Because the emperor's 100th birthday was approaching, the capital was very busy and lively.
But secretly, there are undercurrents surging and fighting going on.
After all, to mortals, the emperor is the supreme being in the world, and there is no more noble status than this.
In the palace, Emperor Zhao Rui received a secret report and learned that Princess Xiyun had indeed returned to the capital and was secretly visiting several close friends of the former Marquis of Xilu. She was currently in one of them, Chengyang Bo's Mansion.
"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Xilu has committed treason and rebellion. Princess Xiyun has been escaping for three years and is now hiding in the capital. I thought that I would arrest and imprison her, and I will interrogate and execute her together with her family."
An old eunuch reminded in a low voice.
Zhao Rui glanced at the eunuch coldly. The eunuch suddenly turned pale and began to sweat. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed like garlic: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I shouldn't talk too much."
Zhao Rui was silent for a long time and waved his hands: "Get up. This matter is not as simple as you think. You should quickly take people to secretly send Princess Xiyun to the palace. I have something to ask her."
"Yes, veteran, let's do it now!"
The old eunuch kowtowed and stood up and exited the palace. Half an hour later, Princess Xiyun was secretly sent into the palace in a carriage by a group of internal guards. Only after she entered the palace did she see the person in front of her clearly. It was exactly what she wanted to see day and night.
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty.
"Zhao Qian, the daughter of the guilty minister, pays homage to Your Majesty!" Zhao Qian was surprised and happy, and quickly kowtowed to the ground.
Zhao Rui sat on the big chair, looked at the haggard and frightened young woman, and asked in a majestic voice: "Are you Zhao Chengyi's daughter?"
Princess Xiyun lowered her head and replied: "Yes, my father is Zhao Chengyi."
Zhao Rui said coldly: "Zhao Chengyi colluded with the Ming Dynasty and tried to rebel. Your whole family will be punished and executed. You dare to come to the capital. Do you think I don't know about it?"
Princess Xiyun immediately burst into tears, fell to the ground and choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, my father did not commit rebellion, but was actually framed by King Pingxi. The daughter of the common people risked her life and came to the capital just to meet your Majesty and vindicate her father's injustice."
Zhao Rui furiously hit the armrest of the big chair and said: "How dare you! Your father colluded with Zhu Youhong, the Eastern Marquis of Ming Dynasty, in an attempt to attack King Pingxi. The evidence is conclusive, but you still dare to quibble."
"Your Majesty, the daughter of the people does not dare to quibble. There is another inside story. It is actually King Pingxi who colluded with the Ziyang Sect of the Immortal Sect of the Ming Dynasty in an attempt to rebel. When my father found out, he wanted to report it to the court. King Pingxi killed my father. After the daughter of the people escaped,
He could only hide in Tibet and dare not return to the capital. This time, for His Majesty's 100th birthday, he was escorted by the Immortal Master of the Taiyuan Sect, a folk girl, and was able to reach the capital smoothly. On the way, he was also chased by King Pingxi and the monks of the Ziyang Sect. If it weren't for Taiyuan
The Immortal Master took action and the civilian girl was already dead."
Seemingly knowing that this was her only chance to overturn the verdict, Princess Xiyun became bolder in an instant. She straightened up and faced Zhao Rui and shouted loudly.
Zhao Rui's expression changed drastically, and he stood up suddenly and said, "You said that King Pingxi colluded with the Ziyang Sect of the Immortal Sect of the Ming Dynasty. Is there any evidence?"
Princess Xiping said: "Yes, but the daughter of the people was worried that the evidence would be snatched by King Pingxi and the Ziyang Sect, so she handed the evidence into the hands of three immortal masters from the Taiyuan Sect. Your Majesty summoned the three immortal masters and you will know after asking.
"
"You want to use Taiyuan Sect to suppress me?" Zhao Rui was furious.
