Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 165 The Taoist Priest is Enraged and Leaves His Name Before the Emperor (Seeking Votes)
Bang!
A large hand slammed down, causing the imperial desk to shake violently and the writing brush and inkstone to fall to the ground.

Suddenly, the sky above Renshou Palace in the western garden of Yujing City changed dramatically, with dragons roaring and tigers howling. The palace maids and eunuchs who were coming and going immediately knelt down on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.

The Shaozhi Emperor, a man of ethereal and otherworldly bearing in the palace, looked at the memorial that Luo Wenlong had just sent back using the divine method of submitting a petition. His Taoist robes fluttered, and his long beard moved even without wind. He couldn't help but roar in anger:

"Grand Secretary Xu has truly taught a fine disciple."

How dare he secretly possess witchcraft and curse artifacts, especially the very same "witchcraft wooden figure" that killed Crown Prince Liu Ju? Jiang Wenyuan has been studying under the master of the School of Mind for so long, does he not know how to write the word "death"?
This is absolutely outrageous!

The general account of the internal strife in the Five Peaks Banner, as described in the memorial, failed to elicit any reaction from this Daojun Emperor.

The drama of an adopted son betraying his adoptive father and seizing power was no different from child's play in the eyes of this political monster who sat on the dragon throne and tried to reconcile the yin and yang.

Whether the Wang family of Caishui died innocently in the cabinet struggle, or whether they "defended the borders for the country and shared the benefits with the people," was completely irrelevant to him.

They were nothing more than a group of Tanka people who were used as expendable resources by successive dynasties. Even if they were exhausted, they could simply drive another wave of good people into the sea. Wasn't that how the original Tanka people came to be?

But one of the reasons is that Jiang Wenyuan instructed Chen the carpenter to use "witchcraft" to harm the heir of the Prince of Jinghai, attempting to help Mao Haifeng ascend to the throne, and then kill the entire delegation, thus ruining the grand plan for the country set by the court.

This immediately touched a nerve with Emperor Shaozhi!

The royal family naturally abhorred witchcraft, which was used to harm powerful and influential people.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the "Witchcraft Persecution" not only led to the tragic death of the crown prince, but also resulted in the deaths of nearly 10,000 people.

Throughout history, the lightest punishment for those who harm others through witchcraft was execution in the marketplace, which involved beheading at the execution ground.

Emperor Shaozhi particularly loathed the sorcerer Tongmu, who specifically targeted the crown prince and other princes.

It should be noted that he had a total of 13 children, including 8 sons and 5 daughters, but only his sons, Prince Yu and Prince Jing, survived to adulthood.

Of his daughters, only Princess Ning'an and Princess Jiashan lived to adulthood; the rest all died young.

However, it should be noted that the adulthood rate of infants in the Dazhao people is as high as 43%!
His princes and princesses had the best food and medical care, yet only 30% of them reached adulthood, and only 25% of his sons did!
If there were no trouble involved, Emperor Shaozhi would have dared to twist his own head off and let the eunuchs kick it around like a ball.

The first suspect was witchcraft and sorcery!
At this moment, a scar that had been healed by time was suddenly torn open again, and he couldn't help but make reasonable connections:
"Since Jiang Wenyuan has a talisman that specifically kills the Crown Prince and the Heir Apparent."

"Could it be that other ministers possess some kind of talisman or protective object capable of slaying me, the true dragon emperor, the ruler of the state? No, it's not a matter of 'whether' or not, it's certain they do!"

His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

This is because not only do the princes and princesses of the Great Zhao have a high mortality rate, but the emperor's accidental death rate is also ridiculously high; there are very few who die of old age.

He himself was almost strangled to death by more than a dozen palace maids.

That was the "Renyin Palace Coup" in the twenty-first year of the Shaozhi reign, which was exactly twenty years ago, when he was thirty-five years old.

At that time, his rank as the Daoist Emperor, the [Dan Ding Daoist], had not yet reached the first-grade level as it does now; it was merely a middle-third grade.

Theoretically, relying solely on his position as the "Lord of the State," he should be invincible in the imperial city, the central hub of Emperor Shi Huang's divine energy.

However, when he was assassinated, he felt as if his extraordinary abilities were being suppressed by something, leaving him powerless to resist from beginning to end.

What happened next sent chills down his spine.

