The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 484

Zhu Houzhao's face darkened, and he lost interest in continuing to read, so he turned and left.

Upon returning to the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Houzhao saw Jiang Ning sitting outside reading a book again. He was about to speak when he suddenly stopped.

"what?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning with a hesitant expression. For some reason, he felt that Jiang Ning seemed to be in a special state, as if he was not right.

Jiang Ning was reading a book, but he remained completely still, as if frozen in time.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know what had happened, but his intuition told him that he couldn't speak at this moment. After a while, Jiang Ning moved slightly, as if he had come to his senses and looked in his direction.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he also felt that Jiang Ning seemed to have changed, yet he also felt that he hadn't.

"Brother Jiang, what happened to you just now? Why were you so still?"

"Sometimes I have a feeling, and sometimes I have an epiphany."

Jiang Ning didn't say much, only offering one explanation.

He had been reading the Daoist Canon for the past few days. After reading so much, he unknowingly entered a mysterious state just now. In that state, he felt like he was about to break through, but in the end, he didn't.

Jiang Ning experienced this profound state several times when he was weak. Each time, it would increase his internal strength and speed up his cultivation. This time, although it did not allow him to break through to the fifth level, nor did it greatly increase his internal strength, since he had already reached a bottleneck and his internal strength would not increase, it did give him more insights and brought him one step closer to breaking through.

Jiang Ning has a peaceful state of mind.

For some reason, Jiang Ning suddenly thought of someone at this moment.

He recalled Dongfang Bubai, whom he had only met once on Blackwood Cliff.

Chapter 659: The Qianqing Palace Catches Fire

"Ok."

Zhu Houzhao nodded without asking any further questions, as he didn't understand martial arts.

A day passes in the blink of an eye, and today is the day for the morning court session.

Zhu Houzhao went to the Fengtian Hall to play chess with his court officials before dawn and didn't return until noon.

When Zhu Houzhao returned, his face was ashen, and he didn't say a word, looking extremely angry.

"what happened?"

Jiang Ning asked.

Zhu Houzhao then recounted what had happened at the morning court session.

Today, as soon as the court session began, all the civil officials were impeaching the Eastern Depot for arresting court officials without cause, demanding that Gu Dayong be severely punished and the Eastern Depot be abolished. This was naturally within Zhu Houzhao's expectations. He had been keeping the fact that he had been poisoned with a curse a secret until this morning's court session, which caused an uproar among the civil and military officials.

The civil officials were furious that the Eastern Depot had so brazenly arrested those officials, even dismembering one of them in prison. They had intended to impeach him severely at the morning court session to force the emperor to release him. However, those officials were plotting to assassinate the emperor, and the evidence was conclusive. The officials involved had already confessed, leaving them speechless. Several of the most vocal critics at the beginning of the morning court session quietly retreated to the back, fearing they would be mistaken for accomplices.

This matter was considered closed, with Zhu Houzhao emerging victorious in the power struggle between Zhu Houzhao and the civil officials. The next step was the arrest and imprisonment of the current Minister of War.

This Minister of War was a man of great renown, a veteran official of four reigns, highly respected and virtuous. Many in the court were his protégés. Now that he had been arrested and imprisoned, many officials in the court submitted memorials on his behalf. Even though this Minister of War was the big fish implicated in the poisoning of the emperor, many officials defended him, believing that those officials were making baseless accusations. They demanded that the Eastern Depot hand him over to the Three Judicial Offices for joint trial, which greatly angered Zhu Houzhao.

The Three Departments consist of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate. Joint trials by the Three Departments are usually for major cases, such as treason and corruption. Now, the Minister of War is involved in the case of using witchcraft against the emperor, which is equivalent to treason. It is in the procedure to have the Three Departments jointly try the case. It is reasonable for the civil officials to make such a request. However, Zhu Houzhao knows that if he really hands the man over, he will lose.

These officials were in cahoots. If the person were handed over, the interrogation process would be beyond Zhu Houzhao's control. The initiative would be in the hands of the civil officials. Based on Zhu Houzhao's understanding of these civil officials over the past two years, he had no doubt that they could clear the name of the Minister of War.

