Minglong

Chapter 153 Man is about to die
In the capital city, the Lizheng Hall was erected.

Empress He was filled with worry, but she still took a blanket and draped it over Emperor Qian, advising him:
"Your Majesty, please sit down and rest for a while. The Imperial Observatory can handle this matter."

Cao Fo'er stood like a door god at the palace gate.

Emperor Qian, dressed in a dragon robe, paced back and forth in the hall, his brows furrowed with rage, yet he remained silent, silently pondering the assassination attempt that had just occurred.

The sudden appearance of the black cat made it difficult to kill the Great Qian Emperor, but the act of instigating birds and beasts to assassinate him was unforgivable!
But he couldn't understand who was behind the assassination attempt.

There was only one crown prince, so there was no struggle for succession.

Since none of the princes commanded troops, the assassination attempt was meaningless as long as the crown prince was still alive.

Could it be the Northern Zhou Dynasty...?

Or perhaps Li Gongpu, filled with resentment, transformed into a black cat to take revenge on me...

It seems the Li family needs to be completely eradicated...

……

Just as he was pondering this, a commotion suddenly came from outside the hall.

Call ~
Cao Fo'er noticed the newcomer was wearing a Taoist robe and sensed something was wrong, but she still smiled and said:
"Why has the Supervisor suddenly come to the Hall of State Affairs?"

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Qian's expression changed drastically, and he quickly walked to the door:

"Master Lu, Jing Huan, he..."

Lu Wuzhen stood outside the hall and bowed respectfully.
"The Crown Prince is unharmed and has already gone to the Imperial Observatory, where six celestial officials are guarding him. I have come here on behalf of the Imperial Father-in-law, He, who wishes to invite Your Majesty for a talk."

Upon hearing this, the Empress stood up, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Emperor Qian sensed something was wrong, looked back, told his wife to go back and rest, and then walked outside the palace and whispered:

"Something happened to the Emperor's father-in-law?"

Lu Wuzhen looked solemn, glanced at the Lizheng Hall, and raised his hand in a gesture.

Emperor Qian usually maintained a very good demeanor, but at this moment his expression was somewhat dazed. After a brief silence, he turned his head and said:

"Buddha, protect the Empress well and do not let her be disturbed again."

"Yes."
-
Yunling County, Imperial Mausoleum.

Some of the celestial officials who came to the rescue went to the mines within Jingzhou, while the rest stood silently at the gap in the stone wall.

Zhang Guan and Li Jing sat leaning against a rock, having a familiar expert treat their injuries, their expressions quite complex.

After waiting for a long time, a commotion came from the sky.

Looking up, Lu Wuzhen, his Taoist robe fluttering, stepped through the air, with Emperor Qian, dressed in a dragon robe, beside him.

"Your Majesty!"

Many celestial officials bowed and made way, revealing the battered figure behind them.

When Emperor Qian landed before the rocky cliff, a look of bewilderment first appeared in his eyes.

But when he saw those eyes that bore a striking resemblance to those of the Empress in her youth, Emperor Qian was slightly startled and took two steps forward, only to be stopped by the celestial official.

Emperor's father-in-law, He Xiu, leaned against the mountain wall, barely breathing. Seeing the dragon robe, he said hoarsely:
"I deserve to die a thousand deaths. I am truly ashamed of the many years of respect I have shown to His Majesty. I invited His Majesty here today only to inform him of some matters. Please dismiss them. The Supervisor can remain by his side."

Emperor Qian stood with one hand behind his back, his left fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, but his expression remained unchanged as he gently waved his hand.
"Everyone, stand down."

The many celestial officials immediately left the stone wall.

After the Emperor Qian and the others left, he slowly walked into the gap, his eyes filled with uncontrollable anger and resentment at their incompetence, just like children looking at their senile and confused parents:

"Father-in-law, when have I ever wronged you in the slightest? How could you do this..."

"Your Majesty."

He Xiu leaned against the stone wall, looking at the two people in front of her, and said in a weak voice:

"I know I am beyond redemption and will die a thousand deaths. Today I am not here to exonerate myself, but to inform His Majesty and the Supervisor of the Imperial Censor of some things that the court does not know."

