Chapter 649
Meeting of the Two Emperors
Ling Feiling searched the entire Huoshan Divine Palace and obtained two major gains. The first was various account books and records about the Huoshan Medicine Garden, and the second was the twelve million purple coins.
When the Great Emperor of Nanyue saw this evidence, he was completely stunned, especially by the things that the ledgers and records corresponded to.
On the day of Yimao in the month of Gengchen in the year of Yichou, the Polygonatum King was sent to the furnace in Lianchuan Mountain to refine medicine, and four 'Emergency-Avoiding Elixir' were obtained.
On the day of Dingchen in the month of Jiayin in the year of Gengwu, the medicine king of Shanglu was sent to the furnace in Lianchuan Mountain to refine medicine, and five 'elixirs of protection against calamity' were obtained.
The year of Xinwei (辛未). The year of Bingshen (丙申).
The records of using the Medicine King Lingxian to refine pills alone filled a thick volume, followed by the ledgers for selling the elixir of protection against misfortune, which were even thicker than the white jade paperweight on the table in front of us.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue immediately ordered Minister Ye Meicang to do the statistics. Ye Meicang took the account books and records and went down to sort out and compile the statistics.
Soon after, Ye Meicang reported that the accounts and records spanned three hundred years, and a total of 127 Medicine Kings and Immortals were refined into elixirs. The sale of these elixirs brought in a total of over 34 million, of which 22 million was spent over the course of those three hundred years.
All of this money was spent on bribing local deities, and even used to maintain a private army, not in the Huoshan Divine Palace, but in the Bailong River in Wenzhou.
After reading it, the Great Emperor of Nanyue looked at his son, Marquis Anlu, and could hardly hide the shock and anger in his eyes.
"What's the story behind that private army in the Bailong River in Wenzhou, Tang Dynasty?" asked the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain.
Marquis Anlu knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat, and stammered, "Father, those...those were just some scattered immortals I gathered, a total of seven hundred."
"Why are you gathering so many wandering immortals? And you've even given them Heavenly Court standard equipment. What are you trying to do?" the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak roared.
Marquis Anlu trembled and hurriedly said, "Father, I have absolutely no intention of disobeying you!"
Even Empress Jingming was puzzled by this matter. "Zhu Yu, your father is the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain, who holds power over the Southern Continent. Why are you raising a private army?"
"Mother, I truly have no intention of disloyalty," Zhu Yu hurriedly turned his gaze to Empress Jingming.
Empress Jingming's heart softened when she saw the look in her son's eyes, and she continued to ask, "Since you have no intention of disloyalty, then why are you keeping these people around?"
Marquis Anlu hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "It is for the purpose of expanding the medicine garden in the future and selling immortal medicines to other continents."
Upon hearing this, Empress Jingming was startled and immediately looked at her husband, Emperor Nanyue.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue was even more amused by these words, “You want to expand the medicine garden and take your business to the other continents?! Well, well, it seems you have quite the ambition.”
"Father, please forgive me. I know I have committed a crime. I promise I will never do it again and will definitely mend my ways!" Marquis Anlu kowtowed repeatedly.
Emperor Nanyue suppressed his anger, his face becoming expressionless, while Empress Jingming felt a chill run down her spine.
As her husband's bedmate, she naturally knew him best, and his expression at this moment showed that he was completely disappointed in Zhu Yu.
Sure enough, the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain waved his hand and said, "Grand Commandant Ling."
Ling Feiling immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subject is here."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng issued a decree, saying, "You shall immediately lead your subordinate divine generals to escort Marquis Anlu, Yun Yi, and all the criminals and evidence from Huoshan Divine Palace and the Medicine Garden back to Mount Heng Divine Palace, where they shall be properly imprisoned and guarded until I return to deal with them."
"Your subject obeys the decree." Ling Feiling bowed and then took the imperial edict, stepping forward to say to Marquis Anlu, "My lord, please."
Marquis Anlu raised his head and looked at the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain above, only to find that he was no longer angry, but rather expressionless.
Empress Jingming hesitated, then remained silent, her brows furrowed.
Marquis Anlu thought for a moment. His father was not convicting him here, but instead taking him back to the Southern Mountain Divine Palace. This must be because he saw Grand Commandant Chi Ling here, which made things inconvenient.
With this thought in mind, Marquis Anlu felt reassured and immediately kowtowed to Emperor Nanyue and Empress Jingming, saying, "Your subject takes his leave."
