jdhmnovel Chapter 403 A Shocking Change at Pingqing Palace, the Poison Sword Immortal Returns to Tianqi City!
Chapter 403 A Shocking Change at Pingqing Palace, the Poison Sword Immortal Returns to Tianqi City!
The Imperial Observatory, front hall.
A colossal bronze Jiheng Fuchen Yi (a type of celestial sphere) was placed in the center of the main hall. Activated by some unknown mechanism, the sun, moon, and stars on the Jiheng Fuchen Yi slowly rotated and moved according to the current time.
Before the celestial globe, an old Taoist priest in white robes stood there holding a whisk, his eyes fixed on the two culinary gods, Yinghuo and Sheti, on the Jiheng Fuchen instrument.
Mars shimmered, while Sheti Star remained dim and indistinct. The old Taoist's brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he muttered to himself:
"The imperial star is wavering, and Mars shines brightly in broad daylight—this is not a good omen!"
Upon hearing this, a lean, long-bearded crowing official beside him slowly walked up to the old Taoist priest, bowed, and kowtowed.
"What do you mean by that, Grand Preceptor? Could it be that a calamity is about to befall Tianqi City today? Should we report this to the Imperial Palace, lest things escalate and cause trouble?"
The white-robed old Taoist was none other than Qi Tianchen, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory Director and senior brother of the Immortal Mo Yi, the National Preceptor of Beili.
With a flick of his whisk, Qi Tianchen channeled an almost imperceptible wisp of internal energy into the Jiheng Fuchen Instrument. As the sun, moon, and stars slowly rotated, the light of Mars unexpectedly shone even brighter!
"As expected, a master has arrived. Let me claim this spot and see who this extraordinary person is!"
After saying that, he made a pinching motion in the air with his right hand, and a ginkgo tree outside the hall, which had only turned green a few days ago, trembled, and six tender green leaves flew into Qi Tianchen's hand.
Qi Tianchen casually tossed the six leaves aside, and they fluttered down to his feet. Qi Tianchen looked closely and was startled:
"Is 'zhen' associated with thunder?"
The rooster crowed beside him and looked at the ginkgo leaves on the ground, somewhat puzzled:
"If the 'zhen' is thunder, it's not a problem; it's just a bit of a fright. What's your solution, Grand Preceptor?"
Qi Tianchen flicked his whisk again, and the six leaves instantly vanished into thin air. He gazed towards the palace with concern and said:
"Although it is the Zhen hexagram, Your Majesty has been unwell these days. Furthermore, the Marquis of Zhenxi has repeatedly won victories in the war in the southwest. I am worried that Your Majesty may have been frightened this time, which may have damaged your heart meridian."
"Huai Li, you stay here to oversee Ji Heng Fu Chen Yi. To ensure your safety, I still need to set off for the palace to prevent any unforeseen events. What if those eunuchs around His Majesty say that the Grand Preceptor is standing by and doing nothing? Wouldn't that give them something to say?"
The sir named Huai Li bowed and kowtowed again: "Grand Preceptor, please rest assured, Huai Li is here."
……
At the entrance of Pingqing Palace, Lu Ting'en, clad in full armor, knelt on one knee.
Xiao Chongjing was momentarily taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, he rose with Zhuo Qing's help to greet Lu Ting'en:
"General Lu, please rise. Yunzhou is a thousand miles away from Tianqi. Why have you come to see me in person? Is there some good news that you must tell me personally?"
The emperor's gentle words made Lu Ting'en feel flattered, but he also felt guilty because he had come to apologize.
He remained kneeling at the doorway, opened his mouth to speak but then kowtowed heavily, saying with extreme dejection:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This humble general has failed Your Majesty's grace... In the battle of Yunzhou City, I fell into Baili Luochen's trap of besieging the city and attacking reinforcements... This humble general... this humble general has lost Yunzhou!"
Lu Ting'en's voice was almost inaudible in the last few words, but Xiao Chongjing still heard them clearly!
This result was undoubtedly a wake-up call for Xiao Chongjing.
Although he had just prepared himself mentally, the old emperor still found it hard to accept when he heard the news of Yunzhou's fall. His hand, which was about to reach out to help Lu Ting'en, froze in mid-air.
Seeing that Xiao Chongjing's expression immediately turned extremely ugly, Zhuo Qing quickly helped him straight up.
Xiao Chongjing's expression changed, and he almost forced out a sentence:
"Yunzhou City? Lost?"
……
Outside Qinglong Gate, the morning light was at its peak.
The guards had just changed shifts, and no one noticed a slender figure suddenly flying across the sky above the Azure Dragon Gate.
