Repugnant Gateway Chapter 75

When the news of Zhuge Yan's sudden death reached An Zhe, it did not affect An Zhe much.

He knew Zhuge Yan, an old official who could endure and die two Swallow Kings and still hold a certain position in the imperial court. Naturally, she was extraordinary.

However, he was very old after all, and there was no need to pay too much attention to the matter of sickness and death.

If Zhuge Yan was younger, then there might be people sighing.

However, Zhuge Yan's death was not a bad thing for many people in the imperial court.

Because there was an empty s.p.a.ce.

It was said that the entire imperial court had gone to the Wenwu City, and the Zhuge Residence was especially bustling with noise and excitement.

An Zaiyue didn't even a.s.sociate Zhuge Yan's death with Chen Shaobai. He wasn't an immortal, so how could he possibly link these two lines together?

An Zou didn't know Zhuge Yan, neither did he know Chen Shaobai.

However, because of this matter, the Martial Arts Academy's a.s.sessment was delayed a little bit. As to when it would reconvene, he had to wait for the notice.

As the Prime Minister of Yan, Zhuge Yan had been in the imperial court for decades.

However, later on, because he was so flamboyant, the King of Yan had no choice but to suppress him.

Zhuge Yan's intelligence was not something an ordinary person could compare with. After sensing that something was amiss, she took the initiative to ask to resign from all her positions of authority. She only kept the position of Dean of the Grand Academy and asked King Yan's permission to teach.

After this imperial report was given out, Yan w.a.n.g felt that his many years of contribution had made it difficult for him to make a move.

After some consideration, Zhuge Yan's trusted aides were dismissed, but in the end, Zhuge Yan was given the position of prime minister.

However, in order to counterbalance the situation, the King of Yan changed the Prime Minister's position to the Minister of the Right and Left and chose another high official to be the Minister of the Left.

However, the roots of the tree were deep. After all, even without real power, he could still summon the wind and rain through all these years.

When Zhuge Yan suddenly died, some sensitive people thought of Empress Dowager Su, but they didn't dare say anything rash.

A year ago, Su Mao was promoted to prime minister of the left.

A year later, Su Zong was about to be appointed General.

The sudden death of Zhuge Yan at this critical juncture was indeed rather subtle.

It was said that on that day, the empress dowager Su Qing and Duke Yan, Mu Changyan, all went to the Zhuge manor and stayed in the manor for a day and a night before leaving.

This was an unprecedented honor.

An Zeng had sent people to inquire about the news, but these matters were still far away from them, so he didn't pay too much attention to them.

He was more willing to consider how he could safely enter the Martial Arts Academy and how he could safely enter the Autumn Festival.

How could he infiltrate into the power hierarchy of Great Yan, how could he rescue Xiao Qidao's mother from the Celestial Prison?

Directly meeting Mu Changyan?

That was impossible. Even if Mu Changyan saw him, would he dare to release Aunty Ye from Heaven Prison?

It had been more than three years, and he would have done it if he had the guts.

An Zhan didn't know either. Actually, Mu Changyan had seen him the same day he entered the city. It was just that Empress Dowager Su had already used three years to wipe out all of her sharpness, causing her memories to blur.

Mu Changyan only felt that the two words ""Heavenly Awakening"" were a little familiar, and he forgot about the dilapidated martial inst.i.tution opposite the World of Illusions.

Perhaps it wasn't that he had forgotten, but that he didn't believe that An Zaihai and the others could truly create miracles.

While they were cultivating in the sect, he told Old Huo to think of a way to settle down the Heaven Defying Seal, since all the attention in Fang Gu City was focused on the Zhuge residence.

After three years, they had practiced cheating for tens or even hundreds of times more than the other cultivators. If they could not achieve anything, then they would be apologizing for the Heaven Defying Seal.

Amidst the drizzling rain, An Zaihai carried a black oil-paper umbrella and walked towards the direction of Mingwen Street. He wore a set of simple but clean black cloth clothes and a pair of thousand-layered black and white cloth shoes.

Actually, the reason why An Zaihai came to Fang Bancheng was not only for Xiao Qidao, it was also for himself.

Back then, when he was ambushed at the Cang Man Mountain, he was on this side of the Yan Kingdom.

At that time, the war was so intense and grand that it was impossible for the cultivators of the Yan Country not to know.

