Xiong Juzheng then began to tell Sun Jian the whole story.

At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) today, he, as the acting prefect of the capital, received a formal report.

The content claims that Sun Jian and his entourage, who were appointed as tutors to the crown prince, not only murdered the imperial envoy and massacred officials, soldiers, and eyewitnesses, but also plotted to assassinate the emperor when they entered the palace to meet him.

The surviving eunuch Zhang and others from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs were all held hostage at knifepoint, and by this time they had already entered the city.

Upon receiving this letter, Xiong Juzheng was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

Although the palace is heavily guarded and filled with armored soldiers, and there are layers of checks upon entering, the assassination attempt was nothing but a wild and delusional thought.

But this isn't an assassination attempt by storming the palace!

Sun Jian was the one who received an imperial edict to enter the palace and meet the emperor.

If any oversight occurs during the investigation, it would be tantamount to delivering the assassin directly to the emperor's presence, forcing him to confront His Majesty alone...

Sun Jian and his entourage were capable of assassinating so many government soldiers, so their martial arts skills must be extraordinary. If they were allowed to enter the palace to assassinate the emperor, the consequences would be immeasurable...

Even if this is a misrepresentation, Xiong Juzheng, as the Prefect of the Capital, has no choice but to be cautious. It concerns His Majesty's safety, so it's better to believe it's true than not to believe it's not.

Taking into account various factors, Xiong Juzheng immediately decided to go to the palace to meet the emperor.

But to everyone's surprise, after meeting the emperor, the emperor not only did not believe him, but was also furious and berated Xiong Juzheng as a pedantic and stupid fool.

Xiong Juzheng was on the verge of tears, but dared not contradict the emperor.

His Majesty realized that someone was trying to use him as a tool to kill Sun Jian, so before things escalated, he immediately sent Xiong Juzheng with his golden seal and Golden Guards to stop it.

Then came the events that occurred in front of the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office.

After listening to Xiong Juzheng's explanation of the whole story, Sun Jian nodded deeply, "I see."

“That dog eunuch must have been acting under someone’s orders, otherwise he wouldn’t have had the guts. Don’t worry, Reader Sun, leave this to me. I will give you an answer in the next few days.”

"Alright, thank you very much, Master Xiong."

Sun Jian originally wanted to investigate the case himself, since Er Gou and many of the villagers who followed him had died in the murder, but now that things had come to this, he could no longer insist on investigating the case.

"Ahem, there's no need for thanks. You are His Majesty's personally appointed tutor to the Crown Prince, and you will surely become a very important figure in the court in the future. In addition, I like your character and temperament, so what I did today was only what I should do!"

...

The carriage sped along and entered the palace. A eunuch led Sun Jian and Xiong Juzheng through layers of checks before finally arriving at the entrance of the Taiji side hall.

"Please wait a moment, Your Excellencies. His Majesty is discussing matters with His Highness the Crown Prince in the study. Please allow me to go and report."

After speaking, the eunuch bowed and hurried into the hall with small, quick steps.

“Reader Sun, please be patient. You may not understand this since you are new to the court. It is quite complicated for foreign officials to have an audience with His Majesty. There are many procedures involved. Just wait patiently.”

Xiong Juzheng, fearing that Sun Jian might lose his patience, reminded him from the side.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Sun Jian didn't care about these things; instead, he admired the magnificent palace.

"Lord Xiong, is His Majesty fierce?"

"ah?"

"Huh? I meant, does His Majesty look fierce?"

Xiong Juzheng was taken aback by Sun Jian's question.

“Reader Sun, be careful with your words! This is the inner palace! Be cautious in what you say.”

Xiong Juzheng was startled. He looked around and whispered, "Back then, I was just like you, careless with my words, which is why I was dismissed from my post."

"If it weren't for my military merits, I wouldn't have been appointed as the temporary Prefect of the Capital!"

Sun Jian shrugged helplessly and smiled, "Don't worry, Lord Xiong, you will soon be reinstated."

"Huh? Reinstated to his original position? Why is that?"

Xiong Juzheng did not understand the meaning behind Sun Jian's words.

"Think about it, you're a military officer who's never served as a civil official before. How long can you temporarily hold the position of Prefect of the Capital? If His Majesty doesn't even have this much discernment in people, wouldn't the great undertaking fall into chaos?"

Upon hearing Sun Jian say that he would soon be able to lead troops back into battle, Xiong Juzheng was overjoyed, but he still pretended to be cautious: "Reader Sun, be careful what you say!"

"Your Majesty is wise and insightful, and has his own ideas. Whether or not he can be reinstated to his original position is entirely up to Your Majesty's decision."

Just as the two were exchanging compliments, the little eunuch who had delivered the message came over.

"Lord Xiong, Lord Sun, please come with me. His Majesty summons you."

After saying this, the young eunuch led the way, with Sun Jian and Xiong Juzheng following closely behind.

"Lord Sun, this is your first time entering the palace. Please remember the proper etiquette when meeting the Emperor. Do not be disrespectful or negligent."

The young eunuch offered a reminder.

Sun Jian rolled his eyes at him helplessly.

"Okay, okay."

Isn't it just that you have to kneel and kowtow three times and nine times when you meet someone, and you can't get up without an imperial decree, and you can't look directly at the emperor's face?

Does this thing really need to be reminded repeatedly?

The young eunuch led the two to a side hall of the Taiji Hall and then withdrew.

Sun Jian looked around but couldn't see anyone in the side hall.

But his looking around frightened Xiong Juzheng so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

To remind him, Xiong Juzheng quickly kowtowed and said, "Your humble servant, Xiong Juzheng, Prefect of the Capital, accompanied by Sun Jian, the tutor of the Crown Prince, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

After speaking, Xiong Juzheng didn't forget to whisper a reminder to Sun Jian, who was standing to the side, "Reader Sun, quickly kneel down and pay your respects."

"His Majesty hasn't arrived yet... alright."

Helpless and unable to resist, Sun Jian followed Xiong Juzheng's example and knelt down to pay his respects, saying, "Your humble servant, Sun Jian, tutor to the Crown Prince, greets Your Majesty."

Xiong Juzheng didn't forget to remind Sun Jian, "Sun Jian, please remember to be careful with your words later..."

Just as Xiong Juzheng finished speaking, the sound of heavy and light footsteps echoed from the side corridor.

Then both footsteps stopped on the dragon throne in the central hall.

Without a doubt, this is the powerful Emperor Wu and his crown prince.

"My two ministers, please rise. This side hall is not the main hall, so there is no need for such a grand ceremony."

A powerful and majestic voice came from the dragon throne.

Sun Jian felt that the voice was extremely familiar, as if he had heard it before.

But I just can't remember where I heard it before.

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Before he could react, Xiong Juzheng beside him had already stood up.

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Sun Jian also imitated Xiong Juzheng's movements and got up.

But just as Sun Jian stood up and stole a glance at the dragon throne, he was so frightened that he almost lost his mind, and even unconsciously uttered swear words from later generations.

Holy crap!

"Old man???"

"Young Master Long Cheng??"

At that moment, Sun Jian felt as if struck by lightning, and he was completely stunned.

The past is still vivid in my mind, but now we are witnessing earth-shattering changes.

Sun Jian felt as if ten thousand grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.

His shout startled Xiong Juzheng, who was standing next to him, so much so that he trembled.

I had repeatedly reminded Sun Shidu to be careful with his words, but who would have thought that the moment he opened his mouth, he almost died of anger.

“Attendant Reader Sun, with His Majesty before us, how dare you utter such nonsense?”

"Kneel down now!!"