Chapter 386: The Emperor is Wrathful and Buddhism is Banned (Two in One)
"Okay, I'll go..."
Accompanied by a panic, some palace maids immediately ran towards the imperial study, while others went to look for the palace physician.
The remaining female officials crouched on the ground and helped Zhao Du'an, who was covered in blood and almost fainted, to his feet. They waited for the palace guards to arrive and together they sent Zhao Du'an to the nearest house.
After a while.
When Empress Dayu received the notification and hurriedly followed the instructions, she arrived outside the door. The palace maids gathered there saluted in unison: "Your Majesty!"
There was no smile on Xu Zhenguan's pale face. Although he tried his best to remain calm, he could not hide his obvious nervousness.
"Is Lord Zhao in the room?"
"Yes, I have already invited the imperial physician inside..."
Without waiting for the servant to finish speaking, Xu Zhenguan, wrapped in the cold winter wind, pushed open the door.
“Woo…”
A cold wind blew in from behind her and instantly poured into the quaint bedroom.
In the room, an elderly imperial physician was standing beside the bed, surrounded by several eunuchs and palace maids. Some of them were holding blood-stained and tattered clothes, while others were holding copper basins filled with blood.
"Your Majesty!" Everyone was shocked when they saw the empress barge in.
Xu Zhenguan ignored everyone, lifted her skirt, and rushed straight to the bed. After bypassing the obstructions of the figures, she finally saw Zhao Duan lying flat on the bed.
His clothes had been stripped off, and the blood had been wiped off the exposed skin. The rest of his body was fine, except for his chest, which was a bloody mess.
Silver needles were inserted into the meridian points all over the body.
"Your Majesty." The old doctor turned around and saluted.
Xu Zhenguan's face was as cold as frost. He stared at the unconscious Zhao Duan and asked, "How is the situation?"
The old doctor said with a look of relief:
"Your Majesty, please be at ease. Lord Zhao is not in danger of death, and his fundamental condition has not been seriously damaged. He has only suffered minor injuries. However, if Lord Zhao had not been wearing armor that took most of the damage, otherwise..."
Next to him, a eunuch was holding the "Six Talismans Armor" that was regarded as a treasure by Donghai Qingshan. At this moment, the entire armor was sunken inward, and a palm print was faintly visible.
Xu Zhenguan let out a sigh silently. When he suddenly learned the bad news, his confused mind finally calmed down.
She walked forward silently, without caring about the taboo between men and women, and raised her white wrist and pressed her delicate hand on Zhao Duan's brow.
Then he carefully scanned his entire body with his spiritual sense, and after confirming that the injuries were within the healable range, his tense heartstrings were finally relieved.
"Come here, go to the palace pharmacy and get some medicine for wounds, both internal and external."
"All of you please go out. I want to personally regulate Zhao Qing's meridians and Qi."
"Pass the order down, suppress the news, and anyone who knows about this will be confined to their homes."
Xu Zhenguan issued several orders, and everyone agreed and left the room.
After the door was closed, Xu Zhenguan pulled a round stool, sat by the window, held Zhao Duan's hand, closed his eyes and inhaled the Qi.
Use your own cultivation to help him repair the disordered qi.
As the energy flowed in, the silver needles on Zhao Duan's body also glowed. About a quarter of an hour later, the servants brought in the medicine and then left.
I didn't dare disturb His Majesty from treating Lord Zhao.
After about a quarter of an hour, Zhao Duan finally slowly opened his eyelids and saw himself lying on the bed.
The drapery hanging above his head made him feel a pain in his body. He subconsciously grimaced and inhaled in pain, but he felt a soft touch on his palm.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the mortal fairy sitting by the window with her eyes closed as if meditating. He tried to hold back his breath.
Zhenbao?
It’s not a dream, it’s the real, warm Zhenbao… Zhao Duan blinked his big eyes silently.
He was not really unconscious. Although he was in a daze before, he vaguely knew that he seemed to be carried into the house by a group of eunuchs and palace maids. He also seemed to hear the empress's voice, but he was so confused that he could not tell whether it was true or not.
Now, seeing that cold and beautiful face that no other woman in the world could match, he finally confirmed:
"Did I successfully teleport back to the capital? Hiss... What a blessing! Fortunately, I was able to hide away and stuff the teleportation jade inside the Six Talisman Armor, saving my life at the critical moment... Well, it's also fortunate that the sneak attack didn't hit me in the head..."
