Chapter 315 Telling Pei Niannu a Story

Chapter 315 Telling Pei Niannu a Story

Chapter 315 Telling Pei Niannu a Story

What kind of weirdness is this...In the archive, sunlight shone through the window pane, passed through the bookshelves, and sprinkled on the paper roll in his hand.

"So, this Pei Niannu is not only a powerful ancient man from six hundred years ago, but also a scary guy who would lock up storytellers in a small dark room at will..."

"Fighting with Taizu, the outcome was inconclusive... Well, the person who should be recorded here is Old Xu, who has not yet entered the Heavenly Man Realm. But this record alone is terrifying. A peak period of the pseudo-Heavenly Man Realm... Hiss, doesn't that mean he is similar to Zhenbao?"

"Pei Niannu...is not well-known, at least I don't know him. Six hundred years have passed, and too many records have indeed been buried in time. But Old Xu, why did you draw him? After all, you can't be obsessed with him..."

Zhao Duan stood in the document library, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

He closed the book and had an idea in his mind:

"According to Ma Yan, the people in the Six Chapters Sutra have a certain spirituality and can communicate. It seems that it is impossible to fight against Pei Niannu through force. It is better to change the thinking and cater to his preferences..."

"As the saying goes, flattery is the only thing that can't be worn out... As long as you are well prepared, there is no big shot that you can't flatter..."

Path dependence belongs to yes.

However, these few words of record were not enough. Zhao Duan walked straight out of the palace and went straight to the government office, preparing to use the resources at hand to collect information about "Pei Niannu".

Provide strategy.

……

While Zhao Duan was busy collecting information, the Gao Lian case was officially investigated and retried.

The direction of public opinion is just a small microcosm of the game between multiple forces.

Silent all night.

The next day, the morning court session resumed.

On this day, some people were surprised to see a large group of censors entering the Golden Palace.

It was later reported that dozens of officials at the morning court jointly "petitioned" for Gao Lian.

He also presented a memorial signed by many officials, which said that Governor Gao was well-known for his elegance and integrity, which was obvious to all.

It is hard to believe that he would commit so many crimes and then question the authenticity of much evidence.

What's more, the Imperial Censor-in-Chief refuted many of the evidences and suspected that the imperial envoy Zhao Duan had been deceived and that Gao Lian's imprisonment was a targeted act.

Strictly speaking, this court meeting had no practical content, but its political significance was extremely obvious.

Such a massive request was rare in the court, and it was undoubtedly the Jiangnan clan headed by Li Yanfu who were fanning the flames behind it.

After leaving the court.

A quarrel also broke out in the Imperial College. It was said that the students were divided into two factions and started a fight over the issue of "whether Gao Lian was framed."

However, due to the large amount of evidence, the majority of students still hold the view that the case is "guilty".

However, the very fact that there are opposing voices sends out a subtle signal.

Baima Prison, the rear court.

"Does Li Yanfu really have this ability to make so many officials express their opinions so quickly?" Zhao Duan asked curiously as he sat under an old tree that had almost lost all its leaves.

Opposite him was the supervisor Sun Lianying, who had gray hair on his temples and sunken eyes.

Because it was cold in autumn, the old eunuch had a knitted blanket covering his knees and a thicker layer of clothes on his body. He smiled and said:

“Li Yanfu has been in the imperial court for many years, so he naturally has a solid foundation. However, after several setbacks, his prestige has also declined a lot. The fact that he was able to react so quickly this time was not just due to his tricks.

Did you know that yesterday, the Gao family from Jiangnan and the family of his wife arrived in Beijing together, and in just one day, they visited more than 30 mansions. "

Are the southern gentry coming?

How come I don’t know... Zhao Duan was surprised, then scratched his head, thinking that he didn’t seem to care about this matter at all, so there was no problem.

He smiled and said, "You spend your days leisurely in the White Horse Prison, and you are more informed than I am."

The old supervisor glanced at him, uttered a "huh", and said lightly:
“When you live in one place for a long time, you will always know more people.”

Zhao Duan agreed with this and handed over a few winter dates that he had wiped clean, saying with a smile:

"So, you're saying that the incident at the court this morning was caused by the nobles?"

The old supervisor nodded and leaned back in his chair.

The sky is high and the clouds are light in autumn. The sky in Beijing is also exceptionally clear, with only a few wisps of clouds floating high in the sky.

"This is just the beginning. There are many forces in the court, and each one is intertwined with the other. The world was originally divided and controlled by various noble families, and the royal family was nothing more than the largest one among them.

In the past, these hundred-year-old southern clans kept a low profile. The biggest reason for this was their fear of the imperial court. Once people feared the imperial court, they would try to find ways to build connections and infiltrate...

But fear does not mean just being beaten. You have indeed attacked the nobles too frequently in the past six months. "The old supervisor sighed.

Zhao Duan had a bitter face, feeling extremely wronged:

"How can I do that? If you say it's too frequent, it's because I don't have enough time."

Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered, let alone a big family with a century of history.

How could Zhao Duan not understand this?

Whether the empress is controlling the court or implementing new policies, the best and most stable way is naturally to "boil the frog in warm water."

But will the covetous Eighth Prince and the sneaky remnants of the Second Prince leave enough time to boil water for people?
If it was purely for the sake of stability, even if they knew that Gao Lian was the mastermind behind the scenes, they should have pretended not to know and stabilized the southern aristocratic group first.

