Chapter 315 Telling Pei Niannu a Story
What kind of weird thing is this...Inside the archive, sunlight pierced through the window panes, passed through the bookshelves, and sprinkled on the paper roll in his hand.
"So, this Pei Niannu is not only a powerful ancient being from six hundred years ago, but also a terrifying guy who would lock storytellers in a small dark room at will..."
"Fighting Taizu, the outcome was inconclusive... Well, this should be recorded for Old Xu, who hasn't yet entered the Heavenly Man Realm. But this record alone is terrifying. A peak-level pseudo-Heavenly Man Realm... Hiss, doesn't that mean he's similar to Zhenbao?"
"Pei Niannu... isn't well-known, at least I don't know him. Six hundred years have passed, and too many records have indeed been lost in time. But Old Xu, why did you draw him? After all, you can't be obsessed with him..."
Zhao Duan stood in the desk, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.
He closed the book and had an idea in his mind:
"According to Ma Yan, the people within the Six Chapters Sutra have a certain spirituality and can communicate. It seems impossible for me to fight against Pei Niannu through force. It's better to change my strategy and cater to his needs..."
"As the saying goes, flattery can wear a thousand clothes... As long as you are well prepared, there is no big shot you can't flatter..."
Path dependence belongs to yes.
However, these few words of record were not enough. Zhao Duan walked straight out of the palace and went straight to the government office, ready to use the resources at hand to collect information about "Pei Niannu".
Provide strategy.
…
While Zhao Duan was busy collecting information, the Gao Lian case officially began to be investigated and retried.
The direction of public opinion is just a small microcosm of the game between multiple forces.
No words were spoken that night.
The next day, the morning court session resumed.
On this day, some people were surprised to see a large group of censors entering the Golden Palace.
It was later reported that dozens of officials at the morning court jointly "petitioned" for Gao Lian.
He also presented a memorial signed by many officials, which said that Governor Gao was well-known for his elegance and integrity, which was obvious to all.
It is hard to believe that he could have committed so many crimes and questioned the authenticity of so much evidence.
What's more, the Imperial Censor refuted many of the evidences and suspected that the imperial envoy Zhao Duan had been deceived and Gao Lian's imprisonment was a targeted act.
Strictly speaking, this court meeting had no practical content, but its political significance was extremely obvious.
Such a massive request was rare in the court, and it was undoubtedly the Jiangnan clan headed by Li Yanfu who were fanning the flames.
After the court was dismissed.
A quarrel also broke out in the Imperial College. It was said that the students were divided into two factions, fighting over the issue of "whether Gao Lian was framed."
However, due to the large amount of evidence, the majority of students still hold the view that the case is "guilty".
However, the very fact that there are opposing voices sends out a subtle signal.
Baima Prison, the rear court.
"Does Li Yanfu really have this ability to make so many officials express their opinions so quickly?" Zhao Duan asked curiously as he sat under an old tree that had almost lost all its leaves.
Opposite him was the supervisor Sun Lianying, who had gray hair and sunken eye sockets.
Because it was cold in autumn, the old eunuch covered his knees with a knitted blanket and put on a thicker layer of clothes. He said with a smile:
"Li Yanfu has been at the imperial court for many years, so his background is naturally strong. However, after several setbacks, his prestige has also declined significantly. His swift response this time was not solely due to his tactics.
Did you know that yesterday, the Jiangnan Gao family and their wife's family arrived in Beijing together, and in just one day, they visited more than thirty mansions.
Are the southern gentry coming?
How come I don’t know... Zhao Duan was surprised, then scratched his head, thinking that he didn’t seem to care about this matter at all, so there was no problem.
He smiled and said, "You are spending your days leisurely in the White Horse Prison, and you are more informed than I am."
The old supervisor glanced at him, uttered a "huh", and said lightly:
“When you live in one place for a long time, you will always know more people.”
Zhao Duan agreed with this and handed over a few winter dates that he had wiped clean in his hand, saying with a smile:
"So, you're saying that the incident at the court this morning was caused by the nobles?"
The old supervisor nodded and leaned back in his chair.
The sky is high and the clouds are light in autumn. The sky in the capital is also exceptionally clear, with only a few wisps of clouds floating high in the sky.
"This is just the beginning. Within the court, there are many forces, each intertwined. The world was originally divided and controlled by various noble families, with the royal family being the largest of them all.
In the past, these ancient southern clans kept a low profile. The main reason for this was their fear of the imperial court. Once people feared the imperial court, they would try to find ways to build connections and infiltrate...
"But fear doesn't mean just accepting a beating. You've indeed attacked the nobles far too frequently in the past six months," the old supervisor sighed.
Zhao Duan had a bitter face, feeling extremely wronged:
"How could I possibly have that ability? If you say it's too frequent, it's simply because I don't have enough time."
Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered, let alone a big family with a century of history.
Didn’t Zhao Duan understand it?
Whether the empress controls the court or implements new policies, the best and most stable way is naturally to "boil the frog in warm water."
But will the covetous Eighth Prince and the sneaky remnants of the Second Prince leave enough time to boil water for people?
If it was purely for the sake of stability, even if they knew that Gao Lian was the mastermind behind the scenes, they should have pretended not to know and stabilized the southern aristocratic group first.
