Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 149 Changes in Luoyang
When Cui Lie saw that even Lu Zhi was frightened like this, the resentment on his face became even more obvious.

"Now you know what I said is true, right? Such a foolish and rebellious son will destroy our Cui family sooner or later."

But compared to him, Lu Zhi seemed to calm down quickly.

He lowered his head and thought for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Brother Wei Kao, have you ever sent him back to inquire about the source of this news?"

Cui Lie waved his hand and said, "Why bother asking? It must be just a random fabrication among his friends."

Lu Zhi frowned slightly: "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"Oh?" Cui Lie seemed to calm down a little after hearing what he said.

"Does Zi Gan think there's something fishy about this?"

"I know my nephew well. Although he likes to make friends with knights and heroes, he is intelligent, loyal and filial, and has a methodical approach to things. He is definitely not the kind of person who speaks nonsense."

Cui Lie also seemed to reflect on himself.

"Well, what Zigan said makes sense. Lie is also confused because of anger. In your opinion, should we send a letter to summon him tomorrow morning and question him in detail?"

Although Cui Lie was talented and famous, his knowledge on court affairs was not as good as Lu Zhi's. He was well aware of this, so he hurriedly asked Lu Zhi for his opinion.

Lu Zhi stroked his beard and spoke after a long while.

"There is no need to rush to call him back now. If what he said is true, then what he is doing now must be related to it. If we rashly call him back, it will be bad. Is the letter still there? Can you show it to Zhi Yi?"

Although Cui Lie did not believe anything in the letter, now that Lu Zhi had said so, he could not directly refute it.

He ordered his servant to go to his study to get the letter and give it to Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi placed the cloth flat on the table in front of him and read the contents of the letter carefully.

"Did Zigan find anything?"

Lu Zhi let out a long breath and said, "Well, the things in this letter are indeed incredible, but when I look at the writing, I can't see any hypocrisy. Between the lines, there are worries about the country and the danger of parents and elder brothers."

Cui Lie frowned, "Does Zi Gan really believe that the Taiping Dao will really start a rebellion? Zhang Jiao has been law-abiding for decades. Although the teachings of his Taiping Dao are full of falsehoods, it is hard to believe that he would rebel against the court."

Lu Zhi shook his head and said, "No, I don't believe what is said in the letter. I just think that at least my nephew wrote this letter sincerely. But whether he received this news is true or he was deceived, this matter is unknown at present."

But then he changed the subject.

"But...what he said doesn't seem to be groundless."

Cui Lie raised his eyebrows, as if he heard the hidden meaning.

"Is there any evidence for this?"

Lu Zhi nodded and said, "Originally, these were just trivial matters, and I didn't take them seriously. But now that I've read my nephew's letter, I've connected these trivial matters with the major events mentioned in the letter. It seems that they are all vaguely related..."

Cui Lie was shocked: "What do you mean by the trivial matters Zigan mentioned?"

"I think Brother Bi Kao also knows that although the teachings of the Taiping Dao are false in our eyes, there are still believers in the court. Although this matter cannot be made public, it is not a big deal. Therefore, everyone, including Your Majesty, has turned a blind eye to these people in the past and has not pursued them."

"Yes, that's true." Cui Lie nodded.

"However, in the past few months, Zhi has seen or heard that Zhang Jiao has a disciple. It is said that his surname is Ma, but his name is unknown. This person has been frequently in and out of the residences of many court officials and generals in recent days. There have even been a few times when several palace attendants have made special trips out of the palace to meet him."

"Especially not long ago, Zhi saw with his own eyes that Xu Changshi walked out of Captain Ma's residence. One of them is a Changshi serving His Majesty in the palace, and the other is a captain in charge of thousands of people in the army. What important matters could they discuss?"

Now Cui Lie also realized that something was unusual.

Although some officials would have contact with Taiping sect members in the past, they rarely did so in their own residences in Luoyang. After all, they were under the emperor's feet and had to avoid suspicion. It was even more impossible for many officials to frequently meet with Zhang Jue's disciples in a short period of time. People are like this. If they don't think about the same thing, it's fine. Once they think about it carefully, they will find it more and more wrong.

