socalfunplaces Page 633
Page 633
"That's right, His Majesty was also involved in that case!"
"There's more news: Marquis Jingning has been granted the title of Great Fengtian King!"
"Heavenly King? Is he a prince...? I don't think I've ever heard of that title before!"
At this moment, an old scholar began to patiently explain.
"In ancient times, the Heavenly King meant the ruler of a country."
"Look at all the princes throughout history, which one dared to be granted the title of Heavenly King?"
"Your Majesty the Emperor merely calls himself the Son of Heaven..."
"So, does that mean the Heavenly King is even higher than His Majesty?"
"I heard... His Majesty knelt before the Heavenly King..."
The common people were quite pleased to hear about this.
The old scholar said slowly, "If it weren't for the Heavenly King's insistence, the case of the Prince of Zhenbei would have been overturned."
"Three hundred and eighty thousand people, almost killed! That's three hundred and eighty thousand people!"
Cheers and shouts erupted simultaneously, creating a great uproar.
"It is truly a blessing from heaven that the Great Feng Dynasty could produce a Marquis of Jingning."
"From now on, I'll be the Great Heavenly King. I wonder if I'll be able to control His Majesty's cultivation of Taoism and alchemy..."
"I hope so..."
As for the criticism
"Emperor Yuanjing was truly a foolish ruler. Are the people of Chuzhou not subjects of our Great Feng Dynasty?"
"A ruler who has cultivated Tao for twenty years is a foolish one; supporting the Prince of Zhenbei in massacring the city is simply tyranny!"
"Why doesn't the Heavenly King depose the Emperor?!"
"Silence, silence..."
The cursing quickly subsided as it was suppressed by the surrounding soldiers.
But the people continued to curse quietly, or curse in their hearts.
Huaiqing Prefecture.
On the table in front of Huaiqing were the living quarters from various years, as well as some memorials and articles marked with the year.
Following Li Chang'an's instructions and the information Huaiqing found on her own, she began to reconstruct what had happened to the emperor.
"Empress Joan of Arc's health was always poor, and even the most miraculous medicines that could bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded had little effect on her."
Li Chang'an said, "This is because the ruler of a country is blessed with good fortune, and how long he can live is predetermined."
Huaiqing's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, because the news she received today was too shocking.
"Even the Confucian sage could not defy the rules of heaven and earth and lived to be eighty-two years old, let alone an emperor who is just an ordinary person."
“There are records of Joan of Arc fearing death and longing for immortality in her later years.”
"In the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Emperor Zhende, the head of the Earth Sect defiled Emperor Zhende."
"The head of the Earth Sect must have told Emperor Joan of Arc that he had a way to make Emperor Joan of Arc reign longer, at least longer than a normal monarch."
"That year, Empress Joan of Arc's health deteriorated, and coupled with the contamination, she agreed to the suggestion of the head of the Earth Sect."
"That same year, with the help of the head of the Earth Sect, he began to transform into the Three Pure Ones and assimilated the young Prince Huai."
"That secret technique must have refined the soul of the Prince of Huai and absorbed his memories."
Li Chang'an continued, "Because Empress Zhende was not a member of the orthodox Taoist sect, even with the help of the leader of the Earth Sect, after forcibly refining the primordial spirit of Prince Huai, Empress Zhende's main soul was still incomplete."
Huaiqing then pulled out another daily record book, which had her markings on it.
"Perhaps, after Emperor Joan of Arc devoured the Prince of Huai, he wanted to devour his father, but his main soul was incomplete, so he did not succeed."
"At that time, Father and Prince Huai encountered Joan of Arc at the Nanyuan Hunting Ground. Father witnessed Joan of Arc devouring Prince Huai."
"Therefore, Emperor Zhende had the head of the Earth Sect use the Taoist magic of bewitching to erase Yuan Jing's memory of this period."
Li Chang'an added, "Not only that, but it also planted the seeds of demonic thoughts in Emperor Yuanjing's mind."
“Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs… Empress Joan of Arc…” Huaiqing’s face showed anger.
"Afterwards, Empress Joan of Arc faked her death and abdicated, hiding in the underground dragon vein that had been opened up. That was the only place where she could avoid the watchful eyes of the supervisor."
"After my father ascended the throne, he no longer delegated power to the chief minister. He worked diligently to govern the country while balancing the various factions."
"With the Great Feng Kingdom's power growing and its fortunes improving, Joan of Arc seems unable to find an opportunity to devour her father."