"I was terrified by being strangled and was on the verge of death. The imperial physicians, fearing punishment, dared not administer any medicine."

Only Xu Shen, the Imperial Physician, risked his life to administer a potent medicine. The medicine was given at Chenshi (7-9 AM), and at Weishi (1-3 PM), the patient suddenly made a sound and lost several liters of purple blood. By Shenshi (3-5 PM), the patient was able to speak, thus saving my life.

Afterwards, I generously rewarded Xu Shen, but soon after, he fell seriously ill and told his family, "During the palace coup, I knew I would be killed if I failed, and I was so frightened that no medicine could cure me."

What a joke! He actually said he was sick from fright, and that he wouldn't seek medical treatment, just close his eyes and wait to die.

Liu Wentai, who was also an Imperial Physician, died peacefully in his old age and lived a carefree life, having treated two emperors to death.

But Xu Shen, who cured the emperor, was scared to death!
Isn't this the most ridiculous thing in the world?

Who would believe there's no shady dealing behind this series of events?
So much so that after Xu Shen's death, Emperor Shaozhi felt that even the highest position could not protect him, and in fear, he completely moved out of the perilous Forbidden City and into the Wanshou Palace in the Western Garden.

To prevent others from knowing where he slept, he had twenty-seven beds placed there, and from then on he never went to court again.

After all, his cousin, who was also the late emperor, built the Leopard House and moved out of the chaotic imperial palace only to save his life, but in the end, he still could not escape a violent death.

How could he not be careful and cautious?

The saying "Practice until your body resembles a crane, and you can read two volumes of scriptures under a thousand pines" is actually a lie.

"To cultivate until one resembles a crane, so one is not afraid of palace maids strangling one's neck" was the original motivation for his arduous cultivation to become a first-rank alchemist!
His gaze involuntarily fell on a rope loop made of fine ceremonial rope hanging in the alchemy room. That was the murder weapon used by the palace maid to assassinate him, and it had now become a treasure of the entire palace!
After he mastered his divine skills and advanced to the first rank of [Dan Ding Daoist], whenever he wanted to leave the Renshou Palace in the Western Garden and return to the imperial city, he would retract himself whenever he saw this rope.

Because he's afraid to gamble!

The Daoist Emperor gazed towards the direction of the Nanyang Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office, gritting his teeth:
"You traitors of the Zhu family! These were your fates, yet I and my descendants have to bear them."

Is your so-called destiny simply to allow those with ulterior motives to keep riding on your heads and defecating on you? What a joke, a complete joke!

I wish I could drag you worthless trash and the mastermind behind it all out and skin you alive to vent my anger!

Unfortunately, he didn't dare to mess with the Zhu family.

He feared that the Han family's destiny would be thrown into turmoil, and that they would lose the sacred artifact of the state they held. He also didn't know who those treacherous people were.

Even with the national treasures left by his ancestor Han Lin—the One-Eyed Stone Man and the Imperial Seal—he still couldn't find the root of the problem.

What exactly is the mastermind behind the plot to assassinate the Han emperor?

If you think about it carefully, there have been hundreds of emperors in Chinese history, and there are quite a few auspicious symbols and talismans that can restrain the emperor to a certain extent.

The poisoned wine cup Dong Zhuo used to kill the young Emperor Liu Bian; the golden spear Cheng Ji used to assassinate Cao Mao, the Duke of Gaogui, in the street; and the jade belt Yuwen Huaji used to strangle Emperor Yang Guang of Sui.
Too much is too much.

Under this state of mind, which has been filled with fear, resentment, and anger in the face of an unknown enemy for decades.

He was suddenly shocked to hear that the [Witchcraft Wooden Man] had appeared in the world, and he naturally felt a sense of closeness to the second-generation Prince Jinghai, who, like himself, had escaped from the clutches of witchcraft.

"Since the die is cast and this crown prince, who has escaped death, has the ability to establish a second kingdom on Japanese soil, then I grant Luo Wenlong's request."

He was granted a letter of credence, his throne was recognized, and he was granted a qualification to engage in trade.

As for the imperial inspector Wang Bengu and others who insisted on the maritime ban and advocated for the ambush and killing of the first Prince Jinghai and the Caishui Wang family, they unexpectedly helped that member of the imperial clan, the "Dragon Yin".
"Lu Fang, tell me, among all these civil and military officials, who are truly loyal ministers and who are truly treacherous?"

