Chapter 241 I'm Betting My Kingdom, Are You Willing to Join Me in the Gamble?

Chapter 241 I bet the country, my dear ministers... are you willing to take a gamble?

Three years after the White Deer Academy entered the world, Daying Dynasty, the palace.

"Your Majesty, the patriarchs of several major families have..."

Daying Emperor Zhao Zhongming raised his hand.

Seeing this, the old eunuch chose to keep silent.

Zhao Zhongming leaned on the dragon chair and closed his eyes to rest.

Unlike the full spirit three years ago, Zhao Zhongming now seemed to have walked the thirty-year journey of ordinary people in just three years.

Not only did his black hair turn silver, but there were also many more wrinkles on his face.

It seemed that he had aged a lot in three years.

This was very different from the rumors about the Immortal Emperor of Daying.

Instead, starting from a certain day three years ago, Zhao Zhongming completely retreated behind the scenes, and only let a few eunuchs go to the court to pass on the message.

Therefore, many people have been speculating whether Zhao Zhongming has problems with his cultivation, so that he dare not easily appear in front of outsiders.

However, Zhao Zhongming's disappearance did not cause unrest in the Daying Dynasty.

The influence of the Immortal Emperor of 500 years is far beyond the reach of ordinary emperors.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the current Daying Dynasty is ruled by Zhao Zhongming alone.

After about an incense stick, Zhao Zhongming seemed to have finished his rest and stood up.

When he stood up, a special force began to surround Zhao Zhongming.

His appearance also began to become younger.

Not long after, the former majestic and piercing Immortal Emperor of Daying appeared in front of the eunuch again.

But the eunuch Guan Shilun looked at Zhao Zhongming with worry in his eyes.

Perhaps noticing Guan Shilun's gaze, Zhao Zhongming said calmly: "Don't worry, I... won't fall down before I find a way out."

"Lead the way."

"Yes."

At the same time, in the imperial study of the Daying Dynasty Palace.

In the imperial study, the patriarchs of the four major families of the Daying Dynasty are all in place.

These people are not only the heads of the cultivator families, but also the patrol envoys of the Four Directions Demon Suppression Department.

They are the last few people with strength and power in the Daying Dynasty except Emperor Zhao Zhongming.

These people are Cui Shouye of Haoran Cui Family, Yue Qingshan of Baiju Yue Family, Li Zhaofeng of Tianjian Li Family, and Xu Yuanrui of Shanhe Xu Family.

The last time the four major families were called together was the Heavenly Demon Rebellion a thousand years ago.

And this time Zhao Zhongming gathered them together, obviously he also had something important to announce.

Although the four people didn't know what Zhao Zhongming was going to do, they could all feel a storm, which might soon sweep across the entire Daying Dynasty.

In this storm, even the four major families dared not say that they would be safe and sound.

It was precisely because of this worry that the patriarchs of the four major families at this time all had a serious expression and quietly waited for Zhao Zhongming's arrival.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Accompanied by a sharp and penetrating eunuch voice outside the study, the four people in the study knelt down one after another.

They all said in unison: "Your Majesty, we are here to see you."

"No need to be polite."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Zhongming walked into the study.

He first looked at the people from the four major families calmly, and then said to the palace maids and eunuchs around him: "Except for Guan Gonggong, the rest of you should go out first."

"Yes."

As Wu Ren and others left, only the patriarchs of the four major families, Emperor Zhao Zhongming, and the chief eunuch Guan Shilun were left in the imperial study.

Zhao Zhongming came to the dragon chair in the study and sat down directly.

"My dear ministers, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After everyone from the four major families sat down, Zhao Zhongming finally spoke.

"You are all important ministers of our dynasty, and you are also the rare three-level great cultivators of our dynasty. You should be very curious about the purpose of my calling you here, right?"

Cui Shouye, Yue Qingshan and others looked at each other and nodded.

Zhao Zhongming looked at them and did not explain immediately. Instead, he said, "Before I tell you the purpose of summoning you, I want to tell you a story first."

"After listening to this story, you may understand what I think in my heart, and you can also understand what I want you to do in the future."

Cui Shouye and others immediately sat up straight with serious faces.

Because they felt that what Zhao Zhongming was going to say was absolutely extraordinary.

"You should have heard a passage, that is, if you don't enter the Wentian Palace in this life, the three realms are already the peak."

"This sentence not only said that the road above the three realms is completely controlled by the Wentian Palace, but also told us another thing, that is, below the Wentian Palace, everyone is an ant."

"The so-called dynasty is just a game similar to children's house. As long as the Wentian Palace wants, they can replace us at any time."

"And what I want to tell you is related to this Wentian Palace."

As he said, Zhao Zhongming's eyes immediately became deep, as if he was trapped in some kind of memory.

"Everyone says that I am the immortal emperor, the reincarnation of a real dragon, and the emperor destined to be king."

"But what they don't know is that I was actually the same as my brothers five hundred years ago, not much different."

