Chapter 169 Chapter 169 is the only genuine version...
After Changfeng finished speaking, he stared straight at the emperor. His arms, which were only left with bones and a little flesh, were struggling to support his upper body, and rotten pus was flowing all over the ground.
Prince Li's breathing stopped, his fingers clenched tightly as he asked again, "Did you poison the late emperor?"
"yes."
Want to abandon him? Hahahaha. Changfeng laughed silently, his breath vibrating and making the Taoist robe on his chest swell up.
"Yes, I am a poor Taoist."
He really admitted it?!
Crash.
There was a sudden commotion among the students who had secretly followed, and some of them couldn't help but hide aside and whisper to each other.
"Isn't it true that the deposed crown prince was wrongly accused?"
"It's hard to say, what if it was ordered by the deposed crown prince?"
"That's right. Otherwise, what good would it be for him to be a good Taoist priest and try to murder the late emperor?"
Not only the students were confused, but others were as well.
The student in blue clothes suddenly said, "Who benefits..."
His voice was neither too loud nor too low, and the surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment.
They involuntarily followed the blue-robed student's gaze towards the emperor, then quickly moved away guiltily, lowering their heads and looking submissive.
Gu Yican raised his eyebrows and turned around and said, "Yaoyao..." His voice paused, and the last syllable rose, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Zhizhuo's complexion looked a little bad, not just bad, but also had a grayish and sickly look.
“It stinks.”
Gu Zhizhuo wrinkled his nose. No wonder even the cat didn't want to come.
The foul smell lingering in her nose made her feel suffocated and unable to breathe.
Gu Yican fanned her with a fan, which made a rustling sound and the pendants banged against each other.
"Do you want to go down first?"
"don't want."
It’s so exciting, how can you not watch it!
She leaned towards Gu Yican and whispered, "Changfeng and King Jin must have had some kind of agreement a long time ago."
Therefore, King Jin pushed all the blame onto Changfeng, not fearing that Changfeng would bite back.
Changfeng took all the blame on his own and did not bring down King Jin.
Prince Li stared at Changfeng's throat, which had a hole in it, and continued to ask, "Why?"
"In order to become the Imperial Master..." Changfeng spoke with difficulty, "If the late emperor is seriously ill, I will have the opportunity to show my face in front of the late emperor and gain his trust. From then on, I will serve him."
That's it? Prince Li was shocked and couldn't believe his ears.
He asked sharply, "Did anyone instruct you?"
Prince Li, who was always kind and tolerant, had a stern face, with rage burning in his pupils, but he tried hard to endure it and not lose his composure.
Everyone held their breath and concentrated, not even daring to breathe.
Changfeng turned his head towards them, and his neck made a creaking sound.
After a while, he raised his hand with difficulty and pointed his pus-soaked fingers at the emperor.
Veins bulged on the emperor's forehead, and his heart almost stopped beating.
"emperor?!"
Prince Li exclaimed softly.
The emperor's face turned cold. He made a gesture. Commander Zhou of the Jinwu Guard clenched his sword, took half a step forward, and waited for the emperor's signal to kill the demon immediately.
Changfeng let out a low chuckle, and then his arms fell limply to the ground, as if he was just weak and unable to move.
Chang Feng panted and said, "No one ordered me to do this. It was all because of my greed that I made a big mistake."
Prince Li's eyes moved back and forth between him and the emperor, and he continued to ask, "How did you poison the late emperor?" His voice became colder and harder.
"Yes..." Changfeng licked his lips.
The emperor suddenly clutched the sleeves of his dragon robe.
Blood dripped from Changfeng's throat. He raised his hand to wipe it, and even his fingertips were covered with black and red blood.
He said, "I mixed the poison into an ink stick."
Xie Jing was standing beside the emperor and noticed that he was a little stiff. When he heard the word "ink stick," his scalp tingled. He remembered that a few months ago, he had stumbled upon a half-used ink stick in the imperial study, inscribed with the words: "Respectfully pay homage to the emperor, and may he live long."
It was his father's handwriting.
