Chapter 76: If the State Religion Is Not Eliminated, the Nation Cannot Prosper

Early May.

The reconstruction of the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise armies began discreetly.

Ding Suian also ended his days of vacation-like ease and began training new recruits at the North City drill ground every day.

Chen Yi, as promised, transferred Wang Xigui, Chest Hair, Gongye Ni, and Hu Jiangjiu into the Elite Cavalry of the A-Camp where Ding Suian was stationed.

Wang Xigui was appointed as Ding Suian’s deputy, and the other three were appointed as Squad Leaders.

The training for the new army was closed off, but those at the rank of Dutou and above were exempt from this restriction.

Fourth of May.

At noon, Ding Suian received a note: ‘High noon, Chamber of Embracing Simplicity, Room Two facing the street.’

The handwriting looked delicate at first glance, but it faintly revealed a stubborn edge.

One look and he knew who it was from.

Ding Suian changed into casual clothes and left the drill ground, heading towards Chengtian Avenue.

Chengtian Avenue was located on the central axis of Central Heaven City and was the main east-west artery of the city.

The Chamber of Embracing Simplicity was a teahouse located on Chengtian Avenue. Because it was adjacent to the Imperial City and backed by Ziwei Ward, many officials often came here for tea and a break at noon.

Ding Suian entered the Chamber of Embracing Simplicity and, without needing to be greeted by the tea server, went straight to the second-floor private room facing the street.

Inside the private room, a handsome Young Master with phoenix eyes and a fair face sat by the window, holding a cup in his left hand and looking out.

Hearing movement, a charming smile appeared on his face. ‘Young Master Ding, please sit.’

Ding Suian cupped his hands and smiled, ‘Young Master Lin, you are too polite.’

After sitting down opposite, Ding Suian glanced at Lin Hansu. Her complexion was very good.

Her cheeks were pinkish-white, and her phoenix eyes were vibrant.

Lin Hansu was not lacking in means or schemes, and after experiencing the funeral sacrifice, her ambition grew even more vigorously.

Such a person, after getting close to Princess Xingguo, the core of power in Great Wu, was naturally like a fish in water.

Seeing Ding Suian looking at her, Lin Hansu spread her arms and displayed herself generously, ‘How is this attire?’

‘It’s quite good, just a bit tight at the chest.’

Lin Hansu just pursed her lips and smiled, pushing the tea snacks on the plate toward Ding Suian, ‘Hungry, right? Eat something to pad your stomach first.’

‘Mm.’ Ding Suian picked up a piece of pastry and said while chewing,’Sister, did you call me here just to eat?’

‘No talking while eating~’

Both were kneeling, with a small low table between them.

Lin Hansu smiled and reminded him, then leaned forward, resting her left arm on the table, and used her right hand to take a handkerchief to wipe the corner of Ding Suian’s mouth.

Actually, Ding Suian was not a three-year-old child; there was no need for this.

But Lin Hansu was clearly using these small actions to express intimacy, which was also a small flirting tactic.

It was very pleasant.

After Ding Suian swallowed, Lin Hansu said, ‘I called you here to let you see someone.’

‘See someone? See who?’

‘You’ll know in a moment.’

The two chatted for a while. About a quarter of an hour later, Lin Hansu, who had been keeping an eye on the window, suddenly said, ‘Look, here they come.’

Ding Suian turned his head and saw more than ten people slowly walking along Chengtian Avenue.

The person in the lead was short and sturdy, with leopard eyes and a ringed beard.

Behind him followed eight sturdy warriors of varying ages, each looking around with arrogance.

‘The person leading is General Huaihua, Qin Shou. The eight people behind him are his adopted sons, known as the Eight Tigers. At the end of last month, the garrison troops from Sheng and Yong provinces led by Qin Shou had returned to their hometowns one after another, and today he came to the Ministry of War to report on his duties.’

‘Is this person to be praised or punished?’

‘The imperial court doesn’t have a plan yet.’ Lin Hansu leaned forward slightly, resting her heavy chest on the table, and whispered, ‘The Minister of Rites said that the Southern Expedition was a crushing defeat, but General Qin was able to preserve the Left Army, so he should be rewarded. However, the lords of the Ministry of Justice said that after General Qin led his troops back north, he pillaged in Huaifeng Prefecture and should be punished.’

