Chapter 1043

First Volume, Chapter 1043: Remnants Disrupt the Ceremony

Hearing Wu Fangxu's words, the Old National Preceptor threw back his head and laughed loudly.

That laughter rang out shrilly in the Ministry of Rites.

"Hahaha, seeking welfare for the people?"

"When the state is no longer a state, where is the welfare?"

"Wu Fangxu, Zhou Pu—you two traitors dare stand before me? You are shameless! If I could, I would tear you both into a thousand pieces, flay your skins, and pull out your tendons!"

Wu Fangxu's heart lurched; he silently sighed that this was bad.

The Old National Preceptor clearly intended to sabotage the enthronement ceremony and humiliate Qin Feng.

The problem was, Qin Feng could never halt the enthronement ceremony—after this disruption, Qin Feng had only one choice: kill the Old National Preceptor.

Then Qin Feng would bear the stain of brutal murder.

At that point, righteous men across Heaven would rise up against Qin Feng, and all of Da Di would be dragged back into war.

Wu Fangxu glanced into the inner chamber, confirmed Qin Feng had not yet arrived, and finally exhaled in relief.

He hurried to dissuade him: "Old National Preceptor, stop speaking!"

"No one wants war anymore—if we restart Ji Zhan Bing Zhong..."

Before Wu Fangxu could finish, the Old National Preceptor snapped: "Only cowards like you fear war!"

"As subjects of Da Di, when foreign enemies have breached our gates, you don't even think of driving them out—yet you collectively betray your nation? How shameful!"

Facing the Old National Preceptor's merciless curses, none of the officials present spoke a word.

After all, they were already guilty; at this moment, the Old National Preceptor stood on absolute moral ground, and no one wished to oppose him now.

Wu Fangxu did not wish to become the Old National Preceptor's enemy, but for the Da Di Subjects to live normal lives, he had no choice.

"Old National Preceptor! Have some restraint!"

"We act according to circumstances, thinking of the welfare of all the people—while you merely cling to the power in your hands."

The Old National Preceptor raised an eyebrow and sneered back: "A traitor dares lecture me? That is the greatest joke in the world."

"You are nothing but a pack of rats who destroyed the Jing Imperial Clan."

To kill with words—these words pierced straight into the hearts of all the officials.

If Jing Qianying ascended, the Jing Imperial Clan would be utterly extinguished—and all of them would be implicated.

Even Wu Fangxu fell silent, unsure how to refute.

At that moment, a cold laugh came from the inner chamber.

The entire Ministry of Rites fell instantly silent; every eye turned toward the inner chamber, where Qin Feng stepped out, hands behind his back, calm and composed.

Wu Fangxu sighed inwardly—it was ruined—but it was too late to turn back.

Everyone tensed up, except the Old National Preceptor, who still stood tall, as if Qin Feng meant nothing to him.

"Qin Feng! Others fear you—I do not."

"Don't use pretty words to dodge me—what do you mean by letting the late Emperor's Princess inherit the Herald? What relation is she to you? Everyone in Heaven knows!"

"You call it restoring order, but isn't this Northern Border now in your pocket?"

"You forced His Majesty to his death, slaughtered the Imperial Clan Descendants, used Jing Qianying as a Puppet, and seized control of Da Di—you are a thief of the state."

"Someone like you deserves to be torn apart by five horses."

Ning Hu, standing beside Qin Feng, darkened his face and growled: "Old corpse, I think you've lived too long."

Ning Hu was about to charge forward and tear the Old National Preceptor apart, but Qin Feng stopped him.

Qin Feng regarded the Old National Preceptor calmly, utterly unmoved by his Provocation Method.

"Old thing, you say all this just to force me to kill you?"

The term "old thing" made every official lower their head—they knew Qin Feng, who held life and death in his hands, could drown Wang Du in blood at any moment.

The Old National Preceptor was startled by Qin Feng's contemptuous address, then erupted in fury.

"I have the courage to die nobly—do you have the courage to kill me? Hmph, you're nothing but a coward with a loud voice and a weak heart."

"You not only stole Da Di—you're merely a corrupt minister even among the two nations."

"First Marquis Under Heaven? Qin Feng's Army? Laughable! All the land you seized by trickery and force—utterly shameless."

Wu Fangxu's heart trembled—these words alone were enough for Qin Feng to kill the Old National Preceptor ten thousand times.

Yet when Wu Fangxu looked up at Qin Feng, he was stunned to see Qin Feng still wearing a faint, unreadable smile, utterly unmoved.

Just this breadth of heart and resolve was beyond ordinary men.

Qin Feng simply watched the Old National Preceptor, letting him rage and rant, feeling not a trace of anger.

If he couldn't handle such a low-level trick, Qin Feng would never have stood here.

"Have you finished cursing? At your age, with dirt already up to your neck, don't you fear straining your tongue?"

Facing Qin Feng's sarcasm, the Old National Preceptor remained proud: "Though old, my patriotism outshines every soul here—you couldn't even hold my shoes."

At this, Qin Feng burst out laughing: "Heh, you really know how to slap gold leaf on your own face."

"You're an old skeleton—you've lived your life. Before you die, you're just trying to squeeze more benefits for your Clan—what's this talk of patriotism?"

"If you truly loved your country, you should've formed a human wall with your servants and kin before I entered the city."

"Now you come out to rant and rave, just so Heaven will praise you as a Loyal and Martyrly Family Lines."

Before the Old National Preceptor could reply, Qin Feng had already withdrawn his gaze from him and swept it across all the officials present.

He spoke solemnly: "Who doesn't love their country? But first, you must distinguish—this nation belongs to the people, or to the Jing Clan?"

"The nation—first understand the difference between 'state' and 'family'!"

"In my view, this land is merely the Jing Clan's home—you are nothing but their servants and slaves."

"The Northern Border King seized power illegitimately, and to monopolize Authority, he slaughtered his elder brother and kin."

"After seizing the Herald, if one were to govern diligently for the sake of the nation and its people, that would be one thing—but the Night Owls, expanded by the Northern Di King, have eyes and ears everywhere in Heaven, and what are they for if not surveillance and consolidation of Authority?"

"Knowing full well the people's suffering, one ought to mobilize them toward production, yet time and again, National War is launched."

"Even after defeat, he still could not resist political manipulation; even on the eve of national collapse, what he thought of was not how to mitigate the people's losses, but how to kill the former Emperor's Princess to silence her."

"Your His Majesty can only be called a mighty ruler stained with countless flaws—he has nothing to do with the title of Enlightened Monarch."

Saying this, Qin Feng cast a sidelong glance at the Old National Preceptor and sneered: "You too are an Imperial Cousin—your mouth spouts patriotism, but which country do you truly love: the people's country, or your own Clan's country?!"