stir up trouble
Li Chongfu's body was hung on the city wall for three days.
Three days ago, when Xiao Wan'er stood on the city wall carrying the dead Li Chongfu, many ordinary soldiers in the rebel army immediately laid down their weapons.
Soon the rebels were defeated. Zhang Lingjun was hacked to death in the chaos, and Zheng Yin was captured alive by the Dongdu garrison.
Xiao Wan'er didn't kill him on the spot, but instead tied him up tightly with ropes reinforced with magic. The other rebel generals, both large and small, who were still alive were also tied up in the same way.
Afterwards, she wrote a memorial to report on the suppression of the rebellion and sent a messenger to deliver the memorial to Chang'an at full speed.
Li Chongfu's body was hung high on the city wall, and no one dared to ask to take him down. Xiao Wan'er ordered the Dongdu garrison to return to their original position, and she led several generals straight to the prison cells under the official office of the Second Division of the Shenlong Guard.
As expected, all members of Team B2 were locked up in the dungeon. After seeing Xiao Wan'er, they felt as if they had been pardoned.
"Deputy Commander, help!" The captain of Team B2 grabbed the cell bars tightly with both hands, stretched his face outwards, and shouted very loudly.
Xiao Wan'er suppressed her smile and ordered people to open the prison door, remove the magic that sealed their cultivation, and release them.
"I thank you, Deputy Commander, for rescuing me," the captain of Team B2 said as he thanked and apologized to Xiao Wan'er upon being rescued. "I failed to fight effectively, and our entire team was captured alive by the bandits. Please forgive me, Deputy Commander."
"The enemy is a transcendental cultivator. It is normal for you to be defeated. Don't worry." Xiao Wan'er directly pardoned them.
Xiao Wan'er then ordered the captain of Team B2 to release the imprisoned Dongdu civil and military officials and treat the injured. She then detained the captured rebels and generals, handing over all powers to the Dongdu officials while she awaited the imperial decree from Chang'an.
In Chang'an City, when the emperor received the memorial, the prince was making his response in the Xuanzheng Hall.
The Crown Prince saw that after the Emperor finished reading the memorial, a smile appeared on his face that he tried to suppress. He asked tentatively, "Did your father encounter any happy events?"
The emperor no longer concealed his joy: "The rebellion in the Eastern Capital has been quelled. Li Chongfu and Zhang Ling have both been executed. Zheng Yin has been bound and awaits his execution."
This is a good thing, and the prince naturally knows this, but it is not a good thing that he has done. This is a bad thing for the prince.
"Your Majesty, I congratulate you," the Crown Prince said as he thought rapidly, finally finding a loophole where he could launch an attack without arousing the Emperor's suspicion. "However, Li Chongfu is the late Emperor's biological son after all. It's not appropriate for Deputy Commander Xiao to lead his men to kill him."
The emperor slowly put down the memorial in his hand and looked seriously at the son who had helped him ascend to the throne. He had never expected that at such a moment of great joy, his own prince would be the first to raise such a question.
"Father, don't you think that the status of cultivators has been too high since Grandmother founded the Fengming Guard?" The Crown Prince, unsure of the Emperor's attitude, continued tentatively, "The whole world belongs to the King, and cultivators are also citizens of the Great Tang."
"The monks are very powerful. They claim to be the people of the Tang Dynasty, but when have they ever been under the jurisdiction of the imperial court?" Since the moment monks appeared in the world, no emperor in all dynasties has been able to truly bring monks under the scope of their rule. It's not that emperors have not tried, but they all returned empty-handed.
After hearing this, the prince smiled slightly.
"Your Majesty, in previous dynasties, there was no precedent for cultivators serving as officials in the court. Now, cultivators are ministers of the Tang Dynasty. All ministers should be under the jurisdiction of the emperor. Deputy Commander Xiao executed a member of the imperial family without your permission. This is disrespectful to your Majesty."
With just a few words, the prince turned Xiao Wan'er's contributions into sins.
The emperor weighed the matter for a moment and concluded, "Although there was some disrespect, his achievements in repelling a powerful enemy and suppressing rebellion still outweigh his faults."
"Your Majesty is right," the Crown Prince agreed. "I simply believe that all cultivators serving as subjects of the Tang Dynasty should be under Your Majesty's jurisdiction. Sects like Biyun Temple, where all members are members of the Divine Dragon Guard, should also be under Your Majesty's command."
