Rivers and Mountains Treasure Cauldron

Heavenly Prison.

Watchtower.

Whenever Zhou Yi felt troubled, he would come here to gaze into the distance, with almost half the imperial city within view.

He perceived the boundlessness of heaven and earth and recognized the numerical limits of waxing and waning.

Ascending to a high place and looking far away broadened his mind.

"Oh? Warden Liu is here too!"

Zhou Yi reached the top of the tower and saw Warden Liu, wearing a jade-green official robe, with his hands behind his back and a worried look on his face.

Warden Liu sighed, "The situation in the capital has been turbulent recently, with unpredictable changes. I felt troubled, so I came up here to look at the scenery."

"Shenjing, a place like this, gathers the essence of a nation, and has never been peaceful."

Zhou Yi looked towards the east gate of the imperial city. Under the setting sun, the vermilion walls and green tiles were dyed with golden light. "Back then, it was here that I, along with the former Warden Lord Lei... no, the former former former Warden, personally witnessed the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation utterly defeat the Dragon Rebellion!"

Warden Liu suddenly realized, "Lord Lei? So, the young man surnamed Lei the other day was a descendant of the Lei family?"

"Thank you for your approval in this matter, sir."

Zhou Yi shrugged and said, "Having stayed in the Heavenly Prison for a long time, I've met many people. I always have to consider various relationships."

"Old Zhou is truly a treasure of the Heavenly Prison!"

Warden Liu was very envious. Recently, quite a few dignitaries had regarded Zhou Yi as an honored guest. In contrast, he had studied hard for ten years, and even if he made it to his death, he would only be a minor eighth-rank official.

Zhou Yi laughed, "Warden Liu, you flatter me. You are the pillar of stability in the Heavenly Prison."

These words were by no means deliberate flattery. Warden Liu rarely interfered in matters, and when he came to work, he would drink tea and chat. The two captains were busy before and after, seemingly indifferent to power.

However, Warden Liu did not miss out on a single penny of the benefits in the Heavenly Prison, which even the lowly jailers knew clearly when they came in.

Such management wisdom made Zhou Yi feel more and more that he had underestimated the ancients!

Warden Liu asked, "Old Zhou, did you come here because you also have troubles?"

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "I suddenly realized that there are too many smart people in this world, and I've been a little discouraged."

His strength had greatly increased after advancing to Innate Grandmaster, and he had often been praised and envied by his colleagues. Zhou Yi inevitably became a little arrogant in his heart, and his actions became more and more indulgent.

Zhang Xiang's planning was like a morning bell and evening drum, deafening and enlightening, and he needed to reflect on himself properly.

Warden Liu asked curiously, "Just how smart are they, that they made an old fox like you feel so dejected?"

"The seemingly unintentional soaring prices have actually affected the changes in the nation's fortune!"

Zhou Yi sighed, "A storm arises from a duckweed's tip. This is a true master. Now that I've learned it, I'll definitely use the same method one day."

"Recognizing that you are a common person earlier is not necessarily a bad thing."

Warden Liu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced at the palace inadvertently, quite helplessly. "The tide belongs to them. We are just spectators. Otherwise, what else can we do?"

"Those who are deeply in love do not live long, and those who are extremely intelligent are easily hurt!"

Zhou Yi said freely, "I can't compare to their wisdom, I can't compare to their scheming, and I can't compare to their sophistication... then I'll respond to all changes with constancy, ignore them, and win by outliving them!"

"Haha, no wonder they say you're an old tortoise in private."

Warden Liu clapped his hands in admiration, then changed the subject. "Old Zhou, do you really not have any thoughts about power?"

"Yes! Who doesn't want to hold power and sleep with beauties?"

Zhou Yi laughed, "I almost forgot, I've already accomplished the second half."

Warden Liu looked at him with admiration and cupped his hands. "A thirty-year-old patron of the Spring Breeze Pavilion, I've heard of it for a long time, I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

"So-so, the future is long!"

Zhou Yi replied, "So I've already obtained wealth and status, why bother risking my life? In this chaotic situation, who can see clearly who will win in the end?"

"Actually, it's easy to see clearly. Go burn some cold stoves. No matter who wins or loses, it won't be too bad!"

Warden Liu muttered to himself, as if he was talking to Zhou Yi, and as if he was talking to himself.

Zhou Yi said, "Forget it. Three royal mansions have been destroyed. I'll ask you for leave for a period of time, and then come back to work."

"Go."

Warden Liu nodded in agreement, and after a moment of absentmindedness, he said again.

"If the descendants of the Liu family fall into decline one day and come to the Heavenly Prison, I hope Old Zhou can also find them a job."

"It should be so!"

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

It should have been a time for the whole country to celebrate and welcome the New Year.