But in the end, the empress decided to take the risk and use the power she had accumulated over the past six months to start a crackdown on the Linfeng officialdom.

As long as Gao Lian is successfully killed, the nobles will be defeated, their morale will drop, and the resistance to the new policy will be reduced... Of course, in Zhao Duan's view, this operation is a bit like dancing on the edge of a knife. Either the nobles will be devastated and willing to accept their fate, or they will be aroused to rebel. Of course, the greater possibility is that there are all kinds of ideas.

There are also factions within the group with different ideas.

As far as he knew, the empress deliberately tried to attract some of the nobles to join in the new policy of "opening the market".

Use the popular opportunity of "opening the market" to split the entire aristocratic group, win over some, suppress others... All of the above were not explicitly stated in the court, but Zhao Duan relied on his experience to figure out these strategies from the actions and policies of the court.

So, Zhenbao is not just clearing away obstacles.

While dealing with Gao Lian, he also quietly handed out sweet treats to some other big families.

"Just eat a few. I'm old and can't eat anything too sweet." The old supervisor took a few winter dates and said quietly:

"Anyway, just wait and see. In the next few days, the lobbying of the influential people in the capital by the southern nobles will only increase, not decrease. The actions of the Li Party today are just a signal. The real counterattack has not yet begun."

Zhao Duan chewed the dates and said, "It has nothing to do with me anyway."

At this time, a messenger from the prison came over, and the old warden got up to handle official business.

Only Zhao Duan was left alone in the small courtyard, eating dates and drinking wine.

He closed his eyes, put the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and breathed in and out.

Although he was sitting or lying down, he entered a state of meditation like a Buddhist arhat.

……

In a trance, Zhao Duan entered the "Six Chapter Sutra" again.

Appeared in the wilderness.

Looking up, the sky was still dark and there were sparse trees around.

He looked up and saw the ruined temple still in front of him.

"…Does this count as a resurrection point?"

Zhao Duan complained, straightened his clothes, and happily walked towards the ancient temple for the second time.

Pei Niannu did not leave many records, but he still found some ancient books and confirmed the authenticity of the records in the files.

At the same time, the descriptions in those ancient books provide a more detailed understanding of the reading preferences of this "first female sorceress (ancient name: alchemist)".

For example, Pei Niannu, one of the giants who dominated the martial arts world six hundred years ago, did not like romance novels, thinking that "love stories are petty."

He also doesn't like stories about making great achievements, becoming a general or a prime minister, or conquering the world, believing that "fame, wealth and status are fleeting, in a word, vulgar."

He loved listening to mysterious stories about immortals and ghosts the most in his life. It is said that this originated from his yearning to become an immortal when he was a child.

Even though he later became a world-class master, he was still as passionate about this type of subject matter as ever.

"Don't you just like fantasy and fairy tales..."

Zhao Duan muttered something and walked to the steps of the dilapidated temple.

He took a deep breath and held his concentration. He knew he couldn't win, so success or failure depended on this one move.

The next moment, Zhao Duan concentrated his energy and recited aloud:
"An ordinary village boy accidentally entered a local martial arts sect and became a registered disciple. With such an identity, how can he gain a foothold in the sect? How can he enter the ranks of immortal cultivators with mediocre qualifications and become the master of the three realms? Listen to the first chapter of "The Story of a Mortal Cultivating Immortality."

"Han Li opened his eyes wide, staring at the black roof made of thatch and mud. The old quilt covering him had turned dark yellow and his original appearance could no longer be seen. There was also a faint smell of mold..."

Zhao Duan recited loudly.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful that he had developed the habit of listening to books when he was bored on his way to work in his previous life...

While reciting, Zhao Duan took a step and slowly pushed open the door of the dilapidated temple.

The inside was still the same as I had seen last time, with overgrown weeds, a broken alchemy furnace lying in the corner, and the main hall had been abandoned for a long time.

He looked around but couldn't find any trace of Pei Niannu.

But there was no pause in the story telling, thanks to the silent recitation practice last night. Although the story was not very expressive, it was fluent and natural.

And when he walked to the center of the courtyard for the second time, as expected, he felt a strong pressure again.

coming!

Zhao Duan calmed down, suppressed his energy, and did not resist at all. He simply closed his eyes and stood there, immersed in the storytelling...

However, the expected pain of having the skull knocked open did not come.

There is a play!

Zhao Duan suppressed his joy and continued to narrate:
"...Han Li never thought that after this trip, the amount of money would no longer be meaningful to him. He would actually embark on a different path from ordinary people and walk out of his own path of cultivating immortality."

rustle……

A cold wind blew across the dilapidated ancient temple.

Zhao Duan, who was reciting with his eyes closed, didn't know that on the eaves of the main hall in front of him, a bright red wedding dress was hanging, unmoved by the wind.

The golden and red scale rod in Pei Niannu's hand slowly dropped down, and a strange look appeared in the holes behind the dark gold mask covering his face.

Gradually, the female sorceress in wedding dress, who had once been one of the most powerful warriors in the martial arts world, slowly sat on the eaves. A pair of legs hung down from under her skirt, and her embroidered shoes swayed slightly.

Behind the dark gold visor, the evil spirit gradually eased.

“I’ve never heard of this story.”

(End of this chapter)