"Everyone is saying that His Highness is the Son of Heaven!" In the King of Shu's mansion, two maids whispered to each other while doing their work.
"I've also heard about it. There seems to be a white fox that can talk and a stone tablet that was dug out from the river. It's a hot topic outside. I heard it when I went out to buy things today."
The two maids chatted in low voices and did not realize that a figure was standing behind them.
"Ahem." At a certain moment, the King of Shu coughed softly.
The two maids turned around in a hurry and their faces turned pale. They immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. "Your Highness, please spare our lives. Your Highness, please spare our lives!"
"Is I that scary?" The King of Shu smiled and seemed to be in a good mood. He waved his hand and said, "You two are not bad. Go and receive your rewards yourselves!"
Until the King of Shu limped away, the two maids were still kneeling on the ground and did not come back to their senses for a long time.
His Highness disliked people talking behind his back and had even beaten a servant to death because of it. Why did he suddenly change his temper today? Did he take the wrong medicine?
No matter what medicine His Highness took, he would not be punished. He hurriedly got up from the ground. As for the reward, how could it be more important than his own life?
All the servants in the King of Shu's mansion could feel that His Highness was in a good mood today. He was even humming a tune as he walked. This was a rare sight in the mansion.
"It's rare to encounter such a good thing. Today, all the servants in the mansion will be rewarded!"
The King of Shu instructed the housekeeper of the mansion and planned to go out to have a look.
He had been depressed for a few days because he had inexplicably taken the blame. However, it did not take long for him to take a turn for the better. These two days, the people were cheering for him to ascend to the throne. Compared to this, what was the ridicule and suspicion of the past few days?
"Could it be that even God is helping me?"
Not long after, he sat in the palanquin and listened to the occasional conversation on the street. He could not hide the smile on his face.
The will of the people. Was that position still far away from him?
At this moment, he felt that he was already standing at the peak.
…
"What, His Highness is not here?" Outside the gates of the King of Shu's residence, a dozen or so ministers gathered. Upon hearing the words of the gatekeeper, they frowned at the same time.
His Highness wasn't here at this time. What was he thinking?
The Imperial Censorate had already submitted a joint petition to impeach His Highness for disrupting the politics of the court and bewitching the hearts of the people. They were afraid that what awaited them next would be the Emperor's thunderous fury. At this time, he was actually not in the manor?
His foot injury hadn't healed yet!
"To the Qin Manor!" They were not the magistrates of the capital, nor were they the imperial censors. Naturally, they received the news much later than the other party. After realizing the seriousness of the matter, they immediately joined forces to discuss countermeasures with the King of Shu. However, they did not expect that they would come up empty handed.
Time could not be delayed any longer. Someone made a prompt decision and immediately made a decision.
At this time, in the Qin Manor, Prime Minister Qin looked at a withered old tree in the courtyard and murmured, "This is a heart attack!"
"Who did this!?" An official behind him said angrily.
"Stupid, simply stupid. This is harming His Highness!"
Everything that had happened in the capital over the past two days seemed to be building momentum for the King of Shu, but in reality, it was a ploy to kill him. Although it could allow His Highness to rally the hearts of the people for a short period of time, how could the Emperor and the court officials tolerate such a thing?
If His Majesty was in critical condition, this would naturally be an excellent method. However, the current situation was turbulent and needed stability in the hearts of the people. His Majesty and the court officials had accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction with His Highness. Taking action early was tantamount to digging their own grave.
What made them even more desperate was that for some reason, the speed at which these rumors spread was so fast that it left no time for them to react.
The white fox offering auspicious signs, the stone tablet in the river, and the folk songs almost elevated the King of Shu to the altar. However, the higher he was, the worse he fell. The imperial censors in the Imperial Censorate had already gone crazy. Memorials from the officials also snowed towards the Minister of Shangshu. Regarding today's matter, even Prime Minister Qin did not dare to suppress it …
It had to be said that this was a stupid move that could not be any more stupid. However, the most helpless thing was that the person behind the scenes could very well be a supporter of His Highness, or His Highness himself …
Although they could not do such a stupid move, but His Highness … might not.
Looking at the situation before them, His Highness was really being roasted on a fire.
One of them revealed a helpless expression and said, "At present, we can only let His Highness personally enter the palace to apologize and express his attitude. Perhaps His Majesty will be lenient. After all, His Majesty's health is not as good as before. For the stability of the court, he will not punish His Highness severely …"
"That's right. Let's go to the King's Residence immediately. Otherwise, it will really be too late!"
"What, His Highness is not here?" A moment later, outside the King of Shu's Residence, many people stopped in shock. At the same time, in a restaurant somewhere in the capital, the King of Shu repeatedly clinked glasses with a group of young people. He laughed loudly and said, "I'm in a good mood today. All expenses are on I!"
…
…
"When the Jing Kingdom rises, the virtuous are called kings … The true dragon should be the eldest son of the virtuous, and when there is a storm, he will turn into a dragon …" Emperor Jing's face was red and his breathing was rapid. He swept the thick stack of memorials on the table and pressed one hand on his chest. He said angrily, "Bastard, I am not dead yet, and you are already so impatient!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The dragon's health is more important!" Chang De looked panicked. He put one hand on Emperor Jing's back and ran the Genuine Qi in his body. After a moment, Emperor Jing's breathing gradually calmed down.
Emperor Jing touched his chest a few times and asked in a weak voice, "What's going on with the white fox and the stone tablet? Who is behind this? Have you found out?"
Chang De immediately said, "Your Majesty, the white fox is just an ordinary fox. The reason why those people heard it speak human language should be that someone imitated it with a vocal skill. As for the stone tablet, it is not difficult for a skilled stonemason to make it old …"
He pondered for a moment, then spoke again, "As for the person behind the scenes, all he did was bury a stone tablet, have someone imitate the fox's voice, and write a few ballads. He didn't need to do it himself, and the Intelligence Division wouldn't be able to investigate."
Chang De sighed. Such a low-cost, high-efficiency strategy gave people the impression that the other party did something with a wave of his hand. The whole court, the whole capital, and even the whole world were in chaos because of this … It really made people feel helpless.
However, it did not matter who the person behind the scenes was because everyone knew his purpose.
First, he murdered the son of an imperial official and framed Li Yi. Then, he spread rumors to create momentum for the King of Shu. Who was behind this? Was there a need to guess?
"When the dragon comes out of Shu, the Jing Kingdom will rise!"
Emperor Jing's face was gloomy. He took a few deep breaths and said coldly, "In that case, let him stay in Shu!"
Chang De glanced at Emperor Jing, who was already drafting a decree. After a moment, he said again, "Your Majesty, Liu Yi has found something about the murder of the son of the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Rites."
"Have you found out who is targeting Li Yi?" Emperor Jing asked faintly without raising his head.
"The more you do, the more mistakes you make. I admire Uncle Li more and more."
Chang De sighed softly, then shook his head and said, "When I was investigating this case, I accidentally found some clues that led to new developments in the matter from 20 years ago …"
The brush in Jing Di's hand paused and he slowly raised his head.
"Speak!"
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