Chapter 207: 139. Sudden Crisis, Azure Dragon Blood (4K Chapter)
"Announce my imperial decree." Xu Xing then continued to reward Gongyang Yi. He was rewarded with 3,000 taels each of gold and silver. Additionally, his title was elevated from Duke of Yiguo to Guangping County King, allowing him to return to his hometown and live out his days in peace.
Upon hearing this, Gongyang Yi’s tense heart finally relaxed. As he had guessed, as long as he was willing to step down and yield his position, Emperor Tiande would not completely eradicate him. On the contrary, the Emperor would grant him some dignity after his departure from court and not make things too difficult for him.
"This minister... thanks Your Majesty." Gongyang Yi bowed deeply, removed his black gauze official hat, and handed it to the eunuch waiting nearby.
「Before long.」
The morning court session ended.
He still walked to the railing outside Ziwei Palace, overlooking the scenery of the Imperial City. Beside him, the throng of supporters from before was gone.
"Guangping County King," a junior eunuch who had approached Gongyang Yi from behind whispered, "His Majesty invites you to the Side Hall for a banquet."
It seems that I, Gongyang Yi... am still valued by the Emperor.
Gongyang Yi laughed three times upon hearing this. With the struggles of the court behind him, it seemed Xu Xing still cherished their former bond as sovereign and minister.
「...」
Gongyang Yi’s departure provided Xu Xing with a piece of information regarding the backers of the aristocratic family line behind Yu Ci.
Suspected Cultivators...
In Kunhua Palace, Xu Xing frowned in deep thought.At Folding Mountain Island in the Wangchuan Sea, he had, on a whim, decided to return to the Mortal World to visit his family. Later, upon returning to Shenjing, he had assumed the crisis facing the Royal Family was merely an attempted coup by Yu Ci and his cohorts. But after receiving the information from Gongyang Yi, he realized his whim might not have been so simple.
After all, Yu Ci and his faction’s attempt to seize power could, at best, force Empress Zhao Yunniang to relinquish her regency and allow them to control Crown Prince Xu Zhang, thereby using the Emperor as a figurehead to command the feudal lords. This was merely a shift in power. The hearts of the people lay with the Xu Imperial Family! At most, the Royal Family would lose authority. To truly overthrow the state would take at least ten to twenty years, a feat not easily accomplished.
As for how Gongyang Yi obtained this information... it wasn’t hard to deduce. As the head of the cabinet, Gongyang Yi had spent years cultivating a network of informants and supporters throughout the empire. Naturally, his intelligence-gathering capabilities far surpassed those of the Royal Family, especially in his absence from their direct service.
It seems that upon seeing my return to the palace, they temporarily abandoned their plans against the Royal Family. In other words, their Cultivation realms are inferior to mine, or they are wary of me. After all, I possess a fourth-level Talisman. Besides, the appearance of these individuals must be related to me. Are they scheming to disrupt my national foundation and sever the growth of my Human King physique?
Xu Xing pondered many possibilities. The Mortal World held sway over him not only through familial affection but also due to the Dragon Pulse intrinsically linked to his Human King physique.
Once a Golden Core is swallowed, one’s fate is no longer determined by Heaven.
In the Immortal Base and Returning Core realms, which precede the Dao Pill realm, the Mortal World’s Dragon Pulse significantly impacted the Human King physique. It could not only bestow great fortune upon the Human King physique but also, during the condensation of the Dao Pill, utilize the Dragon Pulse’s Dragon Luck to harmonize the Dragon and Tiger Breath. This would allow the Human King physique to form a First-Class Dragon and Tiger Dao Pill in a single, decisive stroke. Once past the Dao Pill realm, the Human King physique could sever its connection with the Dragon Pulse.
Therefore, to target a Human King physique, aside from direct suppression through superior power, another method was to incite chaos within the state and sever the Dragon Pulse, thereby first destroying the Human King physique’s great fortune.
A hero without luck is not truly free!
A bunch of contemptible curs. Thinking this, Xu Xing sneered.
Regardless of whether these schemes originated from within the Flying Feather Immortal Palace or other Sects, as long as he, Xu Xing, remained in the Imperial City, these individuals would not dare to reveal themselves openly. They were like rats in a sewer, terrified of the brilliant light of day.
"Summon the Command Envoy of the Night Patrol Department and the Supervisors of the East and West Factories to see me," Xu Xing ordered.
When the empire was founded, he had entrusted his cousin, Xu Shenghua, with the position of Command Envoy of the Night Patrol Department. However, in the third year of the Tiande reign, after Xu Xing embarked on his pursuit of the Immortal Path, he dismissed Xu Shenghua from this post. This was to prevent a subordinate from becoming too powerful and difficult to control. Since then, the Night Patrol Department had been thoroughly overshadowed by the East and West Factories. Although the Command Envoy still held authority, it was far less than it once was.
"This humble minister, East Factory Supervisor Shang Xian, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"This humble minister, West Factory Supervisor..."
"This minister, Command Envoy of the Night Patrol Department..."
A quarter of an hour later, the three intelligence chiefs entered Kunhua Palace one by one and paid their respects to Xu Xing.
"Thoroughly investigate the prominent Yu family of Danzhou, the prominent Gu family of Shengzhou, and also..." Xu Xing assigned tasks to the three intelligence chiefs based on the list Gongyang Yi had provided.
After a brief explanation, he fixed them with a stern gaze. "Remember, do not startle the grass and alert the snake. If any of you make a mistake, then the three of you... need not return to the palace to see me again."
He would show benevolence to his long-serving ministers. However, the Night Patrol Department and the East and West Factories were the Emperor’s instruments, his direct agents; there was no need for excessive courtesy with them. Indeed, if he were overly polite to such entities, it would signify a true decline in imperial power.
"We obey." The three men shivered, accepted the Imperial Decree, and then departed from the Imperial Palace.
Now, we wait and see what develops. If they can uncover something, that would naturally be excellent. If not, this endeavor can still serve to lure the snakes from their holes...
Xu Xing’s expression turned slightly colder. He had instructed the intelligence agencies not to startle the grass and alert the snake, precisely so they would act more convincingly. It was far too easy for a Cultivator’s spiritual sense to detect unusual behavior in mortals.
I had originally planned to return to the Sect after dealing with Yu Ci’s matters. For now, that can be postponed.
Xu Xing calmed his mind, casually set up a spirit-gathering array for himself, and began his Cultivation.
Cultivation was like rowing a boat upstream; not advancing meant falling behind. Even in the Mortal World, he could not afford to be lax.
「...」
「In the blink of an eye.」
A thin layer of snow had blanketed the glazed tiles of the Imperial Palace.