In the imperial kitchen.
Ever since Liu Hanyan and Li Qing opened their hearts to each other, Li Mu didn't want to go home. He didn't want to leave home. Of course, because of this, he came to the palace less often, and he hadn't been to the imperial kitchen for a long time.
When it was only Liu Hanyan and the Empress, Li Mu could still take care of them.
But when Liu Hanyan came to Shen 'du and Li Qing moved in, the number of people who needed to be with him increased from one to three. Li Mu was a little busy.
This made him realize that he still had a lot of shortcomings in terms of time management.
Mr. Lu Xun once said that time was like water in a sponge. If he could make use of the time he spent standing in a daze in the morning court, he could at least cook a bowl of piping hot noodles for the Empress after the morning court.
Mr. Mei once mentioned by accident that the Empress liked to sleep in, so she often didn't eat breakfast in the morning. After the court, it was still early before breakfast time, so she might as well eat something to fill her stomach.
Li Mu knew why the Empress liked to sleep in. It was because she couldn't fall asleep at night, so she would cook conch porridge with Li Mu in the middle of the night, or enter his dreams to teach him how to cultivate. As a cultivator in the Upper Three Realms, she wouldn't feel tired even if she didn't sleep for a month. But cultivators were still people, and nothing could replace the joy and happiness brought by sleeping.
Of course, that was in the past.
At that time, Li Mu and she were both single. Now, Li Mu had his wife in his arms every night. Unlike the Empress, who had nothing to do during the long nights, he couldn't sleep beside Liu Hanyan and talk to another woman all night, even if that woman was Liu Hanyan's idol.
While he was cooking the noodles, several imperial chefs were watching. Finally, one of them couldn't help but ask, "Lord Li, is there some secret to your cooking? Why can't we use the same ingredients and the same steps to make your dish taste the same?"
Regarding this point, Li Mu also did not know. With the same ingredients and steps, the food made by these imperial chefs would definitely be better than his. Perhaps the Empress was used to eating the food and liked his taste.
After cooking the noodles, Li Mu calculated the time and arrived at Changle Palace just as the morning court session was about to end.
Soon, a figure walked out from the back of the hall. Zhou Yi looked at Li Mu and said, "Is it because I spoil you too much that you are becoming more and more unruly? You even dare to sneak out of the morning court... Eh, what's that smell?"
Her throat moved, and her tone instantly softened as she asked, "Did you cook noodles?"
Li Mu said, "I guessed that Your Majesty probably didn't eat breakfast today, so I went to the imperial kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles."
Zhou Yi slowly sat down, thought for a moment, and said, "You are the Deputy Commander of the Bamboo Guards and also responsible for internal affairs. If there is an emergency in the morning court session, you can leave first. I won't blame you. Okay, give me the chopsticks..."
Watching the Empress eat the noodles in small bites, Li Mu asked, "Your Majesty, how is the situation in the court?"
Zhou Yi slowly finished a mouthful of noodles, and then said, "You don't know what the result of the trouble you caused will be. The court officials are all in danger, and the court is in chaos. The trouble was caused by you, so you are responsible for pacifying it..."
Li Mu said, "These more than 20 guilty officials deserve to be punished. Although it will cause chaos for a short period of time, as long as it's properly arranged, it won't affect the court too much. Your Majesty, you can quickly promote some experienced officials without any background to replace their original positions in the departments of those guilty officials. This way, the impact can be minimized and the normal operation of the yamen can be maintained …"
"At the same time, Your Majesty can also publicize the crimes of these officials, and use this to win over the people. After Lord Li Yi overturned the case, the people of the 36 counties will greatly increase. After punishing these corrupt officials, Your Majesty's reputation will reach the peak, and you will not be inferior to the previous wise emperors of Great Zhou. It will only be a matter of time before you surpass Emperor Wen..."
Zhou Qiong didn't seem to be interested in Li Mu's pancake at all. Her mind was completely focused on the bowl of noodles in front of her. She was puzzled. The same noodles and the same side dishes. Why was it that the imperial chef's dish didn't taste as good as Li Mu's?
She waved her hand and said, "Just do as you said. Go and arrange it..."
Walking out of Changle Palace, Li Mu's heart was slightly heavy.
He was a little worried. If the Empress favored him so much and let him make all the decisions, the court officials might be jealous and label him as a favored official who caused chaos. They might band together and get rid of him...
No, he had to go back and fix the Law Bell as soon as possible. If the worst happened, the safety of his family would be guaranteed.
When the time came, as long as the Law Bell covered the Li Residence, there would be time to slowly shake people off.
Li Mu returned to the Secretariat. Liu Yi was about to leave the Assistant Minister's Office, but when she looked up and saw him, she subconsciously retracted her foot.
At the same time, in the Zongzheng Temple not far from the Secretariat, Zhang Chun looked at Prince Shou and said, "Prince, without your seal, it won't be easy for me to catch people."
Prince Shou shook his head and said, "If I give you my seal and let you catch our people, wouldn't I be in a difficult position?"
Zhang Chun said, "According to the law, Gao Hong should be arrested."
Prince Shou shook his head and said, "Whoever wants to arrest him can do it. In any case, I'm not arresting him."
