The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"It's Guo Juxia. Cao Zhengchun used Guo Juxia to exchange for Xiangyang so that he could focus on resisting foreign enemies and ignore internal affairs," Huang Rong reminded him.

"Master Guo? Master Guo is still alive?" Chu Luren showed some joy upon hearing this.

"Then you'll have to ask your secret agent Murong," Huang Rong said, rolling her eyes.

That's right, Murong Jiu has always had her own ideas and purposes, so she didn't even share this kind of secret with Chu Luren.

Instead, they used Guo Juxia to gain Cao Zhengchun's support!

With the living Guo Juxia, Cao Zhengchun had much more room to maneuver, and he became a great contributor to quelling the Xiangyang Rebellion, gaining even more influence in the court.

This naturally led more people to believe that "it was all Cao Zhengchun's conspiracy," and Murong the spy was also attributed to being an undercover agent of the Eastern Depot...

Murong Jiu was indeed recommended to be the Protector of the Dragon, and Cao Zhengchun did not expect that the emperor would agree immediately.

Cao Zhengchun realized that the emperor was not as easy to control as he had imagined, and he was eager to support someone else to control him!

On the surface, Murong Jiu was recommended by Cao Zhengchun, but at the same time, he also used his identity as a secret agent to win over the old staff of the Dragon Guard Manor and the number one manor in the world.

While it seemed that Shangguan Haitang and others would not buy it, they had won over many ordinary spies and retainers who were paid to eat.

Of course, Cao Zhengchun had already squeezed the Dragon Guard Manor dry, leaving Murong Junma with nothing...

However, Murong Jiu was not content to be subordinate to a eunuch. After becoming the new master of the Dragon Guard Manor, Murong Jiu seemed to follow Cao Zhengchun's lead, but secretly he joined forces with a group of ministers and members of the royal family. At the same time, he judged that the moment had come and mobilized the strength of the Murong family!

Throughout March, court officials who had been won over by the Eastern Depot submitted memorials praising Cao Zhengchun's achievements and bestowing upon him the title of "Nine Thousand Years Old"...

Over the course of a month, Cao Zhengchun declined the title three times, finally settling on the first day of the fourth lunar month to offer sacrifices to Heaven and inform his ancestors, and officially bestowing upon him the title of "Nine Thousand Years Old".

Cao Zhengchun also planned to wait until he became the Nine Thousand Years Old before showing that Divine Marquis his power and then killing him!

However, on the first day of the fourth month, nominally with the approval of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, Cao Zhengchun and his henchmen entered the palace through the Lizheng Gate to receive their titles, when the Lord of Murong Manor launched the coup...

The day before, Murong Jiu secretly released Cheng Shifei, who had been dismissed from his post and imprisoned. In the morning, the imperial guards guarding the palace gates had been replaced by his own people—those who usually ate, drank, gambled, and whored with Cheng Shifei.

For this battle, Murong Jiu went all out. Not to mention the retainers of Murong Manor, her eight sisters and brothers-in-law also joined directly or indirectly, showing that she had used every means at her disposal.

After Cao Zhengchun entered the palace, he was immediately sealed off between Lizheng Gate and Chongzheng Hall. Lord Murong read out his crimes and the imperial edict in public, and then a barrage of arrows was fired!

Cao Zhengchun's "Heavenly Gang Child Skill" is not to be underestimated; ordinary ambushes can no longer harm him. However, he is still no match for Murong Jiu and Cheng Shifei. Even in a one-on-one fight against either Cheng Shifei or Murong Jiu, Cao Zhengchun would lose more often than he would win, though he could hold out for a few more hours...

Chapter 996 The Third One

Meanwhile, Murong Jiu and Cheng Shifei, fighting two against one, managed to create an opportunity for Cheng Shifei to engage in a direct confrontation after thirty moves, breaking Cao Zhengchun's "Heavenly Gang Yuan Qi Shield"!

However, Cao Zhengchun later used the information about the last "Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom" as a bargaining chip, causing Cheng Shifei to give up killing him and even nearly launch a sneak attack to turn the tables.

Although Cheng Shifei was not on Shenhou's side, he secretly contacted Suxin several times because of Gu Santong's last words, and even recognized her as his godmother. He also learned about Tianxiang Doukou.

In order to save Su Xin's life with the third Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, Cheng Shifei persuaded Murong Jiu to imprison Cao Zhengchun.

Murong Jiu originally didn't want to agree, but Cheng Shifei was determined, so to avoid internal strife, she had no choice but to agree.

……

Then came the Song court's traditional skill: after the court officials used Murong Junma to defeat the eunuch, they also shelved the "Dragon Guard Manor".

Murong Jiu only received a nominal position of honor, while his actual power was severely suppressed.

Huang Rong was worried that she would gamble everything and get more and more involved, so she specially sent someone to write to her, advising her to keep a low profile and bide her time...

After Murong Junma and Commander Cheng quelled the rebellion, they were led by the nose by the court officials because one had no political sense and the other could only make wrong judgments.

