The window for retaliation
In the past, fulfilling the demand for 500 Creation Pills within three days would have given the new emperor a headache.
The Creation Pill is a top-tier elixir, not something that can be taken out casually, not even by the imperial treasury.
"A certain amount of pills must be kept in the imperial treasury to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Obtaining five hundred good pills is indeed difficult, but in the current situation, this kind of thing is actually easy to solve!"
Zhang Xuezhou consulted with the new emperor, whose eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke in a low voice.
The imperial treasury was stretched thin, but some court officials were quite wealthy.
For example, Marquis of Weiqi Dou Ying, and Guan Fu, who once served as Taipu (Grand Master of the Palace).
Not to mention that these two people have reached the Only Me of cultivation and possess considerable resources, the marquisate Aristocratic Clan that Dou Ying inherited has accumulated wealth for almost a century.
These Aristocratic Clan relied on their privileges to continuously extort, resulting in the accumulation of enormous wealth and resources.
"Marquis of Weiqi only took thirty pills from the imperial treasury each year, but he secretly embezzled far more than thirty. Before Tian Fen kept his own retainers, Dou Ying also kept three thousand retainers. These retainers could also receive high-grade pills according to their merits and contributions, and the annual expenditure of high-grade pills amounted to more than a thousand!"
Zhang Xuezhou is a rather special cultivator. He often gains significant resources for cultivation and also possesses alchemy skills. However, Zhang Xuezhou can only supply the cultivation needs of two or three people.
Although he consumed a huge amount of pills, Zhang Xuezhou's lifetime consumption of pills was only equivalent to Dou Ying's consumption over a few years.
The large consumption of elixirs inevitably corresponds to a large stockpile. Even with continuous annual consumption, reserves must be maintained, similar to those in the imperial treasury, to prevent unforeseen circumstances.
"Not to mention Dou Ying, even Guan Fu could scrape together a certain share!"
The trial of Dou Ying will not be quick. The new emperor is angry that Dou Ying caused trouble, but he does not hate Dou Ying. He even cherishes Dou Ying's talent to some extent and does not want to resort to the drastic measure of extermination at the moment.
However, there was no problem with confiscating Guan Fu's property. Firstly, Zheng Dangshi had already made Guan Fu's theft of the sword an ironclad case. Secondly, Guan Fu's retainers had stormed the prison, violating the court's taboo. If they were not given a swift and decisive lesson, other Lineage would be even bolder than Guan Fu's Lineage.
"That's a great idea!"
Hearing the new emperor's furious rant, Zhang Xuezhou's heart skipped a beat, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.
Guan Fu's retainers stormed the prison, a crime deserving of no forgiveness. He did the same thing a few days ago, releasing Old Tong directly.
"Don't worry about me settling scores later. With your meager wealth, you haven't accumulated much. Unless you become a marquis and your descendants are involved in rebellion or treason for three or four generations, then there's nothing to confiscate your property!"
It's ultimately inappropriate to discuss the confiscation of property in front of one's ministers, as it could easily cause them to empathize and feel a sense of unease.
The new emperor had clearly misunderstood something and quickly drew a line in his mind.
"Then I won't accept the title of Marquis," Zhang Xuezhou said, waving his hand.
"Don't refuse! There are many advantages to being a marquis!"
Zhang Xuezhou refused decisively. At first, the new emperor thought it was nothing, but upon reflection, he felt that Zhang Xuezhou was very likely to shirk his responsibilities and not put in any effort when it came to taking credit.
This prompted him to repeatedly try to persuade Zhang Xuezhou to become a potential new marquis under the new policies of the Great Han.
Only when Zhang Xuezhou was determined not to get involved did the new emperor sigh and then order a search of the Guan family mansion.
The properties of elixirs are quite special. Unless it is an emergency or a frequently used elixir, it will not be kept in a storage bag. Many people believe that the longer an elixir is stored, the better its effect will be, so they will keep it out of the house.
The storage bag was a controlled item by the imperial court. Storage bags associated with official privileges would be retrieved after someone lost their official position, and would then be deciphered and restored to their original state by the cultivators of the Imperial Household Department.