‘Was it them who pillaged in Huaifeng?’

Ding Suian’s voice suddenly rose, startling Lin Hansu. ‘Yes, have you dealt with them before?’

Ding Suian shook his head and asked again, ‘Did no one mention the matter of the Left Army retreating without orders?’

With the imperial court’s habit of ‘turning major issues into minor ones and minor ones into nothing,’ even if it were confirmed that Qin Shou pillaged with his troops, in the end, it would be nothing more than a ‘toast of three cups of wine.’

The only true way to punish him would be for the major crimes of disobeying military orders and abandoning defensive zones on the battlefield.

Because Lin Hansu had often been by Princess Xingguo’s side recently, she learned many inside stories and said, ‘This matter is no longer on the agenda.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the Immortal Master of the State Religion who accompanied the army personally testified for General Qin, saying he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears that the fourth son of the Xia family transmitted the military order to retreat the Left Army by five miles.’ After speaking, Lin Hansu sighed softly and said in a low voice, ‘Now, there is no proof of death, and the family of the Duke of Zhenguo is finished. After all, the Immortal Master of the State Religion cannot be questioned, let alone when the one testifying is a Purple-Robed Hierarch.’

‘…’

Why are these charlatans everywhere!

A few days later, the ninth of May.

Lin Hansu’s efficiency was extremely high. In just half a month, the first batch of urgently needed furniture was moved into the new Ding Family residence on Suimian Street.

With furniture, they could entertain guests.

That evening, Chen Yi and the others brought gifts to congratulate them on the housewarming.

As the host, Ding Suian took his brothers to tour the place.

Setting aside Chen Yi, Gao Gan and Li Meimei were also people who had seen the world, but upon seeing the new furniture of the Ding Family, they couldn’t help but praise it repeatedly.

Especially that exceptionally wide alcove bed in the bedroom.

Just crafting this bed used over three thousand catties of rosewood.

Furniture cannot be made with new wood; it must use aged wood that has been air-dried for more than two years to prevent deformation due to moisture evaporation later.

But Lin Hansu was a filial daughter. To gather materials to build the bed for Ding Suian, she took apart her father’s bed.

Li Meimei stepped forward and shook it a few times; the bed frame didn’t budge at all, and it didn’t make a single ‘creak’ sound, which showed that not only were the materials good, but the craftsmanship was also excellent. ‘This bed… is sturdy! It can withstand whatever New Year’s Eve puts it through, hehe.’

Old Lin reluctantly touched the carved flowers on the bed frame again and again, sadly saying, ‘Good bed, good bed, ah.’

At 7 PM.

The banquet prepared by the Old Lin family’s kitchen was delivered to the Ding Family.

The housewarming banquet began.

Old Lin sat in his seat, dazed for a moment. This house was bought by him, the furniture wood was from his house, the carpenter who made the furniture was from his house, and even the banquet for the housewarming was provided by his house!

Old Lin suddenly felt that he was just a delivery person.

Back then, when he was sucking up to Prince Yinyang, he hadn’t tried this hard!

After three rounds of drinks.

The topic at the table naturally circled back to the Southern Expedition.

Mentioning Qin Shou, who came to the city to report on his duties a few days ago, Gao Gan was so angry that his teeth itched, and he said indignantly, ‘I don’t know what the lords of the imperial court are thinking! Qin Shou is the culprit behind the disastrous defeat of the Southern Expedition. I heard that the imperial court actually wants him to stay in the capital and take a post!’

Li Baicheng, who was next to him, said,’Staying in the capital may not necessarily be a good thing for him. There are quite a few people secretly seeking justice for the Duke of Zhenguo.’

‘According to what the Second Brother said, then why is he willing to stay in the capital?’ Li Meimei was puzzled.

‘I’m afraid~’ Ding Suian recalled what Lin Hansu had said a few days ago and guessed the reason, ‘I’m afraid he has already found a new backer.’