The fleeting figure was incredibly fast, flying straight into the palace and stopping far away in front of the passageway leading to the Pingqing Hall.
At the end of the passageway, the Imperial Guard on duty was startled. Looking from afar, the figure turned out to be a handsome young man.
The young man smiled and slowly walked towards Pingqing Palace step by step.
The dozen or so Imperial Guards on duty were shocked and drew their longswords and sabers, taking up defensive stances. The leader pointed his sword directly at the young man and shouted sternly:
"Who are you? Don't you know this is forbidden territory of the imperial palace? If you're skilled in the inner palace, kill me on the spot!"
Unexpectedly, the young man showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he waved his sleeve, and the Golden Guards guarding the end of the passageway were sent flying in all directions by the force of the attack!
After the sound of weapons falling to the ground, the young man stood with his hands behind his back and smiled faintly:
"I'm here today not to kill, but to save lives!"
The captain of the Imperial Guard, who had fallen to the ground, rubbed his aching elbow and asked, "Who...who exactly are you?"
The young man lightly touched the ground with his toes, rising dozens of feet into the air, and laughed as he soared into the sky:
"You ignorant fool, can't you see my cloak?"
After saying this, he laughed loudly and flew towards Pingqing Palace.
The Golden Guards on the ground all looked up and saw three large black characters embroidered on the brocade cloak behind the young man: "Poison Sword Immortal"!
……
Lu Ting'en dared not raise his head; the bronze helmet above his head almost touched the ground. He stammered:
"This humble general deserves to die a thousand deaths. Please forgive this humble general for the defeat and loss of territory..."
Xiao Chongjing looked down at Lu Ting'en, who dared not raise his head, and snorted coldly:
"Since it's a report of defeat, it can be delivered by the scouts. Why did you come all the way to Tianqi instead of trying to take back Yunzhou?"
After speaking, he turned around and sat back on the dragon throne with a wave of his sleeve. His whole body was trembling. Just a moment ago, he was all smiles, but now his face was full of dark clouds.
Lu Ting'en remained silent for a long time, then Zhuo Qing asked in a stern voice:
General Lu, His Majesty is asking you a question!
Lu Ting'en gritted her teeth, then raised her head, her face full of guilt, and said:
"This humble general...this humble general's crimes are unforgivable! Your Majesty, please do not be angry and harm your health! I beg Your Majesty to punish me. All the blame rests on me, Lu Ting'en. Please forgive the soldiers of Yunzhou. Even if I am torn to pieces...Lu Ting'en will bear it all alone!"
Xiao Chongjing narrowed his eyes to slits, leaned forward, and said with a sinister look:
"You are so lenient and benevolent, yet you take the blame for everything yourself! Lu Ting'en! I bestowed upon you the title of Marquis and appointed you as the Military Governor of Yunzhou. Is this how you repay me?"
"Before setting out on the expedition, you swore that you would quell the internal strife in the southwestern prefectures within three months, and even boasted that you would capture the Baili clan alive. Did you say all of these things to me personally at the banquet?"
At this moment, Lu Ting'en's eyes were unfocused; if there were a crack in the golden bricks of the hall, he would almost want to crawl into it immediately.
Overwhelmed with shame, he looked up with his last glimmer of hope and said:
“The crime is undeniable, but… Your Majesty! I have come to Tianqi today to plead with Your Majesty for the sake of the more than ten thousand soldiers from Yunzhou outside Snow Moon City!”
Before I left, I made a pact with Baili Chengfeng: if His Majesty were to reinstate this disgraced general, Baili and his son would be willing to return all their troops and cities to me, and we would once again face off against each other outside Yunzhou City, a true test of strength!
"If His Majesty can forgive me, I, Lu Ting'en, will once again swear an oath to defeat the traitor Baili in one fell swoop and bring peace to the southwestern land of my Great Li!"
"Snapped!"
No sooner had Lu Ting'en finished speaking than a celadon teacup from the imperial kiln smashed at his feet!
The shattered porcelain shards cut his left cheek, and blood just began to seep out. Lu Ting'en froze, staring in astonishment in the direction from which the teacup had flown—
"Lu Ting'en!!!"
Xiao Chongjing was furious and almost roared.
"Is your head full of horse manure?!"
"How dare you make such a childish agreement with that old fox Baili Luochen? After decades in the military, is this all the strategy you have? Can't you see that he's playing hard to get?"
"How could Baili Luochen, who defeated you in one battle, possibly give you a second chance? It's my fault, Xiao Chongjing, for misjudging you and promoting you to be a pillar of the southwest. Foolish! Foolish!"
……