Stirring Up Enmity and Resentment

"Your Majesty, our court's civil officials don't look like civil officials, and military officials don't look like military officials. There are no rules or regulations regarding their attire. I suggest standardizing court attire, with different ranks wearing different clothes, and those below a certain rank not allowed to wear clothes beyond their rank. Anyone who dresses improperly should be punished!"

As a Grand Master of the Palace, Zhang Xuezhou's proposed system was not unreasonable. The court would issue clothes for everyone to wear, and everyone would be happy to have a couple more sets of court robes.

Despite Zhang Xuezhou's criticisms, aside from officials who disliked restrictions on their freedom of dress, quite a few officials actually agreed with this reform.

However, Zhang Xuezhou's suggestion to punish someone for making a clothing mistake sparked widespread discussion.

In the imperial court, people were only punished with salary deductions, demotions, or even executions for making mistakes. But no one expected that one day even dressing incorrectly would be a punishment.

"His Majesty..."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"Your Majesty, this matter still needs to be discussed!"

In a short time, more than a dozen people stood up to voice their objections.

This pleased Zhang Xuezhou as he watched those who voiced their opposition, while the new emperor, after a few seconds of thought, realized Zhang Xuezhou's method of causing trouble.

Three months later, Zhang Xuezhou stepped into the imperial court for the first time and participated in court discussions. Surprisingly, no one jumped out to impeach Zhang Xuezhou, even when the censor-in- Zhuang Qingdi was the first to be criticized and blamed, he remained silent.

This situation is rare in the imperial court. Even the new emperor had to admit that Zhang Xuezhou really had no enemies, and so far no one has come forward to criticize him.

Perhaps because Zhang Xuezhou had no powerful backers, or perhaps Zhang Xuezhou was used as a scapegoat, or for some other reason, Zhang Xuezhou three-month absence was completely ignored, and no one impeached the Grand Master of the Palace for it.

This prompted Zhang Xuezhou to escalate his attacks shortly afterward, starting with Censor Zhuang Qingdi and spreading the attacks to others.

Zhang Xuezhou's reform of the dress code and etiquette system was fine during the proposal stage; whether people agreed or disagreed was just talk. But when they actually violated the rules and were punished, some people would inevitably resent Zhang Xuezhou, and thus find fault with Zhang Xuezhou, or even impeach him.

If the goal is to quickly remove Zhang Xuezhou from his position, this is indeed a good way to do it.

"I believe that Grand Master of the Palace, Dongfang Shuo, is right!"

On the throne in the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, the new emperor looked at the ministers seated below and spoke slowly.

"A nation needs its rules; without rules, nothing can be accomplished," the new emperor said in a deep voice. "If you can't even manage something as simple as standardizing court attire, what else can I expect you to do?"

"I wonder what kind of punishment Your Majesty intends to impose under these rules?" Prime Minister Xu Chang asked after a few seconds of hesitation.

"What is the opinion of the Grand Master of the Palace?" the new emperor asked.

"The punishment depends on the severity of the offense," Zhang Xuezhou said. "For example, if the Prime Minister wears a first-class court robe and I wear a fourth-class one, and I were to wear my court robe inappropriately and rudely in front of you, you could laugh at me, reprimand me for not knowing the rules, scold me, or even ask His Majesty to deduct my salary. If you dislike me, you could even strip me of my official rank!"

"Oh, so you mean it's fine if we don't pursue it, but if we do, the consequences will vary," Xu Chang replied.

"If the Prime Minister has a better method, I am willing to listen attentively!"

Zhang Xuezhou was the one who had incurred the wrath of the Imperial Censor Zhuang Qingdi, hoping that the latter would impeach him quickly. However, he was not so reckless as to contradict a prime minister, especially since the latter was his superior official in charge of his department. This made him extremely polite when responding to Xu Chang.

Xu Chang glanced at Zhang Xuezhou several times, his aged face slowly turning solemn. He then bowed slightly to the new emperor on the throne in the main hall before choosing to sit down directly.

