Found You

This time, Lu Qi brought Zheng Zetian all the way to Changsi City, the capital of Li Country.

Changsi City remained the same Changsi City, with its deep palaces and gloomy atmosphere. Although millions of people had been relocated, the capital of a country would never lack those hoping to rise above their station, willingly joining this melting pot. As the wars in the north drove more and more people out of the Central Plains, the gentry and noble families who had migrated south from the Central Plains also arrived in the Li Country.

In this world, not everyone will be willing to embrace change and evolution.

Although a few enlightened individuals born into powerful families might be willing to travel south to see the appearance of Lou Guan City and the paths of Moshan, in most cases, those nobles and sons of long-established families, once they arrived in Changsi City and saw the appearance of the old royal capital, would Changsi City Changsi City, long for the imperial capital, and mourn the appearance of the Three Walls. Unable to leave their homeland, they would not take another step south.

The Xuanmen sect only sent a few students to study, but these former members of the Immortal Palace migrated south in droves, one family after another. Each flying island brought thousands of people. Countless carts, ships, cattle, and horses followed along the way, and many wealthy families were blocking the way in the northern borderlands.

Although the Immortal Palace has perished, Immortal Palace millennia-old system remains deeply ingrained in people's minds. While everyone is a high-ranking official and every family has its Imperial Guards, in reality, one family might be the ancestor of another. This leaves even the local officials and gentry of the Li Country feeling humiliated. They only dare to bully ordinary people; how could they dare offend these self-armed Central Plains aristocratic families?

Fortunately, the abbot of Lou Guan Temple also held the titles of Duke of the Imperial Court, former General, Li Prefecture Governor, which was enough to barely suppress these outside powerful families. However, it was only a deterrent.

After all, people migrate here to make a living, not to rebel. Your Li Country accepts ordinary people and refugees, so you can't just drive away nobles when they come.

Therefore, Ink Bamboo Mountain's solution was simple: let them move here. However, the official titles and edicts of the Three Palaces of the Old Immortal Palace were no longer valid, and the Li Country didn't have enough land and official positions to bestow upon them. So, if they came in without an official title from the Li Country, they would all be considered commoners.

These former members of the Immortal Palace would naturally not accept being demoted from official to commoner status, but they also knew that they could not easily integrate into the sect organization of Ink Bamboo Mountain. However, this limitation was not a major obstacle for the powerful clans.

In order to gain certain privileges and protect their families, some went to Ink Bamboo Mountain to study, some married into local Cultivation Family, and others settled for joining the Li Country's court.

Because the Li Country's system has always existed, when Lou Guan was short-handed and weak, he secured his position as the leader of the Loose Immortals and amassed his sect's first fortune by cooperating with the imperial court. Although Ink Bamboo Mountain has grown stronger now, it is still unrealistic to remove the Li Country its control of tens of millions of people. Therefore, the abbot has tacitly allowed powerful clans to serve in government and has also chosen to cooperate with some large families, appointing them as subordinates of the former general, also in order to win over the population and resources of the north.

In recent years, a large number of people from the north have come to participate in the Imperial Examination of Li Country, or have entered the world through connections. Even if these people do not cultivate themselves, they are still from aristocratic families with a long tradition of Imperial Examination studies. Their level of literary skills, poetry and prose is far superior to that of the Li Country. Passing the imperial examinations is a piece of cake for them. If they fail, it doesn't matter. They can just send a servant to wait at the list of successful candidates. If a poor scholar passes the examination, they can just bring him back and marry their daughter to him.

As the northern noble families migrated south and settled there, the most miserable Li Country nobles and landlords. These people were mostly country bumpkins who rose to power by suppressing the Black Lotus Sect. Now that the armored soldiers of Ink Bamboo Mountain have grown stronger, they are no longer of much use. A few years ago, they were bankrupted by the eunuchs, and now they are facing competition from the northerners. The pressure in the workplace is cruel.

So the Imperial Guards rebelled a few days ago.

"During the court assembly at the Zichen Hall, the Grand General of the Golden Guard reported that sweet dew had fallen from the pomegranate tree in the courtyard of the Golden Crow Guard of the Left Army of the Imperial Guard at night. This was an auspicious Auspicious Sign from heaven, and since it was so close to the palace, the emperor should go and see it in person. So the emperor set out and went to the Hanyuan Hall, ordering the Grand Eunuch Qiu Liang, the commander of the left and right guards, and other eunuchs to lead the eunuchs to go and observe the Auspicious Sign."

