Ming Dynasty: Emperor Wanshou is cultivating immortality!

"Fifth brother."

Zhu Youxiao finally couldn't remain silent under the pressure of the elders' gazes. He sighed and said, "It's my fifth brother, Zhu Youjian!"

It's him?

After hearing this name, Prince Yu was stunned for a moment and then suddenly realized. He naturally knew that his son Zhu Yijun's lineage had produced a genius who was given great hopes.

Is it him? !
But unlike Prince Yu, when Zhu Changluo heard that it was his son Zhu Youjian, he was surprised and more angry.

The serious and iron face was now gloomy, as if water could drip out of it.

Naturally, he could guess why this evil creature Zhu Youjian suddenly did these things?

Because his eldest son Zhu Youxiao had told him long ago that after those so-called great scholars of Donglin Academy were executed, his fifth son Zhu Youjian seemed to have become a different person.

Become extreme and gloomy.

He was no longer the same as before, and he always exuded a graceful demeanor that was a combination of nobility and bookishness.

Before this, he had not taken it seriously, thinking that Zhu Youjian was a genius whom he had always placed high hopes in, given everything he wanted, and cultivated with all his resources, and that he would eventually understand his painstaking efforts.

After all, they are royal family, and everyone has to go through these things. Even from the moment they become sensible, they have to understand one thing, that is, no matter when, what others promise may not count, and only what you decide counts!

He just wanted to stimulate Zhu Youjian through the death of those so-called great scholars in Donglin Academy, so that he would understand that he should never put his expectations on others.

Otherwise you will realize what is nothing in the end.

He originally thought that by doing this, he would be able to train Zhu Youjian and make him better, but he never expected that this bastard would become so cruel!
What is it about those fools in Donglin Academy who only know how to criticize the court, engage in vicious party struggles, and are willing to damage the court's interests that is worthy of his protection?
They can even be so extreme that they are willing to destroy the future of the entire palace in order to achieve their goals!
Doesn't he know what the consequences will be if he angers the emperor?

The emperor's heart is unfathomable. No one knows what the consequences will be if they offend the emperor or plot against him!
In the beginning, it was no exaggeration to say that the fight between the Yan Party and the Qingliu was a life-and-death one.

It even got to the point where it was out of control!

The Qingliu faction had no choice but to ask the emperor to step in and quell the trouble, but the result was that the gentry and powerful families on the Qingliu faction were gradually disintegrated, eventually leading to a cleansing of the bureaucracy in the entire Ming officialdom.

It was from then on that the clean forces headed by Xu Jie and others gradually disintegrated and collapsed, and eventually each became its own regime.

Xu Jie was so clever that in order to defeat Li Chengwu, who was supported by the five military commanders, he did not hesitate to plot against the emperor and even took the act of usurpation to establish a city for cultivating immortals in Nanjing.

He originally thought that this great city for cultivating immortals would be the price he had to pay for asking the emperor to take action and win the fight. However, even a smart man like Xu Jie miscalculated in the end!

Because the cost of the city of Nanjing is far from enough.

The ultimate price was the complete collapse of the Qingliu Group, and Xu Jie himself was demoted to Yingzhou Island.

It took him eighteen years to return to the court!

The main point is that eighteen years, when the matter of one's destiny had not yet been revealed, was also fatal for a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage.

For ordinary officials, being demoted for eighteen years basically means that their official career is hopeless.

The emperor never cares about court struggles, nor does he care whether his ministers would use him as an excuse to help their subjects if they fail to achieve their goals. But one thing that must be understood is that once the emperor is asked to take action, or even if he is plotted against, the price to be paid will be heavy.

The lessons of the past are all vivid in our minds, but this bastard Zhu Youjian actually dared to be the third person to plot against the emperor.

"A useless wimp!" Zhu Changluo became angrier the more he thought about it, and then he punched the handrail hard.

In his opinion, Zhu Youjian was stupid for doing this for the corrupt scholars of the Donglin Party. He was also weak and incompetent, and he couldn't even get over such a trivial matter.

If he had known this would happen, he should have drowned this rebellious son in the toilet the first thing he did when he was born!

Just pretend that you never gave birth to this rebellious son!

Sure enough it was him!