Xie Jing was a little surprised at the time. Why was the birthday gift that his father gave to the late emperor still with his father?
Chang Feng continued, "...When the late emperor used ink, he would slowly absorb the poison."
"This poison takes effect very slowly. It will take... quite some time before the late emperor's health begins to show signs of decline."
The emperor's little finger was trembling, and he couldn't be allowed to continue.
Changfeng stared at the emperor, his lips twitching. "I had originally thought that when the imperial physician was unable to do anything, I would then volunteer to heal the late emperor. Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened, and that delayed my efforts."
"So much so that the late emperor died suddenly."
"Afterwards, I returned to Shangxu Monastery, went into seclusion, and devoted myself to practicing Taoism to atone for my sins. Ahem."
His internal organs seemed to have rotted, and every time he coughed, he would spit out some black pieces of flesh that looked like internal organs.
After saying this, he almost used up his last bit of strength.
He was lying on the ground, gasping for breath. His miserable appearance was too miserable to look at.
No one noticed that the hand hidden in his sleeve was drawing twisted runes with the blood on his fingertips.
Prince Li's body swayed from side to side and he almost lost his balance.
He forced out a bitter and sorrowful laugh, and said in a high-pitched voice: "Why are you blaming the prince?"
"explain!"
Changfeng: "...I am a poor Taoist."
Changfeng looked dazed.
He had grown up in Shangxu Monastery and had never suffered any setbacks before entering the secular world. Those who practice Taoism must practice in the secular world to achieve perfection, and Changfeng was no exception.
Changfeng left Shangxu Temple with great ambitions and came to the capital to become the national master of Daqi.
After being defeated by Master Yuncheng, he was frustrated and met the equally frustrated Prince Rong. Prince Rong was drunk that day and told him a lot, including his indignation at the late emperor's partiality and his jealousy of the crown prince.
Prince Rong said that if he were the eldest son, he would do better than the crown prince.
If he could sit on that chair, he would surely be able to push Daqi into prosperity.
But the late emperor never took him seriously. His heart and eyes were filled with the crown prince, and he was always planning for the crown prince. Even the crown prince's grandson was more respected than him in front of the late emperor.
He was dissatisfied.
It was precisely because of this strong sense of injustice and competitiveness that Changfeng saw a trace of dragon energy in Prince Rong, an extremely shallow dragon energy.
He had an idea.
He can support Prince Rong to ascend the throne, and Prince Rong also promised him that he would make him the national teacher in the future, and he would become the leader of the Taoist sect in the world.
This is his biggest wish in his life.
The deposed crown prince has great luck, so he must die.
Changfeng smiled self-deprecatingly.
He put in all his efforts, but in the end, he became a discarded pawn.
Prince Li raised his voice and shouted, "Speak!"
"I did not put the blame on the Crown Prince. It was the late Emperor who misunderstood."
"I plead guilty," Changfeng said in one breath, "and I only ask for death."
The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Changfeng still remembered the original agreement.
He nodded to Changfeng: "I agree." The meaning of these four words was somewhat ambiguous, as if he was agreeing to his request of "only wanting to die", but also seemed to be agreeing to something else.
Changfeng bowed his head in thanks and drew the last few runes with difficulty.
"So that's actually the case." A student exclaimed, "Then the deposed Crown Prince...isn't this the greatest injustice of all time?"
"If it weren't for this evil Taoist, how could the late emperor have died so suddenly, and why would the deposed crown prince have committed suicide? They have been cursed by the world for nothing, and even after death they cannot rest in peace."
"The late emperor."
An elderly scholar burst into tears, weeping bitterly, his head bowed and his feet stomping. "Do you know that the Crown Prince's death was unjust? The Crown Prince treated you with respect in everything, how could he have poisoned you? You have been deceived by this evil Taoist!"
"The prince is innocent!"
Most of the students who have not yet entered the official career are very emotional. When he cried, everyone else cried too.
There was continuous crying.
Even these old ministers were feeling heavy-hearted.
The deposed crown prince has the potential to be a wise ruler. If it weren't for the disaster that happened back then, Daqi would have ushered in a prosperous and glorious era.
