By the Mandate of Heaven

(Originally titled "The Astronomer of the Spirit Terrace"; no updates on Mondays or Wednesdays, updates at 6:00 p.m. on other days.)

Later generations all said that Emperor Qicheng, Cui Zhao, had risen from being the son of an inept member of the imperial clan to being named heir apparent thanks to his eyes, which could sever a person's fortune. But no one knew...

"Because of these eyes of mine, my parents died, my maternal uncle took his own life, my teacher was trapped deep in the mountains, and my adoptive parents never had a child of their own. Everyone who loves me suffers because of me. The Heavenly Way has tormented me this far. There is nowhere I can flee, even to the ends of the earth. Only by fighting it can I find peace."

Then fight it he would!

He issued prophecies, conveyed heavenly revelations, and summoned strange phenomena, until he ruled the Nine Provinces and ascended the imperial throne.

A song of the age goes:

At dawn, an astronomer of the Spirit Terrace; at dusk, seated in the emperor's hall.

When Le Sui first returned to the capital, the emperor trusted him and used him, the princes and princesses courted him and feared him, the court officials envied him and looked down on him, and everyone else flattered him and was afraid of him.

Only Xiao Zeyi, the famously headstrong military governor of Hexi, rested a hand on his sword and bowed to him, telling him that his plans were Hexi's plans.

And when Le Sui stirred up a storm throughout the capital and became the heir apparent, whose awe-inspiring power was beyond the understanding of the court officials, Xiao Zeyi said that the Astronomer of the Spirit Terrace was nothing but a toddler who loved sweets.

Theme: Walk the path of a virtuous ruler and take the world as your responsibility