vstars Chapter 352 Appropriate measures should be taken when attacking evil, and appropriate methods should
Chapter 352 Appropriate measures should be taken when attacking evil, and appropriate methods should
The little girl pouted and spoke in a childish voice, expressing her indignation:
"Oh dear! Father Taizong is so biased! He only thinks of a minor official and wants to summon him. Could it be..." She tilted her head, her big eyes sparkling with mischief, "Could it be that Brother Zhining sang some enchanting song at the banquet and bewitched Father Taizong?"
As she spoke, she even hummed a couple of off-key little tunes with great seriousness.
Brother Wood (unable to suppress a laugh, continues to embellish the painting):
"Haha, Your Highness, don't be impatient." In the painting, Emperor Taizong frowned upon hearing this, and with a wave of his dragon sleeve, he exclaimed, "'Outrageous! Summon Zhi Ning immediately!' With the imperial edict, Yu Zhi Ning not only gained a seat but also rose to prominence overnight, being immediately granted the titles of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and Left Vice-Minister to the Crown Prince, and also receiving the prestigious title of Duke of Liyang County! Such an opportunity truly is 'a sudden stroke of good fortune, a dazzling official star,' and the secret to his meteoric rise seems to lie in the four words 'just in time'!"
Zi'an snapped his folding fan shut, a haughty "I am not alone" look on his face.
"Oh my! Look at this, isn't this a perfect 'shortcut to immortality' and 'favor from the heavens'? Back when I dominated the literary scene of the early Tang Dynasty and was ranked among the 'Four Talents,' my treatment was...tsk tsk, just as good!" He puffed out his chest, as if he had returned to that era of poetry and wine.
Little Sizi stretched out her chubby little hand and poked Zi'an's arm, looking like a little adult saying, "Here you go again."
"Brother Zian! You're using yourself as an analogy again! This is real history! Be serious!" She puffed out her cheeks, trying to put on a serious expression, but it only made her look more adorable.
Brother Mu Tou chimed in at the opportune moment, and the scroll changed again, revealing a scene from the Rites Controversy of the ninth year of the Zhenguan era:
"Your Highness is right. Consider the ninth year of the Zhenguan era: the court wanted to establish seven ancestral temples for the emperor, and all the ministers said that the worship should begin with Li Gao, the Martial King of Western Liang." On the screen, the ministers bowed, and their aura rose like pillars of smoke.
Suddenly, a man stepped forward from the crowd, his demeanor calm and composed. "It was Yu Zhining again! He was like a pillar of strength, taking a step forward with a faint, clear light flowing around him. He said in a loud voice: 'King Wu Zhao, Li Gao, has not yet established any merit for the expansion of our Great Tang. To start from this point is probably not the will of Heaven!' He forcefully overruled the objections of the crowd and dared to speak frankly and remonstrate!"
Zi'an nodded in approval, a glint of insight flashing in his eyes:
"Brilliant! Yu Zhining at this moment is no longer the lucky guy who 'caught a banquet and got promoted' back then. His words are 'daring to shake the heavenly rules with a mortal body,' and amidst the overwhelming power of heaven and the raging public opinion, he has carved out a path to heaven for 'enlightenment and upholding the law'! He can be called a model of 'wisdom sword cutting through illusions and loyalty illuminating history'!"
Brother Wood groaned, pressed his chest, and his sea of consciousness trembled violently, reflecting the phantom of Zhi Ning sitting alone in his study in Rongzhou in his later years—the old man picked up his pen to write a memorial, but the ink in the inkstone suddenly surged like blood!
"I see... the causal chain is backfiring!" Brother Wood's voice trembled. "On the eve of his demotion in the fourth year of Xianqing, Lord Zhining actually wrote a secret memorial! He wanted to advise Empress Wu that 'teaching people to be good should not be too demanding, but should be achievable,' and not to exterminate old ministers..."
In the illusory image, Yu Zhining (the tip of his pen trembles violently as it hangs on the blood-red ink, his white hair at his temples dances wildly without wind): "No... Submitting a memorial now is tantamount to a death warrant! Elder Brother Changsun is too harsh..." He slumped down and threw the pen, black blood gushing from his throat and splattering all over the paper—the blood actually flowed backward into incantations and crawled back into his palm!
Little Sizi was so frightened that she burrowed into Zi'an's sleeve, but couldn't help peeking out half her face: "Oh no! Blood Ink has gotten into Grandpa Zhining's hand! Is this the 'backlash' of blindly advising others?"
Zi An pointed his fingers, tearing through the void to grab the illusory figure, but was repelled by a burst of karmic fire: "Too late! This blood curse is called 'Honest Advice Devours the Heart.' Anyone who advises others without understanding the timing or the strength of their words will surely be burned! He should have waited until Empress Wu's power was more stable before..." Before he could finish speaking, green smoke suddenly billowed from Yu Zhining's seven orifices in the illusory figure, and the secret proclamation in his bosom spontaneously combusted into ashes—almost simultaneously, the Rongzhou government office in reality received an imperial edict of demotion!
Brother Wood wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, and Xinghe regained his composure: "After this ordeal, he fell into complete silence. Only on the eve of his death did he use his last bit of magic to carve two lines of small golden characters on the beam of the governor's mansion..."
An inscription on a rotten wooden beam appeared in my mind: "When criticizing someone's evil, do not be too harsh, but consider how they can bear it; when teaching someone to be good, do not set the bar too high, but make it achievable for them."
Little Sizi followed his brothers and solemnly bowed to the inscription.
Zi'an said, "He gave his life for these sixteen words of truth. Those who advise others should act like spring rain nourishing the earth—first observe the timing of the heavens, then assess the strength of the land, otherwise…"
Suddenly, Brother Wood shielded Little Rhino behind him, staring at the rolling dark clouds outside the window. "Those vengeful spirits who died because of blindly offering advice are still looking for replacements..."