After settling everything in the Billow Cloud Residence and having Great Immortal Guagua oversee things, Yi Tian felt much more at ease. He once again used his concealment technique to sneak out of the cave and returned to Viscount Hongshan's residence.
This time, he had only been away for a few weeks, but the residence had received many invitations. Yi Tian sat in the study of the residence and read through the letters he received. Most of them were invitations from the imperial nobles.
He had no intention of going to these things at all. To put it bluntly, they were all a waste of time. After reading, he took a look at the official letter from the imperial court and the jade slip from Mei Baiji. While he was in seclusion, the imperial guard selection was held as scheduled. As the host of the selection, Qiao Yongjun did a good job.
The official letter also mentioned that Princess Fenglin, who was sent by the imperial family to supervise, was particularly attentive. After carefully examining the background of the selected cultivators, she directly placed them in the various departments of the imperial guard in the name of the empress.
This was all originally planned by Luo Ziyan. It was just that Luo Qingcheng gave the orders. Therefore, as the deputy commander of the imperial guard, Qiao Yongjun could only remain silent. After all, his authority was there and he had no authority to arrange personnel.
In addition, Luo Qingcheng personally went to Duan Xiaolou to discuss the establishment of the imperial capital's public security office. This time, it was clearly written in the imperial court's circular letter that the imperial guard's authority would be reduced. In the future, they would be responsible for inspecting and guarding the imperial city's gates and the imperial capital's four gates.
As for the public security inspection in the various regions of the imperial capital, they would all be delegated to the public security office and entrusted to the first public security officer, Duan Xiaolou. The imperial court's faction had become the biggest beneficiary this time, and the original nobles' forces would be able to get a share of the profits from the new public security office.
This topic had already been raised during the court assembly and received the approval of nearly three-quarters of the court. Thus, even if Prince Wei's faction wanted to interfere, they didn't dare to go against all the nobles of the court. The result was abnormally obvious, so they could only grit their teeth and swallow it.
As for the influence of Yun Lin's faction in the Royal Guards, it was slightly affected. On the other hand, the influence of the nobles led by Hao Ren had greatly expanded. All in all, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.
As for the final loser, it was still Prince Wei himself. With his authority greatly restricted, he could only protect the imperial guards and the imperial capital's two southeastern gates. Strangely enough, Prince Wei didn't seem to have any objections to this, and he didn't even say a word during the court session.
Yi Tian fell into deep thought after reading the intelligence reports and letters from the imperial court. Prince Wei's reaction seemed to be a little out of his expectations. She didn't expect that he would be able to command the winds and clouds as soon as he gained power. Even when he was at a low point, he could still hold his breath. This shrewdness was something that Luo Ziyan couldn't compare to.
Facing such an opponent, even with Yun Lin's help, it would be difficult for Luo Ziyan to deal with it. He believed that Prince Wei's faction would soon make their move. He wondered how Luo Ziyan would deal with it.
After reading these letters, Yi Tian casually put them away and secretly thought about his next move. However, he hadn't obtained the Asura Destiny Chart yet, so he couldn't determine his next move for the time being.
Just as he was thinking, the voice of Viscount Hongshan's steward suddenly came from outside the room's restriction. "Master, quickly come out to receive the edict. The imperial court has issued a new order."
"A new order," Yi Tian muttered, a puzzled look on his face. He didn't expect Luo Ziyan to send him on a mission.
Just as he was thinking, the steward's urging voice came from outside the door again. "The one who came to deliver the edict is Princess Fenglin. Don't let her wait too long."
Hearing this, Yi Tian was startled and inwardly cursed his bad luck. Luo Qingcheng was someone who knew a little about the situation. This time, she was sent to deliver the edict most likely because she wanted to reduce his prestige. Moreover, under the name of righteousness, he really couldn't do anything about it. Moreover, they were in public. She was certain that he still wanted to use his identity as Viscount Hongshan, so she would definitely target him.
After thinking about it, he sighed and slowly stood up. With a wave of his hand, he opened the restriction barrier and walked out. Viscount Hongshan's residence had never seen such a big scene before. The steward and servants all seemed to be cowering.
Sweeping his gaze across the main hall, he saw Luo Qingcheng sitting on the main seat. Behind her was a group of imperial guards. Beside her was Shui Cangyue. At this moment, he was sitting with his eyes closed as if it had nothing to do with him.
After seeing this, Yi Tian walked forward and said, "Welcome, Emissary. May I know what business you have with us?"
Despite asking the obvious, the steward beside him reminded him in a low voice, "Master, as usual, when welcoming the imperial court's envoy, one has to kneel down before receiving the edict."
Yi Tian snorted coldly. He knew that these Jin Dan cultivators were scared out of their wits. It could be considered that this old steward was relatively loyal, so he spoke up to remind them.
However, how could Luo Ziyan and Shui Cangyue, who were sitting on top of him, not know his identity? They were clearly waiting to see him make a fool of himself. He couldn't kneel down no matter what, but this stalemate wasn't a solution either.
Luo Qingcheng's eyes flashed with a trace of pride as she said, "Viscount Hongshan, I am also a noble of the imperial court. My noble rank is more than three ranks higher than yours. Even those grand dukes have to bow their heads when they see me. Even those with higher cultivation than me are not exempt. Could it be that Lord Viscount intends to disregard the imperial court's etiquette? "
These words were reasonable, and Yi Tian couldn't refute them for a while. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and took out a jade slip. He gently held it in his hand and said, "This is a secret order from the empress. It can avoid all the cumbersome etiquette of the imperial court. Even if I see a prince, I don't have to kneel. What do you think, Princess Fenglin?"
"There is such a thing? I don't believe it." Luo Qingcheng's expression changed and she stood up. She knew that she had lost her composure, so she adjusted her tone and said, "Hand over the jade slip in your hand. I will verify its authenticity."
He reached out to seal the jade slip and turned it to Luo Qingcheng and Shui Cangyue to let them see it. Yi Tian indifferently replied, "Princess Fenglin, you don't believe me. This is a secret order from the empress. Does Princess Fenglin know the consequences of this? I think your guard, Fellow Daoist Shui, should understand the meaning of this better than you."
After he finished speaking, he gently held the jade slip and was about to hand it over. Suddenly, Shui Cangyue opened her eyes and looked at it. She said, "Since Viscount Hongshan has received a secret order from the empress, it is naturally the empress's authority to not kneel. We naturally don't dare to have any doubts about this."
After she finished speaking, Shui Cangyue's lips moved as if she was privately communicating with Luo Qingcheng. Luo Qingcheng revealed an awkward expression. Suppressing the anger in her heart, she said in a tender voice, "Good job, Viscount Hongshan. I will remember this. Stand and receive the edict."
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