Chapter 116: The Cui Family's Downfall and the Establishment of a Male Queen
The old woman was naturally unwilling to do so. She would rather be sacrificed herself than let her daughter lose her life at such a young age.
But under Wuxu's deception, the villagers went crazy and ignored the old woman's wishes. They forcibly separated the mother and daughter, locked up the old woman, and forced her daughter to be sacrificed.
When the old woman finally escaped, she found that her daughter had been tied up and thrown into the river.
The daughter's body did not float out, so Wuxu said that this meant that He Bo had accepted the girl, and from now on everyone could go to the river to have children without worry.
Wuxu took the money and left. The villagers were happy, except for the old woman who had lost her only relative. She cried almost blindly.
But no one expected that the river would only be calm for a few days, and afterwards there would be frequent incidents of dark shadows attacking boats and people.
Finally, a stranger passed by and said that this kind of thing had also appeared in the river in his hometown. It was a strange fish that liked to eat raw meat. It was extremely large and fast. Its most common trick was to overturn small fishing boats and then eat the people who fell into the water.
So the black shadows are not Habaek. The villagers sacrificed the girls only to give them food. Once they are full, they will calm down for a few days.
These strange fish swam from other places when the river water level rose sharply in summer. With the help of outsiders, the villagers caught and killed the strange fish.
The river became calm again, but the old woman's daughter could not come back.
The villagers felt that this was unfair and proposed that the whole village provide for the old woman in her old age, but the old woman refused.
She reported the matter to the authorities and wanted them to arrest Wuxu, but the authorities made various excuses. The old woman refused to give up, so she resolutely sold her land and house and embarked on the journey of seeking revenge on Wuxu.
During this journey, she slept in the open air, begged for food along the way, and encountered danger several times and almost died. It was her love for her daughter and hatred for Wuxu that made her grit her teeth and persevere.
More than a month ago, she heard that Wuxu was in Beijing, so she rushed over specially. When she asked for hot water at the door of Rongyin Store, she told the clerk about her experience. Only then everyone did know that Wuxu was a liar.
After the old woman finished speaking, another old couple knelt before Zong Zheng Xiao and told him and everyone about their grievances.
They are also from outside the area. A year ago, their son often had nightmares. When he went out to relax, he met Wuxu and his disciples. Wuxu deceived his son, saying that he was haunted by an evil spirit and that if the spirit was not eliminated, his son would die soon.
The son was frightened, so he took Wuxu and the others back to his home. Wuxu deceived the couple again and asked them to give out half of their belongings to avoid disaster.
The couple asked others and everyone said that this master was indeed very capable, so they no longer had any doubts and continued to do things according to Wuxu's instructions.
Wuxu and his disciples took their son to perform shaman rituals and burn talismans, and they also chanted strange things all day long. After doing this for half a month, his son's mental state became worse and worse. Wuxu said that this was normal and that it meant that the evil spirits were about to be eliminated by them.
Out of trust in Wuxu, the old couple did not investigate further.
A month later, my son was exhausted, but he no longer had nightmares.
Wuxu said that he had finished catching ghosts and left with the remaining reward.
Who knew that not long after they left, the son went crazy, saying all day that he was a Taoist priest and was going to catch monsters. Not only did he make a mess of the house, but he once accidentally ran outside and hurt someone.
The old couple had no choice but to lock the man up and ask a doctor to treat their son.
After a period of treatment, my son would occasionally wake up for a while, but he was crazy most of the time.
Later, when the son woke up one day, he realized that he had caused a lot of trouble for his parents. After leaving a suicide note, he hit his head against the wall and died.
He wrote in his suicide note that during the month Wuxu was catching ghosts, he often wasn't allowed to sleep, saying that if he fell asleep the evil ghosts would come to visit him in his dreams.
Not only that, Wuxu always threatened him, saying that the evil ghost was watching him in the corner, and asked him to recite those messed up spells so that the evil ghost would not come over.
