Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 326 The Supreme Being
Above the Daqian Kunlun Mountains, this place is called the fairyland.

Master Dongli had been in seclusion for ten years. He performed a small magic to cleanse his body and then left his cave.

It is called a cave, but in fact it is a courtyard. It is not easy to build a courtyard in the fairy world. Only those whose strength is recognized by all the fairies in the fairy world are qualified.

Master Dongli pushed open the door and looked at the yard that was being taken care of by the boy, and nodded with satisfaction.

After ten years of seclusion, even an immortal who has left the world would have the urge to meet with his fellow practitioners.

He wanted to go out and try his luck to see if he could meet one or two old friends.

According to his experience, the immortals in the fairy world often go out to look for opportunities, and they cannot meet unless they have made an appointment in advance.

He swung his sleeves and flew out of the yard. Not long after he left the yard, he saw many immortals in the distance.

He was startled, thinking something had happened, and flew over quickly.

"Master Dongli has come out of retreat!" Qingsongzi greeted him with a smile when he saw Master Dongli coming.

"Fellow Daoist Qingsongzi, and fellow Daoists, Dongli greets you!" Taoist Master Dongli bowed to everyone.

The immortals all returned the greetings, and several of them were rarely seen.

However, seeing that these immortals did not look nervous, Master Dongli did not understand what was going on.

Unless there is some grand event in the fairy world, it is rare for so many fairies to gather together.

"Qingsongzi, why do you all have so much free time?" Master Dongli sat down opposite Qingsongzi and asked softly.

Among the immortals here, he recognized two who had been searching for people to be saved in the mortal world all year round. Now these two immortals were also in the fairyland.

"You have been in seclusion for ten years, but you don't know the major events happening in Daqian now!" Qingsongzi shook his head and said.

"What does what happens in the secular world have to do with us?" Master Dongli became even more curious.

Immortals are detached from the mortal world. Apart from honing themselves and saving people in order to gain merit, they have almost no connection with the mortal world.

"The prince of Daqian is named Li Qiang. He is known to have killed the lame Taoist and the bald monk, and even the attendant Shenying died at his hands! It is said that the fairy Jinghuan of the Taixu Illusion Realm once sent out a Hundred Flowers Array, but instead lost a hundred flower masters!" Qingsongzi sighed.

"Li Qiang is an immortal? How could he become the crown prince?" Master Dongli asked in horror.

Immortals cannot come into contact with officials, otherwise they will be harmed by the dynasty's fortune.

Not to mention becoming a crown prince, this identity alone would be tied to the destiny of Daqian, and the backlash would be enough to kill any immortal.

"Although he is not an immortal, he has the abilities of an immortal. But what his specific abilities are, probably only the few who have fallen know. Now you all will not leave the immortal world. Anyway, the life of a mortal is only a hundred years. You can leave the immortal world after Li Qiang dies of old age!" Qingsongzi replied.

Master Dongli finally understood. It turned out that these immortals were frightened by Crown Prince Li Qiang and dared not leave the fairyland.

But he thought of Li Qiang's fighting ability. The lame Taoist and the bald monk were immortals who had mastered the "divine feet ability" and had extremely strong fighting power. They both died at the hands of Li Qiang. No wonder the immortals cared so much.

Even the 'divine feet' cannot escape, which means that Li Qiang is very likely to have the ability to limit space, and perhaps has the ability to kill the lame Taoist and the bald monk in seconds.

Otherwise, if we give the lame Taoist and the bald monk a little time, they can use their "divine feet" to escape far away.

"Qingsongzi, let's play a game of chess!" Master Dongli invited with a smile.

"You've been in seclusion for ten years and don't even go out to see the world?" Qingsongzi asked with a smile.

"No need, the fairyland is very good, with so many fellow Taoists accompanying us!" Master Dongli waved his hands and said.

Qingsongzi would not really laugh at Master Dongli. He and all the immortals here, like Qingsongzi, did not want to enter the mortal world and risk their lives.

Li Qiang also did not expect that because of him, Daqian would no longer have the so-called immortal opportunity for at least a hundred years.

In early winter, under the arrangement of Lin Daiyu, Li Qiang took Yinglian and Xing Xiuyun as concubines.

Also at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun also entered the Eastern Palace as concubines.

Now in the Eastern Palace, Qin Keqing is the only one who has not become a concubine. Her situation is somewhat special as she is in the mourning period.

However, after the New Year, her mourning period will be over.

Li Qiang took concubines one after another, and there were both joy and complaints in the court.

The joy is that the throne can be better inherited. By the time of Emperor Jingwen, there were not many princes in Daqian, and none of them were talented.

