Zhang Chun seemed to have something to do. She left without entering the door.
Li Mu closed the door again and returned to the courtyard.
He had originally planned to start cooking with Xiao Bai. However, the Empress had suddenly arrived, and her intentions were unknown. He couldn't possibly be busy with his own matters and leave the Empress and the others here.
Li Mu walked behind the Empress and stood quietly, trying to guess her intentions.
Then, he realized that he couldn't guess it at all.
A woman's heart was like a needle at the bottom of the ocean. Li Mu could guess what Xiao Bai and Wanwan were thinking. However, the Empress's thoughts were even harder to guess than Liu Hanyan's. This was because she had two personalities. One was the dignified and serious Empress, and the other was Li Mu's nightmare with unparalleled whip skills.
The Empress stood in the courtyard with her back facing Li Mu. She asked, "Are you used to living in this house?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "It's just a little big. It's troublesome to clean it up."
The Empress turned to look at him and said, "I gave you a maid, but you didn't want her. If you don't like the size of this house, I'll change it to a smaller one for you."
Li Mu hurriedly said, "No need, no need. I'll get used to it. As long as you like it."
A big house with five entrances was Zhang Chun's lifelong goal. Who would complain that their own house was too big?
Li Mu and Xiao Bai lived in such a big house. Naturally, it was a little big. However, Liu Hanyan and Wanwan hadn't returned yet. If there was a new addition to the family in the future, the house with five entrances might still seem small …
The Empress asked this question and didn't say anything else.
Li Mu waited for her to go somewhere else. However, they didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
Li Mu asked tentatively, "Xiao Bai and I are preparing to cook. Your Majesty, Mr. Mei, and Master Shangguan, do you want to have a meal here before you leave?"
This was obviously the intention of sending them off. As the ruler of a nation, the Empress would not and could not possibly stay for a meal here. This did not match her identity and status.
Li Mu even suspected that she didn't need to eat on a daily basis. Li Mu, who was in the Transcendent Realm, could already abstain from eating. Did the Transcendent Realm feed on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon?
The Empress sat down on the stone chair and said, "Okay."
Li Mu was dumbfounded.
Couldn't she tell that he was sending her off? If a guest suddenly came to stay for dinner, she should tactfully refuse. Wasn't this a traditional virtue of Great Zhou?
Li Mu asked, "We haven't started preparing yet. The meal should take a long time. Will it delay His Majesty's handling of state affairs?"
Shangguan Li said, "The imperial court has three provinces, six ministries, and twenty-four divisions. If His Majesty has to deal with every matter, what is the point of having them?"
Mr. Mei grabbed Li Mu's arm and said, "Let's go. I'll go help you guys in the kitchen …"
After being dragged into the kitchen by Mr. Mei, Li Mu knew that they had decided to stay for dinner.
Although he and Xiao Bai bought enough food for two people to eat for two days, and the five of them finished it in one meal, he didn't lose out. After all, the Empress was probably the only family in the Immortal's Capital that could benefit from her.
Mr. Mei took care of him like a big sister, so it was only right that he treat him to a meal. The Empress was Li Mu's financial backer, so he had to serve her well.
As for Shangguan Li, Li Mu had automatically filtered her out.
Li Mu and Xiao Bai made four dishes and one soup for the five of them. It wasn't a sumptuous meal, mainly because they didn't buy much.
After the dishes were served, the Empress sat at the table while Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li stood behind her.
The Empress said, "This isn't the palace. Sit down."
Li Mu was hesitant at first, but after hearing what the Empress said, he felt relieved and sat down with Xiao Bai. Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li sat on her left and right, acting more cautiously.
They only picked up their chopsticks when the Empress picked up. They would only eat the dishes in front of them.
From Li Mu's point of view, being the Empress was meaningless. After sitting on the throne, his family and friends would all change. At least for Li Mu, he would rather not have power than give up these things.
Usually, it was just him and Little White at home. When it came to dinner, there were no rules. It was normal for them to chat and laugh. However, with the Empress present, Lord Mei and Gongsun Li were like guardians, sitting at the side obediently. The atmosphere was a bit tense, and the meal was tasteless.
The Empress suddenly asked, "Why do you have a fox demon with you?"
Hearing this, Xiao Bai was shocked. She immediately put down her chopsticks and moved closer to Li Mu.
Li Mu explained, "Before she transformed, I saved her once. After that, I met her again. In order to repay my kindness, she has been by my side ever since."
The Empress asked, "Repay my kindness? She's from the Heavenly Fox Clan?"
Li Mu nodded. The biggest difference between the Heavenly Fox Clan and the ordinary Fox Clan was that they would repay kindness and revenge and would not be tainted by karma. Hundreds and thousands of years ago, their ancestors had become Heavenly Foxes and had passed down their bloodline until now. In fact, there was not much bloodline power left.
