Chapter 92 092 The flames of burning paper money throughout the city all revealed…
After hearing the eunuch's words, Yun Tianjiao wished he could wipe out the entire Imperial Observatory.
Shen Hengzhen is right. To be so superstitious that even state affairs have to be decided by divination, with no one in the country capable of making decisions with their brains, from the monarch down to the officials, is nothing short of a sign of national ruin.
But she soon gleaned another crucial piece of information.
"You mean... the Imperial Observatory performed divination using yarrow stalks in front of the statue of the Celestial Venerable?"
"Indeed, His Majesty offered a great deal of incense in order to obtain a divine decree from the Heavenly Venerable."
Yun Tianjiao waved away the eunuchs, looked at Zhiwei, and said with certainty, "It is Lin Shen who wants Mu Ge dead."
But she couldn't understand it.
Why?
Zhiwei lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, but did not answer Yun Tianjiao's question. She only said, "His Majesty seems to have been going to Lin Shen to offer sacrifices frequently lately."
Yun Tianjiao's gaze fell on the curtains of the green gauze bedchamber. After Yun Tianqi was calmed by Zhiwei's spell, he had been sleeping inside, but he was very restless and could often be heard making soft muttering sounds.
"You suspect that His Majesty's recent nightmares are related to Lin Shen?" Yun Tianjiao's expression grew increasingly solemn. "As the head of the gods, what is his purpose in bewitching the Emperor and causing chaos throughout the world?"
Zhiwei's answer was incisive: "The more turbulent the mortal world is, the more people will place their hopes on divine power."
When the weather is favorable and the country is prosperous, the people have enough to eat and wear, each doing their own work and reaping the rewards. They believe that everything is possible with human effort and that human will can overcome nature. However, once chaos descends, the country is shattered, the people are displaced and live in constant fear, and the individual's strength can no longer contend with fate. They can only plead with heaven and earth, humbly prostrating themselves at the feet of all the gods and Buddhas, begging for mercy.
Hunger, weakness, poverty, and illness often bring about deeper obsessions, and these obsessions become nourishment for the gods.
The Kingdom of Yunchi has been peaceful for far too long.
...
Yun Tianqi opened his eyes and found himself floating in mid-air like a wandering ghost, looking down at the imperial court. But he could tell that this was not the imperial court of Yun Chi Kingdom.
It was court assembly time, and all the civil and military officials were kneeling on the ground. Only one refined-looking minister stood upright, his face as cold as frost as he glared at the young emperor on the imperial steps.
The emperor, sword in hand, pointed directly at his ministers below, and sternly rebuked them: "Yuan Jiu! We grew up together since childhood, as close as brothers. Yet you, relying on my favor, secretly formed cliques, minted coins, and stockpiled troops, plotting a rebellion! You even bribed the eunuchs around me to poison me! You, you heartless scoundrel, I could kill you a thousand times and still not be satisfied with my hatred!"
The minister named Yuan Jiu burst into laughter, then rushed towards the emperor and spat, cursing, "Wen Cheng! You've acted against the natural order, oppressing the people! Who the hell is your brother? The victor is king, the loser is villain. Kill me if you want, but I'll watch you, this tyrant, perish and your clan be wiped out, even as a ghost!"
Yuan Jiu was quickly subdued by imperial guards who rushed up from the palace and gagged.
"Treacherous minister! Treacherous minister!" The emperor on the imperial steps was furious, pacing back and forth with his sword in hand, almost incoherently, "This...this traitorous minister! I want, I want him sentenced to be cut in half at the waist! His corpse will be paraded through the streets, burned and his ashes scattered, and his entire family will be exterminated!!"
Yun Tianqi's vision went black for a moment, and when his vision returned, he found himself having left the imperial court and floating in mid-air in the bustling city outside the palace.
Dressed in prison garb and with disheveled hair, Yuan Jiu was dragged onto the execution platform. The tall guillotine crashed down, cleaving him in two at the waist!
Yun Tianqi was so frightened that he tried to close his eyes, but he found that no matter how many times he blinked, he could not block out the bloody and terrifying scene.
