The news spread everywhere as if it had wings.
The deposed prince who once killed gods actually gained the recognition of heaven and earth before his execution. The heavenly realm wanted to welcome him into the realm of gods, but he cut off his own path to immortality.
How many people dream of becoming a god, but he ruined such a future with his own hands.
Some people secretly called him stupid behind his back. Is there any better ending in this world than becoming a god
Some people were jealous and didn't understand why the heavenly stairs fell at his feet.
Some people wondered if the godslayer could also gain recognition from heaven and earth, which meant that gods were not that great after all.
Some people secretly build a small, crude statue of the god using wood or mud in their own homes.
They had never seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in person, so the statues they made were all strange and bizarre, and the appearance of the imaginary Crown Prince was different.
The only thing is that the devout prayers when bowing are almost never for oneself.
"Oh my God, His Royal Highness is a good man. Please don't blame him for killing the immortal. It was the immortal who was too bad, not His Royal Highness's fault... Please forgive him, and bless His Royal Highness with a long life..."
Invisible, thin golden rivers flowed out from the mountains and fields of Ru State. They were so fragile and tiny, yet so distant and tenacious, crossing thousands of miles of rivers, through morning dew, frost and snow, and finally converging on one person.
Although the prince refused to become a god, how could the butcher's knife in the world dare to chop down the head of this man who almost became a god
The matter of lingchi would automatically be invalid without anyone mentioning it.
But Xie Fangcheng's identity became somewhat awkward.
The emperor was wary of him and had already adopted a royal disciple as the prince, so he, the former crown prince, could not return to the palace.
The Gan Kingdom has surrendered, and the general stationed at Luoxia Pass has been replaced in the past three years, and the emperor is unwilling to give him military power.
On the contrary, the deposed prince didn't care at all, as if he didn't know how conspicuous he was. He moved into the fairy palace that was originally built for the gods and devoted himself to studying the immortal magic.
Jie Fangcheng did not intend to become a god, but since this technique was so useful, he naturally had to practice it. Not only would he practice it himself, but he would also spread it so that more people could practice it.
The Fairy Palace was built on a mountain in the capital. Originally, there were many powerful and noble families at the foot of the mountain who wanted to get a taste of the fairy atmosphere. When the deposed prince moved in, the powerful and noble families moved out overnight, fearing that this prince who even killed the gods would attack them.
After the dignitaries left, the mountain became deserted for a while.
One day, a lame woman bravely knocked on the door of the fairy palace.
"Please... Your Highness, help me!"
The woman was originally a farm girl from a remote village. She married a farmer from the same village. Although her life after marriage was hard, she could still get by.
But years ago, her husband went to the city to sell coal and had not returned. The woman asked someone to find out the situation and learned that her husband had had an argument with the only son of a wealthy man. It was said that her husband hit the man with a carrying pole first and was then caught and beaten to death.
How could this be possible? Farmers like them usually didn't dare to raise their heads when they saw the head of the village, let alone when they entered the city and met the only son of a wealthy man
The woman didn't believe it, and went to the city at dawn the next day.
The official refused to see the guest and only left a few taels of silver. When he asked where the body was, the doorman said, "If your husband had dared to hit our young master, he would have been beaten into pulp and fed to the dogs long ago."
The woman went to the government office to beat the drum. When the judge sitting in the hall heard the official's name, he accused her of false accusation and ordered the officers to beat her with thirty sticks first.
After the beating, she was breathing more than breathing in, so she was finger pressed and signed, and was taken to jail.
Fortunately, the villagers were kind-hearted and used their connections to get her out of jail.
By the time his injuries healed, one of his legs was lame.
In order to treat her injuries and to repay the money the village head had spent on her, she pawned everything she could at home.
She originally thought that this was the way to go. There was a three-year-old child at the time. How could an egg go head-to-head with a stone
But a few days after the Chinese New Year, the windows of the house broke and they couldn't raise enough money to repair them. The woman tried to block them with straw, but it still leaked.
The child caught a cold, and the woman went around the village to borrow money. Everyone knew that her husband had passed away and she was lame, so she didn't know when she would be able to pay back the money.
Everyone is poor. There have been wars on the border for years, taxes are increasing year by year, and the gods have come to the world to build temples everywhere. Who is not worried about the next meal and the next day? Who would be willing to lend her money
Then the child burned and died.
why
The woman couldn't understand.
She and her husband honestly worked in the fields for food. When the gods came to the world, they did not think of competing with the nobles for the fate of the gods. Even when they went to the temple to burn incense, they did not dare to pray for immortality or to become gods.
They kneel before the statue, and all they ask is for less taxes, better crops, and less insects next year. Their children are still young, so please keep them from getting sick...
They are just weeds on the roadside. If you are unhappy, it doesn't matter if you step on them. Just don't pull them up by the roots. They can survive with a little bit of rain.
But why... why not give them any chance to survive
The lame woman didn't want to live anymore, but it was not good for her to die in the house, as it was taboo in the village. They were all her fellow villagers, who had helped her so much in the past, so she couldn't die in the village.
Throw yourself into the river. It's so cold, the river is frozen. Besides, dying in the river might scare some kid who goes fishing.
What else can she do
At this time, she thought of the owner of the tailor shop in the city.
The shopkeeper's youngest son was taken away to serve the gods, and the shopkeeper was reluctant to let him go.