"Please, His Majesty, severely punish the evildoer!"
"He deserves to be torn into pieces by five horses."
“The demon’s death is not a pity!
The Meridian Gate Tower was in an uproar.
Gu Zhizhuo's gaze followed Xie Yingchen, looking across the crowd at his profile, feeling bitter in his heart.
In his previous life, until his death, the deposed Crown Prince still bore the infamy of patricide. He and the Crown Princess were not even allowed into the imperial mausoleum, nor were they worshipped by the descendants of the Xie family. Their remains were buried in the wilderness, and a few years later, their graves were dug up and discarded.
She knew that the young master's pain and unwillingness could not be forgotten until his death.
And she couldn't do anything.
Finally, the long-cherished wish of two lives was fulfilled.
"Brother, how long will it take for the next batch of Zhenbei Army to arrive?"
They had previously discussed transferring 30,000 Zhenbei troops to the capital, but now only 1,000 have arrived and have just been settled.
This time, Gu Yican went out to return to the northern border to mobilize troops.
"The next batch of 5,000 people will arrive within half a month."
The march of tens of thousands of people was too eye-catching, so Gu Yican dispersed the people and moved slowly in groups.
There is not enough food and supplies. After these 5,000 people, it will probably take until October for the next batch to arrive.
The two of them leaned their heads against each other and talked in low voices.
"Sister, 30,000 people might not be enough. We can only mobilize 23,000 at most."
The Zhenbei Army was supposed to have 200,000 soldiers, but due to years of constant fighting with the Northern Di and constant casualties, its strength was never full. At most, it had only 120,000 or 130,000 soldiers, including disabled and sick old soldiers and some newly recruited soldiers.
Add to that the heavy casualties from last year's battle, where even Gu Baibai and Gu Yican were nearly killed. Currently, the Zhenbei Army has fewer than 60,000 men ready for battle. As Gu Yican said, recuperating and counterattacking Beidi would take at least two to three years, even with the full support of the imperial court.
"There's been a group of extremely aggressive horse bandits in the northern border lately, so we need to leave someone behind to guard our home."
Gu Zhizhuo nodded: "That's fine."
Now in the capital, the Gu family only has 3,000 people from the Qianji Camp, which makes them feel a little uneasy.
As if sensing Gu Zhizhuo's gaze, Xie Yingchen turned around and looked over.
Their perspectives met in mid-air, and Xie Yingchen's tense shoulders relaxed, his brows softened, as if even the dark clouds would turn into clear skies the moment he saw her.
Huh?
Xie Yingchen's smile disappeared. He noticed that Gu Zhizhuo's face looked a little strange, and he felt a weakness he had never felt before.
This realization made Xie Yingchen feel nervous.
He remembered the dim companion star when he and Gu Zhizhuo watched the stars together last time.
Later, Xie Yingchen also went to ask Master Wuwei for advice.
The master said that the backlash from Heaven that Yaoyao endured for defying the will of Heaven and changing her fate was still piling up step by step.
Xie Yingchen walked over quickly: "Yaoyao." Only her figure was reflected in his pupils.
Xie Yingchen touched her slightly cold cheek and said, "Let's go to Taiqing Temple later and let Master take a look at you."
"Hey, hey. I'm still here."
Gu Yican pulled his hand away from his sister's face and said dissatisfiedly, "Don't ask again. What this evil Taoist said is at least three-quarters false. There is not much truth in his mouth."
"No more questions."
Xie Yingchen's full attention was on Gu Zhizhuo. Upon hearing this, he simply said, "A monk has no relatives, so his sins cannot bring disaster to the Daoist sect. He has no weaknesses."
Gu Zhizhuo deeply agreed with this.
She suddenly smiled and said, "Cancan, if someone told you that the late emperor was cursed to death by Changfeng, would you believe it?"
"I don't believe anyone else except you." Gu Yican fanned his sister to get rid of the smell while glaring at Xie Yingchen. "If he said it, I wouldn't believe it even more."
Who would believe it if they hadn’t experienced it themselves?