However, compared to his son Zhu Changluo's anger, whose joy and anger were all shown on his face, Zhu Yijun did not show any extra emotions on his face, but a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.

Even though he is now devoted to cultivation, apart from the important affairs of the palace where he is needed to discuss and make decisions with his father Prince Yu, he doesn't take care of anything else and basically stays behind the scenes.

But in fact, he also often pays attention to several outstanding juniors of his own.

As for his grandson Zhu Youjian, his scheming and even his courage and decisiveness in making decisions, he felt a sense of familiarity that was very similar to himself back then.

It is precisely because of this that he also has high hopes for this grandson and regards him as the future of Prince Yu's Mansion.

Putting aside other things, just talking about this matter, Zhu Youjian's scheming, as well as his courage and boldness in doing things, are undoubtedly excellent!
Unfortunately, now that the matter has been brought to the attention of the emperor, the Prince Yu's Mansion has no say over how to deal with Zhu Youjian.

"Since the matter has been brought to the attention of the Emperor, let's talk about it after today's events are over." Zhu Yijun glanced at his father, Prince Yu, and then spoke slowly.

As he spoke, his expression became more and more solemn.

"What I'm most worried about is whether Hai Rui's entry into Yuxi Palace will cause things to get out of control?" When Hai Rui was mentioned, everyone present couldn't help but have a headache.

Over the past hundred years, Hai Rui has been extremely low-key.

Hai Rui's sword had not been used for a long time. Even some young officials did not have a deep impression of Hai Gangfeng or Hai Bijia, and thought the rumors were too exaggerated.

However, for those in the court who had experienced the fear of being dominated by Hai Rui in the past, they still feel a lingering fear.

Because this guy really deserves to make a big deal out of this. He is even the only madman in the Ming Dynasty who doesn't care about whether he can achieve immortality or not, and doesn't care about the descendants of his family.

As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, but in Hai Rui's case, even if he was wearing shoes, he was not afraid of anyone.

Because this guy can take off his shoes at any time! The worst thing is that Hai Rui's family members are also very stubborn.

Faced with such a person, no one knows what he will do, which will directly affect countless people.

Let all of them become innocent victims!

Indeed, at this moment, not only the people in Prince Yu's Mansion had ugly faces and were uneasy in their hearts, but even the people in the Yan family who had been standing aside and watching from the sidelines, as well as Prince Jing's Mansion, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji and others all had solemn expressions and had even made the worst-case plans in their hearts.

Be prepared at any time in case Hai Rui angers the emperor, and then the emperor punishes everyone!

"Boom!" The rain poured down heavily.

Outside Yuxi Palace, Chen Hong, Huang Jin, and Chen Ju stood still. From afar, they saw a bright red figure slowly approaching in the rain.

"I'll go report to the master." Chen Hong narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned around and strode into Yuxi Palace.

Huang Jin and Chen Ju looked at the figure getting closer and closer, and at this moment they felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

It is indeed the shadow of a famous tree.

What they were afraid of was not Hai Rui, but to what extent would Hai Rui's visit to Yuxi Palace today anger their master?

Will these people be affected by this?

The moment Hai Rui stepped into Huacheng Street, not only the people from the six ministries and the princes' palaces were caught, but the eunuchs in the palace naturally knew about it as well.

At this time, Hai Rui had clearly restrained his cultivation and was just an ordinary mortal, but the aura he exuded with every step he took put a lot of pressure on Huang Jin and Chen Ju.

"He's back," Huang Jin murmured as he looked at Hai Rui who was getting closer and closer, "The old Hai Gangfeng is back!"

"It's been too long. He hasn't made a move for so long that many people have forgotten about him..."

Chen Ju, who was standing by, listened and looked solemnly at the red figure that was getting closer and closer in the distance.

When Chen Ju was actually promoted, it was already past the time when Hai Rui was stirring up trouble in the court.

However, as a eunuch in the palace, he naturally knew about the major events of that year.

Although I have not experienced the same turbulent times as Hai Rui, I should not underestimate this man in the slightest.

"Master, Hai Rui is here." Chen Hong stood under the Taotai, bowed, and spoke in a low voice.

As he spoke, he didn't even dare to raise his head.

