Chang'an's Secret Land

Congratulations!

Congratulations to you!

"Congratulations!"

Getting promoted is a good thing.

Although the mourning period for the Empress Dowager was still ongoing and people were not supposed to be all smiles, the joy on many people's faces was impossible to hide.

Inside the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, people were constantly receiving new official appointments, offering congratulations, and asking what their duties should be. The noise was deafening.

Looking at the new emperor's twitching face and Tian Fen's almost splitting mouth, Zhang Xuezhou found it hard to say anything.

He stood somewhat disgruntled on the high platform in front of the Golden Palace, dutifully fulfilling his duties as a fake eunuch, and waiting for the court assembly to end.

"Speak if you have something to report; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"

When the new emperor found it difficult to sit still, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but shout a couple of times to remind him.

"Yes, court is adjourned. Leave these minor matters to me!"

Tian Fen seemed to snap out of his daze, and happily agreed, patting his chest as a guarantee.

"Um!"

The new emperor responded with a low hum.

Having failed to secure any high-ranking official positions, the appointment of lower-ranking officials was of little consequence. These lower-ranking officials were opportunistic, swaying whichever side the wind blew, serving as subordinates to officials at various levels, not directly connected to the emperor, and never appearing in court.

Aside from having too many people planted in the court and dismissing a large number of officials, Tian Fen had no other major problems.

The new emperor stood up and gestured to the Empress Dowager, who also stood up.

Things didn't go quite as planned, but the replacement of the Anle Palace officials went too smoothly, almost unbelievably smoothly.

There were no dissents, no chaos, and no resistance; the succession was extremely smooth. This was the complete opposite of the confrontation between the Empress Dowager and Princess Dou.

The situation in the court is currently very stable, and the Empress Dowager is clearly quite satisfied with this situation.

The remaining minor details were unimportant, and the emperor and empress dowager did not need to oversee the rotation and handover of minor officials.

"Your Majesty need not worry about the Prime Minister. He is your uncle, and whatever he does is for Your Majesty's benefit!"

As they left through the back door of the Weiyang Palace, the Empress Dowager gave the new emperor a few words of advice, which he nodded repeatedly in response.

"I'm just upset that my uncle has arranged for too many people, leaving hardly any for me," the new emperor complained. "If I encounter some talented individuals in the future, and there's nowhere to place them, I can't very well strip the people my uncle has arranged of their official positions!"

"Promotion and demotion in official positions are based on political achievements and merits," the Empress Dowager said. "The Great Han is full of capable people. Talented individuals will not be buried; they can all climb the ranks based on their political achievements. Moreover, your uncle has been recruiting retainers for you all these years, just waiting for you to take charge and arrange things. His intentions are clear!"

"What Mother says is true!"

The new emperor nodded repeatedly.

We walked out along the corridor of the rear hall and turned towards the area behind the main hall of the Weiyang Palace.

After the Empress Dowager finished speaking with the new emperor, she looked at Zhang Xuezhou with a very kind expression.

"You are close to His Majesty, so spend more time with him. You can also visit Anle Palace when you have time. Perhaps you can even improve the Liezi chapter in Changxin Palace!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xuezhou bowed his head and quickly agreed.

He hadn't seen Princess Dou these past few days, but he had socialized with the Empress Dowager and was even invited to Changxin Palace by her.

Zhang Xuezhou was at a loss for words; everything he had experienced would probably make Han Yan quite envious.

But Zhang Xuezhou never expected to meet Tian Fen at the Wei River and even curry favor with him. He never imagined he could establish such a connection.

Of course, if he could do it all over again, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would still choose Dou Taizhu.

This is not only because Divine Lord Zhenyuan, Li Shaojun and others are involved with Dou Taizhu, but more importantly, Zhang Xuezhou cannot get involved in the mother-son relationship between the Empress Dowager and the new emperor. In particular, the Empress Dowager has also cultivated the art of fortune-telling, and no matter which side he sides with, he will make enemies of the other side, thus triggering potential problems.

For Zhang Xuezhou, he tried to maintain good relations with practitioners of magic arts to avoid attracting trouble unnecessarily.

