After separating from Dou Tianyuan, Lou Youzhi did not go to Wenyuan Pavilion, but went straight back to his own residence, went down the secret passage in the study, and after a few twists and turns, he arrived at the underground palace using a route that only he knew.
There is someone waiting here.
The leader of the Daqing clan, Prince Qian.
"There is actually a secret passage in the clan residence that even I don't know about. It would be shocking if I told anyone about it."
Prince Qian looked at Lou Youzhi calmly, as if asking for an explanation.
"The network of this underground palace is extremely complex, leading to various important government offices in Daqing, but most of them have not been able to break through the final barrier."
Lou Youzhi said as he walked over and sat opposite Prince Qian, "If it weren't for today's court meeting, I'm afraid the clan office would never get through."
"What does this have to do with the court meeting?"
King Qian remained calm.
"Because from beginning to end, you said nothing and just sat there and watched me lead this scene."
Lou Youzhi looked directly at King Qian and said in a deep voice, "I want to ask, before today, did you know that natural disasters can be predicted?"
"I don't know."
King Qian shook his head.
"That is to say..."
Lou Youzhi raised his eyebrows, "The royal family and your majesty, or the clan leader and your majesty, are not actually one and the same?"
"Whatever you think."
Prince Qian did not comment, but said: "I advise you not to continue. Take today's court meeting for example. It seems that you have a lot of initiative, but in fact, as long as I think about it, everything you have done is in vain."
"Because the clan order can not only tamper with people's memories, but also target a certain thing or person to deceive the others, right?"
Lou Youzhi said calmly, "I knew this long before today."
King Qian narrowed his eyes, "How did you know that?"
The upper echelons of Daqing all knew that the clan house possessed a mysterious treasure.
No one knows what this treasure is, but we know that it is directly related to the household registration system.
In addition, there are a very few people who know that this treasure has the ability to tamper with other people's memories.
For example, Dou Tianyuan knows it.
But the problem is that the ability to cover up a person or an event on a large scale should only be known by the clan leaders of all generations...
"Because your actions are too abnormal."
Lou Youzhi replied, "No matter how you look at it, there is no need to erase any traces of Xu Chong's past, but you still did it. I think what you want to erase should be something else."
Prince Qian's expression changed, "What did Xu Chong tell you?"
"He didn't say anything, and he even hid it very well. I figured it out through some details that no one would notice."
Lou Youzhi's eyes were inexplicable, "Xu Chong is not a Huangting cultivator, but a Zifu cultivator, right?"
King Qian did not answer.
Tremendous majesty emanated from his body, directly approaching Lou Youzhi.
At the beginning, he did cover up Xu Chong's Zifu Seed Dao, causing other people's perception of Xu Chong to become the 'Huangting Seed Dao'.
But this kind of cover-up is more like a kind of confusion. As long as Xu Chong takes the initiative to tell others, or others speculate based on the abilities demonstrated by Xu Chong, it is possible to overturn this cognition.
But he didn't expect it to happen so soon...
"King Qian, there is no need to do this."
Lou Youzhi waved his hand. "Everything Xu Chong said and did meant that I couldn't have any ill will towards him. What's more, he is still very weak, so I can't use him to do anything."
"I hope so."
Prince Qian's momentum weakened slightly, and he hesitated for a while before slowly speaking: "Do you know why people with Taizu's bloodline have extraordinary qualifications?"
Lou Youzhi nodded and said, "At the cost of my life span."
"No."
King Qian rejected it directly, "The real price is the Purple Palace."
Lou Youzhi frowned.
"Anyone who possesses the bloodline of the Great Ancestor will have an incomplete purple palace."
King Qian said in a deep voice, "The stronger the aptitude, the greater the defect of the Purple Palace."
"I started practicing martial arts at the age of twelve, and it only took me thirty years to reach the seventh level of Dharmakāya. This is twenty years less than it took you to reach the seventh level of Dharmakāya, and thirteen years less than it took Dou Tianyuan to reach the seventh level of Golden Body."
