The next day, Tang Huan once again got up early, quickly washed up, put on his official robes, and leisurely rode in the carriage towards the palace.

During this period, morning court sessions were still held frequently, but apart from the one where he was rewarded for his meritorious service in disaster relief, Tang Huan rarely participated in them.

He actually visited the Imperial Study more frequently to talk with the Empress, and even ate at the Hall of Mental Cultivation several times.

Outside the carriage, Li Da Kui, while controlling the horse, asked loudly, "My lord, why is the Empress making you attend the morning court again? Aren't you just a minor official in the Hanlin Academy?"

Inside the carriage, Tang Huan rested her chin on one hand, leaning against the side of the carriage, her eyes closed the entire time.

He said, "There have been several corpses lying in the yard, we can't just let this go like this, can we?"

The body was taken away yesterday evening, supposedly to be investigated thoroughly as ordered by His Majesty.

However, the other party also subtly indicated to Tang Huan that it might be very difficult, almost impossible, to investigate this matter.

Tang Huan didn't hold out much hope for this, since if he had a chance to find the clues through the corpse, he would have found them in the past few days.

"My lord, do you think today's morning court session was good or bad for you? Will the Empress be considerate of your disturbance and give you some reward or something?"

"I just hope she doesn't cause me any more trouble," Tang Huan sighed softly in the carriage.

The carriage eventually stopped outside the Meridian Gate, and Tang Huan would have to walk the rest of the way to the palace.

It was four or five o'clock in the morning, and the sky was still completely dark.

Moreover, the closer it gets to winter, the colder it becomes.

In addition to his official robes, Tang Huan was also wearing a mink coat, making him appear somewhat out of place within the palace.

Upon arriving at the Golden Palace, just like last time, many officials were already waiting there.

Of course, without exception, most of the high-ranking officials were absent.

"Lord Tang!"

Someone called out loudly and walked over quickly.

"Lord Tang, you've arrived quite early."

Someone else gestured to Tang Huan.

In no time, he was surrounded by more than a dozen officials, some rubbing their hands together, others hiding their hands in their sleeves to ward off the cold.

Seeing this, Tang Huan seemed to feel the biting cold as well, and wrapped her coat tighter to prevent the cold wind from blowing in through the gaps.

"You gentlemen have worked hard. It's almost winter, and you still get up so early to attend court. Especially those of you who live far away, you probably haven't had a good night's sleep."

Tang Huan noticed that some of the officials in front of him lived in the southern district.

Of course, even though it was a relatively good location in the southern district, it was still far from the palace, and they had to spend more time and energy on each morning court session.

"It's the same every year, and everyone's gotten used to it," someone remarked.

Some shook their heads, saying, "Compared to the late emperor's neglect of state affairs in his later years, the empress's current emphasis on these matters is more gratifying to us. At least we can see her concern for Daqing and a glimmer of hope."

Tang Huan exchanged a few polite greetings with everyone and sensed the awe they held for the Empress in their words.

Unlike Cui Renshi and other ministers, these people, despite their low status, still had a passion for the imperial power, for the Great Qing Dynasty, and even for the people below, and were willing to make many sacrifices for it.

While waiting and exchanging pleasantries, the ministers and officials arrived one after another.

Immediately afterwards, Li Lianying appeared before everyone and announced the start of the morning court session.

A group of people poured into the Golden Palace one after another.

With the cold wind blocked, many people's expressions softened considerably.

Some people also quickly took off their outer garments, revealing their official robes underneath.

Tang Huan glanced around and saw that the people wearing heavy coats to keep warm were mostly high-ranking officials, especially Cui Renshi. Even when he was taking off his coat, others came forward to help him. He hadn't said anything, but he had already become the center of attention.

Tang Huan quickly took off his inappropriate coat, and a young eunuch stepped forward to take the coat from his hands.

"Um?"

Upon closer inspection, Tang Huan realized that the little eunuch in front of him was actually Eunuch Shen.

It's been a while since we last met, and this kid is no longer just delivering messages for the Empress; now he can even come up to the Golden Palace, and it seems he can even sit in on this morning court session.

"You've risen in rank pretty quickly."

Tang Huan smiled at Eunuch Shen and patted his official robes a few times to smooth them out.

Before long, Empress Wu Lanxi, accompanied by Lin Wan'er, walked to the front and sat on the dragon throne.

Her authoritative gaze swept across the assembled officials, who immediately spoke in unison and knelt down.

In an instant, the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" echoed continuously throughout the hall.

"My beloved subjects, rise."

Tang Huan stood up from the crowd, still standing at the end of the line.

However, this time he did not hide like before. Just as Wu Lanxi signaled to the ministers that they had something to report, Tang Huan shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Tang Huan strode out of the group, raising both hands and bowing at the same time.

"Why did Tang Huan step forward? What's wrong with him? Shouldn't he be busy with the South District project these days...?"

Some people were surprised and somewhat troubled when they saw Tang Huan.

Some people vaguely guessed that something had happened, after all, Tang Huan rarely participated in the morning court, so his presence here meant that something was wrong.

Damn it!

Redding turned around and immediately calmed down when he saw Tang Huan.

He appeared unpredictable, but in his heart he wished he could kill this troublesome fellow.

"How could you have been so lucky to escape the assassination attempt that day? Otherwise, I would have risked my life to drag you down with me, out of sight, out of mind..."

Cui Renshi did not turn around, but remained standing silently in place, as if he had not heard anything.

"Tang Huan, what do you want?"

Wu Lanxi sat high on the dragon throne and spoke calmly.

Tang Huan cried out, "Your Majesty, the day before yesterday, a group of assassins broke into my residence, intending to kill me. Fortunately, the guards in my residence risked their lives to save me..."

After these words were spoken, a great deal of discussion arose in the main hall.

Some of the older civil officials were furious upon hearing this and kept talking.

"Outrageous! How dare someone so rebellious as to assassinate a high-ranking official right under the emperor's nose! They must have a death wish!"

"Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated and given Lord Tang an explanation, otherwise it will disappoint him."

"Lord Tang has devoted himself to the Imperial Academy and the Southern District, yet he has encountered such a thing. These damned assassins are truly vicious."

Among the group speaking up for Tang Huan, the Empress calmly said, "Tang Huan, do you also hope that I will thoroughly investigate this matter for you?"

Of course not, after all, the Empress had already hinted at it beforehand.

But Tang Huan wasn't stupid; he knew that the Empress must have had a reason for inviting him to the morning court session.

Tang Huan leaned even lower and shouted:

"I hope Your Majesty will uphold justice for me. If I cannot eliminate these traitors in the capital, they will try to assassinate Your Majesty one day, just as they did today!"