Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 101 The One-Eyed Stone Man, Prisoner of Fate

'What exactly happened? I only remember that in order to deal with the imperial envoy coming to investigate the case, I gave Pu Shouying a precious Dragon Pearl to set up the Nine Dragons Spitting Pearl Formation.'

The spirit that was separated from the Dragon Ball has returned successfully, and a Nine Provinces Order Talisman also brought back a lot of dragon energy.

But what about my huge Dragon Ball?

The Wufengqi and Shanhaihui had been blocking the gentry faction from occupying Yuegang for several months, and I was prepared for a conflict this time.

But what happened next? Did the Dragon Balls enter the earth's ley lines? Did they encounter enemies? And where did they end up being lost?

Pu Shouying, you good-for-nothing and more trouble-making thing, you lost my Dragon Pearl, how can I, a fourth-rank [Dragon's Blood], ride the wind and transform into a dragon?

You're absolutely despicable!

With the "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang" tactic in effect, most people, except for Wang Cheng and the core participants, had forgotten the specific details of what happened.

In particular, Han Wugui, the crown prince of Guangze, although he swore to avenge the great grudge against those who blocked his way, not only forgot the names of everyone who had opposed him.

He even forgot the line, "I will remember you all and will never let any of you go."

The scene became somewhat awkward after the accusation was made in front of the White Scale Guards.

"Ok?"

The commander on the other side, Lu Yi, has personally visited several princes and members of the imperial family in the past few days.

Compared to those wicked and domineering members of the royal family, Han Wugui was a rare exception and could be considered a normal person. I had a fairly good impression of him.

However, Han Wugui's unusual behavior at this moment still made the Heavenly Official [Martial Judge] narrow his eyes slightly, his penetrating [Xiezhi Fayan] staring intently at the other party.

"Your Highness, please tell me the name of that wanted criminal."

Even though Han Wugui had killed countless people since taking office as [Dragon's Blood] in order to seize the dragon's energy, and believed that he could remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed, he was still somewhat at a loss at this moment, feeling that the situation was out of his control.

In a moment of urgency, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he blurted out:
"Pu Shouying! The person I want to expose is none other than the Semu merchant Pu Shouying!"

After discovering that the secrets hidden by history had been passed on to him, a relevant party, Han Moo-kyu's subsequent words flowed smoothly.

"I remember now. This man is ostensibly one of the eight major ship captains in Yuegang, but he only engages in smuggling. However, he has close ties with many officials in Minzhou."
His Pu family has committed countless crimes over the years, including killing members of the Zhao Song imperial family and massacring Chinese people.
They then occupied Quanzhou Port for hundreds of years under three dynasties, and no one noticed.

I suspect that the imperial court received intelligence that someone was plotting a rebellion, and he must be the mastermind!

With the precedent of the Ning Prince being stripped of his title and state, which of us members of the imperial clan has not kept in mind the Emperor's boundless grace and upheld the law? How could we dare to commit such a heinous act as rebellion?

I believe that those who are not of my kind must have different hearts, and such criminals should be exterminated along with their entire families.

I will not only expose the Pu family, but also impeach the local officials for their dereliction of duty and negligence!

He finished speaking with righteous indignation, delivering the speech in one breath.

He seems to have been a patriotic and benevolent prince of the Great Zhao Dynasty from the very beginning, and even when faced with misunderstanding and hostility from the White Scale Guards, he still spoke out for justice and exposed the scourge.

Throughout the process, his micro-expressions shifted smoothly without revealing the slightest flaw, making one marvel at his profound mastery of Machiavellian tactics.

Commander Lu Yi's face betrayed no emotion; he simply cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.
"I am already aware of the Pu family's past, and I will investigate it myself later."

After saying that, he stood up and said goodbye.

Before leaving, he left one last meaningful sentence:
"His Majesty has ordered me to deliver a special oral decree to the current Prince Guangze and his heir."

You must take the first King Guangze as a warning, be content with your lot, and focus on ensuring the continuation of this bloodline. Then wealth and honor will naturally follow.