"Wait...Assassin..."
His confused thoughts gradually became clear, and the scene of him being assassinated on the dock became clearer in Zhao Duan's mind.
The shadow guard's information... the black-sailed boat... a bald head emerging from the crowd...
"Master Dajing...why would the Master Dajing of Shenlong Temple ambush and assassinate me? Isn't one Nagarjuna enough?"
Zhao Duan couldn't understand the other party's logic, which was weird from the inside out.
but……
None of it matters anymore. What matters is that he has escaped danger and returned to the safest Dayu Palace, with the empress by his side.
He now had someone by his side to protect him from the wind and rain.
As his thoughts were floating in his mind, he didn't dare to move, for fear of waking up the empress. He just tilted his head slightly and stared quietly at the empress's very beautiful face.
Just like when I was tired in my previous life, I would lie on the bed and look at the cat I raised, and I would feel very happy.
"Have you seen enough?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly said with his eyes closed.
"No...ah no...Your Majesty, are you awake?"
Zhao Duan was startled and met Xu Zhenguan's eyes, which were wide open and looked like they were half angry and half happy.
He was a little embarrassed, and also a little proud for no reason, and he even laughed awkwardly, which was rare.
Xu Zhenguan glared at him unhappily, but he was not really angry at all. He was just helpless that this guy was covered in wounds and still had the mind to talk to him.
Are all men like this?
After all, joy was greater than anything else in his heart. Only now did Xu Zhenguan think about the changes in his emotions in less than an hour.
The emperor, who should have been majestic and indifferent, was somehow moved by a mere minister. When he heard from the palace maid that "Lord Zhao is going to die", his mind went blank.
Rushing into the room, I saw his trembling fingertips as he lay unconscious and covered in blood, and a surge of anger and regret welled up in my heart for no reason... I regretted why I had sent him out, and whether letting him train outside had been a wrong decision...
Also, this guy has been acting recklessly since he woke up, and I feel so relieved... These complex emotions have clearly exceeded the boundaries between a monarch and his subjects.
Just like she has been saying these days that she is concerned about the opening of the market, but how much she cares about the opening of the market and how much she cares about Zhao Duan, who has not been heard from for a long time, is something even she herself cannot tell.
However, the resolute female emperor only paused for a moment in this indescribable emotion, then forcibly cut off those thoughts and restored her cold and majestic image as an emperor.
She sneered and said, "Yeah, are you unhappy that I'm awake?"
Zhao Duan complained:
"What are you talking about? I'm just... just... injured and can't stand up to salute..."
Xu Zhenguan smiled dangerously:
"Oh? Really? Then why don't you let go?"
"..." Zhao Duan then awkwardly withdrew his big hand that was holding the empress's small hand: "This is..."
"Alright, the Six Talisman Armor saved your life. Although you weren't seriously injured, you're running out of energy if you talk too much. Stop talking nonsense. Who hurt you? Even Hai Gongsheng couldn't stop him?"
Xu Zhenguan rudely interrupted his nonsense and got straight to the point, staring at him seriously.
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, restraining his joking thoughts. He wanted to get up, but after trying, he found that he really had no strength. He had to lie on the bed and said seriously:
"I was just about to report to Your Majesty on the progress of Lake Pavilion. We have fulfilled our mission and the opening of the market has been a complete success."
Complete success!
Hearing this news, which should have made him extremely happy and pleased the emperor, Xu Zhenguan found that he was not as happy as he had expected.
She said calmly: "What I want to ask is who hurt you."
Zhao Duan said helplessly:
"This matter is somewhat complicated. I have thought that I must first explain the whole process to you before I can make a correct judgment."
"Then let him go quickly." Xu Zhenguan was annoyed by his behavior. He clearly wanted to support him immediately, but this guy didn't seem to be in a hurry.
Why is it that the emperor is anxious when his ministers are not?
Zhao Duan organized his words and then slowly said:
"My entourage and I encountered no accidents on our journey south, except when we were about to land, we encountered Xu Jinglong and his band of soldiers from Daqing Mountain, who intercepted us..."
He first recounted his experiences on the river, and then his experiences after landing, including meeting Prince Jing and Prince Huai'an.
The empress listened quietly without interrupting. After hearing the story of Prince Huai'an, she was slightly surprised:
"So, the Prince of Huai'an wants to sit back and watch the fight? He'll see who wins, and then support you."
