There is nothing special about the sixth level of the imperial prison.
Because it looks like a proper prison, somewhat similar to the Black Prison in Qianhusuo.
It was a long corridor with cells on both sides and ventilation holes on the top.
There were vine-like plants hanging down from the vents and climbing all over the walls of the cell.
Just as the three old men said, the seventh floor was empty and there was no one on it.
Xu Chong stayed on this floor for a full fifteen days.
Fifteen days, 15 points of spiritual energy!
"The agreement is for three years."
"In three years, there will be more than a thousand spiritual sources."
"It's far from enough..."
"Forget about immortality. Considering that one transformation of Yin God requires 50 spiritual energy points, more than a thousand spiritual energy points may not even reach the ninth transformation of Yang God."
"Even if you can reach the ninth level of Yang Shen, what can you do?"
Xu Chong stood up and walked towards the end of the corridor without hesitation.
There is the entrance to the seventh floor.
Perhaps because he had stayed on the sixth floor long enough, this time, Xu Chong did not lose his composure and was able to enter the seventh floor.
A scene like hell suddenly came into view!
In an area of ​​about one hundred square meters, red lava flows slowly, with four rocks with cages standing on them floating above.
Hot, dry, and oppressive.
In just a short moment, Xu Chong was sweating profusely.
And it was precisely in this hellish environment that an impassioned voice was heard.
"The little fire of the imperial prison is bright."
"The hot red slurry surged onto the rocks."
"The raging fire consumes all things on earth."
"Only I, Lin, am laughing wildly."
Xu Chong's heart tightened and he looked towards the source of the sound vigilantly.
In one of the cages, there was a man with disheveled hair and whose face and age could not be seen clearly.
The man turned his back to this side, looking at the magma outside the cage, chanting loudly, looking contented.
Not surprisingly, the man who called himself "Lin" was the most dangerous person in the world mentioned by Dou Zi.
"Well, what a good poem, what a good poem, I must write it down!"
The man smacked his lips in satisfaction and turned around to look for stones.
When he turned around, he saw Xu Chong standing on the magma at the mouth of the vortex.
Eyes met.
After a brief silence, the man said in a deep voice: "Has Emperor Qing finally lost his patience?"
Xu Chong ignored it and remained alert, his eyes wandering, looking for food on the seventh floor.
He did not make any extra preparations when he was sent to the imperial prison this time. He had been in there for so many days and had only survived by relying on the food in the prison.
For example, the first layer has fruits, vegetables, fish and shrimps, the fourth layer has plant roots and stems, the fifth layer has aquatic plants, and the sixth layer has vines.
Without these things, he would still starve to death in here.
As for the seventh floor...
It seems not.
Xu Chong frowned.
"You're not here to kill me?"
The man chuckled and said, "Go ahead. I'll tell you everything I know."
Xu Chong ignored him and walked on the lava to the nearest cage.
The seventh level still posed no restrictions to him. With a gentle push, the door of the cage opened.
However, the wet and soft feeling he felt in return made Xu Chong's heart move slightly, and he moved closer.
It turned out that there was a thin layer of black plants attached to the bars of the cage, which should be some kind of moss.
Not only railings, but also walls and floors.
Obviously, this is the only source of drinking water for the seventh level of the imperial prison.
Xu Chong tore off a piece and put it in his mouth.
As soon as it enters the mouth, intense bitterness explodes on the tip of the tongue.
In just a moment, my entire face began to feel numb.
"Haha, fire moss is poisonous, but it's not lethal. You're a little naive to think of impressing me by hurting yourself with it."
The man sneered and said, "I, Lin Kuang, have been arrested for more than 20 years. What methods have you not used against me?"
Xu Chong ignored him and walked into the cell, closing the door behind him.
"Oh, you imprison yourself here?"
Lin Kuang continued, "Are you planning to use time to build a relationship with me and get me to talk?"
"I'm not afraid to tell you that this trick has been used before."
"It's just that the most ruthless one stayed here for only a month and then ran away."
I don’t know if it’s dangerous or not, but there’s a lot of talk.
Xu Chong remained silent. He first cleared the fire moss on the stone bed, piled it beside the bed, and then sat on it.
When the numbness on his face subsided a little, he picked up a piece of fire moss and put it into his mouth.
The bitterness is okay, but the main thing is the astringency, which is really strong.
