Since the ninth day of the third lunar month last year, Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan had developed a habit of being unable to sleep at night.
Every night, he would feel his thoughts churning like a tidal wave, thousands of thoughts in his head. He could only sigh when he thought about it.
The death of the Nine Supremes was definitely a massive conspiracy.
The scale of this conspiracy and the breadth of its scope shocked the old marshal every time he thought about it.
After investigating openly and secretly for a year, all he found were a few insignificant small fish.
"There must be a powerful traitor in the military; there must be a traitor in the government; as for the royal family …" The old marshal felt like his head was about to explode each time he thought about it. "There must be one as well; the other countries must be involved as well!"
"Marshal, you're still awake?" Sir Wang strolled over under the moonlight.
"How can this old man sleep with the internal and external troubles?" Qiu Jianhan heaved a deep sigh and said, "Have you managed to contact them?"
His question was a little out of the blue.
"No." Sir Wang frowned as well. "Those people … refuse to contact anyone. Ever since the last contact was rejected, all of them suddenly disappeared … It was as if they had evaporated from this world … "
"Sigh!" The old marshal sighed deeply. "These people won't come out until the Nine Supremes' death is avenged … It's a pity …"
Sir Wang was silent for a moment before he said, "But there are plenty of clues that these people are still active …"
"Of course. The death of the Nine Supremes is suspicious. How could they give up on revenge? " The old marshal was not surprised. "The Nine Heavens Intelligence Network has always been a world unto itself, but the death of the Nine Supremes has merged the nine heavens into an iron plate!"
"Other than the Nine Supremes, they won't listen to anyone else's orders!"
The old marshal said, "Refusing to cooperate now will cause them to gradually fade out of the imperial court. Slowly, they will become a force in the martial world and hide underground forever. However, they will become a massive underground force in the entire Tianxuan Continent … I really don't know if this is a blessing or a curse."
Sir Wang was hesitant to speak.
"What is Brother Wang trying to say?" Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan asked.
"Perhaps it's an illusion …" Mr. Wang said, "I still feel that … this Nine Heavens Intelligence Network is still listening to orders … is still under a strong control …"
"What?!" The old marshal sat up abruptly. "What proof do you have?"
"Each of the Nine Supremes has a team. This team has always belonged to them alone. They interweaved with each other to form the Nine Heavens Intelligence Network. " Mr Wang slowly said, "But … each branch of the Nine Heavens Intelligence Network has its own leader. This means that under the Nine Supremes, there are one or two people in charge. "
"If there's really no leader, then these nine teams will definitely fall apart. It's absolutely impossible for them to fuse into one. " Mr. Wang said, "Just like the nine gangs, which gang's boss would be willing to obey the orders of another gang's boss? But now, under the Nine Heavens Dictum, no one dares to act recklessly. "
"In other words, there must be a power above them that controls them!" Mr. Wang's eyes became brighter as he spoke. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have rejected our contact."
The old marshal's eyes grew brighter as his body trembled. "Could it be that … the Nine Supremes … are not dead?"
"That's impossible." Mr. Wang's words dashed all of the old marshal's hopes, causing the old man to collapse on the chair like a deflated ball.
"But there must be another setup. That's for sure."
Mr. Wang said, "The biggest possibility is that it's in His Majesty's hands. The other possibility is … they've set up a majordomo under the Nine Supremes."
"Other than these two possibilities, there can't be any other reason."
Mr. Wang said confidently.
"His Majesty …" The old marshal sighed. "His Majesty has only vomited blood and fainted three times because of the Nine Supremes … Forget it, this old man will find a chance to discuss this with His Majesty …"
Mr. Wang was about to speak.
Suddenly, the sound of sleeves fluttering in the air rang.
Swoosh!
A silhouette flew past the marshal's residence with a swoosh.
"Who is it?"
"How dare you!"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. A few silhouettes reacted almost instantaneously, rushing into the sky at the same time. The place was filled with people in an instant.
"It's too late." Mr. Wang's expression was somber. "They've left."
"Marshal, someone dropped a bag." A tall and sturdy guard walked over with large strides. "It seems to be paper."
"Autumn Blade, open it and take a look," Mr. Wang ordered.
"Yes." Autumn Blade tore it open without hesitation and a stack of dossiers fell out.
"There's no poison, nothing else …"
Autumn Blade did a quick check.
"Let me see," the old marshal said.
There was a small symbol on the dossier. Once the old marshal held it in his hands, he trembled all over.
It was nine stars that were dotted with ink, forming a circle. In the middle of the nine stars was a strange symbol that looked like a ball of fire burning fiercely.
"Nine Heavens Dictum!" Mr. Wang's gaze was transfixed, almost screaming.
"It's the Nine Heavens Dictum Owner's Flame Dictum." Old Marshal Qiu sucked in a deep breath. "It's a pity that Supreme Flame didn't issue it himself. If Supreme Flame had issued it himself, this ball of flame would be red. "
His old face suddenly revealed a sharpness like a blade. "Since the Nine Heavens Dictum is issued, there must be something. This old man shall take a closer look. "
The dossier was simple. It was the misdeeds of an official's life.
