The first batch of people who saw the self-condemnation decree were filled with disbelief and shock, as well as the excitement of "I got first-hand news", and they spread the news in a frenzy.
After that, countless people swarmed to the city gate.
"Is it a self-incriminating edict?"
The illiterate commoners, as well as the commoners who couldn't squeeze to the front, shouted loudly.
"Yes, it is a self-incriminating edict. The emperor has really done it!" the people at the front yelled back.
"Quick, quickly recite …" The commoners at the back urged impatiently.
"The emperor has issued an edict to express his regret. He said," I will inherit the throne with the virtue of Liang. I will renew the world and return the glory of my ancestors. I did not expect to rely on the wrong people, so the city of Chu Zhou City was destroyed … "
"… May 16th, 37th year of Yuanjing."
An old Confucian scholar standing in front of the noticeboard finished reading the Edict of Self-Incrimination, which contained nearly a thousand words, in a measured cadence.
Some of the ordinary people understood, but most of them were still confused. They only knew one thing: the Yuanjing Emperor had indeed issued a self-incriminating edict.
"Is it because of the massacre in Chu Zhou City?"
"The emperor has issued a self-incriminating edict. That means what Xu Yinluo said yesterday was true, right?"
"The rumors that smeared Xu Yinluo's name were all false, weren't they?"
The commoners were most concerned about this matter. Even though they trusted Xu Qi 'an, there were still many rumors about Xu Yinluo yesterday. It was as if the rumors were true.
They needed a piece of positive news to shatter those rumors.
Moreover, in the eyes of the people, the status of the imperial court was deeply rooted in their hearts. If the imperial court admitted this matter, and with Xu Yinluo's prestige, they would no longer have any doubts. No matter what people said in the future, they would not believe it.
The old Confucian scholar waved his hand, and the crowd immediately quieted down. He nodded with satisfaction, then shook his head and sighed.
"The emperor has issued a self-incriminating edict. He has admitted that he condoned the King of Zhenbei's massacre. Xu Yinluo said yesterday was true. If it weren't for Xu Yinluo, the massacre in Chu Zhou City would not have been cleared. Mr. Zheng would have died with his eyes wide open. "
Cheers and curses erupted at the same time, creating a clamor.
"The heavens must be looking out for Daibun to have a Xu Yinluo."
"Unfortunately, Xu Yinluo is no longer an official."
"So what if he's not an official? He's still a hero of Da Feng."
As for the curses …
"What a foolish emperor! Aren't the people of Chu Zhou City the people of Daibun?"
"Twenty years of cultivation is considered a fatuous ruler. He allowed the North Garrison King to massacre the city.
"Daibun of Daibun will die one day …"
The cursing soon died down and was suppressed by the surrounding soldiers. However, the common people were still cursing softly or in their hearts.
The curses were quickly suppressed by the soldiers, but the people were still cursing in their hearts.
The Emperor issuing an edict of self-condemnation was in itself an admission of fault. It was also a channel for the people to vent and curse.
…
The Imperial College.
The Directorate, which was originally filled with the sound of studying, was now filled with the sound of reprimands and curses. It was one of the holy lands of scholars in the world.
When scholars scolded people, they had a lot more tricks than the common people.
"The King of Zhenbei deserves to die, but I didn't expect the emperor to … What a foolish emperor! How could he let the emperor do this? Supervisor, Supervisor, didn't you know about this beforehand?"
"There isn't a single man in the entire imperial court. We've been studying the books of the sages, yet we're going to associate ourselves with these scholars who have no backbone?"
"Only when Xu Yinluo killed the two thieves and turned the world upside down did they dare to oppose the emperor. If it were me, I would have smashed my head on the ground."
"Although the Warrior violated the law with force, only the Warrior could turn the tide in such a heartless matter."
"Sigh, if this is recorded in the history books, the scholars will lose face. It's a pity that Xu Yinluo isn't a Confucian scholar. "
At this time, a young scholar ran in and said excitedly, "Everyone, I just heard a piece of good news."
The students in the college looked over and frowned.
Although the emperor had admitted to this matter and didn't let the loyal minister be wronged, this matter was still a black tragedy. It wasn't something to be excited about.
The young scholar welcomed the crowd and said excitedly, "I heard that today, the director of the Yunlu Academy, Zhao Shou, appeared in the court and said in front of the officials and the emperor that Xu Yinluo is his disciple."
What?!
In an instant, the atmosphere in the college exploded. The students showed excited expressions and strode forward to welcome him.
