Chapter 36 Showdown

Lord Xu was carried all the way in. He was not even awake when he was dragged onto the sedan chair. The eunuch who brought him in had no choice but to urgently call a doctor, who forced the dead-like Lord to drink a bowl of ginseng soup. Then he asked the guards to work together to carry him away, without any delay.

It was not known whether it was the ginseng, the sulfur and the arsenic that took effect, or whether it was the boiling ginseng soup that burned his throat all the way to his esophagus, but after being jolted for a while in the sedan chair, Xu Shaohu finally woke up slowly.

Officialdom love is officialdom love. Even though he had just gotten rid of the horrified and irrational emotions, Lord Xu still had not lost his basic rationality. He felt the sedan's speed, which was almost as fast as a wolf and a pig, then looked at the gloomy faces of the eunuchs outside, and finally reached out and touched his arms - the heavenly book was gone.

Lord Xu immediately realized that something serious had happened.

Although the fear at that moment was beyond ordinary, perhaps because of the boundless power of sulfur and arsenic, Lord Xu quickly calmed his mind - in fact, today's changes were not completely beyond his expectations; ever since he saw the emperor sometimes angry, sometimes furious, and sometimes furious (hey, why does he always seem to be angry) more than ten days ago, behaving strangely without any signs, the Lord had an inexplicable doubt in his heart. And now the summons from the palace came almost simultaneously with the changes in the Heavenly Book, which basically verified this speculation by 70% to 80%.

...If this is true, then this hurdle in the palace will be really difficult!

Lord Xu let out a long breath and began to think at the fastest speed in his life - from his own residence to the West Garden, even if he rode at the fastest speed, it would take at least half an hour. And this half hour is the last chance for Lord Xu to save himself by using all his intelligence. He must exhaust all possibilities and find a pretext to preserve his life and property before meeting the emperor.

——The intelligent model of officialdom is launched!

·

By the time the sedan chair rushed into the Western Garden, the huge Forbidden Palace was already empty; the bewildered old ministers had been coaxed or tricked into being forcibly taken away by the eunuchs, and the sons of nobles who were on guard were sent to a side hall to rest, and their vomit-covered clothes were changed at the same time.

All the guests and guards were expelled, and more than a dozen incense burners were placed inside and outside the Forbidden Palace. A huge amount of fragrant mist was rising, and the rich and thick smell made several escorting eunuchs cough repeatedly. But when they walked into the silent and solemn palace, everyone held their breath - all the furnishings in the palace had been removed, and there was only an altar with a rosewood base in the center, with three huge tablets on the altar, painted with cinnabar, which were bright and eye-catching.

The escorting eunuchs and Lord Xu bowed together, and paid their respects to the tablets of Emperor Feixuan, Emperor Wanshou, and Emperor Qingmiao through the veil outside the altar.

After a moment of silence, a bronze bell rang out from the hall, and a figure in a fluttering robe emerged from behind the altar. Also emanating from the hall was a rhythmic chant:

“The universe is infinite, yet I lament the ever-increasing toil of humankind. Those who have gone before I cannot catch up with, and those who are to come I cannot hear. Enough, enough!”

The voice of the poet was as melodious as ever, but if one listened carefully, one could hear the hoarseness between the breath changes - that was the sequelae of the throat being scratched by foreign objects after gargling with coarse salt, wood ash and tea leaves for more than twenty times.

Everyone stood up straight, but no one spoke. They were all waiting for the emperor to finish reciting the remaining few sentences. When the final “yi er” had quietly faded away in the smoke from the incense and candles, everyone kowtowed together and shouted “Long live the emperor!”

Master Feixuan stepped onto the altar shrouded in mist and smoke. He held onto the altar and gazed indifferently at the important ministers and confidants who were kneeling in an orderly manner at the altar. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, his breath still vague:

"Lord Xu is a great scholar who is well-versed in history and the present. Do you know what the poem I recited means?"

Xu Shaohu crawled a few steps on his knees and prostrated himself on the ground:

"The poem Your Majesty just chanted is a sentimental poem by Li Ao of the Tang Dynasty, which talks about being content with one's lot and 'not forcing things'."

The True Lord's expression did not change at all:

"Not forcing? I'd like to ask the Grand Secretary to explain these three words."

Xu Shaohu kowtowed again:

"To reply to the words of the emperor. Li Ao worshipped Taoism and pursued the mysteries. He had twice asked the eminent monk Wei Yan for advice. He left behind the famous line 'I came to ask for the Tao, and Wu Yu said, the clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle'. This is the so-called 'constant diligence in life', but after all, his talent was coarse and it was difficult for him to achieve great success. In his old age, he compiled the "Chu Ci" and wrote this poem. He practiced what he preached and knew that the path to immortality cannot be forced. As the saying goes, 'the heaven and the earth are infinite', although ordinary people can cling to it and listen to a little bit of the mysteries by chance, but the past and the future are ultimately unattainable. The opportunity given by God can only be understood by the great benevolent masters of the past and present..."

