroned, becoming the new ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
…
Inside the hall, Ying Tong propped her chin with one hand and yawned in boredom.
At that moment, a small black bird with a golden feathered crest and golden patterns scattered across its plumage landed on Ying Tong’s shoulder. It spoke in a human voice, “Bored?”
“Mhm, haven’t I made that obvious enough?” Ying Tong replied.
“Well, let me share some news to wake you up a bit.”
“What news?” Ying Tong straightened up, intrigued.
Ye Ying, the bird, preened its feathers for a moment before speaking. “There’s news on those people you asked me to investigate earlier.”
“Really?”
Hearing this, Ying Tong immediately perked up.
Ever since having that dream, Ying Tong had sent people to investigate those unworthy descendants. Initially, Ying Tong intended to deal with them swiftly, but except for Ying Xuan, not even a trace or a matching name could be found for the others.
“Did you find all of them?” Ying Tong asked eagerly.
“Not quite,” Ye Ying replied, a bit sheepishly. “Even though you gave me portraits and names, there’s still too little information to go on.”
Ying Tong knew this wasn’t an easy task. “Forget it, take it slow. Just tell me who you did find.”
“So far, I’ve only found two: Ying Li and Ying Xin. One is currently wandering in exile, and the other has been plotted against and is now barely alive, abandoned by everyone.”
“But there’s something strange about this,” Ye Ying continued. “The portraits you gave me depicted more mature individuals, but these two are clearly just teenagers, not much younger than you. If I hadn’t been sharp and adapted to the situation, I probably wouldn’t have found either of them.”
Hearing this, Ying Tong smacked her forehead in frustration. “I completely forgot about that.”
Back then, the people she saw in her dream were from decades, maybe even centuries, in the future. Of course, their appearances would be younger now, before any of those events had taken place.
Suddenly, Ying Tong thought of another issue.
After Ying Tong ascended and aimed to continue her ascension to godhood, she hadn’t dreamed about the process, but she knew it wouldn’t be simple. The time required could be hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years.
Her unworthy descendants might be causing trouble below, but she wasn’t sure of the exact timeline—she only knew the events. What if those descendants hadn’t even been born yet?
Was she supposed to wait here for them to be born, then wait for them to grow up?
Even if she dealt with these few unworthy descendants, what guarantee did she have that future generations of the Ying family wouldn’t produce more, causing trouble and dragging her, now an ascended ancestor, into their mess?
It was all because of the unfair laws of Heaven, punishing her for the misdeeds of others. Why should she be held responsible for sins she hadn’t committed? Tiandao really had too much time on its hands…
Before she could finish her thought, a sudden wave of danger surged through Ying Tong. It felt exactly like the sensation she had in her dream, when she was crossing the tribulation and Tiandao’s will locked onto her.
“Bring those two to the Prime Minister’s residence,” Ying Tong ordered.
“I figured you’d say that, so they’re already at the residence,” Ye Ying replied.
“Also, their situations are both quite tricky. You should prepare yourself mentally.”
Just as Ying Tong was about to ask more questions, Zhou Yunxing began walking toward her.