He came to solve his own problems and fight against the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, not to get stuck in this confusion.

If you step back and think about it from a different perspective, the chaos in the imperial court doesn't really affect Zhang Xuezhou.

"Would you like to switch places with Han Yan?"

The Empress Dowager turned left and returned to Changxin Palace, while the new emperor turned right and returned to the Weiyang Palace.

After bowing and bidding farewell to the Empress Dowager and separating by a distance, the new emperor glanced at Zhang Xuezhou and made a sarcastic remark.

"No, no, no, I'm all ready," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"What have you prepared?" the new emperor asked.

"I learned that Marquis Wuqiang, fearing his property would be confiscated, sold his official residence on Linlu Street in the Imperial City at a low price in advance. I borrowed money from His Majesty and registered my name at the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant. All that's left is to meet with Marquis Wuqiang to discuss the deal," Zhang Xuezhou said quickly. "That residence is next to the East Sima Gate, just around the corner is the Tangyi Marquis's residence of Princess Dou. I only went to Changxin Palace once or twice, but I went to the Tangyi Marquis's residence many more times!"

"Fine!"

The new emperor nodded, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou's choice was correct.

Although Zhang Xuezhou was paralyzed at home, Zhang Xuezhou work efficiency was still quite good.

Before Han Yan could follow up on what he had learned, Zhang Xuezhou received an invitation from Changxin Palace and was even offered to move his residence to the vicinity of the Tangyi Marquis's mansion owned by Princess Dou.

From the moment he took on the task, Zhang Xuezhou had already begun planning.

Compared to Han Yan and others, the older Zhang Xuezhou was clearly more outstanding.

Aside from his physical ailment, the new emperor couldn't find fault with Zhang Xuezhou, and this ailment was caused by his official duties.

He could only sigh and then mentioned that Tian Fen had placed too many people in the court, almost filling it to capacity, making it difficult to promote anyone in the future.

"We have repeatedly wished to share Your Majesty's burdens, but alas, our strength is limited and we cannot be of great use!"

Zhang Xuezhou did not respond to this internal court controversy; instead, he sighed repeatedly.

"The imperial court implicitly assumes that cultivation level is the foundation for official positions. Our strength is insufficient to reach high positions and bring shame upon His Majesty. I wonder if there are any good methods or strategies to guide our Divine Ability or push Sole Self Realm '!" Zhang Xuezhou sighed.

"This matter... I learned of something from the late Emperor, that there is a secret place near Chang'an City," the new Emperor pondered for a moment before saying, "If we could obtain the assistance of this secret place, advancing in cultivation would be as easy as going with the flow!"

"Don't all secret locations have owners?"

Zhang Xuezhou replied.

He not only knew of a secret place near Chang'an City, but he also borrowed it from the Holy Mother of Wudang for several hours, thus condensing the gourd elixir.

The Spiritual Qi in secret places can help with cultivation, but entering a secret place won't have much effect in the short term. Only by enduring the influence of the secret place over many years can one achieve long-term positive benefits.

Even if the Holy Mother of Wudang were willing to receive them, Zhang Xuezhou felt that few people would be willing to live in such an underground palace for a long time; at least Zhang Xuezhou would not want to go.

Rather than living in the secret place year-round, he'd rather carry a spirit jade with him.

The new emperor's suggestion was good, but Zhang Xuezhou felt it was useless.

"That secret place has no owner?" the new emperor denied. "At least not for the next hundred years. The late emperor only missed the fortuitous opportunity because he couldn't enter. If we could enter, we would surely gather all the spiritual essence of the place and truly benefit from it. It might even guide Han Yan and the others to the realm of Divine Ability!"

"No owner?"

Zhang Xuezhou was taken aback after hearing this.

Clearly, there is another secret place near Chang'an City, besides the one with the Holy Mother Wudang.

If no one enters the secret place for a long time, it will accumulate Spiritual Qi, thus forming the magnificent scene of the Yin-Yang Secret Place.

If one can enter it, the Spiritual Qi accumulated over a century will permeate the body like mist, bringing effects far superior to any great medicine.