Looking at Tai'an from the full moon

Five hundred years ago, various forces emerged in the Jianghu, each demarcating their own territory. The strong were dissatisfied with the weak being able to monopolize one side, and wanted to fight for the sovereignty of the world, which led to constant wars and people's misery. Only the Buddhist master Wuwei kept Hanshan Temple peaceful with his own strength.

The war lasted for nearly a hundred years, and there was still no one to control it. Master Wuwei's disciple, Master Wunian, followed his master's teachings and withdrew Hanshan Temple from the war. However, he could not bear to see the suffering of all living beings, so after reading a fortune for himself, he ordered his disciple Huiming to enter the secular world to save the people.

In just two years, all forces in the world were suppressed.

At this point, a new dynasty was established and Huiming became emperor.

When he took Huiming back to the temple to look for Master Wunian, he found that he had passed away. There was a word written on the ground in front of him - "Xiao".

Therefore, Huiming took the surname "Xiao" and named the country Tai'an, which means "peace and prosperity for the country and the people."

After Huiming's death, his descendants added the title of Emperor Mingde to him. For the next three hundred years, Tai'an enjoyed good weather and the people lived in peace.

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Tai'an 302nd year - Emperor Mingren reigned for 15 years.

In the golden hall, a man wearing a crown stood with his hands behind his back, and on both sides of him stood four rows of ministers respectfully. At this moment, they all lowered their heads, as if they were avoiding something.

"Snapped--"

Emperor Mingren threw a memorial down the stairs with great force. The crisp sound was like a slap in the face of everyone. The ministers below looked at each other secretly, at a loss, and just lowered their heads even more.

At this moment, an angry and majestic voice came down from above.

"How many murders has this month already? What else can they do besides report that the real culprit should be caught as soon as possible?!"

No one responded, because this was the fifth murder case this month, and both officials and civilians died. The civilians were already very terrified, fearing that they would be the next one.

The five cases lasted for 25 days in total. The time of death, identity, and method of death were all different, but each time there was a bell-like symbol painted on the wall or the ground at the crime scene, indicating that these cases were committed by the same person, or perhaps the same organization. This also left the Dali Temple clueless for a while.

"Shaoqing of the Dali Temple!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is here!"

The current Dali Temple Junior Official Zhen Yingqing is thirty-nine years old and is about to enter the age of forty. He has two sons and one daughter. The eldest son Zhen Li is nineteen years old and is currently the Dali Temple Sizhi. He is responsible for assisting the Dali Temple Junior Official in handling cases and pointing out suspicious points in the trial of cases. He will inherit his father's business in the future. The second daughter Zhen Luo is seventeen years old. She is not good at playing chess, calligraphy and painting, but she is famous in the whole capital for her "embroidery". However, only Zhen Li knows that his daughter is not best at embroidery, but... The youngest son Zhen Yu is fourteen years old and is at the age of rebellion. He has been spoiled by his family since he was a child and spends money without knowing how to count. In the eyes of the people, he is a so-called dandy.

After being named by the emperor, the Shaoqing knew that he could not escape today. He took two steps to the center, pushed the jade token in his hand forward, and bowed his head.

But after the bow was performed, the emperor did not ask any further questions, so the Shaoqing could only hold up the jade token awkwardly.

The emperor tapped the table with his fingers. The sound was not loud, but it spread throughout the hall. After the tenth tap, the emperor spoke again.

“Is there any common connection between these five cases?”

"Your Majesty, these five cases seem to be different and unrelated, but the same pattern is painted at each crime scene. Someone must have done it on purpose."

After the Shaoqing Lord finished speaking, some ministers in the palace nodded in agreement. However, the emperor was quite dissatisfied with this.

"What's there to nod for? I've been saying this since the second case. This is already the fifth case. If this is still the only discovery, then I feel that this case will be of no difference whether you are involved or not!"

Emperor Mingren waved his sleeves, turned around and sat back on the dragon throne, glaring at Zhen Yingqing and glancing at the other ministers.

Lord Zhen had no choice but to lower his head again, with a hint of embarrassment on his face, but he seemed to have something to say.

"Say something quickly!"

Emperor Mingren had seen through his expression long ago.

"Your Majesty, I do have something else to say! But..."

Seeing Zhen Yingqing's hesitation, Emperor Mingren was so angry that he really wanted to punch him twice himself.

"Speak! I pardon you for being innocent!"

"thump--"

Zhen Yingqing suddenly knelt down, scaring the civil servants on the right.

"Your Majesty! I suspect that the Shenyin Pavilion was responsible for these cases!"

"What!?"

"Shenyin Pavilion? Isn't that the assassin organization that disappeared for a long time?"

"Wasn't it wiped out many years ago? How come Shenyin Pavilion still exists?"

"Master Zhen, please be careful with your words!"

