Chapter 55: Emperor Xia’s Teaching

Soon, the steward of Prince Wu’s Mansion delivered a stack of intelligence.

“Everything is here, take a look yourself.” Xiao Ze said casually, then hummed a little tune, as if still recalling a pleasant melody.

Xiao Rui started reading from the first page. Quickly, he realized this information was more like an introduction, covering the basic facts about the Black Lotus Sect. For instance, the Black Lotus Sect had about twenty thousand followers in the Capital Region, but the number of core believers was unknown. Among the Buddhist branch sects in the capital, it ranked within the top four minor religions. Its followers included both the poor and the nobility, showing a polarized phenomenon.

Furthermore, the information listed six locations where the Black Lotus Sect held their Dharma assemblies. These were held on the fifteenth of every month, with attendance reaching up to a thousand. However, their secret bases remained unknown.

Xiao Rui continued to flip through the pages. The further he went, the more detailed the intelligence became. It began to expose the dark history of the Black Lotus Sect. The first point was about deceiving the people. The Black Lotus Sect preached that humans were born sinful and would go to hell after death. Only by believing in the Sage of Black Lotus could one attain eternal life.

The second point was about harming the common people. It was said that the Black Lotus Sect dealt with heretics who insulted the Sage of Black Lotus by ‘purifying’ them, sometimes even burning them alive.

The third point involved criticizing state affairs. The tenets of the Black Lotus Sect carried implications that reflected negatively on the imperial court.

Further down, there was a fourth point, a fifth point…

The final piece of intelligence described how the Second Prince, Xiao Yiheng, with the help of his uncle who was a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Justice, had sent people to raid a den of Black Lotus Sect believers. They were holding a worship ceremony at the time, which was different from a regular Dharma assembly, as it involved the sect’s fervent believers. This allowed them to directly confiscate artifacts meant to curse the fortune of the Great Xia Kingdom and writings cursing Emperor Xia from the scene.

The last page mentioned that the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince had also begun to take action. Through cooperation and communication with the Brocade Guard Commander Zhang Yu, they started arresting followers of the Black Lotus Sect.

Among the nine Imperial Princes, the Second Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Prince had performed outstandingly and had already achieved some results.

Seeing this, it was just as Xiao Rui had guessed. Finding the Night King had become a secondary matter. Now, the most important task was how to crush the Black Lotus Sect. After all, the sect’s crimes were already out in the open, presenting an opportunity for the princes to prove themselves.

Although Xiao Rui did not go out to wander around, he could imagine the capital was in a state of busy chaos. The court had not yet officially labeled the Black Lotus Sect as an evil cult. Once confirmed, it would be time for complete eradication.

But this puzzled Xiao Rui. What lesson did Emperor Xia want to teach the princes through the Black Lotus Sect?

‘Those who intend to split the court shall be killed’?

‘Those who deceive the people and harm the Great Xia’s governance shall be killed’?

Weren’t these obvious? Of course they should be killed. There shouldn’t be a need for a special lesson.

So, perhaps Jia Xu’s guess was wrong. Maybe Emperor Xia didn’t intend to teach the princes a lesson through this matter at all. Maybe it was simply about having the princes find the Night King, Xiao Heding, and the Black Lotus Sect was just an obstacle in the way?

“Figured something out?” Xiao Ze asked with a smile, seeing him frown.

Xiao Rui said, “The Black Lotus Sect is undoubtedly an evil cult. It should have been destroyed long ago.”

This statement was ambiguous, but Xiao Ze caught the underlying meaning. He said, “Yes, it should have been destroyed long ago. But why has it survived until now, only for the ‘knife’ to be handed to us for us to wield? You’re curious too, aren’t you, Seventh Brother?”

“I’m not curious. Whatever Father Emperor asks us to do, we do it.” Xiao Rui shrugged.

Xiao Ze sighed. “You, always so cunning, playing dumb. Take the intelligence and go quickly. I don’t want to see you. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have the steward send you a copy of any gathered intelligence.”

