Chapter 123: The Founding Ancestor Started with Just One Bowl!

Such a significant affair, and it was defined so inexplicably...

Zhu Jianshen, brimming with smiles, said softly, "Since the case was handled without issue, Wang Zhi is not only blameless but has rendered meritorious service. He should be rewarded and encouraged. What do you ministers think would be a fitting reward?"

Encouraged?
A fitting reward?
How about an order to commit suicide!

Shang Lu and the others felt that this palace coup had ended with a whimper; they had made such a grand spectacle, only to end up punching empty air!
Was it to end so hastily?
That was absolutely impossible!
The Yang family might be base enough to accept the annihilation of their clan, but the officials of the imperial court certainly were not.
If one wanted to reason, there were arguments; if one didn't want to reason, there were ways to be unreasonable!

Peng Shi suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Order the death of Wang Zhi!"
"Order the death of Wang Zhi! Eradicate the eunuch menace!"

Shang Lu was the second to respond, and the civil officials followed suit one after another.
In an instant, chaos erupted in the court. The officials were incensed, pressing forward step by step, looking as if they might beat the eunuch to death right there in the hall!

A palace coup!
A blatant, naked palace coup!

Zhu Jianshen held his breath, then suddenly snapped:
"Stand down!"

Wang Zhi’s cold, chilling eyes flickered. He sheathed his blade, and the hundred-odd guards of the Western Depot followed suit in unison, standing with their hands at their sides.

"Kill this powerful eunuch!"
Swept up by the momentum, the officials grew restless, rolling up their sleeves as if to imitate the precedent of beating Ma Shun to death in the hall from the previous era!

"How dare you!"
A majestic voice, suppressing boundless fury, rang in everyone's ears.

Boom!
Blue and white lightning wove together in patterns, spreading across the four corners of the hall. The massive roar of thunder shook everyone’s soul, naturally inciting a deep sense of awe!

Zzzzt!
Ugh!
Wan An, that clumsy fool, had touched the lightning. He collapsed straight to the floor, his blackened left hand held high, emitting a strange, savory scent of charred meat.
Clearly, he would only have one more chance to be clumsy.

"How can there be lightning in the Great Hall!? The heavens are furious and want to strike down this eunuch menace! Your Majesty, do you see this, Your Majesty!?"
Shang Lu scrambled to crouch, dodging the lightning while covering his head and shouting loudly!
He was indeed a scholar; his talent for spouting nonsense was masterfully refined.

"Ah~ ah~"
The lightning suddenly retracted!
The voices of the officials were distorted by the electricity, their bodies trembling with every movement—it was a truly grotesque scene!
When the numbness finally faded, these lords of the court hadn't even figured out what the sudden thunder was about before they realized with horror...
The occupant of the Dragon Throne had changed!!

"The Jing Emperor?"
"The Yingzong Emperor?"

Shang Lu was dumbfounded. He had seen the young emperor with his own eyes during the palace examination in the tenth year of the Zhengtong era, and as for the Jing Emperor, there was no need to speak—he had spent his most productive years working under him.
He had been demoted during the Tianshun era and reinstated during the Chenghua era!
What was truly terrifying was that the current emperor was standing behind these two, and even these two emperors of the Jingtai and Tianshun eras were standing to the side!
Then, in the center...

Shang Lu and Peng Shi exchanged glances, silently counting.
Before Yingzong, it should be the Xuanzong, the Xuande Emperor; and there were two Xuande Emperors!?
They thought they had seen wrong, but looking further ahead, the distinct physique of the Hongxi Emperor appeared, and there were two of him as well!
And two Yongle Emperors standing on either side!?
Then, the one in the middle...

"The Taizu Gao Emperor!?"
Shang Lu and Peng Shi were stunned, unable to help but cry out.

"Hmph!" Zhu Yuanzhang’s face was ice-cold.
The majestic, cold grunt echoed in the silent hall, ethereal and filled with immense pressure, reminding the ministers of the thunderous fury they had just witnessed.