The son was on the verge of collapse from mental and physical exhaustion, and finally he could only lie to Wuxu and say that he no longer had nightmares and that they had successfully caught the ghost.
After he said these words, Wuxu really did not continue catching ghosts. He took the money and left without saying a word.
Only then did the son realize that what Wuxu and the others said about the ghost was actually a lie, and that he had brought a bunch of liars with him to cheat his parents of half their life savings.
Overwhelmed with guilt and grief, the son went crazy.
He said he was a Taoist priest, but he did not have the real ability to kill demons and monsters. This was what he subconsciously wanted to tell his parents that Wuxu was a fake Taoist priest.
After their son's death, the old couple was heartbroken. Knowing that Xiao Wuxu was heading north, apparently to the capital, they packed up their remaining belongings and followed him.
The old couple cried bitterly, and the wife said, "Your Majesty, Wuxu pretended to be a ghost and scared people, causing me to lose my child. Please help me."
The husband also said: "This matter is known to everyone in my hometown. We did not lie. If anyone does not believe it, they can go to the local area to inquire in person. Besides, he has harmed more than just my family. It's just that those people have various difficulties and cannot come to the capital to ask him for an explanation."
The old woman who lost her daughter before had the same meaning. She has nothing to fear because she is upright. She was telling the truth.
Later, some victims came forward and said that they had paid large sums of money to Wuxu to get life-saving drugs, but after the patients took them, the drugs either did not work or aggravated the condition, causing the patients to die early.
They went to Wuxu to reason with him, but were beaten up by his disciples and followers, who said they were deliberately trying to cheat them out of money.
Because many believers have seen Wuxu use the miraculous medicine to bring a dying patient back to life on the spot.
The believers who were sitting in meditation at the scene did not believe what the victim said, and they shouted that the medicine did not work because the patients' families were not sincere.
Rong Yin stepped forward again at this time, put away his playful expression, and said seriously: "Since you believe in Wuxu so much, you can take a look. Do you know these people?"
As he spoke, the guards pushed out the people hiding behind the victims and forced them to raise their heads to show the sworn believers.
Some believers recognized these people.
"I remember that man. When the Taoist priest first arrived in the capital, he brought his seriously ill wife to ask for medicine. After his wife took the medicine given by the Taoist priest, she looked sick at first, but soon became energetic."
"That woman and her child also came to ask for medicine. The child was almost dying. After taking the magic medicine, the child came back to life."
"There was also the old man and the old lady. The old lady asked for medicine for the old man, but because she was not sincere, the old man still died after taking the medicine. We watched the old lady ask to drag the body away, so how come the old man is still alive someone now?!"
"That person also asked for medicine..."
As more and more liars were identified, the real answer became clear, but no believer dared to be the first to say it.
In the end, the liars knelt down in front of the believers and admitted their sins.
"We are not actually sick, and that medicine is not a miracle drug. We were hired by the Taoist priest to act with him."
"We are all telling the truth. If we say anything false, we will be struck by lightning and die miserably."
The believers could no longer sit still and started to make a commotion. Some of them looked so pale that their faces almost turned as white as snow, as if they were thinking of something.
The evidence was right in front of him, there was no way to argue, and he could only look to the head of the Cui family for help.
The head of the Cui family was also panicked. He didn't expect that Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin actually had this trick up their sleeve.
He was about to open his mouth to argue, but Prince Ning next to him gave him a "reassuring" look.
After Patriarch Cui nodded his agreement, Prince Ning turned to face the crowd and said with a smile, "Your Majesty and Rong Yin have invited so many witnesses and given so many testimonies. If anyone still believes that Wuxu is a Taoist master, then I can swear on my life that you believed him wrongly, because he is indeed a big liar!"
"Wow!" Everyone gasped and was stunned.
Isn't Prince Ning in league with the Cui family? Why did he suddenly come out and accuse Wuxu?
Patriarch Cui and Wuxu also widened their eyes in shock. They had not expected that Prince Ning would actually turn against them at this time!
Patriarch Cui inexplicably felt that something was wrong. He looked up at Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin, but found that they looked calm and did not seem surprised at all.
