Zhang Chun pounded on the door like he was announcing a funeral, but no one responded.
He channeled his mana into his palms and slammed them down. The two doors collapsed inwards, and Xiao Yun, the Duke of Nanyang, appeared in front of him with a gloomy face.
Zhang Chun stared at the Duke of Nanyang unhappily and asked, "The Imperial Ancestral Temple has summoned you to close your residence. Are you resisting arrest?"
The Duke of Nanyang, the former Minister of Personnel, had fallen to the point where his residence was broken down and humiliated. The Duke of Nanyang could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to kill Li Mu and Zhang Chun.
Thinking that the two of them would not last long, he forcefully used his mana to suppress his anger.
He looked at Zhang Chun and said coldly, "Why would the Imperial Ancestral Temple come to my residence for no reason? I thought it was a bold bandit who attacked my residence."
Zhang Chun said indifferently, "Whether it is for no reason or not, you will know once you follow me to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
The Duke of Nanyang said, "Do you have the official document from the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"
Zhang Chun took out the official document with the seal of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and waved it in front of him. He asked, "Is this enough?"
The Duke of Nanyang said calmly, "If that is the case, let's go."
Even as a Duke, he could not openly resist the Imperial Ancestral Temple, because it was equivalent to resisting the imperial court. However, this did not mean that he would submit to Zhang Chun and Li Mu.
King Ping and the others had already gone to the academy to discuss with the Dean. Eliminating Li Mu was already the top priority of the Xiao clan.
Perhaps at this moment, Baichuan and the two Deans of the Myriad Scroll Academy had already taken action to restrain the Empress. The experts that King Ping and the others had arranged to clean up the Empress and kill Li Mu were already on their way here …
Baichuan Academy.
In the northeast corner of the academy, there was a bamboo forest that was green all year round. The students of Baichuan Academy would not easily approach this place. Everyone knew that this was the place where the Dean cultivated. The Dean of the academy was one of the few experts in the Great Zhou. He was deeply respected and loved by the students, and no one would disturb his cultivation place.
In the depths of the bamboo forest, in front of a bamboo house, a hearty laughter could be heard.
Beside the stone table in front of the bamboo hut, the man in white put down a word and said with a smile, "Zhao Qingsong, I haven't seen you in two years. Your chess skills are getting worse."
The middle-aged man opposite him waved his hand, and the black and white chess pieces on the chessboard quickly flew up and returned to their respective baskets.
He looked at the man in white and said, "What is there to show off? I was just careless and distracted. Otherwise, you would have lost 15 minutes ago."
The man in white asked, "What can distract you?"
The middle-aged man said, "I don't know if this change in the imperial court is good or bad."
The man in white thought for a moment and said, "You mean that young man named Li Mu?"
The middle-aged man said, "Who else could it be?"
The man in white nodded and said, "Indeed. At such a young age, he has such a natural disposition. He has gathered the faith of the people in Shendu, can communicate with the heavens and earth, and can achieve the Dao with his words. He is also extremely talented in the Fu-lu Dao, and made the Fu-lu School bet its future on him. He can be said to be a hero of his generation. What kind of people are the Xiao clan that you support? Why do they have to go against him instead of keeping the Zhou clan in check?"
The middle-aged man looked at him and said, "The Zhou clan that you support is not much better than the Xiao clan."
The man in white crossed his arms and said calmly, "I just can't stand Xiao Jing's actions. If Emperor Cheng knew that the Crown Prince he chose was even more muddle-headed than him, and almost caused the Great Zhou to be doomed eternally, he might as well smear that essence on the wall …"
The middle-aged man coughed softly and said, "Zheng Xingchui, you are the head of a school after all. You should at least show some respect to the late Emperor and Emperor Cheng …"
The man in white waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about those disappointing things. Li Mu is favored not only because he is handsome. His method of stabilizing the hearts of the people is really useful. In less than a year, the faith of the people in the various counties has surpassed the peak of the reign of Emperor Cheng and the late Emperor. If this can continue, in the next ten years, the glory of the reign of Emperor Wen may be reproduced …"
The middle-aged man seemed to think of something and murmured, "Could it be that he is also one of the descendants of the extinct Hundred Schools? There seem to be many among the Hundred Schools who cultivate with the faith of the people. He has always been trying to reform the law. Could it be the School of Legalism?"
"Establishing a heart for heaven and earth, establishing a life for the people, inheriting the lost knowledge of the past Saints, establishing peace for all ages …" The man in white whispered a few words and said, "It sounds more like the Confucian school. He has the ambition of ruling the world and is full of righteousness. It is very likely that he is a descendant of the Confucian school."
The middle-aged man put down a chess piece and rubbed his chin. He said, "The Confucian school has always been active in the court and respected etiquette. However, his actions are bold and radical, seeking change. It is not like the Confucian school, but more like the School of Legalism."
The man in white put down another chess piece and said, "Whether it is the Confucian school or the School of Legalism, those who can rule the country are righteous. Let him be …"
The Zongzheng Temple.
The prison of the Zongzheng Temple, which had always been cold and cheerless, was especially lively today.
More than twenty court officials were locked together, all frowning.
Most of them had been brought from their homes by the people of the Zongzheng Temple last night.