"In the eighth year of Jian'an, the Second Prince secretly obtained the assistance of Sikong Tianyuan and gathered more than 300 extraordinary people to ambush and kill the Crown Prince. The condition was that afterward, he would use his merit in following the emperor to allow the Witchcraft Sect to return to the Central Plains."

"The Underworld Cult has spies in the south who intercepted intelligence in advance. Then Yip Sai Wing found me and asked if I needed any help."

"At that time, the Second Prince had already launched a coup and sent people to massacre all the princes and their relatives in the Ten Princes' Palace."

"I fled the capital with the Empress, my children and grandchildren to avoid disaster, but we were pursued by the Second Prince's men and trapped in Yanglin Temple."

"I had no choice at the time, so I accepted the help of the Underworld Cult. Then I led the Empress and my two grandsons to break through the siege. The Underworld Cult didn't have many people, and all of my other sons, daughters, and grandsons, more than thirty people, were slaughtered."

"In order to seek revenge, I used the power of the Underworld God Cult to help His Majesty recruit more than ten assassins. With the secret assistance of the Underworld God Cult, His Majesty infiltrated the imperial city and killed the Second Prince..."

"impossible!"

Before the Emperor Qian could finish listening, his eyes were already bloodshot.
"How could I possibly seize the throne by relying on the power of demons?!"

Lu Wuzhen frowned and asked:

"The elixir you obtained from the Hidden Immortal Sect, is it the 'Human Essence Pill'?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qian glared angrily, expecting a negative answer.

But He Xiu continued:
"His Majesty was seriously injured in the coup and is beyond saving. I also became greedy and did not want the throne that I had worked so hard to obtain to fall into the hands of the Prince of Dan, so I sought help from the Underworld God Cult."

"The Underworld God Sect sent us the Human Essence Pill. To prevent the imperial physicians from discovering it, they even changed the prescription to cover it up. We've been taking it for twenty years."

"In order to prolong the Emperor's life, I have no choice but to follow the instructions of the Underworld God Sect and use its power to secretly place people throughout the Great Qian Dynasty to produce elixirs..."

"enough!"

Emperor Qian interrupted her with a furious glare. He Xiu sighed deeply, a bitter smile appearing on his face:
"Over the past twenty years, I have harmed no fewer than tens of thousands of people, yet His Majesty was unaware of it, and the blame does not lie with His Majesty."

"But His Majesty did indeed seize the throne with the help of the Underworld God Sect. Once this news gets out, His Majesty will inevitably become disloyal and the Great Qian Dynasty will fall into internal strife."

"Master Lu, who was in charge of supervising the evil spirits in the capital, has made such a mistake. He will surely be condemned by all religions and schools of thought, and it will be difficult for him to 'respect the Tao' anymore."

"Therefore, let this matter be settled by wiping out the He family, considering that I, an old man, was greedy for life and blinded by evil spirits to believe in demonic ways..."

Emperor Qian raised his hand and pointed at He Xiu:

"Even if I were to commit suicide to atone for this heinous crime, it would not be enough to atone for it! Besides, how many members of your He family are left? You are the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather, my father-in-law, and the Empress's biological father..."

He Xiu gave a bitter smile:
"What can be done now? His Majesty can die, but he cannot have this stain on his reputation. Otherwise, not only the Crown Prince, but even the Prince of Dan will have no face to sit on the throne. He was able to leave the capital alive back then because he was secretly protected by the Underworld God Cult."

"you……"

Emperor Qian's face was almost ferocious. He paced back and forth twice, raised his hand and pointed at He Xiu, but could not say a word.

Lu Wuzhen put his hands behind his back, pondered for a long time, and then asked:

"What's the purpose of the Underworld Cult planting so many people?"

"The Tomb of the Corpse Ancestor, the Cauldron of the Human Emperor, and the instigation of conflict among various religions..."

"Who else are the hidden agents we've planted?"

"You can check the people I recommended in the past."

"For whom was the Blood Demon Pill refined?"

“The eldest grandson He Man, since this incident has occurred, he must have already fled.”

……

He Man, whose childhood name was Fei Nu, was appointed as the Crown Prince's Chamberlain, in charge of all affairs of the Eastern Palace, and always by the Crown Prince's side. Because he lost his father at a young age, Emperor Qian treated him as his own son.

Lu Wuzhen sighed softly and asked again:
"Was it you who orchestrated the haunting of the palace three years ago?"

