Chapter 643: Chapter 642: The Deposed Crown Prince and the Imperial Seal
"By imperial decree!" The official in attendance received the command.
"By the grand order!" The Grand Order received the decree.
The deposition of the Crown Prince is no ordinary matter; it requires not only an imperial decree but also a grand order.
Because this concerns not only the affairs of the state but also the affairs of the clan.
However, whether it is the law of the state or the law of the clan, none can tolerate a traitor plotting against the sovereign.
Among the ministers below, led by the Prime Minister, if there is to be opposition to this decree deposing the Crown Prince, it should be the Prime Minister taking the lead, arguing with reason. Yet, at this moment, the Prime Minister, having been crushed by the previous two pieces of news, is struggling to protect himself, let alone dare to speak out?
The imperial decree issued, His Majesty held the Imperial Seal, his hand slightly trembling.
To outsiders, this was a king’s inner struggle; personally deposing the Crown Prince, personally ending his son’s path, of course, there would be a struggle.
No one could imagine that His Majesty’s heart was filled with fear at this moment.
For if this Imperial Seal was pressed down, it would verify one thing, that is, whether the solution to the "Cause and Effect Mistake" is effective or not.
If effective, everything would be under control.
If ineffective, it would be a total loss of control.
He could not control the Imperial Seal, so he needed the Crown Prince to oversee the state.
If the Crown Prince is deposed and the Imperial Seal still cannot be controlled, the Hong Dynasty’s realm would be in peril.
By that time, it wouldn’t be a question of whether or not he, the Emperor, could sit securely, but whether or not his lineage could continue to exist.
It’s a matter concerning the vast realm; it’s a matter of the survival of the Royal Family; the Imperial Seal in his hand, at this moment, felt as heavy as Mount Tai!
Finally, he took a deep breath and pressed it down!
The bow is drawn, and there is no turning back!
Once the Imperial Seal fell, the decree deposing the Crown Prince officially took effect.
Suddenly, His Majesty shuddered all over; he felt as if a trickle of water had been injected into his body, and a body that had long been hollowed out was, once again, full of life and vitality.
In the past, he muddled through the day.
At this moment, it was already approaching dawn, and he originally felt a strong sense of fatigue, but now, the fatigue had vanished entirely.
On the decree, golden light gathered, and the light of the Imperial Seal grew thicker and thicker until suddenly, with a bang, the decree soared into the sky, piercing straight into the heavens.
Transformed into a giant golden dragon.
The golden dragon spat out a decree, beneath it, the resplendent light of the Imperial Seal stretched for miles...
"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Crown Prince, Hong Ding, is without sovereign or filial piety, lawless and overbearing, unfit for the position of the Eastern Palace, strip him of his title as Crown Prince, and imprison him in the Cold Cell of the Heavenly Prison!"
The capital was in an uproar!
Atop the West Mountain, the Crown Prince was in shock, dumbfounded, staring at the decree in the sky...
"Wh... why? Father, why is this?" he cried out.
The imperial golden light behind him was suddenly stripped away, and the Crown Prince’s treasure seal shattered with a crack.
With a swish, a figure ascended the cliff, Lin Xiaosu!
He appeared before the Crown Prince: "You do not know why? Let me tell you! Your conspiracy to usurp the throne has been exposed. That was the goal I aimed to achieve with today’s inspection!"
"Li Chengnian!" The Crown Prince gritted his teeth: "I assure you, the Xihe Li Family will bear the greatest cost because of you!"
"Hong Ding, do not forget one thing, you are no longer the Crown Prince! At this moment, you are nothing!" Lin Xiaosu said.
This public insult left no one among the Crown Prince’s subordinates daring to refute.
Everyone was stunned.
A commanding voice resounded from the flying boat above: "By His Majesty’s order, arrest Hong Ding and imprison him in the Heavenly Prison! All personnel of the Heart Pavilion, arrest them all, and bring all documents back to the Ministry of Justice!"
"Yes!"
Boom! Three thousand Forbidden Army soldiers descended, flooding into every corner of the Heart Pavilion.
