I really like that name, but it's not suitable for me today. I'll find another one with the same flavor tomorrow.
…
…
How to bring down an important figure like Grand Secretary Zhang, who had the right to represent history? History itself had given a clear answer many times. After he died, the Emperor, who had been dissatisfied for many years, would settle the score. At the very least, he would use the name of the Emperor.
Therefore, the charges that Grand Secretary Chen, Jin Cheng, and others had prepared for Grand Secretary Zhang were all related to disrespect. However, this kind of operation required the approval of the Emperor, so they naturally had to show enough respect to the Emperor and give up enough benefits, unless they wanted to rebel.
Unfortunately, they didn't have the power or the ambition. At most, they could only hope that they could control the Emperor to control the Chu Kingdom. Therefore, when Jing Jiu didn't want to see them, they couldn't do anything. They also couldn't force their way into the palace to find the Imperial Seal. What was the difference between that and the charges they had prepared for Grand Secretary Zhang?
Fortunately, the Imperial Palace was under strict control of the Imperial Court. There was no such thing as an internal court. Those eunuchs and palace maids hadn't even seen the Emperor many times, so it was easy to arrange some accidents.
It was a hot autumn night. It was a good time to set fire.
Prime President Jin didn't leave the Cabinet. He stared in the direction of the Imperial Palace across the square, waiting for the fire to appear.
However, when morning came, his eyes were so dry that they hurt. The Imperial Palace was still quiet. Nothing happened.
There was still no news until evening. There wasn't even any sign that they had failed.
The eunuchs who had set the fire had disappeared. The City Gate Department didn't find them. The guards and the Imperial Army didn't find them either. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air.
Prime President Jin felt that things were a bit strange. He felt a faint chill in his heart.
He used several hot towels to warm his face to dispel his sleepiness and chill. Then, he went to Grand Secretary Chen's manor.
He didn't know what Grand Secretary Chen said to him. From the movements in the Imperial Palace, they didn't seem to have given up the idea of setting the palace on fire.
However, from that night onwards, the autumn rain in the capital city became endless and did not stop for even a moment.
Perhaps because of the autumn rain, the palace never caught fire.
The pitter-patter of raindrops falling from the gloomy clouds brought with them a chill that invaded the clothes and blankets. It was very annoying.
The officials in the imperial court were naturally the most annoyed.
One day, Grand Secretary Chen called Prime President Jin in private and said, "The opportunity is now, don't miss it."
Jin Cheng understood what he meant.
Everything in the world, including fame, status, power, wealth, and even cultivation, would fall when it reached its peak. It was the same with public opinion.
It was the moment when the populace of the Chu Kingdom resented Grand Secretary Zhang the most. If the Imperial court didn't seize the opportunity, those scholars and populace might start to miss the Grand Secretary whom they had trampled into the mud after this period of time, and it would be more troublesome for them to deal with the matter at that time.
That night, someone sent a message to the Eldest Young Master Zhang in the imperial prison, saying that if he confessed to the case of the ordnance, the matter would end there; otherwise …
Sitting in the haystack, the Eldest Young Master Zhang thought of the cabbages and ink thrown at him from both sides of the street on the day when he was escorted back to the capital by the cavalrymen, and a despairing expression appeared in his eyes.
Did his father really say that before his death? Nothing would go wrong if he didn't do anything?
Even if his father did say that, it was impossible. It was not the first time that he had misjudged the situation.
The Eldest Young Master Zhang remembered the conversation he had with his father many years ago. At the time, he knelt before the sickbed and begged his father to consider his future affairs with tears all over his face. Was he going to watch his sons die or be exiled? His father refused his request severely, telling him not to mention it again and that nothing would happen to them. Later, his father even exiled him to the south … But what about now? He was about to die in the imperial prison, and the Grand Secretary's Manor was besieged and was about to be raided.
"The chancellors in the imperial court used to be your good friends and students, but now they want to dig you out from your grave and whip your corpse. It has been like this in history. Why can't you understand it?"
Looking at the white silk and the bottle of poison left on the ground by the intruder, the corners of the Eldest Young Master Zhang's mouth twitched slightly, and a neurotic smile appeared on his face.
He suddenly yelled miserably, "Jin Cheng! You will die a horrible death! "
It was quiet in the prison, and nobody came to stop him. Only his miserably cursing echoed in the cell.
The white silk was tied to the top of the iron bars, fluttering gently, like the white banners in the graveyard.
It broke with a cracking sound.
The Eldest Young Master Zhang fell on the haystack, feeling bewildered. He found the bottle of poison, opened it with trembling hands, and poured it into his mouth.
A moment later, he found that the bottle, which was supposed to contain poison, was filled with clear water.
He came back to his senses and looked at the dark and gloomy outside the cell warily. "Who is it?" he asked in a low voice.
A man in black walked out from the shadow and said, "It's so troublesome. I hope you won't try to hit your head against the wall again."
The Eldest Young Master Zhang was surprised. The imperial prison of the Chu Kingdom was heavily guarded, and the formations were hidden behind the stone walls. Even the most formidable swordsmen and Cultivation practitioners couldn't sneak in.
"Who are you? Why did you save me? "
"I'm just a worker. Do you think I want to meddle in other people's business?"
The man in black had a broken hand, and his sleeve drooped down weakly, just like his voice. "I have many important things to do. I was about to go to Zhao State to kill that eunuch and the White Emperor, but I was summoned here by someone."
