Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 11 Trouble comes from the mouth
Wang Yizhi sensed the sarcasm in his words, and a look of surprise flashed across his face: "My lord, you should still be careful what you say."

Lu Chenyuan turned to look at him and laughed, "What? Even the princess's male favorite has to worry about being framed?"

Wang Yizhi looked up at him: "Be careful. The Wang family of Taiyuan has been a family for thousands of years. Wasn't their daughter also forcibly married by Lai Junchen? They could only swallow this humiliation! Because behind him is the Martial Emperor. No matter how powerful the princess is, she is no greater than the Martial Emperor."

Lu Chenyuan stroked his chin: "I heard that Lai Junchen was just a street thug?"

Wang Yizhi said indifferently, "Perhaps heroes don't care about their origins."

"Hahaha……"

Lu Chenyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Wang Yizhi remained expressionless.

Lu Chenyuan coughed and said strangely, "Haven't you heard the saying, 'When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked'?"

Wang Yizhi sneered: "If all the dogs are dead, how can we defend against wolves? They won't all die; one or two will have to be left to guard the house!"

This is true.

After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, she immediately found fault and killed Qiu Shenji and Zhou Xingping, which angered the public. However, she kept Lai Junchen alive for seven years. During this time, Lai Junchen helped her with many things and killed many people. Afterwards, she killed Lai Junchen and promoted Di Renjie as her figurehead. She was once again a wise ruler who "severely punished cruel officials and promoted virtuous and talented people".

Lu Chenyuan shook his head and said, "Your seventh-rank official position is related to Lai Junchen?"

Wang Yizhi remained silent.

Lu Chenyuan continued, "Now that we have a ready-made handle, why not give it a try?"

"It's no use!"

Wang Yizhi sneered: "In the fourth year of the Chuigong era, Lai Junchen accepted bribes totaling 30,000 taels of gold. He was exposed and reported by the censor Ji Luzhong, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Emperor Wu pardoned him and demoted him to a commoner. He was reinstated three months later. Later, he was demoted to military advisor in Tongzhou for illegal activities. In Tongzhou, he forced and seized the wife of a fellow military advisor and raped her mother. He was demoted again. He was reinstated six months later and promoted to Palace Attendant."

In August of the first year of the Zaichu era, Lai Junchen falsely accused General Zhang Qianxu and his envoy Fan Yunxian. Unable to bear the injustice, Zhang Qianxu appealed to Xu Yougong. Lai Junchen then orchestrated Zhang Qianxu's death by hacking to pieces. Fan Yunxian claimed to have served the late emperor; Lai Junchen ordered his tongue to be cut out. Both men died instantly, and Empress Wu ignored the accusations… What are these minor transgressions now? They probably won't even reach the Censorate!

Wang Yizhi spoke faster and faster, his face full of mockery and sorrow.

Lu Chenyuan was silent for a moment: "Didn't the Martial Emperor set up a copper box? We can speak frankly and try our luck."

"You've really surprised me, sir."

Wang Yizhi squinted, observing the expression on his face: "Are you testing me? In March, on the day of Wushen, the Empress Dowager ordered bronze boxes to be cast and placed in the court to receive memorials from all over the country. The east side was called 'Yan En' (Extending Grace), for those who submitted poems and sought official advancement; the south side was called 'Zhao Jian' (Summoning Advice), for those who spoke of the gains and losses of the government; the west side was called 'Shen Yuan' (Seeking Justice), for those who had been wronged; and the north side was called 'Tong Xuan' (Understanding the Mysteries), for those who spoke of celestial phenomena, disasters, and secret military plans. It was ordered that [one person be in charge of the 'Zheng Jian,' 'Bu Que,' or 'Shi Yi,' and that the officials in charge be held accountable before the memorials were allowed to be submitted]. Let alone whether this memorial impeaching Lai Junchen could be sent in under the nose of the official in charge, even if it were sent in, what use would it be?!"

Wasn't it this Empress Wu who unleashed Junchen, this mad dog, to bite people?
Her Majesty the Empress says she's open to criticism and welcomes reports and accusations, but with real names—I welcome posts praising me and information that helps me mess with others. Let's see who the hell dares to say anything bad about me!
When Lu Chenyuan was studying history, he thought Wu Zetian must have been a master of posing for photos. Look how ahead of her time she was!
Later generations only captured half of her story, selectively omitting the part about her using her real name, only mentioning that she opened the copper box to solicit advice widely, praising her wisdom in various ways, completely ignoring that those "advice" were actually fabricated accusations. Every time court officials went to court, they had to bid farewell to their families, because they didn't know if they would be able to return.

Lu Chenyuan sincerely admired that a cruel official could rule and indiscriminately kill innocent people, yet still gain such a reputation after death.

"Ugh."

Lu Chenyuan sighed and suddenly asked, "Is that your older sister or your younger sister?"

Wang Yizhi clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot: "My sister..."