Upon hearing this, Lu Fang, who was standing next to the Taotai, looked up at Jiajing who was resting with his eyes closed, and then looked at Chen Hong.

"Let him wait."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong did not question Lu Fang, but nodded, but still saluted Jiajing and said, "Yes."

But after he finished speaking, he did not turn around and leave immediately. Instead, he stood there for a while, and after pausing for a while, he stepped back and chose to leave.

This involves a question of rules.

Although, Lu Fang and his master have a tacit understanding, and sometimes he can even understand what his master is thinking, and they have a very high level of tacit understanding, he does not need his master to arrange simple matters personally, he can arrange them all by himself.

But after all, the master is the master of the entire Ming Dynasty, and Chen Hong and Lu Fang are just the master's servants.

He couldn't just listen to Lu Fang without considering whether the master had other instructions. The purpose of this pause was to wait and see if the master had other instructions.

These are all experiences accumulated over the years. For such a small matter, a great eunuch like Chen Hong is naturally very clear and will not make some stupid and low-level mistakes.

"Your Majesty, Hai Rui, has a report to make!" Hai Rui knelt on the ground after arriving outside Yuxi Palace, clasped his fists and said loudly.

And in his hand, he was holding a memorial.

It was raining so heavily that Hai Rui did not try to use his spiritual energy to push away the rain. His entire body was already soaked, but the memorial in his hand was covered with a layer of light spiritual energy.

Once rain falls on the memorial book, it will be bounced away by the spiritual energy.

Although the current Ming Dynasty has long since developed into a country where paper memorials are no longer needed, this tradition has been retained due to the strong insistence of officials such as the Ministry of Rites.

It's not that the Ministry of Rites is looking for trouble, but the current Daming has already entered the ranks of the immortal cultivation dynasties. Compared with the real ancient dynasties in the immortal cultivation world, its foundation is still too shallow.

Therefore, in the development of the immortal way, Daming must take into account all aspects and accumulate heritage bit by bit. Keeping paper memorials is a unique custom of the Daming Immortal Dynasty.

"Haidu Censor." Chen Hong put his hands in front of him, clasped them together, and walked out of the hall slowly. He looked at Hai Rui and said:
"The master is practicing, please wait here." Chen Hong paused for a moment, then added: "Remember not to make any noise."

Well, Chen Hong was a contemporary of Hai Rui. Although he was very wary of Hai Rui, this stinking stone in the toilet, he was not afraid of him and also showed his own attitude.

Chen Ju, a relatively young man standing nearby, saw this and only had a slight flash of surprise in his eyes, and then he regained his composure.

As a eunuch in the palace, he knew Chen Hong very well. What kind of person was Eunuch Chen?
Over the years, he has been cultivating his character with the imperial teacher Chan Shuang, and his temper has been restrained a lot, but only the eunuchs in the palace know that he is an arrogant person. At this moment, facing Hai Rui who obviously came to the palace to cause trouble, it is reasonable for him to show his original attitude.

They were all their master's servants. Seeing someone coming to cause trouble for their master and bringing bad luck to their master, they naturally could not give Hai Rui a good face.

This is the duty of a house slave!

After hearing what Chen Hong said, Hai Rui didn't care at all. He still kept his back straight and knelt in the rain with the memorial in his hand.

He knew that he would definitely see the emperor today.

Because now everyone in the government and the public is discussing this matter, whether it is Zhang Juzheng's proposal to abolish the innate cultivation system, or the court's use of strange plagues against other worlds.

Things have come to this point, and the court must take an attitude to appease everyone.

Otherwise, if this continues for a long time, people will be in panic, which will not be beneficial to the stability of the court.

Therefore, Hai Rui knew that the emperor would definitely meet him!
In fact, Hai Rui knew better in his heart that the emperor was also waiting for an opportunity. The world of immortal cultivation today had already entered an era of constant war, and the strange plague had also spread completely.

The time when the entire Ming Dynasty invades the world of immortal cultivation is not far away.

It is impossible to conceal the strange plague.

By then, when the cultivators of the Ming Dynasty enter the world of immortal cultivation, they will inevitably learn about the strange plague. They will also know that this plague is only aimed at the cultivators in the world of immortal cultivation, but has no effect on the cultivators of the Ming Dynasty.

