Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 85: Wei Zhongxian wants to replace the crown prince with a cat? [24]

Time flies.

In the blink of an eye, another four months passed.

The situation in the capital remains the same as usual, calm on the surface, but undercurrents are surging.

Especially in the past year, after news spread from the court that the emperor was seriously ill and his health was getting worse day by day, the situation in the capital became increasingly turbulent.

On the way, Jiang Xuan also heard that another university scholar in the court had died. It was said that he was from the eunuch party. Rumors said that this was the beginning of the Donglin Party's counterattack.

This also led to the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party becoming increasingly incompatible, and the struggle between the two factions became increasingly fierce.

But all this has nothing to do with Jiang Xuan.

Including the death of a grand secretary in the court.

For major cases like this, the Northern Pacification Office usually takes action first, and if they really can't resolve the issue, they will then mobilize the five core offices to assist.

The last incident at the Yan Mansion was related to him. In order to save his cousin Yin Cheng and get rid of Zhou Miaotong, he found Xu Xianchun for help and solved the case himself.

But now that he finally has some free time, he naturally won't ask for trouble again. He just needs to take care of the public security in Dongcheng District.

Occasionally, when he encountered some difficult cases, he would hand them over to his subordinates to solve and rarely did he do it himself.

After all, he has been promoted to a thousand households, so he has to give his subordinates some opportunities to make meritorious contributions.

Therefore, he spent most of his time sitting in the yamen processing official documents, and practiced martial arts when he had nothing to do.

He neither caused trouble nor intervened in it, and the life was peaceful for half a year. His proficiency in various martial arts was also increasing steadily.

……

At night, in the bedroom.

In the bathtub filled with liquid medicine, Jiang Xuan sat with his upper body naked, cross-legged and eyes closed, with a light vapor rising from his body.

Faintly, one could see the fair skin soaked in the liquid medicine, its pores expanding and contracting, gradually oozing out strands of black substance. Qi and blood rapidly flowed through the body, polishing every inch of skin and flesh to a smoother, tougher texture...

I don’t know how long this went on.

Finally, as the system panel started to pulse again, Jiang Xuan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of white air, which dissipated into the air along with the water vapor.

He looked down and saw that his body was covered with various dark substances, which were impurities discharged from the pores.

"I didn't expect that after practicing this Rama internal energy, it would actually have the effect of cleansing the tendons and marrow..."

Jiang Xuan felt a little emotional.

Cleansing the tendons and removing the marrow is an opportunity that most warriors can only encounter but cannot seek.

It can largely expel dirt and impurities from the body, making the body cleaner and more transparent. It can not only delay aging and even have the effect of prolonging life, but it will also be more beneficial for the practice of martial arts.

In the martial arts world, there are very few martial arts that can have the effect of cleansing the hair and marrow, such as the Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing of the Shaolin Temple, the Nine Yin and Nine Yang passed down in the martial arts world, all of which are first-class and peerless magical skills.

This Rama internal energy, a mere master-level internal energy, could actually have such miraculous effects, which was beyond Jiang Xuan's expectations.

What a surprise.

No wonder, for hundreds of years, countless people have been fighting for Rama's body. Although Rama's internal strength is not as magical as the legend says, that as long as it is practiced, one can be invincible and regenerate destiny, it also has its extraordinary aspects.

Especially the effect of body refining shocked Jiang Xuan.

He gently wiped off the dirt on his body, revealing the fair skin beneath the dirt, which faintly showed a faint bronze glow, and had extremely strong toughness and defense.

With just this body, it would be difficult to be injured by ordinary swords and knives.

After stretching his muscles a little, he began to hear crackling sounds like frying beans in his body.

Skin of iron and bones, muscles and bones all make noises!
This is the miraculous effect brought about by the perfection of Rama's magical power!
[Martial Arts: Rama Internal Power (Great Mastery)]

【Progress: 5/10000】

Looking at the progress required for completion displayed on the system panel, Jiang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.

It took him half a year just to master the technique, and his proficiency doubled. I'm afraid it will take him at least a year to master it.

However, although it is difficult to practice, the effect is unquestionable.

Although there were miraculous effects when I was getting started and achieving minor success, it only made the skin of my body tougher. Unexpectedly, after achieving major success, it seemed as if a qualitative change had occurred.

At this time, his defense was greatly enhanced. He could break ordinary swords in his hands with ease without hurting himself.

The qi, blood and internal strength in the body have increased by several times.