"If this is true, what should we do~"

"..."

As soon as Zhen Yingqing said this, the civil officials in the hall were in a state of panic. The military officers on the other side sneered at this. It was just a few assassins, but these scholars were so scared. Humph, Tai'an still needs the military officers to protect it!

Emperor Mingren's eyes widened after hearing this. He never expected Zhen Yingqing to say such a thing. He remained silent for a while, as if he was thinking about something.

"emperor!"

It was an old eunuch standing in the audience who took advantage of the ministers' uproar and called out to the emperor in a low voice.

The emperor tilted his head to look at him, motioning for him to speak.

"I think it was done by Shenyin Pavilion."

The emperor raised his eyebrows after hearing his words, and glanced at the ministers below the stage, taking in their reactions. At this time, Zhen Yingqing was still kneeling in the middle of the hall in fear, with cold sweat on his head.

"General Wang! What's that expression on your face?"

Finally, the civil officials noticed that the military generals were looking at them with disdain, so they directed their criticism at them.

General Wang, whose real name is Wang Chongming, is 27 years old. He joined the army at the age of 17 and killed countless enemies. He is the Red Eagle General personally appointed by Emperor Mingren. He is also the second in command among the military generals, but he is not married yet.

When General Wang heard someone asking him, he held the jade token with one hand on his waist.

"My expression? What's so good about my expression? How can it compare to the expressions of the civil servants~"

As soon as General Wang finished speaking, the military camp burst into laughter, and some people even whispered that they were cowards, which greatly humiliated the group of civil servants.

"General Wang, you!..."

"you!..."

"Oh, that's insulting!"

It was like this every day when he went to court. No matter what the issue was, it would eventually become a dispute between civil officials and military officials. Emperor Mingren was no longer surprised. He calmly raised his eyes and looked at Eunuch Mu Yi standing on the side. With just one look, Eunuch Mu Yi understood.

"Silence!"

Sure enough, the shrill voice made the ministers in the audience shut up instantly, and they all returned to their respectful appearances.

"Since everyone's minds are not on this case, then let's withdraw from the court!"

Emperor Mingren was about to stand up after he finished speaking, and Eunuch Mu Yi hurried over and raised his hand to support the emperor.

"Your Majesty! This matter is of great importance. I hope Your Majesty can make a decision as soon as possible!"

The civil officials were afraid that this was true, so they had to beg the emperor to send someone to find the real culprit as soon as possible.

"Ok?"

Emperor Mingren looked up at the person who spoke - Cabinet Scholar Zhang Zhiyuan.

"Master Zhang, do you need me to arrange a guard for you?"

Zhang Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment and quickly replied.

"That's not what I meant. I just think that if this continues, not only will the people be frightened, but even the officials will be panicked..."

"Do the other ministers think so too?"

The ministers nodded one after another, or to be more precise, the civil officials nodded vigorously.

"I thought you were too busy with the civil and military disputes to pay attention to this case. It seems you still value your lives."

After the emperor said this, those thin-skinned officials felt embarrassed. Some of those with better personalities took the initiative to admit their mistakes.

"Alright, alright, if this matter really involves the Shenyin Pavilion, you civil officials can only stay at home. I have already thought of a solution, you all can go away~"

"emperor!..."

"Retreat~to~"

Lord Zhang wanted to say something else, but the chief eunuch had already called for the court to be adjourned, and he couldn't rush up to stop the emperor.

"Master Zhang, let's go~"

When his colleagues saw the emperor leaving, they could only shout "Master Zhang, leave."

A group of ministers left the court and walked in twos and threes on the steps. Civil officials told each other about their inner worries, and military officials gathered together and laughed. Some officials even tried to get close to Lord Zhen to confirm whether the news was reliable.

Soon after everyone walked out of the hall, Eunuch Mu Yi ran out in a hurry.

"Master Zhen! General Wang!"

When the two heard Eunuch Mu Yi's shout, they stopped.

"Eunuch Muyi."

"Emperor Muyi~"

Although Mu Yi was a eunuch, he had served Emperor Mingren since he was eight years old. To Emperor Mingren, no one was as close and trustworthy as Mu Yi, not even his mother. Moreover, Mu Yi was a humble person. When the ministers were punished by the emperor to kneel, they were more or less taken care of by Mu Yi. It might be a glass of water, some food, or an umbrella on a rainy day. Therefore, the two did not show disrespect to Mu Yi.

Grandpa Mu Yi might be a little old, and he was already out of breath when he ran to them.

"Your Majesty~The Emperor asked me to pass a message to the two adults. It is still early now. Please go to the South Study Room to have lunch together."

Zhen Yingqing and Wang Zhongming looked at each other and understood what the emperor meant. They thanked Eunuch Mu Yi with a bow, and then walked side by side to the South Study. The departure of the two aroused speculation among other officials.