He suspected that if he took two or three taels of it in a row, he would become self-anesthetized.
"You are so young, why don't you listen to advice?"
Lin Kuang shook his head and said no more. He found a stone and started writing and drawing on the ground.
There was no fire moss on the floor of his cell.
It was covered with small characters densely packed together , all of which had been erased and covered up, making it a mess.
After a while, Lin Kuang finished writing and lay down on the stone bed.
If Xu Chong had looked closer, he would have found four large, vigorous characters next to Lin Kuang's new, poorly written poem:
——The soul worships.
"Unfortunately, there's only a little over a year left."
Lin Kuang looked at the top of the cell with a disappointed look on his face, "I guess there won't be a chance to see him again."
…
…
On this day, Lou Youzhi returned to the court.
The people praised him highly and lined the streets to welcome him.
The flower petals and red carpet stretched for more than ten miles.
After all, there were people in the capital who had survived natural disasters and then turned their lives around.
Under the influence of these people, the court's disaster relief became an extremely sacred thing.
As a result, they were full of respect for the relief envoys.
Naturally, such a ceremony was formed to welcome the relief envoys back to Beijing.
But this time it seems a little different.
Why are those officers and soldiers so listless, with some even dodging and showing fear?
Besides... there should be more than just these few people when we left the capital, right?
With doubts, the people watched the Prime Minister enter the palace to meet the emperor.
Half a day later, the doubt was explained.
The people of Yongzhou took refuge with the Taiping Dao, but were all killed by the army led by Prime Minister Lou Youzhi!
Disaster relief turned into bandit suppression!
For a moment, the whole city was welcoming, but it turned into a whole city full of curses.
"The entire Yongzhou has surrendered to the rebels? How is this possible?!"
"I think this is a lie made up by that treacherous minister!"
"Lies? That...that Yongzhou man is still alive?"
"Alive? How is it possible to be alive!"
"You forgot, if they really wanted to suppress the bandits, then the disaster relief food would be useless. Where did it go?"
"——Hiss! Are you saying that the treacherous minister embezzled it?"
"It would be fine if they just embezzled the money, but I'm afraid that the treacherous ministers really killed them all in order to prove the crime of treason in Yongzhou!"
"The executioner! The executioner!!!"
"My ancestral home is in Yongzhou, and my clan members are still in Yongzhou... The traitor deserves death!"
“…”
Maybe someone is guiding us secretly, maybe not.
Lou Youzhi's reputation as an official among the people was destroyed in just half a day.
At first people were just speculating and discussing privately.
Even those who were brave enough to shout about it were simply referred to as treacherous ministers.
Until a new piece of news spread.
"Former Zuodu Yushi Jiang Zhihong was the main culprit of the Yongzhou rebellion. He was captured by Prime Minister Lou Youzhi in Yongzhou and was executed on the spot by slow slicing."
The people's first reaction to this was that it was impossible.
After all, this is the emperor's territory, and things that happen in the court will occasionally spread out.
And Jiang Zhihong, an iron-headed official, naturally frequently occupies the C position.
Over time, in everyone's eyes, Jiang Zhihong was the best official in Daqing.
He is upright and incorruptible, and hates evil.
No matter how high-ranking an official is, if he commits any illegal or disorderly behavior, he will be reported to the authorities without any ambiguity.
How could such a person betray the imperial court and the entire Yongzhou?
Even if you think about it with your toes, it's impossible.
As a result, the private public grievances turned into open public indignation.
The people called their friends and loudly denounced the prime minister, saying that he was blinded by greed and committed heinous crimes.
Even the word "treacherous minister" was directly replaced by "treacherous prime minister" and "traitor in the building".
This expression lasted for several days, with no sign of stopping.
The backyard of the Blood-Clothed Guard’s headquarters.
Lou Youzhi and Dou Tianyuan stood side by side by the pond.
"Your Majesty is really cruel."
Dou Tianyuan's tone was somewhat disheartened. "First, they used you to massacre millions of people, then used me to eliminate the entire Anguo family, and now they have to use the people to deal with you again... one thing leads to another, one move after another, hehe."
"I had already expected this when I was in Yongzhou."
Lou Youzhi said indifferently.
"Have you ever thought about what His Majesty will do next?"
Dou Tianyuan asked seriously.
"I don't know how to do it."
Lou Youzhi remained calm.
"Don't lie to me."