Afterwards, Marquis Anlu was taken away by Ling Feiling. After Ling Feiling left, the Great Emperor of Nanyue looked at Chi Ling again and said, "I am sorry to have made you laugh, Marquis Panlin. This is truly a great disgrace to my Nanyue Divine Palace. Please rest assured, Marquis Panlin, you are the greatest contributor to solving this case. I will reward you by reporting your merits to the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm."
Upon hearing this, Chi Ling bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am not the hero of this case. The hero who solved this case is Ao Jun, the Dragon King of the Chan River. If she had not taken on the wrongful case of the old ginseng king, this case would not have been solved so quickly."
Upon hearing this, the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain immediately turned his gaze to Ao Jun behind Chi Ling and exclaimed, "Dragon King of the Chan River!"
Ao Jun quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subject is here."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng asked, "When the old ginseng king appealed for justice, did he mention that the case involved the Huoshan Divine Palace?"
Ao Jun replied, "Your Majesty, yes, the Chan River Dragon King spoke in great detail, and this case is connected to the Huoshan Divine Palace."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng asked, "It seems he has sought out more than just one of your divine abodes?"
Ao Jun answered truthfully, "Yes, before he found my Chanhe Water Mansion, he had searched dozens of other divine mansions, but none of them dared to take on the case. Some divine mansions even sent troops to arrest him."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng nodded and then asked, "Then why did you dare to accept?"
Ao Jun said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty should know that I have also suffered injustice in the past, but was later exonerated. Therefore, I only ask to have a clear conscience."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng laughed and said, "What a fine saying, 'As long as you have a clear conscience,' you deserve the greatest credit in this case."
Upon hearing this, Ao Jun's expression changed, and he immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I implore you to rescind your decree."
"What?" asked the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain. "You don't value this merit?"
"No, no, no." Cold sweat beaded on Ao Jun's forehead. She had never been this scared when she took on this case, because she hadn't expected such serious consequences.
The Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain's own son was involved in a case and had seriously violated the Heavenly Laws. His daughter-in-law was killed, which was deserved, but Ao Jun was not foolish enough to claim credit at this time.
"I have only done my duty, how dare I take credit!" Ao Jun said, "If we are to talk about merit, it should be the fellow Daoists of Zhechong Prefecture who deserve the most credit. I am just a Chanhe Dragon King, I have only done my duty, and I dare not take credit."
Ye Meicang frowned, and Chi Ling's gaze began to wander. Only Zhang Xianzong stood there with a smile on his face, thinking to himself that the Chanhe Dragon King was actually quite nice and knew how to share the credit.
However, Zhang Xianzong noticed that the Great Emperor of Nanyue did not look well. What was wrong? Could it be that he was unhappy because Ao Jun had shared the credit with the people of Chenhuan Jade Palace?
Zhang Xianzong naturally couldn't understand it, but the Great Emperor of Nanyue was indeed frustrated at the moment.
Ao Jun dared not take credit, that was truly impossible. The reason Ye Meicang and Chi Ling acted that way was because they had seen something deeper within the matter.
Ao Jun was afraid that if she took credit for this, the Great Emperor of Nanyue would never let her go and would definitely seek revenge for her son and daughter-in-law.
So this is what frustrated the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain: the gods under his rule were so afraid of his revenge.
Seeing that the Emperor of Nanyue was in an awkward position, Ye Meicang quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this case is not yet closed, and the criminals have not yet been tried. Let's wait until the case is closed before discussing rewards and punishments."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue nodded slightly and followed the suggestion Ye Meicang made, saying, "Very well, I will do as you say, my dear minister."
Ye Meicang quickly expressed his gratitude, then turned to Ao Jun and said, "Chanhe Dragon King, don't go back to Chanhe yet. Go and appease the old ginseng king and the others. Return to the Southern Mountain Divine Palace together in a couple of days."
Upon hearing this, Ao Jun immediately bowed and said, "This humble deity obeys." Then he took his leave.
After Ao Jun left, the Great Emperor of Nanyue said to Chi Ling, "Marquis Panlin, you will also come back to the Nanyue Divine Palace with me."
Chi Ling bowed and said, "I will obey Your Majesty's decree."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue nodded and said, "Marquis Panlin, you have all worked hard. Go and rest first."
Chi Ling bowed again and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave." After saying that, Chi Ling led Zhang Xianzong away from the Mountain God Hall.
After everyone had left, only the Emperor of Nanyue and his wife, along with Minister Ye Meicang, remained in the main hall.