The king and his ministers have known each other for more than ten years and have a tacit understanding with each other. Just through this simple question and answer, the other party's cards were clearly revealed. After hearing the words "immortal path" and "opportunity", Master Feixuan fell silent.

If Zhenjun's momentary rage when he saw the detailed description of the so-called "relaxation" in the Heavenly Book was just due to the loss of composure caused by disgust and anger, then when he heard the eunuch's report and knew that Xu Shaohu had fainted inexplicably in the quiet room, his vigilance and doubts in his heart instantly increased by ten percent. During the half hour of waiting for the message, he urgently retrieved the records of the East Factory and quickly discovered all the abnormalities that had occurred in Xu Shaohu over the past half month. Although the reason for the abnormality is still unknown, just looking at the few times when Xu Shaohu started to become crazy and confused, Zhenjun couldn't help but feel worried!

Because of this, even though his stomach was still churning and burning with pain, even though his rage was uncontrollable and he wanted to stuff Yuchan from Xu Shaohu's front door to his back door, Master Feixuan still patiently asked:

"Is that all you have to say?"

Xu Shaohu slowly raised his head, but still lowered his eyebrows and gazed at the thousands of runes written in cinnabar and gold under the altar:

"I have a lot to say to Your Majesty. The two eunuchs must have taken something from my house, and Your Majesty will know it at a glance."

The escorting eunuch hurriedly knelt forward and respectfully handed over the strange book that he had found in the crotch of Lord Xu's pants. Master Feixuan just lowered his head and took a look, and his pupils trembled instantly.

...Well, his heart was finally at peace.

"Everyone, go out." The emperor stared for a moment and said coldly, "I want to talk to Lord Xu alone."

·

The eunuchs retreated reluctantly, and the empty palace was silent. The emperor stared at the second assistant minister kneeling on the ground and opened his mouth to speak again, but after staring at Xu Shaohu's old face, his chest began to churn again, and acid surged in his throat, almost bursting out again!

It’s bad, I can’t hold it in anymore!

He quickly turned back and took two puffs of sandalwood, trying to calm his surging stomach, and his tone became even more unfriendly:

"Why is Lord Xu sweating all over his head?"

How could I not be sweating profusely after being forced to drink two bowls of ginseng soup at 70 to 80 degrees? But Xu Shaohu was as calm as ever, and he just bowed calmly:

"I am trembling with fear, and sweating profusely."

"What is Lord Xu afraid of?"

"I am afraid of my own mistakes." Lord Xu spoke clearly and forcefully, "After I got this evil book that fell from the sky, I hesitated and was cautious, fearing that the evil spirit who manipulated the evil magic was taking revenge behind the scenes and plotting against me and my family. For this selfish reason, I neither exposed such crazy and disordered nonsense that cursed the emperor, nor did I dare to destroy the evidence. Instead, I kept it privately and strictly prohibited the news. I have failed the teachings of the saint and the deep grace of your majesty, and I cannot escape the blame even if I die!"

After saying that, Lord Xu slammed his head against the ground with a bang, leaving a big bruise on his forehead. And the tears that he had prepared in the sedan chair finally burst out at this moment. In an instant, he sobbed and cried, and the tears flowed freely, wetting a large area of ​​his official uniform!

——Under the current circumstances, if you dare to mention the word "Jade Cicada" again, the emperor will ejaculate on the spot and it will be a complete mess. And when the emperor finished spraying, the next thing to be sprayed would be Xu Shaohu's head. At this critical moment, Lord Xu simply stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point, forcibly diverting attention.

Hearing this sad and sincere cry, Master Feixuan's eyes twitched unconsciously. During the Great Ceremony Debate, he fought against a hundred people alone. He had seen countless tricks such as crying, fasting, and threatening to use one's head to grab the ground. Of course, he would not be moved by Xu Shaohu's tears. But Xu Shaohu's long speech had only one sentence that was particularly important, which immediately caught the emperor's attention:

"Revenge? What revenge?"

"This evil book that insults Your Majesty must be a magic trick of the devil." Xu Shaohu prostrated himself on the ground, his voice still choking with sobs: "I just flipped through a few pages and felt terrified - how can I provoke such a resentful demon at will! He placed the magic in my home, and I don't know what it is for; but if I leak it to the outside world and accidentally ruin his plan, this demon will try to take revenge, and I'm afraid my family will all be killed without a burial place..."

