Please, marry a white snake wife. It’s super cool.

After the first day of the New Year, it is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Lu Mansion in Taining City.

In a room, Lu Yuan was practicing hard, and practicing with him were his wife Su Liyan and daughter Lu Ruyan.

The purpose of Lu Yuan taking his daughter Lu Ruyan to practice is to let his daughter learn to suppress the rampant aura in her body and use basic techniques.

Lu Ruyan is a half-demon who has already started practicing magic at such a young age, and has powerful parents to guide her. She may be the best half-demon in history!

This is the person who wins at the starting line!
Lu Yuan, who has reached the Heavenly Sovereign realm, has a secret book "The Heavenly Master" in front of him. He has cultivated to an extremely high level and is immersed in it.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps disturbed Lu Yuan's practice. It was a servant from the mansion who came to report:
"Master, someone is coming from the Imperial Capital!"

Lu Yuan stood up, opened the door and asked, "Who is it?"

Who can come to visit the emperor in the first month of the year?
I'm afraid it's not a good thing!

The servant bowed his head and said, "My lord, there is a eunuch and several Jinyiwei."

"Okay! Meet me in the front hall, we'll be there later." Lu Yuan replied.

In the front hall of the Lu Mansion, a group of Jinyiwei surrounded an old eunuch dressed in gorgeous clothes.

Lu Yuan hurried out and bowed respectfully to the old eunuch, the same old eunuch as before.

The old eunuch cleared his throat, unfolded the bright yellow scroll in his hand, and read in a pinched voice:

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: I am deeply concerned about you and I have summoned you to come to the Imperial Capital as soon as possible to join me in this great event. I decree this!"

What simple sentences!

Although Lu Yuan was confused, he immediately knelt down and shouted, "I accept your order. Long live the emperor!"

The eunuch put away the imperial edict and handed it to Lu Yuan. Then a faint smile appeared on his face, and a few wrinkles appeared on his clean face.

The old eunuch said, "Sir, this is an urgent summons from the Emperor. You must prepare quickly and don't delay. I have to go somewhere else to convey the Emperor's order, so Sir, you don't have to see me off."

Lu Yuan held the imperial edict in his hand and said, "Sir, take care!"

The old eunuch flicked his whisk and left with a group of Jinyiwei.

Lu Yuan stood there, looking at the old eunuch's receding figure, and golden light flashed on the fingertips of his right hand. This was the art of divination.

Lu Yuan murmured, "So that's how it is! We should prepare well!"

On the other hand, Gu Gaoxu had been staying in the imperial city for half a month, and everything was calm and peaceful.

In the imperial city, one of the ten princely palaces is the residence of Prince Yan, which is guarded by a group of soldiers.

Gu Gaoxu has been living there these days, and is quite free and easy.

The court has almost completed its investigation into the incident involving Gu Gaoxu.

Soon, the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Inspectorate will jointly submit a memorial to present the truth of the matter to the emperor.

Before this, Emperor Gu Yuanzhang had not punished anyone.

In the hall of a mansion with carved beams and painted buildings, Gu Gaoxu was leaning lazily on an armchair, his feet resting on another chair and shaking constantly.

There was a plate of melon seeds on the table next to it, and a radio was playing melodious music.

Gu Gaoxu threw the melon seed shells all over the ground and shook his head. He was as comfortable as he could be at this moment.

What was unexpected was that Prince of Yan Gu Di and Crown Prince Gu Gaochi had already arrived in the imperial city and walked into the street of the Ten Princes' Palaces, and would soon appear in front of Gu Gaoxu.

Gu Gaoxu squinted his eyes and immersed himself in this pleasant atmosphere.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the gate.

Before Gu Gaoxu could react, he saw Prince of Yan Gu Di striding into the hall, followed by Crown Prince Gu Gaochi.

After taking Lu Yuan's elixir, Prince Gu Gaochi of Prince Yan lost a lot of weight and his limp foot problem also disappeared.

Gu Gaoxu turned his head and glanced sideways, then suddenly sat up straight with a look of astonishment on his face, and wiped the melon seed shells on the ground with his feet.

"father!"

Zhu Gaoxu quickly stood up, walked quickly towards Zhu Di, and saluted, "Dad! Big brother! Why are you here?"

Gu Gaochi hid behind Prince of Yan Gu Di and waved his hands repeatedly, fearing that his second brother would say something nonsense and anger his father.

Gu Gaoxu has really gotten into a lot of trouble these days.

Just to mobilize the three guards of Yanshan to rescue Gu Gaoxu, Prince of Yan Gu Di spent a long time mediating with officials of all ranks along the way and expended a lot of energy.

King Gu Di of Yan looked solemn. He looked up and down at the still-living Gu Gaoxu, glanced at the ground, and said in a deep voice, "You seem to be quite at ease!"

