Zhang Chun suddenly felt that he had unwittingly discovered a huge secret.
The Empress had ascended the throne for three years, but she had never revealed who she would pass the throne to.
The Xiao clan and the Zhou clan. One was the original royal family of the Great Zhou, while the other was the Empress's maternal family. According to everyone's guess, after the Empress abdicated, either the Xiao clan would regain power or the Zhou clan would replace her. The officials in the court would be led by the Xiao clan and the Zhou clan, and they would fight for the throne …
The only thing they didn't expect was for the Empress to have other plans.
Why would Her Majesty pass the throne to the Xiao clan? To the Empress, the Xiao clan was an outsider and had no blood relations with her. A married daughter was like spilled water. She was no longer a member of the Zhou clan. What good would it do her to pass the throne to the Zhou clan?
The Zhou clan's blood relations with her would become weaker and weaker. Who knew what they would think of her in the future?
Instead of passing the throne to an outsider, why not give birth to one herself?
Wouldn't it be better for her own children to inherit the throne than outsiders like the Zhou clan and the Xiao clan?
With this bold assumption in mind, Zhang Chun began to speculate.
If Her Majesty wanted to pass the throne to her children, what was the biggest obstacle? The Xiao Clan and the Zhou Clan were nothing to be afraid of. Her Majesty herself was a Transcendence expert, a Seventh Realm Transcendence expert. She was the strongest existence in the Ten Continents.
The legendary eighth realm and ninth realm only existed in legends. The seventh realm was the peak of the world. If Her Majesty insisted on having her way, who could stop her from the Xiao clan and the Zhou clan?
The only thing that could restrain Her Majesty was the Academy.
Not only did the Academy have Transcendent cultivators, but the officials in the court also came from the Academy. It would be difficult for Her Majesty to subdue them. That was why Her Majesty wanted to weaken the Academy's position in the court, and why she wanted to reduce the quota for the Academy …
Connecting the dots, Zhang Chun knew that he had discovered the truth.
The last problem was that Her Majesty had no children. Although she was the Crown Princess and the Empress, it was said that the former Crown Prince liked men and was only husband and wife on the surface.
After ascending the throne, Her Majesty didn't establish a harem. Who did she want to have children with?
Zhang Chun's gaze involuntarily turned to Li Mu.
Her Majesty's love for Li Mu and her meticulous love for Li Mu was something that even he couldn't bear to see. The answer was obvious.
Li Mu was the future Empress!
Li Mu and Zhang Chun walked out of the palace. Along the way, Zhang Chun did not speak. Li Mu thought that he was really frightened. Just as he was about to turn around, Zhang Chun suddenly looked at him with a face full of smiles and asked, "Your Majesty, ah no, Li Mu, to be honest, how do you think this official treats you?"
Li Mu then said, "It's alright …"
"What do you mean by okay?!" Zhang Chun looked displeased and said, "Back in Yangqiu County, I took good care of you. Now that you've come to the Divine Capital, you've caused so much trouble for me. Have I ever complained?"
Li Mu: "You complain every time."
"It's not important!" Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "You made a big mistake and offended someone you shouldn't have offended. When have I not cleaned up your mess behind your back? Touch your conscience and tell me, have I not treated you well?"
Li Mu touched his conscience and thought carefully. He said, "Sir, you've been very good to me."
This was the truth. If it were another superior, Li Mu would have been pushed out to take the blame the first time he caused trouble for him.
Zhang Chun finally smiled and said, "If you become rich in the future, don't forget my kindness …"
Li Mu nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget …"
Zhang Chun let out a long sigh of relief and muttered, "Whether or not this official can move to a bigger residence, whether or not I can have eight maidservants to serve me, it all depends on you."
Li Mu was stunned and asked, "What?"
Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "Nothing, we'll talk about this in the future …"
After parting with Li Mu, Zhang Chun did not return to the yamen. Instead, he went straight home.
Mrs. Zhang was trimming the flowers in the yard. When she saw him coming in, she asked in confusion, "You're not going to the yamen today?"
Zhang Chun said, "The morning court was delayed for an hour today. It's almost time for lunch. I'll go back to the yamen after lunch."
Mrs. Zhang put down the scissors and said, "You must be tired after standing all morning. Go back to your room and rest for a while. I'll cook."
Zhang Chun rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll help you."
Mrs. Zhang shook her head and said, "You'd better rest. The kitchen is so small that it can't accommodate two people."
Zhang Chun held her hand and said, "Madam, you've suffered. I promise that I'll give you a bigger house in the future. At least five rooms. The kitchen must also be big. It won't be crowded for ten people to stand …"
Mrs. Zhang patted his hand and said, "Such a big house is enough to live in. Many officials in the court don't even have their own houses …"
Zhang Chun smiled and said, "In short, madam, just wait and see. One day, I'll let you live in a bigger house. In the future, there will be maidservants to do the cooking and cleaning. You can be served comfortably by them …"
"Good, good, good. I'll wait for that day." Mrs. Zhang shook her head helplessly and said, "Let's not talk about this first. What do you plan to do about Yiyi?"
