Soon, everything was ready.
Mu Xuehuang sat cross-legged on her bed, and a notification sounded in her mind.
[Simulator Mu Xuehuang, begin the thirtieth simulation?]
"Begin."
Mu Xuehuang had already run a full thirty simulations.
Every one had turned peril into safety and helped her find favor on every side.
She trusted that this time would be no exception...
With that belief, Mu Xuehuang soon entered a meditative state.
Her consciousness soon settled within a vast void. Ahead, a beam of light appeared before her eyes, like the light of dawn tearing through the darkness.
After the dazzling white light came a succession of fleeting images, all scenes from Mu Xuehuang's past-
An infant in swaddling clothes entrusted to someone's care on a rainy night;
A grown girl returning to the palace, only to meet cold stares;
Her imperial brothers hiding blades behind their smiles, striking at her with arrows from the shadows;
The little princess acting affectionate while secretly plotting her death;
Finally, the late king passed away;
Battle engulfed the Li Royal Palace, corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing deep enough to float shields;
A long-haired woman dressed in red stepped over the bones of the dead and ascended the throne.
Nothing was more stirring than rising, step by step, from a daughter born out of wedlock to the imperial throne!
Whenever she recalled it, Mu Xuehuang's heart surged and fell, a hundred emotions mingling within her.
She had been born out of wedlock and had never known who her birth parents were. Only when she was told one day that her father was the reigning emperor was she brought into the palace.
When she first arrived at the palace, she understood nothing.
Her imperial brothers mocked her as a lowborn peasant who had merely been lucky enough for their father to find her;
Great Li's little princess was her younger sister, affectionate to her face but repeatedly framing her behind her back;
She had been thrown into prison;
Confined deep within the palace;
Subjected to Great Li's punishments;
She had the title of "princess," but in reality, she was no different from a servant.
Even maids could bully her at will.
Just as she sank into despair, feeling she could no longer survive within those palace walls, she unexpectedly gained the ability to "simulate."
From then on, she fought her way upward, crushed those who wronged her, and ultimately had the last laugh in the bloody struggle for imperial power.
Even after she became the first Empress in Great Li's history, some still doubted Mu Xuehuang.
They considered a woman wielding power the greatest joke under heaven.
But Mu Xuehuang soon slapped them all in the face with one achievement after another.
Against external threats, she built dams and long defensive walls to keep enemy dynasties from harassing the borders;
At home, she reduced taxes and eased the hardships of the people;
Though she was still somewhat inexperienced in the arts of imperial rule, she excelled at studying the late emperor's methods, keeping their essence and discarding their dross.
She also entrusted worthy ministers with important duties and punished corrupt ones.
Gradually, she built a circle of officials loyal to her, not only stabilizing the court but also strengthening the nation day by day.
The voices of doubt grew fewer and fewer.
But the conflict with the enemy Mara Dynasty grew increasingly fierce.
The Mara Dynasty had advanced to an intermediate dynasty, greatly increasing its national strength and resources. Great Li lost more often than it won, making this one of her greatest worries at present.
As the images continued flashing past, Mu Xuehuang's expression gradually grew solemn.
They were about to catch up with the present.
Within the imperial palace shown in the vision,
The Mara envoy knelt on one knee and grandly requested a marriage alliance with Great Li. "You need only marry the eldest princess to our dynasty's heir, and we will immediately cease hostilities. We will also offer one hundred thousand taels of gold, one hundred thousand bolts of silk, and eight thousand male slaves from foreign lands! May Great Li and Mara be united in heart forever!"
This was precisely what had happened a month earlier. Mu Xuehuang narrowed her phoenix eyes and rejected the Mara envoy's proposal. "The sons and daughters of Great Li will never enter marriage alliances with barbarians!"
After the Mara envoy withdrew, fierce arguments erupted in the court.
Most ministers advocated the marriage alliance, believing that only such an alliance could bring Great Li lasting peace and stability.
Wang Yong was conspicuously among them.
Watching this, Mu Xuehuang's lovely face tightened, and a flash of resolve crossed her eyes.
