Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 734 - 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 memorial 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 memorial 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 become personal protectors of Princess Zhaoning.]

[You vaguely remember that in your past life, you were a Great Demon who achieved Cultivation Achievement, and due to failing the tribulation, you were reincarnated as a human, yet you retained a portion of your cultivation and memories 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-dimensional anchorings, Li Mumu gradually realized that this mysterious voice always appearing in her head was like an autonomously programmed 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 me before crossing over really named Li Mumu?

It’s frightening to contemplate.

At this moment, she heard someone inside saying: "Class is over, Yubing stay behind."

After a moment, 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 came out from inside.

It was still the same refreshingly short haircut, only now she seemed more tender and fair.

This was the first time 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 merely said it indifferently.

Upon leaving the courtyard and coming outside, looking at the somewhat 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 mean by that?"

Shen Qingxi, who answered first, turned her head in surprise towards Li Mumu: "Reddy sister, you... "

"Are you acting as me?"

Nonsense, can’t that computer brain of yours seriously think about how we ended up here?

I had just been bantering with an old handsome guy.

Before I knew it, the hen turned into a duck.

The lives of fifty thousand people had been transformed 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 time?

Li Mumu gave her a disdainful look and continued to feign ignorance.

"Your Highness..."

"Do you think these are my memories?"

Xia Yubing shook her head: "It’s true that my surname is Xia, but I’m no member of the Imperial Clan. My father is just an ordinary landlord; our family has had no relations with the former 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 bewilderment: "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 time. 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 time; 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 enrollment."

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 mentioned it to me."

"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 me to enter the school; he did not expect me to really learn something 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 immensely. 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 remember who I am. However... in the end, he remembered who I was, because I did something 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 formed Ink Green Qilin Army stationed at Tianmen, 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 time, 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 time, so I hid a gun on me and approached."

"And then you died?"

"No, the assassination failed, and the President even praised me for my courage and didn’t do anything to me. But it scared those old fools enough; that very night they drugged my food and, after strangling me, 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 former emperors lying in their graves beneath the nine springs would find it hard to rest."

"Then they felt ashamed and considered themselves unworthy, and went home to punish themselves with three cups of wine. The Imperial Court also issued a decree, with the young Emperor acknowledging me as his sister, posthumously conferring me the title of Princess Zhaoning."

Xia Yubing scoffed coldly: "It’s only been ten years, and the old master’s memory is not dependable. They suddenly remembered that I, Princess Zhaoning, seemed to be a real princess, the excellent talent they had meticulously cultivated, a pity that a beauty like me fell before successfully eliminating the traitor."