Demon Emperor

Chapter 57 The Emperor's Affairs!

After leaving Can County, Ruan Hu led his officials back to Xijing.

Although the trip to the capital to pay homage to the late emperor was fraught with twists and turns, Ruan Hu managed to achieve his goal of bringing back the white-haired donkey and eliminating any potential threat from the late emperor's spirit within the imperial mausoleum.

However, the power struggle with the local forces in the court continued, and he was still unable to control the situation in the court.

at this time.

Ruan Hu was practicing calligraphy in his study.

He appeared calm and composed, yet also seemed to be showing off his increasingly skillful calligraphy.

Who would have thought that one day Ruan Hu would be able to write such beautiful calligraphy?

In an instant, even this demon became elegant.

"Come and see, how is my writing?"

"Has there been any progress compared to the past?"

Zhou Kaigu, an officer from the Detective Agency, was kneeling on the ground when he heard the summons. He immediately stood up, bent over to look, and then knelt down again.

"I am but a rough man, but I feel that Your Majesty's calligraphy is like a dragon or a tiger, with the power to swallow the world."

Ruan Hu actually wanted to ask him if there was a big difference between his current handwriting and his previous handwriting, but after asking, he remembered that Zhou Kaigu probably had never seen the emperor's handwriting or calligraphy before.

After finishing writing the words and instructing someone to put them away, Ruan Hu went inside.

Zhou Kaigu followed him in and began to report the matter through the screen.

"His Majesty!"

"This is what people are saying."

Before Ruan Hu even entered the capital, he heard that strange things were already being talked about in Xijing City about the strange events that had occurred in the late emperor's mausoleum.

The saying goes that good things are not passed on but bad things are. There are stories about the former emperor's head being taken away, evil spirits haunting the imperial tomb, and the former emperor's ghost appearing to identify the emperor as a demon.

It spread like wildfire, and seemed quite convincing.

Ruan Hu picked it up and immediately frowned.

Good guy.

Even the most detailed events of that night were leaked out, something only those present could know.

Zhou Kaigu: "Your Majesty, I must investigate the source of this matter."

The last time Zhou Kaigu encountered this problem, he thought of containing it; this time, he wants to trace the source, which can be considered an improvement.

Ruan Hu: "No need."

Zhou Kaigu: "Then what should I do?"

Ruan Hu: "Ordinary people love to hear absurd and bizarre rumors. Since these people love to spread these rumors, you should also spread some rumors. After a while, they will naturally stop talking about it."

Since someone wanted to spread rumors, Ruan Hu also spread rumors, completely disrupting the situation.

Zhou Kai was stunned after hearing this.

However, he quickly said...

"If that's the case, then... this humble subject doesn't need to do anything."

Ruan Hu's gaze was scrutinizing: "Oh, why?"

Zhou Kaigu said cautiously, "The most widespread rumor these days is something else entirely."

Ruan Hu asked curiously, "Is there one more thing?"

What could be more sinister than the haunting of the late emperor's mausoleum, where a vengeful ghost even impersonated the late emperor and claimed that the current emperor was a demon?
Zhou Kai hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke after Ruan Hu pressed him for an answer.

It turned out that Ruan Hu first drove away and killed the shamans of the underworld and destroyed the temples of the gods of the netherworld.

Then, from who knows where, a goddess named Miaoxiang was invited to be enshrined in the Heavenly Maiden Palace.

People in the capital began to speculate about the origins of the goddess Miaoxiang, who suddenly became a royal deity of the Dasheng Dynasty and appeared to have fallen from the sky, and even about her relationship with Ruan Hu.

Since the original legends and myths about the Fairy of Fragrance were insufficient, the people of Xicheng also created a self-consistent version based on the incomplete information.

Folklore.

The Fairy Maiden Miaoxiang was originally a fairy maiden serving the Queen Mother of the West. She descended to earth to play in the lake in Fenghuang Mountain. When Emperor Ruan Hu went hunting in the west, he encountered her and, seeing her beauty, harbored evil intentions and kidnapped her.

