Chu Yi was standing next to the emperor, his frost-white cloak fluttering in the wind.
He was also looking after Yan Fei.
Gu Yanfei didn't expect Chu Yi to come back at this time. She looked up and smiled at him. In an instant, she was like a flower bud on a branch that suddenly bloomed with a smile, her face beautiful and elegant.
The emperor slowly looked around at the people below and said, "Everyone, get up."
His voice contained a hint of fatigue that was barely noticeable in the cold winter wind.
The chief eunuch Zhao Rang repeated the emperor's words at the top of his voice, his shrill voice echoing throughout the silent square.
The people were a little surprised that the emperor was so approachable and stood up one after another.
The emperor's second question was: "Who struck the drum?"
Zhao Rang repeated this sentence again.
Zhang Shusheng straightened his robe, walked towards the center with a slightly stiff figure, and came to the front of Chengtian Gate.
The little girl timidly held onto a corner of her father's robe and followed him closely.
Zhang Shusheng managed to maintain his composure, bowed to the emperor on the tower, and replied loudly: "Your Majesty, I am a commoner."
The square in front of Chengtian Gate was empty, with two rows of imperial guards in bronze helmets and iron armor guarding both sides. The imperial guards did not clear the square, but simply stopped the rest of the people on both sides.
The onlookers were standing far away and could not actually see the emperor's appearance clearly. They only felt that the emperor had a thin appearance and a noble bearing. When he was not smiling, he had an invisible and intimidating majesty of the emperor.
The people could not help but feel uneasy and waited to see what would happen.
The emperor on the tower immediately asked, "Who is stopping people from beating the drum for reporting?"
The yamen runners, led by the squad leader, were all trembling, and none of them dared to agree. But they didn't say anything, and General Li spoke for them: "Your Majesty, it was a yamen runner from Jingzhao Prefecture."
Li Zongqi's heart sank slightly, knowing that he would not be able to escape the charge of inaction for watching the yamen runners attack ordinary people today. He even hated Jingzhao Yin in his heart.
The cold wind blew and ruffled the emperor's beard.
The emperor stroked his beard and said coldly, "Call the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture."
When the yamen runners heard this, their legs went weak and they immediately knelt down again, bowing their heads to the ground in fear, not daring to move.
The emperor then asked Zhang Shusheng, "Who is the one who is complaining? Why are you beating the drum?"
Zhang Shusheng is still feeling very nervous and anxious.
Now the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.
He gritted his teeth and stopped being afraid, and continued, "I am Zhang Min, a commoner, suing Her Royal Highness the Princess for ordering people to kidnap innocent children in order to extract their heart blood to make elixirs to cure diseases..."
The more Zhang Min spoke, the more sad and angry he became. He became more and more excited. His eyes were red and his chest was heaving violently.
Zhang Min only mentioned suing the eldest princess and did not mention the emperor at all. In fact, he and other people present suspected that the emperor might know about it and even indulged his beloved daughter, but they did not dare to criticize the emperor.
“……”The emperor on the city wall closed his eyes, with extremely complex and strong emotions surging in his heart.
Even though the emperor had already heard Gu Yuan's report of what happened before, he felt heartbroken when he heard the person involved tell it again in person.
If there is a way to save his daughter, the emperor can pay any price, but he will never exchange his daughter's life for someone else's.
Now, his daughter is dying and has only two days to live, but some people are making trouble in the name of his daughter.
Just thinking about it, the emperor felt a pang of pain in his heart, his hands and feet turned cold with anger, and his thin body trembled slightly.
Chu Yi walked down the tower slowly, and asked Zhang Min as he walked, "What proof do you have?"
Chu Yi's clear and bright voice was like a gentle spring breeze in March, blowing across the entire square.
Although Zhang Min didn't know who this young man in white was, he was obviously a nobleman since he could speak on behalf of the emperor.
He calmed himself down and replied politely, "My daughter is the witness. She escaped from the palace by chance and said that she wanted to save the eldest princess, so she wanted to take their heart blood so that Shangqing Zhenren could make the heart pill..."
The surroundings were quiet again.
"Shangqing?" Chu Yi repeated softly, his calm tone without any emotion.
But to Zhang Min, it sounded like the other party was questioning the matter.
"It's really the Shangqing Zhenren." Zhang Min said quickly, "My daughter will never lie."
The girl snuggled up to her father and nodded awkwardly.
Suddenly, a young man shouted in a high-pitched voice from the crowd, "We'll know if Shangqing Zhenren went to the palace yesterday!"
As soon as this was said, other people also thought it made sense and nodded. Someone even said, "I went to Wuliang Temple early this morning. The Taoist priest in the temple said that Shangqing Zhenren was summoned to the palace yesterday and did not return all night."
There was an instant commotion among the crowd, like ripples on the surface of a lake.
