Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Mainline Cultivation

Early in the morning, Ming was practicing the Heaven Opening Fist.

Even though he was no longer part of the Blood Floating Pagoda, he had already developed the habit of waking up early.

“Scholar Xu is truly disciplined.”

After Ming finished a whole set of boxing and washed his face, Wei arrived at Ming’s courtyard.

“Scholar Xu,” Wei said, “His Majesty requests your presence.”

“Please allow me to freshen up and change clothes before seeing His Majesty,” Ming replied respectfully.

Ming dared not directly say, “That’s inappropriate,” so he first praised, “His Majesty is wise,” then presented his views.

The Emperor of Wu chuckled, “Do you suspect that I have poisoned you? Should I test it on myself?”

Ming kept his eyes straight ahead, only looking at the road ahead, not daring to look around carelessly.

“This…” Ming looked somewhat at a loss.

Ming listened with bated breath.

Currently, Mochi’s whip technique alone has been criticized to the point of being frazzled.

Only the Empress of the Wu Kingdom can wear phoenix embroidery on her palace robes.

A palace maid served Scholar Xu a bowl of pearl emerald porridge.

“Xu Ming, you don’t know how famous you are in the harem,” the Emperor smiled, “The poem you gave to Zhu Cici, almost every concubine and palace maid knows it by heart. They often lament autumn and feel sorrow, even Ke does.”

“Is this… appropriate?” Xu asked.

Beside him, Xu could only maintain a smile, not daring to say anything.

Sometimes when the Emperor read memorials, he would suddenly throw them down and curse loudly. At such times, Xu would lower his head, and Wei would try to calm the Emperor, saying, “Your Majesty, please calm down.”

However, Xu’s viewpoints were quite unique and interesting.

“Alright.”

Xu glanced at Wei.

Otherwise, if he saw something he shouldn’t, it would be disastrous.

Xu bowed.

In smaller matters, like during an epidemic season, Xu advocated drinking more boiled water, as high temperatures could kill “the source of the plague” to some extent.

In the afternoon, while reviewing the memorials, the Emperor introduced the personalities of various officials to Xu.

“This Xiong Wentian, you should be familiar with him. He’s Haizhi’s father, the Minister of War. He’s not bad, loyal and honest, but too rigid in his ways and looks down on civil officials. However, since you’re both skilled in literature and martial arts, future interactions with him should go smoother. He’s worth befriending.”

“Yes.”

Even in the military camp, Xu had heard of the Empress of the Wu Kingdom—Ke, the first beauty of the Wu Kingdom. With just her mortal identity and without any physical refinement, she ranked 93rd on the Red Beauty List.

“Ho ho ho, here in the harem, there’s no need for so much formality between ruler and subject,” Ke smiled, her voice ringing like silver bells, “Xu Ming, come and eat.”

“Director Wei, is this… the direction of the harem?”

The Emperor occasionally sought Xu’s opinions on certain policies, criticizing the ulterior motives of some officials and their intrigues.

After lunch, the Emperor continued reviewing the memorials without taking a nap.

Xu: “I dare not, I am quite honored…”

“I pay respects to Your Majesty and the Empress.”

The Emperor’s reputation among the common people was quite good.

Unifying the management of grain and iron under the state indeed greatly enriched the treasury. During famine, opening the granary for disaster relief could also suppress merchants profiteering from national difficulties.

Not mentioning “drink more hot water.”

Today, there was no morning court session, but the Emperor didn’t take a day off. From morning till noon, the Emperor worked tirelessly, like a workaholic.

Xu: “…”

The Emperor was having breakfast with a woman, with palace maids serving on the side.

Her fingers were delicate like jade, her nails painted with a light pink, making her appear all the more gentle and charming.

But the problem was, this touched too many people’s interests.

It couldn’t be done; it wouldn’t do.

Food must be eaten bit by bit. Eating too much at once could cause indigestion.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, her features perfectly proportioned like a masterpiece of nature. Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, lightly revealing a hint of coquetry, her eyes like autumn waters, deep and bright, seeming to contain countless tender emotions.

Arriving at the harem, Xu felt as if he had entered another world. The harem was filled with flowers and grasses, pavilions and towers, large lakes and artificial hills. Palace maids came and went, and apart from them, there were only eunuchs. This formed a stark contrast with the solemnity of the front palace.

Now doing this again…

Won’t work, won’t work.

After finishing breakfast, the Emperor took Xu to the Imperial Study.

“Your Majesty…” Ke playfully called out, “I’m not an immortal maiden who can forever stay young. My beauty fades, can’t I lament this?”

“You don’t need to be so formal, come, sit down, let’s eat.” The Emperor beckoned Xu.

The Emperor was reviewing the memorials, and Xu stood beside him.

“This Chang Sanqian, Left Chief Secretary, talented from a young age, but now he’s an old fox. His abilities are decent, greedy and lecherous, just do some surface work.”

“This Huang Liu, Door-Down Province Attendant, is a very annoying person. He’s overly cautious and often gets stuck in details, but whatever task you give him, he’ll complete it perfectly without any mistakes.”

After breakfast, the Emperor took Xu to the Imperial Study.

“Alright, alright, alright.” The Emperor spoke affectionately to the Empress.

Wei smiled, “If His Majesty summoned you, Scholar Xu, that’s the greatest convenience. Just follow along, don’t make His Majesty wait too long.”

After bathing, Wei led Xu towards the direction of the harem.

“One incense stick later, Director Wei brought Scholar Xu to the Yangxin Hall.”

Both the Emperor and Empress had spoken, so Xu could only join the table.

Wei just nodded with a smile.

At this moment, Xu was sure that the Emperor wasn’t seeing him just because he was a “celebrity,” but truly wanted to heavily rely on him, cultivating him as part of the mainline!