Chapter 133 The Target of the Heavenly Net Edict
"What...what do you want to do?"
A scholar stepped forward, intending to question him.
The next moment, the person standing in front of him coldly drew his knife, and the gleaming blade was placed against the scholar's neck, the blade only one centimeter away from his neck.
Upon seeing this, the people surrounding the scholar immediately scattered, looking at the people from Tianluo Zhao with fear.
"Now, retreat immediately."
The scholar, threatened with a knife to his neck, immediately ran towards Songyuezhai with trembling legs. On the way, he accidentally stepped on a small stone and fell to the ground. He didn't care about his appearance and crawled in on his hands and feet.
"What do these people want to do?" A scholar, hiding inside the Songyuezhai gate, looked outside with a worried expression.
"Who knows? After all, this is an imperial edict!"
"When can we leave?"
"I just hope they don't mess with me."
Shao Yanzhe and Wen Yanqing huddled together, looking out the window with solemn expressions in their eyes.
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have come," he sighed.
I thought it was just an ordinary poetry gathering, but I never expected it to end up like this.
"Is the Grand Secretary going to make a move against you?" Su Yuheng guessed.
Shao Yanzhe smiled and said, "How could that be? I'm just a minor Hanlin scholar, not worth using so many imperial edicts."
"t is also correct."
Just as they were speculating about Tianluozhao's purpose in coming here, they saw several carriages parked outside Songyuezhai.
Afterwards, some elderly people with gray hair were helped down from the carriage. Judging from their shaky and unsteady gait, they were also nearing the end of their lives.
Several others were carried out while lying on bed boards.
These people walked in through the entrance of Songyuezhai, and the door behind them was closed and locked. Four tall and burly men stood at the entrance, their right hands resting on the long swords at their waists.
Faced with such a situation, the scholars who came to participate in the poetry gathering had no chance of rushing out.
"Aren't those Lord Zhang, Lord Qian, Lord Chen, and Lord Wu from the Ministry of Personnel?"
"Yes, the remaining officials seem to be from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works, and there's even an official from the Cabinet."
"Not only that! There are also those from the Court of Judicial Review and the Privy Council."
"What! What's going on? Why are all these adults here?"
"I don't know, but for these high-ranking officials to come here, it must be something important."
"If that's the case, then why won't you let us leave?"
"Well... I don't know either."
Listening to the discussions around him, Shao Yanzhe looked at his friends, and the group quietly retreated to a secluded corner.
“Something’s not quite right here!” Su Yuheng said.
Wen Yanqing nodded: "I know something about those adults who were carried in on their beds. They have been bedridden for some time and I heard they don't have much time left to live. But instead of making arrangements at home, they came here. Either there is a famous doctor here who can treat their illness."
She paused here, her eyes flashing slightly, and continued, "But they are simply nearing the end of their lives, and even the most skilled doctors cannot bring them back to life."
She spoke meaningfully, looking at Shao Yanzhe.
Shao Yanzhe seemed to be thinking for a moment, then continued, "Unless, there is something here that can revitalize them."
Shen Jingzhou suddenly realized: "That means discarding this dying body and taking over a fresh, vibrant, and healthy one."
Su Yuheng said with a somewhat complicated expression, "I originally thought that only Chief Minister Gu had done such a thing, but I didn't expect..."
Shao Yanzhe, however, did not think anything of it: "I guess that the reason why Chief Minister Gu has been able to remain Chief Minister and control the government for so many years is either because he is exceptionally capable or because he has other means."
"Now it seems that it must be the secret method that Chief Minister Gu has in his hands that can help others change bodies, which is why these people are so obedient to him."
He couldn't help but sigh, wondering where Gu Huiming had gotten such an evil method from.
One life for another, life and death.
"It's a pity that the secret technique we obtained from Huang Wanli last time was incomplete," Wen Yanqing said with some regret.
"It's no pity. Knowing such a secret technique wouldn't do us any good," Shao Yanzhe said.
After hearing this, Wen Yanqing and the others frowned and pondered for a moment before smiling.
"That's true."
Su Yuheng brought the topic back: "Alright, now the most important thing is, what should we do?"
Shen Jingzhou nodded and said, "That's right. These old men are about to die, and they certainly won't be willing to die like this. There are so many talented young people here. Presumably, the people in this poetry gathering are the targets of these old men."
"We are included in it too."
As these words were spoken, the setting sun disappeared completely below the horizon, and night enveloped the entire Songyuezhai.
"What...what is that?!" a trembling voice rang out.
Everyone looked over and saw that the one who made the sound was a scholar. He looked in a certain direction with a terrified expression and pointed with a trembling finger.
They looked in the direction the scholar was pointing and found that he was looking at the top of the wall of Songyuezhai.
When they finally saw what was happening on the wall, they couldn't help but gasp.
"What! What is that?!"
"A monster!"
"monster!"
"What the hell is that thing?!"
The crowd gasped in surprise.
Their sounds seemed to startle what was on the wall, and those who had been lying on the wall stood up. Their eight slender legs were faintly visible in the dim light of the sky. In the silence, the eight legs collided with the glazed tiles on the wall, making a crisp, clattering sound.
