Chapter 228 Let’s all quietly enter the village
"This grand ceremony is of great importance. It must be held on the central axis of the imperial palace, where the dragon energy is strongest. From Chengtian Gate to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and then to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, 9981 altars must be set up to mobilize the power of heaven and earth and gather the dragon energy of the nation's destiny to suppress this overwhelming evil spirit."
"Furthermore," he emphasized, "a grand ceremony like this, which concerns the fate of the nation, must be personally presided over by Your Majesty at the altar of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Only by using your own imperial dragon energy to activate the nation's pulse can it be accomplished."
"hiss--"
There was a sound of people gasping in shock in the court.
Everyone's eyes subconsciously turned to Yun Wende.
Everyone knew that the current emperor was a puppet of the Yun family, and he had not appeared in public since he was "seriously injured." Now the Imperial Master wanted to invite him to the altar in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Wasn't this simply exposing the Yun family's true colors in front of the entire world?
Yun Wende's face turned ashen in an instant.
He was about to step out to refute when a cold voice sounded from behind him.
"I second the motion!"
Regent Xiao Yu walked out slowly holding the jade sceptre.
"What the Imperial Master said concerns the safety of the nation and the well-being of the people. It's no joke." His gaze swept across Yun Wende's sullen face. "This king believes that we should immediately organize a grand ceremony to appease the emperor."
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
At that moment, more than 70% of the officials in the court knelt down.
The trend is set.
Yun Wende looked at the scene in front of him and felt a rush of blood to his forehead. He clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his flesh, and squeezed out a few words with difficulty from between his teeth.
"I... obey your order."
When the news got back to the Regent's Palace, Jiu was so happy that he almost did a somersault in the yard.
"Great, great!" The little girl circled around Chu Xuanyi, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Sir, you are so amazing! Just by talking, that bad old man had no choice but to obey."
Chu Xuanyi's face was still pale because of exhaustion. He leaned weakly on the couch and just smiled helplessly when he heard the words.
"Ajiu, things...are not that simple."
"Xuan Yi is right." Xiao Yu walked out of the inner room, holding a bowl of freshly brewed medicine in his hand, and personally handed it to Chu Xuan Yi. "Yun Wende is an old fox. Even if he is forced to swallow the bait, he will definitely coat the fishhook with poison."
He watched Chu Xuanyi drink the medicine, and his expression eased a little.
"He'll let us hold this grand ceremony, but he'll definitely replace all key positions with his own people. They'll be providing assistance, but in reality, they'll be providing surveillance. By then, the entire Central Axis will become his domain. Trying to rescue anyone in that situation would be like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth."
Jiu was stunned when he heard this, and the excitement on his little face gradually turned into worry.
"Then...what should we do? We finally got him to agree."
"So..." Xiao Yu sneered, "We have to get our own 'actors' onto the stage before this big show officially begins."
…
Prime Minister's Mansion, secret room.
"This is too much! This is simply too much!"
"Bang--"
Yun Wende threw the priceless Duanxi dragon-patterned inkstone to the ground, smashing it into pieces in an instant, with precious ink splattering everywhere.
He was so angry that his whole body was shaking, his chest was heaving violently, and his old face turned the color of liver.
"Dad, what are you doing? It's not worth getting yourself sick over those two little brats."
A charming voice sounded, and Concubine Yun Zhiyan, dressed in luxurious palace clothes, poured tea for herself slowly and leisurely, with a lazy smile on her face that was out of tune with the tense atmosphere.
"Zhiyan, are you still in the mood for tea?" Yun Wende panted, glaring at his daughter. "Xiao Yu and Chu Xuanyi have already put a knife to our necks. They want to send that faker to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in front of all the civil and military officials. If...if anything goes wrong, our Yun family will be doomed."
"Father, what are you anxious about?"
Yun Zhiyan put down the teacup and a cruel smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
"Do they think they've won? They're just being too clever and jumping into the cage we've prepared for them."
"Cage?" Yun Wende's anger subsided a little, and he looked at his daughter in confusion.