Dou Tianyuan's face was solemn. "If your speculation is correct, Ji Qingzhi has a close relationship with His Majesty, then he can produce evidence anytime and anywhere to label you a traitor."
"It's because he can deal with me at any time that he won't do anything."
Lou Youzhi explained, "Unless a new candidate for the Prime Minister emerges."
"Who will be the new Prime Minister?"
Dou Tianyuan raised his eyebrows, somewhat puzzled, "Besides you, there are six other people in the cabinet. They can replace you anytime, anywhere, right?"
"The positions of Prime Minister of the Cabinet and Chief Commander of the Blood Robe Guard must be held by people with simple backgrounds. This is a rule that was established a long time ago."
Lou Youzhi glanced at Dou Tianyuan and said, "You can look through the history books to see if there are any people from noble families who have taken these two positions."
"The background is simple... I understand."
Dou Tianyuan was not a fool and he quickly understood what was said once he was reminded.
The Daqing Dynasty lasted for thousands of years, and the power in the court was complicated and intricate.
It can almost be said that the maternal relatives and the aristocratic families have been completely merged together.
Any family that is slightly respectable would have a daughter marrying into the royal family or marrying a royal princess.
All of today's cabinet ministers and six ministers, except Lou Youzhi, have this kind of background.
If the royal family is compared to a landlord, then the court officials and the aristocratic families are the tenants of the landlord.
The Cabinet is the steward who manages the tenants, and the Blood-Clothed Guards are the bodyguards of the landlords.
No matter how powerful the landlord is, there is still a risk that the housekeeper and the security guards will collude with the tenants and in turn compete with the landlord for profits.
In order to guard against this, the landlord can either assign more capable people to do more work, or use people with as clean a background as possible and who have little connection with the tenants to lead the housekeepers and security guards.
"As long as he wants to continue to ignore state affairs, he won't be in a hurry to take action against me."
Lou Youzhi continued, "It will take at least ten years. Only after ten years will someone suitable to succeed me appear."
"Ten years... Are you referring to Xu Chong, that classmate?"
Dou Tianyuan raised his eyebrows.
"He is currently the most likely candidate. The others are not as talented or qualified as him."
As he spoke, Lou Youzhi's eyes were slightly stern, "A small Canglong can produce both the Prime Minister's talent and the descendants of Taizu, and the entire Yongzhou..."
"It has already happened, so it is only right to hurry up and get to the bottom of it."
Dou Tianyuan's face turned serious, "Do you have any clues now?"
“Mystical power.”
Lou Youzhi slowly uttered two words.
"Magic power?!"
Dou Tianyuan was shocked, "Is there really such a thing?"
"Other than that, I can't think of any other way to deceive millions of people at the same time for seven days."
Lou Youzhi narrowed his eyes, thinking of his terrible guess.
Is it Your Majesty who bewitched the Taiping Daoist, or is it the Taiping Daoist who bewitched Your Majesty?
“Mystical power…”
Dou Tianyuan pondered for a moment and shook his head: "The Blood Robe Guards only have a few words, nothing valuable."
"The same is true for Wenyuan Pavilion and Imperial College."
Lou Youzhi said bluntly, "If we want to find out the origin of this magical power, we still have to start from the root."
"You mean... Taiping Dao?"
Dou Tianyuan's eyes lit up, "The six major families have a long history, and there may be relevant records... I went to the Hua family once when Xu Chong was cultivating the Dao in Huangting, and I can go there anytime now."
"IMHO."
Lou Youzhi shook his head, "I'm afraid the Hua family doesn't have it."
"What do you mean?"
Dou Tianyuan was stunned.
“Although Wenyuan Pavilion has no records of supernatural powers, it has records of Taiping Dao.”
Lou Youzhi explained, "The Hua family was known to the court as one of the six major families three hundred years ago, and the foundation was not enough."
"Okay... but it doesn't hurt to try."
Dou Tianyuan was slightly disappointed.
At this time, Dou Zi floated over and saluted the two of them: "Master, this is the Prime Minister."
"What's wrong?"
Dou Tianyuan was puzzled and raised his hand to disperse the blockade.
Although he had the ability to break the sky with one hand, his conversation would not be overheard by anyone, and he never restricted Dou Zi from entering the backyard.
But under normal circumstances, Douzi would not disturb at this time.
"Master, the director of the Imperial Observatory, Du Qianchuan, wants to see you..."