Many things can be understood as long as you make associations.

This is also the reason why the emperor imprisoned Lu Fang and others, removed himself from the matter, and chose to shoulder the responsibility himself instead of letting others take it.

Because no one can bear it without him.

Moreover, for those who are capable of handling it, such as Lu Fang, the cabinet, and even important officials such as the Imperial Household Department, it would not be worthwhile to have them completely deposed because of this incident in the future.

Keeping them will be more valuable!

It is not easy for the court to train these important officials nowadays, but we cannot just depose them because of this incident.

Most importantly, Hai Rui knew that the emperor was moved by Zhang Juzheng's previous proposal to "abolish the system of innate cultivation," and what the emperor needed was a breakthrough.

It just so happened that the person behind the scenes revealed the court's use of a strange plague in advance, which perfectly linked the two things.

What the emperor needs now is to take advantage of the situation!
Hai Rui came here today, firstly to advise the emperor not to use his noble status as the Immortal Emperor to do such a disgraceful thing, and secondly, he understood what the emperor wanted.

The person behind the scenes wanted to borrow my sword, so I gave the sword to the emperor and made a big fuss about the matter.

Zhang Juzheng's proposal to "abolish the life cultivation system" might be put on the agenda at this opportunity. It would be a good opportunity to sacrifice the person behind the scenes and let the emperor escape.

This is Hai Rui's real plan!

Hai Rui knew that the emperor was also weighing the pros and cons and thinking at this moment.

As for the person to be sacrificed, that is the person behind the scenes. Hai Rui knew that it must be one of the kings.

Of course, maybe it was just one person in the royal palace, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

In Hai Rui's opinion, this matter must involve a royal palace, and it must be a royal palace that can take on the heavy responsibility and act as a discarded pawn.

Hai Rui came here to let the emperor personally depose one of his sons, in order to ensure that the hands of the only Immortal Emperor who has ever appeared in the Ming Dynasty will always be clean and flawless!
This is Hai Rui’s philosophy!
Moreover, he had silently made a vow when he embarked on the path to immortality, when the emperor first appointed him as an immortal official, when he was demoted to Ningbo Prefecture and left the capital.

He, Hai Rui, swore to protect his king and father until his death!
And this is also the spiritual heart that he has adhered to for so many years of practicing Taoism.

"Boom!" A dull thunder sounded.

"...Huahuahua." A long wind rushed into the hall, blowing the transparent gauze curtain hanging above the platform.

The lantern filled with firefly clam stone hanging from the dome shook violently, making a squeaking sound.

"Lü Fang," Jiajing said slowly with his eyes closed after an unknown amount of time had passed, "You may understand the purpose of Hai Rui's visit?"

"My Lord, I can roughly guess what happened." Lu Fang bowed slightly, then looked up at Jiajing who had his eyes closed, and said, "Hai Rui regards the Lord as his father."

"In the world of immortal cultivation, the important officials in the court all know that we are using our life-defining weapons."

"From Hai Rui's point of view, Master..." As he spoke, Lu Fang's tone stagnated and hesitant. However, just as he was hesitating, Jiajing's voice rang out, "Speak."

"Yes." Lu Fang responded immediately, and then said: "Using the innate weapon to target the world of immortals is a dishonorable method. Of course, it's not that Hai Rui is so pedantic that he can't use this kind of weapon. It's just that in Hai Rui's opinion, anyone can use it except the master. He can't accept that the master has such a stain."

As he spoke, there was a look of shame in Lu Fang's eyes.

He was his master's servant. Logically, he should have taken full responsibility for this matter, but he did not do so. Instead, he let his master bear the responsibility himself.

He naturally understood that his master did not want to abandon him.

After all, it is because these slaves and subjects are incompetent that they let their masters do everything themselves.

"So the first thing Hai Rui has to do this time is to persuade his master not to do this again."

"Secondly," Lü Fang paused for a moment and continued, "There are some things that the master has already done, so in Hai Rui's opinion, this stain must be washed away."

"If it were in ancient times, when an emperor did something like this, some upright ministers might ask the emperor to issue an edict of apology."

