An Audience with the Emperor

If you continue along the official street, you only need to walk five or six miles to see the imperial palace of Chang'an City.

Nearly half an hour later, Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding had carried Dong Zhongshu to the gate of the imperial city.

Zhang Qian used to wait for the Crown Prince here.

The two men put down Dong Zhongshu's rattan chair, delivered the visiting card written by Dong Zhongshu to the guards on duty at the front, and then accompanied Dong Zhongshu to bask in the sun outside.

"Master, it seems you have nowhere to go," Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice. "Have you truly left Chang'an City?"

"Right!"

Dong Zhongshu nodded and briefly agreed.

"I always felt this wasn't like you," Zhang Xuezhou complained.

"What can I do then?" Dong Zhongshu said with a wry smile, "I can't just let Shen Pei use internal sect disputes as a legitimate way to kill me!"

A country has its laws, a family has its rules, and a sect also has its internal conflicts.

The imperial court lacked sufficient control over various schools of thought, let alone the ability to govern sectarian groups using its own systems.

Even if Dong Zhongshu, as a court official, were to die due to involvement in internal sectarian disputes, it would ultimately become a matter of endless wrangling and disputes.

Dong Zhongshu was relieved that the Confucian School disputes were not as intense as those of other sects, and that Shen Pei's position in the court was unstable at the time, so he was not ruthless in his dealings with him.

Although some ridicule was unavoidable, it was already quite good that he was able to leave Chang'an City safely.

Dong Zhongshu also waited patiently for Confucian School to flourish.

He and Shen Pei had ideological differences, but Dong Zhongshu hoped that his school of thought would continue to prosper.

Everyone thinks they're right and believes in their own path...

Dong Zhongshu murmured to himself, and only raised his head after the Dong Zhongshu guard who had accepted the visiting card hurriedly returned.

"His Majesty wishes to see you, Erudite Dong, please!"

The imperial guard glanced at Dong Zhongshu, then at the rattan chair where Dong Zhongshu was lying.

This made it difficult for Dong Zhongshu to get up. He then pointed at Zhang Xuezhou and climbed onto Zhang Xuezhou's back.

"I'm sorry, I'm unwell and will have to be carried to the palace by my servants," Dong Zhongshu said. "If His Majesty reprimands me, Zhongshu will take full responsibility and will absolutely not make things difficult for Commander Luo!"

"Well!"

The guard sighed.

"Shen Peigong went too far. Erudite Dong, may you rest in peace!"

Nearly half a month has passed, and the palace guards have obviously heard the news and know that Dong Zhongshu has been severely injured in his battle of wits with Shen Peigong.

Dong Zhongshu was a kind and polite person. Within the Confucian School, this was a matter of choosing sides, but if people outside the Confucian School were to make a choice, it is clear that few would choose Shen Peigong.

The imperial guards sighed, and then released Dong Zhongshu.

It was against etiquette to carry Dong Zhongshu into the palace, but he couldn't very well have Dong Zhongshu crawl in.

It was inevitable that Dong Zhongshu would be carried on his back. The choice was whether to have someone else do it or to do it himself, given the potential for violations.

Continue along the official street for several hundred meters, and you'll reach the gate tower at the entrance to the imperial palace.

The city gate tower is over twenty meters high, which is shorter than the outer wall of Chang'an City. However, this city gate is equipped with crossbows, and there are red-armored guards with bows and swords patrolling at all times. The security here is much stricter than that of the outer city.

"Don't look around, keep moving forward!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt several sharp gazes sweeping over him, and this aggressive gaze even made goosebumps rise rapidly on his skin.

As if sensing something, Dong Zhongshu gave a word of advice.

This made Zhang Xuezhou dare not look around anymore, and instead strode forward.

After passing through the Zhangcheng Gate, a eunuch came to lead the way, and Zhang Xuezhou only needed to follow the eunuch at a jog.

"His Majesty is at the Eastern Palace!"

The eunuch whispered about the area where the new emperor was located, then quickly walked through the square within the deep red walls.

Instead of leading the way to the massive building with its double-eaved, nine-ridged roof, he turned into a covered area.

After passing through several corridors guarded by armed guards, the new emperor's voice could be heard reciting the emperor's words.

The funeral of Emperor Jing was not long ago. The new emperor recited a lament, and two imperial guards were fighting with swords about twenty meters away from him, one attacking and the other defending, making a lively scene.

When Dong Zhongshu arrived, the new emperor raised his hand and gestured for the two imperial guards to go and rest.