How could the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was serving by his side, dare to respond to such a question?
He immediately bowed and said:
"My lord, this old servant only knows that those ministers who are devoted to their master are good, while those who are full of selfish desires are bad."

This old servant can't discern others' true intentions, but I know that no matter how big my own affairs are, they are still small matters to me, while no matter how small my master's affairs are, they are still big matters to me.

"If my master commands me to live, I will live; if he commands me to die, I will die."

Emperor Shaozhi never doubted his loyalty; he only asked casually and didn't take his cunning to heart.

He picked up the memorial again, shook his head, and said:

"Although Luo Wenlong was diligent in his duties to the king, this scholar dared to lead troops into battle and help the second Prince Jinghai kill the rebels."

But he still has too much of a bookish air about him.

He said that Jiang Wenyuan was backed by the Qingliu faction, all of whom were treacherous officials who brought disaster to the country and its people for their own selfish interests.

But little do they know that among all the civil and military officials, aren't they all intertwined with each other? Didn't Grand Secretary Xu's granddaughter marry Grand Secretary Yan's grandson?

If this is the standard, then who else can I use?

If one could distinguish loyalty from treachery simply by stamping a minister's forehead, then being the ruler of the state would be too easy for me.”

"As for Wang Fugui, the centurion of Zhenhai Guard who was specially petitioned by Luo Wenlong to express his merits, he can be put to use."

He was able to disregard his own life and death, infiltrate the Donghai Kingdom alone, thwart the witchcraft scourge, help the delegation contact the second-generation Jinghai King, and finally join forces with the Jinghai King to kill the bandit leader Mao Haifeng. He can be considered both brave and resourceful.

Especially this last poem: "I'll draw my sword and die a quick death, so as not to betray my youthful ideals," it sounds like the words of a loyal minister!

I heard that Lu Yi was the one who recommended him to Zhenhai Guard, so he must not be an outsider.

"I will promote him to the rank of a hereditary commander of a thousand households, a fifth-rank official, and bestow upon him a qilin-patterned robe."

The imperial robes bestowed by the Zhao dynasty were divided into four grades: python robe, flying fish robe, bullfighting robe, and qilin robe.

The Qilin is a legendary beast of benevolence and righteousness. Emperors often bestowed Qilin robes upon ministers of the fourth or fifth rank as a sign of favor.

Such bestowal of clothing could, to some extent, offset the disadvantage of rank and enhance potential political influence.

It is also the emperor's recognition of the minister's character, representing his reputation and prestige in the officialdom and scholarly circles, and he can also obtain more divine energy from Emperor Shi Huang to assist in his cultivation, which has many benefits.

Even if the imperial inspector wanted to cause trouble for "Wang Fugui", he would have to slap the emperor's face first before he could slap his face.

This is not over yet.

"Lu Fang, when you deliver this decree, be sure to remind Luo Wenlong and Wang Fugui that if they can obtain the immortal elixirs [Kidney Flower] and [Liver Flower] from the Eastern Sea Kingdom for me, I will reward them accordingly!"

"According to the order!"

With the Donghai Kingdom newly established, Wang Cheng had to personally handle a myriad of matters.

Luo Wenlong and Wang Cuiqiao took their leave, as they were going back to fulfill their pre-battle promise to pay the soldiers a reward of fifty taels of silver per head.

After spending this sum of money, he planned to transfer most of his family assets to Wang Fugui.

Because he had also promised Wang Fugui at the beginning that if he could save his beloved wife, he would not hesitate to give up his family fortune.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Wang Cheng felt, to be honest, a little embarrassed about this double-dealing behavior and the way he was trying to gain two favors. He decided to take less of the money later.

They also took the two paintings, "Natural Barriers and Thoroughfares," which they hadn't used before, to leave the couple a way out in the Eastern Sea Kingdom.

Even if the Yan faction falls in the future, they can still save their lives.

Just as he was about to meet the next group of people, he suddenly received a letter from the Nanyang Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office.

The sender was none other than Zhu Yaozhai, the eleventh generation of the Zhu family, a close family friend of the Cai Shui Wang family, and also known as the "Pirate King" by the court.

(End of this chapter)