Due to the Minister of War Liang Dong's harsh treatment of the soldiers and deduction of military pay, the Capital Garrison mutinied.

"Clear out the Emperor's corrupt advisors!"

The former Capital Garrison commander Sun Xiangming shouted from a high place, gathered his old subordinates, and led his troops into the city from the north gate of Shenjing.

The gatekeeper of Shenjing's north gate was once a garrison commander of the Capital Garrison. During Liang Dong's massive crackdown on the Capital Garrison's officers, he was demoted to guarding the city gate due to offering less silver.

That night.

Sun Xiangming led the Capital Garrison's army to besiege the imperial city. Various government offices and residences in Shenjing watched from afar, neither helping the rebel army nor rescuing Emperor Yongxing.

The Imperial Guards were less than one-tenth the size of the Capital Garrison, and the enemy also had siege equipment, so they quickly suffered heavy casualties.

Emperor Yongxing ordered the Brocade Guard and palace eunuchs to all ascend the city walls to resist the enemy, making sure to withstand the rebel army's assault.

A single drum rouses courage, a second weakens it, and a third exhausts it. As long as they held out until dawn and the imperial city remained unbroken, the rebel army would collapse and retreat on its own.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, a witness to the rise and fall of dynasties.

The temple stands, the dynasty stands. The temple falls, the dynasty falls.

At midnight.

The Fengyang Kingdom's Imperial Ancestral Temple was empty and silent.

The officials who were originally on duty, upon hearing the news that the Capital Garrison's army was besieging the imperial city, ran home to close their doors.

Regardless of whether the Capital Garrison could break through the imperial city, there would inevitably be thieves taking advantage of the chaos to burn, kill, and loot throughout Shenjing, and everything could be blamed on the rebel army tomorrow.

A shadow took advantage of the night to fly and finally landed in the middle hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Outside the middle hall stood a bronze cauldron, nearly as tall as a person, with three legs and two ears. The mountains and rivers engraved on the cauldron corresponded to the map of the Fengyang Kingdom's prefectures.

The Rivers and Mountains Cauldron was cast after the Fengyang founder established the kingdom.

During every dynasty's sacrifices, all officials knelt before the cauldron, and the current emperor offered incense.

The shadow circled the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron, trying several detection methods, confirming that it was just a solid bronze cauldron, without any warning or anti-theft mechanisms.

The Rivers and Mountains Cauldron weighed several tons, making it extremely difficult to steal, and escaping the city would not escape the officials' inspection.

Secondly, although the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron was one of the Fengyang Kingdom's three treasures, its symbolic meaning was greater than its practical meaning.

If a thief spent a great deal of effort to steal the cauldron, it would at most cause the Zhao Dynasty's royal family to lose face. They could also melt it down and sell the copper, essentially earning the money to sell cabbage, risking the punishment of exterminating nine generations of their family.

Therefore, the Imperial Ancestral Temple's officials never imagined that anyone would steal the cauldron, even if it was to scrape off the gold paint from the emperors of past dynasties!

"I thought I would have to wait until the Fengyang Kingdom was destroyed and this Imperial Ancestral Temple was half abandoned before coming, who knew I would encounter such a god-given opportunity. The north city gate is wide open, the Imperial Ancestral Temple is unguarded, and everyone's eyes are on the imperial palace."

"This treasure is destined to be mine!"

Zhou Yi dispersed the shadow, revealing the appearance of an old man with white hair, even if he bumped into acquaintances, they wouldn't recognize him.

He lowered his body, bent over and crawled under the cauldron, wrapping his arms around the cauldron's legs.

"Rise!"

Zhou Yi shouted in a low voice, rumbling loudly, and the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron, which had not moved for more than three hundred years, rose from the ground.

He circulated his magic power and used the Shadow Talisman again, a cloud of black mist enveloped the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron.

Taking advantage of the night's cover, Zhou Yi ran wildly towards the north city.

The pressure of such a heavy bronze cauldron made it impossible to use light body techniques to fly, and even running made a thumping sound.

Fortunately, the road was chaotic, with thieves robbing houses and patrolling soldiers taking the opportunity to cause trouble. With gold, silver, and jewelry in front of them, no one paid attention to such a sound.

At this time, the north city gate was wide open, with only a dozen soldiers on duty.

Thump thump thump!

A large cloud of black mist rushed over, its momentum explosive, like a mad bull.

"Ghost!"

The soldiers on duty, let alone stopping it, threw away their weapons in a chaotic manner and fled in all directions.

Zhou Yi carried the Rivers and Mountains Cauldron out of Shenjing City, placed it on a prepared carriage, and whipped the horse all the way north.

Recommend a book, it's very interesting.

A pen name that an author really likes.