Douzi started to explain, seeming a little speechless, "I said I wouldn't leave until I saw you today."
It was the first time that she met someone so bold that he ran to the headquarters of the Blood-Clothed Guards and asked to see the number one master, and said he would not leave unless he saw him.
It's like an old man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long.
She came here not to report, but to ask for instructions...
"Do you want me to kick him out? Or throw him into the Imperial Prison? To be honest, I have never beaten the warden before..."
"Nonsense."
Dou Tianyuan's face darkened and he said, "Let him go in front..."
"Bring him here."
Lou Youzhi suddenly interrupted.
Dou Tianyuan was a little surprised. After a little thought, he nodded to Dou Zi.
"yes."
Dou Zi took the order and left, her little mouth slightly pouted, as if she felt a little regretful.
"so."
Dou Tianyuan looked at Lou Youzhi and said meaningfully, "You didn't come here to look for me, but to wait for Du Qianchuan?"
"Yes."
Lou Youzhi nodded, "I didn't expect you to react until now."
“…”
Dou Tianyuan choked and said depressedly: "I still don't quite understand... Even if he is willing to stand on our side because of the granddaughter of Duke Anguo, how much use can the Du family be?"
“Sometimes, whether something is useful or not cannot be judged solely by background and power.”
Lou Youzhi gave a vague explanation.
Soon, Dou Zi led Du Qianchuan into the backyard, bowed, and then left.
"Lou Xiang..."
Du Qianchuan's expression suddenly turned cold, and he said as he walked, "That's great, it saves me from having to come to everyone's door."
This tone made Dou Tianyuan a little dazed, as if he saw Jiang Zhihong.
"Ask."
Lou Youzhi spoke calmly.
"Did my father-in-law, Chen Kai, really collude with the Taiping Dao?"
Du Qianchuan did not hesitate and asked directly.
"No."
Lou Youzhi shook his head and rejected this.
Du Qianchuan's expression kept changing, and his hands in his sleeves were unconsciously clenched.
If there is no collusion with the Taiping Dao, it means that he is wrongly accused.
The main culprit was executed by lingchi, his entire clan was exterminated... and his wife was killed by his own hands.
After a long while, Du Qianchuan took a deep breath and asked the second question tremblingly: "Did Jiang Zhihong really collude with the Taiping Dao?"
"No."
Lou Youzhi smiled and rejected it again.
Du Qianchuan stared at Lou Youzhi, "So, you colluded with the Taiping Dao?"
It is obvious that if Chen Kai did not collude with the Taiping Dao and Jiang Zhihong did not collude with the Taiping Dao, then the only person who colluded with the Taiping Dao could naturally be Lou Youzhi.
As the rumors spread, in order to embezzle millions of stones of grain, millions of lives were harmed.
However, Lou Youzhi rejected it for the third time: "No."
“Neither?!”
Du Qianchuan roared angrily, "So, you mean that the Chen family, Jiang Zhihong, and the souls of millions of refugees have nothing to do with you?!"
"wrong."
Lou Youzhi looked at Du Qianchuan deeply, "These three are all related to me."
"you!"
Du Qianchuan was furious and felt like a toy being teased.
"If you want to know the truth and avenge your wife, then go back."
Lou Youzhi was unmoved and said calmly: "Go to the Imperial Observatory and check what Jiang Zhihong asked you to check. Remember them. In a month, I will transfer you to the Ministry of Personnel."
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Qianchuan was shocked.
At that time, he and the granddaughter of Duke Anguo were in love with each other, but because of their mismatch in age and status, they could only interact secretly.
Jiang Zhihong used this incident as a threat and forced him to read the records of natural disasters sealed in the Imperial Observatory.
But this matter was not only done in a very secretive manner, but also Jiang Zhihong would never leak it given his character... How could Lou Youzhi know about it? !
"Go ahead."
Lou Youzhi spoke again, "Remember, don't let anyone find out, just like you did back then... Otherwise, I can't save you."
"……good."
Du Qianchuan looked at Lou Youzhi deeply, and without asking him why he wanted to go to the Ministry of Personnel, he just turned around and left.
After he left, Dou Tianyuan spoke up, "Xu Chong told me that Jiang Zhihong asked him to look up the records of natural disasters... How did you know that?"
"Because I had already checked it long before Jiang Zhihong."
