Chapter 378: Chapter 97 Professional Scapegoat_2
She sat in the great hall on the first floor, holding a jade plate, looking up as he came in.
"Senior Sister’s power is remarkable, I am in awe," Jiang Li said with a smile, flattering her upon their meeting.
He had always remained hidden outside, confident that even a fifth-rank would not be able to detect him, even as he approached the attic, soundlessly and without a trace. Yet, to his surprise, Gongsun Qingyue had discovered him.
"I didn’t find you; I just guessed you would come."
Holding the jade plate, Gongsun Qingyue stood up calmly and began walking, saying, "The situation in the Imperial City has suddenly changed; there must have been a significant event. At such a time, if you and Master had any conscience, you wouldn’t ignore me. Now that the Heavenly Mechanism is gradually becoming clear, it seems the storm has passed, and it’s about time for you to appear."
She approached him, leaning over, one hand holding the jade plate, the other pressing on the handle of the wheelchair, her expressive eyes meeting Jiang Li’s. "What I didn’t guess was your hesitation outside. Tell me, have you done something to wrong me?"
Jiang Li: "?"
Isn’t that the same as having discovered me?
If you didn’t discover me, how did you know I was hesitating?
Jiang Li had never expected to stumble here of all places.
"Sister," Jiang Li said, summoning an apologetic smile with his skilled acting, "let me explain..."
But before he could finish, Gongsun Qingyue suddenly crinkled her nose, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "Why do I smell Master’s scent on you?"
"Pfft—"
The little dog on his lap exhaled heavily, as if it couldn’t help but laugh.
Jiang Li: "..."
He, Jiang, had faced numerous tribulations in the Divine Capital without worry, only to fall into a trap here?
Since when had his senior sister become so shrewd, so aggressive?
...
...
As night fell, Tianxuan finally returned.
Her hands were folded in front of her as she walked into the attic, unhurriedly, and immediately noticed that her two disciples seemed to be chatting amicably on opposite sides.
However, there was something strange; Jiang Li’s Sky Dog was not sitting properly but lay beside the wheelchair in a rather peculiar pose, looking as if it were kneeling in punishment.
A flicker of confusion crossed her mind, but the keenness of a Practitioner led Tianxuan to sense something amiss.
Yet, even as she took her seat at the head, no apparent trouble arose.
"Master, how are things?" Jiang Li asked.
It seemed Jiang was not plagued by any hardship, and nothing seemed amiss in his conversation, somewhat easing Tianxuan’s sense of unease.
She shook her head slightly and said, "It’s not good. The Great Venerable of the Devil God Sect has acted, the Emperor’s time has been frozen, and we are all unable to break it. Naturally, the Emperor Dao Fruit is also sealed within. After that, the Heavenly Prison was breached, and Zhang Zhixuan rescued the Thunder God. Fortunately, he was still rational, only taking the Thunder God with him and not causing further trouble, making it easy for the Southern Heavenly Department and Yin Law Department to suppress the situation."
"But how to deal with the Emperor being trapped is a difficult problem. After discussing with a few others, we all decided to declare that the Emperor has temporarily moved to the West Garden, with the Prince acting as Regent, but..."
"It seems there are disagreements regarding the choice of Prince," Jiang Li interjected astutely.
The Crown Prince of Great Zhou would be determined when the Emperor’s life was near its end, and shortly after, he would inherit the Emperor Dao Fruit and ascend the throne.
There’s no need to worry about garnering support, for with the Emperor Dao Fruit, one becomes supreme, and no one dares to object.
The princes needed to do was to exert their best effort to display their abilities and ascend to fourth-rank, then quietly await the result.
This system, which in Jiang Li’s previous life was considered bizarre, had continued for eight hundred years without a single error because the Emperor Dao Fruit had never malfunctioned.
Now that the Emperor Dao Fruit had encountered an accident, the inheritance system naturally began to shake.
Whoever could act as Regent would almost certainly become the Crown Prince, the next Emperor. Despite the problems with the Emperor Dao Fruit and the looming storm over Great Zhou, the Emperor’s throne continued to allure, kindling covetous desires in the hearts of the princes.