"Xu Yinluo is a student of the Yunlu Academy?"
"Director Zhao's disciple? Is … is this true?"
A few students' faces turned red. They grabbed the sleeves of the man and asked loudly.
"If I say I'm joking, I'll be beaten up …" The man muttered in his heart and nodded. "This matter has been spread in the court. It's not my baseless claim."
"Hahaha, today is a day of happy events. Let's go and have a drink."
"I won't study today. I'll indulge myself for once."
For a long time, the fact that Daibun was a Warrior was a thorn in the hearts of all scholars. Every time it was mentioned, they would sigh in admiration.
They thought that when the future generations looked at this period of history, they would laugh at the scholars of this generation. Didn't scholars care about this little bit of reputation?
Now that they knew that Xu Qi 'an was a student of the Yunlu Academy, they were indescribably happy. Although there was a battle of orthodoxy between the Yunlu Academy and the Imperial College, the history books wouldn't care about this.
They were all scholars of the Confucian school.
The students of the Imperial College called their friends to go out for a drink.
The supervisor reported this matter to the chancellor and angrily rebuked, "Nearly half of the students of the Imperial College went out to fool around. Today is not a rest day."
The white-haired old chancellor leaned on the soft couch and said expressionlessly,
"Today's matter in the court tells us that a just cause enjoys abundant support and an unjust cause finds little support. The sage doesn't deceive me."
The chancellor meant not to be the enemy of the masses. In the face of the general trend, we should give up the rules appropriately and be tolerant … The supervisor met a soft rebuff and frowned as he pondered.
…
Huaiqing's Mansion.
Huaiqing, who was dressed in a white dress and had black hair like a waterfall, sat by the table. She looked at Lin An in a red dress and said with a faint smile, "He has never disappointed anyone, hasn't he?"
She then sighed, "After this incident, father's reputation and the prestige of the royal family will fall to the bottom."
Lin An, who had an oval face and peach-blossom eyes, said righteously with a sweet smile, "If he does something wrong, he should give way. Although I don't like to study, Taifu taught us that it's a great thing to know our mistakes and improve."
It was also a happy thing to be a simple-minded person … Huaiqing despised her sister in her heart, but she would not say it on the surface.
It was not to give face to Lin An, but she would definitely be angry and fly over to peck her face.
Huaiqing was annoyed.
A smart person would not make trouble for herself.
Seeing that Huaiqing did not speak, Lin An raised her snow-white chin, shook the complicated jewelry on her head, and said in a sweet voice,
"Some people shout righteousness and say that father did something wrong. But when you need to do something, you immediately stop talking."
As she said, she looked at Huaiqing with proud eyes, indicating that she won this round and that she finally defeated Huaiqing.
She referred to the matter of bringing Li Miaozhen and Hengy Yuan into the imperial city and taking them in.
Huaiqing smiled.
After Xu Qi 'an killed the two thieves, Lin An swept away the depression in her heart, and became lively again. Because she sheltered the "traitor" the day before yesterday, her mind was clear with this participation.
Otherwise, she would definitely hold it in her heart for a long time, and it would not become a knot in her heart. But this simple heart would be more or less covered with haze.
This was the reason why Huaiqing deliberately "gave" this credit to Lin An.
However, Huaiqing was not a tolerant sister who would be indifferent to Lin An's provocation. She smiled approvingly, "Yes, you are more responsible than your brother Crown Prince."
Lin An's little face suddenly fell.
"I'm going back to the mansion." She stood up angrily.
The pendant jingled, and a touch of light yellow reflected in Huaiqing's eyes. It was a jade pendant with a moist texture.
The cold Princess Royal's eyes slightly paused, and she frowned, "What is this on your waist?"
Lin An stretched out her little white hand, holding the jade pendant in her palm, and explained, "This is the jade pendant given to me by the dog slave.
"This is the jade pendant that the dog slave gave me. The quality and workmanship are just passable, but this was personally carved by him. Look, there are so many flaws. If he had bought it, it wouldn't be like this."
After saying that, she raised her face in an ostentatious manner, revealing her beautifully curved chin.
Perhaps she did not notice that there was a little sweetness in her words.
Huaiqing's pale face seemed to have a storm in an instant, but she immediately recovered and said lightly, "Get out, don't be an eyesore here."
"I was going to leave, humph!"
Lin An felt that Huaiqing stopped her to say the last sentence to save face and suppress her.
She turned around unhappily, twisted her slender waist, and walked into the inner hall with her skirt flying.