"We, your subjects, kowtow to the sacred spirits of our ancestors. We have disturbed our ancestors; we deserve to die ten thousand times over!"
Shang Lu was terrified, his head pressed to the floor, his body shivering. A wave of exhaustion and weakness flooded his limbs, making his hands and feet go numb!
Seeing someone else take the first kowtow, the civil officials behind him knelt one after another, competing only to see who could kneel faster.
The Taizu and Taizong Emperors had descended, bringing with them the other ancestral emperors, and they could conjure lightning—who could withstand this!
Wan An, the Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary, was still lying stiff on the floor, looking like he wouldn't be recovering anytime soon.

"Is the emperor of my Zhu family so easy to bully? Looking at you lot, you want to beat the emperor of my Zhu family to death!" Zhu Yuanzhang’s tone was chilling and horrific.
The cold light in his eyes swept over them, and whoever it landed on felt chilled to the bone, trembling in terror.

"G-Great Ancestor, your spirit is clear! We were only following ancestral customs to clear the emperor's side and remove the eunuch menace; we would never dare to have any thoughts of offending the Supreme One!" Peng Shi’s face turned from blue to purple, his heart convulsing; he felt he was about to pass out!

Clear the emperor's side?
Old Zhu Di, the Fourth Zhu, stared at Peng Shi with an expressionless face and said faintly: "I, too, once cleared the emperor's side... what kind of thing are you to dare speak of clearing the emperor's side?"

The Taizong Emperor!
Peng Shi was terrified to the extreme, his lips deep purple. He tried to gasp for air, but was unable to do so.
Thump!
Peng Shi collapsed to the side, twitched twice, and ceased to breathe!
A palace physician quickly stepped in, and finally, while Peng Shi still had a sliver of life left, he effectively finished him off!
Liu Wentai shook his head: "I have done my best."
If you had just loosened your grip a little, he might have been saved!
Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, unable to find the words to complain.
Below him.
The Senior Grand Secretary had actually been scared to death?
The civil officials were trembling with fear, feeling as if they had just seen their own ghosts!

Zhu Youjian muttered to himself; Peng Shi seemed to have died in the eleventh year of the Chenghua era. He was already sixty years old, and after being terrified in turns by Taizu and Taizong, he simply hadn't been able to endure it and had been sent off!

"He’s, he’s dead!"
A Jinyuan guard checked his breath and reported in a panic.
The Senior Grand Secretary had died in the hall; there was no need to explain the implications.
Zhu Yuanzhang also knew it was an ill omen. He glanced sideways and saw his great-grandson signaling him.
Old Zhu understood; his demeanor became inexplicably ethereal.
He was about to put on a grand show!

"I did not order you to die."
Zhu Yuanzhang said faintly with a light grunt.

[Resurrection]
Zhu Youjian cast the spell, selecting his target. Peng Shi’s bodily functions surged, rapidly regressing to how they were two days ago, and all his chronic ailments were swept away; living another three or four years would be no problem.

Ugh!
Peng Shi sat up with a start, his bones creaking—a truly bizarre sight.

"Holy cow, holy cow!!!"
"Lord Peng, rest in peace!"
Shang Lu, standing nearby, had his eyes bulging; his body propelled itself as if spring-loaded, and he ran two steps back, shielding the other officials with his own body!
If Cao Zhi had possessed this kind of speed back in the day, he would have been out of the city long ago.
Even Wan An didn't dare to feign death anymore; he pushed off the ground with his legs and actually retreated more than ten meters while lying down.
The scene was in total disarray.

Peng Shi blankly squeezed his hands, feeling his body, which was several years younger, and was filled with amazement.
With a single thought, he immediately knelt on the floor and respectfully shouted:
"Your subject thanks Taizu for his great grace! Taizu’s divine might makes even the King of Hell tremble! May our Great Ming prosper for ten thousand generations!"

"Hmm."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, his prestige instantly maxed out.

???
He even has connections in the Underworld?
Is our Great Ming’s Taizu Emperor that well-connected?
The ministers were utterly stunned.
Then, recalling the magical experience of the Taizu Emperor starting with nothing but a bowl...
Holy cow, is the Taizu Emperor leading a rebellion in the Underworld too?

(I am guilty!! The big shots gave me such expensive gifts, and I couldn't even finish writing three chapters; I deserve to die, boo-hoo-hoo! But I am so sleepy. I’ll get a good night's sleep and post four chapters tomorrow. I ask for your understanding, my foster fathers! I promise not to write filler!)
(Shamelessly asking for ad gifts!)