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Chapter 539 The Second Trial

As the general smashed the railing of the fast ship with his whip, the dock erupted in chaos.

He not only knocked several captains flying with one hand, but also smashed the ship!
This truly shows a complete disregard for the Imperial City Guard, a total break with them.

The people on the dock were talking noisily, but it was hard to hear clearly from a distance.

The general hoisted the iron whip back onto his shoulder and strode into the cabin, shouting "Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan!" as he began searching each cabin one by one.

Among the officers who had been overturned, one of them recognized him, got up, and shouted, "Imperial Uncle Cheng! The Emperor will not let you off!"

Cheng Guojiu laughed heartily: "His Majesty is my brother-in-law; at most, he'll scold me."

Xu Yuan frowned slightly upon hearing the title "Brother Cheng" in the cabin.

Unfortunately, I still know too little about what's happening in the imperial court.

Just then, Cheng Guojiu, with his head down and back crouching, like a beast burrowing into a hole to hunt a mole, crawled into the cabin.

The hatch behind Xu Yuan opened silently. When Xu Yuan turned around, he saw Zhao Beichen make a shushing gesture to him, then beckon him to come with him.

Xu Yuan was a little confused—when Zhao Beichen saw that he didn't move, he came over and pulled Xu Yuan away quietly.

"Let's hide for a while," Zhao Beichen said in a low voice.

He quietly returned to the ship, intending to take Xu Yuan with him to avoid a direct conflict with this "Brother Cheng".

Zhao Beichen was very familiar with the ship. He led Xu Yuan through a maze of twists and turns, avoiding Cheng Guojiu, and into the hold.

Once here, Zhao Beichen was finally able to speak loudly.

He gave a wry smile: "This is the Empress's fourth brother, and Consort Rong's fourth brother."

Xu Yuan was completely confused. What was going on?
Cheng Guojiu was a very special person in the court.

Zhao Beichen thought that Xu Yuan would understand once he brought it up.

But judging from his bewildered expression, he seemed to have never heard of this Cheng Guojiu before.

Zhao Beichen tentatively asked, "Lord Xu, do you not know the Imperial Uncle Cheng?"

Xu Yuan shook his head.

Zhao Beichen was somewhat at a loss.

As the emperor's henchmen, the Imperial City Guard was not allowed to discuss the emperor's family affairs in private.

However, without clarifying Cheng Guojiu's identity, Xu Yuan would not be able to understand the other party's significance.

After hesitating for a while, Zhao Beichen decided to prioritize the Emperor's mission. He first apologized in his heart before slowly saying, "Her Majesty the Empress passed away ten years ago."

Xu Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Ten years ago... was it when the former crown prince was deposed?"

Zhao Beichen did not answer directly, but said, "His Highness Prince Yong is the Empress's only son."

As the eldest son of the emperor, it was only natural for him to be named the crown prince.

Xu Yuan then understood.

The crown prince was demoted to the mediocre prince, and the empress probably couldn't bear the blow, so she died not long after.

"His Majesty and the Empress are deeply in love, and have not appointed another Empress in recent years."

It is certainly inappropriate for the position of Empress to remain vacant for ten years.

But His Majesty has already used the "Prince Yong case" to purge the court.

Whether something is "suitable" or not depends entirely on His Majesty's wishes.

For the past ten years, Your Majesty has truly been the sole ruler.

"Because His Majesty misses the Empress, he also took the Empress's eleventh sister as Consort Rong."

Consort Rong gave birth to two princes for His Majesty, who were respectively granted the titles of Prince Jing and Prince Chen.

After the birth of Prince Chen, Consort Rong was promoted to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort.

After a pause, Zhao Beichen added, "His Highness Prince Jing has been filial since childhood and is highly respected among the court officials."

"Cheng Guojiu once led troops to conquer Xue Sha Gui twice. He was awarded the title of Marquis of Dingbei and the first-rank Zhaowu General for his military achievements."

In recent years, he has served as the commander of the three provinces of Shanxi, Henan and Shandong, and was responsible for recruiting and training soldiers in the local areas.

Most of the generals on the northern battlefield today were promoted by him back then!

Xu Yuan understood.

No wonder this Uncle Cheng was so arrogant and fearless.

A true military bigwig.

Moreover... His Majesty must feel guilty towards the Cheng family.

After the Empress passed away, he took another daughter from the Cheng family as his concubine.

She was a concubine, second only to the Empress.

