Chapter 268 21 Years of Prosperity, Filth Under Peace

The Xia Kingdom was a country established on the ruins of the Qi Kingdom.

A hundred years ago, the Qi Kingdom was destroyed by the Immortal sects. There were even many disciples who took the opportunity to plunder the lands, causing countless people to lose their families and homes.

Back then, only the grandfather and grandson of the Hong family escaped. They were even hunted down by the disciples of the Immortal sects. Fortunately, they were saved by an Immortal, which resulted in the current Xia country.

It had been 63 years since the establishment of the Great Xia Dynasty. It had already been passed down to the second Emperor, the grandson of the founding ancestor, Hong Kang.

The era’s name was “Wanxing”.

It was the 21st year of Wanxing.

The country was prosperous, the lands were peaceful, the rivers were clear, the weather was good, and the five grains were abundant. It was already a peaceful and prosperous world.

…..

However, no matter how prosperous a world was, it was inevitable that there would be places of filth.

It was inevitable that corrupt officials and landlords would bully others. The Imperial Court did not have much energy to deal with them, nor could they completely deal with them.

A portion of the people could only live bitterly.

However, the commoners would not suffer to be bullied, so people often came to the capital to complain.

Especially during spring and summer every year.

People were allowed to come to the capital to report to the Emperor during these times. This was an iron law that had been set since the establishment of the Great Xia.

No one dared to disobey.

Even the Emperor had to abide by it.

Therefore, recently, Emperor Wanxing, Hong Shen, had been the busiest. He was so busy every day that he did not even have time to sleep.

If not for the fact that he had already cultivated to the Human Immortal Realm and his physique was strong, he would have died long ago from exhaustion.

It was already past midnight, but Hong Shen was still reading the reports about the people’s complaints.

Not only were there copies of the original text, but there were also notes pasted on it by important ministers, as well as suggestions for handling it. There were also countless reports of complaints against officials.

The physical strength of a Human Immortal could still withstand it.

But it was mentally taxing!

“Hu!”

Hong Shen heaved a sigh of relief. He had just finished reviewing the last report from yesterday.

Although today’s reports were still piled up like a mountain and there was no time to review them, a portion of the reports had been completed in stages.

He could take a break.

“These corrupt officials can really cause trouble for me!”

Hong Shen rubbed his temples and thought about his countermeasure. “When the world is peaceful, reorganizing the government is the most important thing. But if I kill a wave of officials, the next wave will still be corrupt. When will it end?”

Great Xia’s foundation had already been established in the founding Emperor’s generation. After he ascended the throne, he inherited a prosperous Great Xia.

Therefore, most of his energy was focused on fighting against the corrupt officials.

He had also tried various methods, such as punishing them according to the law, sending central officials to supervise them, or setting up an Independent Government Office, but in the end, it was not very effective.

Wealth and power moved the hearts of people. The central officials who were sent to supervise would also be quickly bribed. It was the same for the Independent Government Office.

Even if he killed one batch, the next batch would still repeat the same mistakes.

At the end of the day, it was still because the Imperial Court’s ability to supervise the local authorities was too poor. Without a means of proper supervision, they could not rule clearly.

“If only there was a force that could monitor the local administration at any time.” Hong Shen thought of a feasible plan, but he felt that it was not feasible.

After all, this was a world with martial artists and even Immortals. Unless they recruited Martial Dao experts on a large scale as supervisors, it would be very difficult to achieve this goal. However, martial artists who were strong enough were too expensive. The pressure on the Imperial Court would also multiply.

This was a difficult problem.

Thinking of this, Hong Shen became even more tired.

He closed his eyes, intending to recuperate.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt like he saw a golden light.

Holy, pure, and a little intimate.

Then, a burly figure walked out of the golden light, and his appearance gradually became clear.

This was someone who Hong Shen found extremely familiar but also a little unfamiliar.

“My son, come to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to see me.”

This person suddenly spoke, his voice echoing in Hong Shen’s mind.

“Father?!”

Hong Shen immediately woke up with a shocked expression. The dignified Human Immortal broke out in cold sweat and said in surprise, “Dream?! How can I dream? And it’s a dream about Father.”

Human Immortals had already been reborn. Under normal circumstances, they would not dream. They would only dream when they were extremely uneasy or had some special premonition.

This dream was unusual.

“Imperial Ancestral Temple. Grandpa is there. There shouldn’t be any problems.” After thinking for a moment, Hong Shen picked up the sword hanging on the wall and walked out of the bedroom towards the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

….

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was not a temple, but a palace complex.

The front hall in the center was the most magnificent. Inside were the memorial tablets of the Hong family’s ancestors and the deceased civil officials and generals who had contributed greatly during the establishment of the country.

After the founding Emperor, Hong Kang, abdicated, he lived in seclusion in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He dressed as a temple attendant and cleaned the dust, burned incense, and lit candles to recuperate his mind.

Usually, there was no sound here all year round.

However, tonight, the front hall of the Imperial Ancestral Hall suddenly became lively. There were actually several figures moving around, and from time to time, voices could be heard.

If not for the fact that there were no court officials around the Imperial Ancestral Temple, numerous people would probably have been frightened out of their wits.

“Immortal Venerable, I’ve already sent a dream to Shen’er. He should be here soon.” A burly man dressed in golden light bowed respectfully to a young man.

It was Cui Heng and Hong Tao, who had just been conferred the title of God.

In other words, Hong Shen’s father. “Immortal Venerable’s divine powers are boundless.” Hong Kang could not help but sigh with emotion. “I didn’t expect our three generations to be able to reunite.”

At this moment, he stood at the side and stared fixedly at his son who had returned from the dead. His heart was already filled with joy.

His son, who had died a hundred years ago, was actually reunited with him today.

This was something he did not even dare to dream of.

“It’s not just the three generations of your family.” Cui Heng shook his head gently and smiled. “This is just the beginning. Let’s talk about the exact situation when Hong Shen arrives.”

Not just the three generations?

VVCI

Hong Kang and Hong Tao were stunned when they heard this. Then, a guess appeared in their hearts. They subconsciously looked at the memorial tablets on the altar.

It can’t be.

This was too exaggerated!

Just as the two of them were feeling surprised, they heard hurried footsteps outside.

Hong Shen was here.

However, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was an important place to worship the ancestors. Even if he was the Emperor, he could not directly push the door open and enter.

Hong Shen stopped in front of the door and bowed respectfully. “Grandpa, I have something to ask of you.”

“Come in,” Hong Kang’s voice came from inside.

“Thank you, Grandpa, thank you, Ancestors.” Hong Shen pushed the door open and entered. Then, he kowtowed to the ancestral tablets on the shrine according to the usual etiquette.

However, before he could kneel down, he was stunned. He stood there and looked at the burly man covered in golden light in disbelief.

“Father?!”

At the same time, he saw Cui Heng and immediately exclaimed.

“Immortal Venerable?!”

What, what was going on?!