"Everything changed after I met someone."

"At that time, I had no ambitions. I didn't want to be the greatest emperor in history, nor did I want to be an immortal. All I wanted was to be the free and easy prince who lived in a remote corner, indulge myself in life, and be free and unrestrained."

"And do you know why I started on the path of spiritual practice?"

Cui Shouye and others looked at each other and shook their heads.

Because they actually don’t know much about Zhao Zhongming’s early years.

Although the lifespan of a monk is very long, the lifespan of a monk in the Third Realm is only three hundred years at most.

When the four of them were born, Zhao Zhongming had already been emperor for many years.

As for Zhao Zhongming's early deeds, most people don't know much about it.

It seemed as if someone was secretly erasing a certain period of Zhao Zhongming's history.

The most important of them is the fifteen years between Zhao Zhongming's twenty-five years old and his proclaimed emperor at forty years old.

There is no record of this part in either the library of the four major families or the historical records of the Daying Dynasty.

So many people think that this is because Zhao Zhongming came from an evil background and erased this period of history.

As for those who know this period of history, they are old and dead.

To this day, no one knows what happened in those fifteen years.

As Zhao Zhongming's cultivation and power became increasingly consolidated.

And no one dares to explore this secret.

But now Zhao Zhongming is actually preparing to tell them this history directly.

This made Cui Shouye and others become nervous while being curious.

Some things, knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing.

Although they are curious about this matter, they also know that sometimes just being curious... requires paying a heavy price.

If given a choice, the four of them would rather not know this history.

But Zhao Zhongming undoubtedly did not give them a choice at the moment.

They... don't have a choice.

Zhao Zhongming ignored the uncertain expressions of the four people and said to himself: "Before I was twenty-five years old, I thought that I had countless women, but few women could touch my heartstrings. Until I met that woman..."

"She is like the orchid in the valley and the clear spring in the mountain. In her, I see neither the vulgarity of the world nor the arrogance of the immortals, but only the unspeakable innocence."

"And from that moment on, I understood what love is."

"After that, I shamelessly stayed with her and followed her around the mountains and rivers."

"Although she was not against me at first, she was not close to me. She neither chased me away nor talked to me. It was as if she regarded me as nothing and was looking for something in the Daying Dynasty."

"And for some reason, the more she behaves like this, the more curious I become about her."

"Now that I think about it, maybe it was her disregard for me that inspired me to be competitive."

"After that period of time, I mobilized all my connections to investigate the origins of this woman."

"But after a long investigation, I was surprised to find that this woman seemed to appear suddenly without any trace."

"However, although I was ignorant in my early years, I also knew some secrets of the dynasty."

"There are only two types of people who can suddenly appear in our court without leaving a trace of their past."

"One comes from heaven, and the other comes from outside."

"The sky above is the Wentian Palace, and the sky outside is the demon outside the territory."

"It's different from today. Although the Demon was not well received in our court at that time, it was not to the extent that everyone is calling for beatings now."

"Because the Heavenly Demon Rebellion a thousand years ago was essentially started by the previous dynasty, and the establishment of our dynasty also benefited from it. Therefore, our attitude towards the Heavenly Demon in the early days was not to contact or offend."

"So after guessing that the woman might come from heaven or beyond, I became even more curious about her."

"In other words, besides her, I am also curious about the scenery of the world she comes from."

"After that, I launched an even more intense pursuit of her."

"When she goes to Youshan, I also go to Youshan. When she goes to the four seas, I will follow her into the four seas. No matter where she goes, I will try my best to follow her, like a shadow."

When talking about this, Zhao Zhongming showed a rare happy smile on his face.

It was as if that memory was more precious to him than anything else.

When Cui Shouye and others saw this scene, they all had strange expressions on their faces.

Because they thought Zhao Zhongming was going to say something about the secrets of the dynasty.

In the end, what we talked about was Zhao Zhongming's "dog-licking path" in his early years.

To put it nicely, Zhao Zhongming is bravely pursuing love.

To put it bluntly, he just shamelessly pesters others.

But don't tell me, this kind of Zhao Zhongming is actually more humane in their eyes.

After all, Zhao Zhongming is their well-deserved senior in terms of cultivation and age.

Coupled with Zhao Zhongming's identity and cultivation, they often look at Zhao Zhongming with a sense of awe.

But this awe completely collapsed now, turning into an indescribable contrast.

But Cui Shouye and others... are not disgusted with this.

"After following her for three years, I finally got to know her name for the first time. Her name only has the character 'jiu' in it. I call her Miss Jiu."

"Three years later, I learned what Miss Jiu was looking for. She said she was looking for a way home."

"Do you know how complicated my mood is after knowing this?"

"I don't want her to find her way home, but I also can't bear her searching aimlessly."

"There was nothing I could do. In the end, I couldn't bear her wandering like this, so I offered to help her find a way home."

