At Wang Yuan's words, Mo Yunxuan could only roll his eyes in irritation.
A quarter of an hour—that was fifteen minutes!
Thinking back to his past life, every time he got up, he'd put it off for three minutes, always wanting to stay in bed a little longer.
How wonderful it would be to lie in bed for fifteen minutes in the morning before getting up!
Mo Yunxuan blinked his sleepy eyes and looked at the officials scattered across the open ground.
His morning grumpiness began to take hold. With a disgruntled tone, he said to Wang Yuan:
"Uncle Wang, from now on, let's push back the time we get up for court by a quarter of an hour. Damn it, they're making me wait, as if they're even on my level!"
Hearing Mo Yunxuan's unmistakably childish complaint, Wang Yuan smiled and said:
"You're already the Duke of Wei. Your word is the Wei State Duke Mansion's Rules. If that's what you want, then of course you can do it."
Hearing this, Mo Yunxuan nodded in satisfaction. Then he looked around and realized that not a single official had come over to speak with him.
Puzzled, he turned to Wang Yuan again.
"Uncle Wang, our Wei State Duke Mansion isn't exactly insignificant, is it? How come nobody's come over to talk to me?"
"My lord, there's something you don't know. The Old Duke considered himself a Loyal Minister and never took part in Court Factional Strife."
"Although that earned him the Former Emperor's and the Empress's praise, the other officials didn't accept him. Besides, the Old Duke was upright by nature and despised the grubby scheming of officialdom."
"Officials who came to curry favor found there was nothing to gain, and ultimately left empty-handed. As time went by, naturally no one kept coming to build ties."
At that answer, Mo Yunxuan's drooping eyelids flew open.
Well, damn. His cheap old dad really took the cake!
He'd been such a loyal minister that he'd become a lone one. That was just absurd!
Now Mo Yunxuan was basically isolated and without support at court. This was ridiculous!
Mo Yunxuan also thought of how Jun Tianxiao would probably scheme with the Empress today to claim the post of Commander of Left Wei Guard of the Imperial City Imperial Guard.
He'd already prepared himself for it, but how could something like this leave him without a single scrap of resentment?
He'd originally thought that, at the very least, he was a powerful duke commanding two hundred thousand Imperial City Imperial Guard troops.
Surely he'd be welcomed at court, surrounded by people currying favor. If he was lucky, he might even pull off the trick of "rallying public opinion,"
making Empress Ji Ruxue and Jun Tianxiao see the influence of the Wei State Duke Mansion and perhaps back down in the face of it.
And this was it?
Were they seriously messing with him?
Sigh. With his current status as a "lone minister," he could forget about anyone supporting him. He'd be lucky if they didn't kick him while he was down.
Mo Yunxuan sighed. As his mind wandered, time ticked by, second by second.
The entrance had already filled with Civil and Military Officials, gathered into small groups according to their factions and how well they got along.
Only Mo Yunxuan sat alone in his carriage, as though everyone had forgotten he was there.
Through a gap in the carriage, Mo Yunxuan watched the scattered groups of officials.
He looked at the closed doors of the Imperial Court and thought of the Empress, whose relationship with Jun Tianxiao remained a mystery.
He couldn't help but mock himself: "Heh. My Wei State Duke Mansion commands two hundred thousand Imperial City Imperial Guard troops and wields immense power, yet behind the scenes, we've already made enemies of the whole world!"
"Court is in session!"
At the palace guard's shout, the doors of the Imperial Court swung open, and the officials lined up in orderly formation.
With a guide leading him, Mo Yunxuan made his way to his place, then followed the others slowly into the Imperial Court.
After realizing that the whole world was against him, Mo Yunxuan no longer cared about observing etiquette.
He and the others weren't on the same side anyway. No matter how well he behaved, no one would praise him.
If anything, they might think, "This generation's Duke of Wei is far too capable. We'd better find a way to deal with him."
Most importantly, it was too exhausting. Everyone already disliked him, so why should he make himself miserable doing something that took effort and earned him nothing?
So, as soon as Mo Yunxuan entered the hall, he began looking around at the furnishings on his own.
The civil officials nearby could only shake their heads at his lack of decorum.
"The Duke of Wei is so frivolous in his conduct!"
"Heh, look at him. It seems the Wei State Duke Mansion will fall into decline in this generation!"
"I heard he personally ordered the execution of Fang Liang, the Commander of Left Wei Guard, yesterday."
"Exactly. He's practically cutting off his own arm—utterly foolish!"
The officials weren't trying to hide their conversation. Mo Yunxuan heard every word, clear as day.
But outwardly, he didn't react at all, as if they weren't talking about him.
Inwardly, Mo Yunxuan mused:
"That one seems to be the Minister of Rites Left Assistant. He's the first to open fire. I wonder if he's genuinely proper or just putting on an act."
"What's that Grand Scholar from Wenhua Academy butting in for? Never mind. I love reading, so I'll find time to chat with him and broaden my horizons."
"Eh? Is that Li Xian, Li Qinghan's Father? Tsk, tsk. It's one thing for me to have a poor relationship with Jun Tianxiao, but you don't have to talk about me like that! Aren't you just making trouble for your daughter?"
Mo Yunxuan listened quietly, identifying the speakers by their voices and committing each Official and Aristocrat who spoke to memory.
Only after all the officials had taken their places did Empress Ji Ruxue slowly ascend the Dragon Throne.
"We pay our respects to His Majesty!"
Mo Yunxuan bowed along with the others. When it came to such formalities, he had no intention of cutting corners.
After all, he didn't have to kneel and kowtow, so he had nothing to lose. He could treat it as a greeting.
But the line he'd been eagerly awaiting—"Long live My Emperor, long live, long live forever!"—never came.
He was still rather disappointed. If he became—
Wait, hold on! Cultivation was possible in this world, wasn't it? Hmm...
All right, if he became emperor, he wouldn't let anyone shout that line either!
While Mo Yunxuan's mind wandered, the routine matters of the court session had already been discussed.
According to the usual procedure, it was now time to discuss matters of a more unusual nature.
For example, Jun Tianxiao, who had already taken half a step forward just moments ago, strode out and called loudly:
"Your Majesty, yesterday the Duke of Wei killed Fang Liang, the Commander of Left Wei Guard, without cause, inside the Imperial Guard barracks. I ask Your Majesty to pass judgment."
Ji Ruxue furrowed her brow as if she had only just received the news, then looked at Mo Yunxuan and asked:
"Duke of Wei, is what Beloved Minister Jun said true?"
Seeing this, Mo Yunxuan rolled his eyes inwardly and thought:
"Well, damn! That expression! That acting!"
"If I hadn't received word yesterday, I'd really think the two of you hadn't planned this together!"
Outwardly, though, he didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. He slowly stepped out of line and replied calmly:
"Your Majesty, Fang Liang violated military discipline and committed insubordination. By law, he deserved death. I punished him as such. There shouldn't be any problem with that, should there?"
As he finished speaking, his head, which had been slightly lowered, slowly rose. He stared straight at the Empress seated above him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
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