Chapter 355

The night before the enthronement ceremony.

The entire capital was shrouded in a solemn yet bizarrely fervent atmosphere.

Inside and outside the imperial city, there was a post every three steps, a sentry every five steps; all troops had been replaced by the personal followers of the Second Prince…… no, of the new emperor Yinzhen.

Inside the imperial study, the candles burned brightly.

Yinzhen wore a black nine‑dragon robe, sitting solemnly upon the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power.

He did not review the memorials, merely propping his chin with one hand, while the fingertips of his other hand were entwined with wisp after wisp of gray-black mist invisible to the naked eye.

That ink‑thick Extinction Source Power shifted with his thoughts, taking on various ferocious shapes.

His gaze no longer held even a trace of the former virtuous king's warm, refined Confucian grace; instead it was bone‑deep cruelty and greed, plus an indifference that regarded all the world's people as mere ants.

"Hehe……"

Yinzhen's gaze fell upon a reward list, drafted overnight by the Cabinet, lying on the imperial desk before him.

At the very top of the list, written in cinnabar brush were three large, soaring‑dragon‑and‑phoenix characters—Gu Ziyuan.

Titles such as Junior Protector of the Heir Apparent, first‑rank, bestowed purple‑gold fish bag, admission to the Cabinet to participate in governance—this string of honors would make any subject feel grateful enough to sacrifice his life.

Yet when Yinzhen looked at those three characters, he let out a cold, derisive snort.

"A ten‑thousand‑zhang golden dragon…… a born sage……"

He muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with intense jealousy and killing intent.

The scene outside Zhengyang Gate had been his greatest aid in ascending the throne, yet now it had become his biggest heart‑ailment!

A mere subject's fate could actually compel the very embodiment of the nation's destiny to submit!

What is this? Does it not mean that his imperial throne is nothing more than a handout casually bestowed by others?

As long as Gu Ziyuan lives another day, this emperor cannot sit securely on his throne!

Everyone under heaven will remember that it was Yinzhen who, by basking in Gu Ziyuan's glory, managed to ascend the great throne!

"When a knife has been used, it ought to be sheathed."

Yinzhen's gaze turned sinister,

"If this blade is too sharp, even thinking of turning it against its master, then the only recourse is to break it!"

He picked up the cinnabar brush, made no comment on Gu Yuan's reward, but instead began writing on another blank imperial edict.

"Attendant, summon the Minister of Personnel, Cui Hong, for an immediate audience!"

Half an hour later, Cui Hong, led by a young eunuch, entered the study trembling with fear.

"Your humble servant Cui Hong pays his respects, Your Majesty; may the emperor live ten thousand, ten thousand, myriad myriad years!"

Cui Hong knelt low, not daring to raise his head.

These past days, though he had followed the three senior ministers' instructions and wholeheartedly assisted Yinzhen's accession, his inner fear of the new emperor grew day by day.

Yinzhen's methods were too ruthless; when purging the Crown Prince's faction, he spared not even infants in swaddling clothes.

"Cui Hong, rise." Yinzhen's voice gave no hint of pleasure or anger.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"I have a new edict here for you to look at." Yinzhen tossed the freshly written decree before Cui Hong.

Cui Hong trembled as he picked it up with both hands; after a single glance his pupils contracted sharply.

The edict read: "Junior Protector of the Heir Apparent Gu Ziyuan, your labors have been great, yet your slaughter is excessive, your malign aura clings to you, making you unfit to continue holding military and civil authority. You are specially granted the title 'Grand Sacrificer of the Ancestral Temple', receiving the stipend of a first‑rank official; effective immediately you shall vacate the former Premier's residence and take up residence in the Ancestral Temple, devoting yourself solely to the rites for the former emperor, and you may not leave without an imperial order. Your seal as Inspector of Youzhou is to be reclaimed forthwith by the Ministry of Personnel."

