After finally seeing off that great deity Lu Yang, Xu Xin let out a long sigh of relief. Otherwise, if that kid kept clamoring for the Ministry of Justice to execute the Fourth Prince's nine generations of kin, there would have been no way to clean up the mess afterward.
Yet another problem immediately presented itself. While the evidence of the Fourth Prince's rebellion was ironclad, Xu Xin couldn't simply put an imperial prince on trial himself; a matter of this magnitude was way over his head.
"My Lord, there is still someone above you," the Vice Minister of Justice kindly reminded his superior upon noticing his predicament.
Xu Xin saw the light at once.
*Right! I'm only the Minister of Justice, a mere third-rank official. A matter of treason should be handled by His Majesty!*
***
Ever since ascending the throne, Jiang Qun had displayed extraordinary political acumen, handling government affairs just as adeptly as Emperor Xia. If he hadn't, Emperor Xia would never have felt at ease temporarily entrusting the throne to him.
"Back then, Imperial Father always talked about how troublesome national affairs were to handle, how one had to navigate between various factions and balance interests. It seems it isn't really that difficult."
Jiang Qun placed a reviewed memorial atop a stack that was already half the height of a man.
The only issue was that he remembered there hadn't been this many memorials before.
"Daoist Buyu successfully passed his tribulation, so a whole horde of officials went into seclusion," Jiang Qun realized, sighing inwardly.
It was merely a greater volume; it was not beyond his capabilities.
"Let me see this memorial... Minister Xu has temporarily come out of seclusion? What could have happened... The Fourth Brother rebelled, Lu Yang reported him, and even demanded the execution of nine generations of kin?!"
Jiang Qun's hands trembled slightly after skimming through it.
*I take back what I just said. Father, is this the kind of thing you deal with on a daily basis?*
As he read through the memorial in full, his fury mounted. Finally, with a cold snort, he slapped the desk.
"Well done, Fourth Brother! You even dare to assassinate me! You've certainly got guts!"
He drafted a reply on the memorial, ordering the Ministry of Justice to summon several Tribulation Transcendence experts in the imperial court to round up all of his fourth brother's sworn brothers in one fell swoop!
As for executing nine generations of kin, that was actually easy to resolve.
"Can't I just pardon myself?"
***
The massive purge against the Fourth Prince's faction began swiftly. The Fourth Prince's subordinates were rounded up in utter bewilderment before they could even comprehend what was going on.
Wasn't Lu Yang supposed to help the Fourth Prince seek external aid to get rid of the first three princes? How had their own side ended up arrested instead?
What on earth happened?
The Fourth Prince's faction was by no means small, and they attempted to resist during the arrests, sparking numerous clashes.
However, with several veteran ministers at the Tribulation Transcendence stage holding the line, their resistance couldn't make the slightest splash.
The fall of the Fourth Prince sent shockwaves through the various factions in the Imperial City. Seeing that Emperor Xia did not have long to live, all sides had harbored their own schemes to profit from the situation, but the imperial court's thunderous crackdown temporarily cowed them.
The Second Prince, Jiang Zhu, stared at the intelligence in disbelief. Only a few days had passed, and his fourth brother had already been completely finished off by Lu Yang.
"Could he be using this as a warning to everyone not to try courting him to seize the throne?"
Jiang Zhu shuddered. One must never make an enemy of this man!
The Fifth Prince, who had originally also wanted to win Lu Yang over, settled down completely, not daring to entertain any more designs on him. All of his subsequent recruitment plans were scrapped.
***
Meanwhile, the mastermind, the Immortal Fairy, having heard that the Fourth Prince's manor had been sealed, was gleefully waiting for the Ministry of Justice to lead troops into the Imperial Palace to confiscate the royal household's property.
"As far as I know, under Great Xia law, the emperor possesses the power of pardon. Using the Fourth Prince's case to implicate and execute nine generations of kin will likely not work," Emperor Xia explained. Seeing Lu Yang muttering the entire way about when the Ministry of Justice would raid the palace made Emperor Xia's eyelid twitch uncontrollably, leaving him no choice but to speak up and stop Lu Yang from going on.