Yuan's lower body was still stuck on the guillotine blade, but his upper body fell down, rolled on the ground, and lay face down.
He was still laughing loudly, supporting himself with his hands as he crawled forward, leaving a bloody trail wide enough for one person to walk on the ground, dragging out his lungs, heart, and liver.
"Wen Cheng! You tyrant! I'll haunt you even as a ghost! Hahahaha! I'll be waiting for you to descend to the eighteenth level of hell as a ghost!"
After uttering this final curse, Yuan Jiu died of a sudden, overwhelming anger.
However, at that very moment, Yuan Jiu's young face, with its eyes wide open and unable to close in death, transformed into the appearance of Shen Hengzhen.
Yun Tianqi was so shocked that he began to retch violently. Then everything went black, and he finally found himself kneeling in the temple, with the towering statue of the Heavenly Venerable standing before him.
"Heavenly Venerable! Heavenly Venerable! This is the third time I've dreamt of these two people. Who are they? I don't want to dream of them anymore! I beg the Heavenly Venerable to save me! I beg the Heavenly Venerable to save me!"
As Yun Tianqi kowtowed, he cried out in prayer. Suddenly, the cold and majestic statue emitted a divine light, revealing the immense divine form of the Heavenly Venerable.
"These two were a ruler and a minister of a dynasty hundreds of years ago. Yuan Jiu was cut in half at the waist by Wen Cheng, and not long after, Wen Cheng was also assassinated in the palace by Yuan Jiu's remaining followers. Why do they keep appearing in Your Majesty's dreams? Can't Your Majesty guess why?"
Yun Tianqi's lips trembled, and he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, but he still dared not voice his guess.
The Celestial Venerable, however, slowly said, "Indeed, these two are His Majesty and Lord Shen's past lives. Your fates as ruler and subject are intertwined, destined to be lifelong enemies. In this life, His Majesty and Lord Shen..."
"No way!" Yun Tianqi, who always treated the gods with utmost respect, suddenly interrupted the Heavenly Venerable's words loudly. His face showed fear and his eyes were filled with apprehension, but his tone revealed a firmness that was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
"No! Shen Hengzhen and I will never end up like this!"
His voice echoed in the dim and empty temple hall. After a long while, the Heavenly Venerable Lin Shen slowly sighed.
"It's not unsolvable; the key lies in this person."
With a flick of his sleeve, the Dharma Image of Lin Shen summoned a screen of light, upon which appeared the person Mu Ge.
Yun Tianqi said urgently, "I have already killed this man! I have already killed him! That day, I had the Imperial Observatory perform divination before Your Majesty's statue, and he has already executed him in accordance with Your Majesty's decree!"
"Not enough, not enough." The Celestial Venerable spoke calmly, his face compassionate. The upper half of his face was hidden in the swirling incense smoke, while the lower half was illuminated by candlelight, and his thin lips were slightly curved upwards.
"This boy has extremely strong luck. If Your Majesty wishes to break the deadly trap with Lord Shen, you will need to do so..."
...
Yun Tianqi suddenly sat up abruptly from the gauze-covered wardrobe. After sitting there for a moment, he jumped off the bed, slipped on his shoes, and left. Yinye, who had come to change the incense, was bumped aside by him and couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
Yun Tianjiao and Zhiwei were talking in the outer room when they were drawn in by the sound.
"His Majesty has woken up?" Yun Tianjiao was about to speak, but Yun Tianqi ignored him completely and quickly left Chang Le Palace with his head down.
She chased after him for a few steps, then felt dizzy and lightheaded. She quickly said to Zhiwei, "Go and see him, something seems wrong with him."
Zhiwei followed his instructions and went after him, returning about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
"how?"
Zhiwei's expression was somewhat strange. "His Majesty has already ordered that Mugo's head be hung outside the west gate of the capital, to be exposed to the sun for forty-nine days, as a warning to others and to let the refugees of the world know that the imperial majesty is inviolable."
Enraged, Yun Tianjiao tasted blood again in his throat and asked Zhiwei, "Why didn't you stop him?"
Zhiwei gave Yun Tianjiao a deep look. "His Majesty said this is a divine decree from the Heavenly Venerable. Only in this way can he and Lord Shen be safe and sound."
