Chapter 296 The Vacant Past
The imperial study was filled with silver light.

This was often where the emperor worked, and the desk and shelves were piled with books.

Pressed into piles of small hills.

Zuo Chen first came to the table where Li Rongxian often read.

There were quite a few books on the table, all neatly put away.

There were only a few books that Li Rongxian seemed to particularly like and placed them in a prominent position.

Zuo Chen curiously leaned over to take a look.

“The New Legend of Green”, “The Fox’s Heart”, and “The Legend of the Proud Hero in the Forest”.

I randomly opened one and took a look at it, and found that most of them were interesting short talks, there were also quite a few strange novels, and even several miscellaneous booklets specifically about love between men and women. The coverage was quite wide.

like……

None of them are serious documents.

I didn’t expect that this little emperor is also a picture book lover.

It makes sense. Daliang doesn’t have any entertainment options, and Li Rongxian has been under pressure during the years he has been emperor, without even a moment to breathe.

When people are under a lot of pressure, they will always find some ways to relieve stress. Some people go to brothels, some go to the cafeteria. It is not surprising that people like Li Rongxian who have the conditions to read would immerse themselves in those strange and bizarre stories.

If the little emperor likes it, Zuo Chen thinks that after the matter in Kyoto is settled, he can use his soul to make rubbings of some good books that he had read in his previous life, which can be regarded as a gift for the child.

Of course, I am not here today to see the little emperor’s personal privacy, but mainly to find clues about that noble person.

After thinking for a few seconds, Zuo Chen took out the head of the black-armored soldier from his arms.

His eyes were as sharp as torches, quickly sweeping across the head.

The faint aura lingering above was also remembered by Zuo Chen.

He then searched the imperial study.

Soon Zuo Chen discovered that there was indeed a faint trace of Qi remaining in the entire imperial study.

Following the lingering scent, Zuo Chen found several books hidden behind the bookshelf.

After opening the ancient book, Zuo Chen discovered that it was the royal history.

After reading it from top to bottom, Zuo Chen didn’t find anything wrong.

This book records the history from the founding of the country by the first emperor to the death of the previous emperor. There is no record of Li Rongxian. It is estimated that he would be eligible to be included in this book only after his death.

Still feeling something was wrong, Zuo Chen checked it again carefully.

Finally, he found something unusual on the last two pages of the book.

There was a very faint scent on the pages of the book left after the old emperor’s death, so faint that Zuo Chen almost missed it.

The pages were blank.

It’s like someone deliberately erased something.

This matter is important. I’m afraid I have to go back and ask Li Ji.

Putting the book back in its place, Zuo Chen left the imperial study, soared into the air, and returned to Yaochi Tower in the blink of an eye.

When they got inside the building, they found that it was brightly lit. There were several people standing in the lobby on the first floor, including Li Ji, who was wearing a loose bathrobe.

Sitting in front of Li Ji was Lu Yang, whose clothes were still wet. He was at a loss as to what to do until Zuo Chen arrived. Lu Yang quickly stood up and saluted him:

“Master, you are back.”

Li Ji also looked at Zuo Chen: “Master, this young master of the Lu family…did something happen in his family?”

Zuo Chen nodded and briefly told Li Ji what had just happened.

Li Ji frowned slightly when he heard this:
“Killing a third-rank official that night and slaughtering his entire family? This nobleman is really… so bold.”

At this point, Li Ji’s voice became a little confused:

“But doing so would be treacherous and a bit like pushing the nobles to our side.”

“No.” After hearing what Li Ji said, Lu Yang shook his head in confusion: “Even if he kills two more families, the nobles will not change their stance.”

“Ok?”

“The nobles are all lowly people.” After Lu Yang threw away his identity as the eldest son of the Lu family, he became more casual: “Now the nobles only killed our Lu family, which is a warning to the monkeys. The knife is only placed on the necks of other families, but no blood has been seen. They will always have hope and think that they will not be beaten.”

Lu Yang paused and smiled bitterly:

“Wasn’t my grandfather the same?”

Li Ji just felt that this group of nobles were stupid.

If his “colleagues” were brutally murdered, he would simply tie a white cloth on his head, take up weapons, lead his cavalry, and trample the culprit into a pulp.

He simply didn’t ask Lu Yang and turned to look at Zuo Chen:
“Does the Taoist have any ideas?”

“Indeed there is.” Zuo Chen said, “I just went to the imperial study in the palace and found something there.”

Zuo Chen told Li Ji about the missing last page of the book, and Li Ji scratched his head after hearing it:
“I don’t know what the envoys would record, but since my father’s death, nothing major has happened until today. Why don’t you ask a historian tomorrow?”

“I don’t think I’ll get anything out of it.” Zuo Chen shook his head. “Since he went to the Imperial Garden specifically to erase this information, the people who knew about this will definitely be dealt with. I don’t think I’ll be able to find any clues even if I use soul-searching techniques.”

“This is going to be difficult.”

Li Ji’s face was full of bitterness.

I didn’t expect the clues would end here.

Zuo Chen thought for a few seconds, then suddenly slapped his forehead:
“I almost forgot! Isn’t there a heavenly book in Kyoto that can automatically record?”

