Chapter 251 Zhuge Liang Fuli nodded, and then...

Fu Li nodded and asked, "How old is Bai Huaxiu now?"

Immortal official Xu Yuan said, "She was abducted at the age of fifteen, twelve years ago. She is thirty-seven years old this year."

"Thirty-seven, she's in the prime of life." Fu Li pondered for a moment, her brows furrowed slightly. "But she's just a mortal, forced to live with a monster for twelve years. I'm afraid she's been physically and mentally scarred, and weaker than her peers."

Having said that, she couldn't help but sigh.

Even if it is possible to restore order and rescue Baihuaxiu back to Baoxiang Kingdom, is there still a place for her in the court?

Even if there is, after twelve years of torture, how many years can she live?

Seeing her frown and sigh, Nezha immediately understood her concerns and suggested, "Baihuaxiu's tribulation was disrupted by an external force, and this external force was a celestial deity. Regardless, we in Heaven have a responsibility. Giving her some compensation wouldn't be excessive, would it?"

Fu Li nodded and was about to speak when the gatekeeper came in with a report: "Great Celestial Venerable, a man named Zhuge is holding the token of the Demon Saint Ji Meng and is requesting an audience at the South Celestial Gate. He claims to have achieved success in his cultivation and is here to report to the Great Celestial Venerable."

"Zhuge?"

Upon hearing the surname, Fu Li immediately knew who it was and said happily, "I know this person. We agreed on this long ago. Please invite him in. I'm going to use him."

The general went out that day, and soon he led in a middle-aged man in a dark robe, a feather fan, and a scarf.

The man stepped forward, hung the feather fan in his hand on his waist, and bowed, saying: "I, the wandering Zhuge Liang from the mountains, pay my respects to the Great Celestial Venerable."

Fu Li said, "Get up quickly, no need to be so polite."

Zhuge Liang said solemnly, "I am deeply grateful to the Great Celestial Venerable for his favor and guidance. My achievements today are entirely due to the Great Celestial Venerable's help. With such a great favor, how could I dare to be disrespectful?"

Fu Li laughed, pointed at him and said to Nezha, "See? Lü Buwei, who is so adaptable, actually raised a conservative person."

Nezha sneered, "You can't blame Lu Buwei for this. He was already so old when he joined the sect, and his personality was already set. How can he be changed?"

Fu Li was surprised: "Did you get any favors from him? Otherwise, why would you speak for him?"

Nezha sighed and shook his head, saying, "I didn't accept his benefits. But now he's working under Master Zhao and is a close confidant of Master Zhao. If I were to offend him, he wouldn't need to do anything else. He'd just wait for the right opportunity and say a few slanderous words to Master Zhao. That would be enough for me to bear."

Fu Li pushed him and scolded him with a smile, "Go to hell! My disciple is still here. What kind of person are you talking about? I'll sue you when I get back."

Zhuge Liang stood below, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, pretending he heard nothing.

The couple joked for a while, and Fu Li offered him a seat, saying, "You've come at the perfect time. I'm currently facing a difficult situation. Please listen and offer some advice."

As he spoke, he gestured to the immortal official Xu Yuan, and Xu Yuan told him about how Kuimulang had disrupted Baihuaxiu's tribulation.

She was also very observant and saw that Fu Li intended to cultivate Zhuge Liang. She revealed Nezha's idea and Fu Li's attitude in her words.

Zhuge Liang understood what was going on and asked, "Does the Great Celestial Venerable want a piece of steel that has been tempered a hundred times, or a sword that has been made quickly?"

After hearing this, Fu Li guessed a little bit about what he meant and said with a smile, "So what if it's steel tempered a hundred times? So what if it's a sword made in a flash?"

Zhuge Liang said solemnly, "Steel that has been tempered a hundred times possesses just the right amount of flexibility and is unyielding. Whether it's a sword, spear, sword, or halberd, as long as the Great Celestial Venerable desires it, there's nothing it can't be formed into, and once formed, there's nothing it can't endure. As for a sword that's quickly forged, it's sharp when first used, but that sharpness is only temporary. The slightest setback will cause the blade's spine to break, turning it into scrap metal."