A terrible thought emerged in the mind of Patriarch Cui. Could it be that he had trusted the wrong person from the beginning?
As if to prove his guess, Prince Ning continued, "Lord Cui and this Taoist Wuxu once told me personally that the so-called Taoist master and the so-called Rongyin were evil spirits that brought disaster. They were all a scam set up by the Cui family against the royal family from beginning to end. I was just playing along with them in order to expose their true colors. It was just an act."
The two eminent monks behind him also took two steps forward and said sincerely, "Amitabha, there are indeed Taoist priests with real skills in this world, but they are not comparable to those who deceive the world and steal reputation like Wuxu. The methods used by Wuxu are nothing but tricks. I once discussed Taoism with him and found that he did not even understand the basic Taoist theories. If you don't believe me, you can test him."
After the monk finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Wuxu. The believers looked as if they could see through him and hoped that he could make a few rebuttals.
Later, Wuxu did speak, but he did not explain himself, but directly confessed his guilt.
He kowtowed to Zong Zhengxiao, pointed at the ashen-faced Cui family head and shouted, "It has nothing to do with me. It was Cui who asked me to make up a lie to deceive, saying that Rong Yin was a monster. In fact, I can't catch monsters or prescribe medicine. I am just a liar. I beg the emperor to spare my life for my voluntary confession!"
Amid Wuxu's terrified cries for mercy, several young couples stood up and asked Wuxu anxiously.
"What about our children? You said that they have wisdom and that you would let them practice with you and teach them real skills. Since you are a liar, where are our children?"
Being stared at by so many people, Wuxu dared not not answer. He trembled and said, "I sold them all to vendors. As for where they went, I don't know."
"Oh! My poor child!" A woman couldn't bear it anymore and fainted after crying out.
The believers could no longer control their emotions. They shouted "liar" and "give me back my money" and rushed towards Wuxu with daggers raised.
Wuxu was afraid of death, so he rolled and crawled to hide behind the guards, and at Zong Zhengxiao's signal, the guards stopped the collapsed believers.
The guard shouted, "Everyone, please calm down! Whether you were cheated of money or lost your child! If you want to get it back, you have to go through Wuxu. He must die in the end, but only after compensating for your losses!"
After the guards said this, the believers had to stop and the smart ones immediately knelt in front of Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin, crying and begging the emperor to make a decision for them.
Zong Zhengxiao did not pursue the matter of them threatening to kill him just now, and said loudly: "You are my people, if you have any grievances, I will give you justice!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty!"
The believers kowtowed in gratitude.
The emperor and his followers reconciled their differences, Wuxu was exposed, and it was revealed that Prince Ning had been an undercover agent from the beginning... The plan that was thought to be a sure success turned out to be doomed to fail from the beginning.
The head of the Cui family had a buzzing sound in his head. He looked at Prince Ning who had a serious expression on his face, and pulled the corner of his mouth with an angry smile.
For this day, Prince Ning's family had actually been acting diligently for more than ten years, just to make the aristocratic families believe that Prince Ning's Mansion truly hated Zong Zheng Xiao.
The reason the aristocratic family has come to this point is not because they are not smart enough, but because their enemies are too cunning.
In this game between the aristocratic families and the royal family, their aristocratic family still lost completely.
The toxins in his body took effect, and despair once again triggered the negative emotions of Patriarch Cui. He stared with bloodshot eyes and suddenly screamed like a trapped beast. After attracting everyone's attention, he pointed the dagger at his neck again.
"I'm not lying! I'm not a liar! Rong Yin is the evildoer who brought disaster to the country and the people! I will now sacrifice my blood to the heavens! Let God judge who is the real disaster and liar!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and blood immediately appeared on his neck.
Just as he was about to start mowing, there was a sudden loud "boom" not far away, like thunder in a rainy day, echoing throughout the sky, and it seemed as if the ground was shaking a few times.
