klisemfg Chapter 237: The Gentleman Changes, Even the Old Taoist Can’t Do Anything
Chapter 237: The Gentleman Changes, Even the Old Taoist Can’t Do Anything
Imperial Palace, Pingqing Hall.
In the middle there is a censer of agarwood, with purple smoke curling up.
The fragrance is changeable, sometimes as cool as mint, sometimes as distant as orchid, and sometimes as refreshing as green tangerine.
There was no one else in the hall except Xiao Chongjing and Zhuoqing. Even the eunuchs who were serving him were sent away by Xiao Chongjing.
Xiao Chongjing was leaning against the dragon throne with his back hunched. Although he was wearing a flowing cloud cloak, he looked a little haggard.
He reigned for more than fifteen years, and apart from killing meritorious officials unjustly and concentrating power arbitrarily, he did not achieve any outstanding political achievements.
Although he is far from being a good person, he can be said to be diligent (hardworking) and hardworking (addicted) in being an emperor.
Apart from the routine three festivals and four sacrifices, it was rare for him not to attend the morning court.
The morning court was cancelled today because of the wedding of Prince Xiao Ruojin.
However, he still ordered Zhuoqing to accompany him to Pingqing Hall. There was a rosewood table on the upper left side of the hall, on which tea and snacks had been prepared long ago, and it seemed that they were waiting for someone.
Xiao Chongjing lifted a corner of his cloak, sat on the dragon throne, looked down at the steps and murmured:
"I have been in power for over fifteen years. During these fifteen years, I have respected Heaven and loved my people, working tirelessly day and night... The people of Beili can now be said to be peaceful and prosperous!"
"But why are there always some martial artists who refuse to obey the teachings and always want to make things difficult for me and the imperial court?"
"First there was Li Changsheng, then there was Wen Yanzhao. They only wanted to show off their power to overshadow my royal power. How can this be justified?"
Zhuoqing stood beside the dragon throne with his head bowed. He listened carefully to Xiao Chongjing's words. It seemed that he had nothing to say except to comfort the emperor.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Li Changsheng has already left Beili and traveled far and wide. Since he has said he will not return, there is no need to worry about his threats."
"But Wen Yanzhao is young and impetuous, and he refuses to be disciplined! Your Majesty's kindness and power have failed to influence this vicious villain. In my opinion, there is no other solution except to kill him!"
"Right now, we're counting on General Su Xin to besiege the Wen family and then intercept them on their way back to reinforce them!"
After saying that, Zhuoqing slashed his palm across the neck.
After hearing this, Xiao Chongjing suddenly raised his head and stared into Zhuoqing's eyes and asked, "The last time you fought Wen Yanzhao, were you confident that you could defeat him?"
Zhuoqing was startled and lowered his head with a hint of shame:
"That villain's poison skills are truly amazing. If I use the Nine-Layered Emptiness Skill, I have a 30% chance of defeating him!"
Xiao Chongjing narrowed his eyes: "Three points?"
Zhuo Qing felt a little guilty: "If we want to deal with this brat, it will definitely not be just me..."
"No matter how high his martial arts skills are, he only has two fists and a sword. We have thirty to fifty masters above the Earth Realm in our inner court!"
"Among them are experts in using poisonous hidden weapons, firearms and flying arrows. If all these people rush over, that kid will have to give up even if he has nine lives!"
Xiao Chongjing felt relieved after hearing this:
"What if Imperial Master Qi Tianchen comes to your aid? Are you confident you can defeat him completely?"
Zhuo Qing's face lit up with joy, and he said with great confidence, "If the Imperial Master is willing to help, adding another Wen Yanzhao won't be a problem!"
Xiao Chongjing smiled and nodded: "Okay! I hope you won't let me down then!"
As he finished speaking, a young eunuch came in from outside the hall and leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's Grand Historian and the Imperial Preceptor Qi Tianchen have arrived outside the hall!"
Xiao Chongjing was shocked when he heard this: "The Imperial Master has arrived? Hurry up and invite him in! Zhuoqing, quickly add some tea for the Imperial Master. The water that was brought in this morning has already gone cold!"
After saying this, he stood up hastily, straightened his cloak and walked towards the palace door.
Qi Tianchen was dressed in a plain white Taoist robe, and his long beard, whiter than snow, hung down to his chest.
He embraced his whisk and walked towards the main hall. Seeing Xiao Chongjing coming towards him, he smiled slightly and bowed:
"Old Taoist Qi Tianchen greets Your Majesty. How dare I trouble Your Majesty to come from such a distance to greet you!"
Xiao Chongjing lifted Qi Tianchen's hand and said, "It's not easy for the Imperial Master to control the celestial dragon energy. If I didn't have a request for the Imperial Master, I wouldn't dare to invite him to the palace!"