The Empress stretched out her hand, and a sparkling and translucent crystal bottle appeared in her palm. The crystal bottle was half-filled with a bright red liquid.
Li Mu didn't know what the liquid was, but Xiao Bai seemed to sense something. She grabbed Li Mu's hand tightly and looked a little scared.
The Empress said, "There are a few drops of Black Fox Essence Blood here. They are useless to me, but they should be useful to her. Give them to her."
Li Mu's eyes lit up. The Fox Clan's strength was determined by the number of tails. One to three tails could only be called Demon Foxes. Four to six tails could be called Spirit Foxes. Those who could be called Black Fox had at least seven tails, which was equivalent to the Seventh Realm of human beings.
If Xiao Bai could absorb these drops of Black Fox Essence Blood, there was a great chance that she could grow another tail and evolve from a Demon Fox to a Spirit Fox.
Li Mu accepted the crystal bottle for Xiao Bai and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Empress said, "I ate the food she cooked. Just take it as an exchange."
This exchange couldn't be more worth it.
The Black Fox Essence Blood was enough to make all the Fox Demons fight over it. For more than a hundred years, no Black Fox was born in the Great Zhou. Perhaps only the Nation of Demons had such an existence.
As expected of the Empress. She even had such a precious thing and was generous. If she was willing, Li Mu didn't mind quitting his position and becoming her personal chef.
After dinner, Li Mu sent the three of them out and said with a smile, "Take care. You're welcome to come again …"
Back in the courtyard, Li Mu instructed Xiao Bai, "Go back to your room first and adjust your magic power to its peak state. I'll guard you tonight. After refining these drops of Black Fox Essence Blood, you should be able to evolve …"
Xiao Bai had been in human form for some time and had an endless supply of Spiritual Jades. Originally, she still had a long way to go before she could evolve to four tails. However, these few drops of Black Fox Essence Blood were enough for her to evolve from a Demon Fox to a Spirit Fox overnight.
Xiao Bai still needed a few more hours to adjust herself to her peak state.
Taking advantage of this time, Li Mu returned to the government office first.
As soon as he stepped into the office, Zhang Chun walked out from the back of the office. He walked up to him and asked softly, "Has Her Majesty left?"
Li Mu replied, "She left after dinner."
Zhang Chun sighed. "You're really good in the kitchen. You're virtuous and virtuous. You're a motherly model of the world …"
Li Mu looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
Zhang Chun shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Let's talk about Cui Ming. Why don't you ask Her Majesty to issue an edict to behead that beast Cui Ming? It'll save us a lot of trouble …"
Li Mu glanced at him. "Who do you think I am? Do you think Her Majesty will issue an edict just because I asked her to?"
Since Great Zhou had developed until now, the power of the Emperor was actually very limited. The Empress couldn't do whatever she wanted.
When officials of the fourth rank or above in Great Zhou or members of the Imperial Family committed crimes, only the Imperial Ancestral Temple could judge them. The Empress couldn't interfere.
Moreover, this matter involved Princess Yunyang, who represented the Imperial Family of the Xiao Clan. Since the Empress ascended the throne, she hadn't gotten close to the Zhou Clan or the Imperial Family of the Xiao Clan. If she interfered in this matter, it would be easy to mislead the outside world. They would think that she had made up her mind to suppress the old party of the Xiao Clan. This would make the court even more chaotic.
Li Mu's duty was to solve the Empress's problems, not to add to her troubles.
He couldn't pin all his hopes on Cui Ming's matter on the Empress. It was best to go through the proper channels.
Zhang Chun spread his hands and said, "Then there's no other way. Since ancient times, members of the Imperial Family, relatives of the Imperial Family, and officials of the fourth rank and above who committed crimes had to be handed over to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Imperial Ancestral Temple is the old party. How can they judge him?"
Li Mu asked, "What did you plan to do before?"
Zhang Chun said, "Since only the Imperial Ancestral Temple has the right to punish Cui Ming, then I'll enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Her Majesty intends to reform the court. If she can break the old party's control over the Imperial Ancestral Temple, then she will have the right to punish Cui Ming. Unfortunately, when I went back to the capital to investigate, I found out that since ancient times, the officials of the Imperial Ancestral Temple have been members of the Imperial Family of the Xiao Clan. It's difficult for outsiders to infiltrate.
He looked at Li Mu and said leisurely, "Unless you have someone in the Secretariat who can take the appointment and dismissal authority of the Imperial Ancestral Temple's officials back to the court …"
Li Mu heard this and smiled. "Isn't this a coincidence …"
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