The Zongzheng Temple had always had a special position in the court.
Its responsibility was to manage the records of the royal family, the clan, and the relatives, and to protect the ancestral shrine. If the royal family or relatives violated the law, they would be handed over to the Zongzheng Temple. Not only that, but to protect the dignity of the royal family, the Zongzheng Temple's punishment was usually kept secret.
To some extent, this was the privilege of the royal family. The Zongzheng Temple gradually became the place of protection for the royal family.
During the reign of the previous emperor, the power of the Zongzheng Temple was further expanded.
If an official of the fourth rank or above violated the law, they could only be judged by the Zongzheng Temple.
This gave the Zongzheng Temple absolute power. The Xiao clan used this to suppress their dissidents and protect their own people. When Zhou Zhong was reforming the law, he once proposed to abolish the Zongzheng Temple's absolute power. However, he met with great resistance and did not succeed in the end.
After the Empress succeeded the throne, many of the rules of the previous emperor's reign were continued. The Zongzheng Temple was no exception.
Now, Li Mu wanted to interfere with the Zongzheng Temple controlled by the Xiao clan. This was equivalent to weakening the influence of the old faction of the Xiao clan in the court. In the Secretariat, Xiao Ziyu, who represented the interests of the Xiao clan, naturally would not agree.
On the other hand, Zhou Xiong, who had a grudge against Li Mu, had a common interest with him in this matter.
For the Zhou clan, any action to attack the old faction was what they wanted.
Li Mu looked at Xiao Ziyu and said, "Don't mention the ancestral system to me. All pedantic and backward systems should be reformed and abolished. Such an important department like the Zongzheng Temple should not be monopolized by one family. The Zongzheng Temple belongs to the court and His Majesty, not the Xiao clan!"
Liu Yi and the other officials of the Secretariat were speechless.
Li Mu's words were still so straightforward, breaking the rules and hitting the nail on the head.
Xiao Ziyu frowned. If it was Zhou Xiong who objected, he could still argue with him. However, the interests of the Imperial Clan Temple had nothing to do with Li Mu. His words were completely from the standpoint of an outsider. He was speaking for the sake of the justice of the imperial court. No one could be so righteous as to oppose justice with selfishness.
Li Mu continued, "If you insist on the ancestral system, then all the officials of the Zheng Temple today should be the Zhou clan and not the Xiao clan."
Zhou Xiong immediately said, "This official agrees with what Lord Li said."
Xiao Ziyu didn't understand. The royal Xiao family hadn't offended Li Mu. Instead, it was the Zhou family that had a life and death grudge with him. Why did he insist on speaking for the Zhou family?
More importantly, he could not refute Li Mu's words.
If he insisted on the ancestral system, then the Zhou family would definitely not let go of the ancestral system. At that time, they might lose everything.
If he agreed to the restructuring, the Imperial Ancestral Temple would still be the current Imperial Ancestral Temple. The officials who entered the Imperial Ancestral Temple through the imperial examinations would definitely start from the bottom and would not affect the overall situation.
After comparing the two, he quickly came to a decision.
He smiled and said, "I was too narrow-minded. Sir Li is right. The Imperial Ancestral Temple is the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the court. It should be treated the same as all the other ministries and should not be independent of the imperial examinations …"
Walking out of the Secretariat, Li Mu's face flashed with a smile.
Breaking the monopoly that the old faction of the Xiao clan had over the Zongzheng Temple was the first step in his and Zhang Chun's plan.
As for the second step, it was to find a way to infiltrate the Imperial Clan Temple.
He looked back and walked out of the palace.
Inside the Secretariat, Xiao Ziyu stood in front of Cui Ming and said, "Li Mu proposed that the officials of the Imperial Ancestral Temple should be elected by the court in the future. I agree."
Cui Ming frowned and asked, "What does the Imperial Ancestral Temple have to do with him? What is this Li Mu doing?"
Xiao Ziyu said, "I feel that he should not have any other motives. This person does not have any selfish motives. Perhaps he is truly dedicated to the country."
Cui Ming said, "There is no need for outsiders to interfere with the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This is a deterrent to the officials of the fourth rank and above. How can we just give it to someone else?"
