The Capable Shoulder More Work

When the Empress Dowager passed away, officials only needed to participate in the sacrificial rites and mourning activities on time during the mourning period; they did not need to stay at Anle Palace indefinitely.

As I walked out of the palace, the bells of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were already ringing, and I could faintly hear the sounds of chanting and reciting scriptures.

Zhang Xuezhou glanced back at the palace, then paid for a carriage.

"Lord Dongfang!"

"Lord Zhuang!"

The carriages moved along the street in an orderly fashion. When the sound of carriages and horses chasing after them came from behind, Zhang Xuezhou had just peeked out when he saw Zhuang Qingdi also taking off the curtain of his carriage and looking at him.

The Imperial City District was filled with high-ranking officials and nobles, but it was not difficult to distinguish the carriage that Zhang Xuezhou was traveling in, since his journey was extremely long. With careful observation and a thorough search, they could find it accurately.

Zhuang Qingdi cupped his hands in greeting, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"Please trouble Lord Chang'an Li near you," Zhang Xuezhou quickly communicated. "Master Li's Law Treasure, the Long Sleeve, is not yet fully refined; we may need to make some extra preparations this time!"

"Good!"

Zhuang Qingdi nodded heavily.

The bad news was that his guess was correct; the Law Treasure cloth did not turn into Law Treasure.

The good news is that the arrangements have not changed, and even though the Empress Dowager's funeral is approaching soon, Li Shaojun has accepted the invitation.

Don't even mention placing two positions next to you; even if you need ten or eight positions, you should still be able to accommodate them.

"Master Li usually resides in the rear hall of Anle Palace. You can go see him at midnight tonight!"

Thank you!

Having obtained the contact information, Zhuang Qingdi felt much more at ease.

He called to the coachman to turn the carriage around.

He only has fifteen days left. If he can survive these fifteen days, he can decisively withdraw from the Anle Palace camp and extricate himself from this mess.

Whether someone comes to spy on us or not, it doesn't matter.

He and Xu Chang tacitly agreed to the simplest funeral arrangements, and shortened the time to the bare minimum.

If he were to suffer misfortune under these circumstances, Zhuang Qingdi felt that it was simply his fate.

"The Nine Dragon Cauldron? The Nine Cauldrons? It's one thing for Dao Lord and Nine Spirits Primal Sage to come, but how did the Immortal Court find out about this? And how is it related to the Nine Dragon Cauldron, this Pill Furnace?"

Zhuang Qingdi was very tense, and Zhang Xuezhou wasn't much better off.

Things went far beyond his expectations, and the opponents were not the group Zhang Xuezhou had hoped to see.

Even Divine Lord Zhenyuan had to keep his distance; Zhang Xuezhou simply couldn't get involved in a confrontation of this level.

"Could the Nine Dragon Cauldrons truly be related to the Nine Cauldrons?"

In Zhang Xuezhou's understanding, Daojun was extremely aloof and arrogant. Such a person would disdain lying, and the information he obtained would inevitably be the latest and most accurate.

Thinking of the Qingzhou Cauldron that almost killed him, Zhang Xuezhou felt that finding the Nine Cauldrons wasn't such a big deal after all.

"One Qingzhou Cauldron was enough to leave Your Majesty helpless. How would you handle eight more cauldrons? Wouldn't you die eight times over? And then what?"

The Nine Tripods of Yu the Great nurtured fortune; the fortune within the Yuzhou Tripod could wash away bad luck; and the Qingzhou Tripod, like a sacred sacrificial vessel, helped Zhang Xuezhou's physical growth when its contents were poured out.

But Zhang Xuezhou never had any intention of seeking the Nine Tripods.

The reason is simple: the risk involved is higher than the potential gains.

His Majesty's goal was never the Nine Tripods, but rather to find the tomb of the Emperor Qin.

"How did things take such a turn, especially with the Nine Dragon Cauldron?"

He couldn't figure it out for the time being, nor did he know how the Immortal Court had gotten involved, but Li Shaojun needed to get to work.

