#440 - Public Speaking
The next day, September 25th.
Afternoon, between 1 and 3 PM.
A gentle breeze and a clear sky.
Today seemed no different from any other day, but for the Shu Kingdom, and even for the entire Da'ning, it was a very important day.
Because in less than an hour, Ning Yu'ke would, in the form of a "public speech", respond head-on to Ning Yongnian's call for her subjugation for the first time.
Now, the 300,000-strong army to quell the rebellion had left Yuanzhou in full force and was aggressively rushing towards Shuzhou, vowing to drive her, the "rebel king", from the throne in one fell swoop.
Under such circumstances, the Shu army had been stationed in Shuzhou City without moving, obviously waiting for something.
Previously, everyone didn't know what Liang Zhen was waiting for, but now they understood.
It turned out that the Shu army was waiting for Ning Yu'ke to "justify" their expedition.
Therefore, this speech was not only a response to Ning Yongnian, but also bore the important task of justifying the "Shu Kingdom", justifying the "King of Shu", and justifying the "Shu Army".
In other words, Ning Yu'ke wanted to use this speech to prove to the world the legitimacy of her "self-establishment as king", and to expose Ning Yongnian's ugly face, unworthy of being the Human Emperor.
Of course, just like the truth of the "Yuanzhou City Massacre", this kind of thing was originally "everyone has their own version". Ning Yu'ke and Ning Yongnian each had their own arguments, and the people could choose to believe whoever they wanted.
But at least for the people of Shuzhou, they were now indeed more inclined towards this new empress, who possessed the virtue of a mother to the world.
This was due to the effect of the new policy on land taxes, the effect of Ning Yu'ke's beauty advantage, and the effect of the Freemasons' secret manipulation of "public opinion".
Anyway, no matter what, the hearts of the people in Shuzhou were indeed slowly leaning towards Ning Yu'ke.
This could be seen from the number of people present today.
"Silence!"
"Silence!!"
It was still the city tower from the enthronement ceremony. With the vermilion city wall as the center, the fan-shaped area several miles in front was crowded with tens of thousands of people.
Everyone was looking up, listening to the lengthy and obscure opening remarks of the master of ceremonies, eagerly anticipating the appearance of Ning Yu'ke.
Inside the tightly closed golden gate on the city tower, the latter, dressed in golden robes, was kneeling in front of a man.
"Get up quickly."
Looking at Ning Yu'ke, who knelt down again at the slightest disagreement, Wei Changtian said helplessly, "There are commoners everywhere outside, aren't you afraid of being seen?"
"Yes, Master."
Ning Yu'ke obediently stood up, but did not sit down. Instead, she stood there in the sunlight with her head lowered, her expression seemingly complicated.
The two had not seen each other since the last "massage", so she had not yet given an answer to the question of "hate or not hate".
However, Wei Changtian didn't want to bring it up again.
"Is everything ready?"
He asked with a smile after taking a sip of tea, "This speech is no small matter, and cannot tolerate any mistakes."
"Yes, Master, rest assured."
Ning Yu'ke nodded gently, "This servant will definitely not let Master down."
"That's good."
Wei Changtian hadn't seen Ning Yu'ke's speech draft, but Chu Xianping had reviewed it, and it was said to be very "sincere" and "moving".
He stopped mentioning the speech and paused before asking another question.
"By the way, has Qingxian told you about Tianling?"
"Yes, she has."
"What do you think?"
"This servant will listen to Master in everything."
"."
"Do you understand?"
"."
Her body trembled slightly, and Ning Yu'ke was silent for a long time this time.
Then, she slowly raised her head and said softly under Wei Changtian's gaze:
"Master, this servant wants to try..."
"."
"Okay."
Wei Changtian was only slightly stunned, and then smiled and nodded.
Although he didn't want Ning Yu'ke to become Tianling, since he had already decided to let the latter choose for herself, he would definitely not regret it.
"By the way, Qingxian didn't force you, did she?"
"No."
Shaking her head, Ning Yu'ke said very seriously and softly, "According to Senior Qingxian, this servant can choose when to take the last step of spiritual transformation."
"Please rest assured, Master, this servant will definitely not act on her own initiative."
"If this servant is fortunate enough to succeed, Master will still decide when to transform."
When will I decide when to transform?
Wei Changtian knew that Ning Yu'ke said this because she was afraid that once she became Tianling, it would delay his "important affairs".
But...
"I still say the same thing, I can't make these decisions for you."
"Whenever you feel the time is right, then do it."
After a slight pause, Wei Changtian smiled and added.
"But if there really is such a day in the future, I hope you can tell me in advance before you become Tianling, so I can go and see you one last time."
"Okay?"
"."
Wei Changtian deliberately made his tone very relaxed in the last sentence.
However, Ning Yu'ke still burst into tears in the next moment.
She stared blankly at Wei Changtian, wanting to say something, but the fan door not far away was suddenly slowly pushed open a crack at this moment.
The little eunuch walked over quickly from outside, first greeted Wei Changtian in a low voice, and then lowered his head and said softly to Ning Yu'ke:
"Your Majesty, it's time for you to go out."
"...Understood."
Taking a deep breath, reaching out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, Ning Yu'ke turned around and prepared to give her speech.
But just as she was about to walk to the golden gate facing the people, she suddenly stopped and turned her head back, and said softly in the extremely astonished gaze of the little eunuch.
"Master, this servant has never lost anything because of you, but has gained a lot because of you."
"This servant only knows this one truth, and will always understand this truth."
"."
When Ning Yu'ke directly called Wei Changtian "Master" in front of others for the first time, the impact it brought almost made the little eunuch beside her pop out his eyeballs.
However, Wei Changtian recovered after a brief surprise.
He knew that this was Ning Yu'ke's answer to him, the answer to the question of "hate or not hate".
"Okay, I understand."
"Go."
"Yes, Master."
Giving a slight bow, Ning Yu'ke's expression had become incomparably dignified and beautiful when she turned her head again.
She reached out and pressed on the golden door, and then gently pushed it.
"Creak~"
The fan door, which was as tall as two people, slowly opened, and the golden sunlight of the afternoon fell on her body, reflecting the long robes with dazzling brilliance.
The clouds moved the pheasant tail fan to open the palace, and the sun circled the dragon scales to recognize the holy face.
The cheers of tens of thousands of people instantly surged like a tsunami, and all that could be seen were the people kneeling on the ground and the bright yellow flags embroidered with the word "Shu".
"Long live our King!"
"Long live our King!!!"
"."
It was said in the previous life that behind every successful man there is an unknown woman.
But the scene now seemed to be exactly the opposite.
Under Wei Changtian's gaze, Ning Yu'ke stepped over the threshold.
She stood tall in front of tens of thousands of people, and then opened her mouth and chanted word by word:
"Although my Shu land is located in a remote corner of the southwest!"
"But I am willing to seek a peaceful and prosperous world for the people of the world!"
"This wish begins today!"
