The situation in the world has suddenly changed dramatically.
It first came from a teahouse in the eastern part of the Capital. The storyteller had finished telling the Three Kingdoms and was supposed to pack up, but suddenly he added a "new story".
It is said that the current regent, Zhao Zheng, has hidden 100,000 private soldiers in a valley in the Northern Border, training them day and night, waiting for an opportunity to march south and force the young emperor to abdicate.
The storyteller recounted the tale with great detail, describing even the terrain of the valley, the supply routes of the private army, and the names of several commanding generals.
At first, the audience thought it was just a joke, but after the show, the story spread like wildfire, and within three days it had reached half of the Capital.
Immediately afterwards, people in the vegetable market in the south of the city also began to talk about it.
An old man selling vegetables was whispering to a neighboring stall that he had a distant relative who worked at the Regent's Palace. A few days ago, he had personally witnessed Zhao Zheng secretly meeting with a merchant from the south late at night. The merchant's accent sounded exactly like that of the Prince of Pingnan.
This added another layer of complexity to the story once it got out.
Later on, even the Daoist temples in the north of the city began to have their own versions of the story.
A wandering Daoist priest was interpreting fortune sticks for someone. As he was doing so, he suddenly sighed and said that the Purple Star was dim and the General Star was offending the court, which meant that something big was about to happen in the court.
When pressed for details, he shook his head and refused to say more, only leaving the comment, "The Regent's forehead is dark; there is a fear of bloodshed."
These rumors have one thing in common: everyone who spreads them has heard them from others.
The storyteller in the teahouse said he heard it from the south of the city, the old man selling vegetables in the south of the city said he heard it from the north of the city, and the Daoist priest in the north of the city said he heard it from the east of the city.
Zhao Zheng's spies investigated for a whole month, turning the Capital upside down and arresting more than a dozen of the most talked-about people. But no matter how they were interrogated, everyone insisted that they had only heard it from others.
The trail went cold when we traced it further back.
Those words seemed to spring up out of thin air, appearing overnight and then spreading like wildfire throughout the entire Capital.
Even more strangely, these rumors weren't limited to the Capital.
Zhao Zheng's spies reported that similar rumors had appeared almost simultaneously in the Northern Border, Southern Border, and Eastern Borders.
Some say he plotted to usurp the throne, others say he colluded with the enemy, and still others say he murdered the late emperor.
The versions differ, but the blame is always pointed at him alone.
When Chen Du heard this news in the Divine Prison, he was patrolling the first level.
The young jailer who had delivered the message returned from shopping and whispered to his companion, "I heard that rumors are circulating that the Regent is planning to usurp the throne, and even some members of the Imperial Guard believe it."
Chen Du paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.
He frowned. Rumors, rumors that couldn't be caught.
The source cannot be traced.
He had seen this technique before.
Wei Changgeng used the same tactic when he wanted to bring down Shen Xing.
However, Wei Changgeng went even further, directly accusing him of "treason".
This time, the method was more covert and meticulous, like an invisible net tightening little by little.
Something must have happened to Zhao Zheng.
That night, Chen Du left the Divine Prison.
He hasn't voluntarily left the Divine Prison for a long time.
He has been cultivating, Lie Dormant, and contemplating within it all these years.
But this time, he wanted to go and see.
He followed the familiar secret passage out of the back gate of the Divine Prison, his figure transforming into a very faint shadow as he sped towards the Capital.
The speed of the Eleventh Realm Martial Law Master Realm is simply imperceptible to others.
He arrived in the Capital in no time.
The imperial palace was heavily guarded, with layers upon layers of sentries, both overt and covert. The Imperial Guards were filled with experts, and there were even several with the aura of the Tenth Realm.
Chen Du moved as if on flat ground. His Qi-Concealing Technique had long been perfected. He clung to the shadows and walked through the gaps in the array patterns, unnoticed even by those Tenth Realm experts.
He passed through palace gates and over palaces, finally stopping in front of a separate residence deep within the imperial palace—the Regent's Palace.
The mansion was brightly lit, but the area in front of the gate was deserted.
Several guards were dozing against the wall, clearly aware that the Regent was in a bad mood and dared not go in to disturb him. Chen Du flashed into the mansion.
He walked through several courtyards and finally found Zhao Zheng in a side hall.
Zhao Zheng sat in front of a low table, on which was a pot of wine and several small dishes. However, the dishes had barely been touched, but the pot of wine was already more than half empty.
He was dressed in a black casual robe, without a crown, his hair was half disheveled, his face was haggard, and his eyes were sunken. He was a completely different person from the spirited regent in the secret chamber of the Divine Prison back then.
He held the wine cup, staring at the remaining wine, as if he were thinking about something, or perhaps he wasn't thinking about anything at all.
When Chen Du entered the side hall, he did not make any effort to conceal his footsteps.
Zhao Zheng suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking sharply.
He opened his mouth, but his hand was already on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
But when he saw who it was, he froze. It was a hunched old jailer with gray hair, deep wrinkles, and a faded old robe.
He didn't have a pipe in his hand, but he remembered that face. He would remember it forever.
Inside the secret chamber of the Divine Prison, there was the Eleventh Realm, who had transformed from an old jailer into a young man.
He slowly released the sword hilt, his lips trembling slightly, his voice hoarse. "Senior...?"
Chen Du sat down opposite him, picked up the wine pot, and poured himself a cup.
He took a sip; the liquor was cheap and burned his throat.
He put down his wine cup, looked at Zhao Zheng, and said nothing.
Zhao Zheng looked at him, and after a long while, he suddenly smiled.
The laughter was hoarse and desolate, carrying an inexplicable sense of relief. "Senior, are you here to laugh at me?"
Chen Du shook his head.
"Then what are you doing here?"
Zhao Zheng asked again.
Chen Du picked up his wine cup, took another sip, and slowly said, "You said back then that you were wholeheartedly devoted to the Heavenly Dragon Divine Dynasty and had no other intentions. What about now?"
Zhao Zheng remained silent for a long time, then lowered his head and drank the remaining wine in his cup in one gulp.
Chen Du put down his wine cup and looked at Zhao Zheng.
The side hall was very quiet, with only the occasional popping of candlelight.
Zhao Zheng leaned against the table, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of the empty wine cup. He remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking.
"Actually, I know who did it."
His voice was hoarse and smelled of alcohol, yet surprisingly calm. "The young emperor, along with those ministers who don't submit to me, the Vice Minister of War, the Minister of Rites Qian Wenli, and a few other old fogies, have been secretly conspiring against me. They think I don't know."
But I've been regent for so many years, I know better than they do what's on their minds in this court."
He raised his head, looked at Chen Du, and said calmly, "With my abilities, I can mobilize the Imperial Guards tonight, arrest those people, and depose the young emperor."
Before dawn tomorrow, the new emperor will ascend the throne, and no one in the court will dare utter a single word of dissent.
He paused, "But who am I? I am Zhao Zheng, not Wei Changgeng. Wei Changgeng murdered the emperor and seized the throne. He has been cursed by the world for so many years, and even after he died, his bones were crushed and his ashes scattered."
What about me? Should I do such a thing? I am a member of the Zhao Clan, a cousin of the late emperor, and the uncle of the young emperor. If I did such a thing, what would future generations say about me?"