Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 107 First, make him go crazy

at the same time.

On the top floor of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, inside the "Golden Poppy Garden," a detached courtyard of Princess Taiping's residence, in the southern section of Tianjie Street.

Lu Chenyuan sat casually at the table, watching the performance below. While pouring himself some wine, he shook his head and chuckled, "It was so-so. The acting was a bit stiff, but at least the emotions were there... Once the carriage passes through Tianjie, we'll guide these people to Dayun Temple as planned. With such sincerity, even metal and stone can be moved!"

"Yes!"

Chi Mei nodded solemnly, her face full of admiration.

She witnessed firsthand how he could turn the world upside down and manipulate events at will.

No wonder Her Highness was able to stay at home and manage matters related to Dayun Temple without any suspicion, entrusting the rescue efforts entirely to Lu Chenyuan.

Such intricate and manipulative tactics are truly chilling!
"grown ups……"

"Speak directly."

The 24th Prince has an innocent background, is loyal to Li Lingyue, and participated in the entire process, so there is nothing for him to hide.

Seeing that he trusted her, Chi Mei felt warm inside, but said with some worry, "Qiu Shenji's memorial arrived at Yintai Gate this morning and was delivered directly to the Emperor by Shangguan Daizhao, but... His Majesty doesn't seem to have any intention of inquiring about it, as if nothing has happened. Does this mean that she doesn't believe the memorial, or that she doesn't intend to punish Zhou Xing?"

"hehe."

Lu Chenyuan laughed: "If she summons Zhou Xing and questions him specifically, I will be disappointed—Zhou Xing escaped this calamity, but her indifference to Qiu Shenji's accusations precisely shows that Zhou Xing is not far from death. She is too lazy to even distinguish between truth and falsehood!"

Chi Mei was first surprised, then suddenly realized: "But why did she..."

Why is there no action?
Because she was waiting for Zhou Xing to make his last contribution.

After Zhou Xing kills all these people, she can kill Zhou Xing instead. This will not only not damage her reputation, but will also avenge the loyal and virtuous people.

— He eliminated cruel officials and promoted virtuous ministers, becoming a wise and benevolent ruler!
"Hahaha……"

Lu Chenyuan raised his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. Recalling the evaluations of her in later generations, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Remarkable!"

"Ok?"

Chi Mei was puzzled, but seeing that he wouldn't say more, she didn't ask any further questions.

Just then, Camellia came up and bowed to report, "My lord, they have arrived."

Lu Chenyuan said solemnly, "Please come up."

Camellia, it seemed, soon led two middle-aged men in black robes up to the pavilion.

On the left is Xu Yougong, a sixth-rank official from the Court of Judicial Review, who is in his forties, with a square forehead, a wide mouth, solemn eyes, and a resolute expression.
On the right is Li Rizhi, a sixth-rank official of the Court of Judicial Review, around thirty years old, with dignified eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and a well-defined jaw.

"Lord Lu."

Li Rizhi bowed respectfully and said expressionlessly, "I wonder what brings you two here?"

Xu Yougong was about to bow when he suddenly noticed gilded wine cups on the table. Looking through the open window, he saw a prison cart slowly passing by on the main street. His expression changed drastically, and he said coldly, "Lord Lu, what a fine mood you are in! You've actually set up a banquet here to watch the execution?"

Lu Chenyuan poured himself a cup without changing his expression and said calmly, "The matter must be handled, and the wine must be drunk. What's the problem? Even if I were to eat chaff and wild vegetables here, it wouldn't help the situation. What's the use of arguing about this? The two of you are known for your integrity in the Dali Temple. Today, we have a deal—if it goes through, it will not only save Cen Xiang and his loyal followers, but also send that scoundrel Zhou Xing on his way. I just don't know..."

He smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two men: "...Do you two dare to take this job?"

"..."

Li Rizhi was quite surprised and scrutinized Lu Chenyuan's face.