The imperial court incorporated the Thieves' Guild, whose members were particularly skilled at cracking hidden items such as storage bags. No matter what kind of storage bags the Guan family possessed, they would inevitably be opened.
If the imperial court is determined to confiscate property, it will certainly search for everything that needs to be searched.
"If Hong Hu merchant takes these pills away, when do you think Daojun will come to retaliate?"
The rare and precious medicinal herbs found in the secret realm of Shanglin Garden are extremely rare. Fresh herbs produce the ultimate tonic pills, while stale or old herbs need to be combined with high-quality herbs to compensate for their deficiencies.
The medicinal herbs in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains are of high age and rare. It would be a big headache if Hongku didn't come, as it would cause great trouble in the refining of elixirs such as the Ten-Complete Tonic Pill.
Even though the Empress Dowager Tian Fen took the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill continuously, causing the new emperor to run out of pills, he had no other choice. Zhang Xuezhou was like a skilled cook without rice; without sufficiently high-quality medicinal materials, it was difficult to mass-produce the medicine.
This transaction, which specified certain types of medicinal herbs, was bound to be successful, and the new emperor would also obtain the antidote. However, the ensuing troubles also forced him to be wary.
"That depends on when he can find out your identity!"
Zhang Xuezhou shrugged.
If you don't even know the identity of the person you have a grudge against, how are you supposed to find them?
Daojun's revenge can no longer be as timely as it was in Mayi City. The other side needs to find Zhang Xuezhou, and also the new emperor who is the culprit.
"At this moment, I both hope he comes and hope he doesn't!"
The new emperor exhaled, feeling somewhat conflicted.
He longed to fight on home ground in Chang'an City, hoping to save Dao Jun's life, but the risks of facing Dao Jun were simply too high.
His Southern Brightness Fire Technique Confucian School cultivator group was not yet fully formed, and his sword-drawing technique was not yet fully mastered, so he was not capable of keeping such a great cultivator who was skilled in both flying and killing.
This requires a certain amount of time to buffer.
The longer the time passed, the more the new emperor hoped that Daojun would come to Chang'an City; the shorter the time passed, the less he wanted them to meet.
"You Tian Fen are both key figures in their investigation of your identities," the new emperor said. "The appearance of a sorcerer in Tian Fen's residence is most likely a preliminary investigation, not simply an investigation of that insane sorcerer!"
"The sorcerer accompanying Hong Hu Shang might be monitoring him, or perhaps he has the same purpose!"
Zhang Xuezhou nodded.
Becoming a retainer of Tian Fen's mansion has certain requirements, and the fact that sorcerers choose to go specifically to Tian Fen's mansion instead of hiding elsewhere speaks volumes.
"The longer you Tian Fen delay, the more advantageous it will be for us," the new emperor said.
"I'm fine," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I don't have to work for the court, and I can sleep anywhere. Besides, the security around me is quite tight, and Yi Zong even left me two night owls!"
Searching for information about court officials can begin with their official titles, their residences, and their work processes.
For example, Tian Fen lived in the Prime Minister's residence and needed to go to the Weiyang Palace for court meetings at specific times every day. As long as the corresponding ambush was set up, Tian Fen could be killed.
But Zhang Xuezhou didn't have these troubles. His official position wasn't a real one, and even though the new emperor had arranged for the construction of Maoling, he rarely went to manage it, making it extremely difficult to intercept him accurately.
"I've told my uncle to behave himself for now, so he won't have any opportunity to take advantage of me!"
The new emperor considered Zhang Xuezhou's situation and realized that Zhang Xuezhou was indeed very difficult to investigate. Not to mention that cultivators from foreign lands would come to investigate, even the Prefect of the Capital, Shen Chong, would find it difficult to accurately locate Zhang Xuezhou.
Zhang Xuezhou seemed to be frequently moving between the palace and his residence, but after regaining Zhang Xuezhou Law Power, he moved at an extremely fast speed, and ordinary people couldn't keep up with Zhang Xuezhou at all.
As long as he doesn't encounter Dao Jun directly, Zhang Xuezhou can quickly get rid of anyone who harasses him.
It would be extremely difficult to break through Zhang Xuezhou's defenses, leaving only Tian Fen as an option.