But in the end, the empress decided to take the risk and use the power she had accumulated over the past six months to start a crackdown on the Linfeng officialdom.
As long as Gao Lian is successfully killed, the gentry will be defeated, their morale will drop, and the resistance to the new policy will be reduced... Of course, in Zhao Duan's view, this operation is somewhat like dancing on the edge of a knife.
Either the nobles would be devastated and willing to accept their fate, or they would be provoked to rebel. Of course, the more likely possibility was that all kinds of ideas would occur.
There are also factions with different ideologies within the group.
As far as he knew, the empress deliberately attracted some of the nobles to join in the new policy of "opening the market".
Using the popular opportunity of "opening the market" to split the entire aristocratic group, win over some, suppress others... All of the above were not explicitly stated in the court, but Zhao Duan relied on his experience to figure out these strategies from the actions and decrees of the court.
So, Zhenbao is not just clearing away obstacles.
While dealing with Gao Lian, he also quietly offered sweet treats to some other big families.
"Just eat a few. I'm old and can't eat anything too sweet." The old supervisor took a few winter dates and said quietly:
"Anyway, just wait and see. Over the next few days, the southern nobles will only intensify their lobbying of influential figures in the capital. The Li Party's actions today are just a signal. The real counterattack hasn't even begun yet."
Zhao Duan chewed the dates in big mouthfuls and said, "It has nothing to do with me anyway."
At this time, a messenger came from the prison, and the old warden got up to handle official business.
Only Zhao Duan was left alone in the small courtyard, eating dates and drinking wine.
He closed his eyes, put the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and breathed in and out.
Although he was sitting or lying down, he entered a state of meditation like a Buddhist arhat.
…
In a trance, Zhao Duan entered the "Six Chapter Sutra" again.
Appeared in the wilderness.
Looking up, the sky was still dark and there were sparse trees around.
He looked up and saw the ruined temple still in front of him.
"...Does this count as a resurrection point?"
Zhao Duan complained, straightened his clothes, and happily walked towards the ancient temple for the second time.
Pei Niannu left few records, but he still found some ancient books and confirmed the authenticity of the records in the files.
At the same time, the descriptions in those ancient books provide a more detailed understanding of the reading preferences of this "first female sorceress (ancient name: alchemist)".
For example, Pei Niannu, one of the giants who dominated the martial arts world six hundred years ago, did not like romance novels, thinking that "love stories are petty."
He also dislikes stories of achieving great things, becoming a general or a prime minister, and conquering the world, believing that "fame, wealth, and honor are fleeting, in a word, vulgar."
He loved listening to mysterious stories about immortals and ghosts the most in his life. It is said that this originated from his yearning to become an immortal when he was young.
Even though he later became a world-class master, he was still as passionate about this type of subject matter as ever.
"Isn't it just that I like fantasy and immortal heroes..."
Zhao Duan muttered something and had already walked to the steps of the dilapidated temple.
He took a deep breath and held his concentration. He knew he couldn't win by fighting, so success or failure depended on this one move.
The next moment, Zhao Duan sank his energy into his dantian and recited aloud:
"An ordinary village boy stumbles into a local martial arts sect and becomes a registered disciple. How can he gain a foothold in the sect with such an identity? How can he, with his mediocre qualifications, enter the ranks of immortal cultivators and become the master of the three realms? Listen to the first chapter of "The Story of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality."
Han Li stared wide-eyed at the black roof, which was a mixture of thatch and rotten mud. The old quilt covering him had turned a deep yellow, its original appearance unrecognizable. It also emitted a faint musty odor…
Zhao Duan recited loudly.
At this moment, he was extremely grateful for his habit of listening to books when he was bored on his way to work in his previous life...
While reciting, Zhao Duan took a step and slowly pushed open the door of the dilapidated temple.
The inside was still the same as I saw last time, with overgrown weeds, a broken alchemy furnace lying in the corner, and the main hall had been abandoned for a long time.
He darted his eyes around but couldn't find any trace of Pei Niannu.
But there was no pause in the storytelling, thanks to the silent recitation practice last night. Although the story was not very expressive, it was fluent and natural.
And when he walked to the center of the courtyard for the second time, as expected, he once again felt a strong pressure.
Here we come!
Zhao Duanxin calmed down, suppressed his energy, and offered no resistance. He simply closed his eyes and stood there, immersed in the storytelling...
However, the expected pain of having the skull knocked open did not come.
There's hope!
Zhao Duan suppressed his joy and continued to narrate:
"...Han Li never imagined that after this trip, the amount of money would no longer matter to him. He would actually embark on a different path from ordinary people, a path to immortality, and forge his own path to immortality."
rustle……
A cold wind blew through the dilapidated ancient temple.
Zhao Duan, who was reciting with his eyes closed, didn't know that on the eaves of the main hall in front of him, a bright red wedding dress was hanging, unmoved by the wind.
The golden and red weighing rod in Pei Niannu's hand slowly dropped down, and a strange look appeared in the holes behind the dark golden mask covering his face.
Gradually, the female sorceress in wedding dress, who had once been one of the most powerful warriors in the martial arts world, slowly sat down on the eaves. Her legs hung down from under her skirt, and her embroidered shoes swayed slightly.
Behind the dark gold mask, the evil spirit gradually eased.
“I’ve never heard of this story.”
(End of this chapter)
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