Gu Gaoxu's heart tightened, and he quickly brought up the emperor, explaining: "Dad, it's not that I don't want to go back, it's really..."

Zhu Di waved his hand and interrupted him: "Forget it! You must have suffered a lot outside!"

"Dad, that was a lot of hardship."

Gu Gaoxu quickly turned off the radio, brought a chair to Prince Yan, and said, "Dad, please sit down!"

Prince of Yan Gu Di said nothing and sat down.

Gu Gaoxu poked Gu Gaochi and whispered, "Brother, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but why didn't you say hello in advance when you came?"

That's not right! This is the imperial city, you can't come here without a summons!

Gu Gaoxu came to his senses and quickly asked Gu Gaochi: "Brother, why are you here?"

"Second brother, I forgot. In a few days it will be February 2nd!" Gu Gaochi said in a low voice.

February 2nd is approaching, the day when the dragon raises its head. Everyone in the Shenling Empire attaches great importance to this day.

Every year, the emperor would issue an imperial decree, summoning princes from all over the country to come to the imperial city on February 2nd to participate in the grand event.

According to past practice, princes from all over the country could come to the imperial city before February 2nd of each year.

Taking this opportunity, princes from all over the country who come to the imperial city can chat with their families who stay in the imperial capital, or find a tavern to chat with a few brothers.

Of course, on February 2nd, princes from all over the country would also greet the emperor and report on their achievements over the past year.

This is the same as the provincial magistrates reporting official business to the provincial governors every year.

Therefore, after the New Year, the princes from all over the country began to prepare to go to the imperial city.

The Prince of Jin, the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Lu, the Prince of Ning and other princes had already arrived in the imperial city at the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, along with their princes.

Lu Yuan, along with his wife Su Liyan, daughter Lu Ruyan, and fourth wife Gu Ziyue, also came to the imperial city at the end of the first lunar month.

Lu Yuan and his family moved into a mansion on Shiwangfu Street, which was the residence of Princess Yuening, Gu Ziyue.

Later, Lu Yuan also went to the residence of Prince Yan Gu Di on Shiwangfu Street and met with Prince Yan, Crown Prince Gu Gaochi, and second son Gu Gaoxu.

Gu Gaoxu was still chasing Lu Yuan to ask for his golden melon seeds.

Lu Yuan rejected it outright, "Just consider it as the second half of the year's dividend from the Yandu factory."

Lu Yuan reminded Gu Gaoxu that although all his martial arts were lost, he could cultivate them again, and he must read the secret book "Zhenwu" that he gave him from the beginning again.

On the second day of February, the entire imperial capital was filled with a special kind of joy.

The square in the imperial capital had already been decorated with colorful flags flying and various drums and music playing.

The imperial guards, several times more than usual, stood everywhere in the imperial capital.

Inside the Imperial Palace, Emperor Gu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne, his eyes shining with brilliance as he glanced at the princes, civil and military officials from all over the country.

The princes, civil and military officials shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor!"

Mixed in among the officials was Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan didn't want to come either. It was the emperor who ordered him to come to the imperial city.

However, after Lu Yuan arrived at the imperial city, the emperor did not summon him again, and Lu Yuan could not guess what the emperor was going to do.

"Everyone loves you!"

The emperor's voice was powerful and resounded throughout the hall.

The princes of various places began to report their respective political achievements in turn, and the civil and military officials made reports if they had something to report, and stood by if they had nothing to do.

Lu Yuan was the kind of person who had nothing to do. He was wearing the uniform of a fourth-rank official and standing there with his head lowered, not moving a single muscle.

After a long time, the princes and civil and military officials from all over the country finally reported what they had said.

The emperor looked at Lu Yuan who was among the officials and shouted, "Lu Yuan!"

Lu Yuan, who was not interested in state affairs, rushed out when the emperor called him.

"I'm here!" Lu Yuan bowed.

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang said with a hint of dignity: "What are you doing standing there? Do you have something to report?"

Lu Yuan thought to himself: "You asked me to come here, what can happen to me?"

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and replied, "Your Majesty, the weather in the area under your jurisdiction is good, and there is nothing important to report!"

The emperor nodded and continued:
"The foundation of our Shenling Empire's prosperity is that the people live and work in peace and contentment, and those who plant have their own land!"

"Today, I invite you all to join me in praying for the prosperity of the Shenling Empire!"

Gu Yuanzhang walked down from the dragon throne with steady steps, and the old eunuch immediately shouted loudly: "Go to Wangjing River!"

Princes, civil and military officials from all over the country bowed and followed him, filing out one after another.

On both sides of the street leading to Wangjing River in the imperial capital, there was a guard standing every one meter to block the people who came to watch, so as to protect the safety of the emperor.

The crowd came to the Wangjing River in a mighty procession. A huge dragon boat had already docked at the shore, and there were four other small boats.

