Chapter 748 Low-level tactics
The crowd gasped in disbelief, their faces filled with astonishment.
"My mother is no jinx!" Zhao Sidan raised his arm to block Cheng Wanwan. "If you want to do anything, come at me!"
"The Imperial Advisor just said that if a nation has a malevolent star, it will gradually become a wicked and disrespectful country, with droughts and floods descending from the heavens..." Cheng Zhao said coldly, "But in fact, in the past four or five years, the Great Yu Kingdom has grown stronger and stronger, attracting more and more foreign countries to come and pay homage. The Great Yu Dynasty is a country governed by the Way of Heaven and a nation of propriety. The so-called droughts and floods are just insignificant hardships in the past few hundred years. These hardships cannot bring down the Great Yu Kingdom, nor can they bring down the people of the Great Yu Kingdom, nor can they prove that my second aunt is a malevolent star!"
His words were powerful, reasonable, and well-founded.
Madam Ruan exclaimed in approval, "Well said! I agree with Lord Cheng's words. Madam Sui is not a jinx, but a lucky star."
"In the past four or five years, how many merits has Lady Sui made?" Lady Lin said calmly. "A person who has made countless contributions to the Great Yu Dynasty and made the lives of the people better and better has been labeled as a jinx. How many people will be disheartened by this?"
Lord Zhang turned to the emperor on his high throne and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Advisor must have made a mistake..."
"Heaven's guidance never fails." The Grand Preceptor's gaze was cold and stern. "If you ladies do not believe me, then let's do it again. Please watch carefully."
He tossed the peach wood sword into the air once more, and the yellow talismans in his hand burst into flames, transforming into more than a dozen dark blue beams of light that all headed toward Cheng Wanwan.
Zhao Sanniu took off his coat and rushed towards the dark blue flames, but the fire could not be extinguished; instead, it grew stronger.
He simply grabbed Cheng Wanwan's arm and pulled her to the side: "There must be something fishy going on here, Mom, let's stand over there."
No matter where they went, the blue flames followed them.
The courtiers, who had initially been skeptical, suddenly changed their expressions and retreated in unison...
"What exactly is going on?"
"Could it be that Lady Sui is truly a jinx sent from heaven?"
"It is said that the former Crown Prince Xiao Jue was killed by Lady Sui's husband, who died in battle. If he wasn't a jinx, how could he communicate with ghosts?"
"No wonder a woman could become a second-rank noblewoman in just four or five years. It turns out there were ghosts and gods at work. It's utterly absurd!"
"..."
"Lady Sui is truly a jinx!" Princess Rongqing, standing on the high seat, exclaimed in shock. "Those blue flames, aren't they just the will-o'-the-wisps commonly seen in cemeteries? Why do these will-o'-the-wisps follow Lady Sui instead of others... I know Lady Sui has rendered countless merits and shouldn't be labeled a jinx, but I wonder if everyone remembers General Ding, the founder of the Great Yu Dynasty? He also rendered countless merits, but later, he colluded with foreign powers to invade our Great Yu Dynasty! A person can perform meritorious service to save the country, or he can betray and destroy the country; these are not contradictory."
“Princess Rongqing is right.” Cheng Wanwan smiled. “But she said one thing wrong. What do you mean by these will-o’-the-wisps following me instead of others? Well then, let’s give it a try.”
She took a step, walking towards Rongqing.
Wherever she went, the crowd quickly dispersed, but there were still people like Madam Ruan and Madam Zhang looking at her with worry, and the will-o'-the-wisp stubbornly floated above her head.
She walked down to the foot of the platform and then stopped.
She moved her hand inside her sleeve, then took it out and flicked it lightly in Rongqing's direction with her thumb and forefinger.
Suddenly, a cluster of blue flames lit up above Rongqing's head, and the palace maids and eunuchs beside her immediately exclaimed, "Princess..."
Rong Qing looked up, startled, and quickly backed away: "Impossible, impossible..."
However, no matter where she retreated, the flames relentlessly pursued her.
Cheng Wanwan flicked her finger again, and blue flames appeared on the heads of the palace servants attending Rong Qing.
She turned around, looked around at the crowd, and then at the wives of the ministers who had just led the charge. She did the same to them, adding another flame above their heads.
The crowd immediately erupted into chaos, with gasps and exclamations filling the air.
Cheng Wanwan cupped her hands and looked at the Emperor and Empress on the high platform: "These ghostly blue flames are indeed will-o'-the-wisps. They usually appear in cemeteries, and are more common in places with more graves. They are not mystical. Many years ago, one night when I went to sweep my deceased husband's grave, I discovered this strange phenomenon. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but when a thief broke into my house at night, I used these will-o'-the-wisps to play a trick on him. Since then, my house has been much quieter."
In fact, will-o'-the-wisps are phosphorescent lights.
After a person dies and is buried, the body produces a large amount of phosphine during the decomposition process. Because phosphorus has a very low ignition point, it can burn at around 40 degrees Celsius. After fully reacting with oxygen, it becomes what is commonly known as will-o'-the-wisp.
Just now, Cheng Wanwan only bought a tiny bit of phosphine from the mall, and when she lightly flicked it on her fingernail, the friction generated heat and it caught fire.
Why do will-o'-the-wisps follow people? Because will-o'-the-wisps are very light, they will naturally move with the air as long as there is air movement. This gives people the visual impression that the will-o'-the-wisps are chasing after people, thus causing great fear.
The emperor's expression was one of surprise and uncertainty: "Does Lady Sui mean that you can control this will-o'-the-wisp?"
"It's not really control, it's just for fun." Cheng Wanwan raised her head and turned to look in the direction of the Imperial Advisor. "The title of Imperial Advisor is the most revered master in the country. Because of his extremely high cultivation, he can observe celestial phenomena, perform divination, pray for rain, and do everything that ordinary people cannot. Therefore, the Emperor gave the Imperial Advisor the official rank of first grade and allowed him to enjoy the highest salary and honor in the Great Yu Dynasty. But I never expected that in such a situation, the Imperial Advisor would use such a petty trick to label someone as a jinx. Does the Emperor overestimate the Imperial Advisor, or does the Imperial Advisor think that the Emperor is only worthy of being fooled by such low-level methods?"
The Imperial Advisor was utterly shocked.
A hint of apprehension crept into his eyes as he looked at Cheng Wanwan.
He thought she was just an ignorant woman, and that after he did something, she would disappear from the capital...
But to his utter surprise, the woman had broken his technique.
"You audacious vixen!" The Imperial Advisor clasped his hands together and began to form hand seals. "I'll make sure you're destroyed today, you vixen!"
"The Supreme Jade Purity King...rules over the thirty-six heavens..."
He muttered incantations, and countless talismans burst into flames as the peach wood sword hurtled straight toward Cheng Wanwan's brow.
The four or five young Taoist priests he brought surrounded Cheng Wanwan, each holding a musical instrument—a sheng, an xun, cymbals, or a suona. The combined sounds of these instruments were like demonic music; any normal person surrounded like this would likely break down and go insane, and would then be truly branded with the titles of "evil star," "lonely soul," or "wild ghost."
"It's so noisy!" The King of Qin, who had been silent all along, could no longer hold back. He rushed out, snatched the suona, and smashed it on the ground. "So many people attacking a woman is a disgrace to our Great Yu Dynasty!"
The Imperial Advisor raised a cold brow: "I beg Your Majesty not to disrupt my plans..."
Cheng Wanwan smiled faintly and said, "May I ask, Imperial Advisor, how many benefits did Princess Rongqing promise you that made you so persistent in trying to deal with a mere woman like me?"
These words shocked everyone present.
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