Chapter 502: Emperor and Empress Double Kill—They'd Have to Fly to Heaven

The Yan Wang poisoning likewise landed on the cult bandits' heads.

Consort Gao Shufei clearly would not accept this conclusion.

"What reason would the cult bandits have to poison Yan Wang? Even if they truly did it, someone must have been behind it. Old Ancestor, Jin Wang is a suspect—why not investigate him? Even Zhong Wang is a suspect. I suspect his poisoning was staged by himself—a thief crying 'stop thief!'"

"Shufei, cease your wild talk. The dynasty cannot endure a second upheaval. Everything must serve the greater picture."

"Then what about my son Yan Wang? Is his grievance to be ignored? He was meant to be Emperor, yet because he was poisoned and harmed in the dark, he lost the throne. To this day, not a single person has stepped forward to speak a fair word for my son. Old Ancestor, will even you not stand up for justice on his behalf?"

The Old Ancestor's face was impassive. "They are all sons of the imperial house. From the day they were born, they should have understood that as scions of the imperial house, sooner or later they must sacrifice themselves for the realm and for the royal family. I have already spoken with Zhong Wang. Once he ascends the throne, he will issue an edict to commend Yan Wang and richly reward Yan Wang's descendants. For the sake of your children and grandchildren, you should learn to shut your mouth from this moment on!"

"Fine, then I won't mention Zhong Wang. What about Jin Wang? Is Jin Wang also part of the greater picture? Must this widow and her orphan son make sacrifice after sacrifice?"

"Jin Wang is innocent. I have already ascertained the facts. He took no part in any of it—he too was framed."

"I don't believe it!"

"Are you questioning me?"

The atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant. Consort Gao Shufei shuddered all over as a great terror descended upon her.

Cold sweat streaming, she dropped to her knees as though death itself were arriving. After several struggles, she forced out, "I understand! I will shut my mouth."

"That is well and good! Go!"

At this point, Zhong Wangdian's throne was secure; no one else dared raise a voice in question.

The Old Ancestor wished to return to continue his closed-door cultivation, and Zhong Wang pressed him to stay again and again. In the end, he personally escorted the Old Ancestor out of the palace.

Once the Old Ancestor had gone, the coronation ceremony was rushed along at full gallop. Zhong Wang could hardly wait to ascend the throne and proclaim himself Emperor.

He set the reign title as Jian Shi. From the following year onward, it would be the first year of Jian Shi.

After ascending the throne, the first edict Emperor Jian Shi issued was to bestow a posthumous name and temple name upon Emperor Emperor Taixing and set the date of his interment. The second edict rewarded meritorious officials, and he even sent one to the rebel Chu Wang: so long as Chu Wang would abandon his rebellion and return to the court's warm embrace, he promised to overlook past offenses.

Of course, this edict was merely for show, put on for the people of the realm to see: how magnanimous the new Emperor was, how benevolent, how brotherly and sisterly toward his kin. He was building a persona the complete opposite of the late Emperor.

The late Emperor's reputation among the common folk was utterly ruined—brutal, stupid, incompetent, trusting evil ministers, Hao Da Xi Gong, to the point where the people could no longer eke out a living.

He meant to do the opposite, to first turn the tide of public opinion.

At this, the rebel Chu Wang sneered.

Chu Wang dealt Emperor Jian Shi a fatal blow: if you're so magnanimous, so benevolent, then cut the taxes! Without cutting taxes, all this talk of benevolence is nothing but hot air!

Cut taxes?

The court needs money everywhere—how could it possibly cut taxes? Not raising taxes was already a great mercy from the court, a great mercy from the Emperor.

Emperor Jian Shi hated Chu Wang to the bone. He sent an edict to the commander-in-chief on the front lines: fight, fight them hard. He would urge the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to deliver grain, fodder, and weapons, and to replenish the troops. Chu Wang must be beaten into submission, beaten into fear. Surrenders from generals under Chu Wang could be accepted, but Chu Wang himself could never be accepted. Even if he surrendered, he had to be killed.

Of course, these words were conveyed to the front-line commander in a coded manner.