Clearly, Xu Chang was unwilling to overstep his authority to make regulations or establish etiquette rules, lest he be criticized in the future.

"Young people are so stubborn!"

Beside Xu Chang, the Imperial Zhuang Qingdi whispered something.

Zhuang Qingdi had met many officials, but he had never seen a Grand Master of the Palace who, upon entering the court, established numerous systems of etiquette for officials.

Aside from the fact that the uniform clothing makes the outfits look more pleasing to the eye than the current messy attire, Zhuang Qingdi couldn't think of any other purpose for this system.

Conversely, for those who advocate for the system, there are no rewards for dressing correctly, but punishment for dressing incorrectly, which inevitably leads to resentment towards the system's creators.

This is a case of doing nothing good and taking all the blame for the bad.

Of course, Zhuang Qingdi must also say that the formulation of the court dress system was within the scope of the authority of the Grand Master of the Palace, and even a matter of etiquette that the Grand Master of the Palace should do. However, in the past, the Grand Master of the Palace had always exerted his power over the lower groups, such as stipulating what soldiers should wear, what palace maids should wear, and what they should wear to large-scale sacrificial activities. He had never had any jurisdiction over the court or himself.

"It's a bit of a source of enmity and resentment," Xu Chang replied, bowing his head.

"Marquis of Wu'an, when you served as Grand Master of the Palace, why didn't you standardize our attire?"

Zhuang Qingdi and Xu Chang exchanged opinions, then asked Tian Fen, the Marquis of Wu'an, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines.

"Imperial Censor Zhuang, I have always been kind to others and never harbor ill intentions!"

Tian Fen muttered something under his breath and turned his head to reply.

Tian Fen was of average talent and not very skilled; he only rose to prominence by relying on the Empress Dowager's power.

He's always been cautious and prudent; he wouldn't dare to cause trouble like this.

Tian Fen could only force a smile, indicating that he had never been so reckless before, and even now he would never do something so outrageous.

"This era belongs to the young," Tian Fen chuckled softly.

"Of course! Our Emperor is still very young!"

Tian Fen made a sarcastic remark about Zhang Xuezhou, while Zhuang Qingdi murmured something in response.

Many ministers frequently glanced at Zhang Xuezhou and asked him questions about the uniform attire. Zhang Xuezhou responded very tactfully, covering all aspects of the situation.

Young people like Zhang Xuezhou naturally have the vigor to get things done, but the decision was made by the emperor.

"I wonder if His Majesty will use this incident to push forward and then regain power?"

While many people focused on the unified court dress system, Zhuang Qingdi was more concerned about the new emperor's movements.

Several years later, Zhuang Qingdi still remembers the grand personnel changes that occurred shortly after the new emperor ascended the throne, and now the new emperor seems to be making a comeback.

But Zhuang Qingdi felt that several years had passed, and the new emperor still seemed to have not learned his lesson.

If it weren't for the fact that changing clothes is such a minor matter, the new emperor's attempt to change regulations would have had almost no chance of being approved.

Even so, Zhuang Qingdi felt that he should go to Anle Palace to report after the court session ended and see what the Empress Dowager's attitude was towards this matter.

He calmed himself down and smiled at his colleagues.

"Look at Imperial Censor Zhuang's attire, it's very inappropriate..."

When Zhuang Qingdi looked at Zhang Xuezhou, he heard the other man bringing up Zhang's court attire again, mentioning various irregularities.

This inevitably left him feeling somewhat depressed.

The Imperial Censor oversees all officials in the country, and everyone usually treats him with the utmost respect. But now, Zhang Xuezhou actually dares to criticize him and even point out his faults.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't been appointed Grand Master of the Palace and approved by Anle Palace, thus barely qualifying as a member of their own camp, Zhuang Qingdi would have undoubtedly seized upon any incriminating evidence against him.