His long lashes lowered slightly, Pei Xuan’s every movement exuded elegance.
The young palace maids beside him blushed, stealing glances at him from time to time.
His eyes revealed a faint coldness, as if indifferent to everything around him.
Yet when he occasionally looked up, those deep eyes carried a trace of gentleness.
Pei Xuan raised his hand and picked up his cup, taking a few sips of hot tea.
A strand of sandalwood beads showed on his fair wrist, matching his overall temperament perfectly.
Pei Xuan didn’t wait long before Li Jinchen walked in, his face livid.
“Your Majesty.” Pei Xuan rose and inclined his head in salute.
The Grand Diviner held a high position in Aolong Kingdom, nearly equal to the emperor himself, but out of courtesy, Pei Xuan always inclined his head in salute.
“No need for formalities.” Li Jinchen swept in like a gust of wind and sat directly on the dragon throne.
Li Jinchen wore a bright yellow dragon robe, sweat at his temples, likely from having just bathed.
“Your Majesty, what business do you have with me?” Pei Xuan sat down, lowering his eyes as he fingered the sandalwood bracelet on his wrist.
His white hair fell to his waist, smooth as silk.
Li Jinchen pressed a hand to his temple.
A headache.
A splitting headache.
Not just from a night of debauchery, but also the lingering effects of the drug Xie Anci had given him.
The blue gemstone on Li Jinchen’s left ear glowed faintly, as if reflecting its master’s mood.
“You may all withdraw.” Li Jinchen waved his hand.
The palace maids and eunuchs attending the imperial study filed out.
Li Jinchen looked at Pei Xuan with a troubled expression, pondering for a long while yet still unable to speak.
Pei Xuan was in no hurry either, leisurely sipping his tea as he waited for Li Jinchen to speak.
Finally, Li Jinchen sighed and said:
“Most of the power in court is now controlled by the Regent Prince. Even I, the emperor, must watch his face.”
“Grand Diviner, I only want one sentence from you.”
Li Jinchen’s eyes darkened. Xie Anci had gone too far this time.
Not only had he tied him up and drugged him, he had done that to him!
Truly disgusting.
Li Jinchen’s face was full of disgust. He had long been dissatisfied with Xie Anci, but Xie Anci’s power was too great, Li Jinchen couldn’t topple him at present.
“What sentence?” Pei Xuan set down his teacup, his phoenix eyes turning to Li Jinchen.
Li Jinchen froze slightly. Those phoenix eyes seemed to see right through him, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Li Jinchen looked toward the door. “Xie Anci disrupts the court and does not align with Aolong Kingdom’s fortune. He should be demoted to commoner status.”
Hearing this, Pei Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure in his indifferent eyes.
“Your Majesty, I did not divine any such thing. I cannot lie.”
“Grand Diviner, can you really just stand by and watch my kingdom fall into the hands of that treacherous minister?” Li Jinchen’s expression grew somewhat agitated.
Li Jinchen truly could not read Pei Xuan. He had previously thought Pei Xuan was on Xie Anci’s side, but the two didn’t even know each other.
Pei Xuan rarely left his Star Divination Palace either.
Later, Li Jinchen thought Pei Xuan was on his side, because no matter what he asked, Pei Xuan would say he was loyal to the Emperor of Aolong Kingdom.
Pei Xuan had also given Li Jinchen much valuable advice when dealing with natural disasters and calamities.
But every time Li Jinchen asked Pei Xuan to help him reclaim power to give Xie Anci a reason to leave the capital, Pei Xuan was always evasive.
Talking about the will of heaven, saying he hadn’t divined that Xie Anci was bringing chaos to the court, and so on.
Li Jinchen was utterly baffled. Did that really require divination?
One could simply grab anyone on the street and ask around to learn just how many “good deeds” Xie Anci had done.
“But I cannot lie.” Pei Xuan remained unmoved.
Li Jinchen merely wanted to use his mouth to get rid of Xie Anci.
But that was not within his duties, and lying came at a price.
Pei Xuan rubbed the sandalwood prayer beads on his wrist, he was afraid of pain.
Li Jinchen had grown sick of hearing such words, and his already aching head hurt even more.
“Fine. Thank you for making the trip, Imperial Preceptor. I must attend court now.” Li Jinchen was clearly even more impatient than usual, signaling that Pei Xuan could leave.
All he wanted now was to finish court and go back to rest for a while.
“I take my leave.” Pei Xuan rose and departed without hesitation.
Li Jinchen had someone tidy his robes and hurried off to the great hall.
The hall was bustling, far noisier than usual.
The main reason was that Xie Anci was absent today.
“Doesn’t the Regent come rain or shine, every single day? Why is he nowhere to be seen today?” Left Chancellor Nangou Boyu snorted softly.
Nangou Boyu had always looked down on Xie Anci, believing it improper for an outsider to control the court’s affairs, and so he had become one of Li Jinchen’s men.
“The Regent is only human, he may have fallen ill today. The Regent toils day after day; surely he deserves a day of rest,” Right Chancellor Lu Yunzheng retorted.
This right chancellor had risen to his post while still in his twenties, largely thanks to Xie Anci.
Of course, Lu Yunzheng was himself quite talented.
Years ago, Xie Anci had overhauled the official selection system, replacing the old practice of appointments based almost entirely on connections with imperial examinations, recruiting many young officials of humble origins.
This, of course, offended the capital’s powerful and noble families.
In the past, one could become an official merely through connections and money; now, even studying hard and passing the examinations did not guarantee a position.
Moreover, those young nobles had always been lawless, spending their days frequenting pleasure houses.
Xie Anci had no use for such people, and the examination system was the perfect tool to shut these useless good-for-nothings out.
But this naturally stirred resentment among the capital’s elite, who had even once staged protests demanding Xie Anci step down.
Though Li Jinchen also wanted Xie Anci gone, he felt the examination system for selecting talent was quite fair and he had long held those capital dandies in contempt.
So Li Jinchen sent men to placate the protesters, spoke many soothing words, and promised to arrange some inconsequential positions for them, thus quelling the matter.
Everyone knew the Emperor and the Regent were always at odds, yet on that occasion the two had actually stood on the same side, so no matter how displeased they were, they could only swallow it.
Back in the court hall, Nangou Boyu glared at Lu Yunzheng with displeasure.
“Let him toil over court affairs? I believe His Majesty can govern well. The Regent should have stepped down long ago.”
Nangou Boyu was already in his seventies, yet he was still being overshadowed by a junior, and he had long been resentful about it.
“No need for you to trouble yourself over that. In my view, since the Left Chancellor is so advanced in years, he should be the one to resign early and return home to enjoy his twilight years.” Lu Yunzheng was equally unceremonious with his tongue.
He loved nothing more than watching the little old man beside him sputter with rage, helpless to do anything about it.
Lu Yunzheng covered his mouth with his sleeve and chuckled softly.
“You! Lu Yunzheng, you…” Nangou Boyu wanted to curse, but felt that cursing was beneath his dignity. His face flushed red as he pointed at Lu Yunzheng.
Lu Yunzheng remained utterly unbothered, the picture of calm composure.
“His Majesty arrives!”
A eunuch’s announcement cut through the chatter, and the great hall fell silent at once.
“Long live His Majesty! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand thousand years!” the assembled officials bowed in salute.
Li Jinchen swept his gaze across the room, and when he saw that Xie An’ci had not arrived, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.