"Yes," Zhao Duan nodded and said seriously, "After I understood your meaning, I kept waiting for Prince Jing to make a move, until I went to Yansuo Lake..."
This is the highlight. Zhao Duan described it in more detail, including his own initiative to fish, his thoughts on taking the princess with him, etc.
When Xu Zhenguan heard that Duan Shuiliu, Qi Yuchun, and the killers suspected to be arranged by Prince Jing's Mansion surrounded and killed people on the lake, his eyes were as sharp as a knife.
After hearing that Zhao Duan had killed the archer but was kidnapped by the princess, Xu Zhenguan's expression changed again:
"Princess Lu is a worldly realm sorcerer? So, you were injured by her and teleported back? No... that's not right, the timing is wrong..."
She couldn't figure out how Zhao Duan broke the deadlock.
It was not until Zhao Duan said that Lu Yan'er was a descendant of Pei Niannu that the empress showed surprise and realization on her face.
She knew that Zhao Duan had visualized Pei Niannu in the Six Chapter Sutra.
However, the empress was still stunned by the fact that Zhao Duan actually used his mid-level cultivation of the Divine Chapter to carry out a "Divine Descent" and used the inheritance system to suppress, defeat and instigate the princess to rebel.
All of this was beyond imagination, but upon closer thought, it all made sense.
"So, not only did you not suffer any injuries, you also arranged for the princess to become a spy for the court?" Xu Zhenguan's face looked extremely strange.
Zhao Duan was also very proud of his operation:
"Yes. As for what happened next, it went much more smoothly. After I returned, I took those assassins with me and severely humiliated Prince Jing. Prince Huai'an took action as promised, and the market opened smoothly."
The empress digested the thought quietly for a while. She had imagined that Zhao Duan could complete this task, but she had not expected that he would do it so well.
However, compared to the results of the opening, she was even more confused:
"If that's the case, how did you get injured?"
Logically speaking, the market had already closed, and there was a spy around Prince Jing again. Was he really planning a second assassination just for revenge? That seemed a bit unreasonable...
Zhao Duan took a deep breath and finally told the story of how he was ambushed by Master Dajing on his way home.
After hearing this result, even though the empress had made many guesses, she was still stunned.
Bodhisattva Nagarjuna was suspected of joining the battle, but was stopped by the young Taoist priest.
Master Dajing ambushed and attacked, and Eunuch Hai had no time to rescue him.
"Shenlong Temple... What a Shenlong Temple! It's actually Shenlong Temple!?"
Xu Zhenguan's jade-like face was frosted, his beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent. He suddenly stood up and said, "These bald asses actually dared to assassinate an official of the imperial court. It seems that my last warning was not enough."
As she spoke, she suddenly glanced at Zhao Duan and said:
"You stay in the palace to recuperate. I'm going out for a while."
Having said that, he turned around and was about to walk out.
"Your Majesty, wait!"
Zhao Duan was anxious. He raised his battered body and grabbed the empress's hand. He said in a serious tone:
"Your Majesty, please do not act rashly. I feel that this matter is quite suspicious."
As the person who was attacked, Zhao Duan was of course very angry towards Shenlong Temple.
But he also knew that anger would not solve the problem. The reason why he talked so much and explained the whole cause and effect was that he wanted the empress to realize that there was something strange about this matter.
However, Xu Zhenguan just looked down at him calmly and said:
"I understand your intentions. Perhaps, as you think, there is indeed something fishy about this matter, and perhaps someone is deliberately using this as a pretext, but this is not important."
Zhao Duan was stunned.
Xu Zhen looked at him, broke free from his hand, and said:
"Just rest and recuperate. I'll go and help you vent your anger."
"His Majesty……"
…
…
The moment Xu Zhenguan stepped out of the room, the biting winter wind blew on her face.
She also regained her dignity and grace, with a hint of undisguised anger.
"His Majesty!"
The group of people waiting outside the door saluted at the same time. Mo Chou had also rushed over and was among them.
It was around noon, but the sky above the capital was covered with gray clouds, the sky was pale, everything was withered and silent, and there was only desolation.
Xu Zhenguan said indifferently:
"Pass on my decree. The five guards of the Imperial City are dispatched to seal off the Shenlong Temple and the Jizhao Temple."
