Dao Lord of True Martiality

As it turned out, Zhu Qizhen really was useless.

The Three Great Camps held out for less than a day before Nanjing fell.

The Prince of Yu led a hundred and twenty thousand men into the capital and slew Zhu Qizhen in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Even at his death, General Wang's reinforcements had never arrived.

The Prince of Yu donned the dragon robe he had yearned for and sat upon the imperial throne of his dreams.

But dreams were fleeting, after all. Three days later, General Huang and Zhu Qizhao joined forces outside Nanjing.

The fighting lasted two days. An army made up of disaster refugees simply could not compare to one bloodied on the battlefield.

The instant the city gates were breached, the Prince of Yu's army collapsed along the entire front, falling to their knees in surrender.

With the Twelve Guards protecting him and General Huang personally clearing the way, Zhu Qizhao headed straight for the Purple Golden City.

Uncle and nephew met each other's eyes, and both laughed.

The Prince of Yu's laugh was bleak. Perhaps he found himself ridiculous.

Zhu Qizhao, meanwhile, laughed with wild abandon, brimming with smug satisfaction.

"Traitor Zhu Yunluo, why-why haven't you surrendered yet?"

The Prince of Yu drew the treasured sword at his waist and laid it against his throat.

"Everyone under heaven underestimated you!"

Swish!

One stroke slit his throat.

The Prince of Yu died on the dragon throne, remaining seated upon it until the very end.

Next, Zhu Qizhao announced that they would release His Highness the Crown Prince from the imperial prison and invite him to ascend the throne and inherit the realm.

Then the Crown Prince really was released.

Along with him came the old ministers imprisoned by the Second Prince.

The Crown Prince was forty that year, and several days in prison had left his face weathered by hardship.

The brothers met with tears brimming in their eyes.

They embraced, weeping bitterly.

With tears and snot streaming down his face, the Crown Prince said, "I thought I would never see you again!"

"Do not be afraid, Imperial Brother. I have slain every last one of those rebellious ministers and traitors. I now have General Huang's hundred thousand troops, and the generals of the other divisions have all received my invitations and are rushing here. No one can hurt you anymore, Imperial Brother!"

"Er..."

The Crown Prince was no fool. He knew this most "guileless" younger brother of his meant more than he said.

What was he trying to convey?

He was telling everyone that he commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, and no one could stand against him!

The ministers were no fools either. With things at this point, what was there left to misunderstand?

Zhu Qizhao said, "Now that all the rebellious ministers and traitors have been exterminated, I hope you will honor our late father's wishes and inherit the realm, Imperial Brother."

"No, no, no. These days in prison have given me time to think things through. I truly am not suited to being emperor. You are the better choice, Younger Brother. Without you, I fear our Great Qian realm would have been destroyed in a single stroke!"

"But Imperial Brother, you are the eldest legitimate son, and the Crown Prince appointed by our father. This would be improper. It would be best for you to inherit the throne."

"No, no, no. I suffered every kind of torture in prison, and my body is already on the verge of collapse. With the country in turmoil, we need someone capable and vigorous to restore Great Qian."

Watching the brothers repeatedly decline and defer to each other, Zhang Qingyuan felt that this was true shamelessness.

Did the Crown Prince really not want to be emperor?

He simply did not dare.

Did Zhu Qizhao really want to yield the throne to the Crown Prince?

He was just putting on a damn act.

After a round of mutual deference, the ministers all stepped forward as well.

One after another, they urged Zhu Qizhao to follow heaven's will and inherit the realm.

As they spoke, tears streamed down their faces. Under the watchful eyes of General Huang and a squad of soldiers, they willingly draped the yellow robe over his shoulders.

"Utterly helpless," Zhu Qizhao truly had "no way" to refuse their kindness any longer. He could only "reluctantly" put on the dragon robe and ascend the throne with the Crown Prince's "heartfelt blessings."

Everyone was happy.

The Crown Prince even wrote an edict declaring that he had willingly yielded the throne.

Only then could Zhu Qizhao's claim to the throne truly be considered proper and legitimate.

Having watched the entire scene, Zhang Qingyuan suddenly recalled a song.

"I, who should have played along with your performance, turned a blind eye too, forcing someone who loves you most to give their all to the act..."

Hm?

Zhang Qingyuan took no further part in the aftermath, instead walking over to search through the piles of corpses.

Where was Xiahou Jue?

He seemed to have vanished after the city fell.

Li Qiuran stood beside Zhang Qingyuan, sword in hand and brows slightly knitted. Quietly clenching her fist, she asked, "What do we do?"

"I don't know."

He truly did not know where to look.

Their reason for following Zhu Qizhao into the capital was to find Xiahou Jue. After all, Xiahou Jue might have been one of the murderers who had wiped out the Heavenly Yin Mysterious Maiden Pavilion.

"He couldn't have escaped. He must still be in the city," Li Qiuran said urgently.

Zhang Qingyuan reassured her, "Don't worry. We'll find him."

