Seeking Help

"Zifu, did you hear what I said to the Empress Dowager?"

"Your Majesty, I did not hear anything!"

In the boudoir, the Empress Dowager seemed to have a great weight lifted from her shoulders before hastily departing.

The new emperor respectfully escorted the Empress Dowager back to her quarters, and a slight change appeared in his eyes.

"My mother told me that some people are caught in the middle and have no choice in the matter; some are wicked and will go down a path without looking back; some yearn for the bright moon but are bound by it and struggle to escape; and some choose to rebel, only to die without a burial place!"

Seeing Wei Zifu standing obediently in the boudoir, maintaining proper etiquette, the new emperor couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"If we were in such a situation, how would we get out of it?" the new emperor asked.

"Your Majesty is the supreme ruler of the Great Han Dynasty, how could such a thing happen to you?"

Wei Zifu asked in confusion, seemingly puzzled by the new emperor's question.

Empress Wei Zifu was clearly even less likely to come up with an answer to such an impossible event.

This was completely different from the situation when the new emperor questioned Zhang Xuezhou. No matter how the new emperor asked, Zhang Xuezhou would give a suitable answer, while Wei Zifu chose not to understand from the very beginning of the question, let alone give an answer that would satisfy the new emperor.

"What if that person wasn't me, but you?" the new emperor asked with a smile.

"I?"

Wei Zifu's face turned pale, and a hint of fear appeared in her eyes.

Emperors held the power of life and death; a single word could decide a person's fate. Throughout history, it was not uncommon for emperors to be tender and affectionate one moment and have their heads rolled the next.

Wei Zifu was not immediately aware of the new emperor's question, but when he steered the conversation toward herself, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

"If that person is me, I will sincerely beg Your Majesty for help!"

Wei Zifu's heart pounded, and a light sweat broke out on her forehead. With a sudden burst of inspiration, she quickly answered the question.

Her answer made the new emperor frown slightly, and then he fell into deep thought.

Wei Zifu could appeal to the new emperor, but the new emperor had almost no one to turn to for help.

Wei Zifu answered the question, but when the new emperor applied that answer to himself, he felt that there were very few people around him he could turn to.

The Empress Dowager, who had controlled three generations of the Han Dynasty, was a trustworthy person. The new emperor did not know what secrets the Empress Dowager had hidden in the past, but she was indeed the person Emperor Jing had designated as the most trustworthy.

Excluding the Empress Dowager's past disagreements with the new emperor becoming the master of the Great Han Dynasty, there was no conflict between the new emperor and the Empress Dowager.

The Crimson Sword incident legitimized the new emperor's rule, and the Empress Dowager no longer harbored any ulterior motives.

The only problem was that while the Empress Dowager was trustworthy, she couldn't support the new emperor for long, as he was plagued by illness and it was uncertain how long he could last. This was something that everyone at the top of the royal family knew.

If the Empress Dowager were to fall, whether the Great Han imperial family could withstand this storm would have been an uncertain answer in the past.

Through tonight's conversation, the new emperor clearly understood that the scales had once again tipped in their favor.

The conversation wasn't very long, but the new emperor understood the Empress Dowager's bias.

His mother was not included in the list of trusted individuals that Emperor Jing entrusted to the new emperor, which was undoubtedly an unbelievable thing for the new emperor at the time.

Emperor Jing did not say it explicitly, but a seed was planted in the heart of the new emperor, and he gradually began to pay attention to some ordinary and inconspicuous things.

"If Mother favors me, she will surely shield me from the knives of evil people!"

If he were merely a prince, the new emperor believed his mother might cause trouble, just like the restless Prince Liang, Prince Huaian, Prince Jiangxia, and Prince Huaiyang. Even if she appeared extremely humble on the surface, it was hard to know what she was up to behind the scenes.

Having become the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, no amount of scheming could compare to this direct ascension to the throne.

Perhaps the Empress Dowager's original goal was only to wreak havoc on the Great Han imperial family, but after all that chaos, her own son ended up becoming the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty. This unexpected turn of events completely exceeded her expectations.

This led to a significant change in the Empress Dowager's mindset, and may even have triggered her defection.

No matter what, he was the Empress Dowager's son, and their mother-son relationship would be much closer than any other relationship.

"I still need to find someone to help me. My mother said that the Empress Dowager found a top-tier cultivator in Dongfang Shuo's residence. Even if such a cultivator doesn't join the Great Han Dynasty to support me, if he can just do me a few favors, I'll definitely be able to overcome this difficulty!"

Those within the family know their own affairs; the Crimson Sky Sword, which seems miraculous to others, is something the new emperor truly does not possess.

The fake Crimson Sky Sword could not possibly help the new emperor, much less allow the new emperor, who was at the Divine Ability Realm, to secure his throne.

If one truly wants to secure their throne, Sole Self Realm is the true foundation.

This is also why the new emperor did not inform the Empress Dowager of his cultivation level.

Of those he revealed the information to, only his trusted confidant Wei Qing, who was in charge of the martial arts sparring, was the first to know. Then Zhang Xuezhou, who presented the Tai-level Six Talisman, learned of the news. Apart from that, no one else knew that he had already entered the Divine Ability Realm.

The new emperor needs time, time for others to believe he is attempting to break through to the Divine Ability Realm, when in reality he is moving towards the Sole Self Realm.

He needs help from others to get through this awkward and difficult phase.

This involves the Empress Dowager, Li Guang, Cheng Bushi, and then the Empress Dowager herself, and may later involve the Grand Master at Zhang Xuezhou's residence.

If there were more people like this, he might be able to use them at some point.

"If only we had more talents like Dongfang Shuo!"

Among the new emperor's many confidants, there are many who are young and loyal, but few who possess special abilities, and to this day, few can stand alone.

Wei Qing was beginning to show his talent, while Zhang Xuezhou was working in complete secrecy, keeping even the new emperor in the dark.

Wei Qing's loyalty was evident, and he was further bound to Wei Qing through his Lineage connections. Zhang Xuezhou, on the other hand, had the advantage of being physically ill, which made the new emperor less wary of him. Even if Zhang Xuezhou went a little too far, the new emperor felt he could accept it.

The new emperor favored loyal, capable, and unambitious ministers like Wei Qing, and he also liked ministers like Zhang Xuezhou who were easy to manage and capable of getting things done.

The former would allow him to build a solid foundation, while the latter would ensure that everything he did was within a controllable range, and there would be no possibility of him plotting against the Great Han Dynasty.

Wei Qing was currently limited in the scope of his abilities, while Zhang Xuezhou had no such scruples. The other party was even bold enough to provoke Zhuang Qingdi, which made Zhuang Qingdi have no intention of objecting.

Zhang Xuezhou's time at the court assembly was not long, but it was indeed the first time the new emperor had seen his own people, leaving a group of veteran officials helpless and forcing them to comply with the relevant regulations.

If this happened more often, the new emperor felt he would be absolutely delighted.

Meanwhile, a highly accomplished cultivator recognized by the Empress Dowager has also arrived at the other party's home, and Princess Dou and others will pay their respects tomorrow.

"Oh no, he'll be unconscious tonight, and I don't know if we'll make it in time!"

The new emperor couldn't help but do some calculations on his fingers.

Compared to Dou Taizhu and others visiting and trying to win over this great cultivator, it was clearly more appropriate for him to visit on his own. He could also truly understand the other party's intentions through Zhang Xuezhou, and he had a higher chance of forming a friendship with him than Dou Taizhu and others.

He patted Wei Zifu on the shoulder, indicating that she could rest, and then strode out of the boudoir quickly.