"Ling" (灵, meaning "ineffectual" or "unenlightened") is definitely not a good posthumous title.

If Chen Yuan hadn't revealed the Jingtai Emperor's dark secret of sacrificing millions of lives during the Battle of Zijin Mountain, neither the court officials nor Sima Ke, as his son, would have dared to do such a thing.

After all, Jingtai was still his father.

And frankly speaking, although Jingtai didn't achieve any remarkable accomplishments during his decades on the throne, he also didn't commit any major mistakes, and he even had very few concubines.

Moreover, he never engaged in extravagant construction projects.

At the very least, he could have been given a neutral posthumous title.

But, Chen Yuan exposed his scandal to the world and even provided solid evidence to prove it, resulting in a huge uproar in public opinion.

It was impossible to cover it up.

Jingtai had to, and could only, have this posthumous title.

After Sima Ke finalized Jingtai's posthumous title, he quickly buried him in the imperial mausoleum. His corpse had long been destroyed by Chen Yuan, and the coffin contained only a dragon robe he often wore.

On the day of his burial, the common people gathered to mourn during the day, bidding farewell to the emperor. But when night fell, clusters of fireworks rose, illuminating the night sky of Shenjing City.

There was no decree forbidding fireworks here.

Of course, it wasn't appropriate either.

If someone else had become the emperor, they might have imposed a curfew throughout the city, requiring everyone to observe a vegetarian diet for three days to commemorate the emperor.

But Sima Ke didn't do that. Although the officials vehemently petitioned, demanding severe punishment for those rebellious people, he ignored them all and allowed the fireworks to light up the city.

His tolerance allowed Shenjing City to practically explode all night on the night of Jingtai's death, until dawn, when no one dared to openly defy the court any longer.

The reason why these people did this was because they hated the emperor too much. Other achievements aside, the enthronement ceremony on Zijin Mountain.

Gathered nearly a million people.

Although some were from other four prefectures of Central Province or even people from outside the Central Province, most of them were still residents of the capital.

In that battle, although the people ran away quickly when they saw the situation was not good, the aftermath of the battle was too terrifying, leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead.

Not to say that the capital was nearly deserted, but almost every family had someone die or get injured. The people only directed these hatred and resentment towards Jingtai alone.

Many people secretly cursed Jingtai for being insane, sacrificing the people with blood. He had killed countless citizens and was the greatest tyrant of all time.

He died, why shouldn't they celebrate?

Imperial City, Star Observation Tower.

This tower could be counted as one of the few buildings that Jingtai had ordered to be built. It was originally used for cultivation, to receive the stars of heaven and earth, but now it had become a place for the new emperor, Sima Ke, to watch fireworks.

He wore a dragon robe and stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep.

Looking at the fireworks exploding in the night sky, he felt a sense of familiarity.

What was he thinking about?

Hiss,

It seemed like the scene of his father being killed by Chen Yuan with a single sword on Zijin Mountain. At that time, he remembered that his father seemed to explode in the void like a firework.

Leaving a very deep impression on him.

"What are you looking at?"

The Eldest Princess, Pingyang, dragging a phoenix robe, slowly walked to the side of the new emperor, Sima Ke.

Sima Ke didn't turn his head, but pointed to the fireworks and said:

"Royal Sister, look at these exploding fireworks, don't they look like when that old thing died."

Princess Pingyang "......"

She was silent for a moment and nodded:

"It's quite similar."

As one of the masterminds behind the new emperor Sima Ke... Although Princess Pingyang was still a princess in name, she was actually the true emperor.

Whether it was the Sky Patrol Department or the military, or some of the civil and military officials in the court, they had already recognized the situation after Sima You's death and began to pledge allegiance to Princess Pingyang.

Any decree of Sima Ke had to be consulted with her in advance. Only if she thought it was okay could the decree be formally issued, and Sima Ke was more like a nominal puppet.

Even if he wanted to get rid of Chen Yuan's control in the future, there was no way.

Princess Pingyang had finally realized her dream at this time, controlling the lifeline of the Jin Dynasty, although it might not last long.

But at least it would be like this before Chen Yuan attacked Central Province.

"Jianye... Jianye... Hehe..."

Thinking of his reign title, even Sima Ke himself laughed. Although the reign title had not yet been officially changed and would have to wait until the first day of January next year, it had finally been decided.

It was a good omen.

He didn't plan to change it again because he felt it was unnecessary. With his strength and means, he really couldn't 'establish a great undertaking' (Jianye), and it was impossible to even defend the current situation.

The length of his time as emperor depended only on when Chen Yuan would come.

