Chapter 219

The twenty-third year of Jiajing, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

New Year's Eve, early morning.

Forbidden City.

Zhu Zai sat by the table, his fingers slowly rubbing the edge of the teacup; the tea inside had long since cooled, but he was completely unaware.

The great affairs of a country lie in sacrifice and war.

"Sacrifice" and "war," or "ritual" and "violence," are the foundations upon which a feudal dynasty can be maintained. And the Great Dashuo's annual ancestor worship is one of the most important parts of this; when, where, and by whom it is conducted all have their rules and cannot be easily changed.

So when the Emperor's words about moving the ancestor worship forward came out, there was an immediate uproar, and the clan members wanted to dissuade him one after another. There were even a few old clan members weeping, looking like they were prepared to die to remonstrate.

However, all this noise suddenly quieted down under the Emperor's cold gaze.

The Emperor's overly approachable performance tonight had misled the clan members, making them think the Emperor was going to reuse the clan members. Having placed themselves in the wrong position, they naturally did inappropriate things.

The Emperor's gaze made them wake up abruptly.

The current Emperor had never been an Emperor who listened to advice.

He was adopted from the imperial clan to ascend the throne, and having reigned for twenty-three years, even if he had not attended to government affairs for many years, he was a real-power Emperor who firmly held the power of the entire Great Dashuo in his hands.

At the beginning of his reign, before he had completely seized the entire Great Dashuo, he had beaten more than ten officials to death in the "Great Rites Controversy" and had beaten more than a hundred officials in the "Left Shun Gate Incident," beating seventeen to death on the spot.

In short, he was an Emperor who did not hesitate to kill and also had the power to kill anyone.

After the clan members woke up abruptly, they all fell silent.

The matter was thus settled.

Then there were eunuchs who politely invited the clan members to stay in several side halls in the palace.

Although the explanation was "to prevent rebels from secretly harming the clan members," Zhu Zai knew very well that this was the Emperor circling the clan members like cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, ready to kill at any time.

Zhu Zai looked outside the door; on the window lattice, several figures were reflected.

Those were the imperial guards who came to "protect" him.

Zhu Zai knew that outside his room, there were at least two Heaven-Man Realm attendants monitoring him; as long as he revealed the slightest abnormality, they would immediately take action.

The Emperor had already become suspicious of him.

But, he was not panicked.

Because—

Tap, tap.

Tap.

Three familiar light sounds came from the roof, two short and one long.

Li Miao dropped from the roof, waving his hand in mid-air, and the tiles removed from the roof returned to their places one after another.

"Yo, Commander, still not asleep?"

Li Miao poured himself a cup of tea.

"Don't interrupt; this is not the time for joking."

Zhu Zai said seriously.

"What do you think?"

"What else can I think? Just sit and watch."

Li Miao said lightly.

"The Ming Sect is prepared to take action tomorrow, and the Emperor is attacking directly today. The Jianwen Emperor is likely at the Imperial Mausoleum, and Ji Tianrui and the Yang family are probably there too."

"The things we thought of before are probably all going to be scrapped; all the little skirmishes, secret probes, and long-term planning are useless. I estimate life and death will be decided today."

Li Miao dipped his finger in tea and drew a few lines on the table.

"The Jianwen Emperor is aiming for the throne; if he wins, all the clan members will die at his hands."

"As for the Emperor, I estimate he is aiming for the Jianwen Emperor's nature-and-life dual cultivation method; if he wins today, the old Zhu family will also be wiped out."

"No matter who wins, they will eventually target the clan members, and you are one of them. When he comes to kill you, I will block him, and we will turn from dark to light, facing the pursuit of the entire Great Dashuo imperial court."

Zhu Zai's face became solemn, and he nodded.

"If so, is there still a turning point?"

"There are two paths."

Li Miao laughed softly and wrote the word "leave" on the table.

"First, we retreat."

"What kind of bullshit Great Dashuo Zhu family, just screw them."

"With your and my family background and martial power, it will be easy to find a scapegoat to escape, change our appearance, and build a force in the Jianghu; I dare say no sect in the Jianghu can stop us."

"At that time, we will still be in the dark, and after a few years when my Wu Gong is perfected, I will break into the imperial palace and kill the Emperor; you will be the last Zhu family member. You become Emperor, I become Commander, and the Great Dashuo will still be the Great Dashuo."

"How about it?"

To tell the truth, this path sounds quite ridiculous, but its feasibility is actually not low. And Li Miao indeed hoped Zhu Zai would choose this path.

Li Miao had already touched the bottom of the obstacles preventing him from continuing to advance, and had also found some clues about the "eight-hour workday." Within ten years, Li Miao had the confidence to become truly "invincible in the world."

Ten years was also enough for Zhu Zai to develop a huge force in the Jianghu based on the Five Mountains Sword Sect, relying on the family background he had accumulated for many years as the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At that time, Zhu Zai, as the last Zhu family member, would naturally possess the most natural legitimacy. With Li Miao's guarantee of martial power to "point wherever is not convinced," it might really be possible to successfully inherit the Great Dashuo.

The most important point was that this path had no risks.

But, Li Miao also knew very clearly how Zhu Zai would choose.

Sure enough, Zhu Zai let out a long sigh.

"You know I can't leave."

"I am different from you, Big Li."

"I can't let go."

Zhu Zai looked at Li Miao, but instead turned to seriously talk about another matter.

"Actually, from the first day I picked you up, I knew you were a wild madman with no lord and no father, and no regard for the law."

"Do you know why I really believed you when you said you were Bodhidharma reincarnated, even though you were obviously joking?"

Li Miao laughed softly and did not answer.

"Because you are too 'wild'."

Zhu Zai said slowly.

"I don't know what your background is; picking you up from a pile of beggars back then wasn't because I saw your root bone."

"It was because of your eyes."

Zhu Zai recalled.

"At that time, I had just taken over the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was at the height of my ambition. All the civil and military officials were respectful to me, and what I saw was all flattery and fawning. Although I was disdainful in my heart, I was actually quite pleased."

"But on that day, I passed by the city wall and noticed a little beggar looking at me."

"He was examining me, observing me, judging me."

"Finally, he showed a disdainful smile."

"That gaze was like a basin of cold water that woke me up, making me sober from my arrogance. But at the same time, I also felt curious."

Zhu Zai looked into Li Miao's eyes.

"What was it that made a little beggar have such an arrogant mindset? What was his background, and what had he seen, that made him feel only 'disdain' when facing the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"At first, I only felt you might be the descendant of some fallen high official. But one day later, you went with me to serve as the Emperor's guard."

"I saw you again, showing a disdainful expression toward the Emperor."

Zhu Zai said decisively.

"You have never put anyone in the Great Dashuo in your eyes."

"If you are not a god reincarnated, who are you, and where did you come from, that makes you look down on everything in this Great Dashuo?"

(End of chapter)