Chapter 526

Emperor Yuan Jing woke up from his sleep with a start. The empty hall was silent, and the accompanying chief eunuch was lying on the small table, asleep.

There were no concubines or maids in the bedroom. The Yuanjing Emperor had been practicing Taoism for more than 20 years. The emperor's bedroom had become a forbidden place for the concubines.

The feelings of the concubines could be summed up in one sentence about the Yuanjing Emperor's practice of Taoism.

Scholars study hard under the lamplight — — to the point of bursting the liver (dry)!

Of course, there were many complaints. However, the Yuanjing Emperor never cared about the opinions of the concubines. As an emperor with many children, the concubines were dispensable.

If he had been practicing Taoism for 20 years, the ministers would have remonstrated.

"Your Majesty, you're awake?" The eunuch was a light sleeper. He woke up immediately and came to the dragon bed.

"What time is it?" The Yuanjing Emperor pinched his eyebrows.

"It's a quarter past five," the eunuch said, turned around, picked up the teapot on the small stove, and poured a cup of warm water for the Yuanjing Emperor.

After serving the emperor for so many years, he didn't need to ask about some trivial things.

The Yuanjing Emperor drank the tea and slowly exhaled. "After the ancestral worship ceremony, I felt uneasy. I'm going to Lingbao Temple. I'm going to practice Taoism with the Royal Advisor."

When the master and the servant walked out of the bedroom, they suddenly heard a loud bell ringing in the night sky and every corner of the palace.

The palace was ready for war.

The Yuanjing Emperor frowned when he saw a group of imperial guards rushing toward him.

The leader of the imperial guards said loudly, "Your Majesty, there was an explosion in Sampo. The Temple of Mountains and Rivers in Yongzhen was destroyed. Three hundred imperial guards on duty died. No one survived."

The Yuanjing Emperor was stunned.

After a long time, he said in a deep voice, "Inform Wei Yuan to bring people into the palace immediately. Inform the Royal Advisor to see me here. Inform the Supervisor … Tell them that the Temple of Mountains and Rivers in Yongzhen was destroyed."

…

That night, the Celestial Commissioner woke up with a start. He was terrified as if it was the end of the world.

…

The first to arrive was the Royal Advisor. She stepped on a Seven-Star Sword and flew in the air.

He wore a lotus crown on his head and a Taiji Daoist robe on his body. His wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, giving off an otherworldly aura.

She was a woman whose age could not be determined. Her appearance was extremely beautiful, and her temperament was out of this world. She had the white and tender skin of a young woman, the charm of a mature woman, and the elegance of an otherworldly person.

Her beauty seemed to be separated by a thousand mountains and ten thousand layers of snow, visible but unreachable.

"State Preceptor …" Emperor Yuan Jing opened his mouth and sighed, "The thing under the Sang Po has come out."

The Imperial Preceptor nodded slightly and said with a clear voice, "I already know."

Wei Yuan arrived soon after. He brought along two golden gongs from the yamen who were on duty as night watchmen, as well as two foster sons. Altogether, there were four high-ranked martial artists.

In addition to the experts in the palace, a group of martial artists and the Human Sect's Taoist Masters with monstrous combat power escorted Emperor Yuan Jing to the Sang Po.

Thousands of imperial guards gathered on the shore of Sampo with torches in their hands. The high-ranked martial artists were waiting for the Yuanjing Emperor.

The Yongzhen Temple of Mountains and Rivers was no more. The high platform had collapsed. Broken beams were floating on the water.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Jing Di raised his eyebrows fiercely and shouted, "Where is the divine sword?"

A leader of the imperial guards gave a fist salute. "I've sent someone to retrieve it."

The Yuanjing Emperor took a deep breath and walked to the shore. He reached out his hand and curled his fingers.

A clear yellow light shone from the bottom of the water. A three-foot-long bronze sword broke out of the water and flew into the Yuanjing Emperor's hand.

After careful examination, the Yuanjing Emperor was relieved when he confirmed that the divine sword was intact.

The peerless American grandmaster, who was standing on the Seven Star Sword and holding a horsetail whisk, circled above Sang Po and froze in midair.

"Your Majesty, there's nothing wrong with Sampo."