Everyone was frightened and screamed, and subconsciously squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands. The head of the Cui family was also stunned. Zong Zhengxiao took the opportunity to walk over and kicked the dagger in his hand away.
The show has just begun, he won’t let the head of the Cui family die so easily!
The guards rushed forward and pinned Master Cui to the ground to prevent him from attempting suicide again.
Soon, the shaking stopped and the terrifying sound disappeared.
The people looked at each other, and no one knew what had happened.
After a while, several patrol officers and soldiers and civilians came over. The officers and soldiers came to Zong Zhengxiao, knelt down and saluted, and said, "Your Majesty, a building of the Cui family suddenly collapsed, and the ruins were pitch black. Some people said that it was a thunderbolt from the sky that destroyed the Cui family's house!"
The few people who came with the officers and soldiers were also gossiping with the uninformed civilians nearby.
"Really, I happened to pass by Cui's house at that time, and saw a bolt of lightning falling from the sky, hitting Cui's head, and then the building collapsed."
"I didn't see the lightning this gentleman mentioned, but the Cui family's house did collapse, and the ground was indeed pitch black. I have seen places struck by lightning before, and they were just as dark as the Cui family's house."
"Why would there be any doubt? It must have been struck by lightning. Apart from lightning, what else could make such a loud noise?"
"This is the first time I've seen a family in the capital being struck by lightning."
The people who had been watching the scene shouted, "Just now, when Lord Cui asked God to judge who was the liar, the Cui family's house was immediately struck by lightning. Does this mean that God has already given the answer?"
"Haha, the Cui family framed Boss Rong as a demon, but they were the thief crying thief. The Cui family is the real disaster!"
"No wonder the Cui family's sons all died such tragic deaths. This is God punishing their family!"
Facing the accusations of the crowd, the head of the Cui family, who was held by the guards, kept struggling and shouting: "You are talking nonsense! My Cui family is not a disaster star! No!"
The people ignored him and continued to curse.
"Disaster! You caused us to suffer! It's right that so many people from the Cui family died!"
"The disaster star is rolling out of Dasheng! Give us back peace!"
"The Cui family, get out of Dasheng!"
“You guys…” Patriarch Cui’s eyes were bloodshot and his chest was heaving violently.
He wanted to curse back, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a fishy and sweet taste suddenly surged up his throat.
"Puff!" A mouthful of black blood spurted out.
Amid the crowd shouting that Master Cui was getting his retribution, Master Cui tilted his head and fainted again.
The farce ended with the family's defeat.
Wuxu was detained, investigated and tried. Seeing that the head of the Cui family was about to die, Zong Zhengxiao allowed the Cui family to take him back home.
Coincidentally, just as the head of the Cui family was carried away, the falling snowflakes suddenly stopped, and the dark clouds that had shrouded the capital for several months dispersed, revealing the dazzling sun. The warm sunlight sprinkled down, illuminating every inch of land and every person.
No one knew who started it, but when the dark clouds had completely dissipated, the people had already knelt down in front of Zong Zheng Xiao, shouting in unison: "Your Majesty is wise! Long live your Majesty!!!"
This sound was even comparable to the "thunder" just now, and was loud enough for most of the capital to hear.
After this battle, Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin's reputation will once again rise to a terrifying height.
The heavy snow stopped, but the trial against the Cui family had just begun.
The reason why Zong Zhengxiao was unable to accompany Rong Yin out of the palace to watch the dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival was because he received a secret letter from his sister Zong Zhengxi.
After Da Sheng stabilized, the princess and her husband began to travel around the world. It so happened that when the Chen family was in trouble, they were traveling nearby. After receiving the news that the Cui family and Zong Zhengxiao were looking for Young Master Chen, the two took the initiative and were the first to find Young Master Chen who was hiding.
In order to avenge his family, Master Chen agreed to cooperate with the royal family and confess the evidence of Cui's crimes that he knew.
Young Master Chen was secretly sent back to the capital. Of course, the princess still refused to set foot in this place and did not return with him.
