There were more than a hundred officials standing in the golden hall, but it became Li Mu's personal performance.
Because it was too quiet, his voice kept echoing in the hall.
No one could answer his question. These rules, which had been tacitly agreed upon by the officials, were laid bare in front of them. It was enough to make everyone in the imperial court blush with shame.
The officials were silent, and so was the Academy.
Li Mu continued, "Talking about the Demon Kingdom, the Ghost Realm, the Four Barbarians of the Devil Sect, these are all excuses. Everyone here knows better than anyone else that the problem of the Great Zhou Dynasty is not outside, but in the Imperial Court, in this golden hall!"
Li Mu's voice echoed, each word piercing the heart.
The hall was silent for a long time. Then the Empress's dignified voice came from behind the curtain. "Everyone, please think about Minister Li's words carefully. You may leave the court in an hour."
Behind the curtain, footsteps sounded and gradually faded away. The Empress must have left from the back of the hall.
After a while, Mr. Mei walked out from the back of the hall. He gave Li Mu a look, and Li Mu followed him out from the back of the hall.
Inside the main hall, there was silence.
The Assistant Minister of Personnel's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. The officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Temples who had suffered at his hands did not look too good either.
The vice-deans and instructors of the major Academies left without a word.
The officials looked at each other. The hall was silent for a long time. Then someone sighed and said, "Where did this hothead come from …"
After someone spoke, the oppressive atmosphere in the hall exploded.
"He really dares to speak!"
"Ha, the Six Ministries and Nine Temples, and the Four Great Academies, have all been scolded by him. Even His Majesty has not scolded us like this."
"With this kind of person as the Imperial Censor, I'm afraid we won't have a good life in the future."
"He keeps saying that His Majesty is wise, wise, and magnanimous. He just wants to gain favor by protecting His Majesty. Can he be any more obvious?"
"How shameless. I used to think that Zhang Chun was already shameless enough. I didn't expect Zhang Chun to be so much worse than him …"
The official who spoke did not hide his disgust and annoyance towards Li Mu, but there were also some who were silent and had a thoughtful look on their faces, as if they were really thinking about what he had just said.
There was something wrong with the imperial court. They usually turned a blind eye to these problems, but now that it was pointed out, they could no longer ignore it.
Li Mu pointed out the problems of the Academy, the six ministries, the collusion of the officials in the imperial court, and the decreasing Psyche Power of the people after Emperor Wen.
The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Zhong, stood in the crowd with a faint smile on his face.
Li Mu was not aware of the situation in the hall. He had already left Zi Wei Hall.
Lady Mei and the Empress' personal maid led him to another hall. There was a table in the hall that was already filled with delicacies.
Li Mu was startled and asked, "What is this?"
Mr. Mei said, "His Majesty specially asked you to have lunch before you leave."
After the morning court session, being able to enjoy lunch in the palace was a privilege that couldn't be any better.
Li Mu did not refuse. He was already thirsty from all the saliva flying in the hall. He picked up the flagon on the table, poured himself a full cup, and drank it up.
It did not seem to be wine in the flagon, but some kind of fruit drink. It even contained rich Spiritual Qi. One sip was equivalent to half a spiritual jade absorbed by Li Mu.
After he sat down, he looked at Mr. Mei and the young maid standing aside and said, "Don't just stand there. Sit down and eat with me …"
Mr. Mei shook his head and said, "You eat. This is a gift from His Majesty."
Since they did not want to, Li Mu did not force them. There were many rules in the palace, and they must know better than him.
Mr. Mei remembered something. He pointed to the young maid and said to Li Mu, "Her name is Shangguan Li. She is His Majesty's personal maid and also one of the commanders of the internal guards. All the internal guards in the palace are under her command. You are on duty in front of the hall, so you are also her subordinate. If you have any problems in the future, you can go to Commander Shangguan."
Shangguan Li's initial prejudice against Li Mu had disappeared without a trace. She looked at Li Mu lightly and said, "Just call me Boss."
Li Mu saluted her with his fists and said, "Greetings, Commander Shangguan."
Shangguan Li glanced at him and left.
The word "Boss" had a special meaning to him. Li Mu would not call her that casually.
This Commander Shangguan was at most a few years older than him, but she also had the cultivation of the Fifth Realm. It must be because she was the Empress' personal maid.
Her Majesty the Empress was so generous. If she could become her personal little jacket, she would definitely receive many benefits. She was able to advance to the Creation Realm at such a young age. Sooner or later, Li Mu would replace her position and become the Empress' closest jacket.
Mr. Mei walked to Li Mu's side and asked, "Do you have any conflicts with Ah Li?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "It was the first time I saw her. But before the morning court, she looked at me with an unfriendly gaze."
Lord Mei knew the reason and said, "Maybe it's because you weren't familiar with each other at that time. You're all His Majesty's internal guards and you're his subordinate. You'll get to know each other better in the future."
After Shangguan Li left, the atmosphere in the hall became much better.
Li Mu smiled and said to Lady Mei, "Sister Mei, why don't you sit down and eat with me? I can't finish all these by myself. Besides, I have some questions to ask you. It's not convenient for us to talk if you're standing and I'm sitting …"
Mr. Mei had to sit down and asked, "What questions do you have? Ask away."
