Court Assembly

Once you become the emperor's confidant, you will naturally learn many private matters, including even the most private affairs of the harem.

This is a side that ordinary ministers could never touch, and it is also the effect brought about by Zhang Xuezhou's position as a "censor".

Only when he reached this position could Zhang Xuezhou barely claim to be on par with the emperor, having had extremely close contact with him.

This relationship would also align his interests with those of the emperor.

For example, the new emperor had just entered the Divine Ability Realm when he began to plot against Zhang Xuezhou's enemies. Emperors rarely speak lightly, and while the new emperor said this, the other party was indeed preparing to do so.

For some people with tragic backgrounds, a single word from the king could almost certainly achieve the goals they Struggle for their entire lives.

"You should at least cause some trouble!"

The new emperor was contemplating making a grand display of his power when he noticed that Zhang Xuezhou, his closest confidant, had no enemies. This greatly displeased the emperor, who grumbled for a while before indicating that Zhang Xuezhou could cause some trouble, as he currently had the strength to resolve it.

"Yes, I will definitely try to cause trouble in the future," Zhang Xuezhou finally had to agree.

"Don't mess with the really powerful ones; we can't afford to mess with the really powerful ones right now," the new emperor emphasized. "You must mess with the kind of opponent you can't beat, but you can still escape with your life!"

"I will definitely keep it in mind!"

Only after Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly assured him did the new emperor, his face flushed with lingering excitement, withdraw his eagerness to try.

"I'm so lonely!"

He muttered it to himself, feeling an intense itch in his heart, with nowhere to release his boundless energy.

"If Your Majesty is truly restless, a hunt near Chang'an City would be a good idea," Zhang Xuezhou suggested. "I previously supported some hunters, and they've already gone into the mountains to hunt. Occasionally, they even manage to catch bears. These bears are incredibly strong, capable of tearing apart galloping horses. Few martial artists can withstand their head-on attacks!"

"The reason I promoted you to Grand Master of Ceremonies was to advise the emperor against extravagance and indulgence in hunting," the new emperor pondered before laughing. "This act of admonition led me to temporarily promote you to the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies, in charge of etiquette. I never expected you to advise me to go hunting!"

Zhang Xuezhou's main reason for becoming an official was to present the Taijie Six Symbols, but the official reason he gave to the public was something else.

When Zhang Xuezhou made his suggestion again, the new emperor was somewhat speechless, feeling that it was fortunate that there were only the two of them in the side hall, otherwise the matter might have been exposed.

"Fine, let's go hunting!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou's awkward smile, the new emperor nodded in agreement, indicating that he would adopt Zhang Xuezhou's suggestion.

The new emperor had no shortage of opponents to spar with; he could gather a large group of people in the palace to spar with him, but none of them dared to injure him.

This kind of competition is purely for show and shouldn't be taken seriously.

If the new emperor were to use this skill to fight his enemies, he would never even know how he died.

However, he couldn't get these people to go all out. After all, even if the new emperor didn't punish those who had injured him, Anle Palace would still severely punish them. The punishment ranged from abolishing their cultivation to death. No one dared to take such a risk and engage in sparring.

The new emperor's primary targets were the enemies of those close to him, and he felt no qualms about helping his ministers resolve their feuds.

His second goal was the carnage of war, a kind of carnage that could turn two people who would never have crossed paths into a deadly battle, a purely rational act of killing.

With neither of these two goals attainable, hunting, recommended by Zhang Xuezhou, became the third objective.

Wild beasts lack reason and are fierce and ruthless when they hunt, without any selfishness or personal feelings. Some large wild beasts are no less powerful than ordinary cultivators, which makes them a good choice.

If the new emperor were to venture into the mountains alone, he might only encounter two startled birds. However, with an experienced hunter leading the way, he could undoubtedly face the ferocious beasts head-on.

After asking the questions, the new emperor was satisfied.

"No wonder those people couldn't even get enough to eat after they started farming; they were a bunch of hunters, completely unsuitable for farming," the new emperor said.

"That's right!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

With their interests aligned, he and the new emperor clearly got along very well.

The new emperor was able to find suitable targets for practice through hunting, while Zhang Xuezhou brought a wealthy patron to the people of Zhang Household Village.

