Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 143 Cao Zhengchun takes the blame, Lu Xiaofeng returns

"The Death of the Grandmaster!"

"The fall of the mysterious Taoist Baisun!"

"Uncover the secrets of the ancient magic longevity technique!"

Ming Dynasty, in the imperial palace.

The young emperor looked at the three newspapers in his hands.

One of them is from Jianghu Monthly, and the other two are from Southern Waiting Magazine.

The death of the Grand Master is a big news, enough to make Jianghu Monthly spend a lot of effort to report it. Although it may not be spread throughout the country, it is still reasonable to publish it in several countries at the same time.

The great master, Taoist Baisun, died in the Sui Dynasty, but he was once a great enemy of the Ming Dynasty and had cooperated with the Yuan Dynasty.

Therefore, this time, the report on this incident in Jianghu Monthly was directly transmitted to the Three Kingdoms.

The Southern Hou Daily followed closely and reported on the matter.

Although it was not able to report the incident directly like Jianghu Monthly, it still bought a lot of money to dig into the history of Baisun Taoist and Changsheng Jue to gain popularity.

Emperor Minghuang put down the newspaper in his hand and said, "I didn't expect that a great master would die not long ago. However, if I remember correctly, the great master, Taoist Baisun, should have been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. How could he suddenly run off to the Sui Kingdom?"

Power nourishes people.

Although it was less than a year, the Ming Emperor had already gained the final say over memorials since he took back power, and subsequently gradually gained control of the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The increase in power made the Emperor Minghuang's aura more oppressive.

Although he was a teenager, these simple words had already made Cao Zhengchun sweat.

"This old slave is innocent!"

Cao Zhengchun complained, "No one is allowed to enter the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison, and no one is allowed to have any contact with the prisoners there. This old servant has always strictly followed the rules, and I really don't know about this matter!"

He was truly wronged.

No one is allowed to enter the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison. The prisoners imprisoned there are starved to death in this way!

Even in recent decades, the road from the eighth level to the ninth level of the Heavenly Prison has been blocked.

How can I keep an eye on the situation on the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison if I can’t even go there?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wusi, who was standing next to him, said angrily: "The rules of the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison were set by Taizu. So, according to what you said, is Taizu to blame for this matter?"

Cao Zhengchun knelt down quickly: "I didn't mean that... I made a mistake! I made a mistake!"

"Hmph!" The Emperor snorted coldly, "Since you know you've made a mistake, why don't you slap me in the face?"

"Yes Yes!"

Cao Zhengchun quickly slapped his mouth.

It seemed humiliating, but he also understood that the Emperor Minghuang was using this opportunity to cover up the matter.

A slap in the face means punishment.

Naturally, there is no need for any other punishment.

Zhu Wusi saluted and said, "Your Majesty, Cao Zhengchun received the imperial order and went to Wudang Mountain as a special envoy of the court. However, the Yuan Kingdom seized the opportunity and assassinated Master Zhang's disciple, which directly led to the outbreak of a great master war between our Ming Kingdom and the Yuan Kingdom decades later.

Your Majesty is merciful and, considering Cao Zhengchun's hard work and great achievements, has only given him a light punishment. But Cao Zhengchun has committed this serious mistake again in just a few months. I beg Your Majesty to punish him!"

"Zhu Wusi! You are slandering me!"

Cao Zhengchun was furious and said quickly, "Your Majesty is wise. You must not listen to slanderous words!"

"This..." The Emperor Minghuang hesitated.

Although he has gradually gained some power, he still appears very weak when facing the huge forces that Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wusi have built up over the years.

Therefore, he naturally wanted to continue to maintain the balance of competition between the two and look for opportunities.

Therefore, he was naturally hesitant about how to deal with Cao Zhengchun.

Seeing this, Zhu Wusi said, "Your Majesty! This matter has spread to all countries through the Jianghu Monthly News. Whether it is for the people or for all countries, there must be an explanation!"

Cao Zhengchun's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

Sometimes, making a mistake is not the problem, but who should take the responsibility is the problem!
Zhu Wusi has already pointed out that an explanation must be given to all countries and the people of the world regarding this matter.

After all, everyone knows that Taoist Baisun was captured and imprisoned by the Ming Dynasty.

Although they were unlikely to know that this person was imprisoned on the ninth floor of the Heavenly Prison, it was enough to know this.

However, at this time, Taoist Baisun died in the Sui Dynasty.

This also means that the Ming Dynasty may have lost control of Taoist Baisun a long time ago.

That's a great master!

And he is a grandmaster who has hatred towards the Ming Dynasty!
He actually ran away like this and no one knew about it!
This matter is too serious.

