Chapter 296 The Gate of Hell

"..."

Zhao Si no longer wants to complain:

Xianzhong and Quanzhong are fine, but I never expected that they could even bridge the dispute between Guangxu and Cixi...

“But then again, there is actually nothing wrong with this ancestral rule itself. If a transcendental person obtains a legal identity, it will inevitably endanger the court. This is determined by absolute power.”

"So if the emperor insists on a new policy, it would be tantamount to seeking his own death... In order to preserve power, the empress dowager opposes the new policy, which is actually beneficial to the continuation of the court."

It is hard to say who is right or wrong in this matter, as everyone has their own reasons.

But Lin Liu was not on either side, and he had no intention of interfering in the dispute between mother and son from the beginning. What he wanted was to eventually replace the court!
So the emperor asked him to kill the queen mother, which was exactly what he wanted:

If you want to kill, then kill!

The worst that can happen is dying once. Success or failure is a big gain.

If it succeeds, with such a self-destructive emperor in office, it would be very easy for Lin Liu to accomplish his great cause. Maybe he wouldn't even need to fight a war and could just usurp the throne!
If they were defeated, that would be normal. A mortal dynasty that could survive for three hundred years under the collective service of a group of Shinto monks must be something special.

If they really found something, it would be a good opportunity to further strengthen Lin Liu's strategy of hiding and slowly wear them down...

"But this is quite strange. The ancestral rules did not forbid royal family members from practicing cultivation, but in three hundred years, no one in the royal family has been able to practice cultivation... The probability is really low."

Zhao Si thought about it and it seemed that there were indeed very few extraordinary people in this chapter. Most people could not practice the Dharma image. Even Lin Liu could not practice it at the beginning. If it were not for the effect of the Blood God Son, he would have to be a mortal all his life.

"What kind of worldview is this? Cultivation depends entirely on talent. If you can cultivate the Dharma image, you are qualified to become a god. If you can't cultivate the Dharma image, you will be a mortal for the rest of your life..."

The more Zhao Si thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, because this world was completely different from the prehistoric world, and the setting was also different from the prehistoric world...

"Another point, with Xue Xuan's character, if the world is so cruel, how could he do nothing? What about Jin Bing? What about the saint?"

"The worldview is completely inconsistent, as if it were... made up..."

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Zhao Si had no choice but to continue reading with doubts, trying to find some clues...

……

[With the intention of risking your life to test the waters, you first quietly returned to the residence assigned to you by the imperial court, and then held your breath and concentrated.]

[Quietly, a murderous image of a Dharmadhatu walked out of the body! ]

[A cold smile appears on your face: Since the emperor has said so, you can’t be blamed...]

[You subconsciously clench your hands, and the rolling red incense power gathers in your palms, gradually forming two half-real and half-virtual swords, with an overwhelming aura! ]

[“Strange… why would I want to use two swords?”]

[You are a little confused about this, but you still hold the two swords tightly, and then slowly sneak into the night under the cover of magic...]

【…】

[The Chuxiu Palace where the Empress Dowager lives is not difficult to find. With the Emperor's guidance, you gradually find your destination.]

[You passed through the magnificent palace silently, passing by eunuchs and palace maids one after another...Finally, you found the Queen Mother! ]

[But unexpectedly, she was not sleeping as you thought, but sitting in front of the window, also under the light of a single lamp, as if waiting for someone...]

[When you see this scene, your heart immediately trembles: something is wrong! ]

[But before you could react, she spoke first: "Has my son's assassin arrived?"]

[You were silent for a moment, then took the initiative to reveal your true form, standing in front of the Queen Mother with a murderous look. Even though she was prepared, she couldn't help but look shocked! ]

[After a long while, she finally sighed, "Appearance is determined by the heart... With your appearance, I'm afraid you are not a good person. The fact that my son chose you to be an assassin just proves that he is a fool..."]