Especially those students who read the books of sages will not believe in superstitious things.
If we insist on questioning him in public, even the fact that the deposed prince was wrongly accused will become unbelievable.
Just enough.
Everyone could tell that what Changfeng said was not complete or detailed, so they were left to guess and spread the news themselves.
Secretly guiding them to discover the truth on their own.
People often have great faith in their own discoveries.
The students became even more noisy, crying for the prince, shouting about the death penalty, and reciting the name of the late emperor. The chaotic voices mixed together, and the blue-clothed student was at the forefront, trying to take advantage of the situation.
Prince Li finally calmed down and wanted to persuade Xie Yingchen to stop and not cause unrest among the people.
Prince Li supported Xie Yingchen's regency, but rationally, he did not want the uncle and nephew to fight each other and engage in internal strife, which would give foreign invaders an opportunity to take advantage.
When he turned around, Xie Yingchen was gone.
Prince Li:?
He could only bow to the emperor and ask, "This evil Taoist priest plotted to murder the late emperor and should be punished with death. Please make the decision, Your Majesty."
The emperor's face turned pale and tense. He asked in a cold voice, "Changfeng, you attempted to murder the late emperor. Do you admit your guilt?"
"I know my crime."
"I hereby declare that the evil Taoist Changfeng, who plotted to murder the late emperor, must be executed immediately."
"Thank you for your kindness."
Changfeng bowed his head.
He doesn't want to die.
He was only in his forties, he shouldn't have died like this. Even if the backlash turned him into a half-human, half-ghost, he didn't want to die.
The Yin siblings wanted him dead, that was his consequence, he could accept it.
However, now the emperor and the Prince of Jin are forcing him to die and let him take the blame alone. In this case, he will not let them step on his blood and enjoy the wealth of the world alone.
Changfeng slowly drew the last rune. He looked at the emperor and spoke with difficulty, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report to you. Your Majesty, do you know that Ji Shi, Ji Shi..."
As he spoke, he coughed again and his voice gradually weakened.
"Ji Shi is because..."
The emperor didn't hear clearly and subconsciously took a few steps forward.
Xie Jing was so frightened that he almost blurted out to shut him up. If he said it was Ke'er who did it, would his father think that he was behind it and be greatly disappointed in him?
Thinking of this, he nervously took a few steps forward and supported the emperor.
The closer he got, the more the emperor could smell the strong stench of decay, and he felt nauseous.
The emperor walked to the iron cage and asked again: "Speak!"
"Ji is, is your good son..."
The emperor only saw his lips moving and could vaguely hear him say the words "Ji" and "son".
"What did you say?"
The emperor suppressed the nausea in his chest and signaled Jin Weiyi to open the cage.
"Father." Xie Jing's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He quickly advised, "This demon is full of lies. How can you believe it? Your dragon body is more important."
The emperor was unwilling to give up.
Ji and that bastard are the biggest stains in his life. He must find out who is harming him.
"Open!"
The Jinyiwei opened the cage.
Xie Jing clenched his fists. The emperor took another step closer. He squatted in front of the iron cage door and watched Changfeng crawling towards him.
Changfeng looked up and smiled, his smile was creepy.
"I'm here, tell me quickly. I'm listening."
"I offer my body as a sacrifice..."
Gu Zhizhuo: "Cancan, is Changfeng's hand drawing something?"
Gu Yican had been staring at his sister. Apart from the first glance, he had not paid much attention to Changfeng. When he heard this, he looked over.
Changfeng lay on the ground with his head facing the emperor and his hands hidden under his wide Taoist robe.
The wide sleeves of his Taoist robe trembled slightly, and his movements were so small that if one had not practiced martial arts and had sharp eyes and ears, one would not have noticed it at all.
Gu Zhizhuo looked at the twisted lines vaguely forming in the iron cage and murmured, "Use the earth as yellow paper, use blood as cinnabar, and use my body as a sacrifice..."
She exclaimed, "He's drawing talismans."
Chang Feng: "...with blood as the guide, I curse you, father and son will kill each other, and die...at the hands of your own son."
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