In other words, there was a Li Qiang, but she was not trained by the royal family.

Now that Li Qiang has so many concubines and a prince, he can see the royal lineage becoming more prosperous.

The reason for the complaint was that Li Qiang did not follow the traditional rules in taking a concubine, which caused the officials in the court to lose the opportunity to become the father-in-law of the emperor.

Normally, the crown prince would choose the daughter of an official in the court.

But look at Crown Prince Li Qiang, he has one wife and eight concubines. Except for his wife Lin Daiyu, the others are not daughters of officials, and some of them are of humble origins.

Although there were complaints in the court, the emperor and the empress dowager did not say anything, so it was useless even if they had opinions.

There are some problems with having one principal wife and eight concubines living in the Eastern Palace. The main one is that the Eastern Palace is relatively small, and now it is impossible for each of the eight concubines to have a courtyard of her own.

For safety reasons, Li Qiang had no intention of occupying any palace other than the East Palace.

Having just married Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun, Li Qiang took Lin Daiyu and the other concubines to the Daming Palace that morning to pay their respects to the retired emperor.

The grand ceremony he went out with was quite a big one now. There was no other way because there were too many concubines. Each concubine needed at least one sedan chair accompanied by two palace maids.

Even if he intentionally reduced the ceremonial guards, this was already the minimum configuration.

When they arrived at the Daming Palace, Dai Quan went in to pass the message, and Li Qiang led the concubines into the hall.

Every time Li Qiang brought the concubines here, they had to be informed, but this was not necessary when he came alone.

The reason for this was that the retired emperor often behaved in a dissolute manner in the palace, which always seemed indecent to Lin Daiyu and the others.

Entering the palace, the retired emperor's face turned slightly red.

"Grandpa Emperor, why are you drinking already in the morning?" Li Qiang said with a hint of reproach.

He glanced at Dai Quan again, and Dai Quan looked helpless.

"With you here, I have nothing to worry about!" the emperor replied proudly.

The retired emperor understood that as long as Li Qiang protected his body, he would not have to worry about physical deficiency.

This allowed him to spend most of his time on pleasure, as his treasury alone was enough for him to squander.

"I'm here with Sister Lin and all the sisters to pay their respects to you!" Li Qiang shook his head, and he bowed to the emperor, followed by Lin Daiyu and the other girls.

The emperor was used to Li Qiang's rude behavior, so he never referred to the Crown Princess as Lin Daiyu. "Are these Yuanchun's sisters? Since you've married them, you should also bring their families back to the capital!" The emperor was drunk but not drunk, and pointed at Sanchun.

When the three sisters heard the retired emperor mention Yuanchun and her relatives, their expressions changed.

To be honest, among the three girls, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun, probably only Tanchun still has some feelings for the Jia family. Yingchun was almost sold by her father, and even if she entered Li Qiang's mansion, it was in exchange for Li Qiang's money.

Xichun was separated from her father when she was young. Her father Jia Jing became a monk, and no one in the Ningguo Mansion cared about her. She was just a plaything for Grandmother Jia.

"Listen to Grandpa Emperor. I was inconsiderate enough!" Li Qiang thought about it and said with a smile.

To him now, the affairs of the Jia family really mean nothing.

Those people could be brought back easily, but even if they came back, it would be impossible for them to restore the glory of the Jia family. At most, they could be supported by some money.

"Can your East Palace accommodate so many concubines?" the retired emperor asked again.

"It's okay!" Li Qiang replied.

"You will ascend the throne and become emperor on the 20th day of the first lunar month. You will live in the Daming Palace and I will live in the Changchun Palace!" The emperor pointed at Li Qiang and said.

In fact, if Li Qiang wanted to become emperor, he could do so at any time given his control over Daqian.

But the reason why he never became emperor was because of the arrangements of the retired emperor.

Anyway, even if he is not the emperor, the power in his hands is no different from that of the emperor. The only difference is the emperor's name.

"Is this a temporary arrangement or has it been arranged long ago?" Li Qiang couldn't help but ask.

This was not the first time that the emperor had mentioned moving out of the Daming Palace, and Li Qiang had always been putting it off until he ascended the throne.

This time, the emperor set the date for his enthronement and mentioned moving out of the Daming Palace again, as if everything had been arranged.

"What have you been busy with recently? Haven't you read the intelligence in the palace?" The emperor was somewhat dissatisfied and asked unhappily.

He looked at Jin Dong who was following behind Li Qiang. You know, the next manager of the intelligence organization is Jin Dong, and all the intelligence is currently open to Jin Dong.

What happened in the palace and in other parts of Daqian would be gathered together through intelligence organizations.