What if this grandmaster did not go to the Sui Dynasty and die, but stayed in the Ming Dynasty to take revenge?
By the time this matter is discovered, I'm afraid there will be fewer kings, princes, generals and ministers in the Ming Dynasty!

Even the emperor, the emperor's uncle, and even the empress dowager are in danger of their lives!
How could no one be held responsible for such a major incident?

Although strictly speaking, this matter was actually a loophole in the rules established by Taizu when he built the Tianlao.

But as Zhu Wusi just said, can this matter be blamed on Taizu?

No!

I can only find someone to take the blame right now.

Since its establishment, the East Factory has been stationed near the Heavenly Prison, and even the floors above the Heavenly Prison are controlled by the East Factory.

In this case, Cao Zhengchun is naturally the best scapegoat.

The same logic applies to what happened on Zhang Sanfeng’s 100th birthday.

That birthday celebration was jointly held by the imperial court and Wudang Mountain, but the two Xuanming Elders kidnapped Zhang Wuji.

Who is responsible?

Return to Wudang Mountain?

Of course that's impossible.

Naturally, Cao Zhengchun, the imperial envoy, had to take the blame.

However, the final result of that incident was that Zhang Sanfeng fought with the Yuan Dynasty's grandmaster and won.

The final result was good, so although Cao Zhengchun took the blame, he was only given a minor punishment and a stern warning.

But this time it's different.

The grandmaster who was imprisoned in his own home escaped without his knowledge.

This is a very embarrassing thing.

As the person taking the blame, you will have to pay a real price this time.

The Emperor Minghuang thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.

His eyes gradually became colder and colder.

Needless to say, Cao Zhengchun was very good at reading people's expressions and he noticed the change in the emperor's eyes in an instant.

My heart sank.

It seems that this time, the emperor is serious about it.

As expected, the emperor sternly declared, "Cao Zhengchun, you neglected your duties, causing a serious criminal from the Heavenly Prison to escape. This crime is unforgivable and you are immediately dismissed from all your positions. However... considering that you have made no contributions over the years, despite your hard work, I will spare your life and demote you to a ninth-rank eunuch, allowing you to remain in the palace."

Cao Zhengchun felt relieved.

I'm glad I'm not dead...

As long as you are not dead, there is still a chance!

Besides, the emperor still needed to check and balance Zhu Wusi and Pei Ju. Perhaps the emperor himself also meant this, so he only dismissed him from his position but did not take his life.

He immediately kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Zhu Wusi secretly thought it was a pity.

But being able to achieve this is already great.

If we continue to pursue the matter, we might even anger the emperor.

He did not pursue the victory, but saluted and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

The news of Cao Zhengchun's dismissal spread like the wind throughout the capital, and then throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Although he did not die, he was demoted to a small ninth-rank eunuch. It can be said that he worked hard for decades, but was finally returned to the time when he entered the palace.

Countless civil and military officials were waiting to see the joke.

Unfortunately, when they went to court, they never saw Cao Zhengchun, so they didn't have the opportunity to make a fool of themselves.

However, those who are truly scheming understand that dethronement does not mean death!

As long as Cao Zhengchun is still alive, it means he still has a chance!
And, the chances are great.

Besides, even if Cao Zhengchun has lost his power, he still has a lot of military power!

The pure and powerful Tiangang Boy's Kung Fu has few rivals below the Grand Master!
Just relying on his martial arts skills, he is not someone who can be bullied and humiliated by anyone.

But soon, not many people paid attention to this matter.

Because August 15th is coming soon.

Pei Mansion.

"Hey, Lao Lu, you're finally back!"

Inside Qianjin Pavilion, Zhou Ming looked at Lu Xiaofeng who came to visit and greeted him with a smile.

"came back!"

Lu Xiaofeng also responded with a smile: "That fellow Ximen is about to fight with Ye Gucheng, so of course I have to come back."

"You guys caused a big trouble when you went out." Zhou Ming said with a smile.

Lu Xiaofeng nodded: "It's okay, just a small matter..."

Zhou Ming took out a copy of Jianghu Monthly and pointed to a paragraph on the back. He said, "It's really a trivial matter. It won't even make the front page of Jianghu Monthly."

Lu Xiaofeng said helplessly, "How could I have imagined that so many things have happened recently? Compared with the birth of the magic sword and the death of the Grandmaster, what I experienced is really not worth mentioning."

Zhou Ming said, "However, Jianghu Monthly lacks space to record it in detail. This is my chance. Let's go to the garden and tell you in detail so I can include it in the novel."

"it is good!"

The two of them got up and prepared to go to the garden.

Suddenly, with a meow, a calico cat jumped from the pavilion into Zhou Ming's arms, stretched out its claws and hooked directly onto his clothes.

A white shadow flew over.