"Just the fully developed Rama Internal Qi has such miraculous effects. It's hard to imagine how much the physique can be improved when it is perfected. I'm afraid it will be comparable to the protective Qi of a master..."

Jiang Xuan muttered to himself, his heart full of anticipation.

But when he felt the condition of the meridians in his body, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

The main function of Rama's internal energy is to refine the body, but it is somewhat slow in enhancing internal strength and improving realm.

Up to this moment, he had only opened up three of the 12 main meridians in his body, the 'Three Yin Meridians of the Hand', and his realm still remained at the late Xiantian stage, still a long way from perfection.

Of course, this may also be because the process of opening up the meridians becomes more complicated as time goes on, and the stronger the internal force required, the more difficult it is to open them.

After all, the limit of Rama's internal strength is only the master level.

Perhaps, even if one practices to perfection, one can only open up the twelve meridians and stop at the Grandmaster level.

However, thinking of the miraculous body-building effect of Rama's internal energy, Jiang Xuan felt relieved.

You can not have it both ways.

At the innate level, having such a powerful internal skill is an adventure that many people can hardly imagine.

As for how to continue to improve your strength after reaching the Grandmaster level, it is too early to discuss it now. We can talk about it when the time comes. There is no need to be too ambitious.

With a thought, he switched to the sword technique interface.

[Martial Arts: Embroidered Spring Sword Technique (Position), Wild Wind Sword Technique (Position)]

[Progress: 54%]

After three months of practice, there was a 14 percent improvement.

This also proves that the previous conjecture is correct.

After developing the "momentum" of the Kuangfeng Sword Technique, just like the Xiuchun Sword Technique, it still has not reached its limit and can continue to improve.

How much it can be improved depends on when the progress stops increasing.

In addition to internal strength and swordsmanship, there are two other martial arts that have seen the greatest improvement during this period.

One was the Golden Crow Sword Technique. With the experience gained from the two sword techniques, he made rapid progress and reached perfection in just three months.

At this rate, in about half a year at most, he would be able to practice it to perfection and control the third type of sword moves.

[Martial Arts: Golden Crow Sword Technique (Great Mastery)]

【Progress: 786/5000】

The other is the Dieyun Body Technique that he had practiced before, which he has now practiced to perfection.

[Martial Arts: Wind Chasing Step (Perfect), Cloud Formation (Perfect)]

[Progress: 10%]

Looking at the system panel display, Jiang Xuan's eyes flickered, and he was still a little confused.

He had previously thought that these body movement-related martial arts could only be practiced to perfection.

However, he did not expect that after the Dieyun Body Skill was perfected, it would share the same system panel with the Zhuifeng Step, just like the sword skill, and the progress that had disappeared for a long time would reappear.

But it is different from the knife technique.

After his Dieyun body technique was perfected and his progress increased by 20%, no matter how he practiced, the progress would no longer increase.

"Could it be that this body technique requires each technique to be perfected before it can share the same panel with the Wind Chasing Step and the Cloud Stacking Body Technique, and simultaneously increase a portion of the progress?"

"Then I wonder what will happen after the progress reaches the maximum level?"

Jiang Xuan pondered secretly.

After your swordsmanship has reached full progress, you should reach the artistic conception.

And what will happen when this kind of martial arts skills reach the maximum level?
After all, I've never heard of practicing physical techniques to achieve artistic conception before...

Moreover, since the physical skills can be merged after perfection, continue to improve the progress.

I wonder if other martial arts, such as internal strength and hidden weapons, can be combined after being practiced to perfection, and continue to improve the progress and then produce other changes?

Long thought.

Jiang Xuan shook his head and closed the panel for the time being.

At this time, he had not yet perfected his other martial arts skills except for the hidden weapon 'Shadowless Divine Needle', so he had no way to conduct experiments.

Moreover, this system cannot communicate, so you can only rely on yourself to slowly explore and see later.

After washing his body, Jiang Xuan stood up, put on his clothes, and prepared to go out to pour out the remaining bath liquid, and then began to practice swordsmanship.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of the bedroom, Jiang Xuan was stunned.

I saw a graceful figure sitting in the living room, drinking tea and waiting leisurely.

If it’s not drizzle, then who else could it be?

Jiang Xuan was slightly startled, wondering if he was too absorbed in his training, or if it was because he hadn't encountered any danger for a long time and no one else came to his house, which led to his vigilance being lowered, and he didn't even notice the drizzle coming?