He Xiu nodded slightly: "During the practice, I went astray and could not suppress the blood evil energy. I had no choice but to set up a false formation to distract the view and hurriedly escape from the back mountain."

"At that time, Xie Jinhuan's father was patrolling the back mountain. For a quarter of an hour, his whereabouts were unclear. In order to prevent exposure, I sent someone to silence him and eliminate future troubles. Unfortunately, the person I sent never returned."

"Now that we've been defeated by this kid, it's a fitting retribution..."

The voice grew weaker and weaker.

When Emperor Qian ascended the throne, his father-in-law did everything he could to help him. The whole family had died, leaving only two grandsons and a daughter. He always regarded his father-in-law as his own father. Although he was furious, when he saw the other party gradually dying, he subconsciously took a step forward.

The result was unexpected:
bang——

He Xiu's eyes turned bloodshot, and he suddenly sprang up, clawing at Emperor Qian's heart.

But in that instant, Lu Wuzhen made a hand seal with his right hand, and his body, which had just sprang up, suddenly exploded into a blood mist, staining the cliff behind him red.

bang——

An invisible shield blocked their view, preventing any blood from splashing onto the two of them, while the blood was scattered on the ground like raindrops.

L……

Emperor Qian stood there, stunned, staring at the crater where his body had exploded into blood and gore, leaving not a trace of debris. His breath caught in his throat, and after a long silence, he let out a muffled cough.
"Cough...cough..."

Dark red blood was coughed up onto the ground, mixed with blood plasma.

Lu Wuzhen pondered for a moment, then sighed softly:
"Things have come to this point, and it is hard to bear, but this wave of evil has finally been unearthed. In the future, we will restore order to the Great Qian Dynasty and eradicate all evil forces."

Emperor Qian did not respond. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he stood before the breach in silence for at least a quarter of an hour before finally speaking in a hoarse voice:
"Send men to thoroughly investigate the Crown Prince, Empress, and Dan Wang. If they are found to be heretics, kill them on the spot. The throne of the Great Qian Dynasty shall be inherited by the Zhao imperial family in order of succession."

"Execute the entire He family clan of Hongzhang, thoroughly investigate all servants and female relatives to prevent any evil spirits from surviving; send men to hunt down He Man, and do not let him leave the territory..."

"Over the past twenty years, all those who have received favors from the Imperial Father-in-Law's family have been dismissed from their posts and imprisoned pending trial..."

"The Imperial Observatory's oversight was lax, and its guilt is inescapable. Zen Master Wuxin of Tiantai Temple will be sent to the capital for joint oversight by Daoists and Buddhists to prevent court officials from being misled by evil spirits..."

Lu Wuzhen had worked diligently for half his life, but he still couldn't keep the Buddhist sect in the capital. Hearing this, he couldn't help but have a complicated look in his eyes.

But since the Qian Emperor had even investigated his wife and children, what could he say? He could only nod in agreement.

"His Majesty is at least a wise ruler."

"Ha ha……"

Emperor Qian was instantly abandoned by all his followers, and in his extreme grief, he even showed signs of madness:
"I shouldn't have taken on this mess. To be emperor and end up with my family destroyed is probably the only one among all the emperors who lost their country!"
"This news, once it spreads, gives the princes and various religious sects a pretext to launch a military campaign. I don't even dare to issue a proper edict of self-reproach. How ridiculous..."

Lu Wuzhen remained silent.

Emperor Qian surveyed the ruined imperial mausoleum and asked again:
"Was today's incident also discovered by Xie Jinhuan?"

Lu Wuzhen nodded: "Xie Jinhuan single-handedly wiped out the rioters in the mine, and then came here to help Li Jing and Zhang Guan. The head of Zihui Mountain was also among them, and each suffered losses."

"Ha ha……"

Emperor Qian staggered out:
"Fortunately, the Hidden Immortal Sect sent Xie Jinhuan, otherwise, who knows what kind of monstrous monster my Great Qian Zhao Clan would have raised..."

Lu Wuzhen remained silent, simply taking Emperor Qian with him as they rode the wind into the sky.

Emperor Qian surveyed the mountains and rivers below, then after a long while looked up at the vast sea and starry sky, his eyes filled with sorrow:
"Master Lu, do you think all these gods and Buddhas are blind?"

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. They are not blind, they just don't care."

……

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(End of this chapter)