Without realizing it, the court ministers had already devoured the entire first chapter of A Great Nation.
Those elder officials who had scoffed at the story just yesterday now flipped the page, only to find four large characters at the end—To Be Continued.
Each one of them felt like ants crawling under their skin.
What next?
After the First Sovereign unified the realm with unshakable might… what came after that? Why did the chapter stop there?
Was this not blatant torment?
For the first time in their lives, they came to understand what it meant to chase updates. That night, not a few of them tossed and turned, their minds returning again and again to the same question.
By early dawn the next day, even before the sun rose, a minister called out with growing impatience,
"Has today's issue of Capital Weekly arrived yet?"
His young attendant stared blankly."???"
Perhaps the Minister might spare a glance outside. The sky was still pitch black. How was a morning paper to be found before the street lamps had dimmed?
Unable to glimpse the next chapter right away, the ministers carried their simmering anticipation with them into the morning court session.
When they saw Yun Shu entering the Xuan Zheng Hall from outside, looking particularly radiant, many who had sharp minds and quicker tongues immediately stepped forward with cheerful greetings.
"The weather grows ever colder, yet Your Highness dresses so lightly. What if you catch a chill?"
"But is not the Xuan Zheng Hall warmed by floor braziers?"
Yun Shu knew perfectly well what these ministers were trying to do. Their sudden warmth had a clear purpose. But she pretended to notice nothing, merely turning to one of them with a puzzled glance.
"Du Daren, you are already sweating, and you say it is cold?"
Du Daren: "…"
"I merely saw that Your Highness had just come in from outside," he replied with a strained smile.
The awkward conversation left Du Daren floundering for words, and so he opted to steer the exchange toward his true aim.
"By the way, has Your Highness read yesterday's Capital Weekly?"
"No, I have not."
"You must have at least seen… wait, what? You have not read it?"
Yun Shu's reply crushed the small bridge Du Daren had just begun to build. His forced smile froze in place.
For a fleeting moment, he even contemplated retreating outright.
But the story of A Great Nation had already sunk its hooks deep into him. If he gave up now, he would spend the next several days tormented, unable to think of anything else.
Still unwilling to give up, Du Daren pressed on.
"Is not Capital Weekly owned by Your Highness? How could you not have read it?"
"This Princess is busy day after day in the imperial study. How could I find time to read it every morning?"
Yun Shu returned the question with all due reason, raising an eyebrow."Why, is there something that concerns This Princess?"
"Well… actually… yesterday, I happened upon a serial in the paper," Lord Du said, no longer bothering with subtlety. "The piece is titled A Great Nation, and from the looks of it, it will run for seven days.
After reading the first chapter, this humble servant found himself utterly captivated. And so… I was hoping to ask whether Your Highness might grant me an early glimpse of the upcoming chapters?"
"A Great Nation…"
Yun Shu thought for a moment, then shook her head with polite regret.
"This Princess did not write that article. As for the chapters yet to come, I do not have them either."
"Not written by Your Highness?"
Even better.
Had it been written by the Crown Princess herself, he would have had no choice but to endure her refusal.
But if the author was someone else, then with his status and reputation, a gentle inquiry might be all it took to obtain the drafts directly.
Du Daren's face, stiff for so long, finally brightened. "Then may I ask, who is the author?"
"No idea."
Yun Shu demonstrated flawlessly what it meant to know nothing of everything.
"There are countless contributors submitting to Capital Weekly each day. Some use their real names, others publish anonymously.
How could This Princess possibly know who wrote each piece?"
"…"
That was… not unreasonable.
It seemed he would have to send someone to the Capital Weekly office after court.
With an awkward cough, Du Daren retreated to his place, finally giving up on pressing further.
However, thanks to this brief exchange, even those few ministers who had skipped over A Great Nation the previous day found their curiosity piqued.
"Say, do any of you know what this A Great Nation that Du Daren mentioned is all about?"
"You mean you have not read it, Liu Daren? It was right on the front page of yesterday's issue!"
One of the ministers, who had been waiting eagerly for the next installment, brightened instantly at the question.
"A Great Nation may be labeled a short novel, but it is unlike any of those common storybooks we usually see. It reads more like a forgotten history we never had the chance to live through.
That dynasty it depicts… magnificent, truly magnificent.
Though its glory may not yet match the heights of our present-day Tian Sheng, such a comparison would be unfair from the start.
After all, that was a nation born in the wake of two centuries of chaos. A unified empire emerging from smoke and ruin.
When you read it, you will understand. It is like watching a sovereign rise from the torrent of time. The weight of history pours through the page—it is utterly intoxicating."
Liu Daren: "?"
What on earth?
Time to go read it for himself.
By the end of the morning court session, nearly every official had developed a fixation on A Great Nation.
When they returned to their estates and opened the next issue of Capital Weekly, they were greeted by a welcome sight.
Chapter Two had arrived.
Under the wise and bold rule of its founding Emperor, the empire grew ever stronger after unification.
Then they discovered that beyond their borders, other nations still existed.
But this did little to shake their place atop the world.
To these smaller countries, the empire was a colossal presence towering in the east. Its might inspired awe and obedience. Envoys came in droves, offering tribute of their own accord.
"Does this not sound exactly like our Tian Sheng?"
After reading the latest chapter, many ministers burst into laughter.
"This must be modeled after our Tian Sheng. What a splendid piece of writing!"
So immersive.
And then came day three, day four.
In the pages of A Great Nation, the empire only grew stronger.
Even when jealous neighboring states stirred with ambition, they were crushed swiftly and completely beneath the empire's might.
Yun Shu had drawn from the fragments of history she knew, weaving them together with the conventions of uplifting fiction.
In just a few days, she had every minister hooked like fish on a line.
Who could resist a tale of a supreme empire's rise?
Even if fictional, it was satisfying to read.
Especially when that fictional empire looked so much like Tian Sheng.
Even some of the governance strategies mentioned in the story—hmm, they might be worth considering.
Over the next several mornings, Yun Shu continued to attend court at the Xuan Zheng Hall.
Before court even began, she would overhear ministers discussing the newest developments in A Great Nation.
That first day, Liu Daren had scorned the story without a second glance.
Now, he had become one of its most fervent readers.