When Qiu Liang and his men arrived at the Jinwu Palace, the ambush troops suddenly appeared. Dozens of Jinwu guards, along with about five hundred officials and soldiers from the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Censorate, stormed the palace and fought fiercely. The eunuchs retreated to the Hanyuan Hall, suffering dozens of casualties. However, Qiu Liang had many skilled men under his command and used the emperor's palanquin as a shield. Finally, they retreated into the Xuanzheng Gate, closed the palace gates, and the plot failed. The court officials were thrown into disarray. The eunuchs then dispatched five hundred imperial guards armed with knives to enter the palace, killing six or seven hundred people. They then locked the palace gates and searched and killed a thousand people before stopping."

Lu Qi led Zheng Zetian to a courtyard planted with pomegranate trees. The nearby garrison had been cleared out, and Armored Soldier with bows and armor guarded the area from a distance. However, Lu Qi was of high status, and when he revealed his jade-embroidered robe, no one dared to stop him as he entered the palace.

"Teacher Qian died right here. I recognized him, but I didn't want his body to be used by malicious people to spread rumors of internal strife in Ink Bamboo Mountain, so I kept my secret. Now, things are complicated."

Zheng Zetian looked at the pomegranate tree, "Where is the nectar?"

Lu Qi chuckled, "There was no sweet dew at all. It was just an excuse to start a fight. Hehe, it was quite dangerous back then. If I had arrived any later, all those eunuchs would have been dead."

Zheng Zetian looked at the bloodstains nearby. The courtyard had been razed to the ground, and the walls were covered with knife scars and bits of flesh that couldn't be pried off. The infighting between the north and south of Ink Bamboo Mountain was supposed to be about mutual dislike, but now fellow disciples were fighting each other in the palace. It seemed that the fight was quite fierce.

Why did Teacher Qian attempt to assassinate the eunuch?

"What reason do we need to execute eunuchs? Don't they deserve to die?"

Lu Qi chuckled as he paced around the still-uncleaned palace ruins.

"However, I don't think the man surnamed Qian would act on impulse to assassinate the chief eunuch in the palace. This was probably an operation planned by their Southern Faction. After all, the court has been running a deficit recently and does want to implement tax reforms. The eunuchs also want to emulate Ink Bamboo Mountain by setting up a bank and issuing Banknotes, or at least buying more bonds from Ink Bamboo Mountain in the name of the court. The Southern financial groups are probably not very willing to relinquish their financial control."

The imperial court...

Zheng Zetian took out the company's jade pendant and first checked the situation of the local Li Country's court and royal family. He found that the Grand Master was really something else, actually able to directly appoint three of his royal nephews to rule the Li Country Kingdom on his behalf. How come this ruler is from your family?

The ruler of Li Country, had actually already been replaced.

The Oldest One King Jing, who succeeded to the throne based on age, was a foolish and incompetent ruler. He didn't actually engage in any tyranny, or rather, he was too lazy to even attend court. He didn't try to seize power from Ink Bamboo Mountain, and simply played the role of a puppet, doing his own thing.

But this guy's problem was that he loved to play too much. Every day during the day, he would hold grand sports events in the palace, including polo, wrestling, martial arts, and acrobatics, and he would make the imperial guards and palace servants participate. At midnight, he would "hunt wild foxes," which involved making the concubines strip naked, put on fur wigs, and pretend to be prey. He would use paper arrows wrapped with musk to hunt them. Once he hit the concubines' prey with these "romantic fragrant arrows," he would follow the scent all the way to their palace and enjoy the prey.

Such daily revelry and pleasure, lasting until the wee hours of the morning, was an unbridled indulgence in entertainment and excessive drinking. Even the elixir of immortality couldn't sustain it, and he indeed played himself to death, dying suddenly from an unexplained illness a few years later.

Because King Jing died too young and left no adult heir, the successor was chosen in order of succession as King Jiang, who is now the ruler of Li Country.

