Inside the Palace of Eternal Faith

"Absurd!"

Having finally managed to assemble a court of officials under his command, only to have them sidelined, how could the new emperor not seize such an opportunity?

He couldn't persuade the Empress Dowager, who was behaving strangely, but the new emperor made a trip to Changxin Palace.

Inside Changxin Palace, the Empress Dowager spoke repeatedly, issuing rebukes.

"The young are absurd, the old are absurd, this court is hardly a respectable place!"

Instead of discussing important national affairs, they arrested and impeached someone for urinating in public. The Empress Dowager felt that the court was utterly rotten and the officials' quality was seriously questionable.

If the country relies on these people to govern, things will only get worse.

"Your Majesty, I am concerned that there are too many pedantic people in the court. Should we invite some truly capable people to take up positions?" the new emperor asked respectfully.

"Oh?" The Empress Dowager frowned for a few seconds before asking, "Who does Your Majesty consider talented?"

"Marquis of Wu'an Tian Fen, is humble and kind, and he listens to others' advice. He is also my maternal uncle. I think Marquis of Wu'an is capable of shouldering important responsibilities," the new emperor said, pursing his lips.

"It's a good thing that His Majesty is thinking of his own maternal uncle!"

The Empress Dowager nodded in approval, but a hint of hesitation appeared on her face.

"Does Your Majesty have anyone else to recommend?" the Empress Dowager asked. "Your uncle can't hold up the reins alone; I'm afraid he won't be able to maintain his position in the court!"

"Even with the support of the Weiyang Palace and Changxin Palace, can Uncle not stand firm?" the new emperor asked.

"What we need is a complete victory and a firm foothold, not infighting and back-and-forth squeezing each other out. That kind of situation is detrimental to the Great Han in every way," said the Empress Dowager.

"Han Anguo, the Commandant of the Northern Regions, is very powerful and has no factional support in the court. He can cooperate with my uncle," the new emperor recommended.

"I've heard of this Han Anguo!"

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds before opening them.

"He is at the Sole Self Realm of cultivation, specializing in armor techniques. Although he primarily uses Technique Method, he can fight like a martial artist, unafraid of clashes between literary and martial arts. He is a rare talent among cultivators," the Empress Dowager said. "Moreover, he is extremely wealthy, with at least ninety million coins. The source of this wealth is illicit. If he intends to use evil to combat evil, he still has some merit and is capable of fulfilling the position of Imperial Censor held by Zhuang Qingdi!"

The Empress Dowager recounted Han Anguo's background as if it were her own treasure, even specifying his assets and the positions he was qualified for.

The new emperor felt a slight tremor in his heart upon hearing this.

Even though Han Anguo surrendered to the new emperor, the new emperor did not have as comprehensive information as the Empress Dowager.

As Emperor Jing's wife, the Empress Dowager of Changxin Palace, like Emperor Jing, was both deeply cunning and possessed the ability to deliver a fatal blow.

The Anle Palace arranged for Princess Dou to be the successor, but the Empress Dowager was only inferior to the Grand Empress Dowager, not to Princess Dou, and her management over the years had its own unique characteristics.

"Why don't you consider Dou Ying?" the Empress Dowager asked. "Dou Ying is second only to Zhou Yafu in terms of talent in the court!"

"Dou Ying is also very good," the new emperor nodded, "I chose Dou Ying as prime minister when I first ascended the throne, but he didn't establish himself firmly and didn't provide me with any help!"

In the past, Dou Ying Dou Ying not contend with Anle Palace, but now he does have the opportunity to do so. However, the new emperor does not want to give him another chance, but instead gives this opportunity to Han Anguo.

The Empress Dowager's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes were deep and thoughtful, clearly indicating that she was constantly thinking and calculating.

"I am aware of this matter, Your Majesty, can you rest assured?" The Empress Dowager finally said, "Even if there is a change in the court, even if all the officials, high and low, are replaced, the court will not fall!"

"With Mother's support, I can rest assured!"

The new emperor's heart skipped a beat.

Clearly, compared to the new emperor cultivating loyal officials around him, the Empress Dowager's faction had already made various arrangements for their own people.