Chu Yi continued to walk forward, and said slowly and loudly: "The eldest princess is indeed ill."
"Shangqing said that we need to use 100 boys and girls, take their heart blood, and refine the heart pill to extend the life of the princess. Otherwise, the princess will not live for more than three days."
These words took everyone by surprise.
They originally thought that the royal family would flatly deny the matter, but they did not expect that the young man would bluntly admit that there was indeed such a thing as the "Heart Pill".
Instead of feeling happy, everyone felt depressed.
The emperor personally went to Chengtian Gate only to temporarily calm the public anger.
The eldest princess did such a heinous thing. Will the royal family then put the blame on the slaves, saying that the slaves acted on their own initiative? Kill a few people, and then let it go? The people were instantly in an uproar, forgetting their awe of the royal family for a moment, and became more and more noisy.
The Grand Princess wants their child's life, what should they do? !
The emotions of the people who lost their children were close to collapse. They were angry, sad, and powerless. They didn't know what they, the humble people, could do in the face of the emperor's power? !
"I am willing to take blood for my child." The middle-aged woman who came with Zhang Min suddenly rushed to Zhang Min and his daughter like a wild beast, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to the emperor on the tower at the top of her voice, "Your Majesty, please! I am willing to take your life for yours."
Her genuine expression and voice are very contagious.
Soon, the families of other children also kowtowed to the emperor, expressing their willingness to donate their blood on behalf of their children.
This scene deeply touched the other onlookers, and they all had sore eyes and choked up slightly.
The people around started to make noise again, one wave after another like the sea waves.
"What Shangqing said is against the moral principles, and the eldest princess doesn't want it." Chu Yi's calm voice sounded again, "The emperor doesn't want it either."
His beautiful voice seemed to have a unique penetrating power, passing through people's eardrums and gently knocking on everyone's hearts;
It was also like a clear stream from a mountain stream gurgling out, washing away the dryness in everyone's hearts.
Chu Yi continued calmly, "As the Buddha said: Deeds done in this life will be repaid in the next life. Your Majesty loves his daughter so much that he will not allow the eldest princess to commit more sins and bring disaster to her next life."
Chu Yi's words were concise and straightforward, without any affectation.
However, most of the people present were not convinced by Chu Yi. They thought that his words were just nice-sounding talk without any real evidence.
There are many people in this world who would commit horrible mistakes just to survive! Besides, it must be true that so many children in the capital city are missing, right? Who kidnapped those children? If it wasn't the royal family, who else could have kidnapped so many children silently overnight? !
The people were full of doubts.
But even if some people don't believe it and think it's an excuse made by the royal family to fool people, they dare not say anything. After all, it's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. For those nobles, killing a commoner like them is as easy as crushing an ant.
Everyone was talking, even if everyone's voice was not loud, but the noise was mixed together and the restlessness in the square did not subside for a long time.
Chu Yi's gaze passed through the noisy and impetuous crowd and looked at a slender snow-green figure.
"Besides," Chu Yi added in a steady tone, "the eldest princess's illness does not require a heart pill."
What do you mean?! This sentence startled the impetuous people again, and they looked up at him in astonishment.
The noisy voices around disappeared in an instant, leaving only the rustling sound of flags in the cold wind.
Someone in the crowd raised his voice and asked, "Who said that?"
"Shangqing Zhenren's Taoism is profound and can bring the dead back to life. Everyone in the capital knows this!"
"Shangqing Zhenren has said so, is there any possibility of exception?!"
The rough voice spoke with great confidence, and the people nearby felt deeply moved.
"I said so."
The one who answered him was not Chu Yi, but another clear and loud female voice.
"The eldest princess doesn't need a heart pill."
As Gu Yanfei spoke, he walked out of the crowd and strolled over to Zhang Min and his daughter.
There was a confident smile on her lips, with a bit of pride and arrogance, but because of her outstanding appearance and free and easy temperament, she did not make people feel disgusted.
Everyone's eyes were once again focused on Gu Yanfei.
"Isn't this the girl from before?" Someone in the crowd pointed at Gu Yanfei and said, "Even that evil wind couldn't blow her down."
"Yes, yes." Someone immediately echoed excitedly in a high-pitched voice, "The wind scatters when it hits her. She must be a god!"
"And that yamen runner tried to be rude to her, and ended up falling flat on his face."
"The evil wind just now... no, the violent wind, was it caused by her?"
When the wind started just now, it was so chaotic that most people were blown around by the strong wind. In fact, they didn't see what was happening at all. But now, hearing others swearing that they had seen it too.
This person said that the girl's feet did not touch the ground when she was walking just now, and she was carried by the wind; that person said that when the yamen runner was rude to her, he saw a wind blade slashing out...
(End of this chapter)
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