I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 516 Gradually Outrageous
Xiao Jingfan: "Have you ever gone to a temple to burn incense?"

Chu Liuzheng nodded, "I went with my mother to worship Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva."

Xiao Jingfan continued wrapping the roast duck and asked, "Have your wishes come true?"

Chu Liuzheng recalled for a moment, then shook his head: "No."

“That’s it.” Xiao Jingfan handed her the wrapped roast duck. “Even Buddha and Guanyin couldn’t grant your wish. You’re just a phoenix maiden, and a phoenix maiden who descended to the mortal realm. Your magical powers are limited, so isn’t it normal that you’re not as powerful as the gods and Buddhas in heaven?”

[Frog Fun! Is this another way to calculate it?]

Chu Liuzheng was once again stunned by the emperor's shamelessness.

Is she supposed to just receive a good reputation without doing anything? Is there really such a thing as a free lunch?!
As if knowing what she was thinking, Xiao Jingfan said, "Even true gods wouldn't take whatever they want from their believers. If simply kneeling and kowtowing could bring divine favor, with millions of people in the world and endless desires, how could the gods possibly attend to everyone?"

Chu Liuzheng actually found some truth in what he said.

[The gods aren't turtles in a wishing well, you can't just throw a couple of coins at them, they have to act cool!]

"Hmm... at worst, I'll just be more discreet when I leave the palace in the future, so no one recognizes me."

Xiao Jingfan pursed his lips, suppressing a smile, and said gently, "I have already arranged for people to spread the news that the Phoenix Maiden's divine manifestation this time is to enhance the fortune of my Great Prosperity Kingdom and not to concern herself with other people's affairs."

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

Why didn't you say so sooner?!

Before she could even consider smearing roast duck on the emperor's face, Xiao Jingfan spoke up, instructing her, "The palace is likely to be in turmoil for a while. Wherever you go, take Chenxing and Siyue with you and don't go anywhere alone."

Chu Liuzheng regretfully abandoned his idea of ​​smearing sweet bean sauce all over his face, opened his mouth, took a bite of roast duck, and nodded vaguely in response.

[Tsk tsk, the tyrant is going to use entrapment tactics again. I wonder which fish will take the bait.]

*
With the emperor's deliberate encouragement, the rumors about the Phoenix Maiden intensified, to the point that when Chu Liuzheng went out, many palace servants would bow to her repeatedly, chanting prayers for wealth. This put Chu Liuzheng under immense pressure, and she no longer liked to wander around the palace.

The scene was even more lively among the common people, with countless storybooks about Feng Nu springing up like mushrooms after rain. Teahouses everywhere had tea servers telling Feng Nu's story with great emotion, and every performance was packed.

The most popular story is the love-hate relationship between Feng Nu and the Emperor, after all, the Emperor carrying Feng Nu into the carriage was watched by countless eyes.

As the story spread, it gradually changed. Some said that the emperor and Feng Nu gazed at each other with affection, some said that the two kissed passionately in public, and some said that the emperor and Feng Nu practiced dual cultivation in the carriage to help Feng Nu restore her magical powers...

In short, the people unanimously believed that the emperor and the phoenix were a deeply moving couple.

There were already rumors among the people that emperors were reincarnations of gods, which now aligns with the legend of the Phoenix Maiden. Some have boldly speculated that the Phoenix Maiden and the emperor were a couple in heaven. When the emperor descended to earth to undergo tribulations, the Phoenix Maiden, unwilling to be separated from him, also jumped down to the mortal realm to rekindle their past romance.

This love story, so moving and poignant, so devoted to each other through life and death, so passionate and unwavering, is truly worthy of weeping through ten handkerchiefs.

Not only did the elderly love to listen, but young men and women also enjoyed it. Seeing this trend, booksellers printed many love stories about the phoenix girl and the emperor. The plots were so intricate and the illustrations so exquisite that they were snapped up as soon as they hit the market, and demand far exceeded supply.

