"This plan is excellent."
Zhuang Wanrong's eyes lit up with excitement.
If it were just a stone tablet, it wouldn't be very damaging. After all, stone tablets were easy to fake. People might just assume someone was trying to smear the crown prince on purpose.
But if the breach of the Sui River that Princess Changle predicted really happened, that would change everything.
No one would believe someone could foresee the collapse of the Sui River in advance.
The collapse of the Sui River paired with this stone tablet would amplify the impact by ten thousand times instantly.
Even if the imperial family wanted to cover it up, they wouldn't be able to.
It would make people wonder—was the river's collapse caused by the crown prince?
And with that, the crown prince would be branded as inauspicious.
"The Truth Sect already exists in Qingzhou. Once the Sui River collapses, they'll stir up trouble right away."
Princess Changle smiled. "Your Ladyship, when they hear rumors about the stone tablet, do you think they'll expose the truth or cooperate?"
"Of course they'll cooperate."
Zhuang Wanrong was getting more and more excited. "Any chance to hurt the Great Zhou crown prince, the Truth Sect would never pass up."
She grabbed Princess Changle's hand tightly. "Changle, you really are my lucky star!"
Princess Changle smiled calmly. "This can damage the crown prince's reputation, but it's not enough to bring him down."
Zhuang Wanrong paused. "Even this isn't enough?"
"The stone tablet can taint the crown prince's name." Princess Changle looked completely confident. "But his talent is too strong. The royal family won't give up on him easily. Plus, the empress is backing him. In the end, he'll be fine."
Zhuang Wanrong's expression darkened. "Then everything we're doing is meaningless?"
"It's not meaningless. As long as we have a follow-up move, the power of the stone tablet will erupt. By then, not even the empress can protect the crown prince."
Zhuang Wanrong's eyes shone brightly. "Changle, you have more moves?"
"Five days from now, at the hour of the rabbit, there will be a solar eclipse."
Princess Changle said it lightly.
She didn't need to explain. Zhuang Wanrong immediately understood, her breathing grew heavy. "The rabbit hour is right at sunrise, and the crown prince has always been the master of the Eastern Palace. A solar eclipse in the east... even without our interference, the world will naturally connect it to the crown prince."
Princess Changle gave a small smile. "Add that to the stone tablet, two events pointing at the crown prince. Your Ladyship, do you think that's enough for a killing blow?"
Zhuang Wanrong stayed silent at first, then her body began to tremble. She let out low, broken laughter.
She wanted to laugh out loud, but she was afraid of being overheard. So she had to hold it in.
After a long while, her mood settled. When she looked at Princess Changle again, her gaze was like staring at a priceless treasure.
"Changle, if my Xiu'er can become crown prince one day, you'll be the biggest contributor."
"I've already told Your Ladyship the plan. So now you just have to relax and stay calm. All we need is patience."
Princess Changle spoke steadily.
Three days passed before they knew it.
In those three days, Yang Cheng's life was peaceful.
During the day, he went to Autumn Water Courtyard to cultivate. In the evening, he returned to the palace before supper.
Right before dawn, Yang Cheng woke up.
He looked out at the sky, his dark eyes deep and quiet. "This day has finally come again."
The 3rd day of the twelfth month, Year 2502 in the Great Zhou calendar.
He could never forget this day from his past life.
The Sui River broke its banks. The stone tablet declaring the crown prince inauspicious appeared.
Public outrage surged. A massive number of court officials begged Emperor Qian Yuan to depose the crown prince.
It took everything Emperor Qian Yuan and Mother did to suppress the incident.
But just two days later...
At sunrise, a solar eclipse occurred.
The debate over the crown prince being inauspicious exploded. Even Emperor Qian Yuan couldn't stop it.
In that crisis, Mother was forced to send a letter to her younger brother far away on the northern border—Great Zhou's General of Cavalry, Yun Splendid Radiancei.
The Yun clan elders had never liked Mother. They always favored Yun Yirou.
Back then, the Yun elders wanted Yun Yirou to become empress.
Only because Uncle Splendid Radiancei backed Mother did they fail.
Now, in the north.
At that time, Northern Yan was deep in a royal civil war.
Yun Splendid Radiancei had spotted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to crush the Northern Yan army.
But the timing wasn't clear yet. He still needed to wait and plan carefully.
Then he received a letter from Yun Yirou. To protect Yang Cheng's title as crown prince, Yun Splendid Radiancei had no choice but to act early and go to war.
In that battle, Yun Splendid Radiancei achieved an unparalleled feat—he wiped out 300,000 enemy troops.
But because the preparations weren't complete, Yun Splendid Radiancei died on the battlefield.
His glorious victory and sacrifice silenced the rumors of Yang Cheng being inauspicious and saved his crown prince status.
But Mother lost the brother who supported her the most. And Yang Cheng lost the uncle who loved him the most.
It became a lifelong scar for Yang Cheng.
And after that, the situation in Splendid Radiance Hall became even harder.
Mother aged rapidly, visibly, day by day.
In this life, Yang Cheng would never let it happen again.
Time flew by.
Before Yang Cheng could leave for Autumn Water Courtyard, news of the Sui River breaking its banks spread to the capital like wildfire.
The words on that stone tablet had already spread across the land.
As the empress's residence, Splendid Radiance Hall naturally received the news almost as fast as the court itself.
But Yun Liyue didn't show any sign of worry in front of Yang Cheng. She remained as gentle as ever.
