Fortune Technique Practitioners

Zhang Xuezhou's reason for wanting to see the new emperor was simple: he wanted to seek an opportunity to manipulate the flow of fortune, thereby revealing his form under the influence of the fortune-telling technique and thus understanding the situation after his battle with Huang Daoxian.

The one defeated in the battle was not Huang Daoxian himself; he believed that the conflict with Huang Daoxian was not over.

Perhaps the moment he returns to reality and awakens will mark the beginning of another battle.

Even after returning to this world, Zhang Xuezhou's thoughts remained preoccupied with how to quell Huang Daoxian's rebellion.

After waking up, Zhang Xuezhou's various experiences made him realize the strangeness of his destiny, and he also wanted to figure out his condition as soon as possible.

As usual, after some rambling and nonsense, the relationship between Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor became more natural.

"Your nonsense about gender equality has really ruined me," the new emperor said, rubbing his head.

"That was nonsense," Zhang Xuezhou said.

But some women actually believed it!

The new emperor also found it inconvenient to discuss official business at the residence of Wei Shao'er and the others.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou admit that he had talked nonsense, he stopped talking briefly and couldn't say anything else for the time being.

In short, Zhang Xuezhou was jumping around in the court, and all his words and actions were aimed at a large group of people, and this time he even affected the new emperor.

If he were a court official, the new emperor felt he should at least impeach Zhang Xuezhou for "spreading heresies and misleading the public."

However, in the imperial court, Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi remained silent. While many ministers discussed the matter, no one stepped forward to impeach Zhang Xuezhou.

It seemed as if only a trigger was needed for many court officials to jump out and criticize Zhang Xuezhou.

But Zhang Xuezhou got stuck at the crucial point.

Of course, if Zhang Xuezhou could endure for a few years and remain unaffected by the political upheavals, the new emperor would find the position of Grand Master of the Palace quite acceptable.

He dismissed Zhang Xuezhou, indicating that these matters could be discussed again tomorrow.

After spending half an hour in Wei Shao'er's residence, the new emperor saw Huo Qubing start to have a runny nose and doze off, so he immediately stood up.

"Go to bed early and get up early; children need more sleep to grow faster!"

The new emperor gave him some instructions, and Huo Qubing responded with a grunt. Wei Qing then lifted Huo Qubing up.

After a brief struggle, before Wei Qing could even throw him back onto the bed, Huo Qubing had already fallen asleep.

"I'll come earlier next time to see the patient!"

The new emperor gestured to Wei Shao'er, then stepped out the door.

He pointed at Li Guang, then gestured to Sang Hongyang and Han Yan, and finally looked at Zhang Xuezhou.

"Come on, let's go to sleep together," the new emperor beckoned.

"Sleep together?"

Zhang Xuezhou responded with a surprised sound, but he did not refuse. After all, he was going to stay somewhere anyway, and being closer to the new emperor was obviously better for him.

"Women have a stronger Yin Qi, and sleeping with women for a long time can easily deplete yang energy. In such cases, men need to sleep together to allow yang energy to rise and the body to recover," the new emperor said as he walked. "Your school of Yin-Yang School is very skilled in the harmony between men and women. Is there such a saying?"

"I haven't studied this, but I think this statement makes a lot of sense!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, quickly agreeing with the new emperor's theory.

"I've heard that the Yin-Yang School split into the Nine People Sect and the Nine Heavens Sect. This division arose from the awareness of the conflict between Yin and Yang," Han Yan said with a smile. "A hundred years ago, Brother Dongfang might have heard of this, but now that the division has lasted so long, such a claim is hard to accept, let alone one involving matters of men and women!"

"So that's how it is!"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise.

"It's understandable that we younger folks are still single, but Brother Dongfang is the oldest. I wonder what the reason is?" Han Yan asked with a smile.

"Brother Dongfang must have some hidden health problem that's hard to talk about, making it difficult for him to find a suitable woman from a respectable family to marry him," Sang Hongyang interjected.

"Then you should have children sooner to prevent the hidden illness from developing into a serious disease," Han Yan advised.

"Brother Han is right," Zhang Xuezhou chimed in. "I recently attended a banquet at the King of Huainan's Household and acquired a woman. In a few months, my child should be born!"

