Chapter 222

"Outrageous! Simply outrageous!"

"How can His Majesty let a eunuch treat an old official of the imperial clan like this!"

"How dare you be so presumptuous!"

The old imperial clansman looked at the hands of the imperial guards resting on their sword hilts; in an instant, he was so angry that his face turned red and his beard and hair trembled, and he cursed loudly.

"Grand Preceptor, please calm your anger. His Majesty has given orders for today's events, and not the slightest mistake is allowed. This servant is merely acting under imperial decree."

The young eunuch said with respectful words and a cold tone.

"If there is any offense, if you wish to vent your anger, wait until today's business is concluded—"

He said coldly.

"This servant will submit to the Grand Preceptor's disposal."

Having said this, he bowed and turned to leave.

The old imperial clansman glanced at the imperial guards still blocking the door and took two steps forward. The imperial guards slowly drew their blades an inch and also took two steps forward, forcing him back.

"Presumptuous! Presumptuous!"

"You people!"

The old imperial clansman's fingers trembled as he pointed at the tips of the imperial guards' noses and shouted angrily.

When the attention of all the imperial clansmen had been attracted, he stomped his feet in anger and turned back into the hall.

Some imperial clansmen gathered around to ask questions, and he spoke with righteous indignation. Then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he gave a distant look to Zhu Zai.

Since he had acted as the vanguard to test the waters, now was the time when he was attracting attention, so he could not go back to Zhu Zai and talk openly.

The angry shouting was just to attract everyone's attention—first, to plant the seeds of suspicion in the hearts of the other imperial clansmen, and second, to clear space for Zhu Zai to speak.

Zhu Zai understood, nodded, and led the few imperial clansmen to a hidden corner before speaking.

"The incident happened suddenly, and there was no time to devise a foolproof plan, so I could only let my elder brother take the risk to test them. Fortunately, my elder brother is unharmed, and we have already tested the result."

"Gentlemen, what do you think?"

The few imperial clansmen nodded with ugly expressions.

"My elder brother is the Grand Preceptor of the current dynasty and an official of three reigns. Although he is old and has no real power, he is virtuous and highly respected. If there were no imperial decree, that young eunuch would never dare to treat him like this, and those imperial guards would never dare to draw their blades on him."

"What you say is true."

"My elder brother drew their attention away for us, but it won't last long. I'm afraid we can't come up with a proper plan in a short time, so we can only improvise."

The middle-aged imperial clansman bowed to Zhu Zai.

"Elder Brother."

"The safety of today's events and the hundreds of members of our Zhu family depends on you."

Zhu Zai nodded.

"You are all smart people; I don't need to say much more."

"After we disperse in a while, we should not talk to each other again."

"We will act according to the situation then."

The few men nodded and dispersed.

Over there, the old imperial clansman had already successfully used his seniority and prestige to incite the fear and anger of the various imperial clansmen.

Several imperial clansmen tried to leave the side hall for various reasons, but all were blocked by the imperial guards under the young eunuch's orders.

A young, muddle-headed imperial clansman, relying on his decent martial arts, tried to force his way out, but was struck in the chest by a palm from the young eunuch, who looked only in his teens. He immediately vomited blood from his mouth and nose and flew backward.

"Ugh, cough, cough, cough—"

He rolled on the ground, coughing up blood continuously, but no one dared to step forward to help him.

The young eunuch did not even look at the injured young imperial clansman; he walked slowly to the center of the side hall and bowed respectfully to the imperial clansmen.

"Gentlemen, I am under imperial orders and have offended you in many ways. I hope you will be magnanimous."

The young eunuch straightened up, revealing a cold expression.

"All of you imperial clansmen are the pillars of the Great Ming, and today His Majesty will also entrust you with heavy responsibilities..."

"Therefore, for your own sake, for the sake of the Great Ming... and for the sake of your descendants, please do not make things difficult for this servant."

"This servant thanks you in advance."

Having said this, the young eunuch turned his head to look at the sky outside.

"The time is near, gentlemen."

"It is time to be on our way."

————————

The sacrificial ceremony of the Great Ming is called "Da Jia."

Almost everyone had already sensed that something was wrong with this Da Jia.

It was not an auspicious hour, there was no fasting, no officials in attendance, no "Announcement Sacrifice" was held, and even all the female members of the imperial clan were brought along.

When passing through the streets, there were no commoners kneeling on both sides to welcome them; instead, it was completely empty. The imperial guards were stationed on the roofs, hands on their sword hilts, scanning back and forth.

The key was the time of departure.

Departing at noon, they would likely reach the Imperial Tombs by sunset.

Sacrificing to ancestors in the middle of the night—are they worshipping ancestors or ghosts?

Zhu Zai had originally been walking slowly with his head down, hidden among the panicked imperial clansmen, but he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck and a wave of coldness surged into his heart.

He could not help but turn his head to look.

Among the imperial guards on the left side of the street, two elderly men wearing python robes and looking frail and old had their gazes locked with Zhu Zai's.

They smiled at Zhu Zai.

Zhu Zai lowered his head abruptly.

He knew that those were two Heaven-Man experts serving the imperial court.

The Emperor had already become suspicious of him and had specifically sent two experts to watch him.

After another long while, when the Emperor's carriage finally appeared in the sight of the imperial clansmen, several clansmen could no longer hold back; they left the ranks, wanting to step forward to pay their respects to the Emperor.

Halfway there, the young eunuch had already blocked their path.

"Gentlemen... I have already asked you not to make things difficult for this servant, and not to make things difficult for yourselves."

The young eunuch said coldly.

"Please go back."

"His Majesty is tired, and there is much to do tonight, which will consume a lot of energy. His Majesty does not wish to see anyone at this time."

The imperial clansmen had all seen the young eunuch injure the young clansman earlier, so they did not dare to step forward again. Fortunately, the Emperor's carriage was moving slowly in this direction.

Finally, when the carriage was close, several imperial clansmen shouted in unison.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The wind lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing the Emperor's face.

"Your Majesty."

The young eunuch turned and bowed.

The Emperor glanced at them and waved his hand.

The wind stopped, and the curtain closed again.

"Yes."

After the carriage left, the young eunuch straightened up and turned to look at the several pale-faced imperial clansmen.

"Slap their mouths, break their legs, take them away, and do not let there be any blood."

He said, then left.

Behind him, muffled screams stifled in throats rang out.

The young eunuch walked quickly to the side of the carriage and said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty."

"This servant checked the number of people this morning and found that one imperial clansman is missing."

The Emperor's voice, full of interest, came from inside the carriage.

"Oh? Who is missing?"

"This servant is incompetent and did not find out."

The young eunuch said in a deep voice.

"Before that person left, he tied up more than a dozen imperial clansmen living nearby in a courtyard, sealed their acupoints, and injured their heart meridians; they won't wake up for three days, so I cannot ask their identities."

"The bones and appearances of these imperial clansmen have also been adjusted by some unheard-of cultivation method; they are unrecognizable and their statures have changed greatly, so it is impossible to tell who is who."

"Heh."

A cold laugh came from inside the carriage.

"It's good that he left; it saves some trouble."

"Have the Imperial Tomb garrison and the imperial guards been moved over?"

"Yes."

"Let the experts go to the Imperial Tombs first, and together with the imperial guards, kill off the Xiaolingwei."

"Yes."

"Watch Zhu Zai."

"I always feel that he is not that clean."

"Yes."

(End of chapter)