Court Assembly

As dawn broke, the sounds of bells and drums resounded throughout the Golden Throne Hall.

Beneath the vermilion pillars, officials dressed in court robes stood on both sides according to their rank. In their crimson and purple robes, jade belts and official hats, each stood in a clearly defined position, yet no one dared to utter a word. They kept their eyes down, their noses down, their mouths down, their mouths down, as if they were real clay or wooden puppets.

The hall was filled with a strange fragrance. Beside the emperor's throne, two bronze incense burners in the shape of cranes were emitting wisps of smoke, which intertwined and made it almost impossible to see the face behind the crown—whether it was really the same person in one's memory.

No one dared to raise their head without permission.

Just as no one dared to casually glance at the gaunt monk beside the dragon throne, who wore a Vairocana hat and whose prayer beads were constantly turning in his hand, seemingly chanting sutras with his eyes closed.

At this very moment, a somber silence enveloped this hall, a symbol of supreme human power, not from anything else but the shrill, flat voice of the eunuch reciting the memorial. "—Even today, there is a single urgent memorial delivered from a hundred li away in the Zhejiang East Circuit—"

The old eunuch's eyelids drooped slightly, as if he were reading not some news that could even shake the foundations of the country, but rather some insignificant, ordinary document.

"A daring and reckless individual, falsely claiming to be a member of the former Southern Chen dynasty's imperial family, named Chen Jingqiu, used the pretext of 'a sudden upheaval' to incite thousands of ignorant people in the mountains and countryside. Within five days, he had captured several counties Kuaiji Mountain, usurping the throne and plotting rebellion—"

Upon hearing this, a very slight commotion arose in the ranks of officials, almost like the wind blowing through withered grass.

Still, no one spoke.

"On the same day, a report also came from Hedong Circuit," the eunuch continued, his voice flat and emotionless, "That there is a traitor named Li Shimin, who falsely claims to be the Heavenly Will, calling himself a delusional Aid the World and Pacify the People and brings peace to the people, and who calls himself the Revive Tang. He is roaming around Jinyang, attacking and plundering villages. The local militia have been besieging and suppressing him—and have suffered occasional setbacks. Therefore, we humbly request Your Majesty to send troops to assist him."

The phrase "occasional setbacks" is rather understated.

But all the officials in the hall understood that since it had come to the point of "requesting the dispatch of troops," it was probably not the "capture of villages and towns" mentioned in the report, but rather a situation where the prefecture had been lost and the government troops had been defeated.

To be honest, this is just too outrageous.

The situation has deteriorated to this point; what are those people below even doing?

Upon hearing this, a minor official in a blue robe, ignoring the subtle attempts of those around him to stop him, strode forward, entered the hall, and performed the full kowtow, saying, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!"

"The so-called 'Southern Chen' mentioned in today's memorial has no record in previous historical records; it is nothing more than the wild and unruly words of bandits in the mountains, using a tiger's skin as a banner. But now that they have seized several counties, their power has grown deep and should not be underestimated!"

"Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Hedong Circuit should have had ample grain reserves, well-equipped weapons, and brave soldiers, yet they were defeated in a single battle, shaking the very foundation of the nation!"

"This is because of the deep-seated problems in the current government, with corrupt officials running rampant and exploiting the people at every level, leaving them destitute and forced to flee to the mountains to escape the harm. How can the situation be stabilized if this continues?"

"In these two places, the key to suppressing the bandits lies in reorganizing the troops, replacing the generals with new officials, stabilizing the people, and replacing suppression with appeasement. The banditry will then naturally be resolved!"

"Your Majesty! Things have come to this point; a swift decision must be made, and there is no time to delay!"

Every word was piercingly hurtful, and as the minor official prostrated himself deeply on the ground, he clearly knew that his words were offensive and dared not raise his head.

"How dare he! A mere minor official! How dare he utter such arrogant words! Your Majesty, please punish him for his disrespectful conduct and inappropriate speech before the palace—"

Sure enough, someone immediately jumped out impatiently, about to slam a hat down on someone's head, but before they could finish speaking, they were interrupted by another voice, "It's alright."

Many of the "clay and wood sculptures" suddenly raised their heads at this moment.

Because the one who suddenly spoke at that moment was none other than the monk sitting on the futon, the National Preceptor, the Protector of the Nation, the great monk known to everyone in the court, Cihang Pudu!

"Oh?" The emperor, who had been silent all along, seemed to suddenly become interested, leaning forward slightly, his pearl-adorned tassels swaying. "What can the Venerable Abbot teach me?"

Cihang Pudu stood with one palm raised in front of his chest, appearing somewhat respectful, but his voice was distant and resonant, "The turmoil of the mortal world is ultimately nothing but a mirage. Your Majesty is a true dragon, so why fear the slightest speck of dust?"

