Heart-Questioning Trial

"Mars Guards the Heart? What did the Imperial Astronomical Bureau say?"

The capital city.

A young man stood in front of the pavilion, looking at the twinkling red stars in the distance, and asked a question without turning his head.

"The Imperial Astronomical Bureau said that Mars Guards the Heart is unfavorable to the Emperor, implying that he should send all the princes away from the capital to secure his throne."

Upon hearing this, the subordinates behind him trembled as they knelt, and cautiously replied.

"Whose idea was it to send all the princes away from the capital?"

Upon hearing this, the young man's expression changed drastically.

Putting everything else aside, such an ominous celestial phenomenon is specifically targeted at the current emperor.

Based on this point alone, such advice would be easily adopted.

Especially with the current emperor's health declining, the court is in turmoil.

"I've heard that the Zhou Household from the capital has connections behind the scenes."

"The Zhou Household? Zhou Ruofan?"

The young man's face suddenly turned cold. The Zhou Household controlled the Black Dragon Guard, which was stationed a hundred miles outside the capital.

The Black Dragon Guard are the elite of the elite.

If all the princes in the capital were transferred away, what if something were to happen to the emperor?

If the Zhou Household has any ideas at that time, the princes in various places will be powerless to help them.

"That's not right, the Zhou Household. They've always been loyal and devoted, why would they offer such advice?"

The Zhou Household produced three generations of generals and marshals, who achieved great military exploits and made outstanding contributions during the founding of the Great Jin.

Moreover, he has never taken sides; his loyalty is solely to the current emperor.

In such a situation, a new emperor will ascend the throne.

Seeing the Zhou Household's loyalty and their status as meritorious officials throughout history, the Zhou Household did not make things difficult for them; on the contrary, they relied on them quite a bit.

After all, there are occasional battles on the borders of the Great Jin Dynasty, which require such a brave and skilled general.

Because of the Zhou Household's loyalty, the Black Dragon Guard was also handed over to them.

I hadn't thought much of it before, but today I've come to realize the stakes involved.

"We don't know yet; it was our people in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau who secretly leaked it to us."

The subordinate, prostrate on the ground, hurriedly answered, fearing that his delayed response might anger the Second Prince.

"Does the Zhou Household have any close relationships with his other brothers? Or with the Crown Prince?"

After thinking it over, if the Zhou Household wasn't plotting a rebellion, could it be that someone had bribed him?

If the Zhou Household has been bribed, or if the other party wants to side with one of the princes, that would be even more troublesome.

"Your Highness, our informants in the vicinity of the Zhou Household have not observed the Zhou Household being overly close to that prince, nor has the Crown Prince met with him privately."

"Never seen it? That's probably because you haven't seen it."

The second prince's tone was somewhat cold.

The subordinate broke out in a cold sweat, unsure how to respond.

"Alright, go down. Make sure you find out whether the Zhou Household is colluding with other princes."

This is very important; if there were no collusion, then it would be fine.

These princes, at least, managed to win over quite a few ministers in the court.

We can work together to dissuade the Emperor from this idea and use it as a warning to the Zhou Household.

But if the other party has been colluded with, then that would be a real problem.

We need to find out as soon as possible who he's colluding with, so that the other princes will be wary of him.

Leaving the capital at this time would mean having no hope of ascending the throne.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the subordinate quickly responded and hurriedly withdrew.

Meanwhile, the situation within the palace was extremely tense.

Many of the concubines in the harem wanted to find out what was going on, so they personally prepared some medicinal meals to take to the emperor.

Some eunuchs and palace maids also took the opportunity to pass on messages.

The situation was relatively better in the emperor's palace where he rested.

The ministers and concubines who came here all dared not speak loudly, for fear of angering the emperor.

As his health deteriorated day by day, the emperor began to have some doubts.

If someone brings him food, he'll question them about whether it's been drugged or if they're plotting to harm him.

That's why his health has deteriorated to this state.

Because of their growing suspicions, several eunuchs had already been dragged away and beheaded.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the eunuchs who were executed were all eunuchs who had secretly passed messages to the Third Prince.

As for the spies of the Second Prince and the Crown Prince, they are still safe.

Jade Void Mountain.

"How is my senior brother?"

Qingcheng approached his senior brother, his eyes filled with worry.

Such an ominous sign indicates something terrible is about to happen.

"Alas, it's like a fog obscuring the view, making it impossible to see clearly. I've consulted the oracle several times, but haven't been able to deduce anything."

Qingyun shook his head with a wry smile, and glanced at the starry sky again from afar.

Mars Guards the Heart is already an ominous sign, and its appearance in broad daylight makes it even more ominous.

"In that case, this calamity seems difficult to resolve."

Upon hearing this, Qingcheng's expression instantly turned somewhat unpleasant.

Is Senior Brother Qingyun here?

The two were sitting cross-legged discussing the matter when suddenly a sound came from behind them.

The two were taken aback for a moment, then quickly stood up.

They already recognized who it was.

"It's Junior Sister Yunyi from Jade Willow Mountain!"

The two flew out on the mist, and after flying ten miles, they saw a person in the distance flying towards them.

"Yunyi!"

As they drew closer, a woman dressed in a long blue robe came into view.

Upon seeing the other party, Qingyun Qingcheng smiled and bowed with clasped hands in greeting.

"Greetings, senior brothers. Judging from your powerful Law Power, your cultivation must have improved somewhat!"

Yunyi stepped forward slightly and then returned the greeting.

At this moment, the two also noticed that Yunyi was accompanied by a beautiful young girl. Her black hair was tied up in a bun on her head, and her face, which originally looked somewhat delicate, now had a lot of heroic spirit.

Who is this?

Both of them were slightly taken aback when they saw the woman, and then asked suspiciously.

"This is my newly accepted disciple. He has a good character, but his Dao Heart is not strong enough. He has been meditating in the mountains for so long, but he has not yet been able to enter the Seeking Dao Mountain."

"Junior sister, I only have this one disciple. I was thinking of bringing her here to ask your two senior brothers for help, to see if we can let her enter the Seeking Dao Mountain."

After Yunyi finished speaking, the girl beside her immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Greetings, two senior uncles."

Qingyun and the other person were somewhat puzzled by this. "Your disciple has already experienced worldly trials?"

At such a young age, he doesn't seem to have experienced much in his life.

"Alas, she didn't experience the trials of the mortal world, but she did enter the Heart-Questioning Trial."

Heart-Questioning Trial?

Upon hearing this, a strange look appeared in both of their eyes. Heart-Questioning Trial was even more difficult than undergoing thirty years of training in the mortal world.

Yunyi has taken on an extraordinary disciple this time!

Although we haven't been able to enter the Seeking Dao Mountain yet, it's probably only a matter of time.

I'm writing slowly today, so I'll only write three chapters for now. I'll write another chapter later and post them all tomorrow.

This book is indeed written very slowly. Sometimes updates are late, so please be patient. The author may release later, but will not suddenly stop updating.

If anything happens, I'll post a separate chapter to let everyone know.