Chapter 178: Chapter 96: Go see him off! _1

The Emperor Xia and the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s rebuke caused a deep silence among the entire imperial court, and even the protagonist of this suggestion, Yan Taichang, changed his expression abruptly.

His proposal for the Fifth Prince to preside over the Dao Discussion Conference was a challenge for the rights of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, hence the superintendent’s give-back was pretty normal.

However, Emperor Xia, who usually sat aside coldly and watched his ministers fight each other, surprisingly reacted this way, which was way beyond Yan Taichang’s expectation.

The other ministers were also taken aback.

They all knew well that the astrology discourse was mostly a toy for the ones in power. As long as the realm was peaceful, even maverick stars’ movements could be suppressed by human Dao’s fate.

‘Clearing the South’s demonic atmosphere’ was just an excuse; Yan Taichang’s real goal was to have the Fifth Prince preside over the Dao Discussion Conference on behalf of Emperor Xia, stealing control of the Conference from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

It would not only boost the prestige of the Fifth Prince, but also provide a legitimate reason to interfere with the Bureau’s matters, adding to the Prince’s capability of competing for the throne in the future.

They weren’t interested in getting entangled in the power struggles for the throne, but they absolutely did approve of the idea of limiting the Bureau’s power.

However, it seemed that the outcome went beyond their expectation.

Above the dragon throne, Emperor Xia’s face was gloomy.

What he thought to be just a struggle within the court, turned out to have been connected with the struggle for the throne by Yan Taichang.

If only that was it, it would have been a negligible matter.

Emperor Xia never minded his sons openly and secretly competing for the throne, just as he had sat and watched his ministers struggle for power.

He had enough confidence in controlling everything, thus he wasn’t afraid of the chaos among his sons at all.

However, Yan Taichang should not have involved the issues from the Southern Three States, let alone claimed an abnormality by Venus in the Southern territories.

The truth behind the various disasters in the Southern Three States wasn’t clear to the ministers at the court, but how could he and the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau not be aware?

Behind these seemingly disastrous events, it was the Supreme Taoist who was rescuing the world.

He killed the evil dragon in the Dongting region, tamed the massive rain caused by the rain-conjuring divine power, and discharged the flood into Lake Dongting thereby reducing the damage to the minimum.

In the mountains of Yunfu, where the monsters were fighting with the Zhennan Army of Yun Province, he suppressed the chaos caused by Kuang Tianjie, the notorious leader of Blood River Yuan Slaughter Path, without causing much damage.

Killing a demon of genuine immortal realm could save countless lives, which made the loss during the war insignificant.

Afterwards the moment the monsters in Yunfu surrounded Yunfu Street, the Supreme Taoist himself showed up and drove away the monsters.

These deeds were enough to prove that the Supreme Taoist was absolutely a righteous figure, which was also the reason why the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau changed his on-the-fence attitude and chose to get in touch with the Taoist with the help of Ancestor Gong from Rongcheng’s Fine Jade Grotto Heavens.

These matters could only be kept a secret and could never be known to the public.

However, with Yan Taichang’s statement of the dimming Ziwei Emperor Star in the Southern Three States and Venus guarding the heart, the Supreme Taoist was directly labelled as the troublemaker of Great Xia—the disaster god of Venus.

Emperor Xia’s heart trembled, and his eyes were burning with rage.

Imagine how it feels when the Supreme Taoist, who has been saving the world, hears that the prime minister labels him as the disaster god of Venus at the court; will he hold any respect for this court?

Although it was just a single statement from Yan Taichang, since it was said at the court, it represented the will of Great Xia.

If it had been said secretly he could have chosen to block the news, but the fact that it was announced in front of all the court officials meant that the possibility to block the news was lost.

What’s more, the Supreme Taoist had already ascended to the Earth Immortal Path and his realm was deep and unfathomable, and there was a possibility that he had already known about this statement the moment it was uttered at the court.

His cautiously arranged plan with the superintendent to contact the Supreme Taoist was likely to be destroyed because of Yan Taichang’s personal intention.

Thinking of this, Emperor Xia looked at the superintendent furiously.

Feeling the anger in Emperor Xia’s eyes, the superintendent stood up from the ministers with a stern face and said:

“May I inform Your Majesty, I would also like to report something!”

“Speak!”

“The Imperial Astronomical Bureau received information that Yan Taichang secretly met with the ambassador of Ying Island a week ago.