Not long ago, He Yan was also moved by Ning Yue and handed over the evidence of crimes of several families that her father left to her sisters. Among them, the Li family had the least, the Chen family was second, and the Cui family had the most.
With the evidence provided by these two people, plus the results of Zong Zhengxiao's investigations over the years, the Cui family was caught almost overnight, without even a chance to defend themselves, because those evil deeds were indeed done by the Cui family.
The key is to form a clique for personal gain, not to mention that they have just committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. Not only that, the Cui family's crimes in recent years also involve cheating in imperial examinations, selling private salt, embezzling taxes, malicious competition in the business world...
The young masters of the Cui family bullied men and women and killed people. They were even more vicious than Li Ao back then.
Ever since the imperial court announced that it would punish the Cui family, the threshold of the government office was almost broken down again. Many innocent people who had been oppressed and harmed by the Cui family and had nowhere to seek redress finally had the opportunity to appeal today.
The Cui family became a disaster that everyone hated, and the Cui family's accomplices did not escape punishment either, including the Chen and Li families. They were all dismissed from their posts, investigated, and thrown into prison.
As the year draws to a close, the prison is busier than the market.
The Cui Mansion was ransacked and sealed off. The front of the gate was filled with stones, rotten vegetable leaves, and stinky eggs, and the stench was overwhelming. Where was the glory and nobility of the first family in the capital?
Patriarch Cui woke up in prison. His steward was standing by his side. Seeing Patriarch Cui, who was originally on the verge of death, now had a rosy complexion and was full of energy, he immediately guessed that this might be a last gasp of energy.
After hearing the steward's account of what happened to the Cui family after he fainted, and learning that Old Lady Cui and Madam Cui had hanged themselves before the soldiers entered the mansion, and that the eldest son's legs were broken by the collapsed house, the head of the Cui family immediately beat his chest and stamped his feet, tears streaming down his face.
"The Cui family was defeated by me. How can I dare to meet my ancestors in the afterlife?"
He looked up at the small window, his eyes full of resentment but also full of sadness.
"Zong Zhengxiao, Rong Yin, you won. You won in the end!"
He raised his arms and shouted: "God wants to destroy my Cui family!"
Before he could finish his words, the Cui family head fell to the ground on the straw pile. His eyes were still wide open, but he was no longer breathing.
I will die with my eyes open unwillingly.
Once the head of the Cui family died, the Cui family was truly finished.
All the nine members of the Cui family were implicated, and some were sentenced to be beheading, some were sentenced to exile, and some were reduced to slavery. The money seized from the confiscation of their homes was also added to the national treasury.
The process is similar to that of He Jia back then, except that more people are involved and more gold, silver and treasures are seized.
This year Zong Zhengxiao did not stop writing. He was busy from the end of the year to the next year. He only gave himself and the civil and military officials two days off on New Year's Eve.
After the New Year, Caishikou was flooded with blood again. Large numbers of criminals were sent to the border. Countless young masters and young ladies fell from the clouds overnight and were forever buried in dust.
It was not until late summer and early autumn that this sensational trial came to an end.
But before the people could catch their breath, Zong Zhengxiao announced another big news to Quan Dasheng - he was going to marry Rong Yin in a formal ceremony and make her his queen.
To make a man, especially one from a different race, the queen was probably the greatest feat in history, unprecedented and unparalleled, so it naturally caused quite a stir among the people.
But then, Zong Zhengxiao told the world that in fact, the cheap ice, cheap paper, fertilizers that you have long been accustomed to, the corn and various delicacies that you are accustomed to eating, and even the storybook that is popular in Dasheng, were all brought by Rong Yin.
And based on Rong Yin's guidance, Prince Ji Xie found two high-yield varieties last year - potatoes and sweet potatoes.
What Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin said before, "they're on the way", were referring to these two kinds of grains.
Now the high-quality varieties of these two staple foods have been planted and are about to be harvested. Zong Zhengxiao said that those who are interested can go to the imperial manor for a visit, and after the harvest, some will be released to the market for people to taste.