At this point, the emperor finally figured out what the prince meant.
"You want Pei Yingguan to be the abbot of Biyun Temple, right?" Seeing the Crown Prince's slightly uneasy look, he suddenly felt happy and agreed. "It is unacceptable that the commander of my Shenlong Guard is not as good as the deputy commander in the sect. I agree."
The prince was overjoyed: "Thank you, father!"
Unlike when delivering memorials by one person on horseback at full speed, when the imperial edict was issued to the Eastern Capital, the angel delivering the edict was followed by a mighty team of Jinwu Guards.
Xiao Wan'er, in compliance with the imperial decree, brought Li Chongfu's body and the bound rebel generals and officials back to Chang'an. Once inside the city, the Jinwu Guards took the prisoners to the Dali Temple jail, while Xiao Wan'er went alone to the Daming Palace to meet the emperor.
Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, the emperor announced the final dispositions for Li Chongfu and Zheng Yin. Regarding Li Chongfu, the emperor issued an edict stating that he had been executed for treason, but with a concession of justice, he would be buried with the rites of a third-rank official due to their brotherly relationship. Zheng Yin, however, was not so fortunate. The emperor immediately ordered Zheng Yin to be beheaded and his entire clan executed. All other generals and officials implicated in the rebellion were tried and punished according to law.
Normally, the report should have ended at this point, but the emperor did not let Xiao Wan'er leave. Instead, he summoned the prince, Pei Yingguan and Liu Mingyin into the Xuanzheng Hall.
The Crown Prince and Pei Yingguan entered the Xuanzheng Hall together, followed by the three secret scholars who had been killed by Xiao Wan'er during the coup. Seeing this lineup, Xiao Wan'er knew someone was up to something again.
All three of them were seriously injured at the beginning, but during this period not only did their injuries fully recover, but they also made some progress.
"Your Majesty," the prince bowed respectfully as he entered the Xuanzheng Hall. He was about to continue speaking when the emperor stopped him with a gesture.
"There's no rush yet."
After waiting for a while, Liu Mingyin, who was completely in the dark, walked into the Xuanzheng Hall. He wanted to go forward to greet him, but the people standing in the hall made him wary.
"Lord Liu, there's no need to be so polite. Since you're here, I'll tell you what I've been thinking these days."
Xiao Wan'er and Liu Mingyin listened to the emperor's speech together. The central theme was that the imperial court's control over the monks was too weak, and as fellow citizens of the Tang Dynasty, they enjoyed too many privileges.
"The strength of the monks is obvious to all. I wonder what your majesty's plans are?"
"Haha, I'll let the Crown Prince answer your question, Mr. Xiao."
Upon hearing this, the prince stepped forward and began his analysis.
"In the previous dynasty, cultivators never served as officials in the imperial court. Since Empress Wu Zetian founded the Fengming Guard, a large number of cultivators eager to serve the Tang Dynasty have joined the Fengming Guard and later the Shenlong Guard, becoming ministers of the Tang Dynasty. These cultivators who have become ministers should not look down on the laws of ordinary people, nor should they override the laws. Deputy Commander Xiao, do you think what I said is correct?"
"That's right."
"As long as you think it's right," the Crown Prince suddenly changed his tone to a vicious one. "Then how could Deputy Commander Xiao have the guts to kill the late emperor's eldest son?"
Xiao Wan'er immediately apologized: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The situation was urgent and I didn't think of it at the time."
She looked frightened, but unexpectedly the emperor didn't care at all.
"That's fine. Suppressing the rebellion is paramount, so some sacrifices are normal," Xiao Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he asked kindly, "I heard that after the night of the Wei massacre, you broke off relations with your senior brother?"
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. Lord Pei violated the sect's rules and secretly passed on the sect's unique skills to others. Therefore, I have severed all ties with him."
"Although there are sect rules, isn't it too cold for Deputy Commander Xiao to treat his fellow disciples like this?" The prince spoke for Pei Yingguan.
Xiao Wan'er knew that the prince must have bad intentions.
"Your Highness, Master Pei violated the sect rules, and according to reason, he should have had his cultivation abolished and be expelled from Biyun Temple. I was already showing leniency by only expelling him from Biyun Temple that day."
After Xiao Wan'er finished her explanation, she pointed at Pei Yingguan and said, "Sir Pei, you should be aware of what I just said, right?"
