The Expert Li Shaojun
In the eyes of the new emperor, Zhang Xuezhou was undoubtedly a young official on his side.
However, in the eyes of Zhuang Qingdi and others, Zhang Xuezhou was an official appointed by Anle Palace, and the Empress Dowager must have had a reason for making such an appointment.
Even if Zhang Xuezhou is not in office for three months, he will not impeach him.
Some people had wanted to sound out the Censor-in-Chief Zhuang Qingdi's attitude, but when Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly brought up Zhuang Qingdi's court attire and Zhuang Qingdi did not refute it, even the most foolish among them understood Zhuang Qingdi's tacit approval.
Zhuang Qingdi remained silent, and no one in the court had any grudge against Zhang Xuezhou, everyone chose to keep quiet and tacitly approved of Zhang Xuezhou receiving a salary without working.
Despite Zhang Xuezhou's antics today, no one has actually criticized Zhang Xuezhou, nor has anyone brought up his absence from court for three months.
There was also a very interesting point about the court assembly: the new emperor entered the main hall of the Weiyang Palace as if he had come specifically to change his court attire.
After the court dress system was approved, the new emperor did not linger for long, nor did he mention anything else.
"Your Majesty, that's the whole story!"
Rarely has the new emperor intervened in court affairs, so Zhuang Qingdi chose to go to Anle Palace to report in person.
"Knew!"
Behind the screen, the Empress Dowager responded weakly.
"Is there anything else?" the Empress Dowager asked.
"I would like to ask how to deal with this Grand Master of the Palace," Zhuang Qingdi inquired. "He seems to harbor some hostility towards me!"
"He is merely a Grand Master of the Palace with a rank equivalent to a thousand bushels of grain. No matter how hostile he may be, he cannot shake your position as one of the Three Dukes," said the Empress Dowager.
"Your subject understands!"
Zhuang Qingdi bowed and agreed.
Zhuang Qingdi understood some things, but he truly didn't understand why the Empress Dowager was so friendly to Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou, even speaking up for him.
With the Empress Dowager's words, unless Zhang Xuezhou wanted to bring down Zhuang Qingdi, Zhuang Qingdi couldn't possibly argue with Zhang Xuezhou.
In the end, he had no choice but to suppress his many thoughts and respectfully leave the main hall of Anle Palace.
"Master Li from Yunyi Daoist Temple has arrived!"
Just as Zhuang Qingdi stepped out of the main hall, he heard a shout from afar, and a eunuch relayed the message.
The normal notification procedure involves relaying the message through each level, reporting it, approving it, and then summoning the person.
But right now, the movement is proceeding smoothly without any delay, as if it's announcing its arrival.
This treatment was even more prestigious than the promotion of Zhuang Qingdi to "Geishazhong," and was almost equivalent to that of a friend.
As footsteps approached from afar, Zhuang Qingdi saw an elderly man with white hair leading a young female Daoist nun gracefully towards them. Zhuang Qingdi glanced at her, then quickly looked away, even slightly turning his body to signal for them to pass.
"Master Li, I'm hosting a dinner party at my home. Would you be so kind as to join me for a drink?"
If there's one noteworthy figure among the high-ranking officials of Chang'an City recently, Li Shaojun is undoubtedly one of them.
These were honored guests of Anle Palace, who frequently visited for banquets.
The fact that the other party was on good terms with the Empress Dowager undoubtedly attracted many high-ranking officials to befriend him.
Li Shaojun was seriously ill, but the other party had extraordinary eyesight, not only able to identify various types of ancient texts, but also had a research on antiquities.
Many prominent Lineage and Aristocratic Clan in Chang'an City possessed a collection of antiques, artifacts, and ancient books, some dating back a century, others several centuries.
Although the time span is only a short century, for the Great Han people of today, this period of time feels like several completely different eras, or even eras of different civilizations.
Before the Qin Dynasty unified China, there were more than ten major dynasties in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, and even earlier there were more than a hundred.
If we were to calculate back to the period of the Great Zhou's enfeoffment, there would be hundreds of dynasties.
Many dynasties lacked unified systems of writing, language, weights and measures, and instead developed their own territories.
This situation gradually led to the flourishing of various schools of thought, with many important ancient artifacts bearing different inscriptions and definitions. It became virtually impossible for later generations to refer to ancient documents using the inscriptions of the Great Han Dynasty.
