Chapter 128: Seventeen Rebel Kings
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The sunrise river flowers are redder than fire.
Though it was still deep night, a vivid red flower bloomed quietly amidst the vast expanse of blue waves.
Two people stood at the bow of a ship. One was a man dressed in scholar's robes, with a small red flower—whether real or silk—tied to his little finger. The other was a Daoist nun of indeterminate age, her features fairly clear and beautiful, yet between her brows lay a trace of detestable ferocity. The whisk resting on her arm exuded a chilling, annihilating aura, with a hint of discordance.
Chen Changsheng recognized the Daoist nun; he knew her to be Boundless Bi from the Eight Directions Wind and Rain.
During the ten-thousand-mile journey back to the capital from Cold Mountain, he had also seen that small red flower. Since the scholar stood beside Boundless Bi, he must naturally be another of the Eight Directions Wind and Rain: Unique Red.
Boundless Bi had once infiltrated the capital, sneaking into the National Academy to kill Xuan Yuan Po, only to be driven back by Su Li's letter. Tonight, she and her husband were entering the capital together, and in a sense, they were coming to save him. This was why Chen Changsheng's emotions were now so complicated.
"This fool actually dares to come to the capital."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress stared expressionlessly at the large ship in the image. "I could crush her with one finger. Her husband is better, though—at least worth three of her."
Chen Changsheng didn't know what to say. Whether it was the two men on the northwest official road or the couple in the southwest canal, all cultivators in the world regarded them as gods. Yet in the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress's words, aside from Unique Red, not a single one made her feel the slightest wariness.
But she was, after all, the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
Chen Changsheng's feelings were naturally different from hers.
Four of the Eight Directions Wind and Rain had arrived.
Tonight's capital would surely be stormy and dark, with heaven shaking and earth moving.
This was merely a grand opening. Then, countless others took the stage in succession.
On the official roads around the capital, which spread like a spiderweb in all directions, many processions suddenly appeared. These people seemed to have been hiding in the night all along, waiting only for those four peerless experts to appear before tearing through the darkness and revealing themselves to the world, just as they had been doing for over two hundred years.
The official roads led from the various prefectures and commanderies of the Great Zhou Dynasty to the capital.
Those people had always lived in those distant prefectures and commanderies, far from the capital. They shared one thing in common: they all bore the surname Chen, all descendants of Emperor Taizong.
Chen Changsheng watched the ever-changing images and silently counted in his mind, confirming that fifteen carriage processions were currently heading toward the capital through the night.
The numbers from each prince's mansion in the various prefectures weren't large, but they were all experts. The mansion masters walking outside the carriages were at least in the Upper Star Gathering realm. Over these two hundred years, especially in the last twenty, the Chen imperial clan had nearly vanished without a trace. Tonight, they finally revealed their incredibly deep hidden strength!
Fifteen prefectures, fifteen princes, fifteen carriages.
Dust began to rise on the official roads in the night, like wind and clouds clashing, sweeping in to surround the capital.
The Great Zhou capital had no city walls, but it had city gates, and a Gate Command Office led by the Eastern Imperial General Xu Shiji. Yet... how could the Gate Command Office possibly stop the princes' carriages from the various prefectures? Who knew which deputy general in that office was a disciple of some prince, or whose father served as a senior clerk in the Luling Prince's mansion?
At several city gates, fierce fluctuations of energy erupted, faint sword lights visible, then quickly faded away.
The Chen princes had finally returned to their long-departed capital.
The experts accompanying the prince's carriages stared resolutely into everything in the night, ready at any moment to face suppression by the Great Zhou army. If one were to describe these experts, one word would suffice: the world's heroes. They had full confidence in their cultivation realms and strength, and they believed what they were doing was right.
"Heroes gather in the capital, intent on slaying the demon empress on an autumn night, sacrificing their heads, spilling their blood, dying for their country?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress watched those images in the night, making no attempt to hide her mockery. "History books ten thousand years from now might write it that way. What a ridiculous thing."
Chen Changsheng watched the images of those experts, their faces filled with righteous fervor, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Then how should it be written?"
"In the twenty-first year of the Great Zhou Dynasty's rightful reign, seventeen rebel kings entered the capital—annihilated to the last."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said calmly, lightly flicking her sleeve, as if to sweep all of them into dust and oblivion.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, where were the other two rebel kings?
In Luoyang City, hundreds of miles from the capital, there weren't many clouds tonight. The stars shone as usual, illuminating the world—both the foul-smelling alleys where the poor lived and the northern city filled with vermilion gates.
The prince's mansion gate slowly pushed open. The Xiang Prince emerged from the mansion, shifting his bulky body, laboriously descending the stone steps. With the help of his officials, he spent a long time climbing onto the not-so-high carriage. Even such a simple action left him panting heavily.
Once seated, the fat on his belly spilled over his bright yellow belt, chafing uncomfortably.
The Xiang Prince untied the bright yellow sash at his waist, rubbed his rolls of fat, and suddenly felt a surge of intense sorrow.
