The viewers were initially worried...
Whether the Crown Prince would be punished or bear a bad reputation.
But as the live stream unfolded, they realized.
Their worries were completely unnecessary.
...
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
After the death of the Third Prince, the natural disasters did not cease.
Everyone remembered the latter half of what the Heavenly God had said.
—Peace will only return when a wise ruler appears!
A wise ruler?
Where would they find a wise ruler? Where could they find one?
"Could it be that the Crown Prince must ascend the throne?"
The common people thought of this, and the officials also thought of it.
However, the Emperor had not yet passed away, only remained in a coma...
Anyone who dared to mention this at this time would be committing a grave disrespect.
Once the Emperor woke up, the first person to be beheaded would be the one who spoke first.
But...
With the continuous natural disasters, no one knew how far the Heavenly God's wrath would escalate.
If it truly came to that, they would likely perish before the Emperor even woke up.
Moreover... the Heavenly God had said that peace would only return when a wise ruler appeared.
This implied that the current Emperor was not a wise ruler.
As the officials hesitated, the entire city's populace gave them the final push.
"The nation cannot be without a ruler for a single day. We implore the Crown Prince to ascend the throne! Save the common people from dire straits!"
"We implore the Crown Prince to ascend the throne! Save the common people from dire straits!"
The common people spontaneously gathered in the streets, kowtowing every three steps and bowing deeply every nine steps.
They all headed towards the Imperial Palace.
This matter quickly reached the Imperial Palace and the imperial court.
The Crown Prince looked dazed and murmured:
"Such a thing has happened... but my father is still alive, and has not abdicated to me..."
"This is not in accordance with propriety... not in accordance with propriety..."
With the support of the common people, the officials gained courage.
Immediately, an official stepped forward and declared loudly:
"Your Highness, natural disasters are occurring everywhere, and the people are suffering immensely."
"As long as a wise ruler does not appear, the nation cannot have peace."
"We implore Your Highness to assume the position of the wise ruler for the sake of the people!"
The Crown Prince was furious, slamming his hand on the table, "Do you know what you are saying?!"
The official fell silent.
He remained standing there, indicating his stance.
After him, two or three more officials stepped forward:
"We implore Your Highness to assume the position of the wise ruler for the sake of the people!"
"We implore Your Highness to assume the position of the wise ruler for the sake of the people!"
...
Gradually, all the officials stepped forward.
The same voices echoed in the hall:
"You, you..."
The Crown Prince looked at the scene, his chest heaving.
Just as he was about to say something more.
Suddenly, a figure stumbled in from outside.
"Bad news, bad news! Prince Yong has rebelled!"
Overwhelmed by the shock and in his haste.
The person's voice was shrill as he fell onto the imperial court.
He still managed to shout, "Prince Yong has rebelled!"
"Rebelled? What is going on?"
"Why would he rebel?"
The officials were in an uproar.
Before they could make sense of it, two more figures rushed in from outside.
"Report—! Prince Yao and Prince Shun have rebelled!"
"Report—! Urgent report from the border, the General who Guards the Nation is trapped and died in the valley!"
One piece of news after another was relayed to the imperial court.
The officials exchanged glances, their faces filled with panic.
It was as if a large army would storm the court with weapons in the next moment.
"Silence—!"
The Crown Prince shouted.
His expression was solemn, his demeanor majestic.
His aura was like a hidden dragon!
Instantly, the court fell silent.
The Crown Prince's gaze was sharp as he looked at the messenger below:
"What exactly is happening, explain it clearly!"
"This, this..."
The soldiers hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
It turned out that at some point, a rumor had spread outside.
It said that the current disasters were a test from the Heavenly God.
It was even a divine decree from the Heavenly God!
This nation needed a wise ruler!
A wise ruler would gain the world!
And then, a Qilin would appear to assist!
Thus, rebellions erupted in various regions.
Everyone wanted to prove that they were the wise ruler!
Even more absurdly, many common people believed it.
...
"I think this Crown Prince still wants to ascend the throne. If he truly adhered to propriety, he wouldn't have ordered the execution of the Third Prince back then."
"It's certain that the Crown Prince wants to be Emperor! This act is merely a feint, playing hard to get. Once those officials mention it a few more times, he will definitely ascend the throne!"
"I agree with the above."
"Agreed! +10086"
The viewers in the live stream chimed in.
By now, they felt like they were watching a blockbuster movie.
While several months had passed in the stream, only a few seconds had passed in their reality.
They had initially been discussing whether the Crown Prince would ascend the throne.
Unexpectedly, in just a few minutes, they heard about widespread rebellions.
The change was like a roller coaster.
Whoosh—
It went up.
Whoosh—
It came down again.
"We were just talking about how spectacular the gathering of the common people was, and suddenly so many rebellions have appeared. Life is full of unexpected twists."
"It's over, now he might not even get the throne."
"Here's a joke: If I refuse a few more times, the throne will be gone."
"Hurry up and take the throne, I'm anxious for you!"
...
...
In the live stream—
The Crown Prince slammed his hand on the table, "Unreasonable!"
In the silence.
He took a step forward, looking at all the officials.
And even more so, looking at the entire world.
His aura was like a golden-eyed, soaring dragon, and he declared loudly, "I, am the wise ruler!"
"And only I am worthy of being the wise ruler!"
He wanted to be the ruler of this world!
The officials were stunned. Your Highness, is he going to...
In the silence, an official knelt down.
"Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."
One followed by another, the officials knelt in a sea of bodies.
Their voices echoed in the hall:
"Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."
"Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."
...
The news of the Emperor's ascension quickly spread.
The people in the city did not know what had transpired, only that the wise ruler was finally about to appear.
The disasters were finally coming to an end!
"Congratulations to the Crown Prince, congratulations to the Crown Prince!"
"Finally, this day has arrived,呜呜呜—"
"This is great, this is great!"
The common people were overjoyed.
Some laughed, some cried.
Those who laughed rejoiced in the coming peace, while those who cried mourned the victims and the afflicted.
Even those with affluent families held banquets at home, inviting neighbors to drink together.
Celebrating this rare occasion.
Watching this scene, the viewers' spirits, which had just begun to lift, immediately sank.
Their hearts felt heavy.
Finally, they all let out a sigh: "Alas—"
...
Three days later,
The day before the Crown Prince's ascension.
The battle began!
...