【“Lin Liu, or Lin Quanzhong?”】

[You didn't say anything, but just asked, "Does the Queen Mother know that I'm coming?"]

[“Of course I know.”]

[The Queen Mother laughed in silence: "I am in charge of government from behind the scenes. All important matters of the court are decided by me. My son is just a puppet. What can he hide from me?"]

[“I’m not afraid of you knowing. In fact, I knew about this before you were summoned to the palace. Even the eunuch who summoned you to the palace is my man.”]

【you:……】

[No! What kind of teammate is this?! ]

[You are all shocked, not because of the Queen Mother's quick information network, but because of the stupidity of the little emperor... He didn't even know that everyone around him was from the Queen Mother's side, and he dared to ask me to be an assassin? ]

[If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his subjects; if a subject is not discreet, he will lose his dignity... He doesn't understand such a simple truth?! ]

[All of a sudden, you put a label on that little emperor who looked like a saint: high expectations but low skills! ]

[If you are truly a loyal subject today, you will definitely be tricked into death...]

[You were silent for a long time before you said, "Since the Queen Mother knew I was coming, why did she still wait for me?"]

[The Queen Mother laughed and said, "I said I want to die by the sword of an assassin, and then help my son to establish a new government. Do you believe me?"]

“I don’t believe it.”

[“I don’t believe it either.”]

【you:……】

[The Queen Mother said angrily: What is my stupid son's new policy? How could I not know? ]

[It would be fine if there is no new policy, at least we can hold on for a few more years. If there is a new policy, it would be strange if the country does not fall! ]

[“Doesn’t Taizu know that there are many heroes among the people? Doesn’t Taizu know that with the support of Shinto, the court can maintain long-term stability?”]

[The Queen Mother sighed: Taizu knows everything, but will Shinto really assist the court? ]

[Obviously not. Every Shintoist monk will seek to become even more powerful after becoming powerful, and Shintoism is based on the people's faith in incense. Once Shintoism grows, it will inevitably shake the foundation of the court in order to gain more incense.]

[“If we let it go, a new Taizu will emerge sooner or later. We will either abdicate gracefully or be sent to the capital and the whole family will be killed…”] [The Queen Mother analyzed the pros and cons of this matter clearly in just a few words. This kind of thinking makes you look sideways: This Queen Mother’s vision and ability in political affairs are much better than the Emperor’s. If the two really fight, the Emperor will definitely lose…]

[“So, since the Queen Mother doesn’t want to die under my sword, then she must be relying on something?”]

[You ask knowingly, observing the Queen Mother carefully: She is not a powerful Shintoist, nor does she have any magical weapons. She is just an ordinary middle-aged or elderly woman... How can such a fragile mortal dare to face you? ]

[You are a little confused, what on earth does she rely on? ]

[She nodded and did not hide her feelings: "Yes, I have someone to rely on."]

[“If I… or the royal families of all generations had not had enough support, wouldn’t we have been killed by all kinds of rebels and wild gods long ago?”]

[Her calmness as a matter of course makes you more confused: with such a short distance, she doesn't even need to use magic, she can just strike with one sword, and even ten lives of the Queen Mother won't be enough... Where does she get the confidence from?]

[You are confused and decide to give it a try, so you slash at the Queen Mother with both swords! ]

[But the Queen Mother didn't dodge or evade. You swung your sword at her without even raising her eyelids...]

【Whoosh! 】

[You hit the air...]

[A magical scene appears before your eyes. Under the light, the Queen Mother looks like a phantom. Your swords pass by without any effort.]

[You tried again, but neither the sword nor the spell had any effect. She was clearly sitting there, but it was as if she was in another world...]

【She smiled as she watched you busying around. 】

[After a long time, you finally stopped attacking. ]

[“Are you done with your work?”]

[The Queen Mother asked with a smile.]

[You didn’t answer, but just sighed: "The emperor is really a liar!"]