Fortunately, the person who came was Xiyu. If it was an assassin who came to kill me, wouldn’t I be in danger now?

Thinking he was careless, Jiang Xuan frowned and walked forward, asking, "When did you come?"

"It's been a while."

Xiyu took a sip of tea slowly and said calmly, "Are you done washing?"

Jiang Xuan looked strange: "Did you see everything?"

"Yeah, I saw it."

Xiyu's face showed no change as she commented, "Nice figure."

Jiang Xuan's mouth twitched. None of the women around him were normal.

Shaking his head, Jiang Xuan walked over and sat down beside her. He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. He casually asked, "How's the recent development of 'Youming'?"

Xiyu nodded. "Not bad. Each provincial government has a secret line. No matter whether it's in the underworld or in the local area, any important information will be reported back immediately."

"What about the palace?" Jiang Xuan asked.

Compared to the martial arts world, he is currently more concerned about the situation in the palace.

Although he was a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he could not enter the palace at will unless the case required it or he was summoned by imperial decree.

Although they are all Jinyiwei, they also have different divisions of labor.

Guarding the palace is the job of the Han generals.

"That's what I came for."

Xiyu's eyes were a little serious, and she said, "I have planted three secret agents in the palace. One is in the East Factory, one is in the cabinet, and one is beside the emperor."

"Recently, a secret informant reported that the Emperor's health has deteriorated and he has been bedridden for several months. I'm afraid it won't be long before..."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan's expression also became serious.

He understood what drizzle meant.

Emperor Tianqi is about to die!

...Whether it is the plot of the film or the development of history in the previous life, the seventh year of Tianqi is a major turning point.

Emperor Tianqi died in this year, Wei Zhongxian died, the eunuch party was overthrown, and then the Ming Dynasty welcomed the last emperor who hanged himself.

He thought that things should be different in this world of comprehensive martial arts.

However, I didn’t expect that the development of Ming Dynasty history would be like this.

Is it really fate that cannot be defied?
After a long moment, Jiang Xuan took a deep breath and nodded, "If that's the case, then we must prepare early."

As the saying goes, there is one emperor and one courtier.

Once Emperor Tianqi passes away, the situation in the court will inevitably change greatly.

Although he has established connections with Prince Xin's Mansion and is openly a member of the eunuch party, he has a way out no matter which side wins.

But who can tell for sure about this kind of thing?

What if Prince Xin and the eunuch party are defeated, and a third-party force comes to power?

But he did not forget that the one in the Hulong Villa in the eastern suburbs was also ambitious and always wanted to be emperor.

If it is indeed the one from the Huolong Villa who seizes the throne in the end, who knows whether they will be held accountable?
The purpose of his founding 'The Netherworld' was to guard against these unknown changes.

"I have already made arrangements. We have secret agents at every city gate. If anything unexpected happens, we can leave the capital immediately."

Xiyu nodded, then hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Also, the secret informant in the palace has sent back another message about Wei Zhongxian."

"What news?" Jiang Xuan was puzzled. Wei Zhongxian?
"It is said that he found several palace maids in the palace, controlled their movements, and had people guard them strictly, not allowing anyone to approach. I don't know what he wants to do..." Xiyu looked puzzled.

"Palace maid?"

Jiang Xuan frowned. Why go to so much trouble for just a few palace maids?

suddenly!

His expression changed slightly.

He thought of an unofficial historical rumor about the Ming Dynasty's Tianqi reign in his previous life.

It is said that because Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao had no children, Wei Zhongxian, in order to continue to control the government after Zhu Youxiao's death, colluded with Zhu Youxiao's wet nurse Keshi and killed several of Zhu Youxiao's children one after another. Some of the children even died in the womb before they were born.

Afterwards, in the name of selecting concubines, he sent young women who were close to his family and beautiful in appearance into the palace, looking for opportunities for Zhu Youxiao to have the emperor's favor, hoping that they would conceive an imperial child, so that they could continue to hold power in the name of royal relatives.

But at that time Zhu Youxiao's health was already failing and he was no longer able to have children.

Finally, Wei Zhongxian had no other options, so he conspired with Keshi to find some pregnant women to enter the palace and pretend to be maids favored by Zhu Youxiao. He wanted to use the method of "replacing the prince with a cat" to control the succession of the throne, control the new emperor, and continue to hold power.

Although it is just a rumor, it still has a certain degree of credibility.