Perhaps due to Emperor Jing's style, the people placed by the Empress Dowager did not make a fuss.

Even if all the people in the court were replaced, the Empress Dowager and her people would still be able to handle all the affairs of the court.

"You... Your Majesty doesn't need to care about this absurd farce. The people you arranged to oust have been removed, but Your Majesty can always promote them back in the future!"

After finishing his accusations, the new emperor, having paid his respects, prepared to take his leave.

As he was leaving Changxin Palace, the Empress Dowager hesitated for a few seconds and couldn't help but give him another word of advice.

"But let's forget about Dongfang Shuo," the Empress Dowager said. "It's not unjust for someone like him to be sidelined!"

"Why!"

The new emperor bowed his head and responded.

He originally intended to use Zhang Xuezhou as a benchmark so that other officials could compare themselves to and it would be easier to remove some officials from their positions. He never expected that this would cause such a commotion.

No matter how outrageous an official in the imperial court might be, it's impossible for them to urinate in the Qilin Pavilion like Zhang Xuezhou and thus be stripped of their official position.

The new emperor was immediately annoyed by the situation.

But after complaining at Changxin Palace, his passionate heart quickly cooled down.

Clearly, even if the new emperor gets past the Empress Dowager, he still has the Empress Dowager above him.

If he rushes to arrange everything, it will most likely lead to a conflict with the Empress Dowager.

Things were bad, but there was also a certain coincidence.

The Empress Dowager, who usually disliked participating in court affairs, even said, "Even if all the officials, big and small, were rotated, the court would not fall," which overlapped with Emperor Jing's previous entrustment.

The new emperor bowed respectfully and then withdrew from Changxin Palace.

"The Empress Dowager's life force has passed away; her health must truly be failing!"

After the new emperor took his leave and dismissed the eunuchs and palace maids around him, the Empress Dowager pondered deeply, a hint of fear that had previously been hidden appearing on her face.

"She actually thought about killing me!"

The Empress Dowager felt an overwhelming fear whenever she thought of that raging fire.

Like someone who had survived a catastrophe, she still feels a chill whenever she thinks about what happened.

That was an object beyond her control, possessing striking power ten times greater than her own.

The only saving grace was that the raging flames didn't last long, and they moved a little further away from her, dissipating before they could engulf her body.

Watching helplessly as she was about to be suppressed, and then watching the Empress Dowager's life force dissipate as she exerted the suppression, was a feeling that was hard for the Empress Dowager to describe.

If the body's energy system fails, the physical body will inevitably not last.

If the former Empress Dowager was a sick tiger, still retaining the power to suppress others, the current Empress Dowager, having lost her strength, is no longer a threat.

She spoke a lot today, and her style was different from usual, which has its own reasons.

"That old bastard has been controlling the late emperor for decades. Now that he's bedridden and can't move, he still wants to use his magic to pull me away. If it weren't for having a master like Li Shaojun to oversee Anle Palace, I would definitely demand justice today!"

The Empress Dowager cursed.

But her gaze did not fall on Anle Palace with any ease.

The Empress Dowager was dying, but the people she had invited were there to help maintain order at Anle Palace.

It wasn't a long time, only two months.

This time marks the beginning of Li Shaojun's disappearance from Yunyi Daoist Temple after he went into seclusion for cultivation, and also the beginning of the emergence of the True Self Realm cultivators and the soaring purple qi aura in Anle Palace.

The overlap between the two situations made it difficult for the Empress Dowager not to think that the person in charge of Anle Palace was Li Shaojun.

"This Young Master Li was originally recommended to His Majesty, but Anle Palace snatched him away. There are very few people who can associate with him. Speaking of which, Young Master Li was recommended by Dongfang Shuo. If we could prevent Young Master Li from interfering in Anle Palace's affairs..."

The Empress Dowager read it a few times, feeling that she found it difficult to associate with 'Young Master Li' who was in charge of Anle Palace, and that there were very few people she could truly associate with.

After much deliberation, she finally had to bring up the young, absurd official who was able to associate with Li Shaojun.