Eunuch Gao who had a good grasp of Li Yunzheng’s personality was baffled by this situation as well.
When the inner attendants waited on the young emperor, he would vent his anger on them. As his subordinates, they had no choice but to accept this treatment without any complaints. Was the young emperor suppressing his anger?
Lu Zhou walked to the main seat and lifted his robes slightly before he sat down.
Yu Shangrong, Yu Zhenghai, and the others then took their seats behind Lu Zhou.
Li Zhou stroked his beard as he scanned the crowd before he called out, “Li Yunzheng.”
Li Yunzheng felt even more awkward now. He thought, ‘I’m the monarch, after all. Can you give me some face? Although we’ve met twice, have been honest with each other, and I think we’re on good terms, can you please not address me by my name in front of so many people?’
In the end, Li Yunzheng said, “What is it, old mister?”
“The breeze is strong there. The spot next to me is better. Come. I’d like to have a nice chat with you,” Lu Zhou said as he pointed at the seat next to him.
“…”
At this moment, Eunuch Gao looked at a minor eunuch next to him meaningfully.
The minor eunuch shuddered. It seemed like he was not bold enough to do whatever Eunuch Gao had signaled him to do. However, when he saw the expression on Eunuch Gao’s face again, he had no choice but to slam his hands down on the table as he rose to his feet.
Thump!
The minor eunuch mustered up his courage and said indignantly, “How dare you speak so rudely to the emperor?!”
Lu Zhou continued to stroke his beard with a calm expression on his face as he waited for Li Yunzheng to sit next to him.
Li Yunzheng frowned. He turned around and said, “Don’t be rude to the old mister!”
The minor eunuch hurriedly bowed and said, “Your Majesty, this is the etiquette between a ruler and his subjects. No one is exempt from it! How is Your Majesty going to rule the lands if you let this transgression go?”
The minor eunuch’s words that were filled with righteous indignation were clearly meant for Lu Zhou’s ears. These words were, naturally, in line with Wang Shizhong and Eunuch Gao’s thoughts. Both of them looked slightly pleased at this moment.
Lu Zhou remained silent as he continued to point at the seat next to him.
At this moment, Li Yunzheng turned around and barked, “Impudent!”
Eunuch Gao was stunned again. ‘Is this young emperor confused about his position?’
The soldiers standing at the back were confused as well.
The minor eunuch no longer dared to speak as he bowed.
Li Yunzheng turned to address Eunuch Gao. “Did you train this person? Eunuch Gao, how should someone who disobeyed the monarch be punished?”
Eunuch Gao stood up with a frown on his face. Although he did not understand the young emperor’s sudden change in behavior, he could only bow and say, “Your Majesty, I’ll personally punish him.”
Then, Eunuch Gao raised his right hand that was glowing red.
“You!” The minor eunuch was shocked. He was about to squeal in fear when the red palm struck his chest. He was helpless to fight back. With just a palm strike, his internal organs were heavily damaged, causing him to die.
The people behind Eunuch Gao retreated, stunned.
The people from the palace and the Sky Martial Court were stunned. Did they not come here for a peaceful discussion? They were not even here for long, and yet, one of their own had died. Moreover, it was by the hands of another one of their own.
After Eunuch Gao withdrew his hand, he looked at Li Yunzheng and said, “Your Majesty, forgive me for not disciplining him strictly. I’ve already executed this impudent fool. This will serve as a warning to the others.”
Li Yunzheng. “…”
Eunuch Gao had overstepped his boundaries more than one time. This was one of the reasons Li Yunzheng disliked him. However, he did not expect that Eunuch Gao would kill someone in public. ‘Is this his way of asserting dominance for me?’
Lu Zhou finally said, “That was impressive.”
Eunuch Gao cupped his fists at Lu Zhou. “It was nothing.”
“This is Cloud Mountain, not the palace. If you killed that person as a show of power to me, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re sorely mistaken. You were still playing with dir when I started killing people.” After Lu Zhou said those words, he waved his hand and added, “Li Yunzheng, are you going to make me wait forever?”
