Chapter 3: Several Dizzinesses
Li Zhongxian replied "yes" and walked away quickly.
Only then did Yan Xuanyu realize that the steward beside him walked like the ghost steps in traditional opera. Only the hem of his clothes could be seen moving, and his feet landed silently.
There were also eunuchs standing quietly with their heads bowed on both sides of the hall, as if they were invisible men. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to detect their presence at all.
Yan Xuanyu mentally gave their service a five-star rating. He asked Li Zhongxian, who had returned from serving the meal, to bring him a cushion to lean on, and then he settled comfortably into the carved rosewood chair.
The speed of the imperial kitchen was extremely fast. Soon, a large group of palace maids and eunuchs entered one after another on both sides. Inside the Chengtian Hall was a table matched with a carved rosewood chair. On it were dishes arranged in an unknown pattern. From Yan Xuanyu's angle, it did not seem crowded. On the contrary, the various arrangements were very pleasing to the eye.
There were four eunuchs tasting the food, four palace maids serving the food, and several other people behind them.
Yan Xuanyu's family was very wealthy in his previous life, so he didn't feel uncomfortable being served by others. However, having so many people around him just watching him eat was really torturous for him.
However, he was a newcomer and did not know what the system's evaluation criteria were, so the best way now was to follow the old rules of the palace. The benefit that Emperor Yan of Zhou had brought to Yan Xuanyu was that he did not have to figure out how to complete the daily task of "serving meals" as a foolish monarch, and he could just follow the original owner's method.
There was a table in front of me with a dazzling array of dishes, just like a buffet in a top hotel, and there was a little eunuch beside me who was reading out the names of the dishes in a long voice like singing an opera.
"That eight-treasure tofu." Yan Xuanyu pointed at a dish casually. It was the first time that he had such a difficult meal.
The eunuch who tasted the food tasted a little first, and then the palace maid who served the food served the eight-treasure tofu.
The smooth tofu was topped with minced meat, pine nuts, ham, and mushrooms cooked into a soup. It looked very appetizing, especially when the palace maid brought it to him. The tofu was intact and had a very crunchy texture. After it was finally delivered to Yan Xuanyu, he took a bite, but when he put it in his mouth, he found that -
He couldn't taste anything!
Yan Xuanyu was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that this must be due to the original owner's physical condition. No wonder he didn't smell much fragrance when the dishes were served. It was a pity that he originally wanted to taste the ancient imperial cuisine, but now it tasted like chewing wax.
It's such a waste of such a luxurious meal.
"Your Majesty, do you want to take it away?" Li Zhongxian asked from the side. He was referring to taking down the jade bowl placed in front of Yan Xuanyu.
“No need.”
Yan Xuanyu chewed slowly twice and ate the small piece of tofu in the jade bowl. At the same time, the eunuch over there brought the eight-treasure tofu down.
It was the original owner's rule that he only ate a little of each dish.
Yan Xuanyu watched the little eunuch's movements. It was very good. He walked around in front of him and the Eight Treasure Tofu was only slightly injured.
[Ding, the tyrant emperor's meal mission is completed, reward points: 4]
Yan Xuanyu put down his chopsticks after hearing the voice of the system in his mind.
"Retreat." Yan Xuanyu waved his hand, and suddenly he thought of something, "Wait."
Yan Xuanyu felt that the ancient methods of increasing officials' loyalty and favorability should be similar to those used to increase officials' favorability with NPCs in the games he had played before, such as rewards and long conversations.
Similarly, Yan Xuanyu had played many emperor-cultivation games in his previous life. He was always used to increasing the loyalty of officials first. When appointing officials, loyalty was the first priority, followed by civil and military proficiency.
Yan Xuanyu is now in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It is impossible for him to make a major change in the court like in the game. After so many dynasties, the various families in the Great Zhou Dynasty have already become intertwined.
There are not too many officials who can stand in the court, but not too few either. The intention is to establish his image among them first before discussing other things.
In ancient times, the emperor's royal meals could be given to others as gifts. The only person who left some memory in Yan Xuanyu's mind was the Minister of Rites Lin Fu.
Yan Xuanyu decided to start with him, hoping the other party wasn't a rigid old man. After all, it was just a reward of an imperial meal, so he had nothing to lose.
"Give this table of food to the Minister of Rites and say it's a reward from me."
Li Zhongxian saw that the emperor had only taken a bite of his lunch before putting down his chopsticks. He asked Yan Xuanyu with a worried look on his face, "Your Majesty, would you like to ask the imperial kitchen to make some more?"
Yan Xuanyu thought for a moment and said, "Then ask the imperial kitchen to send a bowl of porridge."
His current role is the emperor, so no matter how unreasonable his words are, they will be reasonable.
Nothing he eats tastes good anyway.
Li Zhongxian was startled: "Your Majesty?"
Li Zhongxian was confused by what happened today. He felt that the current emperor was more unpredictable than the previous one.
"What?" Yan Xuanyu said lightly.
"I'll go right away." Li Zhongxian responded.
Yan Xuanyu found that he couldn't bear to let so many people stand here just to serve him. He waved his hand and asked them all to go back, leaving only two eunuchs. After Li Zhongxian came back, Yan Xuanyu asked him to wait outside the curtain as well.