Li Mu remembered the scene in the court where the Empress was alone and helpless. He asked, "Doesn't Her Majesty have her own confidants in the court?"
Mr. Mei said, "Since the time of Emperor Wen, all the officials in the Great Zhou, except for the Imperial Censor, came from the four academies. Even the Emperor could not violate the rules set by Emperor Wen. The officials from the four academies were united in the court. As long as this rule was not abolished, it would be difficult for Her Majesty to have any confidants. Most importantly, Her Majesty did not want the throne, and she did not want to cultivate any confidants. If it were not for the conflict between the old and new parties, which has affected the Psyche Power of the people of the Great Zhou and hindered the condensation of the Emperor's Qi, Her Majesty would not have cared about them at all …"
Li Mu remembered that Mr. Mei once said that the Empress did not become the Empress by her own will.
She was just a transition for the Zhou Family to take over the court.
If she really wanted to take power, her strength was enough to suppress the entire court, even with the restrictions of the academies.
In this world, all the intrigues and schemes were not worth mentioning in the face of strength.
This was also the only reason why the Empress did not encounter any resistance when she inherited the throne, even though her surname was Zhou. Even the Xiao Royal Family acquiesced to it.
Li Mu asked curiously, "Does Her Majesty want to pass the throne to the Xiao Family or the Zhou Family in the future?"
Mr. Mei shook his head and said, "I'm afraid only Her Majesty knows about this. Let's not ask more."
She looked at Li Mu and said, "You are much braver than I thought. Most people can't even stand steadily in front of hundreds of officials for the first time, let alone point at their noses and scold them like you. Just now, you finally helped Her Majesty vent her anger …"
Li Mu did not care at all. He said, "I have Her Majesty behind me. What am I afraid of?"
Mr. Mei patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. As long as you are loyal to Her Majesty, Her Majesty will not mistreat you."
Li Mu's protection of the Empress was based on the fact that she would not mistreat him. As long as the Empress did not mistreat him, he could naturally guarantee his loyalty to her.
Flattering her in court and protecting her image were all small things. In the future, Li Mu would use practical actions to tell her that as long as he had enough spiritual jade, there were still many things he could do.
Li Mu did not finish the delicacies given by the Empress. Before he left, he also brought some fruits and pastries for Xiao Bai.
Mr. Mei said, "Let me see you out. This place is very close to the West Palace. You can't wander around. If you offend the concubines of the previous emperor, Her Majesty will be in a difficult position …"
Li Mu was escorted out of the harem by Mr. Mei. When he passed by Ziwei Palace, he happened to see hundreds of officials coming out of the palace.
Li Mu was walking behind. When he saw Zhang Chun, he hurriedly said, "Sir Zhang, wait for me …"
Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Zhang Chun's footsteps quickened.
Li Mu quickly caught up with Zhang Chun and said, "Sir Zhang, why are you walking so fast …"
Zhang Chun hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Sir Li, don't call me sir in the future. I can't accept it, really …"
The imperial censor in the palace was only a seventh-rank official. Zhang Chun was now a fifth-rank official. Moreover, Li Mu's identity was only useful during the morning court. Normally, he was still a constable in the Divine Capital.
However, since Zhang Chun said so, he did not force him. He said, "Old Zhang, what are you afraid of?"
Zhang Chun looked at him and said in shock, "Are you really stupid or are you pretending to be stupid? After what you did in the court, there will be no place for you in the Divine Capital. You may not be afraid of them, but I'm afraid of being implicated by you …"
Li Mu said, "I don't need them to tolerate me. I only need Her Majesty to tolerate me."
He glanced at Zhang Chun and asked, "Besides, do you think it's useful for you to hide from me now?"
Zhang Chun thought carefully and realized that he and Li Mu were grasshoppers in the same boat. He sighed and asked, "You disappeared for so long just now. Did Her Majesty summon you alone?"
"No, she didn't." Li Mu shook his head and said, "Her Majesty told me to have lunch in the harem before leaving. I came out after lunch …"
"Lunch?" Zhang Chun licked his lips and asked, "How's the lunch in the palace? Is it rich? How many dishes are there?"
Li Mu said, "It's quite rich. There are more than thirty dishes. The spirit wine is also delicious. One sip and the wine is wrapped in spirit qi …"
Zhang Chun's throat moved. He turned his head and said, "I heard that the imperial kitchen's cooking is not that good. I still prefer the home-cooked food my wife makes …"
Li Mu felt the same. He said, "I also like the food my wife makes …"
Zhang Chun was stunned. "You have a wife?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "You met her in Yangqiu County. She's Lady Liu from the Yunyan Pavilion. However, she's still in the North County and won't come to the Divine Capital until a few days later."
Zhang Chun had a deep impression of the beautiful manager of the Yunyan Pavilion. He sighed and said, "Why do all the good things happen to you …"
Li Mu was taught and influenced by Li Si. He said, "As long as a girl puts down her face, it's easy to get her."
Zhang Chun thought of his performance in the palace and nodded. "You're quite shameless when you're protecting Her Majesty …"
Then he suddenly thought of something and looked at Li Mu in disbelief.
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