Compared to Eunuch Gao and the others who tried to pressure him with subtle means, Li Yunzheng preferred Lu Zhou’s bluntness. He rose to his feet and walked over to Lu Zhou.
Since Eunuch Gao’s plan had been foiled, he could only sit down with a sour expression on his face. He said harshly to the people behind him, “Why are you standing there? Clean this up!”
“Understood.”
Two soldiers hurried forward and carried the minor eunuch’s corpse onto the flying chariot.
Li Yunzheng sat next to Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou shook his head as he said, “As a monarch, you should also look the part. Do you still remember what I told you?”
Li Yunzheng forced a smile on his face.
Wang Shizhong and Eunuch Gao were stunned.
‘They’ve met?’
‘What did they speak about?’
Lu Zhou remained silent.
Initially, Li Yunzheng felt uncomfortable. No matter what, he was still the emperor. It was out of place for someone to call him over. However, after thinking about it for a moment, he thought there was no reason for him to feel embarrassed. After all, Wang Shizhong, Eunuch Gao, the soldiers, attendants, and the others had always mocked him behind his back. Even the palace girls dared to speak ill of him. Monarch? No, he was nothing more than the subject of ridicule for the inhabitants of the palace. Since things were like this, why should he feel embarrassed by the old mister’s treatment? At least, the old mister was worthy compared to those despicable people. With his, his expression gradually returned to normal when he turned around to face the others.
After a beat, Li Yunzheng said to Lu Zhou without beating around the bush, “Old mister, I’m sure that you’re aware of my reason for being here.”
“Yes,” Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he said, “However, I’ve already spoken to the Sky Martial Court’s Mo Buyan. Considering your identity as the emperor, I’ll repeat my words again. If you want me to free the Sky Martial Court disciples, tell Yu Chenshu to come here.”
“I…”
“You’re the ruler of an empire; you should know your priorities,” Lu Zhou said as he swept his gaze across the others. His tone and behavior were similar to that of a teacher.
To Eunuch Gao and Wang Shizhong’s ears, Lu Zhou’s words sounded grating.
However, to Li Yunzheng, he found Lu Zhou’s words reasonable. ‘That’s right. I’m the emperor. Why do I have to stoop so low and personally demand the release of some sect’s disciples?’
At this moment, Wang Shizhong shook his head and said, “Senior Lu…”
“Who are you?” Lu Zhou interjected before Wang Shizhong finished speaking.
“Head of the secretariat, Wang Shizhong.” Wang Shizhong was more than happy to announce his name and office.
‘Head of the secretariat… This means he’s the prime minister. No wonder he’s so composed and is able to talk so calmly.’
Wang Shizhong said, “The Sky Martial Court is affiliated with the royal court. Moreover, they’re loyal to the palace. The court master, Yu Chenshu, is His Majesty’s trusted servant. Since His Majesty has personally come. Senior Lu, if you’d just consider this sincerity…”
Lu Zhou raised his hand to stop Wang Shizhong from speaking. “Did you not understand what I just said?”
“…” Wang Shizhong frowned. He did not expect the old man to be so stubborn.
“What I said is what will be,” Lu Zhou said.
At this moment, Nie Qing Yun steeled himself and chimed in confidently, “Senior Lu has already made himself clear. Prime Minister Wang, there’s no need for me to speak.”
The more Wang Shizhong listened to this, the more he found the situation strange. However, he dared not let his guard down. He continued to say, “I can guarantee that whatever Court Master Yu had promised for the release of his disciples, His Majesty and I will match it.” After he finished speaking, he waved his hand.
Then, the soldiers behind Wang Shizhong carried several boxes onto the cloud platform.
The number of boxes was three times greater than before.
Li Yunzheng asked in confusion, “Old mister, why must Court Master Yu personally come?”
Before Lu Zhou replied, Yu Zhenghai scoffed and said, Before Lu Zhou could say anything, Yu Zhenghai scoffed and said, “He’s not dead so why isn’t he here? Isn’t he being arrogant?”