Zhang Chun asked, "What's the matter with Yiyi?"
Mrs. Zhang said, "Yiyi will be twenty next year. She hasn't found a husband yet. You're not worried, but I am. When I was her age, I was already pregnant with her …"
Zhang Chun shook his head and said, "What's the hurry? In the past, I didn't like any of the people who came to propose marriage. Now that we're in Luoyang, they don't like us …"
Mrs. Zhang said, "I think that Li Mu under you is not bad. He's handsome and …"
"Shh …" Before she could finish her words, Zhang Chun covered her mouth.
Zhang Chun widened his eyes and looked at her in horror. He said, "Put away your bold idea. Don't mention this in the future. Don't even think about it …"
…
Today's morning court session was more than an hour later than usual. When it was dismissed, it was already close to noon. Many officials were like Zhang Chun. After leaving the palace, they did not return to the yamen. Instead, they chose to go home.
Most of the officials in the court did not have their own houses in Luoyang. They lived in the government offices and made do with their two meals a day.
There were also some officials who lived in the North Court, which was not far from the palace. They could have lunch at home.
When the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel returned home, he locked himself in his study with a gloomy expression. The servants in the house did not know what happened. They only heard the sound of porcelain shattering in the study. They guessed that their master must have been angered during the morning court session. They did not dare to approach and only watched from afar.
When the director of the Ministry of Justice returned home, he called his son to him and warned him sternly, "Be smart in the future. Don't provoke that Li Mu again. Otherwise, I'll break your legs and make you stay at home for the rest of your life …"
Yang Xiu shook his head and said, "I won't do it again. Even Minister Zhou died in his hands. I'm afraid he'll strike me with lightning."
After saying that, he mustered up his courage and asked, "Did Li Mu do something big again?"
The director of the Ministry of Justice said, "It's not just something big. He scolded all the officials in the court like they were his grandsons, but no one dared to talk back. People like him who don't care about their lives should stay as far away as possible from now on …"
The North Court, where the officials gathered, was usually quiet and secluded. However, at noon, angry curses could be heard from the various officials' mansions.
"Damn it. There are so many officials in the court. Is he the only one who's clean?"
"In order to get the Empress' favor, he doesn't even care about his face!"
"How can there be such a shameless person in the world?"
…
In the North Court, the servants in the various officials' mansions vaguely learned something from their master's angry words. They could not help but exclaim in surprise when they discussed it in private.
They had lived in Luoyang for so long and worked in the official mansions. They often heard about the court affairs, but they had never heard of such a strange thing.
In a restaurant somewhere in Luoyang.
In the main hall, two guests were eating and chatting.
"Have you heard? Something big happened in the court today."
"How would a vegetable seller like you know about what happened in the court?"
"I heard it from a servant in a high-ranking official's house. They just came out to purchase, so I casually eavesdropped on them. If you hear this, you'll definitely be shocked …"
"Don't keep us in suspense. What happened? Hurry up and tell us!"
"Hehe, I heard that someone scolded all the officials and even the Academy during the morning court. He scolded the Academy's students and instructors for being immoral. He pointed at the Assistant Minister of Personnel's nose and scolded him for harboring his relatives. He scolded the officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Temples for not teaching their children well. He also scolded the officials from the Academy for forming cliques for personal gain …"
"How can someone be so bold? Does he not want his head anymore?"
"There really is someone who is so bold. Constable Li even scolded the heavens, let alone the people in the court. It's such a delightful thing. It's a pity that we didn't hear it with our own ears …"
"So it's Constable Li. Then it's not strange …"
Listening to the conversation between the two, the customers nearby could not help but slow down their speed of picking up food. Their eyes were filled with shock.
When they first heard of this, everyone thought it was a groundless rumor. However, when they left the restaurant and realized that there were many people in the Divine Capital spreading the news, even those who did not believe it at first could not help but believe it a little.
Although they only heard about it from the mouths of others, countless people could not suppress the surging passion in their hearts every time they imagined the scene in the morning court.
The children of the officials bullied others and the people. They did whatever they wanted, but the people did not dare to speak up.
The students of the Academy committed serious crimes, but the Academy shielded them and released them without charges. The people could only complain in their hearts.
The officials in the court formed cliques for personal gain and fought for power. The court was in a mess and the people in the Divine Capital had no way of making a living. The people could only watch helplessly.
It was not that they had nothing to say, but they did not dare and did not have the right to speak.
Now, there was finally someone who had the right and was willing to speak up for them. This gave the people of the Divine Capital a glimmer of hope.
Li Mu was the light of the Divine Capital.
The Li Residence.
Li Mu was feeding Xiao Bai moves. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked outside.
He felt an extremely powerful Psyche Power aura from the street in the distance.
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