Zhu Houzhao had great ambitions. He had always wanted to completely control the court, and now this was an opportunity. The imprisonment of the Minister of War gave him an opportunity. As long as he could solidify the evidence, the Minister of War would fall, and the civil official group would suffer a heavy blow. Zhu Houzhao could then suppress the civil official group while supporting his own people and strengthening imperial power.

This morning at court, Zhu Houzhao was vying with the civil officials over what appeared to be a struggle for the right to handle cases, but in reality, it was a power struggle between the imperial authority and the civil official group.

However, the morning court session today debated for a long time without reaching a conclusion.

But what angered Zhu Houzhao was not this point; what truly angered him was Gu Dayong.

During the morning court session today, when the power to handle cases was being contested, only Zhu Houzhao was vying with the civil official group, while Gu Dayong remained timid and dared not utter a word.

The Minister of War is currently in the Eastern Depot's prison. Normally, it should be Gu Dayong, the head of the Eastern Depot, who is vying for power with the civil officials. However, Gu Dayong did not argue his case in the face of strong resistance from the civil official group. Instead, the emperor himself had to step in to fight for the right to handle the case. This made Zhu Houzhao very disappointed in Gu Dayong.

This was also what angered Zhu Houzhao so much that he wouldn't allow Gu Dayong to follow him after court.

"I originally thought that Liu Jin was not suitable for the time being, and Gu Dayong had performed well these past few days, so I promoted him to counterbalance the ministers in the court. I never expected that he would be so useless, and the great situation has turned into what it is now."

Zhu Houzhao said with a stern face.

After listening to the whole process, Jiang Ning remained quiet without offering any opinions or help.

Zhu Houzhao simply wanted to confide in someone and did not expect Jiang Ning to help him.

"Alright, Brother Jiang, you haven't eaten yet either, have you? Why don't we eat together?"

Zhu Houzhao stood up and invited him.

Jiang Ning had no objections.

After dinner, Zhu Houzhao returned to his palace to rest, while Jiang Ning continued reading, but instead of the Daoist Canon, he read other books. The Yongle Encyclopedia was all-encompassing and contained a wide variety of categories, and Jiang Ning was currently reading one of them.

In the afternoon, a thick plume of smoke suddenly rose from the palace.

"Oh no! Fire!"

A group of eunuchs exclaimed in alarm.

Disturbed, Jiang Ning got up and went outside to take a look. His eyes narrowed as he saw that the fire was coming from Zhu Houzhao's bedroom.

"What happened? How did it catch fire?"

The fire in Qianqing Palace drew all the guards and eunuchs to the scene, and the head guard asked urgently.

"I do not know."

The eunuch who was asked the question was also panicked and hurriedly said, "His Majesty is still inside, please save His Majesty!"

When everyone heard that Zhu Houzhao was still inside, their expressions changed drastically.

"Quickly put out the fire!"

A voice rang out from the crowd, and everyone began to put out the fire, but the fire was too big and could not be extinguished in a short time, and everyone was very anxious.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Many eunuchs were calling out to Zhu Houzhao outside, but no sound came from inside.

"What should we do? What should we do!"

The eunuchs and guards outside were pacing anxiously, but none of them dared to rush in to rescue the person.

At this moment, a middle-aged eunuch squeezed in. Seeing the towering flames, his eyes narrowed, and he rushed in without hesitation.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"Isn't that Eunuch Liu?"

How did he get in?

It was Liu Jin who rushed in at that moment.

Since being dismissed from his positions as Grand Eunuch and Director of the Eastern Depot, Liu Jin, though not punished by Zhu Houzhao, has temporarily lost Zhu Houzhao's trust. In the past few days, he has not been summoned by Zhu Houzhao to serve him. Other eunuchs, after learning of Liu Jin's fall from power, have gone from fawning on him to avoiding him at all costs. Eunuchs who have grudges against Liu Jin have even kicked him while he was down. In just a few days, Liu Jin has experienced the fickleness of human nature.

Today, a fire broke out in the Qianqing Palace. While all the eunuchs and guards dared not go in to save Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin arrived and rushed in without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, cough cough, Your Majesty."