The decision to detain Cao Zhengchun instead of killing him on the spot was originally suggested by the court officials, but afterwards it was completely seen as Cheng's "dictatorial decision."

Although the two remained the Grand Commander of the Imperial City Guard and the Protector of the Dragon, their authority was further reduced, and they were even forbidden from entering the palace and leaving the Imperial City...

Less than a month later, not long ago, the situation in Lin'an changed again.

Just as the court officials were still disagreeing and arguing about a series of matters, including Xiangyang, Cao Zhengchun, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, and the "two meritorious officials," the remnants of the Eastern Depot broke into the prison and rescued Cao Zhengchun!

In his indignation, Cao Zhengchun stormed into the palace. At the time, Murong Junma and Cheng Shifei were not in the palace due to the prohibition. Murong Jiu, in particular, after hearing the news, led his retainers and the retainers of Hulong Villa and Tianxia Diyi Zhuang, slowly approaching the palace, determined to profit from the chaos.

Just when things were at a critical juncture, with tigers entering through the front door and wolves lurking behind, Shenhou suddenly appeared and killed Cao Zhengchun on the spot...

Logically speaking, this was also a prison break for Shenhou, but... for some reason, the "remnants of the Eastern Depot" got involved with the Giant Whale Gang, which brought to light the suspicions of a series of events in Xiangyang.

The blame that led to Shenhou's imprisonment was immediately placed on Cao Zhengchun!

More importantly, if they were to take down the Divine Marquis now, they would be unable to stop the Murong Manor Lord from becoming too powerful.

Compared to a江湖汉 (jianghu han, a person of the martial arts world), the court officials preferred to deal with the Iron-Blooded Marquis. Although the Iron-Blooded Marquis's escape from prison without imperial decree was somewhat unexpected, overall, the court officials felt that the Iron-Blooded Marquis was more approachable.

The long-standing chaos in Lin'an has led to court officials forming cliques and even ignoring the emperor's opinions...

Ultimately, the Iron-Blooded Marquis was pardoned and restored to his command of the Dragon Guard Manor. As for the Number One Manor in the World, it was originally negotiated between Murong Jiu and Wan Sanqian in exchange for Shangguan Haitang's safety and the future of Wanqian Merchant Guild. Now that the Marquis has been released from prison, Wan Sanqian no longer pretends to be friendly with "him".

Murong Jiu's actions revealed the true nature of the Murong family, only to discover that he himself was the clown!

If it weren't for the emperor's insistence that "he" and Cheng Shifei regain control of the Imperial City Guard, and the Imperial City Guard incorporating a portion of the Eastern Depot's influence, they probably wouldn't have lost anything except for their titles.

……

As a result, the city of Lin'an became a battleground for three factions: the Dragon Guard Manor, the court officials, and the Imperial City Guard.

Without a doubt, the Dragon Guard Manor is the strongest!

The court officials had previously envisioned a scenario where, under their control, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial City Guard would fight like dogs, just as the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot had done before…

However, unexpectedly, the Divine Marquis overturned the chessboard right away, which was completely different from his indecisiveness when he was restraining Cao Zhengchun before!

After absorbing most of the Eastern Depot's power and authority, Zhao Wushi's control over Lin'an reached its peak.

The Imperial City Guard, which had only been established for a few years, was still only able to protect itself, even after it had taken in some agents from the Eastern Depot and the Murong family.

In fact, the reception of these spies caused a lot of trouble over the course of half a month, making things even worse for the Imperial City Guard...

No one else expected that the Eastern Depot had already planted many spies from the Dragon Guard Manor.

There are also many clever people in Lin'an. Many of them have realized that, judging from the extent to which the Eastern Depot has been infiltrated, the previous evenly matched strength between Shenhou and Cao Zhengchun was just an illusion!

During the brief month that Murong Jiu supposedly "took over the Dragon Guard Manor," he didn't even come into contact with the core secrets of the Dragon Guard Manor.

……

The above information was obtained five days ago.

It was incredibly fast that a message could travel from Lin'an to the Western Regions in five days. Without the "black technology" of carrier pigeons, it would have been impossible.

"In short, our Murong Junma, after laughing for only two days, was seized by the court officials. After a brief period of peace, within half a month, he and the Imperial City Guard were suppressed by the old monkey to the point that they could only 'guard' the Imperial City?"

The "imperial city" mentioned by Chu Luren later specifically refers to the imperial palace...

Currently, only the Imperial Guards within the palace are still under the command of the Imperial City Guard.

"She's not in a position to cry right now; it's probably because Zhao Wushi is focusing most of his energy on finding the third Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom," Huang Rong added.

Chu Luren recalled that on the ninth day of the sixth lunar month last year, he and Wan Chunliu were invited by the old monkey to act as protectors. Afterwards, the old monkey tricked him, hiring the world's number one disguise master to poison him, and then...

Ahem, that's not the point.

The key point is that it is already April 20th, and if the third Tianxiang cardamom cannot be found, Suxin will have less than two months to live!

Given Zhao Wushi's obsessive infatuation with her, he is now naturally preoccupied with most of his energy.