Living in Luoyang for so many years, eating and drinking frantically to make his mother the empress stop paying attention to him—he had grown this fat. If he ever ascended the throne, how could he face the court officials in this state? Still, at least he wasn't like his seventh brother, who, to feign madness, actually grabbed donkey dung and shoved it into his mouth. Bah, what a lunatic!
Everyone in the prince's mansion—concubines and officials alike—came out, kneeling in a dark mass along the long street, saying in unison, "Congratulations to Your Highness on returning to the capital."
The Xiang Prince looked at the crowd and sighed. "What's there to congratulate? Who knows if I'll even make it back alive."
The street outside the mansion fell silent. The favored concubines exchanged glances; some even began to weep sorrowfully, though it was unclear how genuine their feelings were.
The Xiang Prince waved his hand in annoyance. "Starting the funeral wailing already? Fine, fine. If I don't come back, all of you should kill yourselves and accompany me."
At these words, the street outside the mansion fell silent for a moment, then erupted in loud weeping. This time, it was clear that the concubines and officials were crying quite genuinely, utterly grief-stricken.
...
...
On the main street of the Jiangnan Prefecture capital, a similar scene unfolded, but not exactly the same.
The Zhongshan Prince walked through the kneeling crowd. His pale cheeks showed no expression, but deep in his bloodshot eyes, a hint of madness could faintly be seen.
As he walked, a clear footprint was left on the ground outside the mansion gate—a footprint of blood.
He seemed to have walked through a sea of blood.
In fact, by now, the Zhongshan Prince's mansion had become a sea of blood. The officials sent by the court had all fallen into pools of blood, their bodies and heads separated.
The Zhongshan Prince had killed them all with his own hands.
Only one person remained alive: an old eunuch leader, who was being held kneeling behind the mansion gate.
This old eunuch was very aged, his face covered in wrinkles. Knowing he was about to die, he still remained calm. He looked at the Zhongshan Prince about to board the carriage and said, "Your Highness, since you didn't kill me, it seems you don't wish to completely break with Her Majesty. The journey to the capital is long; you might proceed slowly and see how things develop before deciding."
This was a very clever piece of persuasion—first excusing the Zhongshan Prince, then offering him advice, and indeed, it was prudent and mature advice.
The Zhongshan Prince ignored the old eunuch, jumped onto the carriage, and said, "I didn't kill you not to leave myself an escape route, but to make you taste what I've felt all these years."
The old eunuch's face changed color at these words; he could no longer remain calm.
Under the escort of several dozen elite mansion guards, the Zhongshan Prince's carriage entered the night, heading toward the capital.
Only the prince's bone-chilling voice echoed through the long street.
"Don't let this old dog die. Don't give him food—only feed him donkey dung. Remember, fresh, the freshest."
...
...
Wind and rain, dark and dreary, converged.
Seventeen rebel kings entered the capital.
Watching the images in the night, Chen Changsheng knew he was witnessing the most important event on this continent since the massacre at the National Academy.
He was the cause, or rather the trigger, of this event. Thinking of how many people would die tonight, and how many commoners would be displaced and die in the ensuing chaos, his heart churned with agitation and unease. His chest felt stifled and nauseous, and he couldn't help coughing. With each cough, the pain deepened, and his face grew paler.
"This absurd drama is quite interesting. Watch more before you die—don't die too soon."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress heard his coughing but didn't turn around, speaking expressionlessly.
With these words, Chen Changsheng suddenly found he could move.
He understood her meaning. He pondered whether he could do something else.
In his bosom was still Su Li's letter; in his scabbard were still many swords, and the Heavenly Book Stele, and much more.
Yet her figure was so towering—beneath the night sky, yet seeming to rise above it.
He reached into his bosom but didn't take out the letter. Instead, he pulled out a small porcelain bottle.
Inside the bottle was medicine.
He poured out several dozen pills from the small bottle, without distinguishing them, and directly put them into his mouth, chewing them like sugar beans, making a crunching sound.
Since arriving at the top of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, the Holy Empress hadn't turned to look at him until she heard this sound and glanced back.
Chen Changsheng paid no attention to her gaze. He then removed the golden needles wrapped around his fingers and deeply inserted them into several perilous energy points on his neck.
His face grew even paler, and his body trembled slightly, as if unable to withstand the autumn wind.
As time passed, the trembling gradually ceased. Two patches of unnatural redness appeared on his face.
...
...
The Holy Empress's enemies emerged one by one from the night—not because this was their best opportunity, but because it was their last.
If she killed Chen Changsheng and completed the third reversal of fate in a thousand years, perhaps no one would ever be able to remove her from the Great Zhou throne.
Peerless experts living in seclusion, imperial princes who had endured in silence for years, and the world's heroes who had swallowed their pride—all gathered in the capital. But this wasn't all, because the world was vast, and the Holy Empress had many more enemies. On the southern official road, figures gradually appeared. The Li Mountain Sword Sect hadn't sent anyone; the Saintess Peak hadn't sent anyone; the Huai Academy hadn't sent anyone; the Eternal Life Sect hadn't sent anyone. But the head of the Qiushan family and their old elder had come; the old matriarch of the Mutuo family had come; the cunning head of the Wu family had also come. Three of the Four Great Clans were present—so what about the Tang family?