She didn't know—Yang Cheng already knew everything.
He thought of his past life.
Back then, he only learned what had happened during these ten days after the news of his uncle's death reached him.
Everything that happened during those ten stormy days had been carried by Mother alone.
From beginning to end, he had always been under her protection.
Yang Cheng showed no unusual behavior either.
Since Mother didn't want him to worry, he would naturally respect her wish.
Sitting in the carriage, he noticed a small spirit-gathering formation had been set up inside today.
Hu Po smiled and said it was to help with his breathing practice.
But Yang Cheng knew spirit-gathering formations had another use—to block out sound.
That way, he wouldn't hear the voices outside the carriage.
When he arrived at Autumn Water Courtyard, Cheng Junyi glanced at him but didn't say much. She let Yang Cheng and Tang Xingyu begin their usual training.
An hour passed, and their morning cultivation ended.
"Chengcheng, you seem calm today, but your qi is more unsettled than usual."
Cheng Junyi said, "It seems you already know about the Sui River?"
Yang Cheng said, "I do."
"Before you came, your mother sent someone ahead to tell me not to bring it up, in case it disrupted your mood."
Cheng Junyi said, "But I hope you understand. She didn't hide it to keep you in the dark—she just wanted to protect you."
Yang Cheng's eyes were full of warmth. "Teacher, don't worry. I'd never blame my mother. In my heart, she'll always be the best mother in the world."
Hearing that, Cheng Junyi couldn't help hugging Yang Cheng tight. She said tenderly, "Chengcheng, how are you so understanding?"
Her hug pressed his face in tightly, and he almost couldn't breathe.
"Even though something this big happened, you're still so composed at such a young age, focused on training... Having a disciple like you is my greatest fortune."
As she spoke, Cheng Junyi couldn't resist cupping Yang Cheng's chubby cheeks and planting a kiss.
Both Yang Cheng and Yang Xiu were precocious, but they gave her completely different feelings.
Yang Cheng's soul aura was clean and pure. It clearly hadn't been taken over, nor affected by any foreign spiritual force.
Yang Xiu was different.
In his soul aura, she faintly sensed a threat.
It made her suspect that some ancient, powerful being was lurking within Yang Xiu's sea of consciousness.
Of course, that didn't mean Yang Xiu was a bad candidate.
In fact, that made him seem even more blessed by fate.
Many people would admire him even more for it.
But Cheng Junyi didn't like it.
Someone so young already under the influence of something ancient? He wouldn't just lose his childhood innocence—his core nature might be erased altogether.
If she had to compare them as trees—
Yang Xiu was like a carefully pruned tree.
Yang Cheng was a naturally grown one.
And in truth, that was exactly the case.
Yang Cheng had been reincarnated from the womb in his past life, and now he was reborn.
In both lives, his soul had always been his own. He had never been touched by any old monster's will.
"Teacher, I want a kiss too!"
Tang Xingyu ran over.
Cheng Junyi chuckled. "Alright, you get one too."
Then she gave Tang Xingyu a kiss as well.
At the same time—
Today was supposed to be a day off. Emperor Qian Yuan had been cultivating in the imperial study.
But once news of the Sui River breach arrived, he had no choice but to stop and handle this major event.
Soon after, several senior officials came together to the imperial study to meet with him.
Emperor Qian Yuan had no choice but to let them in.
"Your Majesty, the Sui River breach is a serious matter. The top priority now is to send someone to handle the flood and disaster relief."
Grand Secretariat Head Xu Yan spoke first.
"Who do you think is suitable?"
Emperor Qian Yuan asked.
"That is for Your Majesty to decide."
Xu Yan replied.
Flood relief was grueling, thankless work.
Emperor Qian Yuan looked around the room. "Gentlemen, is anyone willing to go?"
No one answered.
Just then, Deputy Secretary Yan Chonggu spoke up. "Your Majesty, I am willing to go. But I have one condition."
Emperor Qian Yuan said, "What is your condition?"
"To bring relief to the people, we must first calm their hearts and soothe their anger."
Yan Chonggu said, "Right now, during the flood relief effort, the disaster victims found a stone tablet in the water. The words on it have already spread across the land. Everyone is saying the crown prince caused the flood."
"I ask Your Majesty to temporarily remove the crown prince from his position to calm the people. Once the situation passes, if you are willing, you may reinstate him."
The whole room fell into dead silence.
Temporarily remove the crown prince?
It sounded reasonable.
But everyone knew—once a crown prince was removed, how many had ever been reinstated?
Even if he did return, the stain would remain. He could be removed again at any time.
Emperor Qian Yuan's eyes burst with cold light. He looked like a furious dragon, full of killing intent as he glared at Yan Chonggu. "Yan Chonggu, how dare you!"
"Your Majesty, I speak with only the nation in mind. Please see my sincerity."
Yan Chonggu immediately knelt. "The crown prince is still just a baby. He understands nothing. No one knows if he will grow up wise and virtuous."
"Half a year ago, I opposed this strongly. Now, the Sui River disaster proves I was right. Please, Your Majesty, depose the crown prince. Observe him for a few more years. If he proves himself when he grows up, there's still time to reinstate him."
Before he even finished speaking, more than half of the officials dropped to their knees.
"Your Majesty, Deputy Yan speaks with no personal motive. His words are for the good of the realm."
"For the sake of the nation, for the will of the people, please temporarily abolish the crown prince's title."
In a flash, the cry to depose the crown prince surged like a rising tide.