Thirty Years of Bright Moonlight Night

In the thirtieth year, on a moonlit night, with the landscape adorned in splendor and the lotus pond full beneath the glowing moon. Princess Li Ying of Yong’an, gentle and kind-hearted, tragically drowned in the palace lotus pond at the age of sixteen. The Emperor, in his deep sorrow, nearly lost the will to live. Upon closer investigation, it was discovered that the princess had been pushed into the pond and drowned by her fiancé. In his rage, the Emperor executed the entire family of the fiancé, a noble family of high standing. This event severely weakened the power of the aristocratic families, while the commoners began to rise in power, leading to the commencement of the Taichang Reforms. After the Emperor’s passing, history books later referred to him as the “Saint Ruler of the Renaissance” due to the Taichang Reforms. The mother of Li Ying, Consort Jiang, who had once been a palace maid, ascended to the position of Imperial Concubine, and eventually Empress, and later even crowned herself Emperor, alongside the Taichang Emperor, as two Saints. Everything they achieved was rooted in the early death of their beloved daughter, Li Ying. Thirty years later, during a prosperous and peaceful era, while the people mourned the untimely death of the princess, they also found solace in the fact that her death had brought about so many changes. However, the soul of the young princess, still lingering in the mortal realm, appeared wearing the green silk gown she had worn when she drowned. Her face, preserved at the age of sixteen, with its delicate beauty, found the infamous and ruthless Minister of Affairs, Cui Xun, who was plagued by countless illnesses. She said to him, “I need your help to investigate a case.” She continued, “I want you to find out who killed me.” Evil spirits turn to demons, and if one has already become a demon, why bother with becoming a Buddha?