Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The New Emperor Ascends the
Throne (Seeking for More Readers)
Translator: 549690339
Capital City, Sky Prison.
Upon realizing that the other party was an Innate Master, Old Zhou immediately lowered his head and dared not even look at Liang Sheng’s face.
Liang Sheng couldn’t help but nod when he saw this, and thought to himself that he wasn’t the only smart one. This adversary was indeed the wily “Blood Prison Old Demon” who had been able to keep the Sky Prison impregnable for so long.
“Today, 1 want to take away someone with me. Do you know where the baby grandson of Zheng Wanchun, who’s still in swaddling clothes, is locked up?”
Old Zhou, hearing this, sighed in relief. It was good that this Grandmaster did not come to kill him, and all he wanted was to take away an infant.
He got up immediately and led the way without daring to look at Liang Sheng’s face, keeping his head low.
“Senior, please follow me.”
Without trying to dodge or explain, he just wanted to quickly send this plague away. After all, what did it have to do with him if Sky Prison lost a baby?
Before long, they arrived at Prison C. Liang Sheng stopped in the shadows and didn’t move forward. Old Zhou understood immediately what Liang Sheng meant by this.
Without hesitation, he walked straight to a cell door, rudely picked up Zheng Wanchun’s infant grandson from his swaddling clothes beside Zheng Wanchun’s son and carried him away.
Liang Sheng’s actions just now had already shown that he didn’t want to meet anyone from the Zheng Family. He probably just wanted to take Zheng Wanchun’s baby grandson away without having too much to do with the Zheng Family.
The members of the Zheng Family wanted to stop Older Zhou, but they couldn’t. When they arrived at the shadows, Liang Sheng glanced at the baby in Old Zhou’s arms and confirmed it was the same baby Zheng Wanchun had described. In an instant, he disappeared with the child.
Old Zhou waited for a short while. There was no movement, and without any hesitation, he decided to leave Sky Prison.
But before he could get away, a loud noise came from inside the prison, followed by the sound of drums and the cry for help from the prison guards echoing throughout the Sky Prison.
“The criminals are escaping. Come give support quickly!”
Old Zhou’s face couldn’t help but show bitterness. He had no choice but to turn back, as he was a step too late. He didn’t need to think much – Zheng Wanchun must be causing trouble.
Indeed, when he arrived at the scene of the incident, he saw Zheng Wanchun full of energy. Combining this with his disregard for life, no one dared to get within three meters of him.
Old Zhou naturally wouldn’t move forward. Zheng Wanchun was now purposeful in his actions, and Liang Sheng had earlier brought him his infant grandson and told him where the Zheng Family was imprisoned.
Since they were all doomed to die, it’s better to die at their own hands, to avoid torture and to cover up the news of the escape of their baby grandson.
As for Old Zhou, seeing the direction that Zheng Wanchun was heading, he quickly guessed his intention. It’s best not to provoke someone who’s already dying.
Half an hour later.
The Sky Prison guards suffered heavy casualties, but the criminal Zheng Wanchun and all the members of the Zheng Family perished in the sea of fire.
All the Sky Prison guards received a certain penalty from top to bottom. Old Zhou remained silent, but didn’t have much resentment. After all, it was good just to be alive.
But still, which Grandmaster had come today?
Three days later.
Peaceful Mind Studio.
Liang Sheng finally appeared at the bookstore. Old Zhang sighed in relief as soon as he saw him. “Little Liang, where have you been these past few days?
You didn’t even give me a call. I’ve been on pins and needles, worried that something happened to you!”
“Old Zhang, thank you for your concern. I’m fine. 1 just went to visit a distant relative outside the city and just got back.”
Old Zhang didn’t ask any further questions since Little Liang was an honest person. Was it possible he could have done anything big?
He couldn’t contain his impatience and approached cautiously. “Little Liang, while you were away from the Capital City, did you hear that something happened to the Sky Prison? Let me tell you…”
Old Zhang recounted the rumors he’d heard about the Sky Prison to Liang Sheng, who showed no reaction. For the past three days, he had actually been wandering around the outskirts of the Capital City.
He had already given Zheng Wanchun’s baby grandson to a childless kind-hearted family to raise. Although the child would not be rich, he could grow up safely.
Moreover, he would visit the child from time to time until he grew up, fulfilling his friendship with Zheng Wanchun.
Afterwards, the incident at Prince Ping’an’s Mansion finally subsided, and the Capital City became increasingly peaceful. However, three months later, Capital City’s tower suddenly rang out nine times.