"So fast?"

The new emperor exclaimed in surprise, and even Li Guang, who was guarding nearby, turned around in slight astonishment.

"I heard you are extremely skilled at divination. Did you display your abilities at the banquet in the Prince's mansion and defeat Liu Ling?" Han Yan asked with great interest.

That's about right!

Zhang Xuezhou gave a vague response, which drew whistles and sighs from the crowd. The laughter only stopped when the sheep-drawn carriage stopped in the main hall area of the Marquis's residence.

The Marquis of Pingyang's bedroom was different from that of ordinary people. While ordinary people's beds could only accommodate two or three people, the Marquis of Pingyang's bedroom was spacious, with an extremely large bed.

As the light shone, Zhang Xuezhou saw that the entire room was filled with colorful light reflecting everywhere.

"This bed is made of tortoiseshell, and the entire bed is made of 108 pieces of tortoiseshell cut and assembled. It is large enough to accommodate 20 people," the new emperor said.

"Tortoiseshell is a symbol of longevity," Han Yan said. "This bed is not only warm in winter and cool in summer, but it also has the effect of prolonging life and preventing aging!"

"The Marquis of Pingyang is nearly sixty years old, but he looks only in his thirties. This bed is partly to his advantage," Sang Hongyang said happily. "It is our good fortune to be able to sleep on such a bed with His Majesty!"

"Wonderful!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a thumbs-up.

Aside from the fact that tortoiseshell beds have the effects of prolonging life and slowing down aging, these beds are at least large enough.

This was quite different from what Zhang Xuezhou had imagined—several men sleeping together in cramped conditions. He felt much more comfortable getting through the night.

To cut to the chase, once the new emperor had taken off his clothes, he took the lead and lay down in the center. Then everyone else took off their clothes and found a place to lie down.

"This bed seems to have a calming effect; no wonder His Majesty likes to sleep here!"

Everyone fell asleep very quickly in bed; within just a few minutes, the sounds of them fast asleep could be heard.

Zhang Xuezhou was so energetic that he couldn't sleep, but he still lay down on the tortoiseshell bed.

He glanced at the new emperor several times, then looked at Li Guang's silhouette illuminated by the lamplight.

"I wonder if Li Guang possessed any related sensory abilities!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't dare to recklessly try to use the new emperor's influence to stimulate the movement.

He lay on his side on the bed, waiting for Li Guang to rest and recuperate.

Time passed slowly. Zhang Xuezhou only heard Li Guang yawn outside the door, followed by a cracking sound of bones, and the body of the guard disappeared into the light.

It was probably already past midnight or the third watch of the night.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that Li Guang, that troublesome fellow, had finally rested. He waited a moment, intending to use the new emperor's guidance to adjust and promote the technique, to see if he could enter the technique's state. Just then, he saw Han Yan, who had been sleeping, suddenly get up.

"True Lord for help! I only wish to follow Your Majesty into this realm of Divine Ability!"

Han Yan murmured something in a low voice, then, as if in prayer, slowly turned to recitation, leaning closer and closer to the new emperor's body.

"It's actually similar to the content of 'Zaiyou,' where Han Yan is using His Majesty's body to cultivate his spiritual arts. It seems that he can use His Majesty's power to propel himself to as high a level as His Majesty can cultivate!"

After listening for a while, Zhang Xuezhou felt that what Han Yan recited was somewhat different from "Zaiyou," but he had been practicing cultivation techniques for many years, so how could he not recognize Han Yan's cultivation?

He was still trying to get close to the new emperor by virtue of his position as a "governor," while Han Yan had been by the new emperor's side for nearly ten years, not only as his study companion in his youth, but also often sleeping and waking up together.

Zhang Xuezhou had heard of the complex power dynamics within the palace, but after his own experience, he felt it was nothing more than a struggle between different schools of thought, and a power struggle among factions such as the Empress Dowager.

It wasn't until Han Yan, who had been with the new emperor for nearly ten years, used the emperor's magic to cultivate his fortune that Zhang Xuezhou realized the unpredictability of human nature, and that the complexities involved were no less than Huang Daoxian's century-long scheme.