At this moment, Ye Meicang stepped forward and said to the Great Emperor of Nanyue, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng said, "Minister, please speak."
Ye Meicang said, "Your Majesty, I request that Your Majesty remove Ling Feiling from his post as Grand Commandant and appoint him as a local deity instead."
"Hmm?" The Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain raised an eyebrow and looked at Ye Meicang, saying, "Minister Ye, could it be that Grand Commandant Ling is also involved in this case?"
"No, that's not it," Ye Meicang said. "Your Majesty, I just think that Grand Commandant Ling is not suitable for the position of Grand Commandant of the Southern Mountain Divine Palace."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng asked, "Why?"
Ye Meicang asked, "Does Your Majesty know what Grand Commandant Ling has been doing these days?" With that, Ye Meicang reported Ling Feiling's actions to the Emperor of Nanyue.
After Ye Meicang finished speaking, the Emperor of Nanyue remained silent, while Empress Jingming said directly, "Isn't this tantamount to betraying one's own people?"
Then, Empress Jingming said to Emperor Nanyue, "Your Majesty, I think Minister Ye is right. Ling Feiling is not suitable to be the Grand Commandant. Why not let him go out and be a local deity?"
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng raised his head, his gaze somewhat melancholy, and looked at his wife, saying, "Others may not understand me, but don't you understand me too?"
"This..." Empress Jingming was instantly uneasy. Looking at the Emperor of Nanyue's deep gaze, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Upon seeing this, Ye Meicang immediately knelt down and bowed to the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My advice was given with a public heart and without any selfish motives."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue looked at Ye Meicang and said, "If you have no selfish motives, do you think I do? No wonder the Dragon King of Chanhe River is so afraid of merit. Even you, Minister Ye, whom I trust the most, think of me this way."
"Your Majesty, I dare not!" Ye Meicang kowtowed in shock and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty and beg for your punishment."
"Rise." Although the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain was a deity, he felt extremely tired at this moment. "You were merely offering advice; what crime have you committed?"
Ye Meicang bowed in thanks and stood up, but his back was already soaked with sweat. At this moment, the Great Emperor of Nanyue spoke up: "I personally promoted Grand Commandant Ling from among the common people. Do you think I don't know what kind of person he is? What I value in him is his upright and loyal character."
"You say he's a traitor, but does exposing evil also count as being a traitor?"
"It is true that Marquis Zhu Yu of Anlu is my son, but it is an indisputable fact that he has violated the Heavenly Laws."
"Even a minor dragon king of the Chan River dared to take on the wrongful case of the old ginseng king. Based on the case details presented by the old ginseng king, Grand Commandant Ling judged that there was a problem with the Huoshan medicinal garden, and thus cooperated with the Chan River Water God and Zhechong Prefecture. This is the most basic duty of a celestial official in the Heavenly Court."
"Minister Ye, you must remember that you are the Minister of the Southern Mountain Divine Palace under the rule of the Heavenly Court, not my personal steward."
Upon hearing the words of the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain, Ye Meicang blushed deeply, his face filled with shame. "Your Majesty, I am ashamed! I have failed Your Majesty's trust."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng waved his hand and said, "I know you are grateful for my recognition and favor, but I am first and foremost the Great Emperor of Mount Heng, and only secondly a husband and father. Do you understand?"
"Your subject understands!" Ye Meicang bowed solemnly.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue waved his hand and said, "You may leave now. I am tired and need to rest."
"Yes." Ye Meicang bowed and said, "Your subject takes his leave."
After Ye Meicang left, the Great Emperor of Nanyue turned to the silent Empress Jingming and said, "Empress, I'm afraid I'll have to let you down this time."
Upon hearing this, Empress Jingming burst into tears. Emperor Nanyue sighed again and was about to speak when a female immortal from the palace hurriedly entered.
"Your Majesty." The female immortal was taken aback when she saw Empress Jingming sitting on the platform weeping, then bowed and greeted her.
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng asked, "What is it?"
The female immortal said with a solemn expression, "The Great Emperor Shenxiao has descended upon the Divine Palace."
"Hmm?" The Great Emperor of Nanyue suddenly stood up, and even Empress Jingming immediately stopped crying and looked at the female immortal.
"Where is the Great Emperor Shenxiao now?" the Great Emperor Nanyue asked hurriedly.