Pei Yingguan struggled in his heart, but finally bowed his head and admitted with difficulty: "I know."
Xiao Wan'er then turned the conversation to the prince.
"So, Your Highness, Commander Pei also admitted that I, far from being cold-hearted, even spared him because we were once brothers and sisters. Now that things have come to this, I only hope that we can both accept our fate and serve the Tang Dynasty together."
Xiao Wan'er could clearly sense the loathing gaze from the other side. She also knew who was looking at her. The Empress, Empress Wei, Anle, Shangguan Wan'er, Princess Taiping, and herself, all could not escape the scrutiny of that gaze, which shifted from the initial subtle dislike to the final, open hatred.
Xiao Wan'er just felt disgusted. She felt like she was being treated like a dish.
The emperor's words prevented Xiao Wan'er from making any impolite moves in front of the palace. "We are all brothers and sisters taught by the same master. How could there be any life-and-death feud between us? Today, I will bear witness to the official return of Pei Yingguan, the disciple of Biyun Temple."
The emperor had issued an order, so what could Xiao Wan'er say? She could only bow with Pei Yingguan and say together, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor was very satisfied and pointed at the three stealing scholars and said, "Since these three have already learned your mental method and were just ordinary people before, they will also become disciples of the Biyun Temple."
The emperor had given the order, and although Xiao Wan'er was extremely unhappy with these three stealing scholars, she had no choice but to accept it.
"When I return, I will record these three people under my senior brother's name."
"Well done, Deputy Commander Xiao, you're so generous!" The emperor was delighted, and immediately began to ramble, "You and Commander Pei are both pillars of the Tang Dynasty, and from the same family, your tacit understanding is unmatched. I've been so anxious these past few days seeing you two acting like strangers. Now that you've reconciled, I'm so relieved."
The emperor had said this, so the ministers naturally couldn't just stand by and watch. The six people from Biyun Temple all knelt before His Majesty, expressing their loyalty to the emperor in various ways.
The emperor was deeply moved and left with a message: "May you all work together to safeguard the safety of the Tang Dynasty." As soon as he left, the atmosphere in Xuanzheng Hall immediately turned cold.
"If there is nothing else, I will take the newcomer and take my leave." Xiao Wan'er looked at the prince coldly.
"Something's going on," the prince said, holding out an imperial edict. "Your Majesty has decreed that all sects whose members are members of the Divine Dragon Guard will be managed by the imperial court. I am the administrator."
Xiao Wan'er's hand had already quietly touched the hilt of the knife.
"From now on, the abbot of Biyun Temple will be Pei Yingguan. As for Deputy Commander Xiao, His Majesty and I have given you two choices: one is to marry Commander Pei as a Taoist companion according to the old agreement and be granted the title of County Lady; the other is to be granted the surname Li, registered under the name of Prince Yong, and be granted the title of County Lady, with the name Hejing."
"Prince, do you think I never read?" Xiao Wan'er was furious. As early as the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there was a Princess Hejing. She had been living in the palace since the Xuanwu Gate Incident. After she got married, there was no other news except that she gave birth to three sons.
"Deputy Commander Xiao can choose to be the county lady."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Wan'er pressed the knife against the prince's neck.
"You should know the consequences of your actions, right?"
The prince was nonchalant: "The Tang Dynasty belongs to the Li family, and you cultivators can only be from my Li family. So, is Deputy Commander Xiao going to disobey the order?"
Xiao Wan'er put down the knife and handed over the token. Pei Yingguan immediately took the token, but no matter how he operated it, the token didn't react at all.
"How could this happen!" The thing he had been waiting for for so long had no effect at all, and he was already a little overwhelmed. "Junior sister, did you do something? Why do you have to do this? After we become Taoist companions, won't mine be yours?"
"Idiot." Xiao Wan'er interrupted his long and boring speech with a single word. "The Abbot's Order will only recognize the successor who has truly passed the test and evaluation of the previous abbot. Anyone who seizes the Abbot's Order by force will never be recognized by it."
Seeing that the two were about to explode, Xiao Wan'er added fuel to the fire: "I'll give you the abbot's token. I choose to be the daughter of Prince Yong and the Princess of Hejing County. Liu Mingyin, let's go."
Liu Mingyin immediately followed, and the only people left in the Xuanzheng Hall were the furious prince, the collapsed Pei Yingguan, and three bewildered newcomers.
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