Moreover, in today's world, the fate of Emperor Tianqi has not changed. His three princes all died young. The most recent one, the third prince Zhu Cijing, also died in an accident in June last year.

Until now, Emperor Tianqi has not left any offspring.

There were also many rumors in the court that these princes were murdered by Wei Zhongxian and Keshi, but there was no evidence.

In this situation, if Wei Zhongxian wanted to continue to control the government, he would most likely resort to the "substituting a cat for the prince" strategy!
Thinking of this, Jiang Xuan quickly looked at Xiyu and said in a deep voice, "Find a way to find out if all these palace maids are pregnant!"

Xiyu was slightly stunned, and then her expression changed, with a trace of horror in her eyes: "You mean, Wei Zhongxian wants to..."

Obviously, Xiyu also thought of this possibility!
Jiang Xuan nodded, his face solemn. "It's very likely! If this is true, a coup will surely occur before the emperor's death. We must investigate this as soon as possible and make preparations!"

Xiyu also knew the importance of this matter and nodded, "Okay, I'll tell my undercover agent to investigate as soon as possible!"

Jiang Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes flickering.

As long as his life is not threatened, he doesn't care who becomes the emperor.

But if Wei Zhongxian really wanted to do such a heaven-defying act, he would have to find out the situation in advance and make preparations early.

If Wei Zhongxian succeeded, he would have to find a way to destroy the evidence of contact with Prince Xin's Mansion.

If you fail, you have to find the next buyer in advance.

He had to not only secure his own vested interests, but also find a way to protect himself in this palace coup.

The retreat route of 'Netherworld' is the last choice.

pop~
Xiyu put down her teacup, stood up, and said, "Then I'll be leaving first... By the way, Meng Po asked me to tell you that Pei Xing, the ghostwriter who ate and ate at the inn last time, has paid off his debt and is ready to leave."

Meng Po is the code name of Jin Xiangyu in the 'Netherworld'.

Jiang Xuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

The last time Jin Xiangyu talked to him about this matter, he already had some plans in mind as to how to deal with it.

As for Pei Xing, although he is just here by the way, since he is here, let's go and take a look tomorrow, and take him in if we can.

Looking at Xiyu using his internal energy to climb over the wall and leave, a strange look flashed in Jiang Xuan's eyes.

This woman's aura seemed to have become stronger again.

Before that, she was in the late stage of the innate realm and was in the process of opening up the twelve meridians.

Now, when he circulates his internal energy, his breath is complete and the Qi circulates throughout the body. This should mean that the twelve meridians have been completely opened up and he has entered the innate perfection level.

This cultivation speed seems a bit fast?
However, when Jiang Xuan thought of the book "Splendid Moon Magic" that Zhu Youjian had given him before, he felt relieved.

This internal skill can directly reach the master level, and is very suitable for women to practice.

Xiyu's aptitude is already good, and she has accumulated a deep foundation. Now that she has changed her internal skills, it is not surprising that her cultivation speed has increased.

However, although he could see Xiyu's strength improving, Jiang Xuan was not worried that she would turn against him.

Now that he has mastered two types of sword moves and is about to master the third one, coupled with the physical growth brought by the great Rama internal strength, Jiang Xuan is confident that he can kill a mere innate perfection, let alone a master standing in front of him.

Although he was still acting steadily and cautiously at this moment, he was no longer as cautious and careful as he was when he first crossed over.

This is the confidence that comes from strength.

As for the 'Underworld', although Xiyu was responsible for the cultivation of the secret line, Jin Xiangyu was not doing nothing either. Xiyu's every move was under Jin Xiangyu's surveillance, and he would occasionally report to Jiang Xuan.

Having been in the officialdom for so long, Jiang Xuan also knows a thing or two about the art of balance.

He would not completely trust Jin Xiangyu, nor would he allow Xiyu to do anything behind his back.

After all, the Netherworld was founded mainly with him in mind.

Only he can be the 'Emperor of the Underworld'.

……

The next day.

Jiang Xuan got up early as usual and went to the yamen to take up his post.

Ever since the last incident of destroying the Yan Mansion, Deputy Captain Hou Zhen has become quite well behaved. He has been extremely low-key in the past six months, only doing his own job and not daring to overstep the boundaries.

The entire Youzuo has become Jiang Xuan's one-man show.

However, apart from the occasional gifts from his subordinates, he did not rely on his status to seek benefits for himself. In fact, except for the rest days stipulated by the court, he never slacked off for a single day.

