Longze County.
The Imperial Court's decree from Chang'an arrived fashionably late. Not only had the people of Longze County renamed their county of their own accord, they had also submitted a petition bearing ten thousand signatures, asking the Imperial Court to confer a title upon the divine dragon and build a Dragon Girl Temple. The impatient people could not wait for the court's reply and built the temple themselves. They had been so efficient only because the local wealthy families, nobles, and officials had either been beheaded or fled.
The petition of ten thousand signatures reached the Imperial Court, and the civil and military officials argued without end.
The emperor's view was that it did not matter. The divine dragon had manifested herself, driven away wind and rain, calmed the river, and held back the floods. That was a good thing, and it showed that he himself followed the will of Heaven. It was an auspicious omen. True or false, he would agree first and talk later.
The officials split into several factions. Some supported His Majesty, some did not care, and the remaining half opposed it.
The opponents believed that the Master did not speak of strange forces or chaotic spirits. The disaster victims surely did not know truth from falsehood and had been deceived by that wicked demon. They should be sternly warned. There were no divine dragons in the world at all; it was merely rumor upon rumor.
Those quarrelsome old fools had actually guessed right. She really was a demon.
The emperor was immediately displeased when he heard that. What did they mean? No divine dragons? Then was his claim of being the true dragon Son of Heaven nothing but fabricated nonsense? Their intentions were impure!
The matter of building a temple and conferring a title