Lu Chenyuan was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I also have a younger sister... Never mind, there's no use talking about this now. The most important thing is to focus on the present and solve the case first! The Yuan Guards are under the princess's command after all, so Lai Junchen's influence is limited. Xie Qianling doesn't seem like someone who just wants to suppress people. The fact that she's letting you act freely is also giving you a chance."

Wang Yizhi nodded: "I understand. You've really impressed me, sir!"

Lu Chenyuan continued to wander around the room, searching for clues: "Is there anything remarkable about this place?"

Wang Yizhi watched his retreating figure: "Who in the entire capital doesn't know that you became the princess's lover just because of your looks? Now it seems... the princess is much better at choosing male lovers than her mother!"

Lu Chenyuan laughed and said, "You just told me to be careful what I say, but you didn't mean it at all."

Wang Yizhi said solemnly, "This is the first and the last time. Now we each have something to hide, so we're even. Sir, please come with me."

He strode into the inner room. Lu Chenyuan was not surprised and followed him. He saw him rummaging through the old shelves. With a click, a mechanism sounded, the wall sank, revealing a hidden rope underneath. He pulled hard outwards, and the center of the bed suddenly sank.

Lu Chenyuan walked over, lifted the blankets, and saw the hidden cellar underneath.

Wang Yizhi rolled down, and Lu Chenyuan followed closely behind.

The two descended into the cellar and saw a bronze gate embedded in the wall directly opposite the steps. The gate had a mechanical lock with interlocking Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches forming a series of coded discs.

Wang Yizhi said, "Yu Suying is a female official in the inner court. Her family is under close surveillance by the neighborhood officials. Given their interactions with the neighbors, if she were to disappear into thin air, it would surely alert them. The Turks wanted to take her away in advance to blackmail her without disturbing the people in the neighborhood. The only way they could have done this was to secretly switch her with someone else. Ashina Yan is a master of disguise! The capital city is full of underground channels, and the most convenient way to transport people is through tunnels. I found this place after searching the house. Unfortunately, I don't know how to use mechanisms and can't open this [Thousand-Mechanism Lock]."

The Thousand-Mechanism Lock is a common combination lock in the martial arts world, but it is not easy to crack. It has 108 sets of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. If you don't know the secret code and can't put all the characters on the plate in the correct positions, you can't open it.

To unlock the lock without a combination, one needs exceptional spiritual sense to perceive the internal structure of the lock and, while rotating the lock discs, ensure that the notches on each disc are engaged with the steel key. However, once the rotation begins, all the discs will move at different speeds, so one must calculate the timing precisely, as the opportunity is fleeting!
Because of its exquisite craftsmanship, it is so powerful that even a fourth-level divine consciousness might not be able to open it, let alone a third-level one.

Of course, there's no need to open the four realms; just smash them open directly.

Lu Chenyuan was only at the second realm. He had neither the strength to forcefully break through nor the divine sense required to decipher it. However, he did not need to interpret it; he only needed to "see".

Lu Chenyuan observed with keen insight, focusing intently on the examination, and asked, "Have you checked all three rooms?"

Wang Yizhi replied, "Yes. Inside and out."

Lu Chenyuan nodded: "Then there's no need to look at it anymore."

Seeing that he had no doubt about his outcome, Wang Yizhi's goodwill towards him increased even more.

Lu Chenyuan stared intently at the lock plate, his attention gradually focusing, and the panel reappeared.

[Item: Thousand-Mechanism Lock]

Rank: Lower Fifth Rank

[Note: Geng 8, Gui 7, Zi 6, Yin 5, Wu 4, You 3, Chen 2, Ding 1.]

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are a code; numbers are time intervals.

Upon seeing the answer, Lu Chenyuan didn't rush to take action. Instead, he first rotated the disc to test the rotation speed and confirmed that the number referred to breathing before attempting to decipher it.

Wang Yizhi, standing beside him, watched his movements intently, showing no sign of disrespect.

It is widely rumored in the capital that this princess's lover is the descendant of a soldier, not particularly talented in martial arts or academics, and has no outstanding qualities except for his good looks. However, his actions this morning and this conversation made him feel that something was very unusual.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that he managed to find Yu Suyi's place shows that he is by no means a good-for-nothing.

Perhaps he really does have a way to unlock the lock...

Just as Wang Yizhi was having a change of heart, Lu Chenyuan began to act.

He first rotated the outermost disc, making the pointer point to the character "庚". With a crisp click, the steel key fell into place, and the entire combination lock came to life. All the discs began to rotate on their own, at different speeds.

From this moment on, the difficulty will increase exponentially!

Lu Chenyuan remained calm and swift, pausing for eight breaths before turning the second plate containing the character "Gui". After seven breaths, he turned the second plate containing the character "Zhuan", then the character "Yin", followed by the character "Wu", and so on, one after another, in time and order.

Click, click, click!

With a series of crisp clicks, the combination lock quickly returned to its original position!

Wang Yizhi's eyes gradually widened.

As the last character was corrected, Lu Chenyuan stopped, and with a loud bang, the door suddenly swung open!

(End of this chapter)