Lin Xiaosu raised his gaze and locked eyes with a person on the flying boat. It was the Seventh Prince. Throughout the entire process, he had not spoken a word, a mere spectator. As the splendid drama concluded, he opened his eyes to a brand-new sky.
"Your Highness, have you now eased your worries?" Lin Xiaosu smiled slightly.
The Seventh Prince reached out his hand, grabbing his shoulder: "Look at the sky!"
In the sky, there were two sources of light, one of which was the still-dispersing golden light of the decree, and the other, emerging from the top of Yuping Mountain, was the newly risen sunlight.
"Which side does Your Highness want me to look at?"
"Look at both! The affinity with the Imperial Seal is restored, and moreover... the sky has brightened!" The Seventh Prince’s voice was complex and meaningful.
The decree soaring into the sky was a phenomenon unseen for three years; previously, people were indifferent, but today, the Seventh Prince deeply sensed it. This decree shooting into the sky was a confirmation that the Emperor had regained affinity with the Imperial Seal, a sign of his regained health.
This alone, in reverse, confirmed the breathtaking conclusion reached by Lin Xiaosu, that the Emperor was indeed not ill but had fallen for the absolute plot of the Cause and Effect Mistake.
Moreover, he also countered this poisonous plot, captured the Crown Prince, and stripped him of his power, reclaiming the "momentum" taken by the Crown Prince.
The Emperor would gradually recover.
They succeeded!
The sky had brightened!
Lin Xiaosu cast his gaze towards the summit of the West Mountain: "Indeed, our sky has brightened here, but I wonder if the sky over some Buddhist hall in Tunyun Temple has collapsed."
The Seventh Prince’s heart shook: "You intend to take down Xuan Kong?"
Lin Xiaosu smiled faintly: "Your Highness may not understand what cause and effect mean. The Law of Cause and Effect comes with backlash; the backlash of those days destroyed this master’s cultivation, and today he will suffer an even stronger backlash. Let’s hope he does not achieve Nirvana just yet!"
"Shall we go and see?" the Seventh Prince asked.
"Let’s go!"
The two stepped onto the ground and ascended the mountain, followed by the Guard Captain Li Gen with dozens of high-rank guards, heading to the ancient Tunyun Temple.
As they approached the temple gate, a bell chimed once, followed closely by another chime.
Seven bell chimes resonated throughout the temple.
The sound of Buddhist chants filled the air, full of compassion.
The temple gate knocked, and a little monk came out.
"The Buddhist bell tolled seven times, what happened in the temple?"
The little monk joined his palms together: "Amitabha, the Abbot Master has passed away, going to the Xitian Buddha Country. Today, the temple does not receive foreign guests, may the benefactor understand."
Urgently closing the door, thereby sealing off.
Lin Xiaosu and the Seventh Prince gazed at each other...
"Mr. Li hit the nail on the head, the evil monk indeed suffered karmic consequences!" The Seventh Prince sighed lightly.
"It seems so!"
The Seventh Prince slowly lifted his gaze: "The way of cause and effect is so perilous, this prince feels uneasy."
"Uneasy?" Lin Xiaosu said.
The Seventh Prince said: "Mr. Li’s arrangement tonight also disturbed the cause and effect. If because of this... how can this prince rest easy in his heart?"
Lin Xiaosu looked into his eyes, these eyes were very sincere at this moment.
Lin Xiaosu smiled: "Rest assured! I will not suffer the backlash of karma."
"Why won’t you?" The Seventh Prince’s eyes brightened.
"Because what I did tonight was not disturbing the cause and effect, but rather rectifying the source, walking the righteous path of the Heavenly Dao."
The Law of Cause and Effect is the most mysterious of all laws in the heavens, with none comparable.
Its profoundness lies in it being the method of Observing Heaven; people, regarding the Heavenly Dao Cause and Effect Disc, merely observe, but cannot alter.
Yet those who attempt to alter it, must suffer divine retribution.
Ordinary people have no solutions, but there are three exceptions: the first is the Heavenly Buddha Repair Method, the second is the Demon Path Deceit Heaven Skill, and the third is the Method of Rectifying the Source.
