lcionline Chapter 24 Fabrication and Lies, Lou Qing Imprisoned
Chapter 24 Fabrication and Lies, Lou Qing Imprisoned
early morning.
The Night Guard Commander sat by the window, holding a cup of light tea in his hand. The rising steam reflected in his half-closed eyes.
He yawned, his eyes still showing signs of drowsiness, and lazily flipped through the newly delivered intelligence reports.
The invitation to the snow appreciation banquet gradually caused a stir in the capital. The various households reacted differently, but all promised to attend, after all, the emperor stood behind Princess Jin'an.
Even the most baffling invitation deserves to be given face.
Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor's actions... have a deeper meaning?
He glanced at it, found nothing unusual, and casually placed the intelligence report beside him. Soon after, his men would come to collect it and file it away.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
"Ta Tata..."
Lou Qing, with unmelted snow still clinging to his shoulders, hurriedly entered the room, clutching a new intelligence report tightly in his hand.
Seeing the commander sitting at the table with an imposing expression, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and respectfully presented the intelligence report in his hand: "Commander, this is yesterday's report on her whereabouts."
The Night Guard Commander looked displeased as he took the intelligence report and quickly glanced at it. It contained a detailed record of Chu Lengyu's whereabouts and what he had seen and heard.
However, there are some oddities in this seemingly detailed report.
His face darkened, and he slammed the intelligence report heavily on the table: "Utter nonsense!"
Upon hearing this, Lou Qing immediately knelt down on one knee: "This subordinate dares not! Please, Commander, calm your anger!"
He knew why the commander was angry, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
The strange phenomenon that occurred at Xuanzhen Temple yesterday morning is still vivid in my mind.
A warm breeze caressed my face, and all things came back to life, as if the entire Taoist temple was bursting with vitality.
He, Lao Wu, and Xiao Zhang looked at each other, their eyes filled with astonishment and confusion.
"This wind... is too strange," Old Wu murmured, his brows furrowed.
"Yeah, could it be that a deity has actually appeared?" Xiao Zhang's eyes were glazed over, and his mind was wavering.
Lou Qing took a deep breath, a sense of unease rising in her heart.
That strange "spring breeze" gave Xuanzhen Temple a brand new look. Afterwards, he discussed with Lao Wu and Xiao Zhang for a long time whether or not to include it in the report.
He knew that this was too bizarre, and that no one would believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes.
But if this were reported to the commander, how would one explain this sudden "spring breeze"? Once reported, one would surely be questioned, or even punished without any explanation, bringing unnecessary trouble upon oneself.
However, as a member of the Night Guard, Lou Qing was well aware of his responsibilities. Even if he had many doubts, he had to report them truthfully.
And... he wanted to take a gamble.
So he gritted his teeth and meticulously recorded what he had seen and heard, and submitted it to the commander.
At this moment, the Night Guard Commander was sitting in his study, clearly skeptical of the contents of the intelligence report.
"Lou Qing, even if you want to gain merit, you can't talk nonsense here!" he questioned. "Do you know that I am going to submit this report to His Majesty? If you dare to utter even a single lie, that would be the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Lou Qing was extremely nervous and quickly explained, "My lord, please understand! Even if I have a thousand reasons to be unwilling and ten thousand reasons to be helpless, I would never dare to lie in the slightest. Even if I had nine lives, I would never dare to deceive you!"
The events described here are absolutely true, every word is accurate. If you do not believe me, you may go to Xuanzhen Temple to see for yourself. Moreover, Duke Zhenguo, Chu Wenchen, also went there yesterday; you may ask him for confirmation.”
The Night Guard commander sneered, unconcerned by the words, and pointed at him, saying, "Hmph, glib tongue. Men, take him away and lock him in the dungeon. I'll deal with him properly when I get back."
At his command, two night guards immediately stepped forward, handcuffed Lou Qing, and escorted him out of the study.
Lou Qing was unwilling, but dared not resist and could only let them take her to the dungeon.
The dungeon was dark and damp, filled with a suffocating oppressive atmosphere. Lou Qing was kept in solitary confinement in a cell surrounded by cold stone walls and hard shackles.
He sat wearily on the ground, leaning against the stone wall, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.
"Ugh."
Sighs echoed in the empty cell, just like his mood at that moment—heavy and oppressive.
But what could he possibly do inside that cell?
Even though he was filled with resentment, he could only wait silently.
The Night Guard Commander made a new copy of Chu Lengyu's whereabouts report from yesterday.
He naturally completely ignored the part that he deemed Lou Qing to be fabricated.
Reporting this kind of thing to the emperor? Don't be ridiculous, who would believe that?
Satisfied, he took his revised work to the palace to report.
The emperor has recently changed his habits; he now goes to the imperial study to sit and read before going to court.
No one knew that his real purpose was to come to the Imperial Study to see the latest update of "Cultivation Diary".
Last time, Chu Lengyu mentioned many things in her diary that the emperor had never heard of, such as the Heavenly Court, the Underworld, and the two lines of poetry about "White Jade Capital".
Even if her diary is actually full of fabricated stories, like those in a storybook, he still finds it quite interesting to read.
As a result, the emperor was stunned by the very first sentence of the fifth diary entry.
"I've advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage."
"If stepping into the Qi Refining stage is like undergoing a complete transformation from a mortal body, then advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage is like accumulating power and breaking free of the cocoon to become a butterfly."
"I clearly felt my power."
The emperor was intrigued and very curious about just how powerful she was.
"Here's a little anecdote."
"Because when I ascended to the rank of immortal, the spiritual energy overflowed, causing the ice and snow in Xuanzhen Temple to melt away and the plants to revive. As a result, the Taoists misunderstood it as the ancestral master manifesting his power."
"After thinking about it, I realized they weren't wrong."
"After all, I'm going to become the Dao Ancestor in the future."
"My manifestation is the manifestation of the ancestral master."
The young girl's boastful promise brought a knowing smile to the emperor's face.
He couldn't help but recall his youth, when he had been just as arrogant, saying that he would become a wise ruler and leave a lasting legacy.
Sigh, I really miss it.
"To practice sword control and swordsmanship, I bought a manor outside the city, and I can move in tomorrow."
"I no longer have to worry about the space being too small to fully utilize my skills."
"However, I should also consider coming clean with a few close people like Lü Yun, otherwise it's too inconvenient to have to avoid them every time."
"If only I could get a puppet that's realistic enough to fool everyone. I could have her handle my worldly affairs so I could focus on my cultivation."
"Anyway, I have nothing to be nostalgic about regarding my identity as Chu Lengyu."
"Once I have formed my Golden Core, I will leave the capital and travel the world."
"He travels north to Yue in the morning and to Cangwu in the evening, with a green snake hidden in his sleeve and a bold spirit."
"Thrice I entered Yueyang, yet no one recognized me; I recited aloud as I flew over Dongting Lake."
She wrote these words quite casually, putting down her pen after writing two lines of verse that pleased her.