Suddenly, Xu Yuan thought of something else: This Cheng Guojiu must be supporting his nephew, Prince Jing, to be the crown prince, right?
So he came to stop me because...

Just as Xu Yuan was thinking this, he heard Cheng Guojiu suddenly roar from the deck outside: "Xu Yuan, if you don't come out, I'm going to throw all your men into the river to feed the fish!"

Then, Xu Yuan heard Liu Hu's screams of agony.

Zhao Beichen hurriedly dissuaded him: "Lord Xu, please don't act impulsively..."

Xu Yuan shook his head and walked out.

……

The canal is teeming with evil spirits.

The constable who was kicked into the river by Cheng Guojiu was rescued by his companions immediately, but a piece of flesh was bitten off his buttocks by the evil spirit, leaving it covered in blood!
Cheng Guojiu's massive body stood on the side of the ship, holding Liu Hu as if he were a chick, and he stretched Liu Hu out of the ship.

Liu Hu had already spotted seven or eight ferocious, strange fish and snakes in the river below the boat, raising their heads and opening their mouths full of fangs.

Several shadowy figures lurked underwater!

Liu Hu was so frightened that he screamed loudly.

Besides him, Lang Xiaoba and the others were also captured by Cheng Guojiu. Lang Xiaoba, in particular, was bruised and swollen, clearly having resisted, and was then severely beaten by Cheng Guojiu.

Cheng Guojiu shouted, "Xu Yuan! I'll count to three, and if you don't come out by then, I'm letting go!"

"one……"

Xu Yuan had already stepped onto the deck, his expression cold and stern.

"stop!"

When Cheng Guojiu saw him, he grinned and then let go—Liu Hu screamed and fell into the river.

The evil spirits below huddled together, stirring up huge waves. Their fangs and gaping mouths opened and closed impatiently, making a sizzling sound.

A rope flew over, entangled Liu Hu, and dragged him back to the boat.

Still in shock, Liu Hu scrambled to hide behind Lord Xu.

"Hmph!" Uncle Cheng snorted coldly, and then swiftly kicked Lang Xiaoba and the others, sending them flying into the river!

Xu Yuan, with a stern face, cast a net of filth and pulled everyone back.

Cheng Guojiu rushed over, raised the iron whip in his hand, and without saying a word, began to strike Xu Yuan over the head!

Zhao Beichen hurriedly caught up, urgently calling out, "Your Excellency, please show mercy!"

Xu Yuan didn't bother to say anything. He grabbed Lang Xiaoba's sword, raised it, and charged towards Cheng Guojiu to fight.

when!
With a loud crash, the iron whip slammed heavily onto the knife.

The deck beneath Xu Yuan's feet shattered with a crack, and Xu Yuan was slammed from the deck into the next level!
"Heh!" The Emperor's brother-in-law sneered, "Is that all the skill you've got..."

Before he could finish speaking, the hole burst open again with a snap, and Xu Yuan rushed up from the next floor.

The knife in his hand had been bent and dulled by the whip of the emperor's brother-in-law.

Xu Yuan leaped several feet into the air, threw down his sword, and spat out a sword pellet that transformed into the shape of a Yin-Yang guillotine.

Then, wielding a huge guillotine, he slashed at Cheng Guojiu with a powerful, sweeping motion.

Cheng Guojiu's eyes lit up, he shouted "Good!" and then he and Xu Yuan got into a fierce fight.

All the people could see were two figures on the deck moving as fast as lightning, their movements too fast to be seen. All they could hear was the clanging of metal on metal as it clashed with whips, a sound that made their eardrums ache!

Two people, two gray shadows, like two whirlwinds!

Zhao Beichen stood to the side, his eyelids twitching with anxiety: Had the Imperial Uncle gone too far...?

Today's events were, of course, arranged by His Majesty.

This is the second test for Xu Yuan.

Everyone in the court knew that the Imperial Uncle Cheng supported Prince Jing.

However, Cheng Guojiu's actions were actually very detrimental to Prince Jing.

Of course, Cheng Guojiu knew this as well.

But since His Majesty has made the arrangements, even if Cheng Guojiu is unwilling in his heart, he has no choice but to obey!
In the midst of the battle, Cheng Guojiu seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and burst into loud laughter: "Hahaha, good, it's been a long time since I've seen such solid fighting techniques!"

He shouted again, "Boy, I'm getting serious!"

