A visit

The Zhang residence is far from the palace, and even at night without traffic jams, it still takes quite a while to get there.

"His Majesty..."

"Guard Mao, you called me by the wrong name! This is punishable by a fine of one thousand bushels of grain!"

"My lord, you previously stated that you would not leave the palace without permission for six months. Surely you cannot go back on your word?"

"Yes, I don't leave the palace casually, but I didn't say I wouldn't leave the palace. I'm intentionally leaving now!"

"What?"

Li Guang was in charge of the first leg of the journey when the new emperor left the palace, while Wei Qing was in charge of the second leg.

The job Li Guang least wanted to do was escort the new emperor out of the palace. He already had a headache guarding Weiyang Palace, and taking the new emperor out of the palace would be even more of a headache.

The previous night raid by Gongsun Gui had left a deep impression on Li Guang, and Li Guang did not want to encounter a second Gongsun Gui.

"Gongsun Gui and his remnants left State of Liang and entered Minyue, attempting to rely on this small state to continuously erode and develop, and then coordinate with State of Liang and externally to gain a foothold and thus wreak havoc on the Great Han. However, their whereabouts were exposed, and things were no longer in their hands!"

Li Guang was clearly unwilling for the new emperor to risk leaving the palace at night, so the new emperor had to speak up to persuade him.

"Gongsun Gui's night raid caused trouble, but it also allowed us to uncover a venomous snake lurking within the Great Han Dynasty," the new emperor said. "Slaying this fiend is a meritorious act, so why is Guard Mao so worried?"

"That's true, but it's so late..."

"Where there is danger, there is bound to be gain. If I am destined to die in Chang'an City, it would not be surprising if I were to die in the palace. There is no escaping it no matter where I live!"

"But..."

"You've been fighting for over twenty years, why be so indecisive!"

The new emperor's reprimand left the taciturn Li Guang feeling sullen, so he could only sit in front of the carriage and crack the whip.

"The Empress Dowager is obsessed with Physiognomy Technique; some things are obtained through fortune-telling. Your Majesty should not believe them entirely!"

Seemingly unable to contain himself, or perhaps because the Empress Dowager had entered Weiyang Palace that night, or perhaps because he believed that the new emperor's departure from the palace was inextricably linked to the Empress Dowager, Li Guang remained silent for a while before muttering a sentence in a low voice.

"Cicada!"

The new emperor gave a brief reply.

Clearly, Li Guang either sensed something, or Li Guang already knew some information, thus giving a very cryptic hint.

A few years ago, the new emperor would have simply laughed off such reminders, but now that Emperor Jing was entrusting him with many matters on his deathbed, the new emperor could glean certain information from these seemingly insignificant words.

Just as the various schools of thought in the Hundred Schools of Thought constructed many traditions in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, the Great Han Dynasty royal family was also a gathering place for all sorts of strange and wicked people, with many approaching the center of this ruling dynasty with various motives.

Whether it was to gain royal benefits, to control the Great Han Dynasty as they had once controlled the Zhou Dynasty, to seize the opportunity to cause enough chaos to once again raise the question of "Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?", or something else, these all constituted the various complex situations of the Great Han Dynasty.

Without delving into it, one might only perceive the Great Han Dynasty as peaceful and prosperous. But once the new emperor sits on the throne, he realizes just how many complex matters in such a vast country require management.

A single move can have far-reaching consequences; acting rashly without maintaining balance can lead to irreversible results.

For example, Emperor Jing was cautious and careful his whole life, but he only made one mistake in Lingnan, and this mistake also buried Emperor Jing in the abyss.

It was through this incident that the relationship between Emperor Jing and the new emperor reached an extremely close level, allowing Emperor Jing's influence on the new emperor to surpass that of the Empress Dowager.

"Wei Qing, mount your horse quickly! You know the way to Dongfang Shuo's house, so hurry and travel through the night!"

"Why are we going to Dongfang Shuo's house again?"

Upon entering the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, the coachman who had been driving the horses was easily replaced by Wei Qing, while Li Guang served as a guard stationed on one side of the carriage for protection.