[It would be fine if they leaked the secrets before the assassination, but they didn't even tell the Queen Mother that she had a countermeasure in advance... It would be strange if this could succeed! ]

【"really."】

[The Queen Mother agreed with you, then slowly picked up the oil lamp and said to you seriously: "Next time you are reborn, remember to be reborn into a good one, and don't be reborn into an emperor like this again."]

【"……knew."】

[You gave up resisting and trying to escape, and just watched her do it calmly.]

[Oil lamp?]

[You look at this oil lamp that is exactly the same as the emperor's, and seem to realize something: it seems that this oil lamp is one of the heritage left by the founding emperor...]

[The fact is just as you thought. The Queen Mother raised the oil lamp and blew it gently towards you.]

【The lights went out.】

[You are dead too...]

[When a person dies, it is like a lamp going out. When a lamp goes out, it is like a person dying... You have explored the inner strength of the imperial court at the cost of your life! ]

[The moment the lights went out, your Dharma image instantly turned into smoke, and your physical body immediately died...]

[At the age of thirty-five, you launched a night raid to assassinate the Queen Mother under the instruction of the cheating little emperor.]

[However, the young emperor's intelligence system had already been infiltrated like a sieve. Before you even entered the palace, the Queen Mother knew everything! ]

[The assassination attempt failed as expected. You, the man from Zhao'an who had just been rewarded, also paid the price with your life.]

[Also on that night, the Queen Mother launched a coup, placing the Emperor, who was still waiting for news in the palace, under house arrest, and announced that the Emperor was seriously ill and could no longer handle state affairs, and that the Queen Mother would be in charge of "government" from that day on! ]

[All officials were naturally aware of this, but they did not say much. They only respectfully welcomed the Queen Mother's instructions...]

[The next day, the Queen Mother issued an edict with the Emperor's edict, saying that you were a rioter who was plotting to disrupt the government and intended to overthrow the country, so she sent your body to the execution ground and awarded you 3,600 cuts! ]

[Afterwards, the Queen Mother issued another decree, designating your base in the six coastal counties as the "nest of traitors," and sending hundreds of thousands of government troops to encircle and suppress them! ]

[The monkeys who stayed behind were horrified. Upon hearing the news of your death, they chose to fight back with all their might in grief.]

[But it can be unafraid of mortal government troops, but others cannot... In the end, it took three years, and all six counties were conquered by government troops, and all the followers of the Western King Sect were slaughtered! ]

[Hundreds of thousands of men and women were killed, and the rivers stopped flowing and the sea was filled with floating corpses...]

[The base you have painstakingly built for more than thirty years is ultimately no match for the imperial court that has existed for three hundred years.]

[At the last moment, although the monkey was extremely sad, he still rescued your family members and took them on a boat to the Flower-Fruit Mountain, leaving your bloodline behind...]

[It has gathered a group of troops in Xiniuhezhou and Dongshengshenzhou, and has repeatedly counterattacked Nanshanbuzhou to avenge you! ]

[The flame of hatred burned in the heart of the stone monkey. It no longer thought about immortality. It only wanted to completely smash the old court that harmed people and use the old witch's head to commemorate its master! ]

【…】

[It thinks you are dead, your family thinks you are dead, and even you think you are dead...]

[Death is not unfamiliar to you. You have died twice in your previous life, so you are not afraid of it. As the protagonist, death does not mean the end, it is just the beginning of the next life. ]

[So you have already prepared yourself mentally to return to the previous node, and you even made a plan: You must learn your lesson this time, you cannot enter the capital, and you don’t need to go in person to receive the imperial edict, just send someone to show your appreciation. Anyway, you don’t want to get involved in the power struggle between mother and son, and it’s good enough to get an official position.]

[But to your surprise, your first death since you became a Dharmadhatu in this life seems to be different from the previous ones...]

[You raise your head in confusion and look at the gate ahead. There are three words on the gate.]

【"gate of hell?"】

……

(End of this chapter)