Emperor Yan Jing had passed away, and a new emperor ascended the throne. His reign was named “Kaiping”.
In the capital city of Kyoto, during the three solemn months, the whole city was draped in white. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he granted a general amnesty to the people, promised to waive taxes for three years, and intended to benefit the people.
However, the policies of the court did not really affect the ordinary people at the bottom, and the lives of many people had not changed much.
As kinsmen of the royal family, King Wu and King Chu were appointed as ministers by the late emperor’s will. At first, they were dedicated to their duties, but which emperor would like to be dictated by others?
Nevertheless, with this being the first New Year after the new emperor’s ascension, all the major merchants showed their support for the new emperor by reducing the prices of their goods for a period of time, making Kyoto seem more prosperous than ever.
But as time went by, hidden undercurrents began to surge in Kyoto. The means employed by the new emperor ultimately fell far short of those of his predecessor.
King Wu was struck on the forehead by an inkstone thrown by the new emperor in front of a large crowd, and King Chu, infuriated, shut himself away. The two ministers appointed by the late emperor’s will completely stopped attending court.
With the uprising of Prince Ping’an, new nobles emerged. For a time, old and new factions were in opposition, and the new emperor’s balance between civilian and military was biased, causing conflict.
In just a few months, to seize control of the court, the new emperor made a series of blunders, leading to factions and private interests forming within the court.
As a result, the power struggle among court factions intensified, and the new emperor gradually lost control of the court. For a time, there were frequent incidents where orders were changed overnight.
Under such circumstances, Liang Sheng often looked eastward toward the Imperial City. He felt a faint threat from the innate qi that he had sensed before, but now it seemed to be fading.
Could it be that the lifespan of the innate eunuch was nearing its end?
Liang Sheng could not help but feel curious. After all, he had heard from the sect leader of the No-Life Sect that the other party should have at least five years to live. How could they already be so weak in less than half a year?
However, Liang Sheng did not go to the palace to test the situation. As long as the innate eunuch was still alive, he could not risk his life to go there. Time was long, so why the rush?
Moreover, they were all cunning opponents; who knew the real situation? Steadily making progress, Liang Sheng believed, was the right way.
Before he knew it, he had been in the capital for almost a year. At this time, the atmosphere of the New Year enveloped the entire city, and joyfulness was found everywhere.
Liang Sheng’s Mansion.
At this moment, Liang Sheng exhaled lightly. The progress of his newly practiced Ten Methods of Health Cultivation was even faster than he had imagined.
At this moment, all ten newly added methods had been practiced to the ninth layer, increasing his lifespan by another 150 years.
Name: Liang Sheng
Age: 89
Talent: Innocent Foolishness (Top grade)
Techniques: Golden Dragon Technique (10th Layer), Ten Methods of Health Cultivation (13th Layer), New Ten Methods of Health Cultivation (9th Layer), Unmoving Ming King Seal (4th Layer)
Realm: Innate
Lifespan: 2349
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Liang Sheng walked out of the room, and Old Wu, the house manager, stood beside the door with a respectful expression.
“Master, the New Year’s Eve dinner is ready.”
In the past few days, peach charms had been hung around Liang Sheng’s mansion, and lanterns had been hung up early after days of cleaning and repairing. The mood was festive.
Just then, the sound of firecrackers and the laughter of children came from outside the courtyard.
Liang Sheng handed the prepared silver coins to Old Wu to distribute to the servants. However, the sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner was only for him to enjoy alone.
As for the servants, they gathered in the back kitchen to have their meals. Although their dishes were also very rich, it was impossible for him to allow servants to sit at the same table with him.
In this era, doing so would be frightening for the servants. Liang Sheng had little appetite, and since today was New Year’s Day and there was no curfew in Kyoto tonight, he figured he might as well go out for a walk.
At this time, the imperial city was also brightly lit with lanterns, and occasionally people were even seen throwing copper coins from the city walls. This was the new emperor’s way of sharing in the joy with the people.
The entire city of Kyoto glowed with thousands of lights, and both sides of the streets were illuminated as if it were daytime. Laughter and joy could be heard everywhere, and the dark clouds of the previous court turmoil had vanished.
Even beggars could get food and vegetables in front of the tavern, enjoying the atmosphere of the New Year. Today, the common people could finally relax after a year of hard work.
However, just at that moment, the sound of galloping horses came from outside the capital gate. Suddenly, a group of mounted soldiers charged into the city at high speed.
Grand General Li Hong arrived in the capital on New Year’s Eve!