Suddenly, Cheng Guojiu lashed out with his whip, and with a loud bang, he knocked Xu Yuan back.

Then, one lash after another, each lash heavier than the last, forced Xu Yuan to the side of the ship.

On the shore, the crowd erupted in uproar, and someone couldn't help but shout: "The Imperial Brother-in-law is being dishonest! He loses the martial arts contest but tries to suppress others with his skill!"

Cheng Guojiu just fought Xu Yuan using the level of a fourth-rate martial artist.

This time, however, the power was released to the third level.

The servants brought by the emperor's brother-in-law were all fierce-looking and immediately started hurling insults at the other people.

After only a few words of cursing, he felt dissatisfied and rushed over to attack.

The people of Anyang Prefecture are known for their fierce and martial spirit.

Although they feared the power of the emperor's brother-in-law, they were unwilling to tolerate the group of arrogant servants who relied on their master's influence.

Chaos reigned at the dock, with crowds surging around.

Many people scuffled with the servants, then secretly kicked or punched them before disappearing into the crowd and running away!

Once they'd run far enough, they'd quickly take off their coats, wrap them in their arms, and run even faster...

Cheng Guojiu ignored the noisy insects.

The young man in front of me has mastered the art of "fighting generals" and has also learned other martial arts and movement techniques.

The emperor's brother-in-law had been fighting for a while, but he realized that he couldn't defeat him using only martial arts skills!

Then I won't care about all that. I'll just raise the bar and use sheer force to overpower you!

Don't give me that nonsense about not having martial ethics.

If I were to lose to this junior, wouldn't that be even more humiliating?
Seeing that Xu Yuan had been forced to the side of the boat, Cheng Guojiu laughed loudly and lashed out with his whip: "Get down here, you bastard—"

Unexpectedly, Xu Yuan's body suddenly seemed to have no bones, and with a sudden twist, he managed to slip out from under his own ribs!
Searching bones like worms!

Cheng Guojiu was surprised; this kid had this trick up his sleeve!

But it didn't matter, and he was about to turn around and chase after it when something suddenly bumped into him from behind.

The force of the impact was enormous, and the timing was perfect—just when the old force of the Emperor's brother-in-law's whip had been exhausted and the new force had not yet arisen.

The emperor's brother-in-law's massive body lunged forward and flew out of the ship with a whoosh!

He looked back in mid-air and realized that what had hit him was a horse-drawn carriage!
I also saw that little thief Xu Yuan, dragging a big knife, standing on the platform, laughing and mocking me!

"Fuck..."

The emperor's brother-in-law cursed under his breath.

This is a loss we can only swallow in silence.

Who told you to use your superior skills to intimidate others and lack martial ethics?

Cheng Guojiu reached out and patted the jade belt at his waist, from which three fishing lines shot out, each with a fishhook at the end.

They were hung in different positions on the fast ship.

Then, the three fishing lines were pulled in together, steadily dragging Cheng Guojiu back onto the boat.

Xu Yuan held his sword horizontally in front of him, his face solemn.

In this round, it seems that Cheng Guojiu has lost.

He first used third-rate strength.

Then they were shot off the ship.

However, in terms of strength, the third-rate Cheng Guojiu is definitely superior to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan remained calm and composed, his face solemn, showing no sign of smugness.

But those piercing eyes were filled with a fierce fighting spirit!
If you continue to cause trouble, I am not afraid to fight you to the end.

Cheng Guojiu then hoisted the iron whip onto his shoulder and said, "When you go to Beidu, you'd better be as fearless of power as you are today!"

Tell us what you find.

Furthermore, it is absolutely forbidden to spread rumors or distort the truth!
otherwise--"

Cheng Guojiu shook his body, and his joints cracked, making his already enormous body grow twice as tall!
Standing over three zhang tall, he was truly like an ancient ferocious beast, glaring fiercely at Xu Yuan on the deck: "My true level is only second-rate!"
"You wouldn't want a powerful, second-rate martial artist to hunt you down for the rest of your life, would you?" Xu Yuan said in a deep voice, "I'm an investigator. I'm going to Beidu only to find out the truth."

"You'd better do that." Cheng Guojiu landed back down, coldly uttered a sentence, and then jumped back to the shore.

Then he waved his hand: "Go back!"

The servants immediately followed him away from the dock.

Xu Yuan couldn't help but shake his head: "Is Imperial Uncle Cheng afraid that I'm protecting Consort Yi...?"