"I have ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft a decree prohibiting all Buddhist worship within the city effective immediately. This will be announced to all prefectures, following the same regulations as in Beijing. Within two months, Buddhism will be banned throughout the country."
"I have ordered the Ministry of Justice to issue a warrant for the arrest of the criminal monk Da Jing from Shenlong Temple."
"Convey my will..."
In the cold wind, oral decrees were issued one after another. The female officials outside the door were shocked and horrified. Mo Chou stared blankly at the empress who was suppressing her anger. She wanted to say something, but was too scared to speak.
"I obey your command..."
Finally, Mo Chou took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in her heart, and quickly went to do her work. She almost ran, knowing in her heart:
Something big happened.
After issuing the imperial edicts one after another, Xu Zhenguan left the crowd and walked towards the Meridian Gate Square alone.
In the silent palace, the empress was dressed in white, like the only snowflake that adorns the winter sky.
She suddenly raised her hand.
In the direction of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, in the main hall where the ancestral tablets were displayed, a sword box suddenly opened on the altar where incense and candles were always burning.
The Tai'a Sword that Emperor Taizu once wore and that Zhao Du'an summoned during the Buddhist-Taoist competition.
Suddenly there was a buzzing and vibration.
Then, the Taia sword suddenly jumped out of the sword case, flew out of the hall, turned into a ray of golden light and flew out of the Taimiao, handing itself into Xu Zhenguan's delicate jade hands.
Xu Zhenguan held a sword in her hand, her invisible aura rising, and waves of almost invisible dragon energy swirled around her.
The empress took a sudden step forward.
In an instant.
She left the palace and appeared above the Shenlong Temple in the capital.
Xu Zhenguan looked down at the Buddhist temple complex below and could faintly hear the chanting in the temples and the curling smoke of incense and candles.
A cold look appeared in her eyes. She held a sword in her hand and pointed it at the main hall of the temple. Then, the majestic voice of the empress rang out over the entire capital:
"Xuan Yin! Come out and see me!"
The sound was like thunder, shaking the clouds in the sky. In an instant, it spread to every corner of this majestic city with a population of one million.
…
Zhao family.
Eugene Hua was warming herself by the fire in the room with her daughter and was startled by the sound.
The mother and daughter walked out of the room and gathered in the courtyard with a group of servants. They looked at the dragon energy vaguely hovering above the Shenlong Temple with confused expressions.
…
Jizhao nunnery.
By the pond where the withered lotus leaves were already withering, Prajna Bodhisattva, who was sitting on a swing, suddenly looked up.
A pair of wise eyes looked in astonishment at the sky above the temple opposite, where the empress in white stood majestically. Feeling the majestic power of the emperor in the realm of heaven and man, tears flowed from her eyes.
There was chaos in the nunnery. Princess Yunyang walked out of the meditation room and saw the scene in the sky, and was stunned.
…
Tianshi Mansion.
"Ding-dang-dang."
In the workshop of the fat boy Gongshu Tianyuan, the knocking sound stopped, and a believer of the God of Craftsmen wearing a wrinkled priest robe walked out and looked at the distant sky in surprise.
"Your Majesty?" A petite figure flew over, the golden tablet slowly landed on the ground, and she pushed the crystal-lens glasses on her nose, startled, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
The other priests also came out and gathered in the square, looking into the distance in surprise and confusion.
In the backyard, Zhang Yanyi, who was napping under a big banyan tree, was also awakened.
There was a moment of astonishment on his ruddy face, as if the scene before him was not within his deduction of the way of heaven, and he couldn't help but frown.
…
"Xuan Yin! Come out and see me!"
Amid the majestic rebuke, the entire Shenlong Temple bore the brunt of the attack, and countless monks in the temple felt the arrival of the majestic divine power with horror.
Those with higher cultivation levels were still better off, but the young novices with lower cultivation levels trembled all over, feeling instinctive fear and submission.
Monks came out from various Buddhist temples and meditation rooms and gathered in the largest courtyard in the center.
The renowned Master Bianji, also dressed in white and with a handsome and elegant appearance, walked out and immediately became the backbone of the monks.
"Mage!"
"The wizard is coming!"
"What's going on? Why is your majesty doing this? Ordering the abbot?"
The monks were confused and terrified.
Seeing the chaos, Master Bianji put his hands together and said in a loud voice:
"Amitabha!"