But the child was good-looking, with big, round eyes that were as bright as the moon in the lake. The constables from the government office said that if he went there, he would definitely be favored by the gods. But they were gods, and a little magic that leaked out from between their fingers would be enough to make the child become a god.
Even if he doesn't become a god, when the gods are no longer needed next year, he can be released back home. If he is told that he has served gods, which noble family wouldn't want him? This is a great future, and others can't even compete for it!
After hearing what the servants said, the shopkeeper was willing to give it up for the sake of his child's future.
But later the immortal died, and the child was sent back. He didn't learn any immortal skills, but he had become blind.
It was said that the gods liked his eyes and asked him to dig them out to make an elixir.
How could a blind servant live in that fairy palace? If other children hadn't been willing to lend a hand to him, he would have starved to death.
After hearing this, the shopkeeper cried until his eyes almost went blind.
At that time, the woman's husband was selling charcoal on the street, and he came back at night and told the woman about it.
After hearing this, the woman was amazed: "Well, the prince is a good official. He saved so many people!"
Her man corrected her: "What master? That's His Highness."
Your Highness? Why Your Highness
The woman didn't understand.
But they didn’t understand what the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and His Majesty were. Those nobles were like gods. They were in heaven and could not be touched.
But before she died, the woman wanted to...
That prince has saved so many people, can he save...
The woman didn't understand.
But if it weren't for this Crown Prince, she might have just waited quietly for death.
But after listening to the story of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, she always felt as if there was a little charcoal in her heart that refused to go out, emitting a tiny heat like a star.
She buried the child with a mat, limped into the city, and asked about the prince's residence.
It wasn't hard to find out. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a very capable man and luckily his residence wasn't too far away.
The woman walked like a famine refugee. When she was hungry, she ate tree bark; when she was thirsty, she ate river ice. After walking like this for ten days or so, she saw a magnificent palace on the mountain in the distance.
That is indeed a fairy palace, even the walls are carved from jade.
The woman climbed up the mountain and was the first person to knock on the gate of the fairy palace.
She also met the rumored prince.
Well, that’s the immortal in the storybook, right
He was wearing a clean black robe, looked like fresh snow under the moonlight, and seemed difficult to talk to.
The woman felt a little embarrassed.
Her hands were very dirty and she stained the jade ring on the door when she knocked.
Her knees were also dirty. When she knelt down, she must have soiled the clean jade floor.
Will the immortal kill her
I guess.
But... if I could help her before I killed her, it would be worth dying for.
"Please... Your Highness, help me!"
The immortal-like Crown Prince in front of her stretched out his hands and helped her up without looking down on her for being as dirty as a beggar.
"What grievance have you suffered?"
No one - not even a master - had ever asked her what injustice or grievance she had suffered.
The woman told the story exactly what had happened. She cried as she spoke, beating her chest and stamping her feet, crying as if she wanted to pour out all the pain she had experienced in her life.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not mind that her crying made her even dirtier. Instead, he took her into the fairy palace, made her sit on a white jade stool, poured her tea, and patiently listened to her cry.
"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
Hope... What can hope help her with
The woman thought in a daze.
She had so many grievances, but after crying, all these grievances seemed to disappear.
They are the lowest of the low... Even though they are called human beings, they are worth less than the cattle in the fields.
If a cow dies, perhaps the city police will come to inquire about it. But if a person dies, it is like having the head of a crop in a field cut off, and the remaining trunk will rot silently in the ground.
They were born to live this way.
"I... I don't know." The woman was a little nervous.
The prince in front of him said in a gentle voice: "I will find out the truth of this matter. If it is really as you said, then I will help you kill the only son of the evil official to pay for your man's life. I will also beat the county magistrate with thirty sticks to vent your anger, okay?"
The woman looked at the prince in front of her in surprise: "This... is not possible, right? He is the only son of the official, and the one in the government office is the eldest master..."
Can her man's worthless life be exchanged for the life of the man's only son? It's like exchanging a pearl for a stone. Everyone knows that these two things are not interchangeable.
Pearls are so expensive!
The prince in front of her just looked at her gently: "But if he killed your man for no reason, he should pay with his life."
He said, "Isn't your man's life a life?"
It was as if a monster was suddenly struggling and roaring in her heart. The woman had never been to school, nor had she ever heard of any great principles.
She just suddenly felt... as if at this moment, in the eyes of the Crown Prince, she and her man were also human beings.
He is like the only son of the wealthy man, the upright official in the government office, a man with two arms and two legs.
Their lives are the same as those of the noble people and are equally important.
How strange... why is she crying again now
The woman asked carefully: "Really... is it really okay?"
She didn't know whether she was asking the prince or herself.
Since she was born, no one had ever told her that killing someone means paying with one's life. As long as you kill someone for no reason, you must pay with your life, regardless of whether the person has a worthless life or is just a roadside weed with no support.
"Okay." The Crown Prince waved his hand and pulled out a sword from somewhere. "Don't worry, I'm very strong."
The woman cried and laughed.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... is truly a good man.
Her man was right.
Before leaving, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince remembered to settle her down first.
"Don't go out here. There is rice and flour in the kitchen. Can you cook?"
The woman nodded.
"Then you should have a good meal and rest for a while. I'll be back soon."
When he stepped out of the gate of the fairy palace, the woman hurriedly asked: "Your Highness, I...what should I do to repay you?"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince shook his head.
"You don't need to repay me. This is your right. Someone should take care of what you've been through."
"Now, since they don't care - I will."
(End of this chapter)