As night deepened, it was nearly the end of the Xu hour (7-9 PM) before Zhang Xuezhou returned home.

"Zhuang Qingdi gave you another thousand taels of gold?"

A sour voice came from behind him, and Zhang Xuezhou knew without guessing that it was Li Shaojun.

"This money is borrowed; whether you can get the transfer deed from the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant depends on you!"

Without A-Qiao's treatment, the Zhang residence was quiet tonight. Zhang Xuezhou was also awake, and Zhang Zhong and Lady Yourong were finally able to get a good night's sleep.

Li Shaojun, who had not gained any insights or benefits from the Law Treasure cloth, waited in his study.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou, Li Shaojun pointed to the small iron box placed in the study.

The space occupied by a thousand taels of gold was not large; ten gold ingots lay in a small, square iron box.

Just as readily the new emperor handed over the key, the gold was delivered to the Zhang residence very quickly.

As a bonus for keeping an eye on Emperor Dou, Zhang Xuezhou was quite satisfied with the money. Although it was borrowed from the new emperor, Zhang Xuezhou never thought of repaying it.

He quickly took stock of everything, intending to settle the matter with Zhuang Qingdi and then transfer the sales contract to the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant.

"Can you arrange it?" Li Shaojun asked.

"It's all guaranteed," Zhang Xuezhou assured, patting his chest. "And we have another good thing to do this time!"

"Good news?" Li Shaojun asked doubtfully.

"The rules at Anle Palace are in complete disarray, which gives us a chance to get up close and personal with the Nine Dragon Cauldron," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I think this is an excellent opportunity for alchemy!"

"Zhenyuan is already at Anle Palace, so we're not in a hurry to refine pills, are we?" Li Shaojun said.

"He was a guest of the Empress Dowager, but he was not a guest of the Empress Dowager. Do you understand what I mean?"

"That little Dou actually failed to defend Anle Palace? She's so incompetent!"

With the passing of the Empress Dowager of Anle Palace, Princess Dou was unable to hold Anle Palace together amidst internal strife and was forcibly expelled from the main hall of Anle Palace by the Empress Dowager on the first day of the funeral.

This means that Divine Lord Zhenyuan's network of connections has been severed, and it also means that the time that everyone can access the Nine Dragon Cauldron is extremely limited.

Li Shaojun hadn't been in a hurry before, but after Zhang Xuezhou's brief explanation, he couldn't help but become anxious.

"I have to help Zhuang Qingdi with the funeral arrangements and security, and I also have to refine pills. How can I possibly manage so many things?" Li Shaojun said anxiously, "Do you think refining pills is just about throwing things in?"

"You make it sound like you're really going to unleash your power and slaughter everyone in your path!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand, indicating that it made no difference whether Li Shaojun was by Zhuang Qingdi's side or not; the one who truly contributed was Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

Of course, Zhang Xuezhou also had to say that Li Shaojun's position at the Nine Dragon Cauldron in the rear hall was absolutely correct; if he had been squatting somewhere else, he might not have encountered anything serious.

"Tch, you're just looking down on me. Actually, I, Daoist Master, am quite skilled in combat!"

Li Shaojun replied sullenly, then quickly combed his hair, trying to create a slight difference when imitating his previous self, so as not to be noticed by Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

"Alright, then you can have a magical duel if you want!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't argue with Li Shaojun. He had already said what he needed to say, and didn't mention anything he shouldn't have, so as not to discourage Li Shaojun.

"Let's pack up and start working tonight," Zhang Xuezhou instructed. "The mourning period for the Empress Dowager is only fifteen days, so we must hurry, otherwise borrowing the Nine Dragon Cauldron next time might be a long time coming!"

"I'll go!"

Zhang Xuezhou might not care that much about the Eight-Step Ascension Pill, but Li Shaojun was counting on this top-tier external elixir to boost his cultivation.

Let alone refining pills and medicines in Anle Palace in the shortest amount of time, even if he were to refine pills while fighting, he would still have to refine the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill in half a month.