The ambassador suffered from the depravity of human Dao in his region, causing ghosts to roam every night, and wanted to appeal to your Majesty for a talisman edict from the Lord of Mount Tai to suppress the ghosts.

Since Your Majesty didn’t want to meet with the ambassador directly, he approached Yan Taichang in secret, hoping to find the talisman edict from there.

The talisman edict of the Lord of Mount Tai is a precious item from the Netherworld and is the foundation of all City Gods in Great Xia. I have every reason to suspect that Yan Taichang have already leaked the secret information about it.

I sincerely ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to arrest Yan Taichang and the ambassador from Ying Island, to prevent the leakage of the valuable items from the Netherworld!”

Yan Taichang suddenly widened his eyes and protested angrily:

“You’re slandering me! I have absolutely no contact with the ambassador of Ying Island, may Your Majesty discern!”

Emperor Xia’s stern voice took on a hint of coldness as he spoke deeply:

“Yan Xu has leaked the secrets of the treasures of the Netherworld, for which he is stripped of his Taichang position and his entire family will be banished to barbarian province.”

“Yan Xu will be imprisoned in Shao Jail to investigate the process of this matter, and be executed after the autumn.”

Pausing his words, Emperor Xia’s voice softened slightly.

“As for that envoy of Ying Island, he’ll be decapitated as well!”

As his voice fell, two soldiers in silver armor carrying weapons stepped into the Golden Throne Hall. The anger on Yan Taichang’s face had turned into pure fear.

The three dukes and nine ministers of the Human Emperor Dynasty are all important ministers of the state. If disposed of arbitrarily, it will inevitably lead to turbulence in the national fate, shaking the foundation of the Dynasty.

As the head of the nine ministers, he who serves the heavens, earth, humans, ghosts, and gods holds a highly respected position overseeing the city gods of the Netherworld.

Even if he was involved in the imperial power struggle, there is absolutely no possibility of him being directly sentenced to Shao Jail under a trumped-up charge. The things involved in this are definitely not as simple as they seem on the surface.

The implications could even reach beyond him, to the fifth prince he favors.

“Your Majesty, I am guilty, but I beg you to spare the Fifth Prince!”

“This is all my doing, and the Fifth Prince has absolutely no relation to this!”

“I beseech you, Your Majesty, to show leniency!”

Yan Taichang’s mournful howl gradually faded away, leaving all the court officers shuddering.

They knew very well that there was absolutely no chance for Yan Taichang to live past tomorrow in Shao Jail.

The words of Yan Taichang were even chilling to everyone present.

The Fifth Prince is currently the most talented prince in the royal family. His cultivation has already reached the early stage of Qi training, and he is regarded as one of the potential successors to the throne.

This incident not only caused the chief of the nine ministers to fall into Shao Jail, but it could even endanger the Fifth Prince.

As the ministers were lost in thought, Emperor Xia on the dragon throne spoke in a low voice:

“Today’s matter, it must not be leaked.”

However, the implication of a Taichang being sent to Shao Jail is broad, how could such a thing be completely concealed?

Emperor Xia’s words were more symbolic than practical.

“Adjourn the court!”

The ministers bowed and left the Golden Throne Hall one after another.

In the empty hall, only Emperor Xia and the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau remained.

“The matter of the Supreme Taoist must not be leaked. This accident can only be blamed on the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s ambition for the Taichang position.”

Emperor Xia spoke in a flat tone, as if stating a fact.

The meaning of his words was simple: to let the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau voluntarily shoulder the responsibility of plotting against Taichang to minimize negative impact as much as possible.

The superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau bowed indifferently:

“I am not at ease with Yan Taichang controlling the affairs of the city gods of the Netherworld.”

“Now that Yan Taichang has voluntarily involved himself in the struggle for imperial power and has been caught doing so, it’s only natural that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau would take advantage of the situation.” Emperor Xia nodded in satisfaction.

Then, the Golden Throne Hall fell into silence once again.

The superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was staring at Emperor Xia behind the bead curtain, and it seemed like Emperor Xia was also hesitating about something.

Finally, the superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau spoke:

“Your Majesty, behind the incident of pulling in the Disaster God of Venus, there might be the shadow of the Fifth Prince.”

“Your Majesty, you could let go of Taichang, choosing to avoid provoking anger even at the cost of shaking the Dynasty’s fate, but you are soft-hearted when it comes to the prince, aren’t you?”

Emperor Xia remained silent.

After a long while, Emperor Xia’s voice was filled with an indifferent apathy devoid of emotions.

“He’s your disciple, and you should send him on his way!”