Chapter 1959: Unknown Past! (1/2)

Edited by: Michyrr

'Reprimanded'… 'flogged'… 'criticize'… 'house arrest'… 'profess his crimes'…

The records of the imperial household described a Prince completely disregarded by the sovereign and punished in every way, completely different from the wise and powerful sovereign who had opened a new golden age for the Great Tang. And what exactly did 'improper conduct' mean?

What sort of improper things had the Sage Emperor done before his enthronement? What improper things could he have done?

Was such a thing possible for a man of the Sage Emperor's temperament?

One thought after another ran through Wang Chong's mind, and for a moment, Wang Chong simply stood there in a daze.

He found it nigh impossible to connect the events in this book to the Sage Emperor.

Impossible! This can't be… Where is the mistake?

Wang Chong shook his head, banishing these thoughts from his mind. He could not bring himself to believe that the man in the book was the same as the decisive and wise Sage Emperor he knew. He suddenly thought back to his grandfather and Yao Chong.

It's not right! There must be a problem somewhere. A Prince that was unworthy and improper would never obtain the hearts and minds of the people. And Grandfather and the other major officials would have never chosen to protect him, much less do all they could to assist him onto the throne during that War of the Princes!

His grandfather would not misjudge someone!

Nor would Yao Chong and the other major officials of the court!

And what happened afterward proved that his grandfather and Yao Chong had been right. Because they had made the right decision in choosing the Sage Emperor, the Great Tang had experienced an unprecedented golden age!

In the final analysis, he could not make any hard conclusions based on this book and the fragmentary records it contained.

Moreover, Wang Chong still did not know what 'improper' things Third Son Xuan had done that caused the previous Emperor to call him unworthy and to bring down his birth mother from Empress to consort.

Wang Chong continued to read, but he quickly reached the end of the book.

Wang Chong stood there in a daze, unable to say anything for a long time.

The book was done, but it had not answered any of Wang Chong's questions.

”Did Your Highness obtain what you wanted?” the blind elder suddenly said, noticing that the sound of turning pages had ceased.

Wang Chong shook his head.

”No. This book alone is not enough to conclude anything. Venerable Sir, are there any other books?” Wang Chong hopefully asked.

”There are no others. This was the only book preserved.”

Disappointingly, the blind elder shook his head.

”However, while there are no books, there are some scraps that might be able to help you.”

The blind elder stood up and began walking farther into the building.

”Your Highness, follow me!”

Wang Chong was even more astonished, but he did not refuse. He followed the blind elder into the back.

The blind elder was clearly very familiar with this place, deftly navigating the halls despite being blind. In the innermost depths of the estate, the blind elder stopped in front of a locked room. He extracted a key that he kept close to his body. Clack! The lock was opened, and the elder pushed open the door.

The room was practically empty, but in the corner, Wang Chong saw a massive metal pot. The outside had been scorched black, and it seemed to be very old. In addition, there was a lid on top of the pot.

Wang Chong didn't pay it much attention at first, but then he saw a golden python on the pot handle, and his mind reeled.

”A Fire-Eating Python Basin!”

This was a fire basin the palace used specifically for burning memorials and books.

Wang Chong had not imagined that the blind elder had even managed to bring out this sort of imperial fire basin from the palace.

”Each member of the Compassionate Virtue Hall has two fire basins in case there is too much to be burned in a short time,” the blind elder said.

In the Compassionate Virtue Hall, the memorials connected to all the countless inhabitants of the empire were gathered. If there was a famine or flood, pleas for aid and memorials would engulf the capital in a blizzard.

But the Compassionate Virtue Hall had a rule that, barring certain exceptions, all memorials had to be burned on the same day they were presented, and they had to be burned in the fire basins.

”I worked in the Compassionate Virtue Hall for several decades, and the only thing I brought when I left was this Fire-Eating Python Basin. The gate guards saw that I was old and blind, so they didn't inspect it, allowing me to get it out.”

The old man paused before revealing the secret of this fire basin.

”When that lordship left, I saved the one book and then placed the lid on the basin to extinguish the fire.