"Yes," Yun Zhiyan said with a cruel smile, "Aren't they planning to hold a grand ceremony? Okay, let them do it. Father, please ask the Emperor for permission immediately. Tell him that the Imperial Master needs to focus on the ritual and is too busy to handle other matters. The procurement, defense, and other mundane matters for the ceremony should be handled by the court officials."
"Mr. Zhang, the Minister of War, is your disciple, so he will be responsible for the procurement and transportation of all sacrificial materials. General Li, the commander of the Imperial Guards, is especially loyal to you, so he will be fully responsible for the security of the entire ceremony."
"This way, the entire central axis of the palace, all the people entering and leaving, and all the mobilized troops will be under our control." Yun Zhiyan sneered, "It's a pipe dream for them to try to play tricks under our noses. When the time comes, we will use our tactics against them and wait for them to fall into our trap. Then, we will arrest them all on the charge of 'plotting assassination during the ceremony.' By then, with Xiao Yu dead, who in this Dajing kingdom can stand in our way?"
After hearing his daughter's evil plan, the anger in Yun Wende's eyes gradually subsided.
"Okay... okay! Zhiyan, you are worthy of being my good daughter." He clapped his hands and laughed, "Let's do it this way. I want to see how they die then."
The next day, Palace City, Xihua Gate.
"Hey, what do you do?"
A small leader of the imperial guards stopped a group of craftsmen who were pushing wheelbarrows and were covered in mud.
The leading craftsman looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with dark skin and ordinary looks. There was a shallow scar on his face, which made him look a bit fierce.
He quickly stopped the car and gave the little leader a simple and somewhat flattering smile.
"Master, Master, you have worked hard."
As he spoke, he calmly took out a small piece of silver from his pocket and put it into the little leader's hand.
"We are from the Ministry of Works, and we are here under orders from Minister Zhang to repair the glazed tiles on the western palaces. Look, here are our badges and the Ministry of Works' documents."
This seemingly honest craftsman is Xuan Er, the commander of the Xuanjia Guard.
The small chief took the document and badge and checked them carefully, then looked Xuan Er up and down. Seeing that he was covered in dust, looked timid, and looked like an honest craftsman, he waved his hand impatiently.
"Alright, alright, hurry in and don't block the way here. Remember, don't run towards the central axis. There's a grand ceremony going on over there. If you bump into someone important, I'll chop your head off."
"Yes, yes, we know, we know. Thank you for reminding us, General."
Xuan Er nodded and bowed repeatedly, and his humble appearance made the small chief feel very comfortable. He pushed the cart and led a dozen "craftsmen" dressed in the same way behind him and slowly walked into the palace gate.
No one noticed that the wheelbarrow he was pushing was covered with a few pieces of tattered linen, and what was loaded underneath was not glazed tiles at all, but boxes of specially made military crossbows that had been disassembled and coated with anti-rust oil, as well as siege equipment that could be quickly assembled.
And the "craftsmen" behind him were none other than the most skilled breakout team among the Xuanjia Guards in attacking strongholds and street fighting.
At the back door of the imperial palace's kitchen, a team of vegetable farmers carrying vegetables into the palace were also being inspected.
"Why do the vegetables today look so wilted and not fresh?" A young eunuch in charge pinched his nose and flipped through the vegetables in the vegetable basket with his orchid finger with a look of disgust.
"Oh, my dear father-in-law, please bear with me." The leading vegetable farmer said with a smile, "It's a grand ceremony, and many roads in the city are closed. We took a long detour to deliver it, and we were delayed on the way."
The young eunuch waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, alright, hurry up and carry it in, it stinks."
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The vegetable farmers carried their loads on their shoulders and walked quickly into the imperial kitchen with their heads lowered.
At the bottom of the vegetable basket, beneath the rotten vegetable leaves, were hidden "sky-shaking bombs" wrapped tightly in oilcloth, which were powerful enough to blow a hole in the solid palace wall.
They are the firearms battalion of the Xuanjia Guard.
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