The Prince of Yu died too soon. I should have stopped him just now and asked about Xiahou Jue before letting him die!

Where could he have gone?

Li Qiuran looked at Zhang Qingyuan with a hint of pleading. Xiahou Jue was simply too important to her.

She could ignore the slander against her in the martial world, but she bore a blood feud as deep as the sea. Revenge was what drove her.

"Don't worry. I'll go ask His Majesty."

Zhang Qingyuan sighed. An hour ago, he could still call him Brother Zhao. Now he had to address him as His Majesty.

Beneath another man's eaves, one had no choice but to bow one's head.

When he reached the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Qizhao was instructing the ministers to attend to their duties and get the country running again.

In less than a month, there had been three enthronements, and the court officials had been replaced batch after batch.

The first order of business was to dispatch an imperial commissioner to Kaifeng for disaster relief. Zhang Qingyuan had taught him a method: work relief.

With everything in Kaifeng awaiting restoration, the refugees could not simply eat without working. While filling their bellies, they also had to rebuild their homes.

The method met with unanimous praise.

Having just finished briefing the imperial commissioner, Zhu Qizhao saw Zhang Qingyuan enter and rose to his feet, laughing heartily. "Come and see! Our Daoist Priest Qingyuan, whom the common people call the reincarnation of Great Emperor Zhenwu, is here.

"Daoist Priest Qingyuan deserves immense credit for bringing Us to where We are today!"

He adapted to his new status fast. He was already calling himself 'Us.'

Zhang Qingyuan silently grumbled to himself, then smiled. "Congratulations on inheriting the realm, Your Majesty. This humble Daoist has come to report something."

"What is it?"

"Xiahou Jue, leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect, has disappeared."

As Xiahou Jue was the instigator, Zhu Qizhao had naturally been keeping an eye on him too. He looked down at Old Three.

Old Three was the head of the Listening Tide Pavilion. He hurried forward and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Listening Tide Pavilion has sent word that Xiahou Jue left the Prince of Yu's forces before the prince entered the capital and fled south. This subject sent men to intercept him, and he was captured near Mount Niushou last night. He is currently being escorted to the capital."

"You heard him. Don't worry. He won't get away."

Only then did Zhang Qingyuan nod in relief.

Next came rewards for meritorious service.

First were the Twelve Guards. They were established as a new department called the Dragon Protection Clan, specifically responsible for security within the imperial city.

Next was General Huang, who was granted a noble title.

Tang Jie was also granted a title. It had to be said that his gamble had paid off.

Once all the rewards had been bestowed, Zhu Qizhao asked Zhang Qingyuan, "Are you truly unwilling to stay and serve as Our state preceptor?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but this humble Daoist truly isn't suited to being a state preceptor. Besides, I don't like this sort of atmosphere."

Serving a sovereign was like keeping company with a tiger. It was too difficult.

"Then, Brother Qingyuan, what reward would you like?"

Zhang Qingyuan had already decided long ago. He smiled and said, "In the future, I wish to found a sect and establish a Daoist lineage. Once this humble Daoist is ready, I hope Your Majesty will grant me a famous mountain where I can establish my Daoist sect."

"What difficulty is there in that? Which mountain have you chosen? We can grant it to you now as the sacred grounds of you, the Dao Lord of True Martiality."

Wudang, of course!

"I haven't decided yet. We can discuss it once this humble Daoist has made up his mind."

He could not go to Wudang yet. His current strength was meager; he would have to wait a few more years.

"Very well. In that case, take your time choosing. We shall grant you a title first. The people already call you the Dao Lord of True Martiality, so from now on, follow the people's wishes and take that title."

Holy shit, you really dared to say that.

What if Zhenwu really existed in this world? Would he be displeased?

Zhang Qingyuan felt a little nervous.

"We also appoint you Imperial City Attendant. Whenever you wish to visit the capital, you may enter the palace to see Us."

This truly cemented his identity as the Dao Lord of True Martiality. An imperial title was more than just a name.

The state treasury would have to allocate funds to him every year. Just like Liu Luoguo of the Qing dynasty-did anyone think the emperor called him "Luoguo" for nothing? The court had to allocate twenty thousand taels of silver to him each year.

This was no idle nonsense.

Under Great Qian law, each character was worth five thousand taels, so he too would receive an allocation of twenty thousand taels.

And this title meant more than just money. First, it was bestowed by the emperor himself, and it was also widely known among the common people.

With that, Zhang Qingyuan was a bona fide member of the righteous path.

Throughout the country and across the martial world, who would still dare smear his name?

After thanking Zhu Qizhao, Zhang Qingyuan added, "Your Majesty, the Listening Tide Pavilion is well informed. This humble Daoist would like to inquire about one more matter."

"What is it?"

"Does the Listening Tide Pavilion know who slaughtered everyone at Cloud Dust Manor and framed me for it?"

Old Three stepped forward and said to Zhang Qingyuan, "Daoist Priest, have you heard of the Star River Sect?"