Zhao Beichen didn't say anything.

This imperial brother-in-law... although he obeyed His Majesty's orders and boarded the ship to test Xu Yuan a second time.

But his final words were also a paving the way for his recent actions.

No wonder he had followers all over the Northern Army back then, and was already the de facto number one military figure, yet he was able to retire peacefully and even got a retirement job training troops in a local area.

Recruiting and training soldiers both require money.

This is a lucrative job.

"The oil supply is complete, let's hurry up and go." Zhao Beichen pretended to be troubled by Cheng Guojiu's headache and urged Xu Yuan to return to the cabin.

The beast-like mouth at the bow opened, spewing out a huge cloud of black smoke, and the fast ship accelerated away from the Anyang Prefecture dock once again.

There's no need to repair the damage on the deck; we can deal with it once we get to Beidu.

Xu Yuan seemed to be deep in thought, feeling that something was amiss.

However, they couldn't pinpoint exactly where the problem lay.

Zhao Beichen hurried back to his room and respectfully began writing the third memorial of his trip.

As I picked up the pen, I couldn't help but feel a little lost in thought.

In his entire life, Zhao Beichen had never seen an official like Xu Yuan.

You say he's young and impetuous? But when I first took him to hide in the basement, he didn't say anything and just followed along.

You might say he's mature and steady, but when Cheng Guojiu really bullies him, he doesn't hesitate to retaliate.

And they do indeed have the ability to fight back.

Today's second test is to examine Xu Yuan's response to powerful figures.

But whether this outcome is good or bad... Zhao Beichen really couldn't tell.

Looking back on the journey, he remained calm and composed in Qianyang Prefecture, showing no signs of being overwhelmed by honor or disgrace.

Even when secretly followed by third-rate evil spirits, he remained calm and quickly devised a way to deal with them.

Zhao Beichen noticed at least one thing, muttering to himself, "This guy... I'm afraid deep down he has no respect whatsoever for the powerful and influential in our dynasty."

The Emperor ordered him to investigate the case of Consort Yi; I really don't know if that's the right thing to do..."

……

Cheng Guojiu and his entourage quickly left the canal dock, and he threw away the iron whip in his hand.

The two servants hurriedly caught it.

He stumbled and nearly fell.

Then the two of them worked together, one in front and one behind, to lift the iron whip.

The two servants were also martial arts practitioners, but the iron whip wielded by the Imperial Uncle was surprisingly heavy.

"Those few who dared to fight you just now are promising talents," the Emperor's brother-in-law praised.

The first thing a soldier needs to have is courage.

The servant beside him immediately said, "I'll go find them right away."

"Hmm," Cheng Guojiu nodded, "After they've found them, give them a good training session and send them to the Northern Army along with the next batch of new recruits."

Whether they can make it big or not depends on themselves.

"Yes!"

The Northern Army and the Snow Demon fought a series of battles.

The north is bitterly cold, and wild beasts and evil spirits roam there.

The Snow Demon is even more ferocious.

Sending them there is hard to say whether it gave them an opportunity or... ruined them.

If you die in the north, then you've been tricked.

If this gets out, it will be considered that anyone who dares to offend the Emperor's brother-in-law deserves to die!
If they manage to rise to prominence, it's because the emperor's brother-in-law recognized their talent and gave them opportunities.

In the future, they will all be related to Cheng Guojiu.

During festivals and holidays, the tributes sent to the Emperor's brother-in-law's residence were indispensable.

He served in the court for decades, mastering the art of wielding power to perfection.

Cheng Guojiu did admire their courage, but he was ultimately unhappy to vent that courage on himself.

……

Beidu is an ancient and magnificent city.

The city wall, built of bluish-gray bricks, exudes a sense of weight and stability honed by time.

In an era rife with evil spirits, it is rare to find something that can give people a sense of "security".

The imperial city is located slightly north of the central axis of the entire northern capital.

This vast area of ​​land was the most heavily guarded place in the entire Ming Dynasty.

There are 30,000 Imperial Guards and 3,000 Imperial City Guards inside and outside the Imperial City!

There are also seven top-tier experts from the seven major departments!
In addition, the supervisor who was stationed at the Northwest Observatory of Beidu year-round always had 30% of his heart set on the capital city.

Around mid-morning, Zhao Beichen's second secret memorial since leaving the capital was delivered.

