When the morning sun once again bathed the earth in its tenderness, there were no melodious bells and deafening drums on the gate of heaven as usual.

The fire has not yet been extinguished, the towering "heaven" and the magnificent Vientiane Shrine are gone, but the huge wood and hardwood carvings have not yet been completely burned, the flames are still spewing out, and black smoke is emitting in more places.

The one-foot tall golden phoenix on the top of the palace of the Vientiane God had been distorted by the flames, and the gold on the surface had melted and fallen off, leaving a pure iron shelf, lying on the fire in a strange shape, smoked black. This magnificent, magnificent, majestic, all-encompassing magnificent palace has been reduced to ruins.

On this night, almost no one slept in Luoyang, and everyone was looking at the unprecedented and unimaginable fire in the palace, especially the people in the palace. The samurai, chamberlains, and palace ladies who rushed to fetch water and tried to extinguish the fire collapsed to the ground one by one in exhaustion, unable to get up and salute even when their emperor walked by.

Wu Zetian asked Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi to hold her, tremblingly looking at the cardinal who symbolized her destiny and dynastic luck, the ministers of the ordinary court, and the sacrificial heaven and earth, as if watching everything she had pursued all her life be destroyed.

Several guards, chamberlains, and palace maids who were guarding "Heaven" knelt in front of her in fear, and the white-haired Wu Zetian didn't see it, just looked at the still burning flames and the spitting black smoke in confusion, trying to imagine what that place looked like yesterday.

"Bixia, the prime ministers ask to see you!"

"Bixia, King Liang, King Wei, Princess Taiping and other royal relatives ask to see!"

“bixia……”

"Tell them to wait!"

Wu Zetian turned around tremblingly, her tone was surprisingly calm, but with the support of Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, it seemed that she couldn't stand firmly, and the dragon head crutches in her hand were also holding the ground hard.

Wu Zetian tried to move forward, trying to make her waist straight, and only took a few steps. It's like she's trekking through a very high mountain. Panting.

Wu Zetian stood in his footsteps, his eyes fixed on a person, and the person immediately approached quickly, bowed down and stood still.

Wu Zetian gasped and said thoughtfully: "Ji Qing, you have always been alert and thoughtful, those people ...... I'll leave it to you! ”

Wu Zetian said, his eyes flickered not far away. The person in front of him understood, bowed slightly, and replied softly: "Chen Jixuan, I will definitely not let Bixia down!" ”

Wu Zetian stared at him deeply again, nodded, and seemed to have some strength in his steps forward. Ji Ji stood still. Silently watching Wu Zetian walk away, a cold murderous aura slowly rose on his face, he waved his hand, and a fully clothed Yulin general strode in front of him.

Ji Ji fled from Chang'an to Luoyang in embarrassment that day, begging to see the emperor. Shangguan Wan'er noticed that there was something else strange in it, and there was a chance that it was not good for Lai Junchen, so she immediately controlled him, and then went to see Wu Zetian.

The Son of Heaven is a close minister. It's close here. Some things that the emperor can do or not, and what is allowed or not, ordinary ministers go to talk about it and the ministers around him. The result can be completely reversed.

Wu Zetian made an exception to meet Ji Ji, and it became clear that the real informant in the case of Liu Sili and Su Lianyao was the unlucky guy in front of him, but surprisingly, she did not punish Lai Junchen, but gave Ji Ji an official position as a doctor of Taichang and kept him by his side.

Dr. Taichang was in charge of guiding the public opinion, compiling the five ritual notes, monitoring the rituals, and agreeing on the laws of the princes and ministers. The title is clear, and the grade is not high, but he is a veritable close minister of the Son of Heaven. No one understood that Wu Zetian was going to do this, and although Ji Ji saved the day, he failed to bring down Lai Junchen.

Ji Ji is also a very thoughtful person, and he wisely refrained from mentioning this matter, but just started to be Dr. Taichang very peacefully. After Lai Junchen learned about this, he was very frightened for a while, but the emperor didn't have anything to deal with, so he had to pretend that he didn't know about it. However, this beating is more effective than any warning, and Lai Junchen is more diligent and more disciplined, at least on the surface.

Ji Ji knew that the empress wanted him to kill all the people who saw Xue Huaiyi set fire last night, and she couldn't let people know that the solemnity of her ruling the world and commanding the ministers was burned because one of her mistresses was jealous, which would make her lose face in front of the people.

As soon as Wu Zetian left, he began to prepare, this was the first messenger given to him by the empress, and he must do it beautifully. After a whisper, the general of Yulin showed a shocked look, but Ji Xuan's face as cold as ice and snow made him sober up, and Ji Xuan gave a few words in a low voice, and the general of Yulin swallowed his saliva with difficulty and left in a hurry.

Soon, a Yulin army on guard on the periphery was assembled, and then all the palace laves, guards, and eunuchs who were on duty in Mingtang and Heaven that night were tied up one by one, and the people who were tied up were dejected, they knew that such an important place was destroyed, but they didn't expect it......

One after another, the men who were tied up like rice dumplings were thrown into the fire, because the flames were too hot to get close, and each one who was tied up was thrown into the fire from afar by four burly warriors, with terrible and terrified eyes, but no one cried and cursed, for all the mouths were gagged.