It seemed as if they wanted to see through this cynical facade and understand the true intentions of this princess's lover.

Xu Yougong, enraged, laughed and slammed his hand on the table: "What a 'business'! Do you think you can treat the laws of the court like a marketplace? I, Xu Yougong, have spent twenty years in prison and have never done such a thing—"

"Sir, please wait."

Li Rizhi suddenly raised his hand to stop him, turned to Lu Chenyuan, and said solemnly, "Since Lord Lu dares to say 'send Zhou Xing on his way,' he must have a foolproof plan. I would like to hear the details."

“Rizhi, you…”

Xu Yougong did not expect him to react this way. Was he already planning to try anything desperate in his desperation?

Lu Chenyuan glanced at Xu Yougong first: "What's the difference between the current laws of the court and those of street vendors? If you give Zhou Xing money now, he might be able to make things a little easier for you gentlemen. Am I wrong?"

"..."

Xu Yougong's face turned ashen, but when he turned around, he saw Li Rizhi slowly nodding.

He opened his mouth as if to refute something, but in the end he could only sigh helplessly.

Lu Chenyuan held a favorable impression of these two historically upright officials and didn't dwell on the matter, directly getting to the point: "My lords, there's no need for us to test each other. I am the princess's man, so please consider it out of respect for her. Since I've approached you, it's because I trust your character. I want Zhou Xing dead, and you want to save him; our goals are aligned. Now I'll explain the plan clearly, and you can consider it carefully. It would be best if we could cooperate; if it's truly difficult, let's pretend we've never met."

Lu Chenyuan's straightforwardness only increased Li Rizhi's expectations of him.

Xu Yougong couldn't help but look at him with new respect, and his expression turned serious.

Lu Chenyuan gently pushed the wine cup aside, took out a stack of papers from his sleeve, and handed them to the two men: "Please take a look, do they look familiar?" The papers gleamed with a dazzling white light under the midday sun.

When Xu Yougong and Li Rizhi saw it clearly, they both gasped – it was dozens of blank arrest warrants, each stamped with the bright red seal of the Dali Temple in the lower right corner!
"This this……"

Xu Yougong's fingers trembled slightly: "This is impossible! The seal of the Dali Temple..."

"Was it stolen from Zhou Xing's court?" Li Rizhi suddenly interjected, his eyes gleaming.

"To be honest, I originally planned to forge it, but Zhou Xing had already prepared it..."

Lu Chenyuan couldn't help but laugh as he spoke: "I never expected him to be so bold! These seals were already affixed long ago, just waiting to be filled in with names and arrested at any time."

He casually pulled out a sheet of paper, and sunlight shone through it, revealing faint watermarks on it. "The official paper used by your Dali Temple cannot be faked."

Xu Yougong suddenly stood up: "How dare the Court of Judicial Review overstep its bounds! According to regulations, every arrest warrant must..."

"Does it require the joint discussion of the three officials?"

Lu Chenyuan scoffed, "Zhou Xing's Court of Justice is now the law! These blank documents are kept in a gilded box on his desk. He can fill in the name of whomever he wants to arrest." He lightly tapped the seal on the document with his finger: "Even the date is blank, so it can be filled in at any time."

Xu Yougong was so angry that he trembled all over.

Li Rizhi squinted and said, "So, Lord Lu means..."

“Since Zhou Xing enjoys playing these tricks…” a cold glint flashed in Lu Chenyuan’s eyes, “we might as well help him build an even bigger stage for his performance!”

He took out another list from his sleeve. "How about filling in all these names?"

Upon closer inspection, the two discovered that the list contained more than forty names!
The list of those who had personal grudges against Zhou Xing expanded from former officials of the Tang Dynasty to all officials who had personal grudges against him. This included: military scions who had mocked Zhou Xing's humble origins, scholars of the Hongwen Academy who had opposed cruel officials and excessive punishments, and aristocratic officials who had refused Zhou Xing's bribery.

