Chapter 467 - 425: Morning Court
Da Xuan Imperial Palace, The Emperor’s Bedchambers.
The gloomy hall was terrifyingly silent. The doors were shut tight, and even all the windows were sealed. The air was stale; if not for the burning incense, one could likely smell the stench of mildew.
The once-magnificent royal decorations now gave off a sinister feeling.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Minister Han has been waiting outside the door for an hour."
Wang Fu, the Chief Eunuch of the Ritual Department and the Emperor’s most trusted confidant, knelt on the floor.
"I will not see him!"
The voice of Emperor Li Chengyuan rang out, clearly laced with irritation.
Seeing this, Wang Fu could only murmur his assent, his mind already churning with ways to deal with the old Minister from the Ministry of Personnel.
This situation had persisted for a full six months.
The appointments and transfers of over a hundred officials of Xuan Yang, both high and low, were all stuck at the final stage. Without the Emperor’s signed approval, none of them could be considered valid.
Although the Ritual Department had the authority to approve documents in red ink, this was only done on the Emperor’s behalf. If they acted on their own authority, they would surely be sentenced to death by extreme measures.
Even as Emperor Li Chengyuan’s most trusted confidant, he would never dare do such a thing.
Deep within the hall, Emperor Li Chengyuan sat all alone.
He no longer possessed his former glory, and a visible pallor covered his face.
This was not just the backlash from his declining fortune, but also the fear of being a truly solitary ruler.
Emperors often referred to themselves as ’the lonely one,’ and this was no self-effacing remark.
From the moment he became Emperor, the only person Li Chengyuan could trust was himself.
This was a world of the Martial Dao. To suppress the world, one needed transcendent strength. When his fortune was abundant, Li Chengyuan was a peerless expert comparable to a Divine Communication Grandmaster.
A Divine Communication Grandmaster could not be killed.
That had been his greatest source of confidence.
But now, with his fortune fluctuating, the impact on him was immense. He had nearly regressed a full realm in power, and at last, he began to panic.
Of course, an emperor did not need to possess the greatest personal combat prowess in the world. Experts in the court like Yan Shao’an, Liang Yuan Kang, and Xu Dingchun would naturally act on his behalf.
But there was a prerequisite: he had to be the one who controlled half of the world’s fortune.
The Confucian Family protected Xuan Yang, not him, Li Chengyuan.
Therefore, the current Li Chengyuan could not trust anyone. He had no choice but to confine himself, for if he showed his face, the great sects of the Jianghu, who had long been restless, would surely make their move.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Li Chengyuan’s eyes were bloodshot.
His previous composure was gone. If he could not find a way to reconsolidate his fortune, the person on the Dragon Throne would likely be replaced.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, as if he had made some sort of decision.
"Wang Fu!"
Outside, Chief Eunuch Wang Fu, who had just finished placating the old Minister from the Ministry of Personnel, heard the commotion from within the hall and came trotting in.
Wang Fu gazed at the increasingly gaunt Li Chengyuan.
"Have them prepare. Tomorrow, We shall hold the morning court session."
Hearing Li Chengyuan’s words, Wang Fu’s eyes filled with shock.
He was arguably the person who best understood Li Chengyuan’s condition. Even Xu Dingchun, Liang Yuan Kang, and Yan Shao’an had only seen Li Chengyuan once or twice, but he could enter and leave the bedchambers daily.
But now the Emperor was actually saying he would resume the morning court session?
He looked at Li Chengyuan, whose complexion was still sickly, and his eyes filled with worry. He couldn’t help but try to dissuade him, "Your Majesty, perhaps you should rest for a few more days. There will always be a way."
Li Chengyuan waved his hand, his mind made up. "Go and see to it."
Wang Fu sighed heavily in his heart.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Chief Eunuch walked out of the palace with a complicated expression. If there was anyone in the world who truly did not want to see Li Chengyuan fall from the throne, he was surely one of them.
Wang Fu was different from the other eunuchs; he had not been in the palace since childhood.
The current Emperor, before he was even a Prince, had been just an insignificant member of the Li Family. Though of Royal Family blood, his status wasn’t high, and he frequently roamed the Jianghu.
During one of his journeys, he saved a young child who was on the verge of starvation and had decent natural talent.
That child followed Li Chengyuan from then on. Later, to repay his benefactor’s kindness, he became the current Chief Eunuch of the Ritual Department, Wang Fu.
So it wasn’t just that he feared a reckoning from a new emperor should Li Chengyuan fall; he also hoped from the bottom of his heart that Li Chengyuan would recover.
「...」
Explosive news spread through the Capital City.
Emperor Xuanyang, who had not been seen in half a year, was going to resume the morning court session tomorrow. This news was undoubtedly invigorating.
Rumors had long been circulating that the current Emperor had been harmed by that Eunuch, Wang Fu, and was already terminally ill.
This news greatly astonished the Capital Officials.
Under the expectant gazes of the world, the morning court session was finally held once more in Taihe Hall.
"Court is in session!"
Wang Fu’s voice, which had repeated the call countless times, rang out once again. The civil and military officials ascended to Taihe Hall from the left and right, finally arranging themselves in two columns.
The Grand Tutor of Xuan Yang Liang Yuan Kang, Grand Protector Yan Shao’an, and Grand General of the Realm Xu Dingchun stood at the very front of the lines.
Under the gazes of a hundred of Xuan Yang’s high ministers, Emperor Li Chengyuan slowly walked out and sat upon the Dragon Throne.
"Long live my Emperor! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
The cheer was like the roar of a tidal wave.
Li Chengyuan’s majestic voice also echoed through the hall. "You may rise."
At this moment, it was as if Li Chengyuan had returned to his peak. A domineering aura spread wantonly throughout the hall.
A flicker of astonishment passed through the eyes of some high ministers who knew the inside story.
They had not expected the Emperor to recover so quickly from the effects of the fluctuation in his fortune.
The appearance of Emperor Li Chengyuan also reassured many of the wavering officials. As long as Li Chengyuan was still here, Xuan Yang would remain his Xuan Yang.
No matter how much those great Jianghu sects and Princes jumped about, it would all be useless.
The court assembly proceeded as usual: ministers presented their memorials, and the Emperor approved or rejected them. The only major difference was the massive backlog of affairs, which caused the session to last from dawn until late at night. Fortunately, all the ministers present were Martial Dao masters, so no one collapsed from exhaustion.