Chapter 902: The Crown Princess [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Gu Chi: [...]
Listening to the thoughts of others, and then listening to the thoughts of one's own lord, is truly disconcerting. Everyone else is thinking about how to scheme for their own side, using the connections and resources of the Pantheon to strike at the enemy and win the struggle, while only the lord is thinking about how to work overtime and compete fiercely.
They extended their wicked hands, seeking to fleece the people, to the Pantheon.
The thought of having court meetings anytime, anywhere, even after being demoted to a local post, and having to clock in every day without fail to communicate with the lord, was unbearable. Doing things well would earn her a few smiles, while doing them poorly would mean enduring her various forms of yelling and cursing.
Gu Chi's already unhealthy complexion became even more sickly.
His frail and broken appearance, as if he might stop breathing at any moment, evoked pity in people. Even strangers couldn't remain heartless and secretly felt a chill for him. Luan Xin, standing beside him, had his hands tucked into his sleeves and noticed Gu Chi's unusual behavior out of the corner of his eye.
Luan Xin couldn't bear to see Gu Chihao, but he also didn't want Gu Chihao to kick the bucket during the New Year, as it would be bad luck: "Where are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Chi covered his cough with his sleeve.
He whispered, "The future is so dark that life seems hopeless."
Luan Xin had no idea what kind of nonsense Gu Chi was spouting, but he was certain of one thing—Gu Chi wasn't going to die. So he withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on observing his surroundings. Although he didn't know where he was, he was certain that this space was an illusion, and the hundreds of figures he saw were all phantoms. Judging from the phantoms' clothing, the seasons, customs, cultures, and even politics of their respective regions were different, and their accents confirmed this.
These people actually came from different regions of mainland China!
How exactly did the Pantheon manage to do it?
To make people from all over the world appear together at the same time? Even if it's not the real person but an illusion, this method is still miraculous! Luan Xin noticed that many people had uncontrollable astonishment and greed on their faces.
How powerful is this method?
It allows the royal court to monitor information across the land at any time, suppress any local unrest immediately, and disseminate royal decrees to every corner with the utmost speed. Throughout history, which ruler hasn't dreaded the problem of "the emperor being far away"? Controlling local forces greatly solidifies one's rule. It's safe to say that no ruler could resist such an allure.
About half an hour later.
After each of the twelve members of the internal council finished speaking, the meeting concluded.
After that, it was the turn of the main and deputy societies of various regions to take center stage.
Compared to the tedious speeches by internal committee members, the "year-end reports" from these main and deputy members were surprisingly invigorating. These seemingly brief reports were filled with the unspoken tensions and power struggles of their respective factions. It was a story of one power's demise and another's rise. While not all of them were accounted for, ninety percent of their achievements were bragging rights.
Pray to be kind, close your eyes and calm your mind, cross your hands and place them on your lower abdomen. It may seem like your mind is wandering, but in reality, you are keeping these thoughts firmly in mind.
Their lord harbors ambitions to dominate the world; the northwest is neither her nor their ultimate goal. They need accurate information about the movements of other forces on the continent. External information channels are unreliable and often delayed, while the Gods' Guild possesses firsthand, accurate information. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!
"...Yu Hai, the head of the Southeast Branch, courtesy name Guilong, greets all fellow enthusiasts." The young man's voice was extremely ethereal, stimulating a subtle, ticklish sensation in the ears—a truly exceptional voice!
Just hearing her voice makes one feel a sense of goodwill.
She couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound—these illusory figures weren't on the same plane, but rather seemed to be inside a sphere. Shen Tang only needed to slightly raise her head to see the people from the Southeast Branch—thanks to her excellent eyesight, honed through both literary and martial arts training, she could make out the young man's appearance. The young man was dressed in scholar's attire, the colors of his clothes were light, but judging from the material and patterns, he was a wealthy person with understated luxury. He wore a pure white mask on his face, and at first glance, one might mistake him for someone attending a funeral.
but--
"Whose parents named their child after someone else's murder..." Guilong is a grand name, and Hai is also a good name, but it can't overcome the surname Yu.
Although Shen Tang spoke in a low voice, and the other members whispered among themselves, the presence of only scholars and martial artists made many nearly lose their composure with her words. Seeing that she was from the Northwest branch and was standing next to the vice-president, even though Shen Tang was wearing a mask, they guessed her identity—
One of the mad dogs under the banner of "evil scheme".
Since they had no direct conflict, they simply pretended to be deaf and dumb.
The "murdered" youth also looked over.
Qi Shan nodded slightly to him.
The eyes of the "murdered" youth beneath the mask remained expressionless.
Then, Shen Tang overheard others discussing the "murdered" youth. This person was a new chief of the society who had emerged in the last two years, and there were rumors that the previous chief had been assassinated by him. Now he was assisting a very young nation: "It seems to be the Qu Kingdom?"
The phantom image sparked much discussion across various regions.
"It sounds like another 'evil plot'."
"Indeed, some experiences are very similar..."