Fu Li and Nezha looked at each other and said solemnly, "Of course it requires steel that has been tempered a hundred times."

Zhuge Liang said, "In that case, we can just let the matter of Baihuaxiu run its course and ignore the Heavenly Court."

Fu Li smiled and looked at the immortal official Xu Yuan: "Did you hear that?"

"I heard and understand," Xu Yuan said. She then turned to Zhuge Liang and said sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Zhuge, for your advice."

Zhuge Liang was slightly stunned before he bowed in return: "I was just speaking casually, it doesn't deserve the word 'advice'." But in his heart he felt sad: since he entered the officialdom through the imperial examination, no one has called him "Sir" for a long time.

Xu Yuan didn't know what was on his mind. As she had other matters at home, she didn't delay and said to Fu Li, "The Purple Star Lord is still waiting for my reply, so I will take my leave now."

"Go ahead. Tell Zheng'er this: Be humble and patient, and things will go smoothly if you take your time. If you rush things, it will probably backfire."

Xu Yuan smiled and said, "I will definitely convey the Great Celestial Venerable's words. You don't know that after the Star Lord discovered this matter, he deeply regretted it. He asked me to report it because he was ashamed and felt embarrassed to see you."

Fu Li said with a stern face, "Alright, you don't have to speak well of him anymore. Don't I know him? Tell him to be more careful next time. If he makes a mistake like this again, no one will clean up his mess."

Of course Xu Yuan knew that she was just pretending and did not really want to blame Ying Zheng, so she smiled, bowed, and walked out.

After sending her away, Fu Li walked down the imperial steps and approached Zhuge Liang. She asked, "My Pixiang Palace is still short of an immortal official in charge of documents. I don't have a high rank. Are you willing to take on this position?"

Zhuge Liang said, "I am grateful for the great kindness of the Great Heavenly Lord. How dare I not obey your orders?"

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "May I ask, Great Celestial Venerable, is the Purple Star Lord that the immortal official just mentioned my Great Qin Shi Huangdi?"

Fu Li said: "Yes, it's him."

Zhuge Liang instantly became excited and blurted out: "When can I pay my respects to the First Emperor?"

That’s the First Emperor!

During his lifetime, he followed the 14th generation of Qin, and they got along well with each other throughout their lives, and together they completed the second revival of the Qin Dynasty.

Before his great achievements were accomplished, whenever the emperor and his minister got together, they would talk about the First Emperor the most, and often use his unification of the world to motivate themselves.

——No matter how difficult it is to revive the Qin Dynasty, can it be more difficult than the First Emperor unifying the world?

Fu Li raised her eyebrows: "I thought you would want to see Qin Shi Huang the Fourteenth more."

Zhuge Liang became even more excited: "Is His Majesty here too?"

He died of illness during the Northern Expedition against the Red-haired Barbarians. Immediately after his death, Fu Li cut off his soul, used a golden lotus root to rebuild his body, and went into seclusion to practice.

At that time, the fourteenth generation was still alive, so he certainly didn't know that after the fourteenth generation's death, his soul was sent to the Ziwei Palace by his merits.

Fu Li smiled and said, "You should go and complete the registration process first. Whether it's the First Emperor or the Fourteenth Emperor, we both serve in the Heavenly Court. Sooner or later, we'll meet."

Zhuge Liang also realized that he had lost his composure, and quickly calmed himself down, bowed and said, "Yes." But in his heart he was still thinking of the fourteenth generation Ying Huan, wondering when the king and his subject would meet again.

Fu Li arranged for two immortal officials to take him to the office, provided him with accommodation today, and awarded him an additional month's salary, asking him to return to his duties tomorrow.

After sending Zhuge Liang away, Fu Li was about to speak to Nezha when Nezha suddenly slapped his hand on the table and laughed, "As expected of our son, Wukong is truly thoughtful!"

As soon as she heard it, she knew it was the avatar from the High Heaven Palace who had seen something. She initially considered communicating with her own avatar, but after a moment's thought, she gave up and reached out to tug at Nezha's clothes, giving him a questioning look.

