I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 491 A mess
Yi Zhen then asked, "How did the emperor discover that Han Ruoyu had colluded with officials to sell firearms privately?"

Chu Liuzheng said, "If I remember correctly, it was the secret guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guard who found out together."

Yi Zhen: "..."

[System, was the secret guard intelligence network in the original timeline really this powerful?]

No? How did they find out?

[Can't find it??? You're a disgrace to the entire system.]

Yi Zhen unilaterally ended the conversation with his own system and continued to ask Chu Liuzheng: "Then why did the second prince of Western Xia marry the princess of Goryeo?"

This fake princess was supposed to enter Xiao Jingfan's harem, but she secretly killed two princes and a princess.

"Uh... this matter is rather complicated." Chu Liuzheng tried to keep it brief. "It's roughly about how Hua... Wei Mingliang tried to scheme against the emperor but ended up being outsmarted himself, suffering a silent loss at the emperor's hands."

Yi Zhen: "..."

This doesn't add up at all!
No wonder the system couldn't issue tasks!

He wiped his face, suppressing his urge to curse, and continued, "How did Yin Lanci die?"

“This matter is even more complicated,” Chu Liuzheng said. “Simply put, Yin Lanci angered the emperor, and the emperor personally went out of the palace to arrest him, and together with others, killed him.”

"..."

Yi Zhen: "Who is this 'everyone'?"

Chu Liuzheng counted on his fingers: "Including Lord Lü, Doctor Feng, General Huang, Tongniang, City Lord Jiang..."

"Wait!" Yi Zhen interrupted, "Let me ask you a question: why did Jiang Yao join you?"

“We thought she had committed a crime in Longkou Town, so we arrested her and questioned her.” Chu Liuzheng spread his hands. “Later we found out it was a misunderstanding, and we became friends as we spent more time together.”

Yi Zhen was dumbfounded, and after a long while, he sighed, "Oh my god!"

According to the original timeline, Jiang Yao should have died in Longkou Town, becoming nourishment for Yin Lanci to raise the Netherworld Gu.

Those who should have died didn't, and those who should have lived died—no wonder the timeline is in complete chaos! No wonder the system can't issue any missions!
He murmured, "Which butterfly just happened to flap its wings?"

The whole world is in chaos!
Why isn't someone with such talent in their company?!

Seeing his dazed expression, Chu Liuzheng asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"N-nothing." Yi Zhen stared at the rippling water, her eyes sparkling. "What you just said was all true?"

Chu Liuzheng blinked: "What good would it do me to lie to you?"

[System, lie detector!]

[The truth! It's actually the truth! Why is it the truth?!]

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

[Brother Xiaoyao seems quite disappointed that he's telling me the truth. Does he really enjoy being lied to?]

Urged by the system, Yi Zhen had no choice but to continue asking, "How was Thousand-Foot Cliff destroyed?"

“It was Eleventh Brother who set the fire.” Chu Liuzheng felt that his little trick on the mountain was insignificant, so he said briefly, “The monsters that escaped just happened to run into His Majesty leading the army up the mountain and were all wiped out.”

Yi Zhen stared at her: "Starting with the matter of the Eldest Princess, have you taken any initiative to get involved?"

[I was just an observer, unfortunately dragged into this mess, and didn't actively get involved in anything mentioned earlier.]

Chu Liuzheng shook his head decisively, "No."

[System, lie detector.] [It's the truth again! System, is your lie detector module really not broken? I've been gathering information in the palace for so long, and she's the most suspicious one!]

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

[Tsk, what a fake sense of camaraderie. Good thing I didn't tell you I have a system too.]

After arguing with the system for a while to no avail, Yi Zhen turned to Chu Liuzheng and asked hopefully, "Has anyone particularly special appeared around the Emperor?"

"Special? No, I don't think so." Chu Liuzheng looked up at the sky and recalled, "If you look closely, you are the most special one."

Yi Zhen felt a tightness in his chest, "...except for me."

“No, that’s all,” Chu Liuzheng affirmed. “No strange people have ever appeared around the emperor.”

Yi Zhen: "..."

What went wrong?!
Chu Liuzheng looked at him: "You've asked me so many questions, can I ask you a few questions too?"

Yi Zhen: "Ask."

Chu Liuzheng cleared his throat and asked, "Can Feng Jing and Qin Shu become husband and wife?"

Yi Zhen had the system check, and upon seeing the answer, said, "No. Their fate is to be entangled for life, one never marrying and the other never being married."

Chu Liuzheng focused on the key point: "You mean, Doctor Qin also likes Doctor Feng?"

"Sort of," Yi Zhen said. "After the two of them went through life and death together, Qin Shu's feelings for Feng Jing will change. However, her mother's death has always been a knot in Qin Shu's heart, and Feng Jing is unwilling to betray his sect. The two of them have their own principles, and they never became husband and wife before they died."

"So that's how it is." Chu Liuzheng sighed inwardly, unable to help but light a candle for his friend's unrequited love.

[Next time we meet, I'll try to persuade Dr. Feng again; it's too cruel to spend a lifetime yearning for something you can't have.]

She then asked, "How is Tang-ge'er?"

"The son of Yin Lanci, his fate is..." Yi Zhen said slowly, "He sacrificed himself to end the living dead hell created by Yin Lanci and save the people from suffering."

Upon hearing this answer, Chu Liuzheng's heart skipped a beat, and the image of Tang Ge'er's rosy little face flashed before his eyes.

[The sins of a mother must be repaid by her son. Now that Yin Lanci is dead, Tang Ge'er's life should be safe, right?]

[Saving people from suffering... If Brother Tang follows Doctor Feng to learn medicine, wouldn't that be a way of saving people from suffering in a roundabout way? Hey, fate is truly a strange thing.]

"I've talked to you too much, the system is protesting." Yi Zhen endured the system's nagging and urged, "Ask whatever else you want to ask."

"Oh, okay," Chu Liuzheng hurriedly said, "I want to know if the Empress Dowager will stand against the Emperor, and what her fate will be?"

Upon hearing this question, Yi Zhen was taken aback and turned his head to give her a deep look.

Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but touch his nose under his gaze. "What's wrong? Can't I ask this question?"

"You may ask." Yi Zhen withdrew his gaze, and the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves danced on his delicate skin. He said slowly, "In the original timeline, Consort Xie gave birth to a prince in the eighth year of the Shunguang Emperor's reign. He was the fourth son of the Shunguang Emperor."

"The fourth prince was foolish and not favored by Emperor Shunguang. In order to consolidate the Xie family's position, in the twenty-third year of Shunguang's reign, the Empress Dowager and the Xie family joined forces to poison Emperor Shunguang, intending to turn him into a fool and support the fourth prince to ascend the throne."

"Emperor Shunguang discovered this conspiracy and, in a fit of rage, exterminated the entire Xie family. The Empress Dowager died of grief in the Wanshou Palace, her eyes wide open in death. Emperor Shunguang was branded a traitor for matricide and condemned by scholars throughout the land. Western Xia..."

Yi Zhen suddenly stopped, raised his hand to press his temple, "I can't say anymore, or my head will explode from all the noise from the system."

Chu Liuzheng was listening intently when suddenly it stopped.

What happened to the Western Xia?
"I'm leaving now, I'll talk to you another day." Yi Zhen quickly put away his fishing rod, picked up the carp that Chu Liuzheng had given him, and took his leave.

(End of this chapter)