"If I hadn't wanted to live a few more years, I would have reached the ninth level of Dharmakaya long ago, and it would not be impossible for me to even reach the ninth level."
Normally speaking, Zifu is only divided into large and small, simple and complex.
Unless one survives by chance after failing in the cultivation process, there is only the saying of incompleteness.
This was the first time Lou Youzhi heard of someone being born with a disability.
"The Purple Palace is the residence of the soul... The Purple Palace is damaged, but it only shortens the life span, and does not cause loss of mind, which is already very rare."
Lou Youzhi seemed to be thinking about something, then his eyes suddenly widened.
The incompleteness of the Purple Palace means the incompleteness of the Tao seed.
Just like the failure of planting the Dao Jade Pool, the incomplete Dao seed can no longer be used to plant Dao.
But Xu Chong succeeded!
"It seems you thought of it."
King Qian looked at Lou Youzhi meaningfully, "Xu Chong not only successfully cultivated the Dao Purple Palace, but his Purple Palace is even more powerful than that of ordinary people. However, his aptitude..."
What are Xu Chong’s qualifications?
There is no doubt about this.
If one's aptitude is not sufficient, how can one awaken his bloodline memory, and how can one succeed in cultivating the Tao in just a few years?
"What does this mean?"
Lou Youzhi's expression became serious.
"This means that Xu Chong is not a descendant of Taizu at all."
Prince Qian replied calmly.
"I don't understand you."
Lou Youzhi frowned.
Since Xu Chong is not a descendant of Taizu, it is impossible for him to awaken his bloodline memory and obtain Zhengyang Jin, and it is impossible for him to cultivate Zhengyang Jin.
But at the same time, Xu Chong was able to successfully cultivate the Dao Purple Mansion.
The two are too contradictory.
"In the clan records of the past dynasties, no matter if they are from the royal family, common people, or the descendants of Taizu, no one with Taizu's bloodline can cultivate the Dao Purple Mansion."
Prince Qian looked at Lou Youzhi deeply, "Except Taizu himself."
"!!!"
Lou Youzhi was shocked, "You mean..."
King Qian just looked at him indifferently without answering.
And Lou Youzhi had inevitably begun to think in a certain direction, and his heart was filled with turbulent waves.
Taizu.
This is an existence that still has a profound impact on the entire Daqing even after thousands or tens of thousands of years.
Let’s not talk about anything else, just take Lou Youzhi himself. The first thing he recited in its entirety after he learned to read was the Great Edict of Taizu.
Because among the three examinations for students, the most important one is Taizu Da Gao.
The full text of 330 laws and decrees all put the people before the royal family and the emperor. They are so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and so thought-provoking.
At the beginning, the vast majority of scholars firmly believed that as long as people's hearts could operate according to Taizu's edict, Daqing would definitely become a better place.
Although this kind of firm belief will always be shattered by reality again and again, many people still maintain their original intentions.
For example, Jiang Zhihong, Gu Chengren...many, many more.
If Xu Chong is not the descendant of Taizu, but...
Lou Youzhi's heart trembled, and he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, "It seems that he can't get involved in this matter anymore."
King Qian snorted coldly, "If I didn't know that he was involved with you and the red-skinned guy, do you think I would tell you this?"
"In this case, I need your help even more."
Lou Youzhi smiled.
"You think too much."
Prince Qian waved his hand and said, "Whatever happened between you and His Majesty, it has nothing to do with me. As for those innocent refugees, you should know that I don't care."
"I know."
Lou Youzhi's expression straightened up, "But if you don't care about the common people, don't you care about the country's destiny passed down by Taizu?"
King Qian frowned slightly, "You tell me first."
Lou Youzhi nodded and spoke slowly.
"To be honest, I asked Du Qianchuan to impeach the late emperor for two purposes."