Princess Pingyang didn't react to Sima Ke's self-mockery, but asked:

"Has the Empress Dowager returned to the palace?"

The former empress had already died with Jingtai. As the mother of the new emperor, Concubine Yang had finally been promoted from a concubine to the mistress of the harem.

Empress Dowager!

"No, the Empress Dowager said that she's still very comfortable staying in the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion for the time being. Anyway... there's no one in the palace anymore."

The old enemy of Concubine Yang, the birth mother of the eldest prince, had also died. She didn't want to stay in the palace and preferred to live quietly in the former Marquis of Wu'an's mansion.

She also knew how her son became the emperor and what the future held, so there was no need to change places.

"Do as you please."

Princess Pingyang shook her head. It was a trivial matter, and she just mentioned it casually.

"I plan to personally invite the Empress Dowager to the palace. What does Royal Sister think?"

Since he had foreseen his own end, he naturally wanted to get closer to Chen Yuan. The most important thing was that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Chen Yuan could not be broken.

In this way, he could still be a 'son'.

And in his opinion, the reason why Chen Yuan colluded with the Empress Dowager in the first place was that he liked her identity at the time, because she was the imperial concubine, which gave a sense of taboo.

But as Chen Yuan's status got higher and higher, a concubine seemed to be not enough.

The Empress Dowager was obviously more attractive.

"You can decide for yourself. I came here this time to warn you about something."

Princess Pingyang stared unblinkingly at the brilliant fireworks and said lightly.

"Please instruct me, Royal Sister."

"Zhang Yantong, Li Yang, and some of the civil and military officials in the court have already begun to closely contact other forces. Now that you have successfully ascended the throne, do you know what you should do?"

"I know, I'll immediately write a letter to Chen Yuan when I get back."

Sima Ke nodded quickly.

"Chen Yuan?"

Sima Ke's smile froze, and he stared at Princess Pingyang for a moment before continuing:

"Father... Hehe... Father..."

"Don't stop the fireworks, I like watching them."

Princess Pingyang pointed outside and said.

"Okay, okay, Royal Brother understands."

"It's a good thing that the old thing is dead, we should celebrate. Let's... keep it going until after the New Year. It's the New Year, what's the point of celebrating without fireworks?"

"Royal Sister is right."

"Emperor, step back first, I'll admire it for a while longer."

Princess Pingyang said casually.

Emperor Jianping, Sima Ke, immediately bowed and said:

"I... Royal Brother takes his leave..."

......

Imperial Study.

Emperor Jianping, Sima Ke, sat in the seat that Emperor Jingtai had once occupied, with a red-robed eunuch serving by his side. If Chen Yuan were here, he would definitely recognize him.

It was Yang Yuanqing, who had once competed with him for the position of commander of the imperial city.

After Cao Zhengxian died, Yang Yuanqing, one of his most valued adopted sons, not only didn't follow him, but instead was the first to choose to surrender.

Sima Ke thought about it and decided to keep him.

It seemed interesting to let Chen Yuan humiliate him in the future.

Yang Yuanqing ground the ink and sent the high-quality gold-threaded brush dipped in ink to Sima Ke. He took the brush, stared at the white paper below, took a deep breath, squeezed out a smile, and began to write.

"To Father,

Your son, Chen Ke, is fortunate to have your protection, the assistance of Royal Sister, Lord Zhang, and Lord Li, and has now ascended the throne and become the emperor, with the reign title of Jianye, wishing Father to establish a great undertaking (Jianye) soon! Although your son is the emperor, your son knows that Father will always be Father. Whenever your son thinks of Father being thousands of miles away in Shu Province, your son feels unbearably homesick. The Empress Dowager also has sleepless nights. If Father has any requests,

Your son will definitely support you with all his strength and help Father achieve the position of Human Emperor. Your son, Royal Sister, and the Empress Dowager miss Father day and night, hoping that Father will come soon to save your child from this dire situation.

Your son, Chen Ke, personally wrote this!"

"Huff..."

Sima Ke picked up the paper, gently blew a breath to dry the ink, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. The reason for the change was that he had really put himself in the role of a son.

The letter written to Chen Yuan must be sincere.

This was a life-saving talisman in the future.

He slowly folded the paper and put it into an envelope, turning his eyes to the eunuch beside him and said:

"Yuanqing."

"This humble servant is here..."

Yang Yuanqing quickly squeezed out a flattering smile. Although he was placed by the emperor to be at his disposal, a restriction had been engraved in his soul in order to reduce unnecessary trouble for him.

With the help of a strange treasure, Sima Ke could decide his life or death with a single thought.