People who are skilled in the study of antiquities are extremely rare.
Li Shaojun is undoubtedly one of them.
Although the other party could not identify everything, Li Shaojun identified quite a few things, especially the bronze inscriptions carved by Duke Huan of Qi, a powerful ruler of a great nation five hundred years ago, which the other party had identified in the royal court.
This inscription bears the mark of a cultivation method practiced by Duke Huan of Qi, which even greatly pleased the new emperor.
Identifying bamboo slips from various states over a hundred years ago is a difficult task, and Li Shaojun's ability to identify them across five hundred years has made him famous. Many Aristocratic Clan in Chang'an City are waiting to invite Li Shaojun to a banquet, where they can then collect items to admire together.
Upon meeting Li Shaojun, Zhuang Qingdi quickly extended an invitation.
"Since you are so kind, I will certainly pay you a visit in the future!"
Li Shaojun's indifferent voice came through, which made Zhuang Qingdi extremely happy.
No matter what, even though Zhuang Qingdi had already risen to the rank of one of the Three Dukes and reached the Sole Self Realm, he still harbored some ambition and yearned for the even higher Realm of the True Self Realm.
The cultivation of the True Self Realm is extremely difficult, so many people choose to refer to ancient methods.
Zhuang Qingdi undoubtedly wanted to try his luck and see if the things he had amassed over the years were of any use.
"What did you call me?"
Li Shaojun strolled by leisurely without stopping in front of Zhuang Qingdi. The female Daoist disciple beside Li Shaojun took out a bamboo slip to record the events.
"My name is Zhuang Qingdi, and I am the Imperial Censor. My home is only two miles outside the palace, so it's one of the closest to the palace!"
Zhuang Qingdi replied happily.
This made Cai Ma, who was acting as Li Shaojun's acolyte, nod. He casually wrote the character "dirty" on the bamboo slip and drew two circles to replace the characters "Qing Zhai" which he didn't know how to write, indicating that he had memorized them.
"I wonder what ancient script this Daoist master's disciple used to record things?"
Zhuang Qingdi tiptoed to take a look and found Cai Ma's record to be incredibly profound, as it used a single word and two circles to replace much of what he had said.
He recognized the character that Cai Ma had written crookedly, but Zhuang Qingdi felt that it was completely incomprehensible when explained in Great Han characters.
"If the disciple is so capable, then the master must be even more amazing! Daoist Master, you are truly remarkable!"
After Cai Ma quickly caught up with Li Shaojun, Zhuang Qingdi couldn't help but stop and watch for a while before shaking his head and leaving Anle Palace.
"How long can that official live?"
"He can live for at least another twenty years!"
He invited me to his house; can you find it?
"I'll only recognize him if he's standing at the door!"
As they approached the main gate of Anle Palace, Li Shaojun slightly turned his head, shedding his aloof demeanor, and couldn't help but ask Cai Ma a few more questions.
When the illiterate Cai Ma gave his answer, Li Shaojun realized that the banquet was ruined once again.
He and Cai Ma were strangers in the same place, so how could he know the official's surname, where he lived, whether he was willing to host a banquet for him, or whether he could arrive at the banquet in time?
Three months passed with many ups and downs. Li Shaojun was almost badly injured in Chang'an City because of these things. Even though there were many opportunities waiting for him to take advantage of, Li Shaojun participated in them several times.
This made him extremely sad, and he felt a deep longing for Zhang Xuezhou, that thoughtless mole.
"I don't know where that bastard went; he didn't even have time to help me stir things up!"
It's rare to become a member of high society, and it's also rare to have so many fools sharing their treasured collections with you.
Having gained the Empress Dowager's approval and settled down in Chang'an City, Li Shaojun felt that there were countless fortuitous opportunity waiting for him to seize, but he was in a situation where he was one person short.
As a person of high status, Li Shaojun must maintain his demeanor; he must arrive gracefully and depart gracefully, without any loss of image, and certainly not humbly ask others for advice.
He only needed to figure out who invited him to the banquet, when, and where they lived, but he couldn't handle this seemingly simple matter. As for Cai Ma, who was good at getting lost, let's not even talk about him; anyway, his success rate in getting things done was not high.
In the past, Li Shaojun felt that Zhang Xuezhou's absence wouldn't be a problem, but now she misses him terribly and feels that she can't live without him.