“Thank you, Third Brother.” Xiao Rui quickly replied with a bright smile.

Leaving Prince Wu’s Mansion, Xiao Rui did not return to his residence. Instead, he had Gao Quan drive the carriage to another area.

The Southern District, where high-ranking officials and nobles lived, was not yet affected by the Black Lotus Sect. But as soon as they entered the Western District, home to the poor and outsiders, the tension was immediately noticeable.

Emperor Xia had given the princes authority. Although they couldn’t mobilize the Patrol Battalion or the Imperial Guards, they had substantial manpower through cooperation with the Brocade Guard, Yingtian Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice, and others. Since the Second Prince, Xiao Yiheng, had started the arrests of the Black Lotus Sect, the other princes were not far behind, all beginning to arrest the sect’s followers. This, in turn, affected other religious groups, who dared not hold gatherings, prayer meetings, or even Dharma assemblies.

Posters were still being put up along the streets concerning the arrests of Black Lotus Sect followers. The Eastern District and the Northern District were also filled with a tense atmosphere, as the court pursued the sect zealously.

“Take us back to the mansion,” Xiao Rui said to Gao Quan. It seemed the show was just beginning.

Xiao Rui’s own investigation also slowed down. The people secretly monitoring the couple, Wei Guang and Shao Yao, reported that the pair showed nothing unusual. They were either making Braised Chicken in their shop or going out to buy ingredients. So, after discussing with Jia Xu, Xiao Rui sent Wu Zhanfa to visit them again.

Wu Zhanfa directly stated his purpose, asking if they could help him contact the Night King.

Wei Guang and Shao Yao were still somewhat wary, as the entire capital was strictly investigating people and matters related to the Black Lotus Sect.

Without saying much more, Wu Zhanfa left the Braised Chicken shop, simply telling them to report back as soon as possible.

Over the next two days, the court finally issued orders to begin purging the Black Lotus Sect, arresting the Sage of Black Lotus, all high-ranking members, and all followers. They finally began to take action against the Black Lotus Sect, strictly commanding that regardless of status, anyone who joined the Black Lotus Sect would be severely punished.

After the decree was issued, Emperor Xia emphasized and praised the Second Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince during the Morning Court Assembly.

Coincidentally, just as the Morning Court Assembly ended, the Fourth Prince, Xiao Feng, seemed to time his arrival perfectly to have an audience with the Emperor, and then he dropped a bombshell.

By the time Xiao Rui learned about it, it was already after the fact.

Despite Xiao Feng being a muscle-headed guy, usually a bit slow, he unexpectedly captured an Envoy of the Black Lotus Sect this time.

In the Black Lotus Sect’s organization, at the top was the Sage of Black Lotus, below him were two Protectors, and further down were four Envoys.

Xiao Feng captured one of these Envoys. Using every possible method, he finally made him talk and obtained a roster of the Black Lotus Sect’s devoted believers. According to that Envoy, this was one of four such rosters, with the other three in the hands of the other three Envoys.

Upon seeing the contents of the roster, Xiao Feng immediately entered the palace and presented it to Emperor Xia.

After reading it, Emperor Xia was furious. He quickly summoned Brocade Guard Commander Zhang Yu to the palace and threw the roster at him.

“Take a good look! These are the fine officials of my Great Xia! Receiving their salaries, yet colluding with the Black Lotus Sect! Investigate!”

Emperor Xia was angry.

Zhang Yu was so frightened that cold sweat poured down his back. He hurriedly picked up the roster and left the hall.

Standing in front of the hall, Zhang Yu opened the roster. The cold sweat he had just stopped broke out again.

The roster was densely packed with names. Most importantly, among the names, some were specifically circled in red cinnabar. And these names were all too familiar—they were officials of the Great Xia Kingdom.

That was secondary, because Zhang Yu also discovered that these names weren’t just officials; they were also closely connected to the princes who had been most enthusiastic about arresting the Black Lotus Sect members these past few days.

This really turned the world upside down.

Were they about to start slapping their own faces?