This dragon boat is gorgeously decorated with fluttering flags. The dragon head on the bow is carved so lifelike that it seems as if it is about to break through the waves.

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang was the first to step onto the dragon boat, his eyes scanning the front. The breeze blew his dragon robe, adding a bit of majesty.

The Crown Prince, princes from various places and a few important ministers followed Emperor Gu Yuanzhang onto the dragon boat.

Lu Yuan and the other ministers were arranged on the other four ships.

"Start the dragon boat!"

Following the order, the boatmen shouted in unison and rowed hard.

The dragon boat slowly left the shore and sailed towards the wide river.

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang looked at the surging river, feeling filled with pride.

The emperor pointed to the bustling people and houses on both sides of the river and said to the crown prince Gu Biao: "Biao'er, this is the kingdom I have built for you!"

Civil and military officials on other boats looked at the scenery on both sides of the Wangjing River.

Lu Yuan found a seat at the stern of the boat and sat there, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Su Liyan, Gu Ziyue, Gu Gaoxu, and Lu Ruyan, who was less than two years old, were playing mahjong in the mansion.

On the Wangjing River, when everyone was relaxing, dozens of people jumped out of the river and leaped onto the deck of the dragon boat with weapons in hand.

"Escort! Escort!"

Crown Prince Gu Biao stood in front of the emperor and shouted loudly.

The prince's younger brothers, that is, the princes, had no weapons in their hands and were in a panic.

The civil and military officials on the other four ships leaned over the side of the ships and shouted, "Your Majesty, be careful!"

Every official was shouting hysterically, as if whoever had the loudest voice would get promoted and get rich.

Dozens of people rushed towards the emperor.

The imperial guards on the dragon boat reacted extremely quickly, and rushed forward to protect the emperor, the prince and others behind them.

The emperor and others hid in the cabin under the cover of the imperial guards.

Lu Yuan sat at the stern and did not move, listening to the fighting on the dragon boat, and did not seem to be worried about the emperor's safety.

Lu Yuan could sense that there were several great Taoist priests on the dragon boat, who would definitely be able to protect the safety of Emperor Gu Yuanzhang.

The two groups of people fought on the dragon boat. Both sides were evenly matched and the fight was difficult to determine.

Many thieves and imperial guards were knocked off the dragon boat, fell into the water and sank to the bottom of the river.

In the corner of the dragon boat, several experienced Taoist priests in dark blue Taoist robes jumped out.

These Taoist priests standing on the dragon boat looked so inconspicuous that no one noticed them.

Several old Taoist priests worked together and quickly knocked the thief to the deck.

All the thieves who were not knocked into the Wangjing River were captured alive one by one.

The imperial guards rushed forward, tied up the fallen thief, and took him to the bow deck.

Hearing that there was no more fighting outside, Crown Prince Gu Biao said, "Father, the thieves outside have been subdued!"

"Let's go out and take a look!" Emperor Gu Yuanzhang was the first to walk out of the cabin.

The thieves' feet were tied and they were kneeling in two rows with a long sword at their necks.

The emperor asked: "Who are you and why did you kill me?"

"Humph!"

These thieves snorted coldly and turned their heads away, ignoring the emperor's questions.

The emperor must have exclaimed in his heart, these villains are so arrogant, don’t they know my methods?
"Torture!" The emperor did not ask a second time and directly ordered the imperial guards to deal with these thieves!
The imperial guards slashed the thief's clothes on his back and tore them apart, exposing his back.

The imperial guards half-knelt on the ground, drew out a dagger in unison, and began to tattoo on the thieves' backs.

The thieves had ferocious faces and their mouths were tightly closed, and a hissing sound could be heard.

The kind-hearted Crown Prince Gu Biao did not stop his father from doing anything, but turned his head away with reluctance.

Among all the princes, except for the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan, everyone either closed their eyes or turned around...

The blood oozing from the thieves' backs dripped onto the deck and gathered into a stream, flowing to the emperor's feet.

The emperor lifted his foot and took a step back. The soles of his feet felt sticky and disgusting.

It was supposed to be a good day for the Dragon to raise its head, but it was ruined by these thieves. Their crime is unforgivable!
The emperor showed an impatient expression on his face, waved his hand to signal the imperial guards, and said:
"These people have some backbone. I want to see whether you are tough with words or with knives. Cut out the tendons of their hands and feet. If they don't say anything, I will skin them alive!"

When the imperial guards heard the emperor's order, they did not hesitate at all and slowly inserted the daggers in their hands into the thieves' ankles.

The thieves' bodies twitched uncontrollably.

It seemed that in the next second, just a slight push would break the tendons.

One thief could not bear the pain, his face was covered with sweat, he trembled and said weakly:
"Wait! I'll tell you, I'll tell you..." (End of this chapter)