Zhang Chun gritted his teeth and said, "Then you are bending the law for personal gain. The next time I go to the imperial court, I will report you in the golden palace. As an official of the Zongzheng Temple, you are bending the law for personal gain and shielding your accomplices. Your crime is not light..."
Prince Shou said angrily, "Are you threatening me?"
Zhang Chun said indifferently, "This is persuasion."
Prince Shou suddenly sighed and said, "You are threatening me with impeachment. If I arrest Gao Hong, they can't blame me. Show me the official document and my seal..."
Not long after, Zhang Chun brought people out of the Zongzheng Temple and came to the southern courtyard, in front of the Gao Residence.
The morning court had already ended, and Gao Hong had already received news that Zhang Chun was not targeting him. Last night, more than twenty officials in the imperial court were arrested by the Zongzheng Temple.
Without exception, these twenty people were all officials of the old party. Gao Hong found it hard to believe that the Zongzheng Temple had something on all of them. Even the Empress's internal guards did not have this ability.
There was no doubt that there was a traitor among them.
As for who the traitor was, it couldn't be any more obvious.
Gao Hong gritted his teeth and said, "Zhou Zhong, you should be hacked into pieces!"
As the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Zhong had gained their trust over the years. The Ministry of Justice had also become a shelter for the old party officials. No matter what crimes they committed, they could be cleared of any crimes through the Ministry of Justice. Zhou Zhong had helped the old party officials time and time again, and his status in the old party had also risen.
At the same time, Zhou Zhong also had many things on them.
Facts had proven that the more they valued someone, the deeper they were hurt.
In just a month, Zhou Zhong had betrayed them twice.
Previously, when he turned himself in and overturned Li Yi's case, he had already caused the old party to lose an arm. This time, although the officials he targeted were not high ranking, the scope was huge. The old party would probably suffer another blow.
However, this was not necessarily a bad thing.
After this, the higher-ups would probably not tolerate Li Mu anymore. Even if it went against the emperor's will, they would resolutely get rid of him.
Before that, he just needed to wait for news.
Gao Hong did not receive any news, but Zhang Chun did.
Looking at the official seal of the Imperial Clan Temple, Gao Hong said in disbelief, "You stole His Highness's seal!"
"Bullshit!" Zhang Chun glared at him and said, "Do I need to steal it? I just need to tell him that you, Gao Hong, are guilty. If he didn't seal it, he would be bending the law for favoritism and covering up for his accomplice. I will have the imperial court impeach him, and he will confess everything..."
Gao Hong's lungs were about to explode. He gritted his teeth and said, "Coward!"
Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "If you want to scold him, go to the Imperial Clan Temple and scold him in front of him. Lord Gao, do you want to leave by yourself, or do we have to escort you..."
Gao Hong snorted and said, "I'll leave by myself!"
He looked coldly at Zhang Chun and said, "Just you wait. Li Mu won't be able to jump around for long. When the time comes, the first one to die will be you!"
Zhang Chun glanced at him and said, "You might not be able to wait until that day..."
After having two people send Gao Hong to the Imperial Clan Temple, Zhang Chun waved his hand and said to the others, "Go to the next house!"
A moment later, at the Commandery Prince Mansion of Nanyang.
The people of the Imperial Clan Temple knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered.
A low-ranking official helplessly retreated and said, "Lord, there's no one."
Zhang Chun said indifferently, "Put on the Explosive Talisman..."
The two low-ranking officials stuck a few pieces of Fu-lu on the door of the Commandery Prince Mansion of Nanyang. Zhang Chun used his magic power to control the Fu-lu from a distance, and a powerful wave of spiritual energy erupted from the pieces of paper.
However, as soon as the wave of spiritual energy was produced, a wave of water appeared on the door of the Commandery Prince Mansion of Nanyang. Wherever the wave of water passed, the waves of spiritual energy produced by the Fu-lu were easily wiped out.
A low-ranking official said, "The protective formation..."
He walked to Zhang Chun and said, "Lord, the protective formation here is too strong. We can't break it."
Zhang Chun asked, "How did the Imperial Clan Temple solve this kind of problem in the past?"
The low-ranking official said, "We would send an official document to the Ministry of Personnel and ask them to send a High Priest from the High Priest Department."
Zhang Chun thought for a while and said, "Let's go back to the Imperial Clan Temple first. I'll write an official document for you to send to the Ministry of Personnel."
The low-ranking official looked at him and reminded, "Lord, you're the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
Zhang Chun slapped his head and said, "How could I forget about this? Come, follow me to the Ministry of Personnel..."
Soon, there was no movement outside the Commandery Prince Mansion of Nanyang.
Outside the door, the Commandery Prince of Nanyang waved his sleeves and snorted, "You're courting death!"
Without this incident, perhaps the higher-ups would continue to tolerate Li Mu. After this incident, getting rid of Li Mu was a top priority.
At the same time, in a deep house in the Southern Court, there was a sound of gnashing teeth.
"Li Mu can't be kept alive anymore!"
"This person's threat is even greater than Li Yi's back then..."
"We must get rid of Li Mu, but His Majesty..."
"With His Majesty's protection, it's impossible to get rid of him through the imperial court. If we want to get rid of Li Mu, we must restrain His Majesty and use special means. I'll go to the Hundred Rivers Academy and meet the dean..."
"I'll go to the Myriad Scrolls Academy..."
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