584 kills, causing dissatisfaction from God

When a particularly bright morning star appeared on the eastern horizon, the people living within a hundred miles at the foot of Mount Li were awakened by a series of huge explosions.

Boom...Boom...Boom.

The sounds came one after another, so loud that it resounded through the sky. The people who were soundly sleeping jumped up from their beds one after another. They didn't even have time to put on their coats before running outside, fearing that if they were a step slower, they would never be able to get up again.

"Run, run, the ground is turning over."

"Tiger head, be good, mother is here..."

…

Everyone was in a panic, pushing and shoving each other, and the sounds of crying and shouting continued.

In addition to the foot of Mount Li, the same thing happened in several other places. As if agreed, huge explosions occurred almost at the same time in several mountains not too far from the imperial city but where no one lived. The rumbling sound was enough to burst a person's eardrums.

"It's not the earth rolling over, it's thunder, thunder." The panicked crowd ran out, shouting loudly, and the panicked voice infected others and made them even more uneasy.

"Thunder? How could there be thunder in the middle of winter? If God thunders in winter, it will kill us."

"Look, look, there is a fire on Banshan. There is so much smoke and so much fire." There was a relatively calm man in the crowd. He pointed at the mountains ahead and shouted loudly. When everyone saw it, the man raised his voice again, knelt on the ground crying, and kowtowed in the direction of the explosion.

"This is because God is angry and has sent down His wrath. We have no way to survive. There is no way to survive."

"It's a warning from fate. God is not happy. Someone must have done something that angered God and people. God is not happy."

"God is angry. There is no way to survive now."

As the man shouted and bowed like this, the others followed suit and knelt down, crying and shouting, each one saying that the sudden explosion was God’s dissatisfaction and a warning from heaven.

The man who led the crying and shouting quietly disappeared while the crowd was excited. The panicked people did not realize that this man was not from their village.

Not only in Banshan and Lishan, but also in all the towns and villages where the explosion was heard, there was a saying that God was dissatisfied. God was giving a warning. He was dissatisfied with whom? Of course, he was dissatisfied with the emperor who was destined by heaven.

The commotion lasted the entire night near the imperial city, but the people inside heard nothing. When daybreak, several towns near the mountains all became noisy. The people were terrified and rushed to the government office in groups, demanding an explanation.

At the same time, storytellers in several major cities in the north and south changed their usual themes and started talking about God's wrath, implying that someone had done something bad and God was dissatisfied, and that "someone" was no other than the current emperor.

The news seemed to have grown wings. In just a few hours, it flew thousands of miles away. However, the source of the news could not be traced.

When the government heard the rumor, they immediately sent troops to arrest and punish the person, but the more they questioned, the more people started to talk about it. It seemed that in an instant, an atmosphere of "unease" spread throughout Dongling.

The messenger rushed the news to the capital for 800 miles, but for some reason, the road, which was usually very smooth, was full of troubles today. It was simply impossible for people to pass. Either the bridge was broken or a huge tree suddenly fell down, blocking the way. The most ridiculous thing was that a huge stone suddenly appeared on the road. It seemed that the stone was stuck in the soil and was definitely not moved in a day or two.

The sudden thunder even blew a big hole in the mountain. Coupled with the strange things encountered along the way, even the messenger felt that it was related to fate, and he felt even more uneasy.

But the people in the imperial city didn't know that when the day broke, they went about their work as usual. The emperor summoned all his ministers to attend the morning court as usual, and he was in a particularly good mood today.

During the morning court session, after the usual meeting, the censor Zhou Yufu submitted a memorial to the emperor, horrifying the Ninth Prince and Feng Qingchen. The Ninth Prince was disrespectful to the emperor. After finishing his work, he did not go to the palace to see the emperor first, but sent a woman home. According to the law, he should be executed.

The phoenix hairpin that Feng Qingchen wore on her head on the day she entered the city could only be worn by the empress. Feng Qingchen wore the phoenix hairpin without the emperor's permission, which was a violation of the emperor's authority and she should be executed according to the law.

The two words "Xuan" were spoken in a loud voice, and the ministers in the palace were terrified. They looked at Zhou Yushi in fear, and secretly sighed that Zhou Yushi was not willing to die. But then they understood that without the emperor's instructions, how could Zhou Yushi dare to submit a memorial? This meant that the emperor was dissatisfied with the Ninth Prince and wanted to take action against him.

The Ninth Prince was doomed this time. All the ministers took a quick look and looked at the Ninth Prince, who was standing in the first row and seemed to have heard nothing. They secretly admired the Ninth Prince's good theorem and his ability to keep calm.

After looking at him, the ministers quickly withdrew their gazes, not daring to look at the emperor who was high above them. They huddled themselves into a ball, staring at the tip of their shoes and not daring to look up, for fear of becoming the unlucky ones.

The emperor knocked on the dragon throne with satisfaction. The emperor is the emperor, no one can offend him and go unpunished. All the ministers in the court ultimately have to look at his face.

"Ninth brother, do you have anything to say?" The emperor spoke from a high position, in the tone of a benefactor.

It turned out that this was the emperor's idea. It was indeed well-planned. Even if he was killed, no one would dare to say a word against it. He was indeed committing a crime of insubordination.

The Ninth Prince's expression remained calm. He took a step forward slowly, stepped out of the ranks, and bowed to the Emperor, saying, "Your Highness has nothing to say. I am loyal to you. I believe that Your Highness will make the decision."

Yesterday he was calling me "this king", but today he turned into "your subordinate". The emperor sneered sarcastically.

Ninth brother, it’s too late.

Decide? Hum...

No matter how much mockery there was in the emperor's eyes, his tone was much gentler: "Ninth brother, from a small point of view, you and I are brothers, you should listen to what your elder brother says. From a big point of view, I am the king and you are the minister, and as a minister, you must obey the king's orders.

Ninth brother, you have repeatedly disobeyed me. I have forgiven you again and again for the sake of the late emperor and your young age. But you have become even worse. Yesterday, you not only disobeyed me, but also threatened me, disrespected the emperor, and acted lawlessly. Even if I can tolerate you, no one in the world can tolerate you. Ninth brother, what do you think I should do with you?"

The emperor had no room for turning back after what he said, and he sentenced the Ninth Prince to death. As for Feng Qingchen, in the emperor's eyes, she was just a by-product. Without the support of the Ninth Prince, Feng Qingchen was nothing.

The Ninth Prince stood there quietly, looking into the emperor's eyes. His gaze was as calm as dead water. In the emperor's eyes, this was the expression of a loser.

The emperor suppressed his pride, his face was full of heartache, and his voice was full of grief: "Come here, arrest the Ninth Prince, hand him over to the clan prison, and deal with him according to the law."

"Yes!" Outside the door, the imperial guards who had been waiting for a long time rushed into the hall and came behind the Ninth Uncle: "Ninth Uncle, please!"

Humph... The Ninth Prince sneered. His brother was indeed scheming and cautious. Even if he told them now that the Emperor threatened to move his mother's coffin out of the imperial mausoleum, no one would believe him. But he was too concerned yesterday and fell into the Emperor's trap. Now he was in a dilemma.

As for taking action, that was even more unacceptable. Once he did so, he would be convicted of a crime. For the sake of justice, even if the emperor killed him, no one would dare to say a word.

Brother Huang, your brother received the order. The Ninth Uncle raised his lips slightly and nodded slightly to the Emperor. As usual, he replied calmly: "I obey your order!"