In truth, those ministers were right. A marriage alliance really was the best course for the nation at this stage.
But she refused to let Great Li's sons and daughters become sacrifices in a war between two dynasties.
Besides, she was a woman herself and could deeply understand how someone sent away in a marriage alliance would feel-leaving home alone, being sent into an unfamiliar country. How despairing would that be?
Mu Xuehuang had always believed she could resolve the threat of the Mara Dynasty and lead Great Li toward true peace.
That was how she had made it this far.
The future would be no different-she could still repel the Mara Dynasty without a marriage alliance!
The vision continued, revealing a battlefield of boundless, level sands!
Clad in military attire, Mu Xuehuang looked valiant and commanding as she personally directed and oversaw the battle.
She drew her sword and roared, "Kill!!!"
The million-strong army behind her roared and charged.
Watching, Mu Xuehuang flushed, her whole body trembling with excitement, exhilaration shining in her eyes.
Merely devising strategies behind the command tent's curtains was not enough. She had to take the field herself to inspire morale.
It seemed her future self had done everything an emperor should!
The scene shifted. The setting sun was red as blood, and corpses littered the ground.
Great Li had won!
Along both sides of the streets, Great Li's people cheered and chanted her name.
During negotiations between the two dynasties, she wore a nine-dragon robe, a phoenix crown, and a ceremonial cape, her bearing radiating the majesty of a phoenix reigning over the nine heavens.
She took out a dagger and marked the expanded borders on the map.
It was clear that the defeated enemy dynasty had bowed its head and submitted.
"Whew!"
Mu Xuehuang let out a long, deep breath, so excited she was almost dizzy.
It was hard to imagine that this was her future self!
She had succeeded!
Under her rule, Great Li flourished, its national strength abundant.
She had accomplished what the emperors before her never had!
She truly was the greatest Empress of all time!
But then again, all of this is progress in the right direction... where did that unease in my dream come from?
Amid her excitement, Mu Xuehuang remembered the shadow shrouding her heart.
Just as Mu Xuehuang was puzzling over it, the scene shifted again.
This time, its entire tone changed. The change was so abrupt that Mu Xuehuang could not even react.
In the vision, she was furiously losing her temper.
Below her, the ministers of the entire court knelt in terror, not even daring to lift their heads.
Mu Xuehuang stared blankly. What happened?
The scene shifted. The city gates were breached, and hordes of bandits ran rampant. The garrison soldiers fought desperately, only to be mercilessly slaughtered.
Within the city, flames reached the sky. Broken swords and shattered blades lay everywhere, and corpses covered the ground.
Boom...
Everything struck Mu Xuehuang like thunderbolts from heaven, shaking her heart and soul, scorching her outside and leaving her raw within.
Her dark brows drew tightly together, gathering into a lingering storm cloud.
She did not understand.
This was clearly the height of Great Li's power. Why would such a calamity of slaughter, arson, plunder, and rampaging bandits still occur?
The simulated scenes that followed showed nothing but bandits taking one province after another.
Mu Xuehuang was even more bewildered, her eyes widening in disbelief.
She did not understand. Weren't they merely a band of rebels and roving outlaws?
How could they be so powerful?
Taking province after province?
Boom!
A deafening crash!
In the vision, Capital City's gates were smashed open, and countless rebels poured into Capital City, heading straight for the Li Royal Palace.
All the court's experts came out to fight. Even the immortal cultivators they had invited took action.
Yet, utterly unexpectedly, the rebel forces had powerful experts of their own!
In the blink of an eye, the royal palace fell.
This palace, which had stood through a thousand years of Great Li's history and borne its splendor and glory, burned to the ground before her eyes.
Loyal ministers tried to escort her away.
But Mu Xuehuang refused to leave, no matter what they said.
Still dressed in a red gown, she stood motionless before the burning Li Royal Palace-just as she had looked when she first ascended the throne.
Her long hair streamed in the wind, tear tracks marked her face, and she looked utterly shattered.
She could not understand.
This should have been Great Li's most prosperous age, with so many legends still waiting for her to write.
How had she inexplicably become the ruler of a fallen nation?
Before you continue