Yun Tianjiao forced himself to stand up and took out his Ghost-Slaying Blade. "Let's go to the West Gate now. We must suppress this farce and prevent it from escalating further."
Unexpectedly, Zhiwei, who had always been subservient to her, gently pulled her back this time.
"Your Highness, we... must not interfere in this matter any further."
Zhiwei's eyes were like deep pools, gazing at Yun Tianjiao with an unfathomable emotion.
"Why?" Yun Tianjiao asked, puzzled.
Seeing that Zhiwei did not answer for a long time, he took a deep breath and said, "Fine, if you don't care, I'll go by myself. Move aside."
She tried to avoid Zhiwei, but suddenly smelled a faint fragrance, and then everything went black before her eyes, and she lost consciousness.
Zhiwei reached out, put her arm around her waist, and picked her up in her arms.
Yun Tianjiao rested his head softly on Zhiwei's shoulder, his brows slightly furrowed, as if showing anxiety. Zhiwei's eyes showed a hint of struggle; he knew that doing this would definitely anger her, but he had no other choice.
He overlooked a small detail, so much so that when he realized the situation was hopeless and there was no chance to turn things around, all he could do was carefully hide the person he wanted to protect.
"Your Highness, please get some sleep first. I will wake you up after your nineteenth birthday. No matter how much you blame me then, I will be willing to accept the punishment."
Zhiwei gently kissed Yun Tianjiao on the head, then carried her toward the phoenix bed. As they passed the bedside, she glanced outwards indifferently, her eyes turning cold and indifferent.
Looking through the window from here, a corner of the magnificent and ornate eaves peeks out from the layers of palaces; that is the divine temple where the Heavenly Venerable resides.
...
Mugo's head was hung on the west gate and displayed to the public. Not only that, but it was also poured with dirty water and night soil every day.
Almost every day, refugees would raid the area, trying to steal Mugo's head.
The imperial guards strictly followed the emperor's orders, and any rebels who dared to challenge the imperial authority, regardless of age or gender, were to be killed without mercy.
Blood stained the bluestone bricks in front of the West Gate again and again, only to be washed clean again and again, in an attempt to create the illusion that nothing had happened.
Not only at the west gate of the imperial city, but also at the site chosen for the Wanxi Temple, the day Mugo was beheaded, thousands of refugees rioted, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, with blood flowing everywhere, almost staining the land within a ten-mile radius deep red.
However, after a rain, the situation seemed to have been smoothed over.
Construction of the Wanxi Temple began as scheduled, but an accident occurred when the first pile was driven into the ground.
Blood was seeping from the ground.
The stake seemed to be embedded in something living, with fresh, warm blood flowing continuously.
The construction workers were so frightened they nearly wet themselves and scattered like birds and beasts.
Rumors spread like wildfire. Some said the current emperor, having acted perversely and indiscriminately slaughtered innocents, had finally incurred divine retribution, even being prevented from completing the construction of the divine palace. Others said that Qingyuan's divine rank was insufficient; although the Heavenly Venerable had forcibly promoted him to Divine Venerable, he was ultimately not recognized by the Heavenly Dao, hence the palace's construction was thwarted. Still others said that the refugees who had perished tragically in the Land of Ten Thousand Streams had transformed into vengeful ghosts, coming to claim their lives.
In short, all sorts of rumors circulated, and the whole city was in a state of panic.
Qingyuan naturally couldn't sit idly by. He had already lost a lot of incense offerings because of this temple. If the temple couldn't be completed, wouldn't he be at a huge loss? So the next day, he appeared in the sky above Wanxi and used the power of a celestial being to forcefully drive hundreds of earth piles into the ground.
Fortunately, under his divine power, no more strange bleeding occurred. The craftsmen were somewhat relieved and worked cautiously for two days. Seeing that nothing had happened, they were no longer afraid.
On this day, the Cold Clothes Festival, every household burned paper money to send winter clothes to the deceased. Unexpectedly, the flames of the paper money burning throughout the city all showed a strange bright blue color.
Then, Mugo's head, which had been hanging on the west gate, disappeared.
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