……

The Heaven Prison was as always.

Old Emperor, new Emperor—no difference at all.

The same duties, the same way of life.

Chen Chen Guanlou walked into the great prison and arrived at Jiang Tu's cell door. At present, the heaviest-weight prisoner held in the Grade-A prison was Jiang Tu.

"The new Emperor has issued an edict to investigate the altar explosion case thoroughly. Soon the Heaven Prison will be packed full of prisoners, and you'll be gaining many companions."

"Has His Majesty mentioned me? Has he issued any edict concerning me?" Jiang Tu asked anxiously.

Chen Chen Guanlou shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. You're a prisoner now. The new Emperor probably doesn't even have time to think about you. So busy these days—the late Emperor's funeral rites are the top priority."

"Tomorrow is the day of the late Emperor's funeral procession. I, the most important minister by the late Emperor's side, cannot escort him on his final journey. Heaven!"

Jiang Tu knelt on the ground, wailing and sobbing.

Chen Chen Guanlou wanted to say 'stop putting on an act,' but looking at the man's appearance, he could only describe it in four words: utterly sincere. It was no performance.

It seemed Jiang Tu truly had real feelings for the old Emperor. After all, ruler and minister had been together for many years. The old Emperor had given Jiang Tu wealth and honor, given him power, given him everything he possessed. And he had always protected him from being torn apart by the censors and the Zhang Zhang Yushi.

This kind of grace and recognition deserved a proper weeping.

Jiang Tu cried until he could no longer control himself, cried until he nearly fainted. Anyone who saw it would have to give a thumbs-up. Jiang Tu may have been a treacherous minister, but his loyalty to the late Emperor was beyond doubt—truly moving.

"I'll pay. I have a lot of money."

Jiang Tu, crying uncontrollably, suddenly gripped the cell bars and, weeping as he spoke, said to Chen Chen Guanlou, "Can you deliver a message to the palace for me? I want to defend myself. I want His Majesty to know that I could be a dog for the late Emperor, and I can be a dog for him too.

His Majesty needs loyal ministers by his side—I am that loyal minister. His Majesty needs not only pillars of the state, but also flattering ministers. I can serve as a flattering minister, taking the knives for His Majesty.

Without me, the censors and the Zhang Zhang Yushi will fixate on His Majesty, and His Majesty's days will not be easy. Wuuu… damn those cult bandits—why did they have to poison the late Emperor? Damn those cult bandits. Back then I should never have been soft-hearted, never let those fools and their wives go back—I should have slaughtered every last one of them."

Back then, Jiang Tu had been ordered to exterminate the cult bandits, and many had died. Yet today he still said he regretted not killing more.

"Do you really believe the cult bandits had the ability to pull off a double kill of Emperor and Empress? That impressive—they'd have to fly to heaven."

Chen Chen Guanlou was unwilling to believe this explanation.

To portray the cult bandits as all-powerful, capable of a double kill of Emperor and Empress—why not just have them fly to heaven.

Were the Grandmasters in the palace mere decorations?

Were the guards and eunuchs in the palace all blind and deaf? People always say those inside the palace are the sharpest at uncovering secrets—then why, in a double kill of Emperor and Empress, did they uncover nothing at all? In the end it took the imperial clan's Old Ancestor to step in and uncover the so-called truth.

Whether the cult bandits were the true masterminds or merely scapegoats being used, Chen Chen Guanlou leaned toward the latter.

Just as Consort Gao had asked—if the cult bandits killed the old Emperor, fine, but why poison Yan Wang? At that time Yan Wang had not yet been chosen as heir to the throne; he was merely an Imperial Prince eligible to compete. Yet oddly, Jin Wang, who appeared to have the better odds, was not poisoned.

No matter how you looked at it, something strange and suspicious permeated the affair.

Yet the Old Ancestor attributed everything in a sweep to cult banditry. Tch—more like, in order to put out the fire quickly, he grabbed a scapegoat at random. Only the scapegoat did happen to be guilty, did happen to have done the poisoning, and so the matter became nailed down beyond dispute.