'Nothing wrong …' The Yuanjing Emperor's eyes darkened.

Wei Yuan turned and asked the imperial guards, "Where are the corpses of the dead soldiers?"

More than ten corpses were carried out. They died in the same way. Their flesh and blood were shriveled like corpses that had been weathered for decades.

"The rest of the soldiers died the same way." One of the generals reported and looked at the Yuanjing Emperor cautiously. "Your Majesty … we didn't notice any strong enemies invading …"

The imperial guards knew that the real reason for this change might have something to do with the incident at the ancestral worship ceremony.

They had an even more frightening guess. The explosion of Sampo and the sudden death of the patrolling soldiers was not due to a strong enemy invasion. Instead, it was because there was a secret hidden in Sampo.

Although the generals had their own guesses, as officials, they knew what to say and what not to say.

The Yuanjing Emperor's sharp eyes swept over the corpses. He tilted his head and stared at Wei Yuan's face. "Wei Yuan, come with me to the imperial study."

…

The curtain of the brocade couch was lowered, and sandalwood incense was burning in the bedroom.

Princess Royal was awakened by the sound of the bell. The moment she opened her eyes, she didn't put on her clothes. Instead, she pulled out the long sword hanging at the head of the bed. In the sonorous sound, she rushed into the hall in a white undergarment that outlined her exquisite and curvy figure.

The tall and cold beauty held a long sword that shone with a cold light. Her black hair fell down like a waterfall, looking slightly messy.

Her white, skin-tight underwear accentuated her well-proportioned figure. She was not the kind of woman who was too weak to stand up to a gust of wind. Her entire body exuded the sexiness of a gym beauty. If Xu Qi'an were here, he would sigh and say, "This woman is a perfect match for me."

"Your Highness …"

The maidservant in the side hall also woke up. She ran over in a panic and grabbed the palace dress of Princess Royal.

"Change into the dress." Princess Royal's beautiful eyes revealed a sense of majesty.

She changed into a light dress that accentuated her figure. With a crossbow on the left side of her waist and a gun on the right side, she held a long sword in her hand. Princess Royal led the guards and rushed to the bedroom of the Yuanjing Emperor.

Princess Royal was stopped by the imperial guards who were guarding the emperor's bedroom. At this time, the princes and princesses could not get close to the emperor.

Who knew if one of the princes was plotting to force the emperor to abdicate.

Princess Royal did not force her way in. She glanced over the imperial guards and saw a few familiar figures. They were the night watchman and the high-ranked Warrior of each army.

"What happened … If it was not a strong enemy, the imperial guards would not have sounded the bell … But if it was a strong enemy, the scene was too quiet. Moreover, the Celestial Commissioner's people did not come …"

Princess Royal held the sword and thought carefully.

At this time, the Crown Prince of the East Palace and the princes and princesses also arrived with their people.

"Huaiqing!" The Crown Prince was dressed in a military uniform and looked serious.

"The situation is temporarily unknown," Princess Royal said concisely.

The Second Princess, whose peach blossom eyes were charming, saw that the Eldest Princess was dressed in a tight outfit. She looked less cold and more fierce, as if she would hit someone at the slightest disagreement. The Second Princess opened her cherry mouth and finally chose to remain silent.

There was something important today, so she did not want to bicker with Huaiqing.

After a quarter of an hour, the door of the imperial study opened and a eunuch in green came out.

"Duke Wei …" Princess Royal was closest to Wei Yuan and could barely be considered as half a disciple of Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan sighed. "The Yongzhen Temple of Mountains and River collapsed. It was done by thieves, but they are nowhere to be found."

The princes and princesses exclaimed. The Crown Prince of the East Palace squinted and suppressed his emotions. He stepped forward and asked, "Is it related to the ancestral worship ceremony?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and looked at Princess Royal. "His Majesty ordered me to find out the truth and catch the culprit in half a month. I will be honest with His Majesty. This case is not easy to handle …"

He shook his head and left.

Princess Royal's eyes flashed.

The door of the imperial study opened again. The Chief Eunuch, wearing a black top hat and a camel-colored official robe, walked out.

"Your Highnesses, His Majesty invites you."

Led by the Crown Prince of the East Palace, a total of eight princes and princesses entered the imperial study together.