The two looked at each other, and their expressions began to look a little unnatural.

At this moment, a joyful voice sounded, pulling the two back from their thoughts.

"Mr. Lu is honored to be here. I am honored to be here!"

It turned out that it was Cui Lie’s eldest son, Cui Jun’s eldest brother, whose name was Cui Jun and whose courtesy name was Yuanping.

When he heard that the great scholar Lu Zhi had arrived, he was very happy and ran over quickly to ask for advice.

Unexpectedly, Cui Lie suddenly scolded him: "How dare you barge in? Your father and Lu Gong are discussing important matters of the court. Why don't you leave without permission?"

"Father, it wasn't you who sent someone to call the child..."

Cui Jun looked puzzled, but seeing that Cui Lie looked very unhappy, he could only put away his doubts and quickly retreated.

Seeing his expression, Lu Zhi felt sorry for him and said, "Don't worry, my dear nephew. Your father and I just discussed an important matter, which is confidential, so I can't tell you. You can leave now. I will send someone to invite you to come to my house for a chat some other day."

After hearing Lu Zhi's words, Cui Jun's expression immediately turned happy.

"My nephew would like to thank Mr. Lu in advance!"

When the two saw him retreat, they looked at each other again.

"Brother Zigan, should we go and see Lord Yang right away? If this is true, he is the chief military commander and will be the primary person responsible."

"Well, that's right. Now that this matter has not been confirmed, it is not appropriate for you and me to report it to His Majesty. Duke Boxian is the Grand Marshal, and his son Biao is also the Guardian. Father and son, one is in charge of the military affairs of the world, and the other is in charge of the imperial guards. It is reasonable to inform them of this matter in advance. However, if this matter is true, Brother Weikao's youngest son has made an unprecedented contribution this time!"

"If that's the case, I'm afraid he's just lucky. But if it's not true, I'll bring him back and keep him under strict supervision."

Cui Lie said this, but when he mentioned Cui Jun again, his tone and expression were much softer than before.

The two court officials were anxious and went straight out to Yang's house regardless of the lateness of the day.

Throughout the entire night, no one from the Cui or Lu residence had seen the two return home.

Outsiders had no way of knowing what the two men talked about with Grand Commandant Yang Ci at Yang's Mansion. However, starting from the early morning of the next day, the imperial guards and the Luoyang City defenders suddenly began some unexpected mobilizations.

At the same time, in a forest on the eastern outskirts of Luoyang City, three men were galloping on horseback, looking very embarrassed. They ran all the way to a ruined temple before stopping to rest for a while.

"General Qu, I don't know what's going on with the imperial court. They suddenly changed their defenses this morning and are planning to arrest us for questioning. If Captain Ma hadn't warned us in advance and let us escape from the city, I'm afraid the three of us would have fallen into the hands of the imperial court. It's really dangerous to think about it."

The man in the middle of the three blew on the ground in the dilapidated temple and then sat down cross-legged.

"Humph, we only had two days to complete the mission, but we failed because of the news from the court. It's really hateful. If I, Ma Yuanyi, knew who reported it, I would catch him and tear him into pieces to vent my hatred!"

Another follower said, "General Qu, the situation is not that serious now. The court has only changed some of its defenses. The generals you have won over have only been replaced from important positions, but have not been removed from their posts. Although this will affect the overall plan, they still control a lot of troops after all."

"Yes, in my opinion, we should go to see the Great Sage Master right away. We should take action before the imperial court discovers our plan. Even if they are on guard, we can still accomplish our goal with the hard work of our Taiping Sect over the years!"

Ma Yuanyi's face changed, and finally he made a decision.

"Okay! Master has sent someone to inform us that he had already arrived at a village about 70 miles east of Luoyang City the day before yesterday. It's only half a day's journey from here. Let's go and meet him right away!"

After a short rest, the three of them mounted their horses again and headed eastward.

Well, the first volume "Wolf Mobilizes the Army" ends here. The next chapter will start the second volume "Become a Hero", which means we will enter the VIP chapter. I hope you will support me. Shenmao kowtows to thank you!
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(End of this chapter)