"First, I'm testing your relationship with His Majesty."
"This was confirmed before Du Qianchuan entered the palace."
"You had no intention of stopping it, and apart from being slightly surprised, you didn't even care about it."
"Plus the time you defended Xu Chong from the case of Xie Changqing... I got the news that His Majesty summoned you to the back hall, but you refused."
Before he finished speaking, Prince Qian felt a chill in his heart.
He went to see His Majesty not to really excuse Xu Chong, but to use the excuse to implicitly make His Majesty believe that Xu Chong was a Huangting Zhongdao.
But one thing is that he went there in private.
At that time , no one was present except Yan Fang who was always guarding Tianji Palace .
So, has Lou Youzhi already reached out to the Imperial Household Department?
"Combining these two, I guess His Majesty cannot be completely sure that you will help him eliminate the influence brought by Du Qianchuan."
Lou Youzhi continued.
"You are right, but the real reason is not my relationship with His Majesty."
Prince Qian shook his head and explained, "In fact, whether it is tampering with memory or specifically covering up something, it will consume my already limited life span, so I may not be willing to do it, and Your Majesty knows this."
"I see... But I have hit the jackpot by accident. This also confirms my second attempt."
Lou Youzhi said in a low voice, "Testing how much Your Majesty can endure."
"As long as His Majesty comes out from behind the curtain and sits on the dragon throne, even if it's just a simple sentence, the influence brought by Du Qianchuan can be suppressed in an instant."
"But he didn't show up until the end."
"Why?"
"The Crown Prince once came to me and mentioned that Your Majesty has not left the back palace for three years. Apart from the chief eunuch, only one or two favored concubines or princes and princesses would be summoned to the back palace occasionally."
Lou Youzhi narrowed his eyes, "I think it's not that he doesn't want to show up, but that he simply can't show up."
"That's right."
King Qian sighed, "Although I don't know why, but all signs indicate that he has been unable to leave the back hall of Tianji Palace since three years ago."
"What about three years ago?"
Lou Youzhi asked.
Prince Qian thought for a moment and said, "It's more common to stay overnight in the palace."
"The bedroom...as expected!"
Lou Youzhi's eyes sparkled.
"What did you think of?"
King Qian raised his eyebrows.
"I remember that when Your Majesty ascended the throne, the bedroom was located in Wanfu Palace. It was not until the fifth year of Yongtai that it was moved to Yangxin Palace."
Lou Youzhi said in a gloomy tone, "Wanfu Palace is adjacent to the north of Yangxin Palace, and Yangxin Palace is adjacent to the north of Yongqing Palace, which is the back hall of Tianji Palace... In other words, your majesty's range of activities has been gradually reduced, and since three years ago, it has been fixed to the back hall of Tianji Palace."
Prince Qian was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly: "That's right...but what does this prove?"
"Does King Qian know about the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden?"
Lou Youzhi did not answer but asked instead.
"Wan Shou Yuan... Isn't this the name of the ranch outside the city?"
King Qian frowned, "What does this have to do with this?"
"According to the Ministry of Revenue's files, three hundred years ago, there were 600,000 birds and beasts of all kinds in the Wanshou Garden... How big is the ranch outside the city? It can barely support 20,000 or 30,000 at best."
Lou Youzhi replied, "Starting from three hundred years ago, this exaggerated number began to decrease continuously, 580,000, 550,000, 500,000... until two hundred years ago, when it suddenly dropped from 100,000 to the current 20,000."
"You mean, the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden was originally a cave? It is indeed possible..."
King Qian nodded thoughtfully, and then his expression suddenly changed: "Range!!"
"That's it."
Lou Youzhi nodded, "The number of birds and beasts is decreasing, probably because of the decline of the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden, which caused the scope of the rules to gradually shrink until two hundred years ago, when the cave heaven completely disappeared and became the royal ranch today."
"Do you suspect that the back hall of Tianji Palace is also a cave heaven that is in decline?"
