734: Chapter 156: Activate the Trap Card – Chronicle of the Ages 734: Chapter 156: Activate the Trap Card – Chronicle of the Ages “…The Imperial Court has allocated 500,000 taels of silver to build Jishan Academy, mainly to cultivate the children of the Imperial Clan, hoping you all can grow up to be outstanding and able to share the Emperor’s burdens and solve difficulties.”
In the lecture hall, two portraits were hung, one higher and one lower.
One portrait was of the present Grand Ancestor Emperor, and the other was of the Great Sage and Preeminent First Teacher.
In the middle, the morial tablet worshipped bore the five big characters “Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, Teacher”.
The old master led a group of youngsters in black, bowing and worshipping respectfully towards the portraits and the morial tablet.
The thick fragrance of sandalwood wafted through the window’s lattice, causing Li Mumu to sneeze subconsciously.
“Anchoring successful!”
[You are the fourth generation illegitimate daughter of King Mu’s Mansion, Mu Hanyan, ordered to attend Jishan Academy as a companion reader…]
Li Mumu: “???”
Ah, this…
She turned her head and saw Shen Qingxi, who was just as confused and clueless.
[You see a familiar person, she is your close friend from the boudoir, Shen Yun.]
[You vaguely recall that three years ago, both of you were chosen by the Brocade-Clothed Guard, trained to beco personal protectors of Princess Zhaoning.]
[You vaguely rember that in your past life, you were a Great Demon who achieved Cultivation Achievent, and due to failing the tribulation, you were reincarnated as a human, yet you retained a portion of your cultivation and mories from your past life…]
Enough, enough, stop making things up.
A failed tribulation, yet still reincarnated as a human, which demon ever gets such good fortune?
After experiencing several successful cross-dinsional anchorings, Li Mumu gradually realized that this mysterious voice always appearing in her head was like an autonomously programd AI.
It always managed to craft a suitably fitting set of identity details after successful anchoring, integrating her into the world seamlessly.
So…
Was the before crossing over really nad Li Mumu?
It’s frightening to contemplate.
At this mont, she heard soone inside saying: “Class is over, Yubing stay behind.”
After a mont, the other black-clothed youngsters filed out one by one, seemingly oblivious to her and Shen Qingxi’s presence.
It wasn’t until a long while later that Xia Yubing ca out from inside.
It was still the sa refreshingly short haircut, only now she seed more tender and fair.
This was the first ti Li Mumu had seen her in the flesh…
Photos in black and white don’t count.
Xia Yubing stood at the door silently for a while, then turned to look at Li Mumu and Shen Qingxi.
“Let’s go.”
She rely said it indifferently.
Upon leaving the courtyard and coming outside, looking at the sowhat familiar garden landscape, Li Mumu instantly recognized that this was Jishan Academy.
Only, it was Jishan Academy from ten years ago.
“Have you awakened?”
Arriving at a secluded corner where no one paid attention, Xia Yubing suddenly turned around and asked.
“Awake!”
“Your Highness, what do you an by that?”
Shen Qingxi, who answered first, turned her head in surprise towards Li Mumu: “Reddy sister, you…
”
“Are you acting as ?”
Nonsense, can’t that computer brain of yours seriously think about how we ended up here?
I had just been bantering with an old handso guy.
Before I knew it, the hen turned into a duck.
The lives of fifty thousand people had been transford into five hundred thousand taels of silver.
The transition was so smooth that I didn’t even realize when I had stepped into their trap.
Shouldn’t I be more cautious at this ti?
Li Mumu gave her a disdainful look and continued to feign ignorance.
“Your Highness…”
“Do you think these are my mories?”
Xia Yubing shook her head: “It’s true that my surna is Xia, but I’m no mber of the Imperial Clan.
My father is just an ordinary landlord; our family has had no relations with the forr dynasty’s imperial family for three generations.”
I see, so it was after King Jing of Zhongshan, right?
Shen Qingxi asked, perplexed: “Then why did they still call you Princess Zhaoning?”
“That’s the posthumous title I was given after my death.”
“Huh?”
Shen Qingxi listened in total bewildernt: “Why’s that?
Of course, if you find it inconvenient to say, then pretend I didn’t ask!”
“There’s nothing I can’t talk about.”