Lou Youzhi continued, "That year, when I came back from Bingzhou to provide disaster relief, Yuan Shouyi had not yet fled to the secondary capital, so I sneaked into the Imperial Observatory alone."
"……I see."
Dou Tianyuan thought about it and felt that this was normal.
After all, the one who truly experienced the drought in Bingzhou was not Jiang Zhihong, but Lou Youzhi.
So theoretically, Lou Youzhi was the first person to become suspicious of the natural disaster, and it is understandable that he looked into the natural disaster before Jiang Zhihong.
but……
Dou Tianyuan frowned, "That's not right. Even if Yuan Shouyi was immersed in the grief of losing his relatives and was distracted, you couldn't sneak into the Imperial Observatory at that time, right?"
Lou Youzhi uttered a few words calmly: "Secret Martial Arts, Greedy Light."
The figure disappeared in an instant, and reappeared in an instant.
Dou Tianyuan's jaw almost dropped to the ground.
He knew that Tan Guang was created by the captain Ge Wanshan.
Not only did he know about it, he had also seen Xu Chong perform it with his own eyes.
But he never expected that Lou Youzhi had also mastered this skill.
...It's hidden so damn deeply.
Huh? Wait!
Ge Wanshan?
Dou Tianyuan frowned even more tightly: "It's still not right. If I remember correctly, at that time, Ge Wanshan hadn't promoted his martial arts to secret martial arts, right?"
"He created the martial arts, but I was the one who mastered the secret martial arts first."
Lou Youzhi said calmly, "Without any background or master, I can only rely on myself."
"I didn't realize you were so perceptive..."
Dou Tianyuan said, his expression becoming serious: "I can tell you all the tricks of Wind Breaking Hand, Star Picking Hand, and Sky Breaking Hand. As long as you can practice them, you can at least save your life."
"It's no use."
Lou Youzhi shook his head. "I have practiced the Wind-Breaking Hand before, but it has only increased the power by 10% so far. This martial art is not suitable for me."
"All right……"
Dou Tianyuan felt disappointed and immediately looked towards the pond.
Lou Youzhi also took a look and said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but before we die, he may not be able to practice to the highest level of Single-handed Sky Breaking."
"That's what I thought."
Dou Tianyuan sighed, "It doesn't matter, as long as I can practice to break the sky with one hand."
"I don't really understand the feeling of having to see the mantle being passed on with my own eyes."
Lou Youzhi shook his head. "Think about it. Even magical powers that have been lost for thousands or tens of thousands of years can be revived one day. Are you still worried that future generations won't be able to master your side skills?"
"Having said that, I still have to see it with my own eyes to feel that my life is not lived in vain."
Dou Tianyuan smiled.
"Speaking of Xu Chong."
Lou Youzhi suddenly raised his eyebrows, "I think King Qian treats him a little strangely."
"What's strange about that?"
Dou Tianyuan's heart tightened.
"After Xu Chong's planting of Taoism, King Qian tampered with all of Xu Chong's case files... You know, tampering with case files is easy, but tampering with memories is not that easy."
Lou Youzhi looked at Dou Tianyuan, "You are close to Prince Qian, didn't he tell you this?"
"No."
Dou Tianyuan looked solemn, "Whose memories did he tamper with?"
"The entire Canglong County, and some of Zhanghua Mansion..."
"For people at this level, it shouldn't take much effort, right? It just takes some time."
"I'm not finished."
Lou Youzhi shook his head, "As far as I know, there is also the Chengguo family."
"this……"
Dou Tianyuan finally realized that things were not simple.
Everything else is fine, but Duke Chengguo Duan Rufeng is a celestial being in the Nascent Soul stage.
In this way, the consumption on King Qian would be far from insignificant.
"In the beginning, the identity and origin of the descendants of Taizu were well protected, and most people only knew the name Xu Chong."
Lou Youzhi said meaningfully, "Now that Yongzhou has been wiped out and Duke Cheng's family's memories have been tampered with, Xu Chong's past has become clean and innocent, and he has never done anything bad."
"Why did King Qian do this?"
Dou Tianyuan was puzzled. "With the identity of Taizu's descendant, what does it matter if Xu Chong did some bad things?"
"I can't guess, I can only conclude one thing..."
Lou Youzhi looked at the mirror-like surface of the water and said in a deep voice: "Xu Chong is more important than we thought."