After undergoing multiple checks, a young eunuch carried it with both hands, head bowed, and quickly delivered it to the outside of the Imperial Study.

Here, they were stopped by the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

This "ancestor" of all the eunuchs in the entire Ming Dynasty personally delivered the memorial.

The weather in the north is cold, so a "ground fire dragon" was built underground in the Imperial Study to keep it warm inside.

The current emperor, dressed in bright yellow imperial robes, sat upright before his desk, reading a memorial.

His temples were streaked with gray, and his face was solemn and dignified, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

However, the chief eunuch, who had served His Majesty for many years, had noticed some details that outsiders would not pay attention to and could tell that His Majesty was in a bad mood at the moment.

He stopped in the corridor without making a sound.

After waiting for a while, His Majesty picked up his imperial brush, wrote a few words on the memorial, then closed it and put it aside.

"Is something wrong?"

His Majesty's voice came through.

The voice echoed in the spacious imperial study, aged yet full of vigor.

The chief eunuch tiptoed forward and presented the memorial: "It was sent by Zhao Beichen."

The emperor frowned.

Logically, the second memorial shouldn't have arrived so quickly.

This means there was an accident on the road.

The emperor was displeased. Some people really were incredibly audacious!
They dare to do anything.

He picked up the document and read it.

Zhao Beichen faithfully reported only what he had seen.

The emperor liked this kind of minister.

Do whatever I ask you to do.

As for the rest, I will make my own judgment; you should not interfere.

For example, in this case, neither Zhao Beichen nor Xu Yuan could figure out who was responsible.

But the emperor quickly came up with an answer after a moment's thought.

From Qianyang Prefecture to Hanyang Prefecture, the Luo family was the most powerful in the region.

However, the Luo family is generally quite disciplined in their dealings.

They dare not collude with evil spirits.

The largest uninhabited area along this route is Dongting Lake.

A few years ago, the demon-slaying army built a military camp on the shore of Dongting Lake.

After that, many people in the demon-slaying army started to do business with materials for exorcising evil spirits.

The person manipulating everything behind the scenes is Bian Lü, the Martial General of the Demon Extermination Army.

Not far from the emperor's side, all of Xu Yuan's information was placed.

I had looked at it carefully before.

Then I opened it again and quickly found the part I wanted.

Bian Lu and Bai Huahun.

"Have the Imperial City Guard secretly investigate Bian Lü."

"According to the order."

The chief eunuch stepped down to attend to his duties.

The emperor then read the memorial again.

The emperor felt it was too early to judge Xu Yuan's abilities.

But... the yellow bird flying out of the carriage was indeed quite novel, piquing his interest.

……

It's night again.

Xu Yuan clearly heard more noise on the ship than in the previous two days.

The people of the Champa government couldn't sleep.

Lang Xiaoba and the others never imagined that they would have the chance to go to Beidu in their lifetime!
They were so excited about arriving in Beidu the next day that they couldn't sleep.

Xu Yuan also had trouble sleeping.

In the afternoon, Xu Yuan finally figured it out.

The constant stops and accidents along the way were by no means accidental.

One can always see traces of Zhao Beichen's encouragement or deliberate indulgence in this.

"Someone instructed Zhao Beichen to test me."

It goes without saying who that person is.

Xu Yuan had mixed feelings about that person.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty was plagued by corruption, but it could not be said that the people were suffering terribly.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty was extremely successful militarily at this time.

The people can also have enough to eat.

But with evil spirits everywhere, this era can hardly be called good.

But the responsibility for the evil spirits does not lie with the current emperor.

The corruption of officials was already very serious before he took office.

This is an unavoidable situation in the later stages of every dynasty.

Although the blame wasn't on him, he didn't work hard to improve the situation or eliminate the long-standing problems.

It's also possible that the treatment was ineffective.

But as the emperor, if you do not perform well—then you naturally bear responsibility.

Xu Yuan was also thinking about how he should respond if the Emperor summoned him after entering Beidu.

Ultimately, they were completely clueless and had to improvise.

The night is getting darker.

As they approached the northern capital, the evil spirits in the canal seemed to diminish considerably.

The only sound coming from outside was the sound of water, and occasionally a shrill scream could be heard.

The most important task of this trip to Beidu was to clear Hegong Lane of the charges!

Xu Yuan clarified his purpose once again. Knowing that thinking too much was useless, he completely emptied his mind and fell asleep shortly afterward.

(End of this chapter)