Moreover, with the Emperor no longer monopolizing control, officials and the great families were likely to become restless.
In the past, whoever was given the Emperor Dao Fruit by the ruler became the Emperor, and officials and great families had no choice but to submit. Now it was different; they could also participate in the game of succession.
Although the timing wasn’t right, human ambition didn’t care about timing.
Rather, it was the impending chaos that would incite ambition.
These individuals had been properly obedient before the Emperor ran into trouble, at most enforcing a blockade outside of the Imperial City if they opposed him. But now, with the Emperor gone, they saw their chance to rise.
"The Ji Family’s old folks favor the Second Prince, while some families led by the Meng Family believe in age order, thinking the Eldest Prince should act as Regent. The Princess, on the other hand, seems displeased with both sides, apparently having other plans," said Tianxuan, shaking his head with a sigh.
"The Meng Family?" Jiang Li frowned, "Is it Meng Xiwu’s family?"
He hadn’t forgotten about the Meng Family. Initially, Bu Yusheng had approached the Fourth Prince and Jiang Li using the identity of Meng Xiwu from the Meng Family, and even up to now, her identity remained undiscovered.
During the blockade of the Imperial City, the Azure Dragon phantom in the east was transformed by the Meng Family’s Third-Grade Daoist Artifact·Qionghuang Azure Dragon Banner.
Considering how the Immortal Queen left the Divine Capital effortlessly, Jiang Li found it hard not to doubt the Meng Family’s stance.
"Meng Xiwu of the Meng Family is a son-in-law of the Kunxu Immortal Palace. It’s a grave taboo for the Immortal Queen to assist the Emperor in refining the Elixir of Immortality; daring to take the lead at this time, the Meng Family might as well be directly accused of the crime of assassinating the Emperor," said Jiang Li with ill intentions.
It was, in fact, Tianxuan and the others who had attacked the Emperor, but externally, this couldn’t be disclosed.
The Emperor had now moved to the West Garden, and there would probably be rumors of his demise. That blame was too big for either Tianxuan or the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer to bear. At times like these, Zhang Zhixuan of the Taiping Sect and the Immortal Queen would be the best to take the fall.
The Meng Family’s connection to the Kunxu Immortal Palace could also be implicated, by association.
However, Tianxuan shook his head and said, "There’s no need to think about this, don’t forget who was the last to meet with the Emperor."
"The Great Venerable..." Upon saying this, Jiang Li realized why the Great Venerable had appeared.
It wasn’t enough to just seal the Emperor; he had even made an appearance, uttering "Not bad," making Jiang Li think this was the routine of a saint manifesting. Now, hearing Tianxuan’s words, he understood that the saintly appearance was secondary. The primary reason for the Great Venerable’s appearance was to take the blame.
True to the Demon God Sect’s professional blame-taking, they showed dedication and resolve, even the Sect Hierarch himself was committed to this duty.
The Great Venerable had taken on the blame for assassinating the Emperor, clearing everyone else as loyal patriots and martyrs with no need to be scapegoats for the Emperor’s misfortune. So, go ahead and strive, free from any worries about the repercussions.
Even the Kunxu Immortal Palace could seize the opportunity to come clean, collaborate with the Meng Family, and join the chase for power.
The Emperor was definitely not opposed by all sides because of the Elixir of Immortality; he was assassinated by the Great Venerable. With that being so, the Kunxu Immortal Palace naturally became unrelated to the Emperor.
Although everyone was aware of the inside story, on moral grounds, there was no way to censure the Kunxu Immortal Palace.
Such blame-shifting technique was truly unparalleled, worthy of the leader of the Demon God Sect.
’He’s really just stirring the pot,’ Jiang Li lamented in his heart.
While it was disrespectful to call a Supreme being so, the Great Venerable’s actions could rightly be described as stirring the pot.
By preventing the transfer of the Emperor Dao Fruit and destabilizing the class order of Great Zhou, and further fueling the flames of ambition, future turmoil could be said to start from this point onwards.