"And starting from this day, Miss Jiu finally changed her attitude towards me. She began to take the initiative to talk and was willing to share some of her few memories."

"She said her memory was very vague. One memory was of being on a high mountain. She couldn't remember what the people there called her. She only remembered that she seemed to often go in and out of a hall, and there were many burning fires in that hall. The cauldron.”

"As for what was burning in these cauldrons, she couldn't remember."

"And another memory is that she was in a deserted bamboo forest. At that time, she seemed not to be a human being, but just a little insect, looking for something to eat everywhere."

"But she can't tell which memory is true."

"All she knew was that she had one very strong idea in her mind, and that was to go home."

"Since then, I have mobilized all connections to help her find a way home."

"Slowly, I did find a lot of useful clues. For example, the cauldron in her memory is actually the monk's alchemy furnace."

"And according to her memory, the place where her first copy was was a hall full of alchemy furnaces."

"There is no such place in the Daying Dynasty, so I guess she either comes from Wentian Palace or from a place outside the sky."

"But I have been in contact with people from Wentian Palace, and they said that there is no one like Miss Jiu in Wentian Palace."

"So I know one thing, that is, Miss Jiu... comes from outside the world."

"It was also from then on that I made a decision in my heart."

"I don't want to inherit the throne anyway, so if the Daying Dynasty has more than me, it won't be too much, and if there is less than me, it won't be too much."

"If everything goes well, I should have left Daying with Miss Jiu and gone to that mysterious place beyond the sky."

"But everything changed after the ninth year."

"At that time, I actually knew that the demons seemed to be looking for something in the Daying Dynasty. In order to avoid the tragedy of the previous dynasty, the Daying court at that time not only did not be hostile to the demons, but also helped them search together."

"And in order to help Ajiu find his way home, I deliberately contacted several demons."

"They are said to be heavenly demons, but they are actually not much different from normal people. Among them, the Qingyun Sect disciples are the most interesting."

"Although those Qingyun Sect disciples have very different personalities, each one of them is a kind-hearted person and is magnanimous, which is very suitable for me."

"Unexpectedly, after I led several Qingyun Sect disciples to find Ajiu, they actually looked at Ajiu with shocked faces and said that she was a disciple of their Qingyun Sect Danyang Peak, and she was the one who met during the last True Immortal Trial. The place of trial is missing.”

"After they left a few people behind, the others ran back to Sambar Academy to verify something. When they came back, they told Ajiu that as long as she wanted, she could leave with them at any time and go home together."

"Do you know how I felt at that moment?"

"It was a feeling that can't be described in words. I was happy and sad at the same time."

"I'm happy that Ajiu has found his way home. What's sad is that I, a person without cultivation, will probably be separated from Ajiu soon."

"So I made the decision that I regret the most, that is, I asked Ajiu to stay and accompany me to the places we visited nine years ago."

"Ajiu agreed. Then in order to cherish this precious time, I asked several Qingyun Sect disciples not to come and let Ajiu and I spend some time alone."

"But this decision became the biggest mistake of my life."

"Because I don't know at all that Ajiu has another identity besides being a disciple of the Qingyun Sect... that is the Immortal Liquor Insect."

"Ajiu's other memory is the memory of her time as a wine bug."

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhongming's expression gradually became ferocious.

"Immortals are unkind and use all things as a poison. Ajiu is one of the links in this poison."

"Not long after Ajiu and I left the Imperial City and arrived at Jiuyou Mountain, a group of demons found us."

"I don't know what method they used, but they actually found out the identity of Ajiu Liquorworm. They tried their best to catch her and offer her to the immortal in exchange for the way to become an immortal."

"And in order to protect me, Ajiu temporarily repelled those demons, but he was still unable to get rid of them."

"I tried to ask the court for help, but the court told me not to get involved."

"I hate, why I was greedy for pleasure when I was young, and why I couldn't hold an official position."

"Although those Qingyun Sect disciples came to rescue immediately after receiving the news."

"But how could they compare to other demons who joined forces with me, and were eventually trapped in the academy..."

Having said this, Zhao Zhongming stood up directly and looked at the four people in front of him.

"I won't talk about what happened next, because those things are not important."

"I once said that I would take Ajiu home, so I will definitely take her home. For this... I will do whatever it takes."

"Today I am summoning you all, and there is only one thing to do, and that is to come with me, enter the palace, and embark on the journey to heaven."

"Because only there is the way to the outside world."

"After this incident, no matter what the outcome is, you and others can take all of this huge surplus."

"I bet my country, my dear friends... are you willing to make a bet?"

After hearing Zhao Zhongming's words, Cui Shouye and others were completely silent.

Because what Zhao Zhongming said was so shocking.

If things are done, these big families will become the masters of the Daying Dynasty.

If they fail, they will face revenge from the Academy.

After all, the academy has always only allowed academy disciples to enter. If non-academy disciples want to enter the academy, they can only kill their way in.

The stakes... are too high.

PS: The update is a little late, sorry.