The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror-Chapter 400 - 177: Heaven Unleashes Killing Intent, Moving Stars to Change Destiny (Please Subscribe)

Duke Yan Sheng said coldly: "What’s the matter, why are you in such a panic, what is this behavior?"

He ruled his household with stern authority, and seeing a servant act so rashly was utterly disgraceful, filling him with disdain.

Moreover, with so many clan elders present, he thought that after this, he must make an example out of the situation.

Knowing his own rashness, the servant realized he must have angered Duke Yan Sheng, but the matter was too significant, so he still timidly presented the document he held.

Duke Yan Sheng calmly received the document.

His Qi Cultivation Skill was exceptional; no matter was too great for his consideration.

He wanted to see what was so important about this document that it could shake the heavens.

Duke Yan Sheng’s gaze gently and indifferently fell upon the document.

Upon reading the opening title, he felt he almost couldn’t keep his composure; his face flushed, and his Qi-Blood surged uncontrollably.

"Scoundrels seeking attention," Duke Yan Sheng suppressed the rage in his heart.

He continued reading.

With each section, his heartbeat quickened.

Unknowingly, his face reddened more and more, and by the final section, his face was swollen red and purple, almost unable to catch his breath.

"Shameless, utterly shameless!"

"Defamation, all defamation!"

In Duke Yan Sheng’s mind, every word and phrase from the document was like a bone-scraping steel knife...

He suddenly clutched at his chest.

The servant bowed his head, kneeling on the ground, not daring to stand up.

Seeing this, the other clan elders hurried over to see what was the matter, but Duke Yan Sheng quickly hid the document against his chest, demanding of the trembling, kneeling servant: "Where did this document come from?"

"The courier from our prefecture brought it hastily, saying it’s the Great Ming Newspaper from South Zhili, now it has already distributed thousands of copies in both Yingtian Prefecture and Jiangning Prefecture," the servant replied, his voice trembling.

"Ah..." Duke Yan Sheng’s vision darkened, unable to suppress a surge of blood to his chest, and he spurted it onto the ground.

"Duke Yan Sheng," the clan elders hurried over to support him.

Each one looked concerned but couldn’t help their curiosity about what was written in the document.

But Duke Yan Sheng gripped the document tightly, unwilling to let go.

Some of the clan elders, belonging to minor branches directly descended from the previous generations, seeing Duke Yan Sheng’s distress, thought: "Could it be that Duke Yan Sheng has done something unnatural, and now it’s been exposed?"

Their curiosity intensified, and they sternly said to the servant: "Speak, what exactly does this document say."

The servant hurriedly bowed his head, not daring to look up.

This elder became increasingly anxious, saying: "If you don’t speak, and this leads to a major issue, you will be punished by the family law."

"Enough!" Duke Yan Sheng, his Qi Cultivation Skill being remarkable, forcefully suppressed the boiling Qi-Blood within him and yelled.

Seeing this, the elder immediately expressed concern: "Duke Yan Sheng, are you alright, should we call a doctor?"

Duke Yan Sheng glanced around at the clan elders, observing their varied expressions, he couldn’t help but heave a long sigh, then slowly spoke, "Take a look."

He loosened his grip on the document.

Now that it had spread through Yingtian Prefecture and Jiangning Prefecture, and surely the Capital knew as well, it was likely known throughout the scholars of the land by now; there was no point in hiding it anymore.

He had just been unable to accept reality at first.

As Duke Yan Sheng handed out the document, the elders crowded around, driven by curiosity.

Originally, they thought the scandal involved only the personal misdeeds of Duke Yan Sheng’s household, somewhat enjoying the spectacle. After all, the Kong Family and Zhang Family were officially recognized millennial aristocratic families of the realm.

Legacy as aged as theirs naturally had its share of scandals, the extent of decay within could be imagined.

Everyone bore the surname Kong, so if the main branch suffered, the minor branches saw opportunities.

Isn’t that how the current Your Majesty came to power from a minor branch into the major lineage?

However...

Unexpectedly!

They thought they were just spectators, but their own houses were catching fire as well.

"Unfilial!" The elder who first harbored intentions was none other than Duke Yan Sheng’s own uncle, the current second elder of the Kong family.

His face turned red, almost unable to catch his breath.

He was among the first to explore the stains on the Xu Family from Jiangning, but before he could use this tactic, Xu Gongming had made the first move, not showing any martial virtue!

The critical point was...

Being a direct brother of the previous Sect Master, he naturally knew of some old and trivial scandals of the ancestors, but he hadn’t expected that Xu Qing would also know, and seemingly with more details than they knew.

Of course, Xu Qing was fabricating it, which was beyond doubt.

The problem was, his fabrications were too systematically detailed.

If the Kong Family couldn’t clear up these allegations, wouldn’t they have to dig up ancestral graves and verify lineage by blood?

If it really went to the extent of digging up ancestral graves and verifying lineage, this generation of the Kong Family would become a laughingstock for ages.

"Duke Yan Sheng, Xu Qing must not be allowed to remain; we must follow the precedent of the ancient purge of Shao Zhengmao!" The second elder of the Kong family firmly suggested.

Duke Yan Sheng’s face darkened. The Master’s purging of Shao Zhengmao was not mentioned in the scriptures; for example, neither "The Analects" nor "Zuo Zhuan" recorded it.

The problem was, some Great Scholars added this episode to legitimize eliminating their political enemies personally, and it spread as an error, leading everyone to believe such an event occurred.

However, this act was contrary to the Master’s philosophy of ’teaching without punishment’.

Duke Yan Sheng considered himself a proper lineage holder of the Confucian school, a transmitter of ancient teachings; how could he acknowledge such unfounded rumors?

Under normal circumstances, he would have taken this opportunity to reprimand his uncle.

However, now, his mind overwhelmed with the dire threat of Xu Qing’s document, he subconsciously felt that his uncle was right.

Xu Qing, this man, cannot be left unchecked.

To slander their family lineage was one thing, justice resides in the hearts of people. But to say they had altered the ancestral tablets, this...