The old marshal was infuriated when he read half of it.
"Xie Wuyuan! Cutting this bastard into pieces will not be enough to appease the people! "
There was all the information about the Board of War's Assistant Minister Xie Wuyuan; how he had passed the provincial examination, how he had killed his wife and son after he had passed the examination, and how he had married the imperial tutor's daughter; how he had framed loyal subjects, how he had bullied men and women, and how he had run amok in the capital city. There were more than a hundred cases of murder.
As for the reselling of Yutang's military and civilian assets for personal gain, it was also clear. There was evidence and witnesses. Everything, including who he had obtained the evidence from, was clear.
Lastly, there were dozens of cases of him harming and injuring soldiers.
"How can someone who has lost his life in the morning sit in the imperial court!" Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan's eyes widened. "This old man shall deal with this bastard completely tomorrow!"
Mr. Wang heaved a sigh of relief. He could see the old marshal's delight.
The Nine Heavens Dictum had taken the initiative to contact the old marshal. If the Nine Heavens Dictum were to find him, the old marshal would fight it out with the current chancellor, much less a mere Board of War's Assistant Minister.
…
The morning assembly on the second day.
Grand Tutor Liu jumped out as expected, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, please uphold justice for this old official."
His Majesty was puzzled. "Grand Tutor, what are you …"
Grand Tutor Liu's voice was tearful. "Marquis Yun's son, Yun Yang, has no regard for the law, beating up an official of the imperial court on the street and crippling the family of my son-in-law, Xie Wuyuan. He has even barged into the house, smashing and looting … Wuyuan's family is a tragic sight now …"
"Is that so?" His Majesty was stunned. "Marquis Yun's young master is so tyrannical?"
Old General Qiu Jianhan, who was standing at the side, could no longer hold himself back. He took a step forward. "Your Majesty, this official has a memorial!"
Grand Tutor Liu glared at the old man and said with a frown, "Old Qiu, you should have waited for me to finish my work …"
Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan glared back at him. "This is exactly what this marshal is doing!"
Grand Tutor Liu was delighted. "Even Old Qiu can't stand Yun Yang's perverse actions anymore …"
"What I can't stand is your good son-in-law!" Qiu Jianhan glared at him. "What kind of bastard did you find as a son-in-law? It's not like your daughter can't be married off. Although he's ugly and a little chubby, there are many men in the military who don't care … "
"Old man!" Grand Tutor Liu fell back in anger. "You shut up!"
Qiu Jianhan snorted coldly and said, "This official is suing the Board of War's Assistant Minister, Xie Wuyuan, for marrying another after killing his wife and son, for coveting wealth and being devoid of conscience, for bullying men and women, for killing the innocent, for framing the loyal, for seizing military and civilian assets for personal gain, and for colluding with foreign countries … ninety-eight major crimes! Please judge this, Your Majesty! "
As he spoke, he handed the dossier over right away.
The civil and military officials in the imperial court were in an uproar.
The corners of Grand Tutor Liu's lips twitched, disbelief written all over his face. "Old man, you're spouting nonsense … My son-in-law …"
Qiu Jianhan said coldly, "Your son-in-law's crimes are all in here. There are witnesses and evidence. When Your Majesty is late, you can take a look as well. If you still think that your son-in-law shouldn't be killed … hmph! "
The old marshal glared at Grand Tutor Liu like an arrow, his meaning clear – if you still dare to cover up for him, I'll deal with you as well!
There was no need for him to say it.
Up above, His Majesty was trembling with rage after reading only half of it. "Read it out, listen to how our Board of War's Assistant Minister has done!"
As the eunuch read out the charges, the civil and military officials stared with widened eyes.
Grand Tutor Liu fainted after listening to the first charge – Xie Wuyuan had a wife and son in his hometown. After graduating from high school, he secretly sent someone home to kill his wife and son. The corpse was buried … The person who handled it was … The witness was … Then, he intentionally approached the Residence of Grand Tutor's daughter …
Grand Tutor Liu had already fainted. For so many years, he had been deceived by this fellow, even losing his daughter. He had supported him with all his might, but he was such a heartless and unscrupulous animal …
"Exterminate his family!"
His Majesty only uttered these four words in the end.
Like Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan, he knew that Xie Wuyuan's fate was sealed when he saw the Nine Heavens Dictum's symbol on it.
After the Nine Supremes' incident, this was the first time the Nine Heavens Dictum had contacted the imperial court. If there was no explanation for this matter, the Nine Heavens Dictum's people might really vanish without a trace from now on.
Therefore, although the things written on it could be investigated, His Majesty had no intention of doing so!
After the court session ended.
"Old Marshal." His Majesty's gaze was like a hawk's as he looked at Qiu Jianhan. "Then Marquis Yun's son … go and touch him."
"Alright! This old official has had the same intention, "Qiu Jianhan agreed readily.
"At your house then." His Majesty said, "I want to take a look as well."
The Old Marshal furrowed his brows.
… …
…
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