The middle-aged daoist nun never imagined that things would end up like this. After vomiting a mouthful of blood, it was unknown whether it was a coincidence or on purpose, she actually passed out just like this.
Xu Yu and Yu Ke two people had livid expressions. The two of them stared fixedly at Chen Chao, the killing intent in their eyes too strong to hide.
Chen Chao also looked at these two qi refiners with a slight smile on his face, looking like he was totally unconcerned.
He turned to look at Han Pu and asked, "How long do I have to carry these things?"
Han Pu smiled and waved his hand to have people unlock Chen Chao's shackles. He asked, "Want to go to the Court of Judicial Review for a sit?"
"I've stayed in that place long enough. I'm prepared to go elsewhere for a look." Chen Chao scratched his head and glanced at Xie Nandu.
Han Pu sighed and said, "You know that's not what I mean."
Chen Chao chuckled and did not answer.
Han Pu did not say anymore. He brought those three cultivators and left. They might be staying in the Court of Judicial Review for a while.
The Minister of Censors stood up and looked at Chen Chao, as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, after he thought about it, he shook his head and dropped the matter too. He left on his own, vanishing from everyone's line of sight.
Vice Minister Li wanted to leave too. But he suddenly remembered that this was the Ministry of Penalty's main hall and immediately felt a little embarrassed.
Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu and said, "Got no place to go."
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "I can ask someone to find a house for you in the Divine Capital."
This was not a difficult thing for the Xie Family.
Chen Chao feigned stupidity and said, "I heard that the academy's scenery is excellent."
"I stay next to South Lake. There's a small courtyard there. If you sit by the window and look out, you'll see an excellent view."
Xie Nandu glanced at him and took the initiative to invite him, "Want to go and have a sit?"
"Then I'll accept deferentially than decline courteously." Chen Chao nodded with a smile, looking rather happy.
Xie Nandu nodded her head. Then, she looked at Wei Xu.
Wei Xu said, "Since Little Junior Sister was sent here by me, I'll naturally send Little Junior Sister back."
After saying this, Wei Xu saw that Xie Nandu was still looking at him and said with a slight smile, "The academy never had a rule that outsiders are not allowed to enter."
……
……
The Three Judicial Chief Ministries trial that happened in the Ministry of Penalty finally had a result before sunset.
But, when the result came out, it was destined to be another sleepless night too.
If it was just the story of the young warden killing cultivators without permission, then no matter how huge things blew up, it would merely be a story about that boy paying with his life. Or him producing some evidence to wash away his grievances and the foreign cultivators giving up.
But now, the youth was not guilty, but things became increasingly more consequential.
The southern qi refiner lineage actually dared to covet the Great Liang Dynasty's dragon vein and sent their disciples to steal the Great Liang Dynasty's dragon vein. This sort of thing was harming the destiny of a dynasty. If not too many people knew about it, then it was fine. But, this matter had already blown up until everyone knew about it now.
What happened in the Ministry of Penalty's main hall could not be hidden at all.
The moment Chen Chao took the demon bead out, the news had already spread.
That incident already transformed from a warden killing foreign cultivators without authorization, to a major matter between the southern qi refiner lineage and the Great Liang Dynasty. If there was any carelessness, it could even become a major issue between the foreign land cultivators and the Great Liang Dynasty.
Hence, when that short news was sent to the various manors, how could anyone still fall asleep?
Some people thought even further and became even more worried.
Many big shots who were officials were all thinking about how they had to attend the morning court session tomorrow no matter what, to see what decree the emperor would have.
They were so worried that they could not sleep all night, not knowing what kind of turmoil the Great Liang Dynasty would suffer.
That Great Liang emperor was indeed not asleep too.
Except, he was not worrying about those so-called major problems. Instead, he felt that today's backdrop looked good, so he spent some time looking at the moon.
No matter how beautiful the moon is, a person would also feel a little lonely looking at it by themselves.
Hence, the empress was accompanying the Great Liang emperor.
It was well known that the Great Liang emperor and Great Liang empress had deep feelings. The two knew each other from young and accompanied each other along the way. From prince consort to empress, everyone in the Great Liang Dynasty knew their deep feelings.
It was not a coincidence that they were admiring the moon tonight. When the Great Liang emperor had free time, he mostly accompanied by the empress' side.
The empress took the lantern from the palace maid's hands and ordered the attendants to clear out. She personally carried the lantern and accompanied the Great Liang emperor as they walked ahead.
Actually, the road ahead was clearly visible with moonlight cascading. It was just that the empress liked lanterns, so she carried one.
After walking a few steps, the empress said softly, "I heard that not only is the dean's final disciple very pretty, but she's also extremely smart. I really want to meet her."
Having accompanied her for so many years, the Great Liang emperor naturally knew what she was thinking in her heart. He smiled with vicissitudes of emotion and said, "That girl is pretty good. It's just that it's not so easy for her to become our daughter-in-law."
Born in the Xie Family and also taken in by the dean to be his final disciple, even if he promised to make such a girl the future empress of Great Liang, it was likely that regardless of whether was it the Xie Family or the dean, they would not agree easily.
"Then what is Your Majesty going to do?"
A gust of wind blew and the candlelight in the lantern that the empress was holding became swaying. She looked down with a faint smile on her face.
The Great Liang emperor naturally knew that she was not asking about that girl. He smiled and said, "Empress, the Imperial Astronomers previously said that the fortune of my Great Liang Dynasty flourishes with each day, entering a state of prosperity. It has already far surpassed the previous dynasty."