The reason why he came over without stopping was because the Great Sage had sent someone to tell him that King Huai of the Royal Seven had been ambushed in Yan Country.

Chen Zhongzhu is one of the best friends in the security dispute. In many ways, the two of them have unparalleled harmony.

They talked about everything. An Zeng had once said that in this world, he knew himself better than anyone else, and that was Prince Huai's heavy weapon.

At that time, the sixteen kingdoms fought fiercely, and the allied armies of Yan, Zhao, and Zhuohe advanced at a rapid pace, almost annihilating Yongguo.

The Holy Emperor of the Da Xi family was rather fond of his seven sons, Chen Zhong, so he intended to send Chen Zhong as the emissary of the Da Xi to mediate the war between the sixteen kingdoms.

Da Xi's strategy was to not let any country get wiped out, even if they could fight.

Because the Da Xi family needed these small countries to keep fighting and killing people, only then would these small countries not pose any threat to the Da Xi family.

And in order to add some political chips and credit to the artifact, the emissary, who should not have been the prince himself, was appointed to the artifact.

When the news reached back to the Great Xi, it was about Chen Chong being attacked while he was visiting the country.

Instead of coming with a large group of people, An Zaiyue was the first one to arrive.

As a result, as soon as he entered the territory of Yan Country, the people of Yan Country told him that Prince Xi was trapped somewhere in the Cang Man Mountain.

That place was actually a section of the Swallow Mountain Range, a branch of the Azure Barbarian Mountain Range.

The Swallow Mountain Range was to the north of the Swallow Country, and the nearest place was less than thirty miles away from Fang Gu City.

In fact, he had been schemed against from the very beginning. Furthermore, because he was too concerned and confused, he had neglected too many flaws.

With his strength back then, when he just entered the Yan Country, he was found by the Swallow people and then told where the heavy weapon was trapped … … This was clearly not reasonable.

In the end, due to his impatience, he did not even think about these things and directly charged into the Cang Man Mountain.

He had fought dozens of experts alone in the great battle of the Azure Barbarian Mountain, but he had never seen Chen Chong appear.

Even if Chen Chong was not surrounded by experts, there were still a few terrifying cultivators.

He hadn't seen any of them, so at that moment he understood what was going on.

His best friend, using himself as bait, had caught Anjou.

Therefore, at that time, the Yan Country must have been well-informed.

Otherwise, if the leader of the Great Xi Empire died in the Cangman Mountain, this incident alone would have been enough to make the Da Xi army move up north and crush the Yan Country into dust.

However, none of this happened. In other words, the matter back then had always been a matter of contention.

Someone was going to get rid of the struggle for peace, and Chen Zhong was one of them.

But until now, An Zui still hadn't figured out the reason why Chen Zuodao wanted to get rid of him.

If Chen Xinjie becomes the Crown Prince, he will inherit the position of the Holy Emperor in the future. With their relations.h.i.+p, wouldn't he go all out to support him?

An Zaixin didn't understand, and since he wasn't strong enough to go back to the Da Xi, he decided to unravel the threads and find out what he could.

Back then, the Yan Country must have received an order, and there were even some experts from the Yan Country among the cultivators that surrounded and attacked the Yan Country.

If he wanted to investigate these things clearly, he had to enter the Yan Kingdom's imperial court.

Therefore, An Zaiyue wanted to meet Zhuang Feifei. That woman had a deep background and should be able to get some information from her.

Just as he was walking towards the Mausoleum of Books, in the Mausoleum of Books, he suddenly felt like he had just walked out of the Mausoleum of Books.

Empress Dowager Su lay limply on her side with her eyes closed. Three young maidservants waited on her.

One of them ma.s.saged his legs, one ma.s.saged his waist, and the other one ma.s.saged his back. The three of them were so quiet that they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

They were three young girls who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, and they were all very beautiful.

However, under such heavy pressure, everyone's complexion was pale, as if they were sick.

With a wave of her hand, she motioned for the three maids to leave.

Prime Minister Su Mao sat nearby and sipped his tea. ""Empress Dowager, Zhuge Yan is dead. That should be the end of it, right?""

In the past, only a few people knew the secret.

The reason why Daoxi and the Wanxiang had been pressuring Qin Wentian nonstop was because they were afraid that the news of this matter would leak out.

""After all, the one who died … is the head of the Great Xi, a very important person.""