Master Xuan Kong walked the first path.
The Heavenly Buddha Repair Method.
How to repair?
By using one’s own Buddhist cultivation to mend.
That day he recklessly used the "Cause and Effect Mistake" to harm a generation’s monarch, which was extremely serious in nature, even though he forcibly used the Buddhist Path to repair the sky, he was still stripped of all his cultivation. Today, the cause and effect returned to the righteous path, once again calculating against him.
So, he would die.
But Lin Xiaosu is different.
He merely dispelled the cause and effect art recklessly used by others; he is essentially rectifying the source, just like the Mad Taoist of that day, using "Mao Ren Sha" to present what the Heavenly Dao missed once more in front of the Heavenly Dao.
Thus, he did not go against the Heavenly Dao, he did not recklessly move the Cause and Effect Plate, he merely corrected the source, so he would not have backlash.
After understanding this point, the Seventh Prince took a long sigh: "In this way, it is the best result! Mr. Li, how about descending the mountain?"
"Alright!"
The Seventh Prince’s carriage arrived, pulled by a Dragon Horse, capable of ascending to the sky, reaching directly through the air, but the Seventh Prince had never been ostentatious, dutifully driving along the ground, descending West Mountain.
In the carriage, Lin Xiaosu and the Seventh Prince sat facing each other.
Suddenly, the Seventh Prince smiled softly: "Your subordinate followed along, how should she be dealt with?"
Lin Xiaosu had long noticed, Qing Ying was in a bewildered state throughout, he fully understood her confusion, probably anyone would be bewildered.
Yesterday, when she descended the mountain with Lin Xiaosu to meet the Seventh Prince, she was still the Vice Envoy of the Heart Pavilion, and Lin Xiaosu was the Execution Envoy.
Last night, her superior suddenly became the Fifth Rank Inspection Envoy, leading three thousand Forbidden Army to completely overturn the Heart Pavilion.
The Heart Pavilion was completely gone.
Where should she go?
The Forbidden Army also refrained from capturing her on Lin Xiaosu’s account.
But she still had no direction.
"Let’s put her aside for now!" Lin Xiaosu said: "No need to capture her, over the years, she has been my personal follower, anything she did was at my instruction."
"Concerning actions, Father has already said, listen to you completely! You decide her fate yourself!" The Seventh Prince smiled mysteriously: "At the city gate, Father has a gift for you!"
"A gift? What kind of gift?"
"You’ll know when you see it!"
The Dragon Horse sped up, racing like the wind.
In the blink of an eye, they reached the city gate.
At the city gate, two yellow-clad attendants held trays, smiling at Lin Xiaosu: "His Majesty said, since Mr. Li is a capital official, he cannot forever wander the streets of Beijing, granting you the first residence."
Gifting a house?
Lin Xiaosu felt quite emotional, this is the advantage of a feudal dynasty.
Appointing an official is just a word.
Gifting a house in the capital is also just a word.
If placed in his society, everything would have to go through procedures, here, the procedure is just a word from the Emperor.
"This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for the immense grace!" Lin Xiaosu respectfully saluted to the north.
"At Mr. Li’s mansion, the servants are all provided, all supplies specially supplied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After His Highness announces the imperial rewards, Mr. Li may return home with His Highness."
These words startled both of them.
Lin Xiaosu was surprised, why say return home with His Highness?
Could it be that this rewarded house is with the Prince Dingbei Mansion?
The Seventh Prince was also startled: "This prince also has rewards?"
The yellow-clad elder stepped forward: "An imperial decree from His Majesty, the Seventh Prince Hong Yun to accept the decree!"
The Seventh Prince stood with hands down: "Your son accepts the decree!"
"His Majesty decrees! The Seventh Prince Hong Yun is loyal and devoted, conducts himself appropriately, deeply comprehending my intentions, is permitted to freely enter and exit the palace gates, and to pay respects to his biological mother!"
The Seventh Prince’s whole body trembled, his face thoroughly changed color, so excited, so overwhelmed.