The female immortal said, "I had already entered the Divine Palace. I didn't know before, but just now when I passed by the Five Flower Terrace, I saw a person admiring the flowers there. He looked exactly like the Divine Emperor Shenxiao in the Divine Painting, so I went to ask the divine generals. The divine generals on duty told me that the Divine Emperor Shenxiao had indeed come, but he did not allow them to come in to report, so no one had come to report this matter until I discovered it and came to report it immediately."
Upon hearing this, the Great Emperor of Mount Heng immediately descended the jade steps and said to the female immortal, "You did the right thing. I will reward you with ten thousand purple coins. Go back to the Mount Heng Divine Palace to collect your reward."
The female immortal was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty."
Then the Great Emperor of Nanyue immediately summoned Empress Jingming, and the two headed straight for Wuhuatai.
Wuhuatai is a garden built by Yun Liuhua using a million purple coins. It is named Wuhuatai because five jade platforms for appreciating flowers were built according to the five elements.
Zhuang Yan was admiring the flowers in the garden, while Gu Hanqing stood guard at the entrance of the Five Flower Terrace.
At this moment, the Great Emperor of Nanyue, dressed in his imperial robes, arrived at the gate of Wuhuatai Garden with Empress Jingming. Gu Hanqing saw this and hurriedly went to greet him.
"General Gu Hanqing, the Divine General of the Vanguard, pays his respects to His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain and to Empress Jingming." Gu Hanqing bowed and greeted her.
Currently, there are only two Heavenly Emperors in Huoshan Divine Palace: Zhuang Yan and the Great Emperor of Nanyue. Who else could this person in the imperial robes be but the Great Emperor of Nanyue?
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng smiled and said, "Rise."
Gu Hanqing bowed in thanks and rose. Then, the Great Emperor of Nanyue asked, "Is the Great Emperor of Shenxiao here?"
Gu Hanqing replied, "Your Majesty, the Emperor is currently enjoying the flowers in the garden."
Emperor Nanyue nodded, and then led Empress Jingming directly into the Wuhuatai gate. Gu Hanqing did not stop them, nor did she have the right to do so.
When the Great Emperor of Nanyue entered the garden, he was stunned. The garden was extremely large and divided into five major areas, each of which was further divided into hundreds of smaller areas, each planted with different immortal flowers and spiritual herbs.
"Our daughter-in-law knows how to enjoy life," the Emperor of Nanyue said, turning to Empress Jingming as he looked at the sea of flowers before him.
Empress Jingming was filled with resentment, and upon hearing the words of the Great Emperor of Nanyue, she said, "She deserved her fate and her death is not a pity."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue heard the resentment and anger in his wife's tone, but he was not too angry. He simply said, "Some people advised me before that Yun Liuhua was not a good match and that I should not let her marry Yu'er. But Yu'er liked this woman, and since you and I knew that she was a disciple of Manjushri Bodhisattva, we did not heed this advice."
Empress Jingming also regretted it, saying, "If I had listened to this advice back then, I'm afraid this wouldn't have happened today."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue sneered, "Don't blame Yun Liuhua entirely. Our son is no pushover either. It just goes to show that birds of a feather flock together."
As they were talking, the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain saw Zhuang Yan's figure, admiring the dragon blood flowers to the south.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue immediately strode forward, and Zhuang Yan, who had seen the Great Emperor and his wife from afar, also walked over with a smile.
"Emperor Shenxiao." Emperor Nanyue and his wife bowed in greeting.
Zhuang Yan returned the greeting with a cupped hand, then smiled at the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak and his wife, "Have you two finished dealing with the matters of the Huoshan Divine Palace?"
Upon hearing this, the couple understood that Zhuang Yan already knew about what was happening here. Empress Jingming said, "The Divine Emperor Shenxiao is all-powerful; nothing can be hidden from you."
The Great Emperor of the Southern Peak sighed slightly and said, "It is an unfortunate event for my family. I am sorry to have made the Divine Firmament Emperor laugh at me."
Zhuang Yan waved his hand and said, "Everything has its own laws of development. Although the Marquis of Anlu and his wife committed evil and broke the law, it has nothing to do with your family."
At this point, Zhuang Yan looked at the Great Emperor of Nanyue and asked, "How many children do you have, fellow Daoist?"
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng said, "I have three sons and one daughter. This Zhu Yu is my third son."
Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "I see. If you and your wife are reluctant to part with this son, how about I grant him a special pardon in the name of the Dust World Jade Palace?"
Empress Jingming's eyes lit up, and she was about to agree immediately.
But the Great Emperor of Mount Heng immediately refused, saying, "No!"