Li Rizhi was taken aback: "This number... Lord Lu means that when he implicates more than a hundred people and the entire court is his enemy, the Martial Emperor will not think it is a rebellion, but rather that Zhou Xing is taking the opportunity to eliminate dissidents!"

Lu Chenyuan nodded, then shook his head: "Quantity alone is not enough." He took out another piece of paper: "We need to add an 'enemy' that he can't afford to offend before the Martial Emperor will truly decide to kill!"

Lu Chenyuan wrote the paper for Zhou Xing.

The person the authorities wanted to arrest was none other than the renowned general currently stationed in the northwest, defending against the Tibetan Empire.

—Lou Shide!

Xu Yougong was shocked: "This—this is too risky!"

Lu Chenyuan said, "Let's leave this document for now; too much of a good thing can be bad. If Zhou Xing can still get away with it if we have more people, then we can bring it out later. However, to make it flawless, we'll need the assistance of the two of you..."

Li Rizhi understood: "I see. People can be arrested directly with a warrant, but the official documents don't match... Xu Sizhi is in charge of reviewing the case files. Tomorrow, he can slip these incriminating documents into the case file and submit it to His Majesty, creating a dead end. I am in charge of transcribing official documents, so I can reorganize the list into an official Dali Temple approval document... We can also add a few 'confessions' to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

Lu Chenyuan nodded. It's always easier to talk to smart people.

"No!"

Xu Yougong slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Forging a confession is a serious crime!"

Li Rizhi sneered and retorted, "Brother Xu, how many of the confessions in Zhou Xing's case files do you think are true? Let alone Cen Xiang and his ilk, how did Wei Xiang confess last year, and how did General Hei Chi die! Have you forgotten all of that?!"

Xu Yougong choked, speechless.

The faint sound of chains from the prison cart could be heard outside the window, a stark contrast to the deathly silence inside the chamber.

Lu Chenyuan looked at the Heavenly Street and said softly, "Once these documents are delivered to Yintai Gate, Wu Chengsi will be the first to become restless, and all the powerful officials in the court will want to demand an explanation from Zhou Xing."

"Great idea."

Li Rizhi nodded and said, "At that time, His Majesty will understand—this mad dog has begun to bite its master!"

The two looked at Xu Yougong.

Xu Yougong remained silent for a long time, then suddenly grabbed the wine pot and drank it all in one gulp: "In that case... I, Xu, am willing to lend a helping hand!"

"it is good!"

Lu Chenyuan breathed a sigh of relief and instructed, "Li Sicheng, remember to make a mark on Lou Shide's page."

Li Rizhi nodded knowingly: "I have the right to speak frankly. When the time is right, this 'document' will 'accidentally' be presented to the Emperor."

The midday wind whipped up withered leaves that rattled against the windowpanes. In the distance, towards Luoqiao, the cries of the people mingled with the clanking of prison cart chains, sounding particularly jarring in the biting air.

"Next..."

Lu Chenyuan raised his glass and chuckled, "Let's see how Zhou Xing dies."

Xu Yougong stared at the young man who had laid out a deadly trap while chatting and laughing, and a chill suddenly ran down his spine. He suddenly recalled the metaphor of "cutting down the tree stump and digging up the roots" in Han Feizi - this young man clearly wanted to uproot Zhou Xing, leaving no room for maneuver. What was even more terrifying was that this killing move was entirely made with Zhou Xing's own knife and axe.

Li Rizhi was also secretly alarmed. Before coming, he thought Lu Chenyuan was just a courtier and male favorite who curried favor with the princess. Now he was surprised to find that this man was very shrewd. Those seemingly casual moves were actually calculated with perfect accuracy, including the power of the Dali Temple, the grudges in the officialdom, and even the emperor's mind. If such a person were to turn evil, he would probably be even more terrifying than the likes of Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen.

(End of this chapter)