The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 589 A Secret Maneuver, Setting Fires Everywhere

The first year of Jian'an, that blood-red January passed swiftly amidst countless families being torn apart and lives lost, the court in a state of utter chaos, and the people filled with resentment.

Although the greatest calamity of the dynasty, the plague of corpse poison, is now under control, this epidemic is unprecedented and terrifying, creating immense panic and creating the greatest crisis since the founding of the Great Dan. Although the court later actively treated the plague and saved lives, many people know that at the beginning, the emperor wanted to control the plague by burning the poisoned, and did not come up with an effective way to treat the plague.

It was the ninth young lady from the Lang family of the Marquis of Kaiping in Wujing. She had once attained enlightenment through the Golden Lotus. A female Daoist named Qingyi rescued the person from under the torches of the imperial envoy. She also developed a medicine to cure the corpse poison and drew many spiritual talismans as medicinal guides. Although this plague eventually killed many people, it was a great relief compared to large-scale deaths or turmoil.

Lang Jiuchuan's kindness and merits are remembered by the world. Some people erected a longevity tablet for her, and Guanjiang Village, which was the first to be affected, even built a small shrine for her. It was built by the villagers of Guanjiang and those she had treated, brick by brick, with the most devout hearts, with pure and deep faith and devotion.

Her reputation for good deeds was amplified by those with ulterior motives, and her fame reached its peak.

In stark contrast to her soaring fame, the Imperial Preceptor's reputation plummeted. Throughout the entire plague outbreak, the Imperial Preceptor, as the protector of the nation, avoided going out, claiming to be in seclusion to pray for blessings. But compared to the many Taoist priests who personally participated in treating the plague and saving lives, what did that prayer for blessings amount to?

The eyes of the world are discerning. When they were mired in the mire, it was the Taoist priests, doctors, and even imperial soldiers who were working hard to brew medicine to save people, striving for a day or two. Can prayer make the corpse poison disappear?
Therefore, although it did not amount to cursing, the credibility of the Imperial Advisor and even the new emperor was significantly reduced.

One voice even claimed that the national calamity was personally orchestrated by the imperial advisor to practice evil arts, but this claim was unverifiable and unreliable, so it was quickly suppressed. However, it did plant a small seed in the hearts of some people.

The negative news brought about by the corpse plague was a great annoyance to the new emperor, especially after the death toll was tallied, which gave him a splitting headache.

The large number of deaths was bad enough, but to prevent them from turning into evil spirits, the bodies had to be manually beheaded and burned. This was unacceptable to many people who believed in the importance of burial. Although they knew this was the only right way, they couldn't accept it psychologically and could only vent their anger by cursing the new emperor for being unworthy of his position and the national advisor for being blind to choose such a useless person who was even worse than the previous emperor, leading to widespread suffering in Dadan.

The new emperor felt wronged, saying that he had done nothing but bring trouble upon himself in the six months since he ascended the throne!
What's even more troubling is that the plague of corpses was just coming to an end, and some people had not yet recovered when, in February, an ominous landslide occurred out of nowhere. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured, but it destroyed the estate of a wealthy merchant.

However, after the landslide, a town witnessed a scene of thousands of rats scurrying through the night, followed by a minor earthquake. Unusual natural disasters occurred frequently in various places, and monsters wreaked havoc, causing widespread panic.

This wave has barely subsided before another one rises; is this really not divine retribution?

In the streets and alleys, people were discussing how the frequent natural disasters were caused by the royal family offending the heavens, leading to instability in the nation's fortunes. Some even went so far as to tear down and burn the statues and temples of the imperial advisor, demanding that the new emperor issue an edict of self-reproach.

"According to you, although it wasn't explicitly stated, the rumors have already spread."

Inside the Tongtian Pavilion, A Piao respectfully reported to Lang Jiuchuan, her gaze falling on her little nine-tower. She had actually dragged her master into this; she was really something.

The natural disasters and rumors circulating in various places are all orchestrated and fueled by them in secret, with the aim of undermining the credibility of the Imperial Advisor and the royal family. Lang Jiuchuan knows that Tantai Wuji's ability to steal and nourish himself from countless sources of fortune largely depends on the support of the people's faith and will. This is both his source of energy and the foundation upon which he is revered as a god. She cannot cause these beliefs and wills to collapse all at once, so she can only shake them slowly, just like how she punctured a hole in the imperial tomb to leak fortune.

If he wavers even slightly, he will suffer the backlash of his willpower, and once his faith completely collapses, the backlash will be even stronger and more unstoppable.

She wanted to interfere with his cultivation and cause cracks in his foundation of power, making him exhausted and overwhelmed. This was the best strategy to win his heart.

But these superficial opinions alone are not enough. He must feel real pressure to control his energy and keep him preoccupied so that she can bomb his imperial tomb, dig up his grave, crush his bones, and scatter his ashes. This will also weaken his power. Even if he arrives, it will be of no use.

Otherwise, how could she fight against these countless old ghosts who had absorbed countless energies?
Raising her prestige serves two purposes: first, to increase her influence, and second, to protect her family with her power. The greater her reputation, the more the royal family or others will fear her and dare not attack the Lang family.

“That’s not enough. Attack all the temples and shrines that enshrine the statue of the National Preceptor. As for the extreme henchmen, so be it. You and Fuqi will each lead a team and mobilize the Che, but do not harm the common people or the innocent.” Lang Jiuchuan said, “As for Canglan Temple, I will go there myself.”

She wants to set fires everywhere and cause trouble on all sides.

Fu Qi hesitated for a moment and said, "There must be something fishy about this. If we stir up trouble everywhere, won't it arouse his suspicion? One incident might be a coincidence, but two or more might not be. And since they are all attacks that weaken the Grand Preceptor's power, it might backfire and make the people think that it is targeting the Grand Preceptor. Their support for him will only increase."

"Don't worry, we won't hurt anyone, we'll just create panic. Most importantly, we can sever his tentacles one by one." Lang Jiuchuan laughed. "He's very arrogant. Before, when I used the Corpse Demon to use the 'Hitting a Cow Through a Mountain' technique, causing him to backfire, it was also an expression of my anger. He also knows my temperament and will only think that I did this to vent my anger over the Corpse Demon's chaos, causing some harmless trouble, even if these troubles really do tie up his energy and disturb his cultivation. As long as he doesn't realize my true intentions, he'll play along with me slowly."

But these troublesome obstacles can really distract him and even backfire.

When his faith is damaged and his mind is disturbed by the backlash of his will, that will be the best time to strike at his heart.

She didn't intend to kill the old monster in one fell swoop, nor was she greedy. She would first grind him to dust and ruin his plans, and that would be half the revenge for his death.

All her seemingly childish tantrums and childish antics are merely attempts to protect herself and weaken his power, making it easier to dig up his grave later.

She couldn't dig out the remains without alerting him at all; she could only try to increase the chances of survival, which was so slim. If she couldn't, then it was fate against her!
Lang Jiuchuan stood up, his eyes gleaming: "It's a dark and windy night, everyone disperse, let's go play with fire!"

(End of this chapter)