Xun Xu walked out of the Imperial Palace. The ministers all kept their heads lowered as they hurried past him, and none stopped.
Xun Xu wanted to strike up a conversation, but found that they were all pretending not to see him. He merely smiled, shook his head, and prepared to leave.
"Gongzeng."
Someone suddenly called Xun Xu by his courtesy name.
Xun Xu turned around. The man who had called him was actually Zhong Hui.
Xun Xu looked at him with obvious displeasure in his eyes.
With his hands behind his back, Zhong Hui calmly regarded Xun Xu standing before him. His lips trembled several times.
"You did... not bad with those earlier matters."
"Keep applying yourself. Elder Brother and Elder Sister both have high expectations of you... you must accomplish something great."
"Huh??"
Xun Xu simply stood where he was, staring dumbfounded at Zhong Hui a short distance away.
Zhong Hui did not wait for his answer. He turned and disappeared down the road with his many Imperial Guards.
Xun Xu watched blankly as Zhong Hui's carriage departed, then gave another bitter smile.
An elder?
"Gongzeng!"
Someone else called his courtesy name. Xun Xu looked up again, but this time it was Du Yu.
Du Yu came forward and seized Xun Xu's hand.
"Don't leave yet. Come with me to see His Majesty... important matters cannot be delayed. The sooner, the better!"
And so, pulled along by Du Yu, Xun Xu retraced his steps toward Taiji Hall.
Along the way, Du Yu told him about the great undertaking ahead.
This time, they would be levying corvée labor, and on a considerable scale at that.
Du Yu had to work closely with Xun Xu. With corvée labor on this scale, they could not afford any oversight.
His previous rounds