Nezha laughed and said, "Sister, you may not know this, but Master Wukong and his disciples have already subdued the Yellow Robe Monster and escorted Baihuaxiu back to the Baoxiang Kingdom palace. He took the Yellow Robe Monster's lies seriously in front of the civil and military officials and concubines, confirming Baihuaxiu's identity as the reincarnation of the fairy. All our previous concerns can be put aside now."

With the identity of a reincarnated fairy, even if someone wants to take advantage of the fact that Baihua Xiu was abducted by a monster, they have to carefully consider whether they can afford the consequences.

If Baihuaxiu was smart, she could use this public opinion to make up for the advantages she had lost in the past thirteen years.

As the couple was talking, the gatekeeper came in and reported, "Prince Wukong and the twenty-eight constellations have come up to heaven, carrying Kui Mulang."

Fu Li said, "Announce."

If Kuimulang had not used official business to satisfy his own selfish desires, this disaster should have ended after subduing the Yellow Robe Monster in the mortal world.

Now that he had broken the Heavenly Law, Wukong would naturally not condone him. Although the Twenty-Eight Mansions were his colleagues and fellow disciples, Fuli's administration of the Three Realms was extremely strict, and Kui Mulang's crime was so egregious that no one dared to plead for him.

The reason we were escorted here together this time was to show our last bit of kindness.

Soon, Wukong was in front, and the Golden Dog and the Wei Tu Pheasant among the Twenty-Eight Mansions were walking in the middle, pressing the Kui Mu Wolf, and the other Mansions were following behind. A group of people walked in in a mighty manner.

Because there were outsiders present, Wukong did not ask for any special treatment. He kowtowed with everyone else and called them "Great Heavenly Venerable" and "Marshal of the Central Altar".

Fu Li said, "Everyone, get up."

"Thank you, Great Lord."

All the immortals stood up one after another, but Kuimulang didn't dare to. He just knelt there with his head lowered, and no one could see his expression.

Fu Li ignored him and ordered, "Jiao Mu Jiao, go and invite the God of Justice. Kang Jin Long, go and invite the Supreme Lord Lao Jun."

She thought for a moment, realizing that all the immortals, except Yang Jian, were watching the live broadcast of Journey to the West in Lingxiao Palace. She then said, "Invite the two Star Gods, Zuo Fu and You Bi, from Zixiao Palace as well."

The two of them responded and left. Not long after, Taishang Laojun came in with Di Xin and Ji Kao. Fu Li ordered someone to give Taishang Laojun a seat and asked them to wait.

After about a cup of tea, Yang Jian followed Jiao Mujiao in and said, "Your Highness Yang Jian pays homage to the Great Celestial Lord."

Fu Li personally recounted Kuimu Lang's misdeeds, primarily to Yang Jian, who hadn't watched the live broadcast. Afterward, he said, "You are all important officials in the Heavenly Court. How do you think this matter should be handled?"

The scene was silent for a moment. Except for Taishang Laojun who was slightly closing his eyes and looking dazed, everyone else subconsciously held their breath. You could hear a pin drop in the entire Pixiang Hall.

"Why, no one's talking?" Fu Li said with a smile. "I'm not an unreasonable tyrant who won't listen to advice. If you have any ideas, just say them. Regardless of whether they're feasible or not, we in Heaven will never punish people for speaking."

She also directly mentioned his name: "Yang Jian, you are Lian Zhen Xingjun, the God of Justice, in charge of the criminal law of the three realms. How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Yang Jian glanced at Kuimu Lang and said sternly, "If an ordinary immortal breaks the laws of heaven, he should be punished according to the law. Kuimu Lang also has the duty of rewarding the good and punishing the evil. If a law enforcer breaks the law, his crime should be aggravated. As the chief minister, I reward the good and punish the evil, but I fail to supervise my colleagues properly. I should be punished as well."

The reason why he didn't speak before was because Kuimulang was, to some extent, his auxiliary god. The two had worked together for a long time, and even if he knew that the other had made a big mistake, he still felt a little bit reluctant.