Having heard this, the Eldest Young Master Zhang's pupils contracted, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Are you a man in black?"
The man looked at his clothes and asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"
The Eldest Young Master Zhang murmured, "You're not dead yet."
The man in black he mentioned was not a man in black, but a specific name for a certain person in this world.
Many years ago, a powerful swordsman who liked to fight and kill appeared in this world. It was said that he was second only to Duke Mo. His fighting capacity was extremely formidable, and he killed countless swordsmen in the four kingdoms of Qin, Zhao, Qi, and Chu. When the swordsman appeared, he was dressed in black, so he was called the man in black.
It was said that the man in black left the Central Plains and went to the West Regions to cultivate and break the state. Who would have thought that he would come back again?
The Eldest Young Master Zhang stared into his eyes and said, "You haven't answered my question. Why did you save me?"
The man in black didn't pay any attention to him. He broke open the iron bars, knocked him unconscious and carried him out. The Blue Bird had asked him to protect the lives of the people in the imperial prison. The general and the rest of the officials were strong-willed and didn't want to commit suicide. This Eldest Young Master Zhang was indeed troublesome, so it was the simplest way to deal with him.
The man in black was Zhuo Rusui, who handled the matter so casually and lazily.
However, no matter how powerful an assassin was, he couldn't fight against the Imperial Court head-on.
Zhuo Rusui left the imperial prison with the unconscious Eldest Young Master Zhang, and disappeared from the capital of the Chu Kingdom. Like a drop of water falling into the ocean, it didn't cause any ripples.
The autumn wind and rain were as worrisome as usual. The news that the Eldest Young Master Zhang had escaped from the prison didn't worry the officials of the Imperial Court too much. On the contrary, they felt relieved.
In this way, they could finally take another step forward.
They could seize this opportunity to confiscate the Grand Scholar Manor. They believed that even if they couldn't find the royal seal and the Emperor didn't show up, the Zhang family would be sentenced to death.
…
…
With this thought in mind, the Minister of Rites, Jin Cheng, came to the outside of the Grand Scholar Manor.
The front gate of the Grand Scholar Manor had been smashed open, and hundreds of soldiers had entered the manor and occupied all the important places. They had already started to search the manor. It was a chaotic scene, with overturned cabinets, collapsed flower racks, and cries everywhere. Even the rockery in the back garden had been dug up, revealing a secret room full of golden bricks.
Jin Cheng furrowed his brows slightly, feeling displeased. He instructed his subordinates by his side, "Behave yourself. Don't startle the Madame."
The subordinates responded in unison, but they were complaining in their minds, thinking that the Prime Minister was the most valued student of the Grand Scholar Manor back in the day; were you going to keep on pretending?
The sound of cursing suddenly came from the deep end of the Grand Scholar Manor, as well as the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. Prime President Jin's brows furrowed even more, as he walked in that direction.
The subordinate explained in a low voice, "The back house has been controlled, but it's a bit inconvenient for the Madame to live in the back garden."
Prime President Jin didn't halt his steps, and asked in a low voice, "Have you put the object away?"
The subordinate replied in an even lower voice, "It's at the bottom of the suitcase; there's nothing wrong with it."
Prime President Jin uttered "hmm", and didn't say anything more. Soon, he arrived at the outside of the back garden.
The back garden was even more messy. A few female servants had been pushed to the ground, their foreheads bleeding, and cloth and clothes were scattered everywhere.
Seeing the scene in front of him, Prime President Jin showed a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
He had been to the Grand Scholar Manor many times, and he often came to the back garden. Not long ago, he had fed his Teacher the medicine in this place several times.
Seeing his expression, a few subordinates persuaded him to do something appropriate, such as "the affairs of the state are more important" and "the Master …"
The expression on Prime President Jin's face eased up a bit. Looking at the chaotic scene around him, he let out a self-mocking smile.
It was a royal robe.
In the past twenty years, he had been trying to persuade his Teacher to ascend the throne and become the emperor, but his Teacher had always disagreed.
Now that his Teacher was dead, Prime President Jin decided to prepare a royal robe for him as a show of filial piety.
There was a large pear-wood chest in the Granny Dowager's room, and the royal robe was at the bottom of the chest.
Looking at the tightly closed door, Prime President Jin tidied up his clothes and said calmly, "Master's wife, please open the door."
There was a faint sound in the room, but nobody opened the door.
As time passed slowly, Prime President Jin's expression grew cold, and he said sternly, "Break the door open!"
Ignoring the cries and curses of the female servants, a dozen soldiers climbed up the stairs and broke the door open easily, entering the room in a single file.
However, these soldiers quickly retreated from the room with a strange expression on their faces, as if they had seen a ghost.
A person walked out of the room. His hair was disheveled, and his face couldn't be seen clearly, but the bright yellow royal robe he was wearing was very eye-catching.
Seeing the royal robe, the official in charge of this matter changed his expression abruptly, wondering how someone had found the clothes hidden at the bottom of the chest and put them on. No matter who it was, wearing the royal robe was a capital offense, and it came from the Granny Dowager's room. How could the Grand Scholar Manor get away with it?
"How dare he wear the royal robe! Arrest this treacherous thief for me! "
The official ordered sternly, but he didn't notice the commotion around him.
Looking at the man wearing the royal robe, Prime President Jin's face turned pale.
The man raised his hands and parted his black hair, revealing his handsome face. "I'm the emperor; what should I wear if not the royal robe?" he asked nonchalantly.
…
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