Even when he went to the yamen to practice martial arts, he would set an example by reporting in on time and leaving on time. He became a role model for all the captains in the Jinyiwei.

No one can catch him by the tail.

This also means that the rules and regulations of the entire You Suo are the most standardized in the entire Jinyiwei.

After all, if the captain is so disciplined, how dare the people below be lazy?
As soon as Jiang Xuan arrived at the yamen, he saw Xu Longqing and others already waiting in the lobby. When they saw Jiang Xuan coming, they all saluted.

Jiang Xuan waved his hand and asked casually, "Is there anything happening on the streets last night?"

An Jianqing, who was in charge of the night patrol last night, hurried forward upon hearing this and bowed solemnly, "Your Excellency, there's nothing happening on the streets, but there was a murder case in our alley, and the people from the North Division took over last night."

"Another murder?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan was stunned. The cabinet minister who died a few days ago died in Dongcheng District.

It's only been over a month and another murder has happened?

"Who died?" Jiang Xuan asked.

"It's the newly appointed doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, Fang Maozhi!" An Jianqing replied.

"Another minister in the court?!"

Jiang Xuan frowned, sensing something was wrong.

People died twice in a row, both in Dongcheng District, and both were ministers in the court?

How could such a coincidence happen?

"Which sect does Fang Maozhi belong to?"

Jiang Xuan looked at everyone and asked.

Lu Jianxing bowed and said, "Your Excellency, this man is from the eunuch faction. He was recently promoted to the position of Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue for his contribution in building the ancestral temple for Eunuch Wei."

Another member of the eunuch party!

Jiang Xuan felt a chill in his heart, and then his eyes moved, grasping the key words.

"Build a shrine for Eunuch Wei..." Jiang Xuan murmured, vaguely thinking of something.

In the past two years, eunuch parties in various parts of the Ming Dynasty have been building shrines for Wei Zhongxian in order to praise him.

The biggest disturbance occurred in Hangzhou Prefecture.

It is said that this matter was jointly submitted by the ministers in the court, and the emperor personally issued an edict to approve it.

In the end, the Ministry of Revenue allocated money and the Ministry of Works supervised the construction of a shrine for Wei Zhongxian in Hangzhou.

This incident caused quite a stir, and naturally the Jinyiwei also heard about it.

"You just said that the person died in the alley of our company?" Jiang Xuan looked at An Jianqing.

An Jianqing nodded: "Yes, sir, the man died at the entrance of the alley. Judging from the situation, he must have been killed not long after coming out of the Jiaofangsi."

"I've also examined the wound. It was a knife wound to the chest, piercing the Yutang acupoint below the ribs. I heard it was exactly the same as the death of Grand Secretary Wang Xing last time. It must have been done by the same person."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan became more certain of his guess.

This was most likely done by Gao Yaozhi, the flower girl on the pleasure boat.

This woman is the daughter of Gao Bingzhong of the Donglin Party.

Two years ago, Gao Bingzhong was dismissed from his official position by Wei Zhongxian on the pretext of writing a letter to oppose the establishment of a shrine for him. He was then assassinated on his way back home.

Gao Yaozhi luckily escaped the disaster. After that, with the help of Xu Panxing, a captain of the rear office and a good friend of her father, she joined the camp of Prince Xin and hid in a pleasure boat in Bensi Hutong, specifically to fight against the eunuch party.

The reason for this murder was to avenge his father, but the main reason was probably to find evidence of corruption by the eunuch party.

In Hangzhou Prefecture, in order to build a shrine for Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch party used chicken feathers as a token of authority, exploited the local people to the utmost, and embezzled money on a large scale, causing public outrage and resentment in the area.

The people are living in poverty, but have nowhere to seek redress.

The Jinyiwei also heard about this matter, but they did not dare to interfere and pretended to be unaware of it.

Gao Yaozhi probably wanted to find evidence of the eunuch party's corruption and obtain the imperial eunuch's memorial to present to Prince Xin, so as to prepare for the overthrow of the eunuch party in the future.

Understanding the cause and effect of the matter, Jiang Xuan shook his head and stopped asking questions.

This matter is related to Prince Xin's Mansion. He doesn't want to get involved. It will not benefit anyone if it is found out.

After all, he still has the identity of a spy for Prince Xin's Palace.

Moreover, this case is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Division, so there is no need for him to intervene. Let the Northern Division investigate it on its own.

Whether the matter can be finally concluded or not, it has nothing to do with him.

(End of this chapter)