Xiao Ziyu shook his head and said, "Things are not that simple. To be precise, the current imperial family is the Zhou family. According to the rules, all the officials of the Imperial Ancestral Temple should be held by the Zhou family. I agree with Li Mu that the Imperial Ancestral Temple should temporarily belong to the Xiao clan. If I disagree, the Zhou family can immediately replace it.
Cui Ming thought for a moment and realized that the old party did not have a choice.
In other words, they could only choose to be swallowed up in a short period of time or slowly nibbled away.
"Let's do as he said. No matter what, we can't let the Zhou family interfere with the Imperial Ancestral Temple." Cui Ming thought for a moment and said, "Keep an eye on Li Mu. If he does anything else, inform me …"
…
Back in the Divine Capital, Zhang Chun walked out of the yamen and asked, "How is it?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "Everything is going according to plan."
Zhang Chun sighed and said, "I didn't expect His Majesty to let you participate in this level of national affairs. The decision-making officials of the Secretariat, the assistant ministers, and the officials of the Secretariat, which one of them does not have a deep background …"
Li Mu said, "This is only the first step. Next, we need to infiltrate the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This person …"
Zhang Chun said, "Let me do it."
Li Mu was greatly surprised. Could a middle-aged man's jealousy really change a person's personality?
Zhang Chun was always timid. When he encountered trouble, he would run away if he could and hide if he could. This time, he actually took the initiative to step forward, which really surprised Li Mu.
Zhang Chun said, "I still have no idea how to enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
Li Mu said, "Let me think of a way."
As long as the Imperial Ancestral Temple was no longer monopolized by the Xiao family, it would not be difficult to arrange for him to enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple through various methods. However, Zhang Chun's changed personality made it difficult for him to adapt.
Could it be that he also felt that he had offended too many people in the Divine Capital and decided to give up?
Or had he found a new backer?
Zhang Chun walked straight back to the yamen and poured two cups of wine. He said, "To celebrate the smooth progress of the plan, let's have a drink."
He picked up the wine cup and drank it in one gulp. Li Mu also picked up the wine cup. After taking a sip, he felt that the taste was a little strange and asked, "What wine is this?"
"Medicinal wine." Zhang Chun smacked his lips and said, "This is my collection. This wine is brewed with deer antler more than three hundred years old, ginseng, and other medicinal herbs. There's also a tiger penis that transformed into a tiger demon. If you like it, I can give it to you …"
"Pfft …"
Li Mu suddenly spat out the mouthful of wine that had just taken a sip.
Zhang Chun said with heartache, "Don't waste it. Not only can this wine strengthen the body, it's also good for passing down the ancestral line and having children …"
Li Mu returned home and cursed Zhang Chun in his heart.
This medicinal wine had a strong medicinal effect. It did not affect the mind but the body directly.
After drinking it, the body would react within fifteen minutes. Reciting the Clear Heart Sutra would be useless.
Zhang Chun had a wife and a family. He could make up for it however he wanted. He only had a fox at home that he could see but could not touch. How was he going to pass the long night?
Besides, he was a Theurgy cultivator. He had already refined the seven spirits and could control the Sparrow Shade freely. He did not need such a thing. As for having children, that was even more nonsense. Liu Hanyan was not around. How was he going to have a child with a ghost?
Li Mu cursed Zhang Chun's lame joke in his heart. When he walked to the door, Xiao Bai was already there to welcome him.
Now that she had grown an extra tail, her charm had increased imperceptibly. Her figure and face had matured a lot compared to when she was three tails.
Li Mu could not help but gulp. He felt that this action was a little strange and said awkwardly, "What did you cook today? It smells so good …"
Xiao Bai was stunned. "Benefactor, you came back early today. I haven't started cooking yet …"
Li Mu strode into the yard and said, "Then I'll go cook. You go to the room to cultivate. I'll call you when it's done …"
Xiao Bai trotted over and said, "Then I'll help you, benefactor."
As Xiao Bai's cultivation improved, Li Mu realized that his control over her was starting to be insufficient. Especially when she climbed into Li Mu's bed at night.
That night, Li Mu fell into a dream again.
He woke up early in the morning and went to the Divine Capital Government.
Stepping into the courtyard of the Divine Capital Government, Li Mu was surprised to see a figure he had not seen for a long time.
He strode to Li Si and asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
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