Princess Xiyun also risked her life. She raised her head and looked at Zhao Rui without timidity and said: "This evidence is not trivial. King Pingxi colluded with the Ziyang Sect of the Immortal Sect of the Ming Dynasty to hunt down and rob the girl. How could she protect a weak woman alone? If it weren't for Tai
The three immortal masters of Yuanmen protected them along the way, and the civilian daughter could not reach the capital to meet His Majesty. My father had guarded the Western Continent for the country for decades and was loyal. The civilian daughter was not greedy for life and feared death, but she did not want her father to be charged with rebellion after his death.
I don’t want my family to be implicated unnecessarily, so since I have the honor to see Your Majesty today, I would like to ask Your Majesty to make decisions for the daughter of the people, and for my father and family.”
"You want me to make the decision for you and vindicate Zhao Chengyi?" Zhao Rui looked at Princess Xiyun with a majestic expression.
"Yes, my father's death was unjust. Please make the decision for your daughter!" Princess Xiyun choked and bowed.
"Then tell me in detail what happened. Since you dared to go to Beijing alone, you must have evidence to reverse the case." The seriousness and anger on Zhao Rui's face faded instantly, and he waved his hand and sat down again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Princess Xiyun felt relieved, and then she told the whole story of the whole incident. Of course, she did not say what the elixir was. After all, two major immortal sects were involved, and speaking out would only cause trouble.
More trouble.
After hearing this, Zhao Rui's face became uncertain, his heart was like a raging wave, and his whole body was trembling slightly.
Although he knew that Xilu Marquis Zhao Chengyi was probably killed by King Pingxi and was accused of colluding with the Ming Dynasty to rebel, he did not know that the inside story was so terrifying.
Zhao Chengyi, a county bordering a mortal town in the Kaiyuan Realm, actually dared to excavate an ancient tomb of an immortal.
What made him even more unexpected was that in order to obtain the throne of emperor, King Pingxi would not hesitate to borrow the power of the Ming Kingdom's Immortal Sect.
King Pingxi must have given many of the immortal treasures in the ancient tomb to the Ziyang Sect.
As for the evidence that fell into the hands of the Taiyuan Sect, he actually didn't want to know it at all, or even if he knew it, he couldn't do anything about it, because those things were not something that he, an emperor in the mortal world, could touch.
Even if it doesn't fall into the hands of Taiyuan Sect, it will eventually fall into the hands of Ziyang Sect or Yuqing Palace.
And he now has only a few years to live, and all he wants is for the prince to smoothly inherit the throne.
But the Eighth Prince Zhao Wuji is the biggest threat to the crown prince's succession.
Not only did he hold hundreds of thousands of troops to guard the western frontier, but he also colluded with the Ziyang Sect, the third largest immortal sect in the Ming Dynasty. One mistake and the Song Dynasty would never be destroyed.
Although standing behind him is the Yuqing Palace, the largest immortal sect in the Song Dynasty, Yuqing Palace will not necessarily stand up for him. After all, the opponent is a large-scale immortal sect, and things in the immortal world are completely different from those in the ordinary world, especially for those who are dedicated to pursuing the Tao.
For the monks in the immortal Danyuan realm and the Spiritual Transformation realm, they don't care too much about life and death in the mortal world, and whoever becomes the emperor among the people will not affect their obedience to them.
Unless this piece of evidence can make the elders of Yuqing Palace particularly excited.
But how could a treasure that reached that level be left in the hands of Princess Xiyun for three years?
What's more, this piece of evidence has now fallen into the hands of the Taiyuan Sect.
He is a disciple of the outer sect of Yuqing Palace, so he naturally knows everything about the immortal world. Although people who cultivate immortals are indifferent and do not pursue fame and wealth, if they are real treasures of heaven, materials and earth, they will be more brutal to rob, not to mention what they get.
There is no reason to spit it out.
Therefore, if he wants the Yuqing Palace to take action against the Ziyang Sect, he must hand over the evidence, but this will definitely offend the Taiyuan Sect.