The empress nodded and said, "When talking about the peacefulness of the world, our Great Liang Dynasty naturally far surpasses the previous dynasty."
The Great Liang emperor took a look at the moonlight in the sky, his expression gradually turning cold, "But, they still feel that my Great Liang emperor is weak as a cat and can be brazenly humiliated."
The empress was silent for a moment before saying in a soft voice, "How can our Great Liang Dynasty be humiliated as they please?"
Having accompanied for so many years, how could the empress not know what the Great Liang emperor was thinking? Now that the Great Liang emperor had already made up his mind, she naturally only had support left.
"This time, We have to make the southern qi refiner lineage hemorrhage blood."
The Great Liang emperor took a deep breath and raised his arm, as if to break free from some chains, "If We weren't the emperor..."
He wanted to speak but swallowed the words back. In the end, after seeing the empress' smile, the Great Liang emperor could not be bothered to say the latter half of the sentence. He just changed the topic and said, "That boy is pretty good, he has already stepped into Divine Trove at a young age and his mind is still considered meticulous. It's just that, even We don't know which family he's from. It makes things a little hard."
The empress said, "He made a huge commotion this time, he seems like a smart one. Logically speaking, he has rendered meritorious service, are you not rewarding him?"
"We saw his files, he has performed extremely well in Tianqing County these few years. Even without this incident, We can also let him climb upwards. Although he's a little young, it's not a big deal too. However, if We dare to throw him out of the Divine Capital at this moment, he'll die an untimely death in less than half a month."
The Great Liang emperor rubbed his brows and said with a frown, "How about throwing him into the northern frontier army to train for a few years? Hope that this kid isn't short-lived."
The empress smiled and said, "Since you can't make up your mind, it’s fine to just have a look. Now that he has survived, there should be many people in this Divine Capital extending their hands."
The Great Liang emperor was not too happy as he said, "That person at the northern frontier is already old, none of the generals in the army are worthy. If We don't make some preparations, it will be troublesome if the North festers in the future. However, that boy has an unknown background, We indeed feel uneasy about him."
The empress was a little surprised. She did not expect that the Great Liang emperor already thought so highly of him without even meeting that boy once.
"How about you meet him?" The empress suggested.
The Great Liang emperor thought about it and snorted coldly, "Forget it. We'll see if it's what We want or not first."
The empress nodded and naturally had no objections.
She suddenly remembered something and said, "It seems that it's that time of the year again."
When she mentioned this, the Great Liang emperor's brows furrowed and he said, "If it's that time of the year again, so be it. Everything is as per usual."
The empress knew that the Great Liang emperor's mood already became irritated at this time. But, she still reminded, "It's held in the Divine Capital this year."
The Great Liang emperor had an indifferent look, "So what if it's in the Divine Capital? Everything is as per usual."
He practically repeated what he said before word for word.
The empress said to herself, "That Xie Family's girl has just started cultivation, I presume that she can't take part when the time comes too. There should still be a few talents in the academy. As for the Heavenly Imperial Institution, it can't be that they failed to groom a decent fellow even after all these years, right?"
Her expression was very serious, like an overworked peasant woman counting how many chickens she had.
Seeing how she looked, the Great Liang emperor's irritated mood went away completely and he was in a great mood.
But, the empress was not too happy when she saw him and said, "This is an important matter, are you really not concerned at all?"
The Great Liang emperor reached out to take the lantern. At this moment, the weather was not cooperating. The bright moon in the sky was covered by clouds. If not for this lantern, there would probably be darkness left between heaven and earth; unable to see anything clearly.
"True. If we were to lose face all the way home, that would be rather ridiculous."
The empress opened her mouth and said, "Then Your Majesty will need to prepare well."
The Great Liang emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "Got it."
……
……
The Divine Capital at night did not fall asleep. What happened in the evening was too major, so even if night had fallen, there were still many people who were busy.
When the news was transmitted to the various manors, there was a thin piece of paper than was sent to the little house next to the Xie Family's ancestral hall.
The arrival stood for a moment in front of the willow tree and then left straight away.
There was no noise coming from the house.
The old man in front of the ancestral hall was lying on that old chair. Looking at tonight's moonlight with squinted eyes, he felt rather emotional.
"How is it?"
Suddenly, an old voice sounded out. It came from inside that house.
The old man immediately answered, "He's naturally quite good. His intellect and talent are adequate. But, there's some problem with his background. Even we can't uncover it, the problem isn't small."
"Actually, it's easy to guess since we can't find out. I reckon that it's one of those few 'impoverished families'. It's just, don't know if it's the largest one or not."
The old man's voice was a little reminiscing as if he remembered some old departed friends at the same time he was talking.
The old man said with vicissitudes of emotion, "If he came from that family, that's actually a troublesome thing."
"He might not be too. It's been so many years, I assume that they have no more tricks to play as well. Even if they have these means, do they have the face?" This time, the old man's voice was full of mockery.
The old man chuckled and said with a smile, "What face can those who could become an impoverished family want? They already became impoverished families, what face do they want still?"
The impoverished families is explained later on. To be more precise, the term they use describes a family that has now declined. It's deliberately left ambiguous for suspense. You'll find that the author deliberately keeps things ambiguous so that there is an element of mystery that will be unveiled later in the story.
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