""What kind of big shot are you talking about?""

Empress Dowager Su closed her eyes and sneered. ""Dead means dead. There's no more use.""

However, the Head of the Guards was indeed impressive. After dying for so many years, this matter was still not over.

Rumor has it that in the Great Xi Country, there were still many people who wanted revenge for him, and they were constantly putting pressure on the Great Xi Empire.

""Prince Hui's highness is also most likely a little pestered, so he asked us to take care of everything that needs to be done.""

She lowered her tone, ""However, I've wanted to kill Zhuge Yan a long time ago, but I couldn't find an opportunity.""

Zhuge Yan was a cultivator in the Small Perfection Stage, almost at the peak of her cultivation and was not easy to deal with.

Besides, there were so many experts in his residence. Who knew what kind of powerful people from the martial world were hiding among the hanger-ons?

""This time, Zhuge Yan's sudden death saved a lot of trouble.""

Su Mao asked, ""Is Zhuge Yan really sick?""

Empress Dowager Su said, ""I had someone examine the corpse, and it was indeed an illness and death.""

At his age, dying of an acute illness is nothing. ""

Su Zong, who was sitting on the other side, said, ""Since that's the case, then we should be able to explain to the Great Xi.""

""However, the thing that makes me unhappy is … the things that King Hui has promised, he has yet to fulfill.""

Empress Dowager Su sat up abruptly. ""Su Zong, I'm going to prop you up as a general. Can't you grow up a bit more?""

Do you think Lord Huai will really give us those things?

Even if he doesn't, with Da Xi's strength and his position as the Prince of Xi, how can we not compromise?

""If you keep being superficial, how will you deal with Fang's confidant?""

Su Zong hurriedly stood up: ""Elder sister is right, I've remembered it.""

""Call me Her Majesty!""

Empress Dowager Su's face grew cold. ""You have to make a clear distinction between family matters and country!""

Su Zong's face was pale as he lowered his head and said, ""This subject … knows his mistake.""

Empress Dowager Su softened her tone and said, ""It's fine if we speak of this matter privately, but if any of you dare speak of it carelessly, I won't hold back even if you are my trusted ones.""

Zhuge Yan, who had partic.i.p.ated in this incident, was already dead.

There was also the soldier minister, Hao Ping. For the time being, he could not think of any reason to kill him.

""But don't forget, there are people who are not involved, but they also know who they are!""

She looked at Su Zong and Su Mao. ""If I don't get rid of these two people, I won't be able to sleep soundly for a single day.""

Hao Ping is in charge of the Infantry Division and his men are all in the army. This is also why I asked you to become a general.

But I know that with your apt.i.tude and methods, you are absolutely not a match for Hao Ping.

""Forget it … We'll talk about it when we send wise men to our home country in the future.""

Su Zong fell to his knees with a plop. ""May the empress dowager give me a chance to share the empress dowager's worries.""

Empress Dowager Su gave a cold snort. ""All I know is flowers, flowers, and snow. If you don't change now, I really can't use you.""

""This subject will change his ways and not disappoint the empress dowager.""

""Stand up.""

Empress Dowager Su waved a hand. ""It's not the hardest part to get rid of Hao Ping, but it's hard for Fang Xin.""

""Fang Zhiyi's cultivation is unfathomable, killing him is too difficult.""

She was a little irritable. After being silent for a while, she said, ""We should take advantage of the fact that our friend is not in Fang Bancheng's territory and get rid of Hao Ping as soon as possible, and take over the rights of the Infantry Division.""

After that, he would take back the military authority of Fang's bosom friend. It wouldn't be too late to kill him.

On King Daxi's side, I will send people who are close to me to reply.

Don't count on me to give you orders for everything.

What do I need you to do if everything depends on me?

I'm not raising a child. I need help.

""If I can't share your worries, then I'll be worried for you all the time. If this goes on, there won't be any need for you all to remain here.""

Su Mao and Su Zong stood up and bowed their heads while cupping their fists, ""This official is useless.""

""Let's go, let's go. Just by looking at the two of you, I feel annoyed … That's right.""

Empress Dowager Su suddenly thought of something. ""There's still another person. How could I forget? It's a disaster if we keep that living corpse of the Star Condensation Inst.i.tute alive.""

At the same time, An Zuos.h.i.+ had just walked out of the main gate of the Gathering Merchant House.