Although the strength of the Taiyuan Sect is far inferior to that of the Yuqing Palace, it is still a regular immortal sect with more than a dozen immortals. The worst disciples have higher cultivation levels than him, not to mention that there are strong men from the Danyuan Realm sitting in charge.
He couldn't afford to offend Yuqing Palace at all, and he couldn't afford to offend Taiyuan Sect either.
After thinking about it, Zhao Rui became confused and waved his hands to take Princess Xiyun down to take good care of her. After thinking for a long time, he ordered the chamberlain: "Go to the Treasure Pavilion and ask the young deacon to come into the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" A servant left after Nuo.
Half an hour later, the half-hundred-year-old man in the late Kaiyuan realm who had received Xu Chen and the others in the Zhenbao Pavilion followed the chamberlain into the palace.
Zhao Rui had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time. When he saw him, he quickly saluted and said, "Zhao Rui has met Deacon Tong."
The old man nodded slightly and returned the courtesy: "Junior brother, there is no need to be polite. Why are you calling me into the palace in such a hurry?"
Zhao Rui introduced the old man into the palace, served him some fragrant tea, and then dismissed the eunuchs, chambermaids, and maids, and then explained in detail what Princess Xiyun had said.
After hearing this, the old man was very angry and glared: "How did you become the emperor? Why did you delay talking about such a big matter until now?"
Zhao Rui said with a bitter look on his face: "Senior brother taught me a lesson, but I have just learned about this matter. The Eight Kings were so audacious. Not only did they secretly excavate the immortal tombs, but they also colluded with the Ziyang Sect in an attempt to rebel. I originally wanted to take advantage of this 100th birthday.
Passing the throne to the prince, I'm afraid there will be some trouble now."
The old man's anger subsided a little, and he muttered for a moment and said: "You also know the rules of the immortal world. The inheritance of the throne is your royal family's own business. The Yuqing Palace will not interfere, but the Eight Kings' collusion with the Ming Kingdom's immortal sect is definitely an unforgivable crime. But those
The immortal treasures have now fallen into the hands of the Ziyang Sect, and there is not enough benefit. The elders of the Yuqing Palace are afraid that they will not agree to take action, because once they do it, it will be a battle between the two immortal sects, and the consequences are very unpredictable.
I can inform the elders of the sect about the matter, but don’t put too much hope in it.”
Zhao Ruidao: "The elixir that fell into the hands of Taiyuan Sect, should we stop here?"
The old man shook his head seriously and said: "If we had known about this matter half a month ago, maybe the elders would have been moved, but now we are determined not to quarrel with the Taiyuan Sect for a spiritual medicine that has no value at all."
"Why?" Zhao Rui asked anxiously.
The old man tapped the tea table lightly with his fingers and said: "Because Dan Chenzi from the Taiyuan Sect will soon become a great monk in the Spiritual Transformation Realm, so even a third-level or even fourth-level treasure is not possible in the Yuqing Palace.
If you come forward, it is even less likely that you will take action."
Zhao Rui's expression changed drastically, he stood up and exclaimed: "Dan Chenzi is actually going to break through? How did senior brother know?"
The old man did not hide anything. He told the story about Dan Chenzi going to Yuqing Palace to pay homage to True Lord Baiyun, and finally said:
"Dan Chenzi's becoming a great monk is a first-class event for us in the Immortal World of the Song Dynasty. It cannot be disturbed in the slightest. Even if it is because of Zhao Wuji's collusion with the Ziyang Sect to rebel, the Yuqing Palace will have to wait until this matter is resolved if it wants to rectify its origins.
Only then will the Ziyang Sect dare to take my Great Song Dynasty Immortal Treasure and secretly support the rebellion. I will definitely come to them in the future to argue with you, but I am determined not to do it now, do you understand?"
Zhao Rui's face instantly turned pale and colorless, and he sat slumped back in his chair in a daze.