Liu Jin risked his life to rush into the Qianqing Palace and searched everywhere for Zhu Houzhao. Finally, he found Zhu Houzhao unconscious in a corner.

Liu Jin was overjoyed and stumbled over, shouting loudly for Zhu Houzhao.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao, who was temporarily unconscious due to inhaling too much smoke, vaguely heard someone calling his name and subconsciously opened his eyes.

"Liu...Liu Daban?"

Zhu Houzhao said weakly.

Liu Jin was overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, it is I, your servant."

"Your Majesty, hold on, this servant will take you out."

Before he could say much, Liu Jin carried Zhu Houzhao on his back and prepared to leave, but the collapsed pillar blocked the way they had come from, and the surrounding fire made it difficult for Liu Jin to find his way.

Zhu Houzhao, who had just woken up, fell into a coma again.

Having inhaled a lot of smoke and already feeling weak, Liu Jin gritted his teeth and carried Zhu Houzhao through the flames, searching for a way to survive.

"Your Majesty, I have not betrayed you. I will definitely get you out of here."

Chapter 660: They dared to do it long ago

Zhu Houzhao, who was in a coma, could no longer hear Liu Jin's words. Liu Jin struggled to carry Zhu Houzhao through the sea of ​​fire, searching for a way to survive.

Looking at the flames spreading all around, Liu Jin gritted his teeth, his face burning red from the heat, feeling extremely anxious.

boom!

The fire spread again, and several pillars collapsed in front of Liu Jin, startling him so much that he quickly took a few steps back.

Seeing the palace engulfed in flames, with the way they came completely blocked and nowhere to break out, Liu Jin couldn't help but fall into despair.

Are he and the Emperor really going to die here?

Liu Jin felt despair.

"Cough cough cough..."

The thick smoke kept choking Liu Jin, causing him to cough incessantly. He also began to feel dizzy from inhaling too much smoke, and his body swayed as if he would collapse at any moment.

boom!

Another pillar fell, and the fire grew larger and larger, engulfing the entire area in flames and burning away Liu Jin's hopes.

Your Majesty, this servant must go with you...

Liu Jin glanced back at the unconscious Zhu Houzhao and thought to himself.

Just as Liu Jin was in despair, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

call out!

A figure rushed in and reached Liu Jin in just two or three steps. Liu Jin, whose eyes were glazed over, looked at the newcomer's face and subconsciously said...

"Hero Jiang..."

Upon seeing that Jiang Ning had arrived, Liu Jin was overjoyed and quickly said...

"Hero Jiang, quickly rescue His Majesty! Don't worry about me..."

Jiang Ning remained calm. Before Liu Jin could finish speaking, he grabbed Zhu Houzhao with his other hand and turned to rush outside.

As the fire spread, Jiang Ning continued his rapid pace. With a jolt, his inner force spread out, creating a gust of wind that dispersed the encircling flames. With a light step, Jiang Ning was gone in just a few breaths.

The situation improved considerably after leaving Zhu Houzhao's palace. Although there was still a fire outside, it no longer posed a threat to Zhu Houzhao's life.

Jiang Ning and his men leaped and carried Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao to a safe area, where they put the two down.

At this moment, Liu Jin was still conscious. Seeing that he and Zhu Houzhao had been rescued, he disregarded his own safety and scrambled to Zhu Houzhao's side, calling out to him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao did not react, Liu Jin became anxious and turned to look at Jiang Ning.

"Master Jiang, His Majesty..."

Jiang Ning stepped forward, squatted down, and reached out to examine Zhu Houzhao's body, saying as he did so.

"There's nothing seriously wrong. He's just temporarily unconscious from inhaling too much smoke."

Hearing Jiang Ning say this, Liu Jin finally felt relieved.

At this moment, Jiang Ning reached out and pressed on Zhu Houzhao's chest while transmitting internal energy.

Liu Jin watched anxiously from the side.

After a while, Zhu Houzhao finally made a move.

Zhu Houzhao, still unconscious, groggily opened his eyes and saw only Jiang Ning.

"Brother Jiang, did you rescue me?"