After arriving in Beijing, Zuo Chen was busy dealing with the nobles and nobles, and he had forgotten about the book. He only remembered it now. “Hmm? Oh! Yes, there is such a thing.” Li Ji also slapped his head and said, “But only the emperor has the right to look through it. Let’s go to the palace to find Li Rongxuan tomorrow.”

Zuo Chen originally wanted to ask about the location of the book and go check it out himself under the cover of night, but seeing Li Ji’s sincere expression and remembering that he had sneaked into the palace twice in a row, he finally did not dare to ask.

Let’s go through the procedure again.

After discussing these things, Zuo Chen looked at Lu Yang:
“As long as you stay in this Yaochi Tower for one day, I can keep you safe for one day. Once I eliminate that nobleman, you will be free.”

“Thank you, Taoist Master.”

Lu Yang thanked him repeatedly.

It was too late, so Li Ji asked the shopkeeper to open another room for Lu Yang. After thanking him repeatedly, Lu Yang moved in.

Lying on the bed, Lu Yang looked at the ceiling but couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.

The image of his grandfather’s dying face still echoed in his mind.

He saw regret on his grandfather’s face:

“If I had known this, I wouldn’t have brought you back…”

After saying this, his grandfather’s head was also cut off by a knife.

Lu Yang could hear the complexity in his grandfather’s tone.

At that time, the grandfather seemed to be regretting not letting Lu Yang stay with Zuo Chen, and regretting having to go back to the Lu family.

but,
The incident has already happened and cannot be changed.

If Lu Yang knew that things would develop in this direction, he would definitely comfort his grandfather before he returned home.

But if his grandfather insisted on returning to the Lu family, Lu Yang estimated that he would most likely go back with his grandfather.

He closed his eyes and held the book tightly in his arms.

I couldn’t help but wonder if it was really good for me to live alone.

He certainly couldn’t kill the nobleman, so he could only pin his hopes on the Taoist priest.

If the Taoist priest could really succeed in killing the nobleman, he would avenge the Lu family.

This book should also be given to the Taoist priest.

He believed that this would not take too long.

……

There are still two days left before Zuo Chen opens the altar.

Yesterday, a fire broke out in the Lu family mansion in Fanyang. The fire burned all night and illuminated the entire city block.

However, for some unknown reason, there was no firefighter on duty that night. After the flames were extinguished, the Lu family’s house became a complete ruin, with nothing left.

The third-rank official Lu also turned into a handful of ashes in the sea of ​​fire.

There was no morning court today, and it should have been time for many officials to take a walk and rest, but no one dared to leave the house.

The old man of the Zhou family looked at General Zhou in front of him, feeling uneasy:
“Nephew…what happened last night? Can our Zhou family still get away?”

General Zhou was drinking tea, but after hearing this, he put down his teacup.

sneer:

“Escape? Why didn’t you think of this day when you entered the game? The Lu family was burned to ashes last night. With this blatant warning, do you still think you can escape? Your noble was clearly forced into a corner by the Taoist priest. He couldn’t bark at the Taoist priest, so he had to bite the bones in his own basin.

“Haha, you idiots still think you can escape now?”

After hearing General Zhou’s reprimand, the old man of the Zhou family showed an obviously embarrassed expression on his face.

He opened his mouth slightly, and all the words were stuck in his throat, eventually turning into a faint sigh.

The noble man killed someone last night, which really scared them all.

The Lu family has never been so honest. They are happy to be under the control of the nobleman. It seems that they have some information about the nobleman. It happened that the Taoist priest came to Beijing, and the two sides fought. The nobleman used the Lu family as goats for sacrifice.

They plucked the sheep’s wool, removed its internal organs, cut it into pieces, took out its head, roasted it, and served it to other nobles to see.

There is no doubt that if these nobles dare to leave Kyoto, or stand on the side of Taoist Zuo Chen, the black-armored soldiers will appear at their doorstep tonight and kill them.

However, the old man of the Zhou family couldn’t help but ask:

“If all of our nobles leave Kyoto together, even the nobles won’t be able to kill us all…”

General Zhou sneered:
“The nobles are united? Haha, uncle, are you under a lot of pressure and have you read two more pages of Xiaolin? Did you find such a joke to make me laugh?”

The old man from the Zhou family stopped talking.

General Zhou put down the teacup, stood up, turned around and left.

Before leaving, I left a message for this elder in my family:

“There are only two days left. I advise my uncle to prepare white silk for the elders in the clan as soon as possible, so that the Zhou family can be saved.”

He left in a huff, leaving only the old man from the Zhou family sitting dejectedly in front of the table, as if his spine had been taken away.

General Zhou left and got on the carriage at the door, and the driver raised his whip.

With the sound of whipping, the carriage was heard arriving at the palace gate.

General Zhou walked quickly to the little emperor, stood with his hands behind his back, and remained silent.

The little emperor glanced at General Zhou, then retracted his gaze and looked at Zuo Chen in front of him:
“Master, do you want to take a look at the Heavenly Book of Records?”

(End of this chapter)