My System Is Three Thousand Years Early

Qian Siyuan, upon hearing Cheng Guang’s instructions, was first startled, then slightly nodded and quickly left.

Apparently, he was off to find Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui was the head of the Bureau of the Lamp’s local branch for the Great Yan Dynasty.

There was hardly any intelligence he didn’t know.

In no time at all, Qian Siyuan returned, carrying a stack of scrolls in his arms.

Cheng Guang received the scrolls, took them back to the bedroom, spread them out on the desk, and began to read them one by one.

After going through most of the scrolls brought by Qian Siyuan, Cheng Guang put down the scroll in hand, rubbed his forehead with a hint of headache, while a glimmer of joy twinkled in his eyes.

"As expected, there’s a catch."

The recent turmoil within the Great Yan Dynasty was rather bizarre, to say the least.

The cause related to the imperial succession system of the Great Yan Dynasty, which was quite unique.

To become the Emperor of the Great Yan, it didn’t solely depend on bloodline concentration, nor did it depend on who held the position of Crown Prince, but on who could pass certain trials. Whoever passed could inherit the throne and become the Emperor.

Being the Crown Prince only meant that one initially had access to more resources and a higher starting point.

Whether one could become the Emperor still depended on passing the trials.

These trials, set by the Ancestor of the Great Yan Dynasty, were called the Four Great Trials, testing character, bloodline, intelligence, and fortune.

Indeed, everyone in the Great Yan royal family could partake in the Four Great Trials, competing for the throne.

But.

Generally speaking, as the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace possessed the highest bloodline concentration and enjoyed the most resources, in ten reigns of the Great Yan Dynasty, the Eastern Palace Crown Prince inherited the throne five or six times.

There have been instances where someone other than the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, emerging as a dark horse, seized the throne, but these were rare.

Recently, as the old Emperor of the Great Yan grew old and infirm, he considered abdicating. He thus announced the commencement of the Four Great Trials in the Great Temple, informing the spirits of the ancestors.

Everyone initially thought that the throne would smoothly transition to the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, Li Zhongxin. After all, no one else in the entire Great Yan royal family could match him in intelligence, bloodline concentration, or character. Your journey continues with empire

However, the outcome defied everyone’s expectations.

This time, unprecedentedly, two people passed the Four Great Trials.

Apart from the Eastern Palace Crown Prince Li Zhongxin, there was also a daughter of a Prince, the current Commandery Princess Li Xia Dong.

Having two individuals pass the Four Great Trials was unprecedented, and though there were no ancestral precedents, it seemed fair to hold another trial.

Yet.

The Emperor of Great Yan was inclined towards Li Zhongxin, so he made a decision to let him inherit the throne directly.

While the officials felt this did not quite adhere to the rules, they were unable to voice their objections.

After all, Li Zhongxin was the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, whose resources and treatment could not be matched by the daughter of a Prince. Even if another trial were to take place, Li Zhongxin could ultimately still be the victor.

Just when things were going smoothly, that Prince was no longer compliant.

He simply led his troops straight to Skyfire City.

He openly criticized the Emperor of Great Yan for being blind, arguing that despite his daughter having less resources and treatment compared to the Eastern Palace Crown Prince Li Zhongxin, she could still pass the Four Great Trials alongside him. This alone proved that his daughter was more talented than Li Zhongxin.

If Li Zhongxin were to inherit the throne, he would rise in rebellion.

This Prince was known as Prince Ning, one of the Great Yan Dynasty’s Princes who controlled military power and also was one of those who guarded the Border Area battlefield for the dynasty.

For his daughter’s sake, he forsook all caution, withdrawing his troops from the Border Area battlefield, heading directly for the capital, Skyfire City.

When Prince Ning approached Skyfire City with his army, the officials of Great Yan were nearly scared to death.

They hadn’t anticipated that Prince Ning would react so strongly and appear near Skyfire City with an army.

The aging and infirm Emperor of Great Yan looked helpless, knowing he was in the wrong, yet unable to stand up to his brother Prince Ning, and had no choice but to speak out in an attempt to calm the situation.

He also agreed to select another day to reopen the Great Temple, restarting the Four Great Trials, allowing the two to compete once more.

After much placation by the Emperor of Great Yan, Prince Ning’s anger subsided, and he led his men back to his fiefdom.

After such an incident, the eyes of the world refocused on the Eastern Palace Crown Prince and the Commandery Princess of Prince Ning.

Curiosity arose regarding the Commandery Princess, who could compete with the Eastern Palace Crown Prince and was worth Prince Ning’s great effort to secure justice for.

After reading the scrolls, Cheng Guang couldn’t help but feel a sense of absurdity.

Before seeing the information in these scrolls, he had thought that the Great Yan Dynasty had been attacked by some foreign enemy, facing a danger that could lead to the dynasty’s downfall, which was why they had withdrawn troops from the Border Area battlefield.

It turned out to be merely a father’s act to fight for his daughter’s pride.

Even though Prince Ning withdrew his troops from the Border Area, he hadn’t done so without leaving sufficient safeguards; as soon as Devil Beasts invaded the Great Yan territory, little disturbance arose. Furthermore, the Emperor of Great Yan, although delayed, quickly compromised and acceded to Prince Ning’s demands, allowing Prince Ning to quickly return to the Border Area battlefield. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The disturbances sparked by the Devil Beasts at the borders were soon quelled.

It was unlikely that a powerful figure like Prince Ning would betray his country outright.

Cheng Guang also felt that the Ancestor of the Great Yan Dynasty was somewhat wise for not choosing the antiquated system of primogeniture for succession, but instead setting up the Four Great Trials as a way to test who should inherit the throne.