Farce

To be precise, it is a copy transcribed from part of the Veritable Records.

"Did the Heavenly Emperor like rice cakes?"

"No, this was written during the reign of the previous Heavenly Emperor, so it happened quite some time ago. The current Heavenly Emperor probably won't even touch rice cakes."

Come to think of it, the previous Heavenly Emperor died choking on a rice cake. It was so absurd that I still remember it, even years later.

Ordinarily, the contents of the Veritable Records written by the court historians could not be viewed even by the Heavenly Emperor's successor after the Emperor's death. The reason was obvious: there was a risk that history would be rewritten according to the whims of those in power.

However, some powerful clans secretly planted informants in the institution responsible for compiling the Veritable Records, allowing them to spy on what had been written. They used this to keep track of the Heavenly Emperor's movements and prevent impending crises before they occurred.

"This should tell us how he reacted to the letter you will send, Great General."

"Would asking Lord No do?"

No Chil shook their head.

"Bribing a court historian takes considerable effort, and a clan must consider the risk worthwhile before undertaking something like that. I have completely withdrawn from central politics now, so while it might have been possible before, I cannot check the Veritable Records anymore."...