"But Hai Rui regards his master as his father and ruler, who must not have any stain on him, so he naturally would not make such a request. Because he wants to protect his master's reputation more than anyone else."

"In his heart, the master, the only Immortal Emperor who founded the Ming Dynasty, should be flawless."

"So from what I can guess, Hai Rui wants to use this incident to get the master to withdraw from this matter..."

"Of course, the above is just my guess." After hearing what Lu Fang said, Jiajing slowly opened his eyes, looked at Lu Fang, and said, "The reason you have such a guess is that you may have thought the same thing as Hai Rui."

"You are all unwilling to let me take responsibility for this matter and let me have a stain."

"So let someone else take care of it then."

"And now this opportunity has come, and no one is more suitable than him, or they are more suitable..."

"Plop!" Almost at the moment when Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice:
"Master, slave..."

"Do you also think that this is not something I should do?" Jiajing said calmly.

"My Lord, I regret this." Lu Fang took a deep breath and said seriously, "I regret not being more resolute and choosing to handle this matter myself. I regret not reacting in time."

"I regret even more that I cowardly hid under the wings of my master..."

"In fact, I have been thinking about this for years. Now that the master is facing a dilemma, it is time for us servants to step forward."

"From now on, I will announce to the whole world that the strange plague was developed by Li Shizhen and others at my request."

"I will take full responsibility for everything."

"After that, I will enter the Qiankun Realm to practice, and when I break through to the Mahayana stage, I will switch to practicing as a Sanxian and protect the Ming Dynasty!"

After listening to Lv Fang's words, Jiajing was silent for a moment, his eyes fell on Lv Fang who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Good servant."

"But you forgot one thing. You can't handle this matter." Jiajing said with a smile, "Can you do it for me?"

Hearing this, Lu Fang trembled.

"If you had ten times the courage without my permission, would you, Lu Fang, dare to risk the world's disapproval and order Li Shizhen and others to develop such a weapon that would harm the world?"

"What's more, you even plan to use this weapon against all the cultivators in the entire Ming world and abolish the innate cultivation system?"

As Jiajing finished speaking, Lu Fang's expression also darkened.

He understood that he was his master's servant, and no matter what he did, in the eyes of the world, it was all instructed by his master. If he replaced his master, it would be ridiculous.

This is not to cleanse the master's stain, but to add to his stain and become a laughing stock of the whole world.

"But Master..."

Lu Fang wanted to say something but was interrupted by Jiajing.

"You should take full responsibility for what you have done. You can't blame others. OK, let Hai Rui in." Hearing his master's words, Lu Fang knew that his master had already made a decision.

Moreover, he knew better that his master was not doing this to wash away his own stains. His master was a man of such courage, how could he care about these so-called stains?

The reason for the compromise is that the master saw greater benefits through this matter.

It would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty and the entire world, and that was to abolish the innate cultivation system. He understood that at this moment, the master had decided to abolish the innate cultivation system.

The price was to sacrifice a palace and a son. The fact that there were no relatives in the royal family was once again embodied at this moment!

Yes, the Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang were all able to be ruthless and abandon their sons. Why can't your master, the Immortal Emperor, do the same?
The emperor is a lonely man, and this is not just talk.

However, could the person behind the scenes have expected that the price of borrowing the master's hand this time would be so high!

"Your Majesty, I, Hai Rui, kowtow to the emperor. May the emperor be in good health!" Hai Rui kowtowed after entering the hall.

"I'm fine, please stand up." Jiajing said, and waved his hand lightly, and Hai Rui's wet crimson official robe instantly looked like new.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hai Rui thanked him.

"I heard that you have a memorial to the emperor. Go ahead and tell me." Jiajing sat on the Taotai with a slightly relaxed expression.

Lu Fang, who was standing by, stepped forward, took the memorial from Hai Rui and handed it to Jiajing.

Jiajing played with the memorial without opening it. He just looked at Hai Rui and said, "Just say what you want to say."

Seeing this, Hai Rui took a deep breath and looked at the calm, graceful and dignified emperor above him, and his heart became more determined.

"Plop!" Hai Rui first knelt on the ground, then clasped his hands and said, "Regarding the matter of the strange plague, I want to say..."

"Your Majesty is wrong!"

"..." (End of this chapter)