In The World Of ‘Real And Fake Daughter’ (9)

After making such a decision, Ye Sasa immediately shook Liu Pang awake.

In the days that followed, she often ran here to discuss important matters with Liu Pang.

“Sasa, you are so kind to me.”

Facing Ye Sasa’s selfless help, Liu Pang was very moved.

He gripped Ye Sasa’s hand tightly and made a long-cherished promise: “The day this happens, if I become Emperor, I will make you Empress.”

Ye Sasha’s heart warmed as she heard Liu Pang’s comments.

Her eyes softened as she remembered the wonderful days she and Liu Pang spent in the harem in her past life.

Only her husband Liu Pang, it turned out, would treat her nicely.

They were all vicious, whether it was Father Ye, Mother Ye, or Lin Xiaotang.

She would go down this path of rebellion not of her own free will, but because she was compelled to.

She must make them feel bad!

Liu Pang would have been decadent anyway, but due to his ruined family, he couldn’t accept this gap.

But, after all, he was a prince who had been carefully developed by the royal family and possesses exceptional political abilities.

It didn’t take long for Liu Pang to get back on his feet and contact some old officials from the previous era with the help of Ye Sasa.

These courtiers were all devoted to the Liu family and look down on Lin Xiaotang, who had a weak foundation and came from a commoner family.

Was it possible for a commoner girl to become Emperor?

Allowing women to come to power will only bring devastation to the entire country in the dawn of the rooster!

Not to mention, Lin Xiaotang still relied on the “Tanghua Sect” to call herself emperor.

What good can these things that can only fool the people of the country be?

Driven by such thoughts, these people secretly huddled together and began to plan the restoration.

Ye Sasa also took this opportunity to tell them what she had foreseen.

At the beginning, these people didn’t quite believe Ye Sasa’s prophecy.

How could there be such a wonderful ability in this world?

But as several of her predictions came true, they fell into a rapture.

“God helps me too!” an old Confucian scholar with white hair said excitedly, “Even God is on our side!”

At this time, he had forgotten how he attacked Tanghua Sect before, thinking that only ignorant people would believe in heaven and ghosts.

However, no one cares about that either.

Under their arrangement, soon, a plan came out.

……………………………….

Lin Xiaotang didn’t know what was going on over Ye Sasa’s side.

To be honest, she would have practically forgotten about this person if it hadn’t been for Ye Sasa’s identity as a heroine.

Lin Xiaotang and Lin Yiyi were then preoccupied with numerous occurrences.

Lin Yiyi’s political worldview has gotten more sophisticated as a result of her deliberate tampering, and she has made some decisions for which the courtiers were full of appreciation.

Lin Xiaotang’s status as “the saint of the Tanghua religion” allowed her to become Emperor without being challenged.

Lin Yiyi’s capacity to secure her position as a crown princess was thus dependent on her own efforts.

Lin Yiyi was eventually accepted as the crown princess by both the courtiers and the common people.

As long as the ability was strong enough, male or female, did it really matter?

The emperors from the Liu family were all male, right?

But which one of them had the ability and skill to compare with Lin Xiaotang?

Judging a person by gender alone is wrong.

Under such circumstances, many people’s thinking had been subtly changed.

Lin Xiaotang’s approval of the decision to “establish a female household” elevated the status of women in many domestic families significantly.

But she was unsure of what happened recently. Natural calamities struck frequently. Following the drought, there was another locust infestation.

The already overstressed treasury was strained even further.

Fortunately, Lin Xiaotang, as Tanghua’s goddess, misled the believers throughout the insurrection, instructing them to repair dams and cultivate crops such as potatoes and maize.

People in the country narrowly escaped the calamities since they relied on these crops and infrastructure.

However, three months later, Lin Xiaotang learned quite shocking news from the courtier’s mouth during the early court.

“You mean…the plague?”

Hearing this, Lin Xiaotang was slightly startled.

“That’s the truth, Your Majesty.” The courtier knelt on the ground and replied with sincerity and fear.

A group of people in Huainan developed fever, headache, vomiting, and diarrhoea around a month ago.

Initially, their relatives merely saw them as having changed the cold and paid little attention to them.

It didn’t take long, though, for the villagers surrounding them to exhibit identical symptoms.

The epidemic had infected an entire village after they realised it wasn’t just a common cold.

The good news was that when the epidemic was found, local officials took decisive action and immediately closed off the village and adjacent towns to prevent the plague from spreading.

“…It’s just that, for some unknown reason, there have also been outbreaks in Fujian and western Zhejiang.”

“It stands to reason that the epidemic will not spread so quickly,” the source added cautiously.

The ancients’ mode of transportation was never invented in the first place.

Even if the community was not closed down, it would take a month for this type of broad sickness to spread in neighbouring regions.

But how did it spread so far in such a short period of time?

Could these three locations be epidemic sources at the same time?

When confronted with this predicament, the officials were so overwhelmed that they couldn’t do anything.

They knelt on the ground, frightened, waiting for Lin Xiaotang’s command.

“Interesting……”

After listening to these people’s words, Lin Xiaotang’s eyes narrowed instantly.

An abnormality that officials cannot detect, how could she be unresponsive?

The speed was not right.

Even the plague spreaded too fast.

Either this was a real coincidence, or someone behind it was deliberately promoting the spread of the plague.

As the emperor, Lin Xiaotang was reluctant to believe any so-called “coincidence”.

“Send my will to find a group of doctors to enter the palace,” Lin Xiaotang ordered, “I have some prescriptions, which are gifts from the goddess Tanghua, which can be used to treat epidemics.”

She understood the old plagues because she had earned a heavyweight medical award.