As his chanting of the Buddha's name spread, the frightened hearts of the monks were soothed and they calmed down.
Bian Ji stood in the crowd, looked up at the empress in the sky, and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, why are you visiting? The abbot has been in seclusion for many years and has never appeared in the world. If there is any misunderstanding, please let me know, Your Majesty, and I will convey it to you..."
Facing the empress who was obviously furious, Bian Ji was as humble as a little monk.
Xu Zhenguan was too lazy to talk nonsense with Bian Ji. She stood in the air, the tip of her sword pointing at the main hall of Shenlong Temple, where the abbot Xuanyin of the Tianren Realm was in seclusion. Her voice became increasingly cold:
"Xuan Yin! If you don't come out, I will destroy your temple today."
Bian Ji was shocked. He knew that although his master Xuan Yin was in seclusion in Shenlong Temple, his soul was wandering outside all year round.
At this moment, he was probably still in the state of consciousness. Nagarjuna and Dajing were not in the temple, and Prajna was a person who watched the fire from the other side of the river. He immediately gritted his teeth, jumped into the air, and said:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. If there is any misunderstanding, please come into the temple and sit down to discuss in detail..."
Xu Zhenguan had a blank expression on his face, and he casually swung the Taia sword in his hand and slashed a magnificent sword light towards a side hall.
"ah!"
Everyone in the temple was shocked.
Master Bian Ji's heart sank. Without time to think, he immediately stretched out his hands above his head and silently chanted the Buddha's name, accompanied by a "dong" sound.
With him as the center, an extremely huge illusory golden bell suddenly appeared, blocking the path of the sword light.
“Crack!!”
When the two collided, the huge golden bell cracked instantly. Bian Ji was in mid-air, as if he had been hit hard. He spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell into the courtyard like a kite with a broken string.
The remaining sword energy hit the side hall, and in an instant, the glazed roof shattered. The entire Buddhist temple seemed to be hit by a divine weapon and collapsed into ruins.
There was a lot of smoke and dust.
"Mage—"
The monks caught the falling Bian Ji in horror. Although there were many masters in the temple, they had no courage to resist at this moment.
Xu Zhenguan held a sword in his hand and said in a stern tone: "Xuan Yin, get out!"
This was the third sentence she said after arriving. Seeing that the main hall was still quiet, Xu Zhenguan raised his eyebrows and actually stopped waiting.
The empress in white stood in the air, her three thousand black hairs fluttering in the cold wind.
She looked like a banished immortal, her eyes as stern as a god, and she suddenly threw the Taia sword in her hand towards the most majestic palace in the Shenlong Temple!
The sword energy is like a rainbow.
The divine weapon is born.
At this moment, under the gaze of countless people in the capital, a thin ray of fire suddenly lit up in the gray sky, like a world-destroying meteorite.
In the eyes of the practitioners in the city, the tip of the sword suddenly pierced through the sound barrier and created an arc-shaped air shield with a diameter of one hundred meters. It was an air wave condensed by the wind resistance.
The divine sword, carrying an aura of destruction, was red hot like charcoal, burning and distorting the space.
The red flame suddenly grew unimaginably large, almost like a red waterfall splashing across the world.
"ah--"
Amid the horrified and fearful wails of countless monks, the centuries-old golden statue of Buddha in Shenlong Temple was about to be shattered.
In the main hall, a huge Buddha light suddenly rose up.
The Buddha's light was like the morning light tearing through the dawn, and the sun leaped out of the earth from the eastern sky, shining on the world.
In the Buddha's light, an extremely huge image of the "World Honored One" with majestic and compassionate eyes slowly rose up, accompanied by rolling Sanskrit sounds.
An old monk in brown robes quietly appeared on the roof of the temple. His thin and short body stood in the cold winter wind, swaying precariously.
Abbot Xuanyin clasped his hands together.
The majestic image of the "Buddha" also put his hands together and did not counterattack the empress. Instead, he held out a huge golden bell that was large enough to cover the entire Shenlong Temple.
Then, the sword light, like a fiery red waterfall and a meteorite from outer space, crashed into the huge golden bell.
…
ps: Thanks to the book friend Xiaoluobo9975 for the 10,000 points reward! The boss is generous
Thanks to the book friend Zhu Zhao Qiancheng for the 233 coins reward... Why are there both zeros and whole numbers? I'm curious.
(End of this chapter)
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