Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Scheming Little Xie Directly Makes a Video Call

Over the past thirty-three days, he had not only sent the old, the weak, the sick, and the young out of the city but also buried explosives all around well in advance.

Today, he used himself as bait, inviting tens of thousands of enemies into his trap. This song would be Jiuzhou’s grandest melody of a prosperous era.

BOOM!

TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!

By the time the Hong Clan reacted, it was already too late. Continuous screams rang out as some of the invaders were blown to pieces.

Linsu was breached, but behind Linsu lay many more cities. He didn’t know if this war could ultimately be won, but he couldn’t let these Hong Clan People leave here so easily.

For half of his life, he had lived in darkness, never encountering light. Fortunately, he was appreciated by a Ming Jun, giving him the chance to serve his country. He had sworn in his heart that he would sacrifice his life for her. However, the King was gone, leaving only this empire. At this moment, his life finally had meaning.

TWANG!

As the final note fell, an even more massive explosion erupted. Eighty thousand Hong Clan People were buried with him in Linsu.

In the last moments of his life, he thought it was still a bit of a pity. After finishing this composition, he was supposed to present it to the King on New Year’s Eve in the eighth year of Taichu. But she had left that year, never giving him the chance.

"Your Majesty, the former Linsu had long become ruins with no survivors," Xie Qingshi’s voice grew even softer. "The current Linsu was rebuilt, and its people came from other cities to heal its scars."

Shi Changying said nothing. She was very quiet, but anyone familiar with her could feel the heavy, oppressive aura radiating from her.

Xie Qingshi sighed softly. "Your Majesty, it’s actually all in the past. The Hong Clan has been entirely driven out. The current Jiuzhou—"

"I’ll say it again: nothing is just ’in the past’!" Shi Changying looked up abruptly, her tone cold. "Do you think forcing yourself to forget that your mother blinded you with poison means it never happened?"

Xie Qingshi was momentarily rendered speechless.

"Originally, I didn’t have many regrets. Dying early wasn’t necessarily a bad thing," Shi Changying said, looking at her hands. "My sword will never dull, and my horse will never slow down. I fought so many battles and never lost a single one. Over the past thousands of years, how many could compare to me?"

Xie Qingshi looked at her, unable to help but space out. Only she could say such arrogant words, yet she was fully qualified to say them. Because ever since the Sheng Dynasty, Jiuzhou had been fractured for six centuries, only unifying again in the fifth year of Taichu.

"But now, I regret it." Shi Changying closed her eyes, her voice trembling violently for the first time. "I regret not slaughtering every last one of those Barbarians! I regret not establishing an everlasting peace! I regret that my Jiuzhou had to endure such a catastrophe!"

Xie Qingshi stood frozen on the spot, his mind reeling, momentarily losing the ability to speak.

"I wasn’t a good Emperor," Shi Changying concluded.

Xie Qingshi’s heart jolted again, his eyes heavy and sore. "You couldn’t predict the future. This wasn’t your fault."

"What about Shi Qingyue? How did she govern as Emperor?" Shi Changying exhaled sharply. "How many years was I gone? Did she just squander all of Da Xuan’s foundations?"

Xie Qingshi fell silent for a moment. "When I died, Mingjing hadn’t yet fallen. I only read about Empress Qingyun’s fate in the history books—she also died for the country."

"Ah, the history books." Shi Changying massaged her temples, her tone flat. "I only hope that is true. As the final Emperor of the Xuan Dynasty, dying on her feet would at least make her worthy of the Da Xuan name."

Xie Qingshi suddenly spoke up, "You mentioned earlier that you don’t trust the history books, Your Majesty. Actually, that one line in the historical records is indeed incorrect."

Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "Which line?"

Xie Qingshi didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out a scroll of calligraphy. Shi Changying took it. Her gaze locked onto the three characters ’Return to the Beginning’, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"My knowledge of poetry is shallow, far inferior to Lord Pei," Xie Qingshi smiled faintly. "Please don’t mind it, Your Majesty."

Shi Changying thought for a moment before saying, "There are some poems written by Pei Xuan that even I can’t fully comprehend, but since Chinese language textbooks are full of his works, I suppose their literary value must be extremely high."

Xie Qingshi’s expression remained serene. "Making you study his poetry four hundred years later is his fault, and his disrespect."

"Fortunately, I can remember all the poems he submitted to me," Shi Changying said lazily. "Otherwise, I would score a zero on the ancient poetry dictation section."

"But unfortunately," Xie Qingshi murmured, "none of the poems he wrote praising you have survived."

Shi Changying paused, her voice turning indifferent. "If I find out who wrote those history books, I’ll drag them out of the ground."

Too many things from the eight years of her reign had been erased. She had learned how to use the internet, yet she couldn’t find any trace of the Twelve Masters of Mingjing.

"Your Majesty, the history books indeed didn’t record what I want to say," Xie Qingshi said, gazing at her intently. "But whether they recorded it or not isn’t that important. Because you are still here, and I only need to say it to you."

Shi Changying nodded. "Yes, I am here. Speak."

He bowed to her and smiled softly. "In this life, even if my body is crushed to powder and my bones shattered, I, Qingshi, will never betray my King."

Loyalty to the King, loyalty to the world. Even in the final moments of his life, he was still fulfilling this promise.

Shi Changying was taken aback for a moment before saying, "The current you is also very formidable. I am very gratified."

Xie Qingshi smiled again. "You asked how I recognized you, Your Majesty. Do you remember the audio clip you posted on Moments?"

To be recognized solely because of her tone-deafness made Shi Changying wonder whether she should feel touched or furious.

Xie Qingshi glanced at his watch. "It’s getting late. Shall I walk you back?"

Shi Changying rejected the offer without hesitation. "You’re a musical maestro, and I’m just an ordinary person. We need to keep our distance."

Xie Qingshi was speechless. This phrase rolled off her tongue so naturally that he couldn’t help but suspect she had used it on others before.

"Wait, Your Majesty." Seeing Shi Changying about to leave, Xie Qingshi spoke up in time.

Shi Changying turned back. "What is it?"

"This is a ticket to my concert." Xie Qingshi handed over an envelope. "I haven’t been able to give it away all these years. If you could come, I would be very happy."

Shi Changying tucked it away. "I will be there."

It was nine o’clock in the evening when she returned to the Old Xu Mansion.

Since it was still early, Shi Changying dug out her math workbook and began solving problems. She hadn’t forgotten her original goal of gaining followers, so she snapped a photo of the exercises and posted it to her Qianyu account.

[Only I am the first]: Another day of studying hard.

Not long after the post went live, Shi Changying received a private message.

[HS]: Start a video call. I’ll tutor you on these problems.

Before Shi Changying even had time to reply, a video call request popped up on her phone.