Droplets of blood fell one after another onto the dragon-headed coronet of the Observatory. The Money Sword of the Taoist traced an arc through the air before shattering on the ground, the copper coins engraved with the four characters "Shun Tian Tong Bao."
"West Factory Thousand Households Chen Zunming, why have you taken up arms to rebel?!"
The Overseer of the Observatory, his hair white as frost, wore a face darkened with anger. The Money Sword in his hand was reduced to half its length.
"Elder Lin has treated with grace deeper than the mountains. He is also a pillar of the nation. Now the Empress Dowager intends to destroy the Great Wall herself—how could I not rebel?"
Chen Yi’s tone was calm as he spoke,
"The Empress Dowager’s authority has co to an end. I urge all in the Observatory to cooperate, or else you may all perish here."
At these words, the Eastern Factory n behind Chen Yi pressed forward another step.
Within the Eastern Factory, there had always been Lin Party mbers as well as Ding’an Party mbers. After the affair of the Infant Tower, Chen Yi had dealt a devastating blow to the Ding’an Party within the Eastern Factory. Coupled with his thunderous ans of cleansing the Yuxiu Villa, none inside or outside the Eastern Factory dared oppose him. And with Song Tong’s consistent policy of self-preservation, Chen Yi encountered almost no obstacles in commanding the Eastern Factory.
As the enforcers of the Eastern Factory advanced step by step, the Taoists of the Observatory ultimately laid down their weapons, one after another. Finally, the Overseer of the Observatory presented the Spring-Autumn Na List, which recorded martial artists in the Capital City of fifth-grade rank and above.
Chen Yi took the na list but frowned slightly,
"Why is there only the first volu?"
"How could an object as important as the Spring-Autumn Na List be placed all in one location?"
The elderly Overseer sneered coldly.
"Where is the other volu?" Chen Yi asked sternly.
"The Empress Dowager entrusted it long ago to soone she deed trustworthy."
The Overseer’s voice was icy as he laughed scornfully,
"Chen Qianhu, your plans are dood to fail. The Great Yu’s destiny has not yet been exhausted. The dragon veins flourish, and the divine order will not be defied. Even if you kill the Empress Dowager, can you withstand the backlash?"
Chen Yi did not respond, rely tucking the Spring-Autumn Na List into his robe.
But the Overseer pressed on relentlessly,
"A woman who sells oil combs her hair with water; a butcher’s son gnaws on bones.
And you, a brave man risking your life... must you lose your head?"
Chen Yi placed his palm on the Overseer’s head, his five fingers closing in. The Overseer’s face instantly contorted.
The Overseer roared hoarsely,
"I hand over the na list today only to save the others in the Observatory. This old bag of bones has long had enough of life. Kill if you wish, and grant the honor of dying for my country!"
At these words, Chen Yi did not grow angry but instead chuckled and said,
"Then I’ll spare your old bones."
Chen Yi released his grip, turned around, and strode out of the Observatory.
An hour later, at the Lin Mansion,
Lin Yan ca out in large strides and bowed deeply toward Chen Yi.
"The Spring-Autumn Na List only contains the first volu."
Chen Yi was not overly formal and stated the fact bluntly.
"As expected. I had heard long ago about the separation of the two volus of the Spring-Autumn Na List."
Lin Yan followed up with,
"However, the Spring-Autumn Na List requires the Taoists of the Observatory to guard it day and night and perform rituals for it to exert its power."
"What do you an, Master Lin?"
Lin Yan did not answer directly, instead saying,
"We captured a significant figure. This individual enjoys the Empress Dowager’s trust. We’ve interrogated him several tis, but he refuses to open his mouth. Perhaps he knows the whereabouts of the second volu and those Observatory Taoists."
At the ntion of a "significant figure," Chen Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he began to speculate.
"The significant figure in our hands is Wu Qingsheng, the Director of the West Factory."
Lin Yan slowly revealed.
"How did he end up in your hands?"
"Within the Directorate of Ceremonial, there is a eunuch who once received my father’s kindness." Lin Yan did not hide the truth.
Chen Yi nodded, listening as Lin Yan continued,
"At this point, we’ll need Chen Qianhu, his forr colleague, to persuade him gently and help him understand that the demon empress has lost all her power."
.........
Wu Qingsheng drank the tea brought by a young eunuch and imdiately fell unconscious. When he woke, he found himself in a jail cell.
Though only three hours had passed since he fell into the Lin Mansion’s hands, he had already endured three rounds of interrogation, large and small. One of his fingernails had been removed, leaving his hand covered in blood.
Footsteps slowly approached.
Before he could make out the figure of the newcor, Wu Qingsheng rasped,
"You seal my acupoints and block my ridians, treating as if I’m a lamb on the slaughter block—you truly underestimate , Wu Qingsheng..."
As the figure’s face beca clear, Wu Qingsheng’s throat seed to close up, leaving him unable to speak.
"Have you confessed yet, Director Wu?"
Chen Yi asked.
Wu Qingsheng’s eyes turned bloodshot instantly. He was about to curse, but blood spurted from his mouth first.
As the blood left his lips, his spirit seed to be halved. Staring hard at Chen Yi, he croaked,
"It’s you... you! You dog-born traitor—you’re rebelling! I trusted you so much!"
Chen Yi smiled and said,
"Yes, it’s . And I thank Director Wu for the gift of the Heavenly Fist."
