"Don't be fooled, this is evil painting and heresy!"
In order to stop public opinion, the eldest prince Nangong Lie personally stood up to refute the rumors and warned, "Whoever dares to spread rumors is an accomplice of the mastermind behind the scenes and is blasphemy against the Nangong royal family. Once discovered, he will be severely punished!"
The voice was as sonorous as iron, full of irresistibility.
No one responded, but no one respectfully accepted the order.
Things have reached this point. Even though he is the eldest prince of the empire and the first suitable heir to the throne, he cannot suppress the public opinion.
"you……"
Seeing no one responded, Nangong Lie became even more furious.
At this time, a staff member next to him reminded: "Your Highness, why don't you go back first? This matter has a great impact. You should not be too forceful at this moment, otherwise it will only cause a greater backlash!"
Seeing that Nangong Lie still looked unwilling, the aide continued: "As the saying goes, everyone pushes down the wall. If Your Highness insists on having your own way, I'm afraid you will lose the support of the people!"
Another staff member echoed: "First Prince, there is a saying that 'Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.' Regardless of whether that poem and the painting just now are rumors fabricated by someone, given the current situation, it is indeed true.
It is not appropriate to suppress it forcefully, otherwise it will be counterproductive!"
"That's...okay!"
After the earnest persuasion of his two aides, Nangong Lie finally compromised.
Next, many people searched around again, and some even ventured into the cave, but all found nothing.
With no more clues, everyone finally left here in twos and threes.
Several princes are no exception.
On the surface, this matter has calmed down, but after this incident, a wave of search for "Nan Lang" was secretly set off.
Even the princes who believed it to be a rumor were no exception.
The residence of the eldest prince.
"You actually persuade this prince to believe such a ridiculous thing?"
After listening to everyone's suggestions, Nangong Lie was shocked and angry.
But one of the staff said sincerely: "Your Highness, although that rumor is a provocation to the Nangong royal family, since we have no way of distinguishing the truth from the false, we would rather believe it than not!"
Another staff member echoed: "What if that is really an oracle? According to the decree, whoever wins Nanlang will win the world. If we don't act in advance, if the other princes are allowed to get there first, the consequences will be disastrous!"
"this……"
Nangong Lie hesitated a little.
Even if this is just a rumor deliberately fabricated by someone, now that rumors are spreading, most people believe that it is an oracle.
The influence alone cannot be ignored.
Especially the "Nanlang" in the poem and the sword-wielding boy in the painting, once their identity is confirmed by everyone, they will definitely form an overwhelming support rate.
Therefore, whether it is a rumor or a real oracle, the storm caused by this "Nanlang" is immeasurable.
And if he doesn't take action immediately, other princes will definitely send people secretly to find the so-called "Nan Lang".
According to the oracle, even though Nanlang had the ability to quell chaos, he had no intention of becoming emperor, and would instead support a prince to ascend the throne.
In this case, whoever can get Nanlang's support can get the support of almost everyone, and then the world will be at your fingertips.
Just thinking about it, he frowned and said, "But who is this Nanlang?"
"this……"
Everyone looked at each other, unable to guess the reason.
The only thing they could guess was that Nanlang should be from the Southern Region and he was a young man.
After all, both poems and paintings show a young man wielding a sword.
"Since this Nanlang has such great influence, no matter whether he is true or false, we must find him at all costs for my prince!"
After careful consideration, Nangong Lie finally made such a decision.
…
In addition to the eldest prince, the third prince Nangong Xiao, the fourth prince Nangong Yuan, and the heads of the major forces also immediately launched actions, all of whom did not want to find the legendary Nan Lang first.
For a time, a search for Nanlang was launched in the imperial capital.
But no matter how hard everyone searched, they still couldn't find a single clue related to Nanlang.
"Who is this Nanlang?"
"If it is really an oracle, in what way and image will Nanlang appear?"
"Although there are not many people coming from the Southern Territory, the imperial capital is so big and the empire's territory is so vast. Finding the so-called Nanlang is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
"Unless he shows up on his own initiative, it would be unrealistic to find Nan Lang!"
"Since the oracle predicts that Nanlang can calm down the chaos, he will always appear. The reason why no one has found him yet is that maybe the time has not come yet, or maybe he has not come to the imperial capital yet!"
Since the search was fruitless, everyone had to give up and wait for Nanlang himself to show up.
…
The sound of nature.
"Sir, as you expected, the response caused by your poems and paintings far exceeded our expectations!"
After collecting information from all parties, Xiao Rong and Du Yuxiang immediately reported the matter to Ye Chen.
"very good!"
Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction, "Now everything is truly ready, all we need is the east wind!"
"Sir, what are you going to do next?"
Xiao Rong asked.
“It’s time to turn rumors into prophecies!”
Ye Chen smiled mysteriously.
"How do you want to turn rumors into prophecies?"
Xiao Rong and Du Yuxiang looked surprised.
"I need to go out, you continue to collect information from all parties!"
Ye Chen didn't explain and went out on his own.
…
Five hundred miles south of the imperial capital, there is an academy.
It’s called Da Dao Academy!
This is the recognized first academy in the Yong'an Empire. Most of the empire's civil servants and advisers came from Da Dao Academy.
What the academy advocates is not force, but the use of strategy to control situations.
And this is extremely important in power struggles.
Therefore, even the children of the Nangong royal family are proud to enter the academy to study.
As long as you can get further education in the academy and achieve success in your studies, you will definitely become a wise person in the future.
In addition, the academy also conducts extensive research on calligraphy.
It is said that those who are fascinated by calligraphy can integrate Taoism into calligraphy, allowing warriors to understand some of the secrets of Taoism.
As a result, there is another recognized calligraphy master in Dadao Academy named Zuo Yi, who is nicknamed the Calligrapher.
At this moment, the mountain behind Dadao Academy.
Zuo Yi, the calligrapher, was sitting cross-legged in a pavilion with his eyes closed, as if he was contemplating his mood.
On the stone table in front of him, there was already a piece of rice paper spread out, with pen and ink beside it.
Not far away, there was a group of disciples standing there.
Although there were many people, no one made a sound, and the place was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Because this is a rare occasion for a calligrapher to write on the spot.
Any calligraphy written by a calligrapher is priceless.
And it is an honor for any academy disciple to witness his writing with his own eyes.
At a certain moment, Zuo Yi seemed to be in a good mood. He suddenly opened his eyes, then held the wide sleeve of his right hand with his left hand, picked up the pen with his right hand in a very gentle movement, and dipped it in the ink.
However, when he was about to start writing, he suddenly paused, his eyes suddenly looked to the distant sky, and his pupils contracted violently.