"There's actually a rule like that?" The Immortal Fairy truly had not known. Even with her vast intellect, conceiving a flawless usurpation plan proved tricky.
"It seems the Jiang family had foresight! When they instituted the power of pardon, they must have anticipated what happened today!" The Immortal Fairy frowned. For the Jiang family to have devised such meticulous laws, their thoroughness was on par with the Second-in-Command's, falling only a sliver short of her own.
Emperor Xia: "..."
*I'm pretty sure when the power of pardon was instituted, no one could have possibly anticipated what happened today.*
"I see you're quite a capable fellow. How about you follow me?"
The Immortal Fairy felt Xia Tian was quick-witted; once she established the Soybean Dynasty, she could appoint him prime minister.
Emperor Xia had no idea he had just been demoted to a future prime minister. He had simply heard that Lu Yang was an extraordinary prodigy of the contemporary era, known for doing unconventional things, and that strange occurrences perpetually unfolded around him.
Since he didn't have long to live anyway, he figured it wouldn't hurt to personally witness a future prodigy grow. Revealing his true identity at a critical moment along the way would make the trip well worthwhile.
"Sure," Emperor Xia readily agreed.
***
"That's Lu Yang!" In the dark, several pairs of greenish eyes fixed their gaze on Lu Yang.
They were none other than the Fourth Prince's brothers-in-arms, who had broken through the encirclement, narrowly escaping imprisonment for the moment.
Yet it was only temporary. With the Imperial City now locked down, they had nowhere to run; being captured was only a matter of time.
They didn't fear being captured, but the traitor Lu Yang had to die!
Gongsun Jiu, master of divine speed arts; Tang Feng, whose assassination skills were consummate; a grandmaster of poisons... These were the brothers the Fourth Prince took the greatest pride in, all capable of eliminating the top three princes. If they attacked, there was no way a mere Nascent Soul cultivator like Lu Yang could withstand them!
"Strike!"
Gongsun Jiu roared through divine sense transmission. The brothers moved at his command, like soul-reaping emissaries from the Nine Nether—striking meant certain death!
Yet the moment their feet left the ground, they felt several terrifying auras descend, locking them firmly in place.
*Plop.*
Unable to bear such overwhelming pressure, they crashed to their knees in panic.
Tribulation Transcendence! And more than one Tribulation Transcendence expert had acted against them!
Even during the Ministry of Justice's raid on the Fourth Prince's manor, not this many Tribulation Transcendence masters had mobilized!
What was going on? Why were so many Tribulation Transcendence almighty experts protecting Lu Yang?!
Could Lu Yang have planned for even this?!
An old man carrying a shoulder pole walked out of a small alley, calling out every so often, "Scissor sharpening!"
The old man stood before Gongsun Jiu with a sneer of utter contempt.
"Daring to attack His Majesty—you must be tired of living."
Gongsun Jiu and the others were completely baffled. *His Majesty? What His Majesty?*
Emperor Xia's safety was of paramount importance. He could never leave the palace completely on his own; imperial palace experts had long been shadowing him, protecting him from the shadows.
Even if Gongsun Jiu and his comrades were aiming at Lu Yang, there was a risk of accidentally harming His Majesty. They could never be allowed to make a move.
Inside the spiritual space, Lu Yang analyzed the situation for the Immortal Fairy.
"Your Majesty, you reported the Fourth Prince. I'm afraid the remnants of his faction will seek revenge in the future. We must be careful."
Lu Yang wasn't worried about the Immortal Fairy's safety; he was worried about his own body.
With his delicate little arms and legs, he couldn't handle the Immortal Fairy's reckless antics.
The Immortal Fairy was deeply touched. She had not expected Little Yangzi to care so much about her, and so she comforted him, "Don't worry, don't worry! This Immortal has always had great luck. There won't be any danger."
Chapter 928