She became a god

On one side is Princess Xu Yao, who saved her life and gave her a second life; on the other side is her senior sister, with whom she spends every day and is both her teacher and friend.

Su Mingzhu was caught in a dilemma. In her heart, Ye Qingzhou was naturally more important than Chen Lai.

The worst consequence of reporting this matter to Princess Xu Yao is that you will incur her dislike.

If they don't report it, Chen Lai could really lose his life.

After a moment of hesitation, Su Mingzhu took out a bamboo leaf that Ye Qingzhou had given her.

Su Mingzhu wasn't lying to Chen Lai; she really didn't have Ye Qingzhou's jade slip, and she wasn't confident she could contact Ye Qingzhou.

This bamboo leaf was a special keepsake given to her by Ye Qingzhou, in addition to the jade thumb ring and a few books.

Ye Qingzhou once said that if one day Su Mingzhu changed her mind and no longer wanted to be an emperor but instead wanted to be a knight-errant, he could use his spiritual power to activate this bamboo leaf to contact her.

Now, Su Mingzhu's desire to become an emperor remains unchanged, yet she tries to contact Ye Qingzhou using bamboo leaves, which makes Su Mingzhu secretly lament her predicament.

This could be considered using the Lord's kindness to deceive or even morally blackmail the Lord, and Su Mingzhu did not want to do that.

Moreover, Su Mingzhu was very dissatisfied with Chen Lai's approach of threatening her life. As a born emperor, she disliked being threatened, especially when it was coercion based on harming her own interests.

But if we don't do that, how can we save Chen Lai's life?

Despite her resentment towards Chen Lai, Su Mingzhu was still young and had a sincere heart. She couldn't bear to see her senior sister, who had always taken good care of her, die so quietly.

Calm down, be sure to calm down!

Su Mingzhu analyzed it carefully and actually found a huge loophole.

She couldn't contact Princess Xuyao ​​herself, but Chen Lai couldn't possibly be unable to contact Princess Xuyao, so why did Chen Lai have to contact Princess Xuyao ​​herself?

Unless Princess Xu Yao has no intention of paying attention to Chen Lai at all, wouldn't that mean that Princess Xu Yao has long since given up on investing in the Eastern Palace?

Chen Lai must have sensed Princess Xu Yao's attitude, which is why she suddenly took action. She used the camaraderie of being from the same sect to force herself to ask Princess Xu Yao for help, attempting to use benefits and goodwill to deepen the bond between Princess Xu Yao and the Crown Prince.

From the very beginning, Chen Lai's goal was not for the third prince to be eliminated, but for Princess Xu Yao to be included.

"Senior Sister, you almost fooled me!"

However, a new problem has arisen.

Why was Princess Xu Yao, Ji Cunxi's close friend and Chen Lai's superior in the Zhao Sect, unwilling to support the Crown Prince?

Did the third prince's side give more?

Princess Xu Yao comes from a distinguished family. Can the third prince really offer her enough incentive to make her consider changing the heir apparent?

Su Mingzhu felt that the reason why Princess Lingxu changed her stance was not due to the third prince Ji Cunguang, but rather to the Eastern Palace.

So, what did the Crown Prince do to displease Princess Xu Yao?

Su Mingzhu didn't know, but she thought someone should know the answer.

At 11:45 PM, Cai Yinglin arrived.

"Young Master Su, what brings you here?"

“Chen Lai is dying.” Su Mingzhu said this while staring intently at Cai Yinglin’s face, as if trying to discern some clue.

“Our plot against Ji Cunzhen has been almost exposed. Emperor Yu summoned her to the palace, presumably to punish her. Now, the only one who can save her is Princess Xu Yao. But I don’t know why Princess Xu Yao would want to save her.”

Cai Yinglin said anxiously, "Even if someone has to pay with their life, it's not Chen Zhan Shi who should die!"

“If Princess Xu Yao harbors resentment, she should not take it out on Chen Zhan Shi.”

Sure enough, there were things Su Mingzhu didn't know about.

Su Mingzhu laughed, "What exactly has the Crown Prince been doing lately? Don't try to hide it from me."

Seeing this, Cai Yinglin knew perfectly well that Su Mingzhu had been bluffing him.

It seems that Princess Xu Yao does not trust Su Mingzhu. So, if I tell Su Mingzhu everything, will I really be able to rescue Chen Lai?

Seemingly noticing Cai Yinglin's hesitation, Su Mingzhu said in a low voice, "Are you still unwilling to tell the truth, trying to ruin Chen Lai's last chance of survival?"

Cai Yinglin said in a trembling voice, "Half a month ago, Xing Yan, the registrar of the Eastern Palace, killed the young master of the Wen family."

Xing Yan, the chief clerk of the Eastern Palace, was a man who hated evil, was honest and upright, and had outstanding abilities, but he offended many powerful and influential people in the Great Yu Dynasty.

This person also has another identity: one of the forty-nine hall masters of the Zhao Sect's human realm branch.

As for the Wen family, in Su Mingzhu's impression, they were a neutral family. This family believed in living a secluded life in the city and did not like to move around in the world of fame and fortune.

"Why would Xing Yan kill the young master of the Wen family out of the blue? Logically speaking, the two of them have absolutely no connection."

Cai Yinglin said, "Xing Yan came from a humble background and hated those who bullied others by abusing their power."

As the Zhao religion has grown to its current size, it has attracted many followers and taken in many impoverished women, making the question of how to accommodate them a pressing issue.

These women were not native to Dayu, but came from neighboring countries. After becoming citizens of Dayu, Dayu did not allocate much land to them.

Even if there were, they would only be barren wastelands.

The best farmland remained firmly occupied by the gentry, while the middle and lower-grade lands had long been distributed to the native inhabitants of Dayu.

However, apart from a very small number of monks, most of the followers from other countries were ordinary mortals who could not survive without land.

Although Ji Cunxi contributed the land under his own name and used the funds from the Eastern Palace Treasury and the Zhao Sect to purchase land, it was only a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of followers.

Therefore, the Zhaojiao Human Realm Branch had to find another way.

They actually came up with a good idea: "Strike down the local tyrants and distribute the land."

Initially, "tuhao" referred to wealthy men from other countries. The powerful and influential people of Yu Kingdom were happy to see this happen and would even send their family cultivators to help.

But later, this nouveau riche also included the local elites of the Yu Kingdom.

Despite their public pronouncements that only those powerful figures who severely exploit women at the bottom of society will be held accountable.

However, most of the powerful and influential people in the Yu Kingdom distanced themselves from the Zhao religion as a result.

What constitutes severe exploitation of the lower classes?

The power to decide rests with the Crown Prince.

No powerful or wealthy person can tolerate having a sword hanging over their neck.

This sword could fall at any moment, in the name of justice, to take one's life and seize one's property.

This was an irreconcilable conflict between the Crown Prince and the powerful nobles of Da Yu. After the conflict broke out, the Crown Prince lost.

Thus, Ji Cunxi, the future crown prince who was a princess, went through three lifetimes of tribulations and could not return to the country unless she sincerely repented.

What does it mean to truly repent?

Naturally, they no longer considered sacrificing the lives of the powerful and wealthy of Yu State to support women at the bottom of society.

However, the Crown Prince's palace is full of tough nuts to crack.

Even though Ji Cunxi ended up like this, they still felt that "fighting the local tyrants and distributing the land" was not wrong.

Xing Yan firmly believes this, feeling that the world is unfair and why some people are born to have more than others.

Why are those powerful and wealthy women, who have far more resources than ordinary women, unwilling to share some of those resources with their fellow women?