Chapter 302: Mirror of the Universe

Half a month later.

Inside Zichen Hall, the atmosphere was even more solemn and grave than when they had received the urgent western border report half a month earlier.

The officials in the hall held their breath, all eyes fixed on the dust‑covered, weary‑looking yet blazing‑eyed Minister of Rites Sun Chengyou.

The envoy team he led had finally returned to Bian Liang.

Chen Wen sat high on the dragon throne, his gaze behind the imperial beads falling calmly on Sun Chengyou.

"Sun Qing, you have worked hard."

"Tell us exactly what you saw."

Sun Chengyou drew a deep breath, as if still needing to steady himself from the shock of what he had witnessed with his own eyes.

He did not speak immediately, but first took out a meticulously drawn scroll from his bosom, which an attendant respectfully presented before the throne.

Chen Wen unfolded the scroll.

The fine lines of the drawing clearly revealed that towering curtain of light spanning heaven and earth.

Its magnificence and strangeness far surpassed any verbal description.

Even more heart‑pounding was that the mountains and rivers mirrored on either side of the light curtain were identical down to every waterfall and grove.

"Your Majesty," Sun Chengyou's voice, hoarse from the long journey, carried an indescribable tremor as it echoed through the hall.

"We obeyed your edict, traveling day and night, and finally reached the western border of Taozhou."

"We personally beheld that…… that 'Heaven‑West Light Curtain'."

He paused, seemingly searching for words to describe the scene beyond common sense.

"The curtain is neither cloth nor silk, neither metal nor stone; intangible to the touch yet substantial to the eye."

"Its halo flows like rippling water, stretching north‑south without end."

"Following your orders, we repeatedly inspected, measured, and recorded, trying to strike it with water, fire, metal and stone—none could penetrate, nor did it react."

"The curtain is impregnable, like…… a heavenly moat."

The hall fell silent; only Sun Chengyou's slightly trembling voice reverberated.

"Yet this is not the most astonishing matter."

Sun Chengyou lifted his head, his eyes filled with disbelief, his voice rising.

"After several days of investigation and comparison, we found that the terrain, cities and old fortifications beyond the curtain match exactly the lay of the land beneath our feet in Longyou—like…… like twin mirror images!"

"What?"

"How is this possible?!"

"Minister Sun, is this true?!"

The hall finally burst into exclamations that could no longer be contained.

Even the most stoic veteran officials changed color at once.

A geographical mirror image? This already surpassed their comprehension.

Chen Wen's finger traced lightly over the scroll, his eyes sharp as a blade.

"And the people? Did you see any soldiers on the other side clearly?"

Sun Chengyou knocked his head hard against the floor, his voice carrying a desperate resolve.

"Your Majesty, clear sight! We not only saw them, we…… even managed a brief confrontation with the beings beyond!"

"Their armor and attire are neither of our dynasty nor of any known neighboring fief!"

"The colors of their uniforms and the patterns on their banners are unprecedented!"

He drew a deep breath and dropped that earth‑shaking conclusion.

"More certain still, over there…… a state has already been established!"

"Its name is——'Song'!"

"Its era name——'Jianlong'!"

"And the person who ascended the throne as emperor……"

Sun Chengyou's voice broke here; he strained with all his strength to shout the name that left every civil and military official in the hall voiceless.

"It is none other than the former rebel of Chan Prefecture, seized by the remnants of the Iron Crow Army and whose fate had been unknown——Zhao, Kuang, Yin!"

"Zhao Kuangyin?!"

"It is him!"

"He actually became emperor beyond the curtain?!"

"The state name Song? The era Jianlong?"

The entire Zichen Hall exploded like a boiling pot.

Shock, anger, disbelief spread wildly among the officials.

Zhang Cheng and Wang Ru exchanged a glance, both seeing extreme shock in the other's eyes.

Qian Gui's face darkened, his fingers tightening silently.

Shi Dun stared wide‑eyed, almost ready to charge forward at once.

Chen Wen's body leaned forward imperceptibly.

Zhao Kuangyin! The one who claimed emperorship beyond the curtain is Zhao Kuangyin!

That rival who ought to have vanished after the Chan Prefecture rebellion has, in this way, reappeared on the throne outside the very pattern he himself had altered!

A chill ran up his spine.

This is no coincidence.

This is absolutely no coincidence!

The Iron Crow Army…… indeed, only they could have such an unfathomable method!

The 'cleansing agreement' and 'variable' in the information fragments flickered wildly in his mind.

Is this light curtain, this mirror image, this Zhao Kuangyin thrust back onto the stage, what they call the 'cleansing' method?

Is it to correct the 'deviation' caused by his 'variable'?

Forcibly replicating a Zhongyuan, supporting a puppet, walking that pre‑set…… 'script'?

'Evidence.' Chen Wen's voice remained calm, but those who knew him could hear the undercurrents surging beneath the tranquility.

Sun Chengyou immediately gestured to the accompanying vice envoy.