Hunting wild animals yourself and selling them yields limited profits; how much you earn depends entirely on luck. Hunting with a wealthy patron is a different story.

The people of Zhang Household Village have suffered few losses in their hunting over the years and are an extremely reliable hunting group. Zhang Xuezhou felt that leading the new emperor to ambush and kill some large beasts would not be a problem.

There was no significant time estrangement between him and the new emperor, and the new emperor was quite satisfied with his recent attempts to avoid him and delay the meeting.

After the two finished their conversation and tidied up, the new emperor changed his clothes and, unusually, headed towards the main hall of the Weiyang Palace.

"So, where have you been hiding lately? I've heard quite a few people are looking for you!"

As the new emperor walked, he asked questions. He said that it would be difficult for him to recommend candidates for the positions, but he did not think it would be difficult to remove his own people from their posts.

But before removing Zhang Xuezhou from his post, the new emperor wanted to clarify a few things.

"I wandered around in the mountains for a while. When I was thirsty, I drank spring water, and when I was hungry, I caught some wild rabbits to fill my stomach," Zhang Xuezhou replied.

"Oh, so what will you do when you sleep?"

"I'm a cultivator, so ordinary mosquitoes don't dare get close to me. I can just find some sheltered caves, seal the entrance, and sleep there," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "And I've been quite lucky. A monk took care of me for a while, and later I met a Daoist priest who also helped me!"

"That's not bad!"

The new emperor nodded in response, then suddenly remembered Li Shaojun, the Daoist priest Zhang Xuezhou had invited back.

He wanted to ask a few more questions, but then he saw officials starting to leave the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, indicating that the court session was ending. He stopped asking questions and quickly walked forward.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

The rules and regulations for court assemblies in the Great Han Dynasty were not perfect. Many officials did not dress uniformly, and it was impossible to tell who was a civil official and who was a military general.

Even though Chancellor Xu Chang and Imperial Zhuang Qingdi were the heads of the civil officials, they did not show off their attire. In fact, many people dressed the same as Zhuang Qingdi, with only slight differences in their headdresses.

It took Zhang Xuezhou quite a while to find the Imperial Zhuang Qingdi among the nearly one hundred court attendees.

As an official about to be dismissed, he certainly couldn't have a good relationship with Zhuang Qingdi. Zhang Xuezhou was more than happy for Zhuang Qingdi to jump out and impeach him, so that the new emperor would naturally agree and remove him from the position of Grand Master of the Palace.

"Who is this? Who is the Imperial Censor? Imperial Censor, step forward!"

The new emperor strode towards the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, then winked at Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou, who immediately cried out.

And who are you?

Zhang Xuezhou searched for a while before finding Zhuang Qingdi. Zhuang Qingdi looked at Zhang Xuezhou's face and realized he was unfamiliar with him, wondering who this young official, dressed in disheveled clothes, was.

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou shouting and looking for someone, he couldn't help but call out in response.

"I am Dongfang Shuo, the Grand Master of the Palace. You, the Imperial Censor, are dressed so plainly, exactly like everyone else. How is His Majesty supposed to distinguish you all? Does His Majesty expect him to scrutinize each of you by your faces?"

As a Grand Master of the Palace, Zhang Xuezhou certainly had the right to be critical of matters of etiquette.

Zhuang Qingdi opened his mouth, but couldn't retort immediately.

"Look at you, and look at you again! You're all dressed exactly like the Imperial Censor! Are you trying to be quintuplets or septuplets, or do you think you are the Imperial Censor already?!"

Offending one person is the same as offending a group.

Zhang Xuezhou launched into a tirade about improper attire, drawing the attention of many ministers who kept glancing at their colleagues' clothing.

"It seems the Grand Master of the Palace will be reforming the court dress etiquette; we'll no longer have the freedom to dress as we please!"

"I'd rather he never attend court!"

"We'll likely have to learn new etiquette again!"

When Zhang Xuezhou made his first appearance in the imperial court, no one dared to stand up for him. Even Zhuang Qingdi, who was being targeted, chose to accept the criticism directly without arguing back.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's first impression on the officials was clearly quite ordinary.