Imperial Court Begins

Mo Yunxuan naturally rolled his eyes at Wang Yuan's words.

A quarter hour was fifteen minutes!

Thinking about how he always wanted to hit snooze for three minutes every morning in his past life, and always wanted to stay in bed, What a wonderful thing it would be to stay in bed for fifteen minutes before getting up!

Mo Yunxuan opened his hazy eyes and looked at the officials gathered in small groups on the open ground.

His morning grumpiness began to act up, and his tone carried displeasure as he said to Wang Yuan:

"Uncle Wang, from now on, the imperial court's wake-up time will be delayed by a quarter hour. Damn it, making me wait for them, don't they even look at their own standing!"

Wang Yuan smiled upon hearing Mo Yunxuan's clearly childish words and said:

"You are already the Duke of Wei. Your words are the Wei State Duke Mansion's Rules. As long as you wish, it can naturally be done."

Mo Yunxuan nodded in satisfaction upon hearing his words, then looked around and found that not a single official had approached him for a chat.

With this doubt, he looked at Wang Yuan again, "Uncle Wang, our Wei State Duke Mansion isn't doing too badly, is it? Why hasn't anyone come over to talk to me?"

"Master, you don't know, the Old Duke considered himself a Loyal Minister and completely stayed out of the Court Factional Strife."

"Although this earned him the praise of the Former Emperor and the Empress, he was not accepted by the other officials. Furthermore, the Old Duke was upright and disdained the Petty Scheming of the Officialdom."

"Officials who came to curry favor found no profit to be gained, and all returned without success. Over time, naturally, no one continued to try to build relationships."

Upon receiving this answer, Mo Yunxuan's eyelids, which had been fighting to stay open, snapped open.

Good heavens, his Cheap Old Father was truly something!

Being a loyal minister led directly to becoming an isolated minister, this was too much!

This put him in a state of being Isolated and Helpless in the imperial court, it was unbelievable!

Mo Yunxuan then thought about how Jun Tianxiao would likely scheme with the Empress today for the position of Commander of Left Wei Guard of the Imperial City Imperial Guard.

Although he had been mentally prepared before, how could such a thing be easily put aside without any lingering resentment!

He had originally thought that he was, after all, a powerful duke controlling two hundred thousand of the Imperial City Imperial Guard.

So when he went to court, he would surely be surrounded by followers, with a crowd fawning over him. If luck was on his side, perhaps he could even pull off a trick of "coercing public opinion,"

To show Empress Ji Ruxue and Jun Tianxiao the influence of the Wei State Duke Mansion, perhaps they would retreat in defeat.

And the result was just this?

Are you sure you're not kidding me?

Alas, with his current status as an "isolated minister," he couldn't expect any support. It would be good if they didn't add insult to injury.

Mo Yunxuan sighed. As he was lost in thought, time ticked by.

The entrance was already filled with Civil and Military Officials, who had formed small groups based on their factions and the quality of their relationships.

Only Mo Yunxuan sat alone in his Carriage, as if forgotten by everyone.

Mo Yunxuan looked through the gaps in the Carriage at the ministers gathered in twos and threes, He looked at the closed doors of the imperial court and thought of the Empress, whose relationship with Jun Tianxiao was unknown.

He couldn't help but mock himself: "Heh, to think that our Wei State Duke Mansion commands two hundred thousand of the Imperial City Imperial Guard and possesses immense power, yet in reality, we are already enemies of the world!"

"Enter the court!"

With a loud shout from the Palace Guards, the doors of the imperial court opened, and the ministers lined up in an orderly fashion.

Mo Yunxuan, led by an attendant, arrived at his position and slowly entered the imperial court with the main group.

After realizing that he was an enemy of the world, Mo Yunxuan no longer had any intention of paying attention to etiquette.

Since others were not on the same path as him, no matter how outstanding his performance, no one would praise him.

Instead, it might make people think, "The current Duke of Wei is too capable, we must target him."

The main reason was that it was too tiring. Since everyone disliked him, why should he force himself to do something that yielded no reward and was thankless!

Therefore, after entering the great hall, Mo Yunxuan began to look around at the decorations inside the hall at his own leisure.

This demeanor made the nearby civil officials shake their heads.

"The Duke of Wei acts so frivolously!"

"Heh, looking at him like this, it seems the Wei State Duke Mansion will decline in this generation!"

"I heard that yesterday he personally ordered the killing of Fang Liang, the Commander of Left Wei Guard."

"Yes, it's like cutting off one's own arm, utterly foolish!"

The conversations among the courtiers were not deliberately concealed, and Mo Yunxuan heard every word clearly.

But on the surface, he showed no reaction, as if the person being spoken about was not him.

In reality, Mo Yunxuan secretly thought:

"That position seems to be the Minister of Rites Left Assistant. He's the first to attack. I wonder if he's genuinely upright or just pretending."

"Why is this Grand Scholar from Wenhua Academy joining the fun? Forget it, I love reading the most. I'll definitely chat with him and recharge my batteries later."

"Huh? Isn't that Li Xian, Li Qinghan's Father? Tsk tsk, even though I don't get along with Jun Tianxiao, you can't say that about me! Aren't you causing trouble for your daughter!"

Mo Yunxuan quietly listened, identifying and mentally noting each Official and Aristocrat who spoke out.

Once all the ministers had taken their positions, Empress Ji Ruxue slowly ascended the Dragon Throne.

"Your subjects salute Your Majesty!"

Mo Yunxuan followed the ministers in bowing. He had no intention of cutting corners on such etiquette.

Besides, he didn't have to kneel and kowtow, and he suffered no loss. It was just a greeting.

However, the phrase "My Emperor, live forever and ever" that Mo Yunxuan had been eagerly anticipating did not materialize.

He felt quite disappointed. If he were to become...

Eh, wait! This world seems to allow cultivation! Hmm...

Alright, even if he became emperor, he wouldn't let them shout that phrase!

While Mo Yunxuan was lost in thought, the routine matters of the Imperial Court had already been discussed.

According to the procedure, it was time to discuss some more special matters.

For example, Jun Tianxiao, who had already taken half a step forward, now took a full step and shouted loudly:

"Your Majesty, yesterday the Duke of Wei, within the Imperial Guard barracks, without cause, killed the Commander of Left Wei Guard, Fang Liang. I request Your Majesty to issue a Punishment."

Ji Ruxue, as if just receiving the news, slightly furrowed her brow and looked at Mo Yunxuan, asking:

"Duke of Wei, is the matter as Minister Jun has stated?"

Seeing this, Mo Yunxuan rolled his eyes internally, thinking:

"Good heavens! That expression! Such acting!"

"If I hadn't received the news yesterday, I would have truly believed you two hadn't coordinated!"

However, on the surface, not a single wrinkle appeared on his brow. He slowly stepped out of the ranks and calmly replied:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Fang Liang disobeyed military discipline and committed insubordination. According to the law, he should be executed. This Lord's judgment should be acceptable, right!"

After speaking, he slowly raised his head, which had been slightly lowered, and looked directly at the Empress seated on the high throne, narrowing his eyes slightly.