At this point, Lord Xu burst into tears, pouring out all the anger and fear he had felt since he got the demon book. His grief and fear were so genuine that even Old Deng couldn't help but stare at him:

"Since ancient times, demons have been inferior to virtues, but how can my virtues resist such a powerful demon! In the Taoist books, what miserable fates have mortals who have offended demons suffered? Your Majesty, I was afraid of retaliation, so I made a wrong decision!"

The wailing sound was mournful and moving, rising with the cold wind in the hall and pouring directly into the smoke-filled altar. Master Feixuan stood behind the altar, his face turning pale and blue as he cried, and gradually became unpredictable.

——Lord Xu did not dare to hand over the "demon book" to the king because he was afraid of destroying the strategy of the evildoer behind the scenes and incurring tragic revenge; if Lord Feixuan arbitrarily dealt with Lord Xu who was chosen by the evildoer, would he not be afraid of revenge?

With just a few words of question and answer, Lord Xu hit the most hidden soft spot in the emperor's heart!

The big model of officialdom is the big model of officialdom. At this critical juncture of life and death, Lord Xu immediately made the most correct judgment - with Master Feixuan's moral level and his stinginess, it is impossible to expect to impress him with his merits and qualifications or even by begging for mercy. The only thing that can move him slightly or even make him hesitate is the unpredictable and unavoidable threat!

A knife must be hung on the neck of the True Lord, and the horror of "revenge" must be exaggerated as much as possible. Only then will the most holy and wise emperor be willing to put aside his status, empathize with the fear of his subjects, and think about his own ending. In the face of unpredictable sorcery, is there really a big difference between being an emperor or a subject?

Putting aside their identities as monarch and subject, Xu Shaohu and Master Feixuan actually had a lot in common; they were of similar age, from similar places of origin, and even their hypocritical, vicious, and pretentious demeanor was exactly the same. Monsters cannot be defeated by virtue, monsters cannot be defeated by virtue. Now Xu Shaohu is so frightened that he tears off his mask and admits that he lacks virtue and cannot defeat monsters. Then what about True Lord Feixuan?

As for whether Zhenjun has virtue or not, he himself should be quite clear about it.

So, after venting his fear of "revenge", Lord Xu's crying became louder and louder, with tears streaming down his face and his whole body convulsing, no longer showing any of the dignity of a clean leader. At this point, the more real and concrete his fear was, the more it would arouse the emperor's fear. Only if he lets fear overwhelm his anger and disgust will he have a chance of survival.

Sure enough, the emperor, who was always unreasonable, was stunned and remained silent, and did not scold his subject for his inappropriate behavior. After Lord Xu finished crying melodiously, he slowly spoke:

"You're afraid of this!"

He didn't even let me shut up and listen to the trial? That looks like a lot of fun!

Lord Xu's heart was slightly moved, and he answered with sobs:

"Your Majesty, you may not know that I have been in a state of mental depression for the past half month, with my five internal organs feeling hot and dry, and I often have blood in my stool. How do you know that the demon is not resentful and has already attacked me in secret? I was so frightened that I secretly hid the demon book and hesitated to make a decision..."

Since it was "hidden privately", it was not shown to outsiders; the emperor's terrible past was not spread, so the crime could be reduced. As for the so-called "blood in the stool"... judging from the secrets leaked from the Heavenly Book that Zhenjun read, this probably has nothing to do with any demon's "revenge". It's more like an allergy to certain ingredients in the elixir, which triggered a strong reaction. After all, Lord Xu is not a natural elixir saint like the emperor, so it is understandable that he cannot benefit from the power of the golden elixir.

But when he thought of this, Master Fei Xuan suddenly frowned:

"When did you get this Heaven...Demon Book?"

Why am I so alienated from the various contents about the golden elixir mentioned earlier?

Lord Xu kowtowed and confessed honestly:

"It was on the third day of last month when I was sitting alone at home, meditating, when suddenly there was a strange light in the air and an indescribable sound, and then this book fell down."

On the third day of last month...

The emperor's expression changed rapidly. He didn't even bother to care about Lord Xu who was still lying on the ground. He took out his own heavenly book from his sleeve and began to flip through it. But after a moment, he stared at the "error log" in the book, with his eyes bulging.

If Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou remembered correctly, this was the moment when he was furious and poked and poked the Heavenly Book, forcing it to a "system crash"; at that time, the Heavenly Book suddenly became scorching hot, and the pages were covered with words like [404] and [锟斤热], which made Master Feixuan, who had gradually calmed down, full of doubts. He was afraid that the banished immortal was displeased and was using secret spells to cast some strange and mysterious spells. He even fasted for a day and went hungry for several meals to atone for his sins... But now it seems that whether the banished immortal is happy or not is another matter, but those strange secret spells are probably targeting Xu Shaohu, who was living alone in the quiet room at that time!

Why did the Heavenly Book target Xu Shaohu?

For a moment, he was indescribably surprised, but more of it was a subtle dissatisfaction - he, Feixuan Zhenjun, Qingmiao Emperor, Wanshou Emperor, had practiced for more than decades, worked diligently and frugally, served God with sincerity, and worked day and night without carrying anything with him. It was reasonable that they could be favored by the banished immortals and be given the heavenly book. But how could Xu Shaohu, a hypocritical, disgusting and despicable person, also get the Heavenly Book?

What level is he, to be worthy of reading the same book with me?

The most important thing is that no one knows what kind of inexplicable fate the banished immortal had with the royal family. Nine out of ten articles are all about renovating the yin and yang royal ancestors, and at the same time revealing some black material that can make the parties involved faint with shame. In the past, it was not a big deal for one person to appreciate it, but now it is specially released for the enjoyment of the emperor and his subjects. The sense of shame has been magnified at least ten times!

Thinking of all the horrific revelations in the Heavenly Book, Zhenjun's anger and embarrassment surged up again!

But when you are really furious, you should not shout and despise God. He forced himself to remain calm and spoke indifferently:

"Words are not enough. I will neither accept nor deny such one-sided statements as living alone in a quiet room and having a strange book dropped from the sky. Lord Xu is a high-ranking official, so I have to give you some face. However, I have to check all the servants in your house to find out the clues. This is also a good way to clear your name - are there any accomplices or backers behind this book, and are there any heroes who are colluding with the Xu family to plot evil? We will find out after checking!"

Since directly dealing with Xu Shaohu might lead to some "retaliation", we should change our thinking and start with the servants. The East Factory has a wide variety of skills, enough to make the Xu family members die and come back to life more than a hundred times. The Xu family members suffered a lot, and only then could Zhenjun vent his anger smoothly!

Although it was to "save face", the palace personally ordered a search of the residences of important officials. As long as the news leaked out, Lord Xu's political life would be over immediately, and he would surely die in the future. Seeing the wind and waves rising again and the majestic imperial edict approaching, Xu Shaohu remained extremely calm, performed the rituals and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

The emperor said in a cold tone: "You have nothing to say?"

"Thunderbolts and raindrops are all grace from the emperor. The emperor is like heaven, and punishment for his subjects is also a reward." Lord Xu said calmly, "I am a Jinshi appointed by your majesty, a disciple of the emperor, and your majesty is my mentor. For more than 20 years, I have served as an imperial censor in the Supervisory Office, and then was promoted to Chief Censor, then to the Minister of Personnel, and then to the Minister of State, until a few years ago, I was promoted to the cabinet. Every step was a great favor from your majesty. If you want to say a backer, your majesty is my backer. My life, even my food, clothing, and daily expenses of my family, the cleaning and welcoming servants, are all given by your majesty. I can't repay you even if I die, so I can only kowtow to thank you!"

This sentence was spoken calmly, modestly and respectfully, behaving like a senior official. Even though the emperor was extremely passionate, he had to calm down temporarily. As soon as his anger subsided, Zhenjun keenly realized the key point in Xu Shaohu's words - the servants who cleaned and served in the Xu Mansion were all selected by the East Factory and appointed by the Imperial Household Department, and there was no telling how many spies and informants were among them; they reported daily during the day and nightly, delivering news to the palace all the time.

Now that a major case has suddenly emerged, not to mention how ridiculous it is to let the East Factory try its own people, if the Xu family really has any "connections" or "accomplices", then doesn't that mean even the East Factory can't be trusted? !

The East Factory cannot be trusted, and the important officials in the cabinet cannot be trusted. Now that the emperor has picked up the knife, who should he kill?

If he really has so many accomplices, can he, Master Feixuan, still hold on to his position firmly?

...Moreover, it does not seem reasonable to hastily accuse the East Factory of being involved in the Heavenly Book. Master Feixuan has more than one intelligence channel. Judging from other sources, the East Factory has been relatively normal in the past few months. Even if there have been one or two unusual behaviors, they were mostly due to the emperor's madness and confusion, and had nothing to do with the eunuchs. Those in power can certainly doubt everything, but arbitrarily destroying crucial tools of violence is still not conducive to unity.