The Emperor's desk was placed in the front hall. It was empty. The Chief Eunuch led them into the inner hall. They saw the Yuanjing Emperor sitting cross-legged on a futon under the hanging curtain. Opposite him was the beautiful Grand Master of Nation.

The distance between them was neither too far nor too close. They maintained the distance of a fellow Daoist.

All these years, the Yuanjing Emperor had followed the Grand Master of Nation in his cultivation. The effect was excellent. Back then, the Yuanjing Emperor was burdened by government affairs. His hair had turned gray at an early age. When he was in his early thirties, his sideburns were already white.

After 20 years of cultivation, the Human Sect's Taoist Leader's hair turned black, and his Qi, blood, and body became better.

The Crown Prince secretly wished he could stab her and curse her.

The other princes' impression of the Taoist nun was half admiration and greed, and the other half was awe and disgust.

"Grand Master, I am still uneasy." The Yuanjing Emperor opened his eyes and sighed as he broke free from his meditation.

"Your Majesty has a heart ailment. You need medicine to cure it." The Grand Master of Nation spoke. Her voice had the sweetness and texture of a mature woman.

"I do have a heart ailment …" The Yuanjing Emperor gazed at the Taoist nun's beautiful face and smiled. "I have been waiting for the Grand Master of Nation to perform dual cultivation with me."

Hearing this, the princes and princesses had a strange expression on their faces.

Only the Princess Royal and the Crown Prince did not change their expressions. They were deep in thought.

Ten years ago, the Yuanjing Emperor requested to perform dual cultivation with the Grand Master of Nation. The Grand Master did not agree to it. The Yuanjing Emperor issued an imperial edict to make her a celestial concubine.

The Grand Master still did not agree to it. The Yuanjing Emperor still relied on her to cultivate. He could only give up.

Outsiders only thought that the Yuanjing Emperor coveted the Grand Master's beauty. Perhaps this was part of the reason, but it was not the main reason. The princes and princesses knew their father's character the best.

There were three thousand beauties in the harem. What kind of woman could he not get?

The princess who was known as the most beautiful woman in the capital city was from the palace. However, the Yuanjing Emperor, who had already abstained from cultivating, did not even lay a finger on her.

What Father Emperor yearned for day and night was longevity.

When he did not receive a satisfactory answer, the Yuanjing Emperor did not care. He opened the curtains and led a group of children to the front hall. He sat at the desk and said, "No need to worry. It is already fine."

The Crown Prince, as the eldest son and the leader of the princes and princesses, said, "Imperial Father, is it related to the abnormality of the ancestral worshipping ceremony?"

The Yuanjing Emperor frowned and was unwilling to explain.

The Crown Prince vaguely gave the Second Princess a look. Wearing a gorgeous palace dress, the charming Princess Lin An smiled and took the teacup from the hands of the eunuch. She twisted her waist and came to the side of the Yuanjing Emperor and said coquettishly,

"Imperial Father, Sampo is the forbidden place of our Imperial family. What kind of thief could sneak into Sampo and even destroy the Taizu Emperor's temple? Could they also sneak into the residence of Lin An?"

On her charming and gorgeous face, her brows were tightly knitted and she had a pitiful and frightened look.

The Second Princess was the most favoured because she knew how to act coquettishly and knew how to gain the favour of the Yuanjing Emperor.

The Yuanjing Emperor was a strong and controlling person. He might not necessarily like the talented but overbearing Princess Royal, but he definitely liked the weak and harmless Second Princess who relied on him and knew how to act coquettishly.

The Emperor with jet black hair, as if he was in the prime of his life, patted the soft hands of the Second Princess and comforted her, "Nonsense. The forbidden place of the Imperial Palace is not a place where thieves can come and go as they please."

The Crown Prince led the team and the Second Princess assisted. Princess Royal stepped out and bowed, "Just now I met Duke Wei at the entrance. He vaguely expressed his difficulties to this son. I guess that he wanted this son to help to plead for leniency and extend the deadline for a few days."

When the Yuanjing Emperor heard it, he snorted.

Princess Royal continued, "Imperial Father, this son just happens to know an expert in solving cases. If he is able to participate in this case, within half a month, the truth will definitely come to light."