Wu Qingsheng nearly spat blood again.
He glared at Chen Yi, half-dead in spirit and preparing to bitterly curse him.
But Chen Yi lowered his voice and asked,
"Director Wu, do you rember what I once said to you?"
"Wh-what words?" The Director was montarily confused.
"You asked how I would investigate the Chancellor’s case. I told you to investigate the ministers, stir up a commotion, and cut through the ss with a sharp blade."
Chen Yi stated plainly as a reminder.
Wu Qingsheng’s eyes changed as he recalled that mont.
"You... still loyal to the Heavenly Family?" the Director asked.
"No, the Lin Mansion has treated with imnse grace."
As he spoke, Chen Yi extended a finger and wrote a single character, "忠" (Loyal), stroke by stroke on the ground.
As Wu Qingsheng weighed this, other mories flooded his mind—the earlier conversation when he and Chen Yi left the palace, with Chen Yi’s insistence on investigating the ministers to stir up upheaval.
And now... the Lin Party intended to force the court with a coalition morial,
Stir up upheaval...
Upheaval...
Could the chaos be any greater now?!
Wu Qingsheng regretted not realizing Chen Yi’s intentions sooner. It beca increasingly clear to him that Chen Yi might have received the Empress Dowager’s secret edicts—just as he himself had received the Dowager’s orders to investigate the Chancellor’s case. Now pretending to work for the Lin Party, Chen Yi was most likely a hidden piece controlled by the Dowager, waiting for the right mont to reveal his true allegiance, much like how Ma Dai had slain Wei Yan!
A plan to provoke the Lin Party into rebellion—one sche to eliminate two threats at once. The Empress Dowager’s strategy... truly far-reaching. This West Factory Thousand Households... had indeed not failed his trust.
With this realization, Wu Qingsheng beca choked with emotion. He watched as Chen Yi gestured for silence, catching on quickly and cursing Chen Yi a few tis at the top of his voice.
Chen Yi raised his hand, uttering interrogation questions while using water to write on the ground:
[Next, I’ll find a chance to let you go. You must guard the Spring-Autumn Na List.]
At the ntion of the Na List, Wu Qingsheng frowned slightly and used his bound hand to write in midair:
[Why should I trust you?]
Fearing Chen Yi might not understand, Wu Qingsheng wrote it several tis.
Finally, Chen Yi wrote:
[Right now, you have no choice but to trust !]
Soon after, Chen Yi left the prison. As he exited, he saw Lin Yan, who had been waiting for so ti.
"How did it go?"
"It’s done. He’ll go guard the Spring-Autumn Na List. We’ll use him as bait to draw out the snakes and catch them all in one swoop." Chen Yi replied.
"Wu Qingsheng’s reputation for ’unyielding loyalty’ precedes him, or else the demon empress wouldn’t have entrusted him with the West Factory. Without you, Chen Qianhu, even summoning his deceased father wouldn’t have swayed him."
Lin Yan gave a word of praise.
Chen Yi smiled faintly, replying, "You’re too kind."
Wu Qingsheng mistakenly believed that the Empress Dowager had long orchestrated this and that he was rely a pawn in her sche.
However, Chen Yi had never anticipated the Lin Party would be so audacious as to force the Empress Dowager’s hand. His earlier persuasion was rely an opportunistic move.
At the ti, Chen Yi’s plan had been to lead the ministers to submit critical morials, leveraging the Lin Party and the Prince’s Mansion to unite and attack him in turn. But plans often failed to keep pace with changes; thus, he resorted to this desperate strategy.
Even so, this compromised strategy... was enough to deceive the straightforward Wu Qingsheng.
"What are Master Lin’s preparations moving forward?"
Chen Yi inquired.
"The Forbidden Army’s Western Camp has already been dispatched to the Praying Place for the Taoist Spring Ritual Ceremony. The Donkey-Headed Crown Prince has accompanied them as well. anwhile, we’ll track Wu Qingsheng and capture them all at once." Lin Yan explained succinctly.
Hearing this, Chen Yi’s face remained unchanged, but his mind raced.
The Forbidden Army comprised eight camps. To prevent unrest in the Capital City, each camp operated independently, controlled by separate tiger tally tokens, and rotated every three years. Even after years of influence, the Lin Party had only gained control of the Western Camp. In the current chaos engulfing the Capital City, the Western Camp of the Forbidden Army should logically be the most critical piece on the chessboard. Yet the Lin Party dispatched them to the Praying Place for ceremonial rites instead of ordering them to surround the palace?
Moreover... the Donkey-Headed Crown Prince went to the ceremony...
Chen Yi’s mind spun rapidly, and suddenly, he recalled the Overseer’s words about the "Great Yu’s undying destiny, the flourishing dragon veins..."
His heart jolted with fear.
No wonder Elder Lin, still two or three years away from accumulating enough rit, was said by Lin Yan to be "on the verge of celestial ascension."
No wonder they conspired with the Donkey-Headed Crown Prince...
No wonder Lin Yan dared push for a coup and purge the court, unafraid of the naless Old Grandmother who safeguarded the dragon veins...
The Lin Mansion intended to steal all the rit gathered at the Praying Place, thereby enabling Elder Lin to ascend to immortality in broad daylight!
Then, the deified Elder Lin would suppress the dragon veins of the Capital City of Great Yu?!
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