Seeing this, everyone instinctively covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound, for fear of attracting the attention of those things.
Just then, the people from Tianluozhao surrounded them with cold faces.
"Go in!"
The deputy commander in the lead spoke, and the men standing behind him suddenly drew their swords, staring at them with murderous intent.
The scholars were startled. Even the most stubborn ones could no longer maintain their composure and retreated with trembling legs until they entered the venue where the poetry gathering had been held.
After Shao Yanzhe and his companions followed the crowd in, they saw that the surrounding seats were already full of people, including the elderly elders from before.
Seated at the head of the table was an old man with a cold and stern face. He wore a dark brown long robe, and his deep-set eyes stared at the group of scholars standing in the middle, with five parts greed, two parts longing, one part envy, and two parts jealousy in them.
At this moment, an old man with a white beard sitting next to him started talking to him.
The old man also looked at the scholars standing in the middle, but he had a smiling expression on his face.
"Lord Zhang, have you found someone you like?"
Lord Zhang didn't even glance at the old man beside him. His dark gaze swept among the group of scholars, and finally settled on Shao Yanzhe. After looking him up and down, a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
He recognized this person; he was the top scholar of the year, not only exceptionally knowledgeable but also handsome. He had heard that the man was currently unmarried and that both his parents had passed away, which perfectly matched his requirements.
Although this person was likely a potential candidate for Chief Minister Gu, the fact that Chief Minister Gu released him suggests that he didn't value this top scholar that much.
If that's the case, he'll take action next, and I doubt Chief Minister Gu would mind.
Of course, if Chief Minister Gu is unhappy, he can simply compensate him with a few more later.
With this thought in mind, Lord Zhang's gaze toward Shao Yanzhe became increasingly unrestrained.
"What a promising talent!" he exclaimed in praise.
Seeing this, the old man glanced at the target chosen by Lord Zhang and frowned.
"Lord Zhang, that's someone Chief Minister Gu has taken a liking to. Are you really going to take action against him?" he warned.
Lord Zhang, however, said nonchalantly, "It's alright, Chief Minister Gu won't mind."
The old man wanted to say something more, but some people couldn't wait any longer.
A second-rank official from the Ministry of Personnel looked at the candidate he had chosen, his eyes filled with barely suppressed anxiety.
"Your poems at the previous poetry gathering were quite good. Would you be willing to become my student?"
The person he chose was a young man of about twenty years old. He was stunned when he heard the old man's words.
He knew this man and was aware of his status.
He was stunned by what the other person said.
If he were to be accepted as a disciple by this great man, then a smooth and successful path would await him.
The young man was so excited by the future he imagined that he forgot all his previous anxieties and was blinded by the prospect of a better future that he could no longer think calmly.
He immediately strode up to the second-rank official, knelt down before him with a thud, and kowtowed three times.
"Teacher, your student bows in gratitude!"
"Very well! I'll help you revise the article right now." The second-rank official excitedly reached out and grabbed the young man.
When the other senior officials saw that the second-rank official had taken the initiative, they immediately glared at him with displeasure, and then, not to be outdone, they all extended olive branches to the people they valued.
The scholar present was hit by the sudden pie and was completely dizzy.
Especially when they saw the young man who had been taken as an apprentice by a second-rank official's writing style improve dramatically, a look of envy flashed in their eyes.
So these old men really did want to take on apprentices before they died!
Upon hearing this idea, those who had hesitated due to the previous strange occurrences no longer hesitated and immediately agreed.
"Are they crazy?" Su Yuheng asked, frowning.
Shao Yanzhe sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere around him. He frowned and immediately brandished his jade hairpin brush. A surge of powerful literary energy swept across the entire area, clearing away the black mist that had blended with the night.
Those scholars who had suddenly gone mad immediately calmed down, and when they recalled their previous thoughts, they broke out in a cold sweat.
Something's not right!
"Alas!" A sigh rang out softly. Lord Zhang, sitting in the main seat, looked at Shao Yanzhe with a look of regret.
"What are you doing? What you're doing won't change anything; it will only make them suffer more."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze away from Shao Yanzhe and then looked at the young man who had successfully become his disciple at the beginning.
Immediately, those who maintained their composure looked over and saw the young man kneeling blankly in front of the second-rank official.
The second-rank official noticed their gazes, but instead of looking at them, he simply rolled up his sleeves, revealing his wrists.
He had a thin red line around his wrinkled skin, and he stretched out his wrist, touching it with the wrist of the young man opposite him.
Immediately, the thin red line seemed to come alive and began to move toward the young man's wrist.
"Ah!" The young man let out a painful cry, but his body was unable to move, and he could only let out a cry that grew louder and louder.
Everyone's faces turned pale instantly.
"Hehe, if you hadn't done that, he wouldn't be in so much pain," said Lord Zhang.
"But I'm not the one causing him pain." Shao Yanzhe wouldn't let himself be held hostage by him.
Lord Zhang wiped the smile off his face and gave a cold snort.
"Alright, since that's the case, let's get started!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