Chu Luren recalled for a moment, and if the last Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom was the same as in the original work, it seemed that... it was in one of Yunluo's luminous pearls?

Just as Chu Luren was about to speak up and offer Huang Rong some advice on whether they could make use of the matter, Huang Rong took the initiative to say, "Yunluo and your husband guess that Tianxiang Doukou might be in the Mermaid Little Pearl. It was a birthday gift that the Dowager Consort gave to her when she was alive."

"And then?" Chu Luren was taken aback, wanting to know how things were handled now that he had guessed it.

"However, that luminous pearl is no longer with Yunluo... A few years ago, when Aobai and the Qing Emperor were secretly fighting over whether to send troops to the Song Dynasty, the Qing Emperor, in order to make it clear that he wanted to make peace with the Song Dynasty and reduce Aobai's military power, had an exchange of gifts between their envoys. Not only did the Song Emperor and the Qing Emperor exchange gifts, but Yunluo, as a princess of the Song Dynasty at the time, also exchanged gifts with a princess of the Qing Dynasty..."

Chapter 997 The Lifelong Event of My Grand-Grand-Nephew

"A princess of the Qing Dynasty? Does the old monkey know about this?" Chu Luren was stunned upon hearing this, as this was something he had not expected.

"We should know by now. Yunluo only remembered this because her jewelry was stolen. The only people who would steal from the Princess's manor at this time are probably from the Dragon Guard Manor," Huang Rong said, offering her speculation.

Huang Rong deduced that the old monkey was the first to think of going through the files and learn that "Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom" was in Yunluo Mansion, hidden in a luminous pearl.

Yunluo only remembered this matter after she lost her jewelry!

"That old monkey... he might dare to go to Manjing!" Chu Luren clicked his tongue.

After all, that old monkey had already gone to Manjing once before in order to eliminate Ao Bai, and now, for Su Xin's sake, he would definitely dare to go a second time.

"Going to Manjing now probably won't catch that princess. Princess Jianning was betrothed to your grand-nephew last year, and the wedding day is approaching." Huang Rong revealed who the "princess" was.

"Grand-nephew?" Chu Luren's first thought was that Que'er had taken on a disciple, or that he was a disciple of the Eight Friends of Hangu.

However, it suddenly occurred to me that Huang Rong was referring to another thread—Yang Kang, a disciple of Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen School… who is also Wu Sangui’s son, Wu Kang!

She was betrothed to Wu Kang? That means...

Chu Luren then realized that the gift exchange had happened several years ago, and there was only one princess, Jianning.

Although Emperor Kangxi was very prolific, starting to have many children at the age of fourteen, the only person he could exchange gifts with Yunluo a few years ago was Jianning, not an infant in swaddling clothes.

In the grand world of martial arts, Jianning is Kangxi's younger sister, that is, the daughter of Shunzhi and the Empress Dowager—of course, the Empress Dowager is an imposter, and she also has an affair with her senior brother, so Jianning's background remains a mystery.

In the original work, after the Empress Dowager Zhen was released, she strongly advocated marrying Jianning off far away so that she wouldn't have to see her and feel troubled. However, according to Chu Luren's opinion, Jianning was definitely not the Empress Dowager Zhen's child, but she might very well be Shunzhi's child...

Firstly, Mao Dongzhu had been impersonating the Empress Dowager for a long time and had already "gotten into character." She even killed Consort Dong'e out of jealousy, completely disregarding her own safety. Secondly, if she had no sexual relations with Shunzhi before becoming pregnant with Jianning, even if the Qing court's rules were primitive, it should have been exposed by now!

"What did Mao Dongzhu say?" Chu Luren asked, somewhat puzzled.

Chu Luren didn't tell many people about the fake Empress Dowager; she only told Qiao Feng and Huang Rong...

"The line is broken." Huang Rong only mentioned it briefly, but thinking that Chu Luren might not understand, she explained a few more words: "The Qing court did not hold a funeral for the Empress Dowager, and there were no palace rumors... In other words, either she has been exposed and the real Empress Dowager has been found, or she herself does not want to contact us anymore."

Chu Luren nodded in understanding and said, "She actually allowed her daughter to be a sacrifice to appease Wu Sangui? There's a high chance something bad has happened."

Although Mao Dongzhu was somewhat cunning and ruthless, she was not, in the end, an ambitious and scheming person, and she still cared about her daughter.

Wu Sangui is now only one step away from rebelling, and he is no longer trying to hide his recruitment of soldiers. At this time, using Jianning as a delaying tactic is like sacrificing himself as a expendable force!

As for Jianning's marriage, no matter how much Kangxi tried to interfere, he couldn't bypass the Empress Dowager...

"What about my older brother?" Chu Luren asked immediately.

Mao Dongzhu didn't care. He wasn't on the same page as the Righteous Alliance anyway, otherwise he would have had experts from the Righteous Alliance protecting him long ago.

However, if the Empress Dowager's affair were to come to light and affect Qiao Feng, then Chu Luren would not be able to ignore it.