When the Sky Screen Appears, Our Ancestors Are All Shaken

Lin Zhiwan, a history graduate unable to find a job, uses her savings to become a history education creator on a short-video platform. With no dazzling special effects or sensational scripts, she quietly organizes historical sources and edits one profile after another: the ten greatest founding emperors, tragic empresses remembered through the ages, peerlessly charismatic talents, princesses whose lives left generations wishing things had gone differently... Every word is grounded in historical texts as she objectively recounts the ups and downs of emperors, ministers, and women of the imperial harem across the centuries. She has no idea that every time she hits publish, a colossal sky screen spanning time and space appears simultaneously over every ancient dynasty. From emperors and officials to ordinary people in the streets, everyone can look up and see its contents, hearing her assessments of the merits and failings of historical figures. In the Xianyang Palace of Great Qin, Qin Shi Huang sees the fate of his empire under its second emperor, and the desk before him shatters with a crash. “I conquered the Six States, yet Great Qin lasted only two generations? Hu Hai, that wretch, cannot be allowed to live!” In Weiyang Palace, Emperor Wu of Han sees the witchcraft disaster of his later years and the horrors of kin turning against kin. He remains silent for a long time, regret filling his eyes. In the Zhenguan Hall, Li Shimin watches Li Chengqian rebel and the princes contend with one another. He grips his jade belt, his heart heavy with sorrow. In the imperial palace at Yingtian, Zhu Yuanzhang stares at the grim fate of his descendants at the end of the Ming dynasty, conquered and captured. “I won this realm for them, and they couldn’t even hold on to it?” In the court of the Wu Zhou dynasty, Wu Zetian sees the sky screen reveal her forced abdication and the eventual downfall of the Wu clan. Her fingers tighten around the phoenix throne as she gives a cold laugh. “I’d like to see who dares.” As figures from every dynasty witness their own fates and the verdicts history will pass on them, their emotions surge. Some feel regret, some fury, while others quietly plot and make new moves. On the other side of the screen, Lin Zhiwan simply thinks her videos are nothing special,