"You go and deliver this letter."

"This humble servant obeys the decree." Yang Yuanqing raised his head, carefully glanced at the envelope, and found that there was nothing on it. He curiously asked:

"May I ask Your Majesty, to whom should this letter be sent?"

"Chen Yuan of Shu Province."

"This humble servant..." Yang Yuanqing was about to obey the decree when he suddenly paused, and the flattering smile on his face froze at this moment. He opened his mouth, his heart full of fear.

When he was almost crippled by Chen Yuan in the beginning, he did hate him very much, wishing he could eat his flesh, sleep on his skin, and swallow his blood to vent his hatred.

But as Chen Yuan's status got higher and higher and his strength got stronger and stronger, he lost this thought and only had endless fear in his heart, fearing that Chen Yuan would one day take revenge on him.

Now, it seemed... the end was coming.

"What, you don't want to go?"

Sima Ke glanced at Yang Yuanqing, his eyes slightly sinking. Although he was just a fake emperor, although he had no power, he was still an emperor after all.

He also controlled Yang Yuanqing's lifeline, and almost a single glance brought him endless pressure.

Yang Yuanqing lowered his body and quickly knelt on the ground:

"No, no... This humble servant just..."

"I know, you have some grudges with Chen Yuan, but what is your status now, and what is his status? Do you really think he will remember you? Take this opportunity to put out his anger as soon as possible, understand?"

"This humble servant, this humble servant understands, Lord Chen will definitely not be as petty as this humble servant."

"Well, if you understand, then go down and deliver it to Chen Yuan as soon as possible."

Sima Ke handed the letter in his hand to Yang Yuanqing.

After watching him leave, Sima Ke chuckled and said to the outside:

"Someone come."

"What are Your Majesty's orders?"

Two eunuchs quickly knelt on the ground.

"Go tell the people below to send me another close-fitting eunuch tomorrow."

"Then Eunuch Yang..."

The two eunuchs were stunned and looked up in a panic.

"He, he's about to die..."

......

......

When a huge change occurred in Shenjing City, Chen Yuan was still on his way back to Shu Province and did not know what was happening in the capital. To be honest,

His arrangement for Sima Ke and his mother was just a casual arrangement. It was not certain whether it would succeed or not. It would be best if it succeeded, and he would be able to control the situation more quickly.

He would also be able to occupy Central Province more quickly in the future.

It didn't matter if it didn't succeed. He didn't really care anyway. If they died, they died.

Just as Chen Yuan was about to arrive in Shu Province, the news that the new emperor Sima Ke had quelled the rebellion and killed Sima You and ascended the throne quickly spread to the outside world.

Everyone applauded Jingtai's posthumous title.

Such a fatuous ruler deserved a posthumous title of "Ling" (ineffectual).

Posthumous titles such as "Li" (tyrannical), "You" (obscure), and "Hun" (muddled) were also acceptable. Anyway, those forces that opposed the court were very happy because their reasons for rebelling and raising troops became even better.

Punishing fatuous rulers and punishing the tyrannical Jin would also gain more prestige.

Chen Yuan knew about this when he returned to Shu Province and learned the news from Su Ziyue. He was also stunned at the time.

It was an unintentional success. Sima Ke, no, that woman Princess Pingyang, really had some skills. In just half a month, she had wiped out the remaining forces of the Sima family.

Saving him a lot of trouble.

He was also very satisfied with Jingtai's posthumous title.

He was originally a fatuous ruler. If he was given a posthumous title such as Martial Emperor or Literary Emperor, he would not have the qualifications, and it would only make the people of the world even more disgusted with the court.

The only regret was that he was not able to kill that old dog Cao Zhengxian with his own hands. That guy had also given him a lot of trouble.

It was a little uncomfortable that he didn't die in his own hands.

But that was all.

Chen Yuan put down the reports about Shenjing City in his hand, turned his eyes to Su Ziyue beside him, and smiled:

"You've worked hard during this time."

As Su Ziyue, who had a powerful family (Dao Shen Palace), coupled with Chen Yuan's approval, was already the well-deserved head wife, her prestige was very high.

She naturally had a lot of things to deal with every day.

Even her cultivation had been delayed because of this.

Chen Yuan also knew that she was very tired.

Su Ziyue shook her head and looked at Chen Yuan with some worry and said:

"You've worked hard. Senior Moro said before that you failed to survive the tribulation and died. Do you know what I was thinking at the time?"

"Hehe, Senior Moro is getting old."

Chen Yuan didn't ask her what she was thinking because he could guess.

......

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