"According to the order!"

Han Wugui bowed respectfully to the emperor in the north, but inwardly he sneered.

Outsiders might be confused by these words and not know what the emperor meant, but how could he, as the next Prince of Guangze, not know?
"Hmph, even the dignified ruler of the state fears the will of Heaven. He wants to use our lineage of Emperor Xiaokang to break the deadlock, but he is also worried about being devoured by us."

Little did they know that what is fake will always remain fake.

You prisoners of the Zhu family's destiny are incapable of rebuilding the world, so let us 'unexpected people' do it!

Their Han family ancestors were all leaders of the Mingwang Sect (also known as the White Lotus Sect) for generations, and they devoted themselves to the cause of rebellion for over a thousand years.

Until the end of the previous Yunmeng Empire, they unexpectedly unearthed a divinely ordained talisman, the "One-Eyed Stone Man."

He proclaimed: "Don't say the stone man has only one eye; he can stir up the turbid river and cause the world to rebel."

He rose to power and conquered the world by relying on his elite followers and a group of river workers from the Zhuohe River.

Seventeen years later, Emperor Taizu Han Lin, holding a one-eyed stone figure in his left hand and the Imperial Seal of the State in his right, ascended to the supreme and noble position of the ruler of the state.

What is not recorded in historical records is that Emperor Taizu Han Lin escaped the fate of drowning in the Guabu River and subdued the general Liao Yongzhong who was escorting him.

He also used the talisman "One-Eyed Stone Man" to launch a sneak attack on Zhu Shiliu, the King of Wu, who had almost conquered the world but had not yet truly ascended to the throne.

They seamlessly inherited the favorable situation from the King of Wu and also stole the dynasty's destiny, which could theoretically last for sixteen emperors.

The descendants of the royal family could only guess that their own "One-Eyed Stone Man" should possess the power of backstabbing and usurpation, but few had ever seen its true form. Many people suspected that this treasure could only be used once.

Zhu Yaozhai, the current head of the Zhu family of the Nanyang Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office, and also Wang Cheng's uncle, once told him:

"Emperor Han Lin of the Great Zhao Dynasty seized the empire that was almost ready to be built, and also took away most of the destiny of the Zhu family." This is the story (Chapter 13).

Therefore, all the history of the rise and fall of the Great Zhao Dynasty over the years is nothing but stolen property!
The Han imperial family has consistently replaced the Zhu family, playing the roles they should have played in history—the number of sons they had, their lifespans, the number of years they reigned as emperor, and the reasons for their deaths were all exact replicas. But is it really possible to steal the Mandate of Heaven for the throne without paying any price?

As the supreme ruler of the land, would he willingly spend his entire life merely as a mirror image of the Zhu family, a prisoner of destiny?

Some members of the imperial clan lived a life of decadence and debauchery, while others dreamed of defying the fate of the Zhu family and creating their own history.

Among them, the one with the strongest will was none other than Han Lin, the Great Zhao Emperor who stole the Mandate of Heaven!
"Emperor Taizu was also a ruthless character. In order to disrupt the will of Heaven, he voluntarily shortened his own lifespan to marry his own crown prince, forcibly supporting his eldest son, who was also my ancestor, to ascend the throne as Emperor Xiaokang."

Whether it was a backlash from fate or a problem with the rituals, Emperor Xiaokang fell ill shortly after ascending the throne, leaving Empress Lü and the Crown Prince to govern.

In the fourth year of Emperor Xiaokang's reign, a sensational phenomenon occurred in the Zhuohe River basin: the Zhuohe Ghost Coffin leaped over the Dragon Gate. Emperor Xiaokang then passed away, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne.

With the struggle against destiny failing, the history of the Great Zhao Dynasty seemed to have returned to normal.

Unfortunately, this new emperor is still not my ancestor.

Thinking of this, Han Wugui felt a surge of resentment that he couldn't confide in anyone.