Xiao Longnu looked at Zhou Ming curiously: "Brother Changping, Huahua has been very attached to you recently? Why?"

"Maybe I've become more charming recently!"

In fact, it was because Zhou Ming successfully cultivated the secret of immortality, and his aura was closer to nature.

Animals do not have such high intelligence, but they have higher perception than humans.

Only towards Zhou Ming, who was as natural as ever, did he show a closer attitude than before.

However, unless one is a grandmaster, humans cannot perceive this change.

and so……

"Charming?" Xiao Longnu looked at him seriously and shook her head, "Not really."

"Poof!" Zhou Ming pretended to spit out blood: "Long'er, I'm so sad when you say that!"

"You didn't." Xiaolongnu grabbed the calico cat, held it in her arms, and turned away.

Lu Xiaofeng had long known that Xiaolongnu was emotionally indifferent, so he didn't find it strange that she didn't even say hello to him.

"Do you guys from the Tomb Clan know about that?"

"Oh, don't mention it. Grandma Sun was almost sick from being angry... I had to persuade them with all my might and not let them go back."

Lu Xiaofeng nodded. "Ever since the Ice Soul Sword disappeared, many people in the martial arts world suspect it has returned to the hands of the Ancient Tomb Sect. I'm afraid many people are looking for them right now. Staying with you will at least guarantee their safety."

Zhou Ming shook his head helplessly. "I don't know when this matter will be settled. And even if it is settled, now that everyone knows where the Tomb Sect is, it's no longer suitable for them... Let's stop talking about it. Let me tell you about you. What exactly happened on your side?"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "My story starts with that stingy guy Sikong Zhaixing..."

The two of them made a bet, and he lost. Naturally, he was unwilling to dig earthworms.

He originally just wanted to delay it, but he didn't expect Sikong Zhaixing to be so unethical that he announced it publicly in the martial arts world, saying that Lu Xiaofeng lost to him and refused to admit it.

Lu Xiaofeng had no choice but to actually go dig for earthworms.

It happened that at that time, Master Bitter Melon held a vegetarian banquet, and after digging up earthworms, he hurried to attend.

At this vegetarian banquet, he was provoked by Jin Jiuling and agreed to help Jin Jiuling capture someone.

Jin Jiuling was the chief constable of the Six Gates, but he had retired from the Six Gates some time ago and served as the chief steward of the Prince of Pingnan's Palace.

But something happened at this time.

In recent months, a thief called embroidery thief has appeared in the world. It is said that he is a big man in red clothes who always blocks the middle of the road embroidering.

If there was an escort company or a caravan carrying important goods, he would block them on the road, then blind the guards' eyes with the embroidery needle in his hand and rob the goods.

In just a few months, he had committed dozens of crimes.

The stolen goods even included the property of the Prince of Pingnan’s Palace.

The former steward of the Prince of Pingnan's Palace actually encountered the Embroidery Thief and had his eyes embroidered. He became blind and had to retire.

This is why Jin Jiuling took office as the general manager.

However, Jin Jiuling also felt that this matter was tricky. He happened to have met Lu Xiaofeng at the Hua family's birthday party, and his senior brother was Master Bitter Melon.

So, he teamed up with his senior brother and provoked Lu Xiaofeng at the vegetarian banquet to make him agree to help.

Later, Lu Xiaofeng met Ye Gucheng, the swordsmanship teacher of Prince Pingnan, at Prince Pingnan's Mansion!

Ye Gucheng was very interested when he learned that he was very familiar with Ximen Chuxue, and couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

Lu Xiaofeng didn't think too much about it at the time, so he answered casually.

But what he never expected was that it was these few short answers that made Ye Gucheng extremely interested in Ximen Chuxue and thus challenged Ximen Chuxue.

This is how the battle on the purple gold peak on the full moon night that has caused a sensation in the martial arts world!
If he had known that this day would come, Lu Xiaofeng probably wouldn't have talked to Ye Gucheng any more no matter what he said.

Even today, Lu Xiaofeng still looks regretful when talking about this matter.

"There are few geniuses and masters in the world. Ximen Chuxue and Ye Gucheng are both top swordsmanship geniuses. Even if you weren't there, they would have met at the top sooner or later!"

Zhou Ming consoled him, "When that time comes, there will definitely be a battle between the two top swordsmen. There will be no need for you to say anything in the middle."

"What you said... does make some sense."

Lu Xiaofeng grabbed the wine jug and drank half of it in one gulp, as if he wanted to mix all his sorrows and worries into the wine and drink it into his stomach.

Putting down the wine jug, he seemed to have let go of everything.

He turned back into the same Lu Xiaofeng as before.

Then, he began to talk about what happened next with great excitement.

(End of this chapter)