"You're saying the Crown Prince personally recommended you to oversee this year's Spring Examinations, only to plan a scheme against you during it?"
The last time Yun Ni saw Yun Shu, she had only just entered the court and taken on the rather modest position of Head of the Merchants' Association.
How long had it been since then?
And now she was already entrusted with the role of chief examiner for the Spring Examinations!
This was not merely advancement, it was an earth-shattering rise through the ranks.
The thought that had once flashed through Yun Ni's mind during their earlier confrontation now surfaced again, clearer and more ambitious than before.
"Shu Shu!"
Yun Ni grasped Yun Shu's hands with sudden intensity. The seriousness in her gaze startled Yun Shu.
"…What is it now?"
"I have something important to tell you."
Ever since her return from the modern world, Yun Ni had changed. Her personality, once restrained by the bounds of court life, now brimmed with fire and clarity.
She placed Yun Shu's hands firmly over her chest. Within her eyes shimmered a kind of reverence Yun Shu had never seen before.
"Search your heart, Shu Shu. Tell me, do you truly like the Tian Sheng Dynasty as it is now?
Would you rather see a realm where the people live in peace, where no one goes hungry or cold, and even studying becomes a commonplace pursuit?
Where women may live freely, no longer bound by the so-called virtues or restrictions forced upon them?"
"…Of course I would." Yun Shu nodded, a little dazed.
"Then you must claim the throne."
"…What?"
Yun Shu snapped out of her stupor.
"Wait, you mean that throne?"
"What else could I possibly mean?"
Yun Ni's eyes gleamed with fervor, as though she had just been injected with a dose of raw ambition.
"You're a transmigrator! Chosen by the heavens, sent from the modern age into the past!"
"…Or maybe you've just been watching too many novels and dramas ever since you transmigrated to the modern world?"
Yun Shu frowned so hard her whole face crinkled.
"Do you even know who I was before I transmigrated?"
"…What kind of person?" Yun Ni blinked, half-expecting some dramatic reveal like those from overpowered hidden-identity novels.
But Yun Shu's tone turned solemn.
"A university graduate. Fresh out of school. Never held a proper job."
"…"
Ah. Yes. Yun Ni had seen memes about this before. The fresh graduate—often a creature with a vacant stare, brimming with misplaced confidence and an empty head.
"I get what you're saying."
Having confirmed that Yun Shu was not some secret powerhouse in disguise, Yun Ni exhaled with relief and immediately resumed her persuasion.
"If you really were just an ordinary student, with no abilities to speak of, then sure, after transmigrating, you wouldn't be able to make soap, lipstick, or invent concrete or explosives.
But you're not that helpless. You have your spatial pocket, you have your cheat-like abilities. If you wanted to, you could introduce the steam engine to Tian Sheng and lead it into the industrial age!
You may not understand the court as the ministers do, but you hold knowledge a thousand years ahead of them."
"…You actually make a fair point." Yun Shu looked shaken.
"But being Emperor is exhausting. Besides, it's not like I can just decide to become one. Father Emperor despises conflict between siblings, and he favors the Crown Prince. The officials backing the Crown Prince are too many to count.
I don't even have…"
"I know all of this," Yun Ni cut her off.
"Maybe this road is long and hard, Shu Shu. But you're still thinking like a modern citizen."
"…What?" Yun Shu froze.
"You still think you can spend your days as a leisurely princess. Wait until a new Emperor ascends, then retire to some fief or scenic corner of the realm and live out your days in comfort."
Had it been before her journey to the modern world, Yun Ni might never have understood such a mindset.
In an era ruled by imperial power, who wouldn't crave the throne?
Only as Emperor could one enjoy rights beyond the reach of commoners. Only as Emperor could one move freely, without fearing that a wrong word or wrong glance might offend someone powerful and bring about one's downfall.
Only as Emperor would a single gesture send tens of thousands to their knees, basking in boundless glory and command.
Even the sons and daughters of the Imperial family, born to luxury, often had to tread lightly just to survive.
But Yun Shu had not grown up in such a world.
She came from a place of freedom and equality. She could do as she pleased, chase after her dreams, see any part of the world that interested her.
She could laugh online with strangers, mocking the scandals of ancient rulers, and then say, without hesitation—
"Even a dog wouldn't want to be Emperor."
So even now, standing in the midst of the Tian Sheng court, her instincts told her to take it easy. She had never once considered fighting for the throne.
It wasn't a mindset difficult to understand.
And yet…
"Shu Shu," Yun Ni said softly, her voice low and weighted. "Tian Sheng is no longer the era you knew.
You say the Crown Prince seeks your life, but deep down, you never truly believed you would die. Because Father Emperor is here, you've never had to face that fear head-on."
Yun Shu's eyes widened.
"But what if, one day, Father Emperor can no longer protect you?
When the Crown Prince takes the throne, he will kill you. There will be no room for leniency."
The weight of Yun Ni's words sank like a stone in Yun Shu's chest.
She had never truly imagined death as a possibility.
At worst, she thought, she might be imprisoned. Sent to guard the imperial tombs, perhaps. But with her spatial pocket, she could hole up comfortably, no problem.
Or exiled to some desolate place like Qiongzhou? She could still live happily, eating lychees by the hundreds.
She never considered that the Crown Prince might not accept such outcomes.
If he really sat on the throne…
Maybe, she thought, she could just take him down first. Then help another prince who was closer to her. Her mind immediately jumped to the original plot's next Emperor—
Yun Chuhuan.
But barely a second passed before she firmly shook her head.
No. Absolutely not.
That big fool… even if he didn't revert to tyranny, his brain alone would doom Tian Sheng in record time.
The Eldest Prince? Their relationship was lukewarm. Worse, she had sabotaged one of his ambushes aimed at the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince fell, the Eldest Prince would surely turn on her next.
Third Prince? Not even worth considering.
Fourth Prince… The thought of a young, rigid scholar perched on the Dragon Throne made her scalp tingle. He'd suffocate the entire court with propriety alone.
No matter how she looked at it…
Was it really her destiny to sit on that throne?