"But Joan of Arc still succeeded in the end... Could it be because of her mother!"
Huaiqing looked up in surprise, seemingly having guessed what had happened.
Li Chang'an said, "Your guess is correct."
Huaiqing continued, "Consort Chen falsely accused Duke Wei and the Empress of having an affair... which caused Father Emperor to develop a mental demon."
Li Chang'an continued, "From that time on, the demonic thoughts in Emperor Yuanjing's sea of consciousness finally revived, slowly eroding and corrupting him."
The reason Yuan Jing didn't kill Wei Yuan and the Empress was because he was influenced by demonic thoughts and wanted to use the Empress to control Wei Yuan.
Huaiqing continued, "The Battle of Shanhai Pass shook the fate of the Great Feng Dynasty. At the end of the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Joan of Arc took the opportunity to refine her father, and thereafter... she took his place."
Huaiqing fell silent for a long time after saying this.
It turns out that from that time on, Father Emperor was no longer Father Emperor.
My father was killed by the late emperor at that time!
"Li Lang...it was the late emperor! It was the late emperor who killed Father!"
"My real father died twenty years ago..."
Huaiqing burst into tears and cried in Li Chang'an's arms for a long time before she slowly calmed down.
Li Chang'an had previously revealed these things intermittently.
But it wasn't until today that she learned the whole story.
Li Chang'an nodded, "That's right, that makes sense."
"After this, Emperor Joan of Arc abstained from women and devoted herself to Taoist cultivation. While refining elixirs and consuming medicinal pills, she also allowed the Earl of Pingyuan to continue plundering people."
"However, it seems he didn't get any results."
"Wrong," Li Chang'an corrected. "It took him forty years to cultivate the Yang God and enter the second-grade Tribulation Transcending stage."
"What! Joan of Arc is an extraordinary powerhouse, a second-rank expert!" Huaiqing was clearly taken aback.
The "Father Emperor," who always claimed to have poor cultivation aptitude and needed to constantly take pills, is actually this strong!
"Li Lang, why is the leader of the Earth Sect helping Emperor Zhende? He must have his own purpose."
Li Chang'an held Huaiqing's hand, stared into her eyes, and said, "You've hit the nail on the head regarding the root of everything."
"The leader of the Earth Sect already showed signs of demonic possession, but his good intentions outweighed his evil intentions, and he suppressed them firmly."
"In order to prevent evil thoughts from being refined by good thoughts, they must commit great evil deeds, sow evil seeds, and produce evil results."
"Therefore, when evil thoughts briefly took over the Daoist's body, he conspired with Empress Joan of Arc to do this."
Upon hearing this, Huaiqing felt a chill run through her body; she seemed to have found the root cause of the decline of the Great Feng Dynasty.
"From the time when the leader of the Earth Sect and Zhen De discussed the Dao, to the time when the leader of the Earth Sect completely fell into demonic possession, and the Good-hearted Golden Lotus barely escaped, it took almost forty years."
"In these forty years, evil thoughts have bewitched the king to achieve immortality and devour his own children. For forty years, the people have suffered and the nation's strength has declined day by day."
"Is there any greater evil in the world than this... Therefore, evil thoughts have brought about great evil, taken the initiative, and ultimately possessed the physical body of the Earth Sect Master."
"But what method does Father intend to use to achieve immortality as an emperor?"
“Transform Dafeng into a vassal state of the Witch God Religion, let the Witch God bear the destiny, and he will enjoy power and attain immortality.”
"Incredible!" Huaiqing could hardly believe it.
"How could the people of Dafeng possibly believe in a witch god..."
She then thought that if the emperor took the lead in promoting it, then there was nothing that was impossible.
Huaiqing pondered for a long time before digesting all the information.
"Li Chang'an, what are your plans next?"
“Joan of Arc has appointed you as the Great King of Fengtian, and you can share the emperor’s power.”
Li Chang'an shook his head. "That was the result of succumbing to the influence of the Royal Hegemony Record."
"I have little interest in the trivial matters of the court, but I will take action on important matters."
"The reason why Joan of Arc was not directly deposed was because doing so would cause the Great Feng Dynasty's fortune to plummet, with natural and man-made disasters occurring one after another."
"Therefore, the most urgent task is to send Wei Yuan to attack the Witch God Cult, flatten its headquarters, and the Great Feng's fortune will surge."
"That will be the time for the final battle with Joan of Arc."
Huaiqing finally understood Li Chang'an's purpose: "Even if it's regicide, the country's fortune should be better than it is now."