After the red skirt left, Huaiqing angrily took out a small seal from her arms and threw it on the ground to vent her anger.
After a while, she got up again, picked up her skirt, and picked it up. After careful inspection, she found that there was a small hole in the corner of the seal.
Two beautiful eyebrows immediately wrinkled, and she felt a little distressed.
…
In a secret room in the Stargazing Tower.
Xu Qi 'an took off the scrotum and untied the red knot. Two blue smoke came out and turned into Que Yongxiu and Cao Guogong in the air.
With the appearance of the two souls, the temperature in the room dropped a little.
This scrotum was specially made by Li Miaozhen. It could summon the newly dead souls without carving a magic circle, because the scrotum had its own magic circle.
Taoism was also good at making magic instruments. Compared with the warlock, one was a sideline, while the other was a professional.
Cao Guogong and Que Yongxiu had just died, so they were still in a state of stupor. They answered every question without thinking.
Xu Qi 'an first looked at Cao Guogong. "How did you know about the massacre case?"
Cao Guogong said blankly, "After Que Yongxiu returned to the capital, he secretly met with His Majesty. Not long after that, I was summoned by His Majesty to tell him about it."
"What did he ask you to do?"
"Cooperate with him …" This included being a "sidekick" in the imperial court, helping him spread rumors, and so on.
Cao Guogong only knew about the massacre case afterward. Hmm, the value of this ghost plummeted.
Xu Qi 'an turned to look at Que Yongxiu and said, "Do you know the whole story of the massacre case?"
Que Yongxiu answered with a blank expression, "Yes."
"Tell me the whole story."
"…"
"Ah, his IQ is too low. He really can't find a loophole like this. He needs to ask questions one by one …" Xu Qi 'an despised him in his heart.
He asked calmly, "Do you know that the King of Zhenbei is working with the Daoist Leader of the Earth Sect and a high-ranked sorcerer of the Witchcraft Sect?"
"Yes."
"Did the Yuanjing Emperor know about this a long time ago?"
"The massacre case was originally planned by His Majesty and Duke Huai …"
This answer did not surprise Xu Qi 'an, because he had already understood from Duke Wei's hints that the Yuanjing Emperor was most likely one of the masterminds behind all this.
"Why did he massacre the city instead of starting a war?" Xu Qi 'an asked.
"The amount of blood required was too large, and it would take a lot of time. Moreover, if the war started, many uncontrollable factors would appear in the plan. It was not a safe plan," Que Yongxiu answered.
"What was the real goal of the Yuanjing Emperor?" Xu Qi 'an asked again.
He had always felt that the Yuanjing Emperor was too lenient with the King of Zhenbei, and even couldn't wait for the King of Zhenbei to be promoted. This was not in line with the mentality of an emperor, and a suspicious one at that.
Could the two words "Martial Fanatic" really erase the suspicion and fear of a shrewd emperor?
"Duke Huai said that if he were to be promoted to second grade, he would be able to keep the Supervisor in check, and allow the imperial family to have a true pillar of the nation. He would not need to be too afraid of the Supervisor and the Yunlu Academy. This is also His Majesty's wish. "
This reason is not enough, you believe it?
Que Yongxiu's next words caused Xu Qi 'an's expression to change slightly.
"His Majesty wants to refine the Soul Pill."
The Yuanjing Emperor wanted to refine the Soul Pill? That's not right, didn't the Jinlian Taoist priest confidently say that the Earth Sect's Dao Head needed the Soul Pill?
So, one brother wanted the Blood Pill, the other wanted the Soul Pill, so they took the wool from the commoners …
The Jinlian Taoist priest said that the Soul Pill was used to strengthen one's primordial spirit, to refine pills, to refine artifacts, to mend an incomplete soul, and to nurture an artifact spirit … If this was all, it seemed like it was not enough for the Yuanjing Emperor to risk universal condemnation and sacrifice the commoners of an entire city.
Of course, the Soul Pill was only one of the rewards, the Blood Pill could help the King of Zhenbei break through to the Great Perfection Realm.
However, the one who benefited was the King of Zhenbei. In comparison, the Yuanjing Emperor's rewards were not enough for him to take this risk and make this decision.
When a person's rewards were not proportional to the risk he took, things were definitely not as simple as they seemed … Xu Qi 'an pinched the space between his eyebrows.
He did not think for too long, and continued to ask, "Where is the Soul Pill?"
※ ※ ※
Note 1: The first sentence was the Imperial Decree of Emperor Wu of Han, followed by the beginning of the Imperial Decree of Emperor Chong of Han.