Although he was crawling on the ground, Xu Shaohu could still feel the hesitation of Lao Deng above him. This subtle hesitation confirmed his guess - Lao Deng actually didn't have much information, so it was difficult to make an accurate judgment; now the violent and uncontrollable wrath of the king had been dragged away by time, and all that was left was the inexplicable suspicion; as long as he tried his best to muddy the waters, there would still be a glimmer of hope!

He raised his head decisively, looking sad:

"Besides, I have committed a heinous crime that should not be punished. Your Majesty is willing to preserve my dignity, which is already a mercy outside the law, and it makes me feel inexplicably sad! When I received this strange book that day, I couldn't help but have some delusions in my heart! In the past few months, the political tide in the court has been turbulent, and Prime Minister Xia has gradually wanted to retire. I overestimated my own abilities and also wanted to be the Prime Minister. Therefore, when the strange book fell from the sky, I was confused and hid it secretly, thinking that it was an order from heaven to let me assist the holy monarch and take charge of the central government..."

"Confused and disoriented"? Zhenjun frowned and picked up the heavenly book that the eunuch had searched from Lord Xu's house. He was still furious just now and threw it away immediately after taking a glance. Now, after a closer look, he found that although the cover of Xu's heavenly book was similar, it was slightly different:

《Work Log (Copy)》

Deputy means assist. The Cabinet is the deputy to the Central Government, so it is not surprising that Xu Shaohu had some delusional thoughts when he saw such a name.

Of course, these false thoughts are just false thoughts. After Xia Yan expressed his intention to retire, Master Feixuan considered the possibility of a clean official taking over. But now that Xu Shaohu had caused such a catastrophic disaster, both his political life and his personal life were in jeopardy. Of course, the only candidate for the cabinet's chief minister is...

——Wait, Yan Fenyi can also be considered the “deputy of the central government”, right?

If Xu Shaohu received a copy of the Heavenly Book, then Yan Fenyi, who was equally keen on fame and status and eager to become the deputy of the cabinet, was really ignorant and innocent?

Yan Fenyi's cabinet ranking is one place higher than Xu Shaohu!

The alarm bells in Master Feixuan's heart suddenly rang again. He hesitated for a moment, then took out his heavenly book and turned to the page that showed the delivery file when the system suddenly crashed. He clicked on "Detailed Information" on it.

The book of heaven made a sound of dripping (Xu Ge Lao, who was lying on the ground, shuddered with fear), and a page popped up:

[Unable to query, please enter the verification code]

What is a “verification code”? Master Feixuan was a little confused, but he had another way - from the practice of the past ten days, he found that in addition to poking with fingers, this book could also respond to certain special commands, and the response was very fast.

In the past, I would always avoid other people when giving commands, but now I can’t care about that anymore. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly:

"Yan Fenyi!"

The emperor's words echoed in the empty palace. Lord Xu, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head blankly. Master Feixuan caught a glimpse from afar and couldn't help but feel slightly relieved - he had just tried it, and Xu Shaohu's "copy" did not have any click and voice command functions. As expected, a deputy is only a deputy, and he is ultimately inferior to the emperor!

No matter what the banished immortal's intentions were, at least he knew the hierarchy!

[15 entries related to "Yan Fenyi" were found, please enter the pin code to view]

What the hell is this ghost painting?

Master Fei Xuan cleared his throat again, intending to let Xu Shaohu hear clearly:

"Yan Fenyi!"

[Please do not query repeatedly; enter the pin code to view the results]

"Yan Fenyi, also known as Yan Song!"

[Please do not repeat the query... Kun Kun Baking Hot - Artificial intelligence is analyzing your request]

Master Feixuan:? ! !

He was at a loss, but he couldn't lose face in front of his subjects, so he raised his voice:

"Does Yan Fenyi from the Cabinet have a copy?"

[Artificial intelligence cannot understand your pronunciation... OK, a copy will be sent to "that Yan Fenyi"]

·

Mu Qi finally changed out of his vomit-covered clothes and rubbed his entire body dry with all his strength. He came out of the bathing place dejectedly, only to see several eunuchs hurrying past him, almost knocking over the resting old minister along the way.

Mu Qi was puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Perhaps to flatter the prince of Duke Mu, the eldest son of Duke Xu beside him whispered:

"It should be that the emperor has issued an urgent order, and everyone is alarmed."

"What's the urgent order?"

The eldest son of Duke Xu hesitated for a moment, but still answered in a low voice - the emperor's order could not be easily spread, but they were waiting outside the palace, and heard a donkey-like roar from afar:

"It seemed to be something like, 'Call Yan Fenyi here, call Yan Fenyi here!' I couldn't hear anything else..."

Mu Qi: “…Ah?”