“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! There's an anomaly at the Fengshan altar!"

"The stone tablet used to worship the heavens suddenly had two lines of blood writing appear. It said, it said, 'A tyrannical ruler without virtue, Heaven sends down punishment!'"

"Just after this line of blood writing appeared, the newly built altar crumbled. The craftsmen and officials present all saw it. The matter..."

Before he could finish, the expressions of everyone present changed.

Someone sternly rebuked, "Silence! Utter nonsense!"

"His Majesty's achievements are clear to everyone, both in and out of court. How can there be talk of a lack of virtue?"

"Moreover, the appearance of blood writing on the stone tablet is extremely strange. This must be a scheme by someone with ulterior motives, trying to undermine His Majesty's prestige!" Zhang Zifang's expression darkened as he quickly defined the situation.

After all, the Fengshan ceremony was meant to worship heaven and highlight Jiang Chen's status as the Son of Heaven.

If ominous rumors were to spread at this crucial moment, it would inevitably invite criticism and shake Jiang Chen's throne.

Surrounded by the important figures in the room, the scout trembled and said fearfully, "Lords... I, I don't know the details of this matter."

"However, the blood writing on the stone tablet and the subsequent collapse of the altar were both seen by my own eyes!"

"We had just finished our inspection and were preparing to leave when the anomaly suddenly occurred… I can confirm that there was no one near the stone tablet or the altar at that time. There was no possibility of tampering!" The scout's voice suddenly rose.

He said in fear, "Everyone present at the time saw it, and now many people are spreading rumors in private… Your Majesty, you, you might want to issue a gag order first?"

"A gag order?" Jiang Chen sneered.

"These rebellious traitors have gone to so much trouble to put on a show for me. If I don't play along, wouldn't I be letting their efforts go to waste?"

"However, if they want to ruin my reputation, these little tricks are far from enough!"

A hint of disdain flashed in his eyes as Jiang Chen turned to his ministers. "Men, send people to spread the news, the more people who know, the better. This Fengshan ceremony, I will drag out all those disloyal worms!"

As his words fell, the ministers' expressions changed, and voices of opposition arose one after another.

Even Xu Changqing, who had always been fiercely loyal to Jiang Chen, looked worried and stepped forward to stop him. "Your Majesty, this must not be done!"

"Public opinion is a force to be reckoned with; many voices can melt metal. Once those few lines of blood writing the rebels put on the stone tablet spread, your reputation among the people will truly be ruined. The feudal lords in the regions may very well use this as an excuse."

"At that time, the Great Wei empire will truly be in chaos!"

Zhang Zifang also frowned. "Your Majesty, General Xu is right."

"Although we all know that the blood writing is the work of rebels, the common people firmly believe in ghosts and gods and will easily mistake a conspiracy for divine revelation."

"If the phrase 'A tyrannical ruler without virtue, Heaven sends down punishment' is spread, the hearts of the people will be thrown into chaos!"

Jiang Chen swept his gaze over the ministers, his cold expression unwavering, and said in a deep voice, "I understand your concerns, but preventing the people from speaking is more dangerous than blocking a river. It's better to dredge than to block."

"You all heard what the scout said earlier. The craftsmen who inspected the altar, the officials, and the guards all saw the strange phenomenon of the characters appearing on the stone tablet. With so many people knowing, even if I order them not to spread the word, I can only delay the leak of the news at best, but I cannot prevent the rumors."

"Moreover, those hidden traitors will not sit idly by. They definitely have follow-up plans… Therefore, I don't intend to be led by the nose by them."

As he said this, a trace of coldness flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes. "They want to use the stone tablet to suppress me. I will not let them succeed!"

"Not only that, but I will also repay them in their own coin, using this conspiracy to lure out those disloyal individuals lurking around me and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Seeing Jiang Chen's calm demeanor, as if he had a plan in mind.

The ministers present couldn't help but fall into deep thought, and the panic in their hearts gradually dissipated as they pondered Jiang Chen's words.

But no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't figure out how to use the rumors to lure out the rebels, and they all cast doubtful glances at the person at the head of the table.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Jiang Chen's expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, "In short, I have a plan in mind for this matter. Just follow my arrangements. Don't say any more words of opposition."

Hearing this, the ministers all showed troubled expressions.

They wanted to dissuade him, but they were afraid of angering the emperor, so they had to remain silent, and the atmosphere instantly became stiff.

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard suddenly rushed in, looking anxious, and whispered a few words into Jiang Chen's ear.

In an instant, Jiang Chen's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly stood up and hurried towards the rear palace.

The palace chamber was brightly lit.

The palace servants and Imperial Guards coming and going all had pale faces, with a hint of fear mixed between their brows, huddling under the firelight.

Jiang Chen kicked open the door and saw Noble Consort Shu standing solemnly at the entrance of the inner hall, with not even a single maidservant by her side.

Hearing the noise, she suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes flashing with panic. Only after seeing that it was Jiang Chen did she relax her tense body and rush into his arms, sobbing.

"Waa, Your Majesty, you, you've finally come. Yun'er is so scared…"

The sound of gentle sobbing lingered in his ears, and Jiang Chen felt a pang of heartache. He softly comforted her, "Be good, I'm back. It's alright."

"Mm, with Your Majesty by my side, Yun'er feels relieved." Noble Consort Shu raised her pretty face and forced a smile, not wanting Jiang Chen to worry about her.

But the trace of terror hidden deep in her eyes did not escape Jiang Chen's sight. His large hand around her slender waist tightened, and Jiang Chen dismissed the others and comforted Noble Consort Shu to sit down.

He said gently, "Yun'er, what exactly happened just now? Why are you so frightened?"

A trace of solemnity floated between Noble Consort Shu's brows, and her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Your, Your Majesty, Yun'er was just preparing to bathe when many blood characters suddenly seeped out of the wall, densely packed, illuminating the candles in the hall in a blood-red color!"

"Moreover, the content of those characters was so scary, saying things like 'A tyrannical ruler without virtue', 'Harms loyal officials', 'Unworthy to be Emperor'... Those treasonous words, really, really…"

Noble Consort Shu couldn't go on. In her heart, no one could offend Jiang Chen's authority, not even ghosts or gods!

Therefore, despite being afraid, she still dismissed the palace servants as soon as the blood characters appeared and guarded the entrance of the inner hall alone.

It was to protect Jiang Chen's reputation and prevent rumors from spreading.

Looking at the Noble Consort Shu in his arms, her face filled with worry, Jiang Chen felt a burst of lingering fear in his heart.

These bastards are not even letting Yun'er off!

They can stretch their hands out so far, there must be their helpers within the palace. We must deal with these people as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if they have evil intentions and want to harm Yun'er…

A chilling killing intent flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, and baleful aura surrounded him, as if he would raise his butcher knife and wash the place with blood in the next second!

A dragon has reverse scales; whoever touches them dies!

These ignorant traitors have completely angered him!