“Yu Guilong’s reputation is much better than his ‘evil scheme’.”
These comments reached Shen Tang's ears one after another. She was very indignant. What use was a good reputation if someone could rise to the position of branch leader in the Gods' Guild? It only proved that this person was more secretive in their methods and better at cultivating their reputation...
Although Qi Shan's scheme was "evil," if the previous seven rulers hadn't been incompetent and suspicious, unwilling to entrust their hearts to him, how could he have died? Yuan Liang always sincerely assisted his ruler!
Shen Tang felt indignant.
Consequently, people also lost goodwill towards the "murdered" youth.
She glared at Yu Guilong, but her attention wasn't on Yu Hai. Instead, she noticed the tall, black-clad martial artist beside him. This martial artist had a restrained aura, standing behind Yu Hai with his arms crossed. A pair of golden arm guards clearly defined the outline of his wrists, his long hair was tied up with a pearl-white rope, and he wore a terrifying ghost mask on his face.
At first glance, he seems like a guard who doesn't stand out much.
Yet it gave her a vague sense of familiarity.
As Shen Tang looked at him, he turned his head away, withdrawing his piercing gaze. Those were naturally smiling, almond-shaped eyes. This person possessed the aura and stature of an adult, yet always carried a touch of youthful spirit, contradictory yet harmonious.
The black-clad warrior muttered under his breath, "A sinister plot?"
The Southeast Branch staff reminded him, "Qi Yuanliang."
The black-clad warrior's voice carried a hint of strangeness: "Qi Shan?"
The Southeast Branch staff added, "This is his official identity, but there's a rumor circulating within the branch that he didn't originally have this name, and that his current identity was stolen. His real name is probably only known to his trusted henchmen."
The infamy of wicked plots goes far beyond simply murdering one's master.
The black-clad warrior glanced again in the direction of the Northwest Branch.
His tone was enigmatic: "Oh, I see."
At the same time, Shen Tang also thought of an old friend.
[Those eyes...could they be Zhai Xiaofang's?] Their auras are very similar. Zhai Le also mentioned that his hometown was a place called Qu Dian, but Qu Dian is in Shen Kingdom, not Qu Kingdom. Could it be that Zhai Le changed his nationality after returning?
Shen Tang was unsure and did not take any further action.
Regardless of whether the black-clad warrior was her childhood friend Zhai Le, the two had been separated for many years, and things had changed drastically. It was hard to say whether the other person still had the same temperament as before. She still remembered that Zhai Le was very attached to his cousin Zhai Huan and had no intention of assisting anyone other than Zhai Huan.
Given Zhai Le's relatively simple mind, it's impossible that he would come to the Gods' Guild to wade into trouble while his cousin Zhai Huan was not there. Wouldn't Zhai Huan be afraid that his cousin would be sold out by the Gods' Guild and still be counting the money?
unless--
The "murdered" youth was Zhai Huan's alias.
It's not impossible.
Just as she was casually reminiscing about the past, she heard her own name called out, and not in a good way.
"...I've heard that a small kingdom called Kang has emerged in the Northwest region. Its ruler is surnamed Shen, given name Tang, courtesy name Youli. She is skilled in both literature and martial arts, yet she is a woman. Since her appearance, many women within her kingdom have inexplicably gained the ability to cultivate. I wonder what fellow enthusiasts think about this?"
The "murdered" youth and the black-clad warrior also looked over.
The phantom image erupted in uproar, the commotion growing louder and louder until it shook the heavens and the earth.
Apart from those in nearby areas, no other places have received this news, which is tantamount to dropping a bomb on the crowd!
"A hen crowing at dawn is the beginning of heresy."
"Since it's a small country, we might as well eliminate it!"
Some insiders joined the discussion, sneering, "What small northwestern country? Although I can't stand the arrogance of the man surnamed Shen, he's a legitimate ruler of a region. Our place may not be as prosperous as yours, but we have plenty of land!"
To say someone is from a small country?
She practically rules the entire Northwest!
When the Shen family was still weak, they dared to lead their troops deep into the Ten Crows and wreak havoc. As of now, the Ten Crows have split into more than thirty pieces, fighting amongst themselves relentlessly, and the fighting is getting fiercer and fiercer. It seems that even if the chosen one of heaven were to be born with his body divided into more than thirty pieces and his troops divided into more than thirty groups, he would still not be able to reunite the Ten Crows.
This woman is so vicious! Of course, the evil scheme is currently being orchestrated under her command, so it must be another one of her doings. They also don't want to admit that Shen Tang is truly talented; according to some intelligence, the woman surnamed Shen doesn't seem very bright.
Qi Shan said, “How do you want to see it? If your back doesn’t hurt, stand up and look; if your back hurts, sit and look; if your buttocks hurt, lie down and look. Northwest Kangguo is within our branch’s territory, so please don’t overstep your bounds. If you are envious, you can have a woman of marriageable age from your family disguise herself and enter the country to register her household. I will turn a blind eye out of consideration for our shared branch.”