Empress Jingming looked at Emperor Nanyue with a puzzled expression, not understanding why her husband refused. Did he really want her son to die?
The Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain said, "I appreciate the good intentions of the Divine Firmament Emperor, but Zhu Yu has committed a heinous crime. If he is not severely punished, how can I have the face to continue ruling the Southern Continent?"
At this point, the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak added, "The lessons of the former Great Emperor of the Western Peak and the Three Holy Mothers are still fresh in our minds. If the Divine Emperor of the Divine Firmament thinks highly of me, how about entrusting this case entirely to my Southern Peak Divine Palace for handling?"
Zhuang Yan smiled and nodded, saying, "Alright, then I'll leave this case entirely to you, fellow Daoist."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue smiled slightly and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Emperor Shenxiao."
Empress Jingming's face darkened again, but she was no longer puzzled by Emperor Nanyue's refusal of Zhuang Yan's pardon.
As the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak said, the lessons of the former Great Emperor of the Western Peak are still fresh in our minds. If he accepts a pardon today, the Jade Emperor's messenger will probably come to arrest him again tomorrow.
This isn't Zhuang Yan setting a trap for law enforcement; rather, it's that the gods in heaven aren't content with just being around and are always keeping an eye on the human world.
If they knew that Zhu Yu had committed a serious crime but was pardoned because he was the son of the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain, they would definitely impeach him to the Jade Emperor.
Wasn't that how the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain was brought down? If it weren't for the heavenly gods impeaching the Great Emperor of the Western Mountain, Zhuang Yan certainly wouldn't have removed him.
But once the matter reaches the Jade Emperor, Zhuang Yan has no way to protect him.
Therefore, the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain was very clear-headed. Zhu Yu's crime was already an undeniable fact, and he could not afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of trivial matters.
At this moment, Zhuang Yan pointed to the surrounding garden and said to Emperor Nanyue and his wife, "This garden is really well built. Please take a look, fellow Daoists. This garden is laid out according to the Five Elements. The east side is planted with immortal flowers and spiritual herbs of the Yi Wood category, the west side is of the Metal category, the south side is all of the Fire category, the north side is of the Water category, and the middle is of the Earth category, divided by those five Five Elements Platforms."
Zhuang Yan said with a smile, "This Yun Liuhua has a good eye."
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng said, "It is nothing but a creation made to satisfy selfish desires. I will order it destroyed."
"Hey!" Zhuang Yan immediately stopped the Great Emperor of Nanyue and said, "Since it's already been built, wouldn't it be a pity to destroy it? Let's keep it. We can open it to the outside world and it can also bring some income to the Huoshan Divine Palace in the future."
Upon hearing this, the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak thought it made sense and said, "The Divine Firmament Emperor is right."
The three then toured the Wuhuatai Garden together. Finally, the Great Emperor of Nanyue invited Zhuang Yan to stay at the Nanyue Divine Palace, and Zhuang Yan agreed.
Two days later, after finishing his business at the Huoshan Divine Palace, the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak left ten divine generals to guard the Huoshan Divine Palace before leading the celestial officials and divine generals back to the Southern Peak Divine Palace with Zhuang Yan.
After returning to the Southern Mountain Divine Palace, the Southern Mountain Emperor personally presided over the case of the Huoshan Herb Garden.
The evidence in this case was conclusive, and all the criminals had confessed. Therefore, the Emperor of Nanyue did not conduct any further complicated interrogations before delivering the final verdict.
The culprits in this case were naturally the mountain god of Huoshan and the Marquis of Anlu, Zhu Yu and his wife. Therefore, the Great Emperor of Nanyue directly sentenced Zhu Yu and his wife to beheading and their souls to be sent to the eighteenth level of hell to serve three thousand years.
Secondly, Yun Yi and other criminals from Huoshan Medicinal Garden were also sentenced to beheading for their involvement in raising and harming young boys and girls, as well as the Medicine King and the Immortal. Their souls were sent to the eighteenth level of hell to serve a thousand years.
Finally, there were the fairy guards. They were only responsible for guarding the herb garden, so their crimes were the least serious. Moreover, they had the merit of voluntarily confessing and testifying, so each of them only received a reprimand and admonishment before being released.
As for the alchemy furnace on Lianchuan Mountain, it was destroyed by a divine general dispatched by the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain. The immortal herbs in the Huoshan Herb Garden were taken away, and the Huoshan Herb Garden itself was eventually destroyed as well. (End of Chapter)