After entering the hall and taking a seat, Xiao Chongjing said without hiding anything: "A few days ago, I wanted to visit the Imperial Master at the Imperial Observatory, but it happened that the Imperial Master was in seclusion practicing."
"I figured the Imperial Master would be out of seclusion these days, so I ordered Zhuoqing to go and invite him on my behalf. It wasn't a big deal..."
"I'm sure the Imperial Master has also heard of Wen Yanzhao, the legitimate son of the Lingnan Wen family. He's so young, yet he's already rivaled Zhuoqing, and he possesses a poison that can destroy cities and nations!"
"I'm worried every night because I'm afraid that this kid will cause chaos in Tianqi City again like he did last time, causing my people and soldiers to lose their lives in vain..."
Qi Tianchen held the whisk in his hand, his snow-white eyebrows slightly wrinkled. "I have heard of the Wen Yanzhao that Your Majesty mentioned."
"His martial arts skills don't seem to be from Lingnan family traditions. Instead, they seem to be evil martial arts that use poison to refine poison."
"This boy has already entered the Half-Step Divine Wandering stage just after turning eighteen. He is truly an astonishing prodigy. It's a pity that he cannot be used by Beili!"
Zhuoqing couldn't help but blurt out when he heard this:
"You may not know this, Imperial Master. This child has a stubborn character and is unsuitable for education. Your Majesty, in your divine grace, has bestowed upon him an official position and gold and silver, and has also bestowed upon his grandfather, Wen Lin, the title of Marquis of Lingnan."
"But this boy is so ungrateful that he repays kindness with resentment! How despicable!"
Xiao Chongjing raised his hand, signaling Zhuoqing to keep quiet:
"Zhuoqing is right. I originally wanted to use my kindness to persuade him and keep him for my own use. Unfortunately, he has repeatedly rebelled against the court and poisoned the imperial guards."
"These people didn't pursue him, but he became even more rampant. In the past two months..."
"He first massacred all the officials of Guixi City, and then instigated Zhenxi Marquis Baili Luochen to rebel. His crimes are so heinous that he deserves death!"
"This time, I'm asking the Imperial Master to take action to suppress the rebellion and clear the world. Imperial Master, please consider the people and the world first, and spare no effort to subdue this rebel!"
Qi Tianchen nodded without saying anything, and after a while he raised his head and smiled awkwardly:
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty. On the fourth day of this month, a strange phenomenon occurred. The leaves of the persimmon tree in front of the Imperial Observatory's office fell down. I happened to be passing by at that time... The leaves of the persimmon tree fell in a neat row at my feet."
"When I picked up the three leaves and took a closer look, I was amazed... The veins on the three leaves were exactly Dui on top and Li on the bottom, which is the Zehuoge in the sixty-four hexagrams."
At this point, Xiao Chongjing couldn't help but ask, "What does this hexagram mean?"
Qi Tianchen bowed and continued:
"The old Taoist also had doubts at the time, so he climbed up to the observatory again and looked towards the far west, which matched the hexagram! Sure enough! A faint light flashed in the direction of Shu, and then a golden light suddenly appeared, disappearing into the clouds!"
"When I went to interpret the hexagram again, I discovered that the Wen Yanzhao your majesty mentioned had completely transformed into a gentleman, a leopard, and could no longer be compared to the man he was before..."
Xiao Chongjing's heart sank, and he felt a little uneasy. "A gentleman has transformed like a leopard? Why did the Imperial Master say that?"
Qi Tianchen shook his whisk lightly and sighed:
"There are only a handful of people in the world who have reached the state of divine travel. Now Wen Yanzhao has soared to the sky and is as powerful as the Kunlun Sword Immortal from sixty years ago!"
The Kunlun Sword Immortal was a figure of Xiao Chongjing's grandfather's generation. It was when Li Changsheng defeated Wei Changshu of Mingjian Villa with one sword.
Although he had not experienced it personally, he naturally knew the legend about the Kunlun Sword Immortal.
Beads of cold sweat gradually seeped out of Xiao Chongjing's forehead. How could he have imagined that half a month ago, Wen Yanzhao had already broken through to the state of trance. The number of people in the world who could defeat him could be counted on one hand!
"Your Majesty, I am already an octogenarian. Although I know some yin-yang magic and the art of searching for dragons and asking about their qi, I am afraid I am not strong enough to face a genius young man who has reached the realm of the mystical spirit!"
"Even if I risk my life, I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand Wen Yanzhao's poison. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
After Qi Tianchen finished speaking slowly, he stood up, bowed deeply to Xiao Chongjing, and left Pingqing Palace in a leisurely manner.
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