Xia Yubing watched the students playing and laughing in the distance, speaking coldly: “If I don’t speak up myself, should I just let them whitewash and embellish this part of history into the picture they desire?”
“Back then, the Imperial Court did indeed allocate five hundred thousand taels of silver to fund the construction of Jishan Academy.
It’s true that the Imperial Court recruited descendants of the Xia Clan to educate, hoping to cultivate outstanding talents to support the Imperial Family.
The entire plan was proposed and led by Kong Ting, and it was approved by the regent, the Qian King, at the ti.
The young Emperor at that age was nothing but a human-shaped seal.”
“But that five hundred thousand taels of silver wasn’t actually delivered.
The Imperial Court was already strapped for cash at that ti; the Ministry of Revenue couldn’t scrape up a single penny.
Kong Ting suggested using the imperial internal treasury, which the Qian King agreed to, selling off a batch of Imperial Family assets and then swiping two hundred thousand taels from it.”
“After hiring scholars from all over the land, another two hundred thousand taels were spent; buying this patch of land and building a few pavilions, repairing the gardens, the books were completely drained.
Later, forced by necessity, they used the school’s assets as collateral to secure a loan of two hundred thousand taels from foreign banks.
Only then was Jishan Academy able to open its doors for enrollnt.”
Shen Qingxi asked curiously: “Are the students you were talking about just now?
They all look so vibrant and thriving, but why haven’t I heard about this?
Even my grandfather never ntioned it to .”
“It would be better if there really was such a group of people.”
Xia Yubing shook her head: “My father spent a huge sum to fight for a spot for to enter the school; he did not expect to really learn sothing substantial here.
It was just about using this opportunity to get connected with the Imperial Family’s auspicious energy, so that when discussing marriage in the future, we could ‘gild our face’.”
“Most of the Xia Clan descendants who were recruited are like this.
Among them, there are idlers and ignoramuses; they were all sent here by their parents to gild themselves.
The Imperial Court was so corrupt and degenerate that it had already lost the people’s hearts.
Anyone with a bit of sense would look for their own way out, and nobody took this matter seriously.”
“And I…
finally got the chance to study at school and cherished it imnsely.
But being a girl, I had no right to sit in the classroom and listen to lectures alongside the boys.”
“The bright and flourishing scene you see now is simply a picture fantasized by those old scholars.
Like that Master Jin, he doesn’t even rember who I am.
However…
in the end, he rembered who I was, because I did sothing big back then.”
“I went to assassinate the President.”
“Wait a minute!”
Shen Qingxi took a deep breath, striving to calm herself.
“I have a weak stomach; I can’t swallow this big piece of news.
Slow down…
Who did you say you tried to assassinate?”
“The current President, who was then the commander of the newly ford Ink Green Qilin Army stationed at Tiann, Xu Ziwei.”
“I think I’ll squat down to listen…
I’m feeling a bit of a stomach upset, what on earth were you aiming for, Sister?”
“I was young at the ti, and my thoughts were rather radical.”
Xia Yubing shrugged: “I thought being with that bunch of vermin wasn’t enough to strive for greater things.
The President was visiting the school for inspection at the ti, so I hid a gun on and approached.”
“And then you died?”
“No, the assassination failed, and the President even praised for my courage and didn’t do anything to .
But it scared those old fools enough; that very night they drugged my food and, after strangling , delivered my body to the President’s tent to apologize.”
“…I didn’t anticipate such a turn of events, so what happened next?”
“Next?
The President said that the last bit of valor of the five-hundred-year dynasty ended in the hands of you rotten scholars.
Three thousand male descendants of the Xia Clan couldn’t compare to one woman; the forr emperors lying in their graves beneath the nine springs would find it hard to rest.”
“Then they felt ashad and considered themselves unworthy, and went ho to punish themselves with three cups of wine.
The Imperial Court also issued a decree, with the young Emperor acknowledging as his sister, posthumously conferring the title of Princess Zhaoning.”
Xia Yubing scoffed coldly: “It’s only been ten years, and the old master’s mory is not dependable.
They suddenly rembered that I, Princess Zhaoning, seed to be a real princess, the excellent talent they had ticulously cultivated, a pity that a beauty like fell before successfully eliminating the traitor.”
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