Prince Qian followed the direction suggested by Lou Youzhi and deduced a possibility, "The reason why Your Majesty moved his bedroom and finally had to retreat to Tianji Palace and never show up in public again is because the scope of the cave heaven is shrinking?"
"It is also because of the rules of this cave that Your Majesty can break the bloodline restrictions."
A cold light flashed in Lou Youzhi's eyes. "In addition, from the existing knowledge, the rules of the cave heaven can only take effect within the scope of the cave heaven. It is impossible to create natural disasters across thousands of miles..."
"But what if?"
"Assuming that the cave can extend your majesty's life, and natural disasters can delay the decline of the cave, what will your majesty do?"
"The past is a lesson for the future."
Lou Youzhi asked himself and answered: "The population of Daqing will decrease rapidly like the birds and beasts in the Wanshou Garden, until finally, a natural disaster befalls Dingtianfu... Without the people, can the royal family still be called the royal family, and can Daqing still be called Daqing?"
King Qian was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you want me to do?"
“It’s very simple.”
Lou Youzhi nodded slightly, "If His Majesty asks you to cancel today's court meeting, agree to it."
“…”
King Qian frowned, and after a long while he asked in confusion: "If you want to do this, why are you going through so much trouble?"
"For time."
After saying that, Lou Youzhi clapped his hands.
In one of the many passages in the underground palace, about a hundred steps away from the two of them, a door made of forbidden stone opened, and a familiar figure walked out.
"Greetings to King Qian and Prime Minister Lou."
The visitor bowed from a distance, turned around and went back into the room.
Even with King Qian's temperament, he couldn't help but feel it was absurd.
The person just now was the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, Yan Fang.
"Du Qianchuan impeached the late emperor at my instruction, and the Imperial Household Department destroyed the evidence at my instruction as well."
Lou Youzhi smiled faintly and explained, "From the beginning to the end, I never placed my hopes on those officials. Whether they knew the truth about the natural disaster or not, they only cared about their own interests. Now they are just succumbing to my power and pretending to be submissive... Since I have tested that Your Majesty cannot leave the back hall, my goal has been achieved. Now I need time, so it is better to let Your Majesty feel at ease."
"Besides the royal family, is there any place in Daqing that you haven't reached out to?"
Prince Qian shook his head and sighed, looking at Lou Youzhi seriously: "I can promise you, but I must know your ultimate goal... Do you want to force His Majesty to abdicate and replace the crown prince with the throne?"
“Not really.”
Lou Youzhi shook his head. "Even if His Majesty abdicates and the Crown Prince ascends the throne, what will happen? How many years of prosperity can Daqing have?"
"So what do you want to do... destroy that cave?!"
Prince Qian was halfway through his speech when he came to his senses.
Indeed, as long as the cave can prolong your majesty's life span, and as long as natural disasters can delay the decline of the cave, no matter who becomes your majesty, he is destined to make the same choice.
The only solution is to destroy this cave.
But the problem is, if the cave is destroyed, Emperor Yongtai in the cave...
Regardless of whether he survives or not, this is regicide!
Thinking of this, Prince Qian's face turned cold: "Don't forget, no matter what, he is a member of the royal family."
"King Qian is overthinking."
Lou Youzhi sighed slightly, "Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents and Teachers, these are the obstacles I cannot avoid."
"indeed."
Prince Qian's expression relaxed and he nodded slowly, "If I didn't know your character well, I would never allow you to control the government and become so powerful."
"Dou Tianyuan should have told you that Ji Qingzhi, the leader of the Taiping Dao, is your majesty's magical clone... Your majesty cannot leave the curtain, but his clone still possesses enormous power."
Lou Youzhi looked at King Qian and spoke slowly: "So I need time to make arrangements for the next natural disaster."
"I will use natural disasters to continue to verify my inferences."
"I want to see if a natural disaster occurs and no one dies..."
"what happens?"