It was the kind of dramatic pose one often saw at the end of a classic duet.
Also a familiar sight from many theatrical tales: the hero saving the maiden.
Only this time, the roles were reversed.
Cen Yiyi held Yun Chuhuan around the waist with one arm. In the other, she still gripped her coin pouch and coiled whip. A few inky strands of hair had fallen forward during the motion, brushing gently across the bridge of Yun Chuhuan's straight, high nose.
The sunlight behind her spilled down at a slant, casting a faint golden halo around her figure.
She carried with her a clean, graceful scent, like fresh tea leaves or spring blossoms after rain. Yun Chuhuan wasn't quite sure why, but his ears suddenly felt warm.
"Sixth Young Master?"
Cen Yiyi, unaware of the inner turmoil he was experiencing, tilted her head. Having caught him in her arms, she now found him staring at her in a daze.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Can you stand?"
"… I can. I can."
Yun Chuhuan straightened up stiffly, using the lift of her arm as support. His gaze started darting away in embarrassment.
"Thank you."
"It was nothing."
Cen Yiyi gave a polite nod, not thinking much of it.
Yun Shu, who had been standing nearby the whole time, was struggling to hold back laughter. She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky, pretending to admire the clouds.
Yun Chuhuan's ears had turned completely red.
Who would still believe the original character setups in the story?
The peerlessly beautiful, timid crybaby and the cold-blooded tyrant—one fleeing, the other chasing, wings clipped and all.
She weeps, his heart shatters. She sobs once, and he is willing to give her his life.
Tsk.
Still, the further these two veered from their fated paths, the more it proved that her presence had changed many things since she arrived in this world.
Tian Sheng, which by rights should have been caught in endless warfare, now thrived with peace and prosperity.
The people, once fated to be displaced and destitute, now looked to the future with joy and hope.
And the women of Tian Sheng, once shackled under layer upon layer of cruel expectations, were now slowly breaking free of the chains that had led so many to tragic fates. More paths now lay open to them.
Perhaps that was the meaning behind her crossing into this world.
Yun Shu's gaze drifted upward toward a giant, cotton-candy-like cloud drifting across the distant sky. Her lips curved into a faint, contented smile.
She had never given much thought to when she might ascend the throne and become Emperor.
In truth, Yun Shu always assumed she would remain Crown Princess for a good long while.
After all, Emperor Xuanwu still looked strong and healthy. It should be no issue for him to live until seventy or eighty.
But she had overlooked one thing.
Her Imperial Father could choose to retire early.
And so, on the day of her twentieth birthday, Yun Shu received an imperial edict announcing Emperor Xuanwu's abdication. The decree passed the throne to her.
Caught completely off guard, Yun Shu stood there frozen in disbelief.
Those accustomed to seeing her composed and unfazed, casually startling court officials every few days—and occasionally even shocking Emperor Xuanwu himself—had never once seen her look so utterly stunned.
Emperor Xuanwu raised an eyebrow with great satisfaction.
"Why has Our Crown Princess not accepted the decree?"
...
Could she say that she did not want to?
As Crown Princess, she had freedom. So long as her plans were reasonable, Imperial Father would always support her. He gave her full rein to act as she pleased, guarding her quietly from behind.
If she ever felt bored, she could even ask for leave and sneak out of the palace for a few days of leisure.
But once she became Emperor… could she still do all that?
Well, perhaps she could, but it would certainly not be as easy.
Yun Shu did not want this. Not at all.
But the imperial edict had already been issued, and worse, it had been read aloud before the assembled civil and military officials of the court. There was no room left for negotiation.
The Directorate of Astronomy quickly selected an auspicious day.
On the day Yun Shu ascended the throne, the skies were perfectly clear.
When the rites were complete, the officials of the court raised their voices in unison, proclaiming her reign with cries of "Long live the Emperor." The people of the capital joined in, flooding the streets in spontaneous celebration.
Historical records would later write that during the reign of the Emperor Tian Sheng , the empire flourished, especially in the realms of education, science, and culture.
It was a dazzling era.
Nearly every year brought forth new innovations that benefited the entire nation.
The pace of progress surged forward. Tian Sheng's wealth and strength became legendary, feared and respected across the four seas.
Until the tenth year of the Tian Sheng era.
Other nations, one by one, developed explosive powder of tremendous destructive power.
Greed overcame their fear.
The unimaginable prosperity of Tian Sheng finally drew the envy and covetous eyes of others. Twenty-eight nations joined forces to declare war.
But the war was declared on the first day.
By the tenth, their nations had fallen.
None of their kings had imagined that this mystical, serene empire of the East—so peaceful it seemed like a realm of immortals—had, unbeknownst to all, already developed weapons that far outstripped even their newest explosives.
They could not understand why Tian Sheng, with such fearsome weapons at its disposal, had never once sought to conquer them first.
But in the end, it no longer mattered.
The so-called grand campaign of twenty-eight nations ended in just ten days.
From that moment onward, the world was unified.
No other nations remained.