‘Who?’ Several people looked over in unison.

‘The State Religion! It is said that the reason Qin Shou is unharmed this time is that the Purple-Robed Hierarch of Central Heaven who accompanied the army personally testified for him, claiming that the military order to retreat was personally transmitted by the fourth son of the Xia family!’

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi looked at Ding Suian in surprise.

He had only heard about this from his Paternal Aunt yesterday. This Sixth Brother’s intelligence network was so well-informed!

‘No wonder!’ Gao Gan said hatefully, ‘No wonder the family of the Duke of Zhenguo was suddenly taken into custody a few days ago!’

‘The family of the Duke of Zhenguo has been taken into custody?’

‘Yes! The men were imprisoned, and the women were sent to the Bureau of Music and Entertainment.’

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Ding Suian recalled everything from the past few months and couldn’t help but sigh in a low voice, ‘We really don’t get along with the State Religion.’

The others thought he was talking about the matter at Chongyin Mountain, but he knew himself that there was also the Tiandao Palace in Lanyang Prefecture.

It was simply at odds with the State Religion; every encounter resulted in a fight to the death.

Ding Suian even had a premonition that there would be no shortage of conflicts in the future, because everything the other side did precisely stepped on the points he hated the most.

Beside him, Chen Yi suddenly took out a mysterious silver box engraved with complex Talismans from his bosom and flicked the mechanism a few times. The room instantly quieted down.

The extreme silence was such that they could hear each other’s breathing.

The bustle of the night market that had been faintly coming from outside and the sound of Zhao Yan walking around on the second floor of the East Wing disappeared completely.

It should be some kind of Magical Artifact that isolates sound.

Chen Yi looked around the circle before saying, ‘If the State Religion is not eliminated, the nation cannot prosper!’

The volume was not loud.

But it was earth-shattering!

After all, he was the Imperial Grandson. Was this sentence his own meaning, or the meaning of the imperial family, or even the entire imperial court?

Although the few of them had vaguely sensed the anomaly between the imperial court and the State Religion, saying ‘If the State Religion is not eliminated, the nation cannot prosper’ out loud was a different matter entirely.

As everyone looked at each other, Chen Yi smiled and looked at Ding Suian, ‘New Year’s Eve, do you remember when we were in the Chongyin Mountain valley, I told you that next time we do such an exciting business, let me know in advance. The State Religion encroaches on the Foundation of the nation’s tax revenue and erodes the legal authority of the imperial court.’

Chen Yi spent dozens of breaths listing the crimes of the State Religion, and it was almost exactly the same as what Ding Suian had said to Lin Hansu.

‘Now, the State Religion is using crimson dew, which helps Martial Artists cultivate, as bait to corrupt military generals and is reaching its hand into the military! Qin Shou suddenly receiving help from the State Religion must be related to this.’

After Chen Yi finished speaking, Gao Gan was already flushed with excitement and immediately said, ‘Third Brother, there are certainly more than just the six of us who are dissatisfied with the State Religion in Great Wu. Why don’t we form a secret society, recruit talents from all over the world, and join together to purge the State Religion and support the imperial court!’

‘Count me in!’

Li Meimei raised his cup, toasted the other five, and drank it down.

Li Baicheng sat in his seat thinking seriously for a while, then also raised his wine cup.

After killing the Cultivator at Chongyin Mountain, there was no turning back. Besides, there were indeed many people dissatisfied with the State Religion.

Old Lin was a bit flustered. We’re just here for a housewarming banquet!

Why are we talking about such head-chopping matters? Hesitant and not daring to easily express his position, he could only keep stealing glances at Ding Suian, as if waiting for him to make the decision first.

Chen Yi also looked at Ding Suian with expectant eyes. The latter, holding the cup, suddenly smiled and tilted his head to drink it dry.

‘Hahaha.’ Chen Yi was immediately relieved and couldn’t help but say, ‘New Year’s Eve, what is the reason?’

Ding Suian played with the empty cup, his gaze falling into the Void Realm, and slowly said, ‘I am a person who never holds grudges. But a few months ago, there was a damn Hierarch who called me a monstrous beast. I am very annoyed.’