At that time, the ancestor of the Prince of Guangze was originally the eldest son of the legitimate wife who had a powerful maternal family, but he became the second son of the legitimate wife after the Crown Princess Lü was promoted to the position of legitimate wife, thus missing out on the throne.

He was initially enfeoffed as the Prince of Wu, but was later demoted to the rank of Prince of a Commandery by the newly enthroned Emperor Taizong. He was then sent to Minzhou to govern the state and placed under house arrest.

"Originally, the Imperial Observatory calculated that Emperor Xiaokang and my lineage of Prince Guangze should have ended and returned to the destiny of the Zhu family."

Unexpectedly, perhaps it was the great-great-grandfather's act of defying fate that brought about a glimmer of hope, and actually allowed a bloodline to be successfully passed down.

That is, us, the unexpected ones.

And we, the Han family, are the most likely to break free from the shackles of fate!

As the crown prince of Guangze, Han Wugui was born with the mission of breaking free from the Zhu family's destiny, and this obsession was deeply ingrained in his bones.

This capacity to "defy fate" is no less than that of Pu Shouying, who was preparing for the founding of the nation, and Wang Cheng and his son, who wanted to break the sea ban and quell the sea waves.

The "Nine Dragons Spitting Pearls" scheme and the chaos in the East China Sea are merely manifestations of the combined obsessions and conflicts among the three parties.

The truth beneath the surface is far more complex than outsiders perceive.

As for how this Crown Prince of Guangze was able to build such a vast network of relationships and influence under the strict surveillance of not being able to leave his house, that is not something outsiders can know.

Alone, he returned to his room, sat at his desk, and began to scribble and draw haphazardly with a pen.

Thinking about destiny, the throne, and his abruptly ended path, his mind became increasingly chaotic, and he felt that he had forgotten another important thing.

"The ultimate goal of our lineage of King Guangze in changing the destiny is to ascend the throne ourselves."

At the very least, we should follow the example of the Southern Song Dynasty and return the power usurped by the collateral branches to our main branch, which was left by Emperor Xiaokang.

My family name is Yun, Wen, Zun, Zu, Xun, Qin, Wu, Da, Jun, Sheng; his family name is Gao, Zhan, Qi, Jian, You, Hou, Zai, Yi, Chang, You.

You can tell who the royal heir is just by hearing their generational names!

This time, my fundamental power in the officialdom was not damaged; sacrificing some minor officials to protect the king was the best I could do.

I also have that big ship captain from Wufeng Banner as an ally. Whether we can settle things in Minzhou depends on our respective methods. We'll see.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and a beautiful woman with striking features and an exotic air walked in carrying a tea tray.

Seeing Han Wugui's worried expression, she smiled charmingly, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and slowly knelt under the table in front of him.

Fifteen minutes later, Han Wu-gui entered a period of spiritual clarity, free from all distractions.

He looked down at the beautiful woman kneeling obediently before him and finally remembered that she was Pu Shouying's daughter, who had been secretly sent to the palace as a concubine as part of the cooperation between the two parties.

He had even fathered a son with this alluring concubine, and to save face for Pu Shouying, he allowed the child to join a Western heretical sect.

Of course, it is also reasonable to infer that Pu Shouying was very likely to have ill intentions towards him.

His own affairs are a matter for later; we can talk about them then.

What needs to be done now is to sever all ties with the Pu family as soon as possible.

Click!

He held the beauty's head affectionately, then suddenly twisted it forcefully, snapping her neck. The smile on the beauty's face instantly froze.

He threw the limp corpse to the ground and stomped his foot to summon the two officers and soldiers from the Nine Provinces Order Register.

"Quickly dispose of the body properly."

"promise."

Then he pulled out a sword from the wall and strode towards the backyard where children's voices were coming from.

Don't blame me.

The Pu family is a cesspool right now. I just dealt with the White Scale Guards, and I absolutely cannot let them get on me now.

Moreover, even if I achieve great things in the future, I cannot leave behind a descendant who could affect the bloodline of the imperial family. Sooner or later, I will kick the Pu family out.

"We couldn't have kept a single one in the first place."

(End of this chapter)