That's what they say—
But if you're caught as a spy, you'll still die.
Qi Shan's words successfully silenced many people.
No one wanted to offend the evil scheme behind the puppet ruler at this critical juncture; they still had a mess to clean up on their own. To Shen Tang's surprise, despite such a good opportunity to incite conflict, Wu Yuan, the representative of the Northern Desert, did not join in the discussion.
This was certainly not because Wu Yuan had a change of heart.
It's simply because he still needs Shen Tang right now.
Compared to Shi Wu's arrogance and conceit, his repeated scams by Zheng Qiao, and his defeat by Shen Tang, Bei Mo is more adept at secretly plotting and causing trouble. They are waiting for the perfect opportunity! They have already been planning for years, so what difference does another two or three years make?
The person who was scolded to his face by Qi Shan couldn't save face.
Just as he was about to retort, Yu Hai from the Southeast Branch suddenly interrupted: "So there have been examples of women being able to cultivate before? That puts my mind at ease."
The man instinctively asked, "What do you mean?"
Yu Hai said in a very ordinary tone: "Our lord has only two daughters and few children. The mistress is weak and not suitable for having children. So a year ago, he overruled the objections of many and appointed the second daughter, Wang Ji, as the Crown Princess. To ensure the Crown Princess's succession, the Crown Princess's Palace was established."
The Crown Princess is naturally comparable to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Princess's Palace was essentially a miniature imperial court. Generally, when the old ruler passed away, this staff could seamlessly take over. In other words, the officials in the Crown Princess's Palace were also officially appointed. To minimize opposition from powerful families and clans within the territory, many of the female officials in the Crown Princess's Palace were selected from within these families.
If you give them benefits, they won't want to make things difficult for you anymore.
Women cannot cultivate; this is an indisputable fact. They also firmly believe that the king cannot possibly have only one woman in his life. As long as he has a second, third, fourth… woman, these women will naturally bear him children. These children cannot all be daughters; there must be at least one son, right? At that time, the court officials will unite and submit a memorial to depose the crown princess and establish the crown prince.
In the past, there have been kings who made the decision to appoint a crown princess, but they were just playing around. They didn't establish any residences for her, nor did they promote female officials to give her political advantages. Before the crown princess could even warm up, she was eventually defeated by her newly appointed younger brother.
I never expected this—
With the establishment of the Crown Princess's residence, everything was on track. The king racked his brains to increase his daughter's leverage, winning over a group of noble families and putting pressure on another group. At every court assembly, he would subtly suggest that the Crown Princess's residence be given more official positions, and he succeeded once or twice out of ten times.
One day, a bolt from the blue struck.
News spread from the Crown Princess's residence that a female official could store the energy of heaven and earth. The root cause of women's inability to cultivate lies in their inability to retain this energy; the ability to store it means the ability to open the dantian (energy center). The officials of the Qu Kingdom were stunned by this news.
If it were anyone else, they would have killed them.
Unfortunately, the Crown Princess possessed the aptitude for cultivation.
Would the king allow them to petition for the execution of the ominous crown princess?
I'm afraid that the moment I utter these words, blood will be spilled in the imperial court.
It was the king himself who did it.
The powerful figures in the court were still the trusted followers left by the former king. News that should have caused a huge uproar was suppressed. Some old ministers privately muttered that the reign of the Qu Kingdom would not last long. They let the king make a fuss, not believing that the crown princess could really survive until the day she could successfully ascend the throne and piss on their heads.
I never expected this—
Qu Guo isn't even the first one!
With Yu Hai speaking up, the commotion in the phantom escalated again.
"Ahem—well, it seems we're the same here—" The Southwest Branch, which had been relatively unknown, stammered, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping short. Several months ago, a rather legendary princess suddenly appeared on the Southwest Continent. She launched a coup, stepping over her father and brothers to ascend the throne. No one knew where her royal seal came from, or why she had sixteen Grand Masters assisting her.
In short, she had a female scholar with a refined and literary mind by her side.
I heard they came from the Northwest Continent.
Although no women capable of cultivation have yet appeared in the country, judging from the current trend, it's only a matter of time.
Qi Shan and the others were slightly taken aback, but mostly relieved. A tree that stands out in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind; being the only outstanding tree is never a good thing. Now that they weren't the only ones, it was a good thing.
|ω`)
I know some readers dislike the existence of the Council of Gods and find it abrupt; alas, this is simply a matter of the author's writing skills.
(Actually, there were some details that foreshadowed the timeline of this story. It's a timeline after the apocalypse caused by war radiation, where a new civilization sprouts anew on the corpse of the old one. As for why there was an apocalypse, everyone knows. The Council of Gods is the connection point between the old and new human civilizations, or rather, it's the tombstone of the old civilization.)
The current Gods' Association can be seen as a talent platform attempting to monopolize resources; is it just a matter of background? The real infighting is among the members, each with their own agendas.
(End of this chapter)
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