This ruler was much better. He was frugal and refined, well-versed in various books. After ascending the throne, he worked diligently to govern, dismissing palace maids, releasing the five palace guards, and reducing redundant officials. In recent years, he has also cooperated with Ink Bamboo Mountain to stabilize the country. Perhaps it was because after ascending the throne, seeing the Three Realms destroyed by the Divine Sect and the world in chaos, Li Country remained beautiful, that he gradually developed the idea of going a step further and restoring the Immortal Palace.

In short, during this king's reign, the Li Country generally cooperated with Ink Bamboo Mountain's actions. In recent years, while the outside world was in chaos, the Li Country was able to maintain relative stability. The king's efforts in not causing trouble and his diligence in governing were commendable.

Of course, no one in the world is willing to be a puppet forever.

The company's intelligence network also discovered that while the king was diligent in his duties, he was trying to take advantage of the current chaotic situation to consolidate his own power. For example, he actively courted the powerful clans who had migrated south from the north, appointed and dismissed northerners as officials, and cultivated his own trusted faction. This squeezed the space of the local old noble groups, which to some extent was the direct cause of this mutiny.

However, the eunuchs were not about to give up. Since the mutiny a few days ago, Eunuch Qiu and his faction had almost lost their lives, and they began to doubt the king's intentions in sending them, the eunuchs, to check the Auspicious Sign omens first. They also suspected why the mutinous soldiers dared not harm the king's carriage. They had lost trust in the king.

Although it cannot be openly called regicide, if the ruler has been in the position for too long and has not followed the rules, then it is not unreasonable to replace him, especially since the Grand Master has personally appointed three of his nephews.

Soon after, news spread that the king had been so frightened by the fighting that he had fallen ill with depression and was unable to get out of bed.

Now the king is secluded in the Liqiu Palace, leaving all affairs, large and small, to Eunuch Qiu. Moreover, the latter has already deposed the Crown Prince and brought in Li, whom the Grand Master had personally appointed, as the king's younger brother. He accompanies the king to meet with officials and handle important military and state affairs, making it seem as if he is about to support Liqiu Palace to change the ruler again. The king is helpless, and none of the ministers dare to object.

"Senior Brother Lu, do you think that this assassination attempt on Qiu Liang was orchestrated by the Southern Faction?"

Zheng Zetian shook his head.

"I don't think it's very likely. Using the pretext of Auspicious Sign to hastily launch an assassination, they couldn't even kill all the dozens of eunuchs. Later, a few hundred imperial guards arrived and quelled the attack. Such a bizarre attack, aimed at assassinating the chief eunuch in charge of the inner palace guards, seems far too childish."

If we must say that someone orchestrated this, the current king has been on the throne for decades, diligently governing without making any major mistakes, and his prestige is growing daily, winning the hearts of the people. Moreover, he already has an heir apparent, so if things continue like this, the Li Country will also be inherited by his lineage. There is no need for Ink Bamboo Mountain to cause any more trouble.

But now that things have escalated like this, the one who benefits the most from this whole affair is actually the Prince of Ying."

"The Prince of Ying, huh?" Lu Qi nodded, neither confirming nor denying. "He's borrowed quite a bit of money from me recently."

"So, Senior Brother doesn't object to him succeeding to the throne, right?"

Zheng Zetian looked at the intelligence the company had gathered; he had the answer in mind before he said that.

This Prince Ying is no ordinary man; of the three nephews personally appointed by the Grand Master, his intelligence company has gathered the most information.

First of all, this person is the most powerful among the kings of Li Country. He has already reached the Nascent Soul Realm and is diligent in the cultivation of Daoist arts. He has eighty-one Daoist priests, including Zhao Guizhen, by his side who have entered the Forbidden City and are building the Golden Register Daoist Temple in the Three Palaces. He cannot be considered an ordinary mortal king.

At the same time, this person has enjoyed hunting and feasting since childhood, but not like his brothers who "hunt wild foxes". Instead, he travels to the border regions and hunts with the border soldiers. In addition, his grandmother was from the Guo family and his mother was from the Wei family. Both of them were powerful and famous families in the Li Country. They had many nephews and uncles in the army who assisted them. In other words, this young man is a prince with a very complicated background and a lot of real power and ambition.

