The seven years that Emperor Ming Yuan came to the throne were seven years of extreme hardship and crazy squandering.
Under his torture, the huge national power accumulated during the New Chu Emperor period was quickly exhausted.
Only seven years have passed, and the national treasury is already empty.
But Emperor Ming Yuan didn't feel that he had done anything wrong.
Under the wholehearted flattery of the favored ministers he promoted, he thought he was the emperor of the ages, and acted more and more without restraint.
In the later period, Emperor Ming Yuan even began to increase taxes in order to gather money for his own enjoyment, which caused widespread complaints among the people.
However, Emperor Ming Yuan and Emperor Xin Chu still have one thing in common.
That is, there is only one queen in their harem and no other concubines.
But this is not a good thing for Queen Yuwen Piaoxu.
Because as Emperor Ming Yuan became more and more ridiculous, rumors suddenly began to spread between the court and the public that the empress doted on the harem alone and had deep scheming intentions.
Some people even say that Emperor Ming Yuan was very happy with his achievements and extravagant in recent years, but it was actually the empress who encouraged him behind his back.
No matter where these rumors came from, Yuwen Piaoxu gradually became the demon queen in people's mouth and brought trouble to the palace.
However, Emperor Ming Yuan's stupidity gave another person a chance.
During these seven years, King Su has been secretly planning to develop his own power.
With deliberate actions, he gradually became a virtuous king praised by the world, and his influence in the government and the public was growing.
Jiaofang Division.
There was singing and laughter in the lobby of the neon clothing class.
On the stage, the chief courtesan's lady in colorful clothes danced gracefully.
She was wearing a red gauze with cloud sleeves, and her long sleeves were dancing with her lotus steps, just like a fairy falling from the sky, attracting applause from the whole house.
Zhao Mu sat alone in the corner, with a pot of tea and several plates of snacks on the table.
While admiring the graceful dancing of the oiran, he drank tea and tasted snacks, enjoying himself lazily.
Suddenly a voice came from behind: "You are living a really leisurely life. I don't think anyone in the entire capital is as comfortable as you."
A handsome and fair young man came over.
He seemed to be very familiar with Zhao Mu. He sat down unceremoniously, picked up the teapot and drank it all.
Zhao Mu was speechless: "Hey, that's the best water charm dragon source. A pot costs hundreds of taels of silver, but you're drinking it like a buffalo. It's a waste of natural resources."
"Isn't it just a hundred taels of silver? I will give it to you later."
That's right, this young man is not a man, but Zhou Yue, who is disguised as a man.
"Believe it or not, you are a ghost. How many fine wines and teas have you taken from me over the years? When did you ever give me money?"
Zhao Mu snorted: "Why are you dressed like this today? Are you having a private meeting with some young lady?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I am just a young lady, and I am having a secret affair with a young lady!"
Zhou Yue rolled her eyes and said.
This girl really doesn't look like a girl, and her words can be vulgar.
"My master asked me to go to the army and catch a guy who was greedy for military pay. It was not convenient to dress as a woman in the army, so I put on men's clothes."
Zhou Yue sighed: "Hey, this is already the eighth official I have arrested for embezzling military pay in the past two months. If we don't rectify military affairs, I'm afraid our Jin Dynasty's army will be in ruins."
"More than just an army."
Zhao Mu shook his head: "Since your senior brother ascended the throne, the entire imperial court has begun to decay rapidly. If he continues to act like this, I am afraid that his throne will not be preserved."
"Foolish king! The late emperor was a wise king who loved his people like his own son. How could he have given birth to such a thing?"
Zhou Yue gritted her teeth with hatred: "It's a pity that the Queen Mother's health has become worse and worse in recent years. Otherwise, with her advice, maybe senior brother can be more peaceful?"
I'm afraid you will never be able to count on that old woman.
Zhao Mu released the Sravaka Gu, and the real scene of the entire capital gradually appeared in his mind.
Royal Palace.
In the Queen Mother's palace, a gray-haired old woman was lying on the bed and sleeping.
I don’t know if it’s because I lost the demon blood jade?
Since seven years ago, the demonic energy in the Queen Mother's body has become worse and worse.
At first, the Queen Mother was able to deal with things consciously, but then she couldn't.
Especially in the past three or four years, although the Queen Mother is still alive, she often falls into coma due to the backlash of evil spirits.
She spent at least twenty days in a month lying in bed and sleeping.
Even if she wakes up, she is still groggy. Let alone trying to dissuade Emperor Ming Yuan, she can rarely speak normally.
However, despite the fact that the Queen Mother is so weak, her body's instinct is to be wary of any dangerous approach.
Two years ago, Zhao Mu secretly sneaked into the palace to check on the Queen Mother.
Unexpectedly, before she got close, the sleeping Queen Mother suddenly woke up and turned into a demon to attack.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly and turned around as soon as he saw something was wrong. Otherwise, he might have suffered heavy losses in the face of the demonized Queen Mother.
"Don't be anxious. We still have to wait until the Queen Mother dies or I am strong enough to kill her before studying her body."
Zhao Mu muttered in his heart.
Zhou Yue complained for a while and then left.
And after Lady Nishang finished her last dance, Zhao Mu also went to Liang Jian to ask for leave, and then left the capital.
The demon blood jade is really weird, and it often makes big noises when researching it.
Even the spreading evil spirit may cause the Queen Mother to notice it.
Therefore, it was troublesome. When Zhao Mu conducted research in these years, he would find a secluded place outside the capital.
In the woods where I once broke through the master.
Zhao Mu sat down cross-legged in the open space and took out the demon blood jade.
I saw the crystal clear, evil jade stone as red as blood, exuding a strong and weird evil spirit, which made people confused.
Although the research progress has been slow in recent years, he has not gained anything at all.
Recently, he discovered that as long as he used his true energy to wrap a large number of sravaka Gu, he could form a special filter.
The demonic energy emitted by the demonic blood jade will be filtered out of the demonic power after passing through this layer of filter, leaving only the pure spiritual aura.
The quality of these spiritual auras far exceeds the true energy of martial arts.
As long as he absorbs and refines it, he can quickly improve his cultivation level.
It's just that this method of purifying demonic energy is too inefficient. The spiritual energy obtained is too little, and most of the demonic energy will be wasted.
"The old witch is about to die. When the time comes to study her body, we should be able to find a better way to purify the evil spirit."
Zhao Mu said to himself.
He shook his head, closed his eyes and began to concentrate on absorbing spiritual energy.
Half a year passed in a hurry.
In the past six months, Zhao Mu has spent most of his time practicing in the woods, and only occasionally returns to the Jiaofang Division to show his face, lest others think that he has quit.
The spiritual aura is indeed powerful. In just half a year, Zhao Mu clearly felt that his own strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
The growth of true energy is secondary, and the main thing is the growth of the physical body.
Zhao Mu felt that his physical strength now seemed to have surpassed the level of a grandmaster.
He didn't know if he could beat Wu Sheng, but at least when he faced the Queen Mother again, he felt that he could defeat her.
Now, what he lacks is the right time to kill the Queen Mother.