The Great Seminary

Chapter 322 Madness, Yet Truth

A clan would not mention 'local gentry' or 'county gentry'—these are small and medium-sized households that grow and wither like weeds, changing every hundred years or so.

Even if a prefecture or county is established, without a 'secret realm' as its foundation and having completely lost the favor of those in power, it will begin to decline.

The most likely scenario is that it will continue to decay, and after three or five generations have gotten used to it and completely lost its foundation, it will fall apart and become a commoner.

As for those among them who possess divine or demonic bloodlines.

Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years later, some of their descendants will be extremely fortunate enough to awaken the true form of the divine clump and rise again.

But by then, even the 'surname' might have changed, and it would have no connection with the previously impoverished aristocratic family.

Even after the family's decline, before it disintegrated, it produced a powerful prime minister who regrouped and created new glories!
It's a complete fantasy, a myth that even a ghost wouldn't believe.

But ironically, in the history of the Zhang family of Pingyang, there really was such a thing that even ghosts couldn't believe.

Even Zhang Jiuqing, a true strategist of the Ming and Song dynasties, was speechless for a moment.

Of course, the main reason was that he was in the wrong and needed someone's help, so he couldn't use his best skill of subtle writing.

Then there was a moment of silence.

Zhang Jiuqing let out a long sigh, his tone no longer sarcastic, and he directly admitted his mistakes.

"This is my fault."

Back then, Uncle Liuduo led a group of clansmen into exile in the 'Dungeon Realm'.

Because I tried my best to stop it because of the principle of "family members protecting each other," I did not file a complaint.

They stood by and did nothing.

Later, before his departure, Uncle Liuduo said to his younger brother, "You are young and have been running the local business for a long time. You have made friends with all sorts of people and are too successful at a young age. It is not appropriate for you to take over as the head of the family immediately."

In a moment of confusion, I did as instructed…

"Brother Jiuqing, what do you mean by all this nonsense? Stop beating around the bush."

Deep down, Zhang Gui had always held Zhang Jiuqing in high regard, and normally he would patiently listen to what he had to say.

But today, Zhang Gui has completed the final stage of 'the one who eats Qi becomes a god'.

Suddenly, he went from being a 'human' to a 'non-human,' causing a great upheaval in his state of mind, which was difficult to calm down for a while.

His condition fluctuated wildly, sometimes good, sometimes bad, almost like madness. Having no interest in rambling with Zhang Jiuqing, I interrupted him directly.

Zhang Jiuqing remained silent for a moment, then straightened his expression and stood up.

He pulled a gleaming golden imperial edict from his sleeve and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"There is an imperial decree."

The group of people who came with him hurriedly knelt down, pushing gold mountains and overturning jade pillars, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" three times, making people want to blindly follow him.

But Zhang Gui remained seated in his armchair as usual, and said with a half-smile:
"Emperor Hezheng has been dead for so long, yet Brother Jiuqing suddenly ran to the door of the Ming-Song foreign prince and said he had an 'imperial decree'."

Could it be that they intend to forge an imperial edict?

Zhang Jiuqing's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and explained:

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, nor can a court be without a monarch for a day."

Now that the late emperor has passed away, it is natural that the crown prince will assume the imperial authority and issue decrees to the world.

And that was precisely his intention.

"So who is the crown prince of Ming Song now?" Zhang Gui asked quietly, "Is it the Prince Zhen who borrowed troops from Ying Ri to punish his father-killing and usurping the throne?"
Or should we send troops to launch a surprise attack on the three ports of Xiyuehai and kill the disobedient Prince Kui, who failed in his attempt to rebel against the emperor?

No sooner had he finished speaking than one of Zhang Jiuqing's entourage shouted, "How dare you!"

Zhang Gui didn't tolerate this and directly activated the "Great Intersection of Celestial Phenomena and Geography" within his body.

He unleashed the "Great Cold" solar term from the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, transforming it into the winds of the "Fourth Nine" period, instantly freezing those people into ice sculptures. As they struggled, their skulls suddenly burst open, sprouting several orchids, and only then did they finally cease to breathe.

Only Zhang Gui remained and said calmly:
"During the Great Cold, twenty-four seasonal flowers bloom, the first of which is the fragrance of daphne."
The second sign is the orchid;
The three types of alum are all very delicious.

But I particularly love the delicate fragrance of orchids, which suits my reclusive and virtuous nature.

But being idle and not causing trouble doesn't mean being afraid of trouble.

You all should keep this in mind.

Seeing how easily he tore off his mask and revealed his ferocious nature, he went from being polite and courteous to being completely insane in no time.

Zhang Jiuqing's face turned ashen.
"Brother, do you know that the people you killed were officials appointed by the Three Judicial Offices?"

It concerns the life and death of the entire Zhang family of Pingyang.

"Isn't it the Eastern Depot that's arresting people? What does it have to do with the Three Judicial Offices?"

"It was indeed Emperor Hezheng who ordered the Eastern Depot of the inner court to investigate the collusion between many powerful families in the South and 'foreign countries'."

However, after the late emperor passed away, the Crown Prince, Kuanren, released most of the people.

The few remaining cases were all transferred to the three judicial departments for investigation…

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui suddenly laughed, "First, the old emperor arrested people to intimidate them."

Then the Crown Prince righteously released the officials and imprisoned those who violated the law, displaying the demeanor of a wise ruler.

Wow, the fictional stories in this library have come back to life.

The people of the Ming and Song dynasties were truly blessed.

"There's nothing new under the sun," Zhang Jiuqing said expressionlessly.
"In short, the mourning period for the late emperor has ended, and the crown prince is about to ascend the throne. He has issued an edict ordering local officials in charge of official seals and foreign kings and princes to come to the capital to observe the ceremony and pay their respects."

You must go to save the lives of the entire Zhang family in Pingyang.

Moreover, you need to make connections with the imperial court regarding the Yunjing Kunpeng ship that Zhenlong sold to Yingri.

"What if I don't?" Zhang Gui said bluntly.

"Then you are a despised, arrogant scoundrel who has no ruler or father!"

"First of all, the reason why the King of Kui killed the Zhang family of Pingyang must be related to the old patriarch who ran away to the underground cave realm, so that it can be justified in terms of his relationship with the King of Zhen."

More importantly, it could take the opportunity to ruin Prince Zhen's reputation.

"So what does this have to do with me, Zhang Gui?" Zhang Gui said dismissively.
"Secondly, I still remember that Zhang Bashan, in order to help the clan shirk responsibility, had his servant Zhang Xi find me, this illegitimate child who was not being raised, and have me see him."

I was unusually friendly to that person, and he praised me in return.
'I didn't expect that after half a year, Brother Gui has become so sensible.'

I replied to him,

It's not that I've become more sensible, but rather that I feel like my position has been reversed with Zhang Bashan's.

He tricked my mother into getting pregnant and then didn't take responsibility after she gave birth to me, so he owes me.

Now, his entire family, and even you servants, may be implicated by me in the future.

That made me feel like I owed him, so my attitude naturally changed.

Brother Jiuqing is a smart man; he should understand the meaning behind those words from long ago, right?

Zhang Jiuqing stared in disbelief, finally muttering, "How could it have come to this!"

Zhang Gui, however, let out a sinister laugh.
"Even so, I still feel it's quite a pity that Zhang Bashan's family didn't suffer retribution after following Zhang Liuduo to the 'underground realm'."

Fortunately, after Uncle Bawang and Aunt Suzi learned about the incident in Jiujiang, they moved to Yuanshan's "Giant Wolf Capital," which relieved me of many worries.

It has both advantages and disadvantages.

(End of this chapter)