Some say that the celestial maiden was trapped by demons in the mountains and was eventually rescued by the emperor. Afterwards, in order to keep this celestial maiden, the emperor killed the sorcerer of the underworld and drove away the ghosts and gods of the netherworld.

They even cleared out the Heavenly Maiden Palace, just to leave that stunningly beautiful celestial maiden in the mortal world.

That does make a rough connection.

Ruan Hu did indeed bring the deity back suddenly after returning from a hunting trip.

They even managed to offer a perfunctory explanation for Ruan Hu's sudden expulsion and extermination of the witches and ghosts of the Hell Path, which was clearly a fervent belief before, and managed to make it palatable to everyone.

However, Zhou Kaigu did not dare to speak of some of the wilder, more widely circulated rumors among the people.

It is said that on the first and fifteenth of each month, the palace maids of the Queen Mother of the West would appear to meet the Emperor and plead with him to release her back to heaven.

But the emperor refused and insisted on keeping him there.

Putting aside other things, Zhou Kai had heard that deities often descended to the mortal realm to meet with the emperor in the Zichen Palace.

As for how they met and how they were forced to stay, there are a hundred different versions in folklore, each with its own unique twist.

Zhou Kaigu: "This matter is far more widely known in the public than other things."

Ruan Hu was stunned for a moment, but after realizing what he meant, he felt that it made perfect sense.

What could be more captivating than the affairs of the emperor himself? It would be the affairs of the emperor's crotch.

Compared to the scandals in the emperor's harem, the emperor's abduction of a celestial maiden seemed far more exciting.

Compared to this, ordinary people don't care about the emperor's petty infighting; only the officials in the court care.

Ruan Hu was speechless for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head, letting the matter drop.

Although it may seem absurd, some people did indeed fail to achieve their goals.
-
The first night Ruan Hu returned to the capital.

In the main hall.

Ruan Hu had just bathed and changed his clothes when he walked into the center of several screens. The Illusionary Reality Chamber Mirror placed in front of the pillar suddenly emitted light, as if a door had been opened.

Layers of smoke and mist flowed out from the doorway, and Ruan Hu walked inside.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing beneath the celestial palace, surrounded by a host of divine generals and fairy maidens.

The celestial maiden Miaoxiang invited Ruanhu to ride in a phoenix carriage and roam the palace.

Ruan Hu asked about Fang Xiangshi: "Where is he now?"

The Heavenly Maiden Miaoxiang replied, "Your Majesty, Fang Xiangshi has gone to guard the Imperial Mausoleum. With him guarding this place from now on, there is no need to fear any evil spirits causing trouble."

Ruan Hu nodded. That's not bad either.

The phoenix carriage flew to the top of the layered palaces and stopped on a long corridor paved with jade. Ruan Hu got off and stood beside a jade pillar, gazing into the distance through layers of clouds.

In the distance, one could vaguely see what appeared to be a sacred mountain, like a pillar of heaven.

Ruan Hu asked, "What is this?"

The Celestial Maiden Miaoxiang said, "The Kunlun Divine Realm is only a place where the path has not yet been opened."

Ruan Hu: "Why haven't I seen this before?"

The Heavenly Maiden Miaoxiang said, "Before, not everyone in the Western Land knew that I had once served under the Queen Mother of the West."

Rumors circulated that these rumors had even affected the divine realm.

Ruan Hu hadn't taken the rumors seriously before, but now he suddenly realized how powerful they were.

Suddenly, the Celestial Maiden Miaoxiang, trailing her rainbow-colored robes, flew up and floated in mid-air, seemingly heading towards the sacred mountain at the end of the sea of ​​clouds.

As he flew, he turned to Ruan Hu and said.

"His Majesty!"

"It's time to force me to stay."

The celestial maiden smiled gently, her flowing robes brushing against Ruan Hu's body in the wind, even clinging to him.

"Otherwise, I will have to go to heaven."

Ruan Hu grabbed Ni Chang, slowly pulled her back, and then hugged her tightly.

(End of this chapter)