While the king has been under constant surveillance both before and after court affairs, this vassal king has been able to freely enter and leave the Wang Jing. Under the pretext of assisting Ink Bamboo Mountain in resisting the Divine Sect and the Xuanmen, he has been secretly building up his own power in the border regions. It is clear that not only those nobles who miss the royal family of Li Country, but even companies are secretly betting on this person, probably planning to use him to stir up the political situation of Li Country.

"Hey, I told you to come find the Daoist robe. What are you up to now, talking about these princes and nobles?"

Lu Qi calculated and circled around, but gained nothing, which made him somewhat discouraged.

Zheng Zetian shook his head and said,

"So many days have passed, how can we possibly trace the cause and effect of the Daoist robe? However, since this matter was secretly orchestrated by the Prince of Ying, and he owes you money, senior brother, why don't we go and ask him? Perhaps we'll find something."

"That makes sense, but it's not worth me going to see him. Let him come see me. Come on, let's go for a drink."

Unable to find any other clues, Lu Qi simply took Zheng Zetian and swaggered out of the Forbidden City, heading towards a luxurious mansion in the west of the city.

This was probably the residence of a high-ranking eunuch. The master came out to greet him directly, and like a grandson paying respects to his grandfather, he first kowtowed repeatedly to Lu Qi, and then summoned hundreds of servants from his family to start a banquet.

Lu Qi didn't stand on ceremony and took a seat in the main seat. He casually gave a few instructions, and the master of the house immediately sent out servants to invite people to a banquet under the pretext of welcoming eighty concubines.

Zheng Zetian couldn't help but wonder, "Why are these powerful eunuchs so respectful to my senior brother? They treat him like family..."

Lu Qi laughed loudly, "What's so great about close relatives? Their close relatives sold them to the palace to be eunuchs. I've saved their lives more than once and even helped them get rich. Tell me, who's closer?"

The old eunuch also grinned obsequiously, "Young Master Lu, what brings you here today to gather these old fellows for drinks?"

Lu Qi laughed heartily, "Now that the Railway Institute is in my hands, I should at least give you dogs a taste of it, otherwise I don't know how you dogs will blame me behind my back."

"Haha, how could we dare? Money is a small matter. It's good that Young Master Lu still remembers us old servants."

As expected, Lu Qi had influence, and soon the chief eunuchs of the inner palace came to the gathering. Some powerful nobles who were attached to the eunuchs, their adopted sons, and the so-called leaders of the eunuch faction also came to the banquet. Naturally, the Prince of Ying, who needed the most support, also came.

However, as Lu Qi said, he, a mere prince and puppet, was not qualified to meet the Railway Institute and the Grand Eunuch's benefactor. He could only follow the rules and offer gifts to attend a banquet in the outer courtyard.

Lu Qi gave him a wink, and Zheng Zetian stopped staring at the fruit plate and ate. He wiped his mouth, pretended to need to urinate, and slipped out. He wandered around the outer courtyard and Li Country most of the court officials had come to the banquet, shamelessly licking their boots.

Zheng Zetian hid in the garden, looking at this and that, then beckoned to a young eunuch who was assigned to serve him wine, and asked him...

"Who is that?"

"Oh, the Prince of Ying?"

"No, it's the white paper fan he used to flirt with her."

"A white paper fan, oh, it's Li Wenrao, the Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall."

"Grand Scholar? What kind of background is that?"

"Him? He's got quite a background. He's the second son of the former Imperial Censor, Li Hongxian. Because he and his father offended too many political enemies, and he's also stubborn and inflexible, he was repeatedly sent to different posts. He was promoted to the Censorate for his outstanding performance in local areas, but then he offended people again and was sent to different posts. So he's done everything from Minister to Vice Minister to Military Governor Jiedushi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, but no one can use him anymore. Now he only has the title of Grand Secretary, which is just for drafting imperial edicts."

Zheng Zetian nodded.

Okay, found you, 'company employee'.

Suddenly, a hand reached out, grabbed Zheng Zetian's wrist, and broke his left arm on the spot.

Before the little eunuch could even cry out, a fist struck him squarely in the chest. He was instantly sent flying like a sack into the courtyard bushes, vanishing without a trace.

Zheng Yu Zheng Zetian his eyes, then, dressed as a maid, he moved closer to her with a cold smile.

"I've finally found you, little brother."