My System Is Three Thousand Years Early

"I just got home at noon today, all is well."

Emperor Zhou of Great Zhou was taken aback upon hearing Cheng Zhihai’s words.

Just got home today?

Returned so early?

No, that’s not right.

Why could Cheng Guang, the Duke’s Heir, return?

Wasn’t he involved in the operation to suppress the remnants of Great Chu?

Emperor Zhou couldn’t help but be filled with doubts in his heart, his majestic face written with perplexity, intending to ask something, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn’t ask anything.

It’s good that nothing has happened to Cheng Guang, the Duke’s Heir.

Although Emperor Zhou didn’t know why Cheng Guang had returned to the capital city so early, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

"It’s good if there’s no trouble."

Emperor Zhou slightly nodded, his brows mildly relaxed, understanding why Cheng Zhihai appeared so composed.

Compared to Cheng Zhihai, it was he who seemed a bit unstable.

After taking a deep breath, Emperor Zhou rested his chin on one hand, gazing at the officials below, and asked, "Next, how should we deal with the remnants of Great Chu?"

As Emperor Zhou’s words fell, the officials began discussing amongst themselves.

For a time, no one took the initiative to respond.

Until Emperor Zhou was almost impatient.

Minister of War Zhang Jingxing stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, the remnants of Great Chu are not to be underestimated, and behind them stands a Sky-Man. If we are to take action against them now, I fear it would be too forced."

"We could wait and see how other dynasties act. If they decide to strike against the remnants of Great Chu, we can observe the strength of these remnants as well as the Sky-Man behind them."

"Once the other dynasties have tested the strength of Great Chu’s remnants and their Sky-Man, and if we decide to take action then, we would have a better chance of winning."

Emperor Zhou slightly nodded when he heard what Zhang Jingxing said, although he regarded the remnants of Great Chu as a thorn in his side, he wasn’t in a rush to remove them immediately.

There’s no rush for now.

Emperor Zhou waved his hand, signaling Zhao Jin to dismiss the officials and stood up to walk towards the inner hall.

When he arrived at his sleeping quarters, the palace maids and eunuchs had already burnt incense and prepared the bed.

"Your Majesty, which Noble Consort’s tablet needs to be turned over tonight?"

Zhao Jin timely stepped forward to inquire.

Emperor Zhou waved his hand, sitting by the side of the tea table, and said, "Let’s discuss that later, come, join me in a game of chess."

Zhao Jin nodded, carefully taking his seat in front of Emperor Zhou.

Looking at Emperor Zhou’s stern and commanding face, he hesitated for a moment before asking:

"Your Majesty, do you have something on your mind?"

Emperor Zhou was momentarily startled by the questioning then laughed, preparing to shake his head, but pausing as something came to mind, he placed a chess piece with a smile, and then said:

"Zhao Jin, let me ask you, why did the Duke decide to kill everyone inside the Imperial Palace of Great Chu when he breached it?"

Zhao Jin carefully made his move, and upon hearing Emperor Zhou speak of the fall of Great Chu, he felt an immense pressure, sweat beads instantly covering his forehead.

"That, Your Majesty, the Duke did so back then to leave no future troubles behind, to eradicate them root and branch—that’s a principle known to all under the heavens."

Emperor Zhou remained silent, continuing the game, and after several rounds, he said, "And yet, at that time, I didn’t command him to do so."

"People from other kingdoms were also eyeing this piece of fat meat that was Great Chu, after all, the Golden Edict prophecy was known to all under heavens, and the families of the World Royal Family, apart from wanting to completely break down Great Chu, also had other intentions, they wanted to explore why the prophecy was as such."

"Had the Duke not slain the entire royal family of Great Chu back then, the World Royal Family wouldn’t need to scramble and fight over a single remnant of Great Chu now, would they?"

Zhao Jin didn’t understand at this point, his forehead dripping with large beads of sweat, his fingers also began to tremble unconsciously.

He dared not make a sound.

After playing another piece.

Emperor Zhou’s tone slightly hoarse, he murmured, "The Duke defied my command to do so, he must have had his reasons."

"Zhao Jin, I wonder, did you ever see the Emperor of Great Chu, or the Empress?"

Zhao Jin raised his hand slightly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve before saying apprehensively, "Your Majesty, back then Great Chu was the strongest dynasty, not many people under heaven had seen them in person. There were portrayals of the Emperor of Great Chu, but none remained of the Empress."

