Wrapped like a mummy, Shen Fa hobbled into the Imperial Study on crutches.
His wretched appearance startled Emperor Xiping, who was seated behind the desk. Eyes wide and mouth agape, the emperor set down the memorial he was reading and waved for the chief eunuch to bring Shen Fa a chair, "What...what happened this time?"
He wasn’t asking who had beaten Shen Fa.
He was asking for what reason Shen Fa had been beaten this time.
He pondered...they hadn’t offended Yang Erlang recently, had they?
Shen Fa thanked him for the favor, and with Huang’s support, he shakily seated himself and sighed lengthily, "It’s a long story!"
Emperor Xiping straightened up and waved Huang to bring in some tea, "Then take your time, no rush."
Shen Fa, weakly, said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance and involves many parties; it would be better to invite Wei and Liu to discuss it together."
Emperor Xiping nodded, "That might be best...summon Wei Heng and Liu Xian."
Huang obeyed, scurrying off to convey the order.
Emperor Xiping picked up his teacup, unable to hide his curiosity, and said, "Still, tell me what’s going on for now."
Not daring to disobey, Shen Fa began to speak at length about Yang Ge’s grudge with the Five Poisons Cult...
Emperor Xiping was aware of these events but didn’t interrupt Shen Fa, letting him narrate the tale smoothly.
Soon, Wei Heng and the newly appointed head of the Eastern Factory, Liu Xian, entered the Imperial Study together. Emperor Xiping gestured for them to skip the formalities and continued listening to Shen Fa.
Now with the two scapegoats in place, Shen Fa finally got to the point, detailing Yang Ge’s three attempts to take down Zhang Xuansu, as well as Zhang Xuansu’s identity and strength...
When it was mentioned that Yang Ge suspected Zhang Xuansu to be a supreme master at the fifth echelon of martial arts, a look of shock emerged simultaneously on the faces of the three people in the hall.
Of course, they knew what a living "deity" on earth meant!
Even more disquieting was the thought... If Yang Erlang could fight Zhang Xuansu to a standstill, did it not imply that he, too, had attained the prowess of a terrestrial deity?
After Shen Fa finished speaking, he picked up the teacup next to him and drained it in one gulp, parched.
In the vast Imperial Study, only the "glug glug" of his gulping echoed.
After a while, Emperor Xiping, struggling slightly to find words, asked, "Yang Erlang got the short end of the stick on Mount Longhu, but why would he take it out on you?"
What he outwardly asked was why Yang Erlang had beaten Shen Fa.
But what he was really inquiring about was Yang Erlang’s attitude towards the imperial court...
Shen Fa sighed in reply, "Your Majesty, that scoundrel thought that I had known about Zhang Xuansu’s existence beforehand, but not only did I fail to inform him, I actually fanned the flames, pushing him to go south and meddle with the Five Poisons Cult’s affairs."
Emperor Xiping actually thought it made sense, "So, did you know about this beforehand?"
Shen Fa, with a pained voice, said, "Your Majesty, I truly did not know about this beforehand. Ma Dai was indifferent and vainglorious during his tenure; his understanding of the jianghu was extremely limited. After so many years, he never even determined where the base of Louwailou was..."
"Ahem."
Emperor Xiping coughed artificially, taking a sip of tea to mask his embarrassment, then kindly said, "Since you genuinely didn’t know, why didn’t you explain it to him? Even if he suffered a setback in the south, he shouldn’t vent his anger on you blindly, right?"
Shen Fa opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, glancing oddly at Wei Heng and Liu Xian across from him, whispering, "Your Majesty, I really didn’t know about Zhang Xuansu beforehand, and that is my dereliction... but the elders at the Imperial Horse Supervisor’s, it’s unreasonable for them not to know about that old immortal’s existence, right?"
Emperor Xiping turned his questioning gaze to Wei Heng.
Wei Heng felt his scalp tingle, but with the emperor looking at him, he had no choice but to tough it out, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have never heard the elders mention this matter. Even if they knew of Zhang Xuansu, they had no obligation to remind Yang Erlang, right? How can the court be to blame just because he came up short?"
Emperor Xiping then turned his gaze back to Shen Fa.
Shen Fa looked at Wei Heng with a cold sneer, "Eunuch Wei doesn’t really believe that Yang Erlang’s grudge with the Five Poisons Cult was over those three million taels of silver, does he?"
Wei Heng asked in confusion, "Isn’t it?"
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Shen Fa replied, "Why don’t we bring up the Heluo Map and let Eunuch Wei take a good look at where Lu Ting is?"
Wei Heng took a few seconds longer to catch on, his mind not as quick.
Putting down his teacup, Emperor Xiping smiled and consoled, "You’ve been wronged, Zhong He... Let’s continue talking about Zhang Xuansu. What do you think, is Yang Erlang’s deduction credible?"
Shen Fa replied, "Your Majesty, I absolutely believe in Yang Erlang’s judgment."
Emperor Xiping smiled, "And how would you know?"
Shen Fa thought for a moment before answering, "Your Majesty, after returning to the capital, I urgently examined the records about Zhang Xuansu. The man truly was born during Zhou Tang’s Tiande reign; he is now two hundred and eight years old. To live to such an age and still overpower Yang Erlang... the elders at the Imperial Horse Supervisor’s probably couldn’t do that, could they?"
Emperor Xiping, recalling the vague demeanor of the elders at the Imperial Horse Supervisor’s when Yang Erlang first entered the capital, slowly furrowed his brow and asked in a heavy voice, "About Yang Erlang’s claim that Zhang Xuansu was the mastermind behind the downfall of the Zhou Tang dynasty, have you confirmed it?"
Shen Fa hastily bowed, "Your Majesty, I have dispatched numerous agents to investigate all records from Emperor Taizu’s era. However, since the matter dates back so far, it is difficult to find concrete evidence. Still, when there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Yang Erlang’s reminder to the court is just to be prepared, without any other intentions."
Emperor Xiping’s brow slowly relaxed, and after a long musing, he decreed, "Let the Brocade Guard lead, supported by the Eastern and Western Factories, to exterminate the Five Poisons Cult, but it must not cause an uproar!"