Chu Liuzheng, who always gets himself featured on gossip forums: "..."

No way, how can anyone actually believe something so outrageous?
Feudal superstition is unacceptable!
“Sister, look, the picture in this book looks most like you.” In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Chen Xing handed an open storybook to Chu Liuzheng. On it was a woman with blurred features, her whole body shimmering with golden light, with a huge phoenix head on her head, exuding an extremely domineering aura.

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

"I can't even see the face clearly, how does it resemble me?" She didn't understand, pointing at the picture book. "Is this a phoenix head or a rooster's comb? Isn't this something that looks like a human but has both a human head and a rooster's head?" "It's very imposing." Chen Xing thought the picture book was fine. "When the phoenix came out from behind my sister, it looked like this, a golden light that was so dazzling that people couldn't open their eyes."

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

So that's what she was like back then—a bizarre and idiotic character?

"This one is good too." Siyue, unusually, didn't examine those bottles and jars, and held an open storybook in her hand. "It tells the story of how my sister and His Majesty joined forces to subdue demons in the Heavenly Court. The part about beating up the Black Bear Spirit is particularly well written."

"Which section? Which section?" Chen Xing leaned closer with great interest. "Let me see."

"Here." Siyue handed her the storybook, then took the one she had just been looking at, carefully examining the illustrations. She would occasionally glance up at Chu Liuzheng, nodding and shaking her head.

Chu Liuzheng: "...Don't you guys have anything else to do?" Stop reading these ridiculous, brainless stories!

Chenxing and Siyue answered in unison, "Serving our elder sister is the most important thing."

Chu Liuzheng: "..."

Ok.

In despair, she picked up a storybook and opened it.

To be honest, the imaginations of the masses are boundless. Even if she scooped out her brains and stuffed them back in, she could never come up with a plot that combines fantasy, horror, the bizarre, and performance art in such a way: "His Majesty the Emperor, in order to celebrate the birthday of the Phoenix Maiden, was first struck by lightning and burned to a crisp, then frozen into an ice block by ten thousand years of mysterious ice. He went through eighty-one tribulations just to capture nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine snake demons alive and force them to twist into pretzel shapes and perform a lewd dance in the palace to celebrate the Phoenix Maiden's birthday."

Is this even something a human could come up with?!
How many kilograms of fake liquor must one have drunk, and how many lightning bolts must have struck one's skull to create such a brilliant idea?
Chu Liuzheng's eyes were opened wide, and he gradually became immersed in the wild imaginations of the people.

Hmm... if you don't think of the protagonist as yourself, this story is quite interesting.

*
The main hall of Zhaoyang Palace.

A piece of letter was thrown into the brazier and burned to ashes in a short time.

On the desk next to it was a mahogany box containing a pair of silver bracelets inlaid with gold and jade, which, judging by their size, should have been children's items.

Consort Shu leaned against a soft pillow, her eyes lowered as she stared at the silver bracelet, her face expressionless, like an old monk in deep meditation.

Yan Hui, who was standing to the side, was lost in thought. She looked at the pile of ashes in the brazier and then at the silver bracelet. She was unsure of what decision she hoped her master would make.

"Put it away." Consort Shu finally made her decision, reached out and closed the mahogany box, handed it to Yan Hui, and whispered, "Don't let the princess see it."

Yan Hui immediately took it, but stood there without leaving, pursing her lips, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Consort Shu looked up at her. "What is it?"

"Your Majesty, this bracelet—" Yan Hui felt she had truly been bewitched, and the words slipped out uncontrollably, "It's only harmful to the body, not fatal. With proper care in the future..."

Under Consort Shu's gaze, her voice grew softer and softer until she finally knelt down, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I misunderstood."

"Yan Hui, Hui Rong is my only child, she is my life!" Consort Shu stared at her, her voice unusually cold and hard. "Anyone who harms the princess will not be spared, including myself. Do you understand?"

(End of this chapter)