Emperor Zhou laughed, "Indeed, with my status back then, I could only catch a glimpse of the Emperor of Great Chu from afar, so how could you have seen them in person."

As he said this, Emperor Zhou’s smile slightly faded, and he placed another piece on the board with a slightly heavier tone.

"Logically speaking, apart from the Emperor of Great Chu and a few others, no one has seen the face of the Empress of Great Chu, not even the emperors of the four great dynasties."

"The Duke of the State believes so as well."

"However, there are always exceptions. He did not consider that during my travels outside the palace when I was still a Prince, I once encountered a woman."

"Upon our first meeting, I thought she was a goddess, her beauty celestial. For so many years, I have been searching for her whereabouts. Only recently did I find out... you know..."

Emperor Zhou’s voice trailed off as he looked towards Zhao Jin, "Do you know where I encountered that woman back then?"

At this moment, Zhao Jin felt a chill crawl up his scalp, staring at Emperor Zhou, unsure of the implications behind his words.

He quickly bowed his head.

"This servant does not know..."

Emperor Zhou sighed, shaking his head with a wry smile, "That place, it turned out to be the very spot where the Emperor of Great Chu and the Empress of Great Chu secretly met."

"The person I’ve been yearning for all these years, whom I once thought was a mere illusion, turned out to be the former Empress of Great Chu."

"What astonished me even more was that the Town-Nation Duke’s Heir, Guanger, that child... "

"Bears such a striking resemblance to her."

"Don’t you think that’s very strange?"

Emperor Zhou continued, raising his gaze to Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin’s face showed difficulty; he weakly placed down the piece and bowed, "Your Majesty, this servant has lost."

"This... this servant doesn’t know how to respond..."

Emperor Zhou casually put down the chess piece, stood up, and walked over to the window. Gazing at the bright moon through the latticed window, he said, "The Town-Nation Duke’s Heir bearing such a resemblance to her at that time cannot possibly be coincidental."

Read new chapters at empire

"So there are two possibilities."

"Either the Duke of the State secretly saved the child of the Crown Prince of Great Chu, her offspring, and raised him alone, holding onto the secret of the prophecy reserved for the golden list."

"Or the Town-Nation Duke’s Heir is Yuemei’s child, and there’s no telling what measures the Duke took back then that caused Yuemei’s child’s appearance to change so drastically."

"To bear such a striking resemblance to him." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Zhao Jin, standing to the side, bowed his head, not daring to make a sound.

Emperor Zhou muttered to himself with his hands behind his back, "After learning this information, I felt uneasy, unable to sleep. Today, more than ever, I feel that the household of the Duke of the State is too much of a disturbance for Great Zhou."

"Should the Town-Nation Duke’s Heir die, both the Duke of the State and Cheng Zhihai would lose their minds."

"The Town-Nation Duke’s Heir looks so much like her—there must be a reason for it. I do not intend to investigate deeply anymore, but I can be certain that the Duke was hiding something from me back then."

"Today I summoned Cheng Zhihai to see what his reaction would be if his Princely Heir, Cheng Guang, truly were dead. How could I have expected that he was not dead?"

"If there were survivors left from Great Chu back then, it would make sense if there weren’t just one. If he survived, that could explain it."

"Let them go mad, for in this world, who isn’t a little insane?"

Emperor Zhou sighed and then looked at Zhao Jin, his austere and cold face unchanging, and spoke slowly,

"As far as I know, Cheng Zhihai has been in contact with the Taihao Sword Sect recently, intending a marriage alliance. You should eliminate them on my nephew’s journey to the wedding and bring back the body to me."

"After all, I must look for a reason."

Zhao Jin’s heart tightened upon hearing this, "Your Majesty, do you truly wish to proceed in this way?"

"The Duke of the State, he..."

Emperor Zhou waved his hand dismissively, "You don’t need to worry about that matter. When you act, leave as few traces as possible, or else you will join Guanger in his fate."

Zhao Jin’s spine turned cold, and he broke out in a cold sweat, quickly acknowledging.

He then added a respectful "I shall take my leave" and slowly exited.

After Zhao Jin left,

Emperor Zhou continued to gaze at the moon from the palace, his thoughts as tumultuous as a pouring rain. After a while, he felt he might have forgotten something.

His imposing, frosty face twitched slightly.

No, had he forgotten to turn over the nameplates today?

He looked out at the palace with a gloomy expression and couldn’t help but want to call out.

Zhao Jin, come back to me.

…