Although the ancient medical facilities were inadequate, effective treatment was nonetheless possible thanks to the efforts of professionals.

Hearing this, the officials downstairs exclaimed in unison, “Yes!”

“In addition, send someone to investigate whether there are any rumours in the epidemic area.”

Lin Xiaotang thought for a while and added another sentence.

In the face of the fear of death, no matter how smart people are, they will do stupid things, let alone ordinary people.

Therefore, the more severe the disaster, the more likely there will be riots.

Since those people have spread the plague, they must have their purpose.

In this regard, she must be vigilant and not let go of any details.

“Yes!”

Under the guidance of Lin Xiaotang, the epidemic prevention work was carried out in an orderly manner.

The doctors who learned the prescription rushed to the epidemic area overnight.

And in areas where the pandemic has not yet struck, everyone began to clean the house, wash their hands often, and wear what is known as a “mask” under the propaganda of the authority.

It was quite difficult to mobilise so many people at once under normal circumstances.

There will always be a few idiots who refuse to listen to the government and persist on being stubborn, believing in some monk and Taoist priest, and causing harm to others as well as themselves.

A similar incident occurred in the past.

Out of superstition, an old man in a certain village spent a lot of money to beg two witches.

Then they summoned all the surrounding villagers, assembled everyone, and requested the witches to exorcise them.

As a result, not only did this fail to “kill” the plague, but it also spread it from a dozen to hundreds of individuals overnight.

The current empress, Lin Xiaotang, was, nonetheless, the saintess designated by the goddess Tanghua.

Even the most obstinate old lady made numerous masks overnight after the emperor declared it could prevent the plague.

“My dear grandson, you must wear the mask properly and not take it off,” the old people urged, “it must have the goddess’s divine power on it. The goddess will protect us as long as we wear it.”

The ancients valued filial piety, and filial piety came first.

Even those who believed wearing masks was difficult had to meekly wear them on the orders of these superstitious elders.

In this manner, the disease had been reasonably controlled at a frightening rate.

Good news arrived from time to time in the epidemic area, and many people who were afflicted with the disease had recovered under the care of doctors.

After witnessing the strong movement of the ordinary people, the elderly courtiers in the imperial court who were still quite critical of the Tanghua Sect silenced their tongues.

Religious administration was a two-edged sword.

Excessive cult of personality, glorifying and deifying individuals in authority, will hurt the entire country without helping anyone.

But in the hands of a truly wise man, this double-edged sword can always be used justly.

The most cunning aspect of Lin Xiaotang was that she had never stated that the Tanghua Goddess was omnipotent since founding the Tanghua Sect.

She had never guaranteed that if one believed in herself, one will be able to enjoy a prosperous life and be free of illness.

She claimed it would keep them from becoming hungry and frigid, but only if they raised their own crops.

She claimed it would bring prosperity to their village, but only if they built the roads themselves.

She used actions and words to teach her followers that praying to the gods was the last thing they should do when they are in trouble.

To live a good life, they need to rely on their own hands.

People will not protest about the goddess Tanghua’s inadequacy under such influence, in the face of these natural and man-made tragedies.

On the contrary, they believed that the goddess’s prescriptions and anti-epidemic actions conveyed through the saints were sufficient to satisfy them.

“Isn’t the goddess always like this?” they wondered. “That’s how she helped us.”

“In addition, the goddess has already returned to heaven, and she remembers us. It’s very thoughtful.”

“It appears that there was a plague ten years ago. The situation was far worse back then than it is now.”

“As long as we work hard, we will be able to survive as smoothly as before.”

With this kind of thought in mind, the people responded positively when confronted with the officials’ arrangements, and there was no friction.

Those suspected of spreading the virus were also apprehended by the quick-witted folks due to their unusual behaviours.

Lin Xiaotang’s workforce, on the other hand, discovered that something was awry in the epidemic area——

There were a few sly people who were continually spreading words against the court to the people.

“They said there are so many disasters in the country because Your Majesty has done something wrong, and God is punishing Her Majesty,” the reporter trembled, “and they also said that only the Liu family is the orthodox royal family…”

Liu?

Wasn’t that the former dynasty’s people?

It’s no surprise they sought to make the calamity as huge as possible. They intended to use this chance to pour dirty water on her and reestablish the former dynasty.

Lin Xiaotang became aware of this when she heard it.

Under normal conditions, these vestiges of the former dynasty would accomplish this, and it would be extremely effective.

Because in the eyes of most ancient people, the appearance of natural disasters is God expressing dissatisfaction.

In such a case, many emperors need to sacrifice to the sky or issue pardons.

If the disaster is too serious, they will issue an edict of their own sins and admit their mistakes to the world.

However, understanding is understanding, and such a method is too cruel.

Do those innocent people deserve to lose their lives for their political plans?

Lin Xiaotang remembered the death toll mentioned by the courtiers these days, and an irrational rage erupted in her heart.

“Where have they gone? How many people were apprehended? Can you confirm who the leader is?” she asked coldly.

If she remembered correctly, the only person left in the Liu line should be the fourth prince, Liu Pang.

In any event, she must apprehend the man and hold him accountable for his conduct.

However, after hearing her statements, the courtier downstairs gave her an odd look for some unknown reason.

“We captured them, and there were a lot of people caught,” he stated nervously. “But… They just…died.”

“How did they die?” Lin Xiaotang was taken aback for a while and inquired, “Did they commit suicide by taking poison?”

“No.”

The courtier’s expression grew increasingly weird.

He bent his head again and looked at the hem of Lin Xiaotang’s clothes: “…They died because their words enraged the local people and they were beaten to death.”

Lin Xiaotang: “……”

Lin Xiaotang: ???