The other palace eunuchs who were fighting the fire were stunned by this terrible scene!

It was a hellish day for them......

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The ministers came to comfort the empress, the Vientiane Shrine no longer exists, the empress received the ministers in the Xuanzheng Palace, this is the most bleak court meeting since she ascended the throne, the ministers are crowded in the palace, there is not even a place to put their feet, and the emperor does not have a royal step, can only sit in front of them behind a yellow silk royal case.

When Wu Zetian arrived, Shangguan Wan'er was appeasing the ministers, telling them that the emperor was healthy and that the fire was under control, although she was just picking up what she could say and talking about it briefly, but because the ministers came one after another, this repeated explanation also made her mouth dry.

It wasn't until Wu Zetian arrived that the crowded hall was quiet.

The incident has already happened, so it is necessary to deal with the aftermath, and as soon as it comes to the aftermath, the civil and military officials quarrel again. Although the Xuanzheng Hall is not small, it is crowded with so many people, and the buzz of quarrels. It's like it's a noisy market.

"Bixia should be guilty of her own crimes. Seek advice from the subjects of the whole world and review the faults, after all...... On the night of Shangyuan, such a big heavenly fire, this is God's punishment! ”

Because Shangguan Wan'er still didn't understand the empress's intentions, she didn't announce the cause of the fire to the public, only saying that she didn't notice it in advance. By the time it was discovered, the fire was out of control, so the ministers discussed it and had already attributed it to the heavenly fire.

The sycophant Yang Zaisi immediately jumped out: "What nonsense! Where is this damnation, this is auspicious! ”

One sentence came out, shocking the four seats. The vegetable market was quiet, and even Wu Zetian was startled, and a fire burned the "Heaven" and the "Mingtang" where the emperor gave orders and ruled the world.

Prime Minister Yang Zhenzhen said: "When King Wu of Zhou invaded, a fire fell from the sky when the army crossed the river, and as a result, King Wu succeeded in cutting down and established the 800-year-old Great Zhou Dynasty. I Ci's Yue Ancient Golden Wheel Emperor Bixia is a descendant of Zhou Wu, the heavenly fire of this Shangyuan night. Clarity is also a good sign. It indicates the prosperity of my Great Zhou Dynasty! ”

Luoyang Linglai Junchen had already consulted with the learned people under him early in the morning, and he also went out to join in at this time. A serious and authentic way: "Back then, when Maitreya became a Buddha, there was a heavenly demon burning the palace, which shows that my emperor Bixia is really the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha. ”

"Hehe......"

Wu Zetian, who had always had a gloomy face, couldn't help but smile when she saw that her courtiers had racked their brains to come up with so many good reasons for her, and her depressed mood was much better.

Gods and Buddhas?

She is very hateful now, just like when she used the Shandong Shi clan to deal with the Guan Long clan, when the use value of the Shandong Shi clan was no longer there, she was abandoned by her, and now the use value of the gods and Buddhas to her is not great.

Yang Zaisi's statement is probably ......

This thought only turned slightly in Wu Zetian's heart, and then she ruled it out again.

Yang Zaisi can pat her on the back without a lower limit, but she, the female emperor, can't lower her IQ so without a lower limit, "Heaven" and "Mingtang" were burned by a fire, which is actually a good omen? If it is publicized like this, she Wu Zetian will become the laughing stock of the whole world.

Wu Zetian laughed twice, leaned back on the chair a little tiredly, and said lightly: "This fire is not a heavenly fire!" It is neither a warning from heaven nor an auspicious time from heaven. ”

She glanced at the ministers and said categorically: "I, I have already found out. The interior of Heaven was being repaired, and the craftsmen were poorly kept and cared for, piling up a few pieces of linen too close to the fire, causing this catastrophe. I have ordered the perpetrators to be severely punished. ”

All the civil and military forces looked at each other, since this matter has nothing to do with Tianhuo, then there is no need to talk about heavenly punishment and auspiciousness, and the debaters of the pros and cons are all in disagreement.

Wu Zetian closed his eyes and sat for a moment, opened his eyes, and slowly stood up, his original somewhat decadent and degraded look was swept away, and he became strangely excited: "I want to rebuild heaven and rebuild Mingtang, not only that, but I also want to cast Kyushu Ding and the twelve zodiac gods." Mingtang and Heaven were built by Master Huaiyi before, and the project is progressing very quickly, I am very satisfied, this time, it is still supervised by Master Huaiyi! ”

At the beginning, Xue Huaiyi built Mingtang and Heaven, with 20,000 daily laborers, and felled the wood of the Jiangling, which cost hundreds of millions of yuan, and the government was exhausted. Now not only do we have to rebuild the Ming Hall and Heaven, but also cast the gods of Jiuding and the Zodiac Signs not long after the completion of Tianshu?

The civil and military officials looked at each other, but at this time, there were no ministers in the court who dared to speak so bluntly, and such ministers were either killed or sent to the place.

Now that the emperor has made up his mind, no one dares to oppose it.

P: Happy Friday, everyone, we're going to rest right away! Ask for a monthly pass and a recommended ticket to celebrate!! (To be continued......)