Peace Order

Chapter 1790 - 78: Fervent Heart, Insignia of the Red Emperor!

"Create an opportunity."

Ji Yanzhong said, "Yes."

After Ji Yanzhong left, the Red Emperor walked out of the imperial palace and strolled forward. Yuwen Lie, who was holding a long spear in his arms, opened his eyes. Under the moonlight, the famous general’s bearing was lofty and aloof, like a ferocious tiger. He only inclined his head slightly and said, "Red Emperor, Your Majesty."

The elite Tiger Barbarian Cavalry behind him moved, taking up their Weapons and forming a military formation, sealing off the road ahead, lest Ji Zichang make some move and cause any mishap. All the changes happened in an instant.

The Red Emperor’s expression was indifferent. "What Jiang Wanxiang has spoken of concerns matters of immense weight. I myself cannot yet accept it; even if I were to accept it, the officials and commoners under this [Eight Hundred Years of the Red Emperor] may not be able to accept it. Three days from now—"

"In the great hall, I shall invite all ministers and officials, the Academy’s various gentlemen and Palace Masters, to discuss this matter together."

Yuwen Lie’s eyes were sharp as he sized up the Red Emperor from head to toe, and said:

"Very well... Since the Red Emperor has made such a decision, it is naturally for the best."

"In any case, Your Majesty’s vigor is vast and magnificent, and will by no means be harmed by this."

The Red Emperor only nodded faintly.

He walked alone through this ancient, grand, majestic yet silent Palace. The firmament above was like an endless long night, while in the distance the carriages and lanterns of the ministers and officials burned bright and clamorous. In that unspoken place, loyal ministers and fine generals murmured their worries in their hearts.

The Red Emperor’s footsteps were calm, one step after another.

At last he walked along the Imperial Path, along the road where Prince Qin had executed the clan, climbed step by step up the jade stairs, and stood high above. His sleeves billowed as he saw, before him in the light of a single lamp, Noble Consort Wen, her expression gentle, looking at him.

In this palace, among the countless worldly lamps and Candles, there was one left for him.

His heart softened.

Everyone has their own yearnings, everyone has their own plans, their own fears, their own obsessions.

This night was especially long. The Red Emperor summoned all the bloodline and clan of the Red Emperor line, regardless of age, old or young, male or female—so long as they bore the blood of the Red Emperor, all were to come—and then they drank together, speaking of affairs under Heaven.

Thus it went on for three days without cease. The clan felt that this defiant rebel who would not heed the ancestral injunctions had finally submitted, and so they were overjoyed, envisioning the future realm and its possibilities, envisioning the authority and wealth that the Daying Kingdom would grant.

On the last day, when the sky at the horizon had just begun to pale, a thread of fish-belly white rose. This ancient, vast Central State slowly awoke as well; as people came to their senses, they greeted one another with a word of goodwill.

Today, it seemed, Your Majesty had some important proclamation to make.

The Red Emperor, Your Majesty, ordered the entire imperial palace opened. If the common folk wished to observe the rite, they could also go according to the prescribed etiquette. On this day, all officials wore their finest robes. The noble families took out the Weapons of their ancestors and, like ants beneath the claws of a great dragon, proceeded slowly forward.

The Red Emperor stood before the core, most towering and solemn of great halls. This edifice, like the very existence of [Eight Hundred Years of the Red Emperor], had taken on solid form and loomed over him.

Not all officials were allowed in; they were all blocked outside this special palace. This was where the ancestral tablets of eight hundred years of the Red Emperor’s realm were enshrined. The present Red Emperor, arm in arm with Wen Wan’er, stood quietly, looking at the ranks of spirit tablets.

The sovereigns of past generations seemed to dwell within the shadows, their faces expressionless, like ghostly masks painted on white paper—rigid yet sagely bright—gazing upon the present Red Emperor. The present Red Emperor looked back at these ancestral tablets. He lit a stick of incense and watched the fine smoke coil upward.

"Forebears of Eight Hundred Years of the Red Emperor above..."

"Your descendant of later ages, bringing his wife Wan’er, today, must once again commit a deed contrary to ritual."

His body trembled slightly from fear.

But as he watched the curling smoke, his body slowly grew still.

Outside, Jiang Wanxiang, clad in the Dynasty Robe, said, "Your Majesty, this old man is here!"

Destiny had come!

Behind Jiang Wanxiang, the ministers and officials were arrayed here, towering, solemn, and cold. Su Wang and Qilin were hidden among the common people, and under the gaze of all the people of this Central State, the Red Emperor lifted his eyes to the distance. Unhurried, he said:

"Many people of the Central State have come."

"All the better to serve as witnesses!"

The imperial clan of the Central State were about to speak, but at that very moment, their faces suddenly changed. Before they could utter a word, they suddenly spat blood. One after another, their faces darkened; clearly they had already been struck by a violent poison, and several died on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, the dead lay everywhere.

They suddenly froze, then looked at the Red Emperor amid that drifting smoke, and they understood, crying out, "It’s— it’s poison!!!"

"It’s..."

"Ji Zichang, how vicious you are!!!"

An old man, cradling his grandson, coughed blood from his mouth and cried out, "You had all the core bloodline of the Red Emperor drink wine, and it was poison?!! You—what are you going to do!"

Grand Protector Yan’s mind roared. He rose and took two steps forward, only to feel dizzy, watching as all those of the Red Emperor line collapsed, blood spraying from their mouths. Those clan members who had grasped at profit and struggled against the present Red Emperor for more than twenty years all coughed blood and died.

Regardless of old or young, regardless of male or female.

The present Red Emperor’s hand clenched tight, his sleeves billowing, and he said, "Jiang Wanxiang, do you know what Taiping is?"

Jiang Wanxiang looked upon this ruler whom he had judged to be lacking in resolve. The present Red Emperor said softly, "As teacher has said, the eight hundred years of the Red Emperor line’s glory did suffer interruption, yet there was revival. You would borrow the name of the Red Emperor—then what of those who come after..."

"The Red Emperor line would still be alive."

"After eight hundred years, a thousand years, two thousand years, the Red Emperor line would still exist—Undying, undestroyed, unextinguished—like some monster, twisting and rotting yet still alive, like the finest, most convenient banner for raising chaos in the world!"