Chapter 100: Heart Barrier, Grand Action

Di Ying had always known that the White Horse Temple harbored corruption and evil, bringing harm to one region. After all, Xue Haiyi and those fake monks had never concealed their own words and actions. He Di Ying would not be unaware of something that nearly all the citizens of the Great Capital already knew. He simply could not act against Xue Haiyi. He had been waiting, waiting for an opportunity. But his sister’s being taken hostage made Di Ying unwilling to wait any longer. If he continued to wait, who knew how many more girls would be harmed. His sister Di Ying was innocent, and other girls were innocent as well. Although he was very clear that Di Miao was not kidnapped by Xue Haiyi, nor was she in the White Horse Temple. When he heard the news of his sister’s abduction at the Di residence, Di Ying had noticed the “ears and eyes” surrounding him. Pretending his target was Xue Haiyi was half true and half false, to allow those “ears and eyes” to report back. Qian Wu, the guard with the best light kung fu, had followed that “ear and eye.” He tailed him all the way to the gate of the Qin residence. After Qian Wu reported back, Di Ying knew who had kidnapped his own sister. Zhao San and the others had indeed rushed to the White Horse Temple to probe. Xu Si and the others, however, did not wait at the halfway point to intercept and kill Xue Haiyi, but instead all came to the White Horse Temple. Di Ying himself, taking Chang Jiu, wandered aimlessly around the city. After receiving Qian Wu’s message and shaking off the pursuit, he went to find Di Shun, gathered manpower, and set up an ambush at the outskirts of the White Horse Temple. He was not without concern for Di Miao. Di Ying could only gamble that Qin Tiezhong’s purpose in kidnapping Di Miao was to exchange her for himself. If the exchange letter did not reach his hands, Qin Tiezhong would not move against Di Miao for the time being, meaning Di Miao would be safe. At least, tonight should be safe. Di Ying went all in. This time, he wanted to eliminate the White Horse Temple and the Court of Justice in one swoop.

...

“Crack!” A bolt of lightning split through the night sky. “Rumble!” Thunder rolled in succession. Startled the old emperor in the imperial writing chamber, the jade brush in her hand dropped to the ground. Ever since the thunder strike incident involving the “Heaven-bestowed Sacred Map,” she had developed a fear of the sound of thunder. But such a night made it impossible for one to sleep peacefully.

“Your Majesty, why don’t you go out for a walk? The air is very humid and stifling. You’ve been sitting for a long time now too.” At this moment, Su Gonggong stepped forward, picked up the jade brush and placed it in the inkwell, then bowed respectfully to the emperor. The old emperor heard the sound and looked at him with a very suspicious gaze. “Are you afraid that I will be struck by lightning and die?” He had no place to hide anymore, wishing to stuff the entire hall full of people to accompany him, yet little Hongzi actually wanted him to go out for a walk? Did he think she was living too long?

“Your Majesty,” Su Gonggong’s plump white face creased into a smile. He spoke gently: “For any person or thing that can instill fear in you, you have always faced it frankly and confronted it head-on. Once you break it, you no longer need to worry. Since you cannot break this thunder and lightning, why not go for a walk. Go look at the palace walls outside the Western Straight Gate of this imperial palace. The newly appointed Inspector Zhang Jian had previously sent someone to deliver a message: saying that he had brought something from Ping’an County to present to you, which could cause the power of thunder and lightning to forever avoid you. However, that item is too large and difficult to disassemble, so he wishes for you to go to the city tower to observe it first, then disassemble it and send it into the palace. That is, he wants you to see the practicality of that item. If you are pleased, then disassemble it, transport it in, and reassemble it.”

“Oh?” The old emperor rose upon hearing. “I have suffered from thunder and lightning for a long time; with such a fine item, I indeed should see it with my own eyes.” But while her mouth was saying it, her neck was slightly forward, interest flashed in her eyes, yet her feet remained nailed in place. Su Gonggong saw this, the smile on his face grew even more amiable. His tone carried encouragement: “Your Majesty, you must believe in yourself, just as we all believe that you are the true dragon emperor. Walk, let the world believe this, believe that the heavenly might will be by your side.” The old emperor took a step. If... if it could really make thunder and lightning forever avoid her. This would be far more effective than blocking everyone’s mouths or chopping off the heads of countless people, with heavenly approval. She took one step. Then stopped again. She asked Su Hong: “Zhang Jian is in Ping’an County far away, how could he know about my heart barrier? Is it Di Ying? That item, it was actually made by Di Ying, right?” “Your Majesty is wise.” Su Gonggong smiled and bowed. He replied: “That day you fainted in the golden hall, frightening Di Da Ren. He specializes in medicine, fearing that you would be startled again due to thunder and lightning dancing wildly. He has been thinking of ways all along. Until he went to Ping’an County to investigate the case, he encountered suitable materials and had Zhang Jian complete the making of it. To this day, it has been transported here, and only assembled at the very last moment.” “Truly thoughtful of Huajie.” This “thoughtful” referred not only to Di Ying making the item, but also to Di Ying explaining the heart barrier as a medical matter. In this way, even if that item was useless, no one would say that this emperor feared thunder and lightning and feared heavenly might due to improper status. It was truly clever, Di Huajie. A simple medical explanation thus sealed the world’s gossipy mouths, and also opened the knot in her own heart as emperor. Thinking layer by layer, the old emperor began to walk. One step, one step, big steps, big steps towards the hall’s exit. In the night sky, dark clouds rolled and stacked in layers. Like startled horses, or like surging waves, looking at it was shocking. But at this time, the old emperor, as Su Hong said, was brave, daring to face it frankly. Actually, she was just holding back a breath. She did not believe that her imperial position was improper, did not believe that after years of diligent governance, she would not receive heavenly approval. She wanted to fight, to gamble this one time! She strode forward. And miraculously, the thunder and lightning avoided the sky above the imperial palace. The old emperor walked happier and happier, more and more joyful.

... And on the other side. In the Court of Justice. Xue Haiyi was also very happy and drank again. With Lai Wangcai and Wang Hongbin, they toasted each other, laughing and chatting amiably. I don’t know what they were talking about, but the inebriated Xue Haiyi patted his chest and said, “In the future, you two follow this master. As long as you can eliminate that fat Di, this master can guarantee that you two will be more magnificent and successful than those two!” “Small matter, Master Xue. That fat Di is just a lowly official who jumped up from being a commoner, no background, no protection. You wait, at dawn tomorrow, I will send men to arrest him back to the Court of Justice. Peel his skin and flay him, whatever you desire.” Lai Wangcai hurriedly expressed loyalty. And the several people on night duty at the Court of Justice gate were also whispering about the meaning of Master Xue suddenly arriving. As they spoke, it deviated, and as they spoke, spittle dripped down. At this moment, suddenly there seemed to be dense, heavy footsteps of a large group passing on the street. Someone poked their head out to look. Strangely: “So late at night, what are so many people doing?” Another yawned and replied casually: “Who cares. Probably it’s someone’s misfortune again, right? Otherwise, without the emperor’s mobilization, who would dare such a large-scale action?”