"Minister Dong, have you come here to complain to me?"

Looking at Dong Zhongshu being carried on Zhang Xuezhou's back, the new emperor's face showed a mixture of embarrassment and helplessness.

When he welcomed Confucian School into the court seeking to leverage their influence, Dong Zhongshu was the first to suffer the consequences.

This was somewhat different from what he had imagined, but the new emperor had no choice but to accept it.

He could only offer Dong Zhongshu a few words of comfort.

If we are to rely on the power of Confucian School, it is inevitable that some people's interests will be harmed.

"I have read your evaluation of the Shu County Academy, and I think it is excellent. I am considering establishing a National Academy in Chang'an City as an academy," the new emperor added, "I hope that Erudite Dong can make the best use of his talents and teach students from all over the country at the National Academy!"

"Your Majesty, I..." Dong Zhongshu coughed a few times, then stepped down from Zhang Xuezhou, covered his face, and bowed in gratitude, saying, "I am willing to dedicate myself to the court until my dying breath!"

"Please rise quickly!"

Dong Zhongshu thanked the emperor quickly, and the new emperor promoted Dong Zhongshu just as quickly.

The moment their hands touched, the new emperor felt Dong Zhongshu's terrible health.

This made him frown slightly.

He had no say in the internal Confucian School disputes, but Shen Peigong's actions were clearly reckless, nearly rendering Dong Zhongshu Dong Zhongshu to care for himself and causing serious health problems.

Sensing the damage to Dong Zhongshu's body, the new emperor felt that Dong Zhongshu had only exerted less than one-tenth or one-twelfth of his strength.

Under such trauma, Dong Zhongshu was practically a cripple.

He inexplicably developed a sense of disgust towards Shen Peigong.

Dong Zhongshu was someone Emperor Jing had once named, and the new emperor would obviously give him an important position, but how could he possibly use him after Shen Dong Zhongshu had brought him to such a state?

"Your Majesty, I need to rest and recuperate for a while. I have come here to ask for leave from Your Majesty, hoping to recover soon and serve Your Majesty," said Dong Zhongshu.

"Shen Pei wants to drive you out of Chang'an City?"

Dong Zhongshu did not file a complaint, and the new emperor did not want to hear Dong Zhongshu's complaint, but both sides still managed to clarify the matter.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that Shen Peigong was simply unlucky.

No matter how polite and proper Shen Peigong was, being afflicted by the seriously ill Dong Zhongshu was almost like running into a con artist.

Once Dong Zhongshu is forced to engage in a legal contest, Dong Zhongshu major flaws will become apparent.

Shen Peigong may have thought that Dong Zhongshu's reputation was overrated, and that his abilities did not match his fame. The new emperor, on the other hand, may have thought that Shen Peigong was too ruthless, as he had dealt such a severe blow that Dong Zhongshu's body was almost ruined.

These were ministers personally named by Emperor Jing, and even his uncle, Yanhua, had calculated that they might be heavily involved and that there might be some kind of fortuitous opportunity involved.

The new emperor was indeed displeased with Shen Peigong's behavior.

"Your Majesty, I am seriously ill and wish to recuperate for several years, reading books every day to clarify some cultivation techniques, and then return to Chang'an City to serve Your Majesty," Dong Zhongshu said sincerely.

"Reading? What kind of books?" the new emperor asked, frowning after pondering for a moment.

"If Your Majesty permits, I would like to exchange my years of toil for a chance to enter the Imperial Library to read books, and to study some of the Huang-Lao philosophy of health preservation and Legalist teachings," Dong Zhongshu earnestly requested.

"Why study Huang-Lao's art of health preservation and Legalist philosophy?" the new emperor asked casually.

"My body is afflicted with a difficult-to-treat illness, and I place my hopes on the Huang-Lao health preservation techniques to heal my body. However, I am somewhat dissatisfied and always think that after my body recovers, I will defeat Shen Pei one day. Therefore, I want to study the Legalist laws and regulations," Dong Zhongshu said.

"You're quite direct!"

Dong Zhongshu practically had "I want revenge" written all over his face.

The new emperor did not stop Dong Zhongshu.

He used Confucian School to restrain many people in the court, but if he wanted Confucian School to become too powerful, he really needed someone to check and control the Confucian School school of thought.

Dong Zhongshu was undoubtedly a suitable person to disrupt the Confucian School school of thought, and also a relatively trustworthy one.

This made him nod, and he then agreed to Dong Zhongshu's request.