Some of the officials had their doors blown up by Zhang Chun while they were eating dinner. Some of them had been pulled out of their beds while they were being intimate with their concubines. At first, everyone was panic-stricken, but after arriving at the Zongzheng Temple and seeing so many familiar colleagues, they slowly calmed down.
When they saw the former Assistant Minister of Personnel Gao Hong and the Duke of Nanyang being arrested, they were even more reassured.
Of the two of them, one was a relative of the imperial family and the other was a member of the imperial clan. The higher-ups would definitely not let them stay in the Zongzheng Temple. When the time came, they would be able to save them along the way.
After calming down, they began to curse the main culprit.
"This damned Zhou Zhong!"
"I've really misjudged him all these years …"
"He doesn't have many days left and he still wants to drag us down with him!"
… …
Gao Hong did not curse like the others. He knew very well that Zhou Zhong had been sitting in the position of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice all these years and had a lot of information on them. He no longer had the golden ticket of exemption from death and was no longer the Assistant Minister of Personnel. Once those crimes were confirmed, it was enough for him to die several times.
In the cell next door, the Duke of Nanyang was meditating with his eyes closed. At a certain moment, he opened his eyes and glanced at Gao Hong. He said indifferently, "Why are you panicking?"
Gao Hong strode over and asked, "Duke, are you sure that the higher-ups will make a move on Li Mu?"
The Duke of Nanyang said, "Li Mu has already forced them into this situation. Do you think they will continue to tolerate it?"
Gao Hong said uneasily, "But it's been so long. Why hasn't there been any movement at all?"
The Duke of Nanyang said indifferently, "What's the hurry? Perhaps they are already on their way …"
Gao Hong was still worried. He walked out of the cell and said to a jailer, "Go and invite His Highness Prince Shou here."
Hearing this, the jailer quickly walked out of the prison.
Although the prisoners in the cell were all criminals, they still had a higher status than the jailers. As a lowly jailer, he did not dare to disobey these people.
After a while, Prince Shou walked in from the outside. He looked at the two of them and said, "What's wrong with you? Why are you caught again …"
Gao Hong said, "Isn't it because Zhang Chun took the official document with Your Highness's seal …"
Prince Shou frowned and said, "Why? Are you blaming me? Zhang Chun threatened me. If I didn't do it, I would be bending the law. He even said that he would impeach me in the golden palace. What can I do? All of you didn't clean up after what you did and now blame me. Are you still human?"
Gao Hong quickly said, "That's not what I meant …"
Prince Shou said angrily, "Then what do you mean?"
The Duke of Nanyang finally opened his mouth and said, "Now is not the time to talk about this. We want to ask Your Highness Prince Shou to go out of the palace and ask about the situation. Why haven't they made a move on Li Mu?"
Prince Shou glanced at them and said, "Wait here. I'll go and ask."
Half an hour later, in the Southern Court, Prince Ping's residence.
Prince Shou sipped his tea and looked at Prince Ping. He asked, "What about the Duke of Nanyang, Gao Hong and the rest? Should I let them go?"
Prince Ping stretched out his hand and said, "No."
Prince Shou was stunned and asked, "Then what should I do?"
Prince Ping took a deep breath and said, "According to the law, those who should be demoted will be demoted and those who should be killed will be killed."
Prince Shou spat out his tea and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He asked, "Then what about the Duke of Nanyang?"
Prince Ping shook his head and said, "Without the death exemption token, he can't be saved."
Prince Shou was stunned and said, "Aren't you going to join forces with the Academy to make a move on Li Mu?"
Prince Ping said, "Li Mu is not our enemy. The Zhou family is. There's no need to take the risk."
Prince Shou said, "But that's not right. If Li Mu makes a move, Xiao Yun will die."
Prince Ping leaned on the chair and slowly let out a sigh of relief. He said, "He asked for it. Thirty-six Dukes. Even if one is gone, there are still thirty-five …"
Smack!
Prince Shou stood up abruptly and pointed at Prince Ping. He said angrily, "How can you do this? Do you have any humanity left? Those are our beloved friends …"
Prince Ping also stood up and said coldly, "What do you know? We're looking at the big picture!"
Prince Shou stared at him for a long time and finally sat back down. He leaned weakly on the chair and said, "The blood flowing in his body is the same as ours …"
Prince Ping said, "It's because the blood flowing in his body is the blood of the Xiao family. When necessary, he should sacrifice himself for the Xiao family …"
…
Ancestral Temple.
After two hours, Prince Shou reappeared in the Heavenly Prison.
Gao Hong and the Duke of Nanyang were already anxious from waiting. The Duke of Nanyang was still able to maintain his calm while Gao Hong grabbed the bars of the cell and looked in a certain direction.
When he finally saw the chubby figure of Prince Shou, he asked anxiously without waiting for Prince Shou to come closer, "Your Highness, how is it?"
Prince Shou patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, it's fine."
Gao Hong let out a long sigh of relief. Then, excitement appeared on his face as he asked, "When will Li Mu die?"
Prince Shou let out a sigh of relief and said, "When I save you."
Gao Hong finally relaxed and sat down slowly. He leaned against the wall and said, "I can't wait any longer."
Prince Shou was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he looked at the two of them and said, "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I'll get someone to send it in …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