"I've been a bit busy lately, and I haven't looked carefully at the information Jin Dong gave me!" Li Qiang explained quickly.

He was too lazy to look at it. In his opinion, no matter how big the matter was, Daqian had the ability to handle it. This was the confidence of his own strength.

"No matter how busy you are, you have to read the intelligence and understand the inside and outside of Daqian. You can't be a confused emperor!" The emperor solemnly instructed.

"Yes, Grandpa Emperor, I will find time to read it every day!" Li Qiang replied helplessly.

"Tell me, what are you busy with every day?" the emperor asked Li Qiang.

"I have to attend court in the morning, teach students in the afternoon, guide several research departments, and practice. I really don't have much time!" Li Qiang replied.

"What kind of lessons are you giving to students?" The emperor really has no idea what is going on, otherwise he would not have asked this question.

He himself did not read the intelligence either. All the intelligence about Li Qiang outside the Eastern Palace would be summarized and sent to him.

"I wrote a few books and planned to promote them in Daqian, so I trained some teachers first!" Li Qiang explained.

"Dai Quan, go to the East Palace and bring the book to me, so that I can also see what book the prince wrote!" The emperor turned to Dai Quan and ordered.

Dai Quan bowed in response, then made a gesture to Jin Dong, and the two of them left the hall.

"Grandpa Emperor, there is one more thing. Jingwen has been living in the cold palace for some time. Why not let him move to Nanxun Palace and send more eunuchs to serve him!" Li Qiang said to the retired emperor again.

When the retired emperor heard Emperor Jingwen, he was stunned for a moment.

He had always deliberately forgotten about Emperor Jingwen, but when Emperor Jingwen was seriously ill, he still sent the imperial physician to see him.

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​letting Jingwen leave the cold palace?" The emperor asked without agreeing or refusing.

"I'm afraid Jingwen's body won't be able to hold on for a few more years. He has also been punished for what he did in the past. Let him live out his days in peace!" Li Qiang shook her head and said.

"There was no other way when I chose Jingwen to be the emperor. He was too stubborn and did things without considering the consequences. If I hadn't chosen him, he would still be a Prince Taiping!" The retired emperor still cared about their old friendship, he murmured.

"What do you think?" Li Qiang asked again.

"Just take advantage of the ascension to the throne to grant amnesty to the entire nation and let Jingwen move to Nanxun Palace to retire. It will also be a good opportunity to release the Jia family members!" The retired emperor nodded in agreement.

His eyes were full of relief when he looked at Li Qiang. He had always believed that Li Qiang was too murderous, but he did not expect that his temper would change drastically after becoming the crown prince.

In fact, Li Qiang's temperament did not change at all, but he did not regard Emperor Jingwen as his enemy.

His own fighting ability, the military power he possesses, the wealth he possesses, and even his current power in the court, all make him the emperor with the deepest control over power among all the emperors in history.

Even though he is still just the crown prince, Daqian is now completely under his control.

Although Emperor Jingwen was released from the cold palace, Nanxun Palace was equivalent to a larger cold palace, which was an independent and remote palace.

"Okay, go back and get busy if you have nothing to do. Remember to read more intelligence and don't be a blind man!" The emperor was a little impatient and drove him away.

"Grandpa Emperor, take care of yourself!" Li Qiang bowed with a smile.

He left the Daming Palace with a group of concubines and rode in a sedan chair towards the Cining Palace.

She met the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace. She agreed on a time to go to the Eastern Palace and did not stay in the Cining Palace for long.

Anyway, the Queen Mother would go to the East Palace from time to time to have fun with the concubines.

After returning to the Crown Princess' bedroom in the Eastern Palace, the girls did not go back to their respective rooms but stayed together to talk.

"Brother Qiang, you are going to be the emperor!" Lin Daiyu said excitedly.

She and her sisters had heard the arrangements made by the retired emperor. Outside the Eastern Palace, she needed to maintain the demeanor of a crown princess and not behave abnormally.

But when she returned to her own palace, she finally couldn't help it.

"Being an emperor is no different from now!" Li Qiang said indifferently.

"Oh, then I am the imperial concubine?" Miaoyu said in surprise.

"Sister Miaoyu, haven't you learned the rules of the palace? The emperor's concubines are divided into imperial concubine, noble concubine, concubine, imperial concubine, noble lady, talented lady, selected concubine, and lady. At most, you can be a lady!" Lin Daiyu said with a chuckle.

"My dear Queen sister, please let me be a royal concubine. Royal concubine sounds better!" Miaoyu grabbed Lin Daiyu's arm and shook it gently.

The girls nearby couldn't help but laugh when they saw this.

(End of this chapter)