By the second year, potato and sweet potato seeds will be gradually distributed to everyone for planting, just like corn was before. In the future, everyone will have two more types of food to fill their stomachs.
Regarding the heir to the throne, Zong Zheng Xiao also gave an answer. Since he and Rong Yin would not have any descendants, he had secretly cultivated Ning Wang's second son, Zong Zheng Lianjun.
After making Rong Yin the queen, he will also hand over the position of crown prince to Zong Zheng Lianjun, so that the Da Sheng kingdom will not be left without a successor.
After Zong Zhengxiao's operation, all the people in Dasheng were stunned.
"According to this statement, Rong Yin has contributed a lot to the prosperity of Dasheng today."
"Your Majesty should not be lying, because these things did appear gradually after the mermaids were sent to the capital."
"All the high officials in the capital have come out to testify for the mermaid. These good things were indeed brought out by the mermaid."
"According to my friend's suggestion, I actually found the signature of 'Rong Yin' disguised as a floral pattern on the printed illustrations of the storybook."
"Both the teahouse and the bookstore have posted notices that the author of the novel is indeed Rong Yin."
Everyone was thinking, everyone was silent.
"Since Your Majesty has already arranged the successor, Rong Yin has made so many contributions to our Da Sheng, and he is also a good person. If we are not willing to give him the position of empress, wouldn't it be too stingy?"
"And maybe Rong Yin still has some good stuff to show us. If we don't agree to make him queen, and he runs away to another country, then won't the good stuff belong to someone else?"
"Yes, yes, once she becomes the queen, she will be one of our Dasheng people. If there are good things, they will naturally be close to us first."
"So... you don't object to His Majesty making Rong Yin the queen?"
"No, no, I don't object. In fact, I was quite supportive from the beginning, because I have worshiped the scripts written by Rong Yin for several years, and I found that they really brought me good things. I thought that if Rong Yin became the empress, his blessings would definitely be greater, and he would definitely bring me more good luck."
"What? Why didn't you tell us about this good thing?"
"Don't you know that offering Rong Yin's words, which was popular in the capital at that time, would bring good luck?"
"I don't know! No, I'm going to buy it now. Buy eight or ten copies and put them in every room of my house!"
As a result, the storybooks were once again sold out, and the bookstore owner lay in the mansion he had bought with the money he earned from selling storybooks, grinning from ear to ear.
Rong Yin originally thought that even with Zong Zhengxiao's explanation, it might take the people a long time to accept the fact that their country would soon have a male queen. However, he did not expect that the mentality and acceptance of the people of Da Sheng seemed surprisingly good.
Sure enough, in the face of absolute interests, all rules and etiquette are bullshit.
So what if there was no precedent of making a man of a different race the queen? Today, Dasheng will create this precedent! We are so awesome! We are so different!
The Qintianjian chose an auspicious date, the Ministry of Rites spent more than half a year preparing, and the Ministry of Revenue allocated money without any regrets.
In the early summer of the following year, which was also the day when Rong Yin traveled through the book, Zong Zheng Xiao and Rong Yin held their wedding ceremony, which was also the ceremony of crowning the queen.
Why not hold it separately? The answer is that Rong Yin feels it is too troublesome and tiring and does not want to come a second time.
Zong Zhengxiao and Rong Yin first dressed in wedding clothes, worshiped the heavens, the earth and their ancestors, then changed into dragon robes and specially made empress dresses, and under the gaze of all the ministers, they went up the steps hand in hand, and then stood side by side in the hall to accept the kneeling worship of all the officials.
"Long live the emperor! Long live the empress!"
Under the warm sunshine, with gorgeous clothes, jade crowns and pearl ornaments hanging down, Zong Zheng Xiao and Rong Yin smiled at each other. The past overlapped with the present. From the moment they met, they were destined to love each other for a lifetime.
Rong Yin raised his eyebrows and said in his heart: "Hello, bad emperor!"
Zong Zheng Xiao smiled: "Hello, little mermaid."
[End of text]
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