A promotion in name, a demotion in fact!

This is no reward; it is clearly stripping Gu Ziyuan of all his power and placing him under complete house arrest!

"Your Majesty, this… Lord Gu…"

Cui Hong's heart pounded with shock; Gu Ziyuan is the Confucian‑Daoist holy son personally certified by the three senior ministers, the hope of the aristocratic clans—how could Yinzhen dare……

"What? Minister Cui, do you have an objection?"

Yinzhen's voice instantly turned cold, a icy killing intent locking onto Cui Hong.

Cui Hong shuddered all over, as if fallen into an ice cellar, and hastily knocked his head to the ground:

"Your humble servant dare not! Your Majesty is sage and bright! Lord Gu's excessive slaughter indeed merits his going to the Ancestral Temple to calm his mind and temper his nature. Your humble servant… your humble servant will attend to this at once!"

"Very well."

Yinzhen nodded in satisfaction, then produced from his dragon‑sleeve an inconspicuous black porcelain bottle and tossed it at Cui Hong's feet,

"This is the Clearing Heart Powder I have specially prepared for Minister Gu; it is said to cleanse the malign qi within a cultivator's body. Have someone stealthily pour it into the well at the Gu residence. Remember, if even a hint of this leaks, I will exterminate your nine clans!"

Cui Hong stared at the ominous‑smelling porcelain bottle, feeling a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.

Extinction Source Bone‑Rotting Powder!

He had seen in ancient texts a record of this forbidden drug: it is colorless and tasteless, yet it can contaminate a cultivator's Dao foundation at its root, ruining his cultivation and turning him into a permanent cripple unable to advance any further.

This new emperor not only seeks to seize power, but also to utterly ruin Gu Ziyuan!

"Old… old servant, I will obey the edict!"

Cui Hong picked up the bottle; it was ice‑cold and piercing to the bone, as if he were grasping a venomous snake.

He backed out of the study, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Meanwhile, inside the former Premier's residence of the previous dynasty,

Gu Yuan was sitting leisurely in a pavilion at the rear garden, sipping a cup of freshly brewed pre‑rain Dragon Well tea.

Before him in the void, a World Tree phantom visible only to him swayed wildly with its branches and leaves.

Strand after strand of supremely pure yet foul‑smelling gray‑black energy poured continuously through that dark‑gold seal, being "excreted" from the direction of the palace.

These Extinction Source Powers, potent enough to fell a quasi‑sage expert on the spot, were greedily sucked up by the World Tree's rootlets the moment they made contact, transformed into the purest nourishment.

"Already starting to discard the mill and kill the ox? Efficiency is pretty high."

Gu Yuan's divine sense had already blanketed the entire capital city.

Inside the Imperial Study, the conversation between Yinzhen and Cui Hong entered his ears word for word.

He also sensed that, outside the manor, the Imperial Forest Army originally led by Zhao Rui had been silently withdrawn and replaced by a batch of Dragon Shadow Guards with a more sinister and eerie aura.

Furthermore, he saw a eunuch disguised as a servant furtively dumping a packet of powder into the manor's main well.

Gu Yuan not only wasn't angry, but felt that the entertainment of this vacation was finally about to reach its climax.

He set down his teacup and turned his head toward the shadow in the corner of the pavilion.

The figures of Kong Qiuqiu, Meng Changhe, and Yan Daolin, three second-rank great scholars, emerged from the shadows like ghosts and knelt respectfully on the ground.

Gu Yuan's tone was as flat as if he were ordering a trivial matter.

"Since the new emperor wants to play at burning bridges, let this official see whether this bridge… can actually be torn down."

Gu Yuan's gaze fell upon the northwest corner of the imperial city, that forbidden zone imprisoning countless royals and nobles—the Heavenly Prison.

"Go to the Heavenly Prison and bring out that rebellious eldest prince."

Gu Yuan's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

"This young master will give him a torrent of wealth."