The vice envoy presented a copper tube sealed with wax.

'Your Majesty, this is a secret agent of our dynasty lurking abroad, who risked death to traverse obstacles and brought back from the far side of the light curtain a copy of the 'Song' dynasty's founding edict!'

'Please, Your Majesty, peruse it!'

The eunuch took the copper tube, verified the wax seal was intact, carefully opened it, extracted a silk scroll, and respectfully presented it to Chen Wen.

Chen Wen unfolded the silk scroll.

His gaze swept over the familiar literary format and the eye‑catching 'Song' and 'Jianlong' characters.

The edict's content was nothing more than proclaiming the Mandate of Heaven, pacifying the subjects, and announcing the establishment of a new dynasty.

However, when his eyes fell on the concrete measures for reorganizing the forbidden army and consolidating military command, his pupils contracted sharply.

These methods…… these tactics……

They faintly echoed some of the plans the Iron Crow Army had once tried to push in Bian Liang, only to be thwarted by him!

It is more like a…… prescribed action forcibly enforced!

He slowly raised his head, his gaze once again turning toward the outside of the hall, as if he could pierce the layers of palace walls and see the light curtain on the western horizon.

After seeing the light curtain, that empire, controlled by an invisible force and walking the predetermined 'script'.

And the one seated on the dragon throne, who harbors a deep‑seated hatred for him and for all of Great Chen—the 'Song Emperor' Zhao Kuangyin.

'Officials.'

Chen Wen spoke, his voice not loud, yet it instantly silenced all the clamor in the hall.

'Did you all see it clearly?'

He handed the silk scroll in his hand to the eunuch beside him.

'Circulate it.'

The silk scroll was silently passed among the senior officials.

After each person finished reading, their faces grew a little grimmer.

They perhaps could not fully understand how the 'mirrored mountains and rivers' came to be.

But they could all discern the familiar shadow, belonging to the Iron Crow Army's manipulation, behind this edict.

And the overt hostility that came rushing at them.

When the silk scroll was finally returned to the imperial presence, Chen Wen gently placed it upon the dragon desk.

He rose to his feet, the jade pearls of his crown clacking together and emitting a clear sound.

The entire hall fell so quiet that one could hear each other's breathing.

'A single light curtain divides two Zhongyuans.'

'One is Great Chen, which I and you officials have forged with blood‑sweat, building it with our own hands.'

'The other is the Song established by Zhao Kuangyin under the backing of the forces behind him.'

'What the edict says, you have all seen.'

Chen Wen's voice carried an icy insight into the hidden black hand behind the scenes, as well as an unquestionable firmness.

'This is no natural disaster, but a man‑made calamity! It is the trick of that relentless force, unwilling to accept defeat, conjuring up deceitful schemes!'

'They have replicated the mountains and rivers, propped up a puppet, attempting thereby to prove that the path they set is the only 'orthodox' one!'

His gaze swept over faces that were shocked, angry, or worried.

'An empire led by an old enemy, controlled by the hidden black hand, walking upon that icy 'script'—the mirrored Song……'

Chen Wen enunciated each word clearly, his voice reaching every official's ear.

It is now a mortal enemy that Great Chen must confront—an unprecedented foe of life and death!

There was no fervent incitement, only a calm‑to‑cruel statement.

Yet this statement conveys a heavier, pressing weight than any war drum or horn.

The western heavenly phenomenon is no longer an illusory legend.

The mirrored universe has already become a tangible threat.

An empire with the same geography as Great Chen, yet controlled by hostile forces and walking a different road, stands on the far side of the light curtain.

Future conflicts will no longer be merely clashes of weapons on the battlefield

But rather a comprehensive collision of institutions, economy, popular sentiment, and even national fortune.

Chen Wen stood upon the crimson steps, his silhouette growing taller and more upright in the light shafts filtering through the palace gates.

The Fortune Momentum within him seemed to sense the challenge coming from the 'mirrored' and its hidden black hand.

It began to slowly accelerate its flow, exuding an inward‑yet‑vast power.

'Issue the decree.'

He issued the order in a deep voice, which echoed in the silent hall.

'Effective immediately, establish the Western Frontier Governor‑General Office to oversee all matters concerning the 'Song'.'

'The Privy Council, Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Works shall, within ten days, jointly submit their counter‑strategies.'

'Notify all circuits, heighten vigilance, especially the western and northern garrisons.'

'I want to know everything about that 'Song' and that light curtain!'

We receive the edict!

A mountain-shout-like response, carrying a resolve to hate the same enemy.

The audience dispersed.

Chen Wen stood alone in the hall, his gaze once again falling on the copy of the edict from the mirror-image Zhongyuan.

Zhao Kuangyin…… 'Song'…… Iron Crow Army……

He whispered, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

To stir up such a commotion, setting up this mirror-image arena……

Do you want to prove that your 'script' is right? Do you want to overthrow my Great Chen?

He clenched his fists, and the Fortune Momentum within him let out a low rumble.

Then let's give it a try!