"These karmic obstacles are all the result of the karma of sentient beings, and cannot be resolved by weapons. We should purify their minds with the supreme Buddha-dharma and guide them to take refuge."

The few words that came out of his mouth were like the flowing of sacred chants, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility to those who heard them. Many of the officials nodded in agreement, as if they truly found them to be very reasonable.

"However—after all, the people have suffered greatly, and my heart is troubled."

Amidst the smoke, for some reason, the emperor's voice sounded somewhat dry and weak.

"Amitabha." The old monk wearing a Vairocana crown chanted the Buddha's name softly, and the sound echoed continuously in the hall.

"After the morning court session, this old monk will pray for His Majesty and all the people in the palace, reciting scriptures to dispel the malevolent energy. Once the malevolent energy is gone, all worldly affairs and warfare will naturally cease—"

During the court assembly, no one noticed that, amidst the two men's seemingly oblivious conversation, a tiny insect, barely the size of a fly, was quietly crawling in the shadow of a large pillar in the hall.

Accompanied by a very subtle signal, it continued to be transmitted outwards.

This unassuming Advanced Nanotech Spy Bionic Insect, after all, has a communication coverage range of nearly thirty kilometers, which is something that ordinary things cannot compare to.

"Did you hear that? Chen Jingqiu and Li Shimin have already emerged, conquered territory, and are even planning to restore the Chen Kingdom!"

"But we've only been here for less than half a month! This is outrageous!"

Some people's faces were already twitching from listening.

"Where in this Mission World has there ever been a so-called Chen Kingdom? If you look through its history books, the most recent Later Chen Kingdom was nearly seven hundred years ago, and it was just a gimmick temporarily established by a rebel general."

"If these two weren't users, I'd eat this calligraphy brush right now!"

Several men, dressed in vastly different styles and clearly not of the same social class, were squatting together in front of a house, intently listening to the "live broadcast" coming through their earpieces.

"Hey, Lao Zheng, thinking of freeloading again, huh? What, not this time with the keyboard?"

"Go away! What decent person would eat a keyboard?! You're despicable!"

"And what about Li Two? Look at him! They're all Li Two! They've already started raising armies to restore the Han Dynasty, no, to revive the Tang Dynasty! They're practically evolving into the Heavenly Strategy Supreme General! Why can't you stand up for yourself!"

With a look of disappointment and frustration, "Yang Three" jokingly scolded them a few times before finally bursting into laughter, which made everyone roar with laughter.

"However, there's more to the story than just Chen Jingqiu and Li Shimin."

Joking aside, the group seemed to vaguely sense a certain unsettling meaning.

Especially when their gaze occasionally fell upon the long, blood-red streak in the sky, this subtle understanding seemed to become slightly clearer.

"Zhao One, what do you think about us changing our codenames for this Mission World?"

"Hmm----why?"

"There's no particular reason, I just suddenly felt that since they're all just code names anyway, what difference does it make what I say?"

Casually rubbing his ear (the one not wearing headphones), the man called Zhao One turned around. "So, what do you want to call me?"

"Hmm... Yang Guang? No, no, that name isn't good. Just call me Yang Jian!"

"Oh, so if you're going to do it this way, wouldn't I really have to call Li Shimin?"

"That works too!"

"Old Li! Don't listen to him! Yang Jian was Emperor Taizong's maternal uncle! This kid is taking advantage of you a lot by seniority!" This was followed by another round of laughter.

Of the people present, only "Chen Four," dressed as a scholar but wearing a pair of glasses resembling 3D glasses, did not smile. Instead, he frowned deeply, his expression growing increasingly grim.

"Gentlemen, this situation is a bit alarming."

"Among the biological detection signals of the spy bugs, at least nearly 60% of the people in that Golden Throne Hall today showed abnormal individual signals, similar to the Cihang Pudu sitting there."

"There are indeed quite a few living people in there, but many of them were hastily promoted in the last few days; otherwise, the proportion would be even higher."

"That centipede is becoming increasingly brazen in its human-eating antics. Judging by this trend, a major plot point is probably approaching."

"We need to speed things up."

"Yang Three, how long until Fu Tianchou arrives in the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Three thought for a moment, "Based on the information I received yesterday, at normal speed it should take another three days."

O

"No, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should take about three and a half to four days."

After careful consideration, he added a more precise range for the estimate.

"Three or four days—that's barely enough. There's still some time before the lunar eclipse when Fu Tianchou arrives, which is a good time to smooth things over beforehand. And if I'm not mistaken, there will most likely be other users going to the capital with him."

Holding his head tightly, Chen Four pondered for a long time.

"If we can't find any more clues in the next few days, then this should be the best opportunity for us to use the information we have now to get closer to the plot before it completely explodes."

"But that shouldn't be the case—besides A Chinese Ghost Story, where exactly are the plot clues for The Scar of the Sky? This huge scar in the sky can't just be there for decoration, can it?"

He was clearly very puzzled.