Upon hearing the new emperor clarify the destination, Li Guang felt a headache coming on.

He remembered very clearly that the new emperor had previously made a trip to Old Tree Alley, and then went to find Sima Xiangru on the way back, which triggered Gongsun Gui's pursuit.

Retracing his steps at this moment filled Li Guang with a sense of foreboding, as if many things were repeating themselves endlessly.

Wei Qing took the whip without asking any questions, raised it, and spurred his horse forward at full speed. Li Guang, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Dongfang Shuo mentioned at the court meeting today that he wanted to change the court attire. I suddenly remembered that the court attire should be more imposing, and I couldn't help but want to say something about it," the new emperor casually remarked.

"Shouldn't it be alright to summon him to the palace for something like this?"

"I can't wait a second longer. I have to talk to him about it tonight. I won't be able to sleep until we have a clear explanation!"

The new emperor uttered a single word, decisively silencing Li Guang.

Wei Qing was not fond of asking many questions, and Li Guang was not eloquent when he did ask, making it difficult for him to be as articulate as a civil official, and he could easily give perfunctory answers.

Emperor Jing's decision to appoint Li Guang as the head of the guards at the Weiyang Palace was clearly a wise one. This ensured that the new emperor would not be constrained and that he would be protected by a powerful military force.

Anyone else would either be more eloquent than Li Guang, making the new emperor uncomfortable, or weaker in strength, making it difficult to adequately protect the new emperor.

Of course, Emperor Jing's arrangement also had its oversights. He did not expect that Emperor Jing Empress Dowager would take away Li Guang's Heaven-Shaking Arrow, which would reduce a top expert like Li Guang to a mere amateur.

"Dongfang Shuo has invited a decent cultivator as a guest. Once you enter the house, don't cause any trouble!"

Thinking of the powerful cultivator in Zhang Xuezhou's residence, the new emperor couldn't help but instruct Li Guang not to make rash judgments and provoke hostility.

"As long as no one hurts you, I certainly won't do anything reckless," Li Guang said, shaking his head.

"Even if there are some minor problems, you are not allowed to act recklessly," the new emperor emphasized again.

"I won't do anything reckless!"

The new emperor had to repeatedly give instructions.

Top-tier cultivators are all exceptional geniuses, possessing the strength to be arrogant. If they are not bound by the interests of the Great Han Dynasty, they are like an uncontrollable nuclear bomb, easily igniting their own destruction if not handled properly.

Having gained the approval of the Empress Dowager and arranged for Princess Dou to visit him, the new emperor did not feel that his instructions were superfluous, and he also wanted to avoid any factors that could cause problems as much as possible.

"Archers are the quickest to sense hostility and are the easiest to direct an attack from. If Your Excellency is worried that Guard Mao might lose control, you should remove the arrows beforehand!"

Wei Qing, who was sitting at the front of the car, listened for a while and then proposed the simplest solution.

Without a second thought, the new emperor immediately demanded the quiver from Li Guang.

"What kind of nonsense is this? How can this be? An archer who has his arrows taken away can no longer be called an archer! How am I supposed to protect people now? My abilities are completely useless!"

Aside from Li Guang being extremely dissatisfied, muttering incessantly the whole way, and occasionally getting up to look around warily, there was nothing else.

"Give me two arrows, or even just one, I really can't draw an empty bow..."

Li Guang muttered to himself for a long time on the way, until the carriage entered Laoshu Hutong and kept getting closer to the familiar courtyard, when Li Guang's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The hill where the tiger hides doesn't require you to stand next to the tiger; simply entering the hill will make you feel the fear it evokes.

The same applies to high-ranking monks.

There was no need for Li Guang to enter Zhang's residence and confront the other party face to face; he knew very well what kind of powerful cultivator had come to Zhang's residence.

As one of their kind, he knew this aura all too well.

From the moment he approached the house, Li Guang felt as if a pair of eyes were fixed on the carriage. This made him quickly grab his bow, but the emptiness of having no arrows filled him, and Li Guang had to quickly retract his habitual action of drawing the bow and nocking the arrow.

Only when Wei Qing went to knock on the door did those scrutinizing eyes retract.