Yan Xuanyu called out the system and took a look at his mission points. It was already 7 o'clock. He was the only one here now, so there was no need to be so polite. He lay back in a very unpresentable manner and sighed twice.
Yan Xuanyu felt that he should make a to-do list. He had too many things he wanted to do, and if they were piled up together, he wouldn't know what to do first and what to do next, and it would be easy for him to get lost.
Yan Xuanyu has a few ideas right now. For him in this world, the palace is his home and his lair, and the first thing he needs to do is to change it to make himself comfortable.
The first stage is to change the environment around you, the second stage is the court...
Yan Xuanyu knocked on the table from time to time.
————
The day after Yan Xuanyu traveled through time was the day when the new emperor was supposed to attend court.
Mao hour.
It is almost summer now, and the sky is already getting light at dawn.
The carriages of the ministers were parked outside a narrow road. The scene of ministers wearing various official uniforms and holding tablets walking along the official road became a common sight every day except for rest days.
As soon as the tall and thin figure in purple official robes got off the carriage, he attracted attention from all sides.
The person who got off the car was Lin Fu, the third-rank Minister of Rites of the current dynasty.
I heard that the Emperor rewarded the Minister of Rites with a banquet yesterday. This was a common occurrence, as there had been precedents of the Emperor rewarding ministers. It had caught the attention of the court because it was the first banquet given by the new Emperor since his ascension to the throne. It was supposed to be an opportunity to see who the Emperor was close to, but who knew the banquet would go to Lin Fu?
So everyone wanted to see Lin Fu's reaction again.
From a distance, they saw Lin Fu getting off the carriage with a pale face and no joy on his face.
Several officials who were on good terms with Lin Fu came over, and Lin Fu just nodded in response.
Among the officials who came over was Meng Yongde, the Minister of Revenue. Meng Yongde smiled and bowed, "Brother Lin, you have been honored by His Majesty with a banquet. I am so envious of you."
Lin Fu ignored Meng Yongde who was smiling like an old fox.
Lin Fu's teacher is Han Yuan. Who is Han Yuan? Formerly the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and a veteran of three dynasties, he is now bedridden. Rumors abound that Han Yuan is nearing death, but in reality, he has been placed under house arrest by the new emperor, under the guise of convalescence and care.
Han Yuan was already old, but on the day the new emperor ascended the throne, he banged his head against the pillar and shouted "The Great Zhou is in danger." However, Yan Xuanyu, who was well-known in the capital for his extravagance, not only did not stop him, but let him continue banging his head, and even enthusiastically asked two attendants to go up and "help" Old Han.
It is said that the powerful are afraid of those who are not afraid of death, so what can you do when you meet a scoundrel like Yan Xuanyu who completely disregards his reputation?
What's more, Yan Xuanyu ascended the throne legitimately according to the order of the late emperor.
When the late emperor was in power, there were factional disputes in the court. The eldest prince was brave, the second prince was resourceful, and several princes had the ability to compete for the throne. However, the late emperor was wary of them in his later years, and with the princes fighting each other, in the end, only the fourth prince was left intact.
Some clever people in the court could guess that the late emperor had behind this. Even if it was his own son, the subject had to die if the emperor wanted him to.
The late emperor's actions in his later years eventually cleared the way for the fourth prince to ascend the throne.
The fourth prince, holding the late emperor's will, successfully ascended the throne.
The new emperor placed Han Yuan under house arrest the day after he ascended the throne. Many officials wrote to him to plead for mercy, but their requests were all rejected.
Lin Fu walked towards the Golden Palace with several colleagues with a pale face.
He is Han Yuan's disciple, and he cannot be found to have made any mistakes now, as so many eyes are on him.
So naturally he had to finish all the banquet given yesterday with gratitude.
I have indigestion today.
"You are also a fool. No one will find out if you do it more covertly." Meng Yongde sighed.
Lin Fuze shook his head.
No one said anything more.
The common question in their minds was whether the emperor's banquet was a warning or a compensation.
Is it a warning to make Lin Fu, Han Yuan's disciple, behave himself, or is it a sign of the emperor bowing his head?
Not only them, but others were also secretly guessing the Holy Will.
The new emperor's actions are unpredictable. This year happens to be the time for the imperial examination, which is held every three years. The March date was cancelled due to the emperor's death, so the students have set their sights on August. Who knows what kind of people will enter the court.
Especially since it was the first year of the new emperor's reign and the imperial court had not yet recovered, I was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would take advantage of this imperial examination to make trouble.
However, those who could enter the court were also from various aristocratic families.
All the civil and military officials in the court entered the Golden Palace and stood there for more than an hour from the hour of Mao, but the emperor did not arrive.
The originally quiet hall slowly began to be filled with the whispers of the ministers.
The noise from the throne room was not stopped until the eunuch Li Zhongxian, the chief eunuch of the emperor's side, appeared.
Li Zhongxian cleared his throat and brought the emperor's oral instructions.
"Over the death of the late emperor, I was overwhelmed with grief and felt dizzy several times."
So he can't come to court!
All the civil and military officials in the court were secretly complaining in their hearts: I don’t believe you at all!
But they all showed sadness on their faces and knelt down to beg the emperor to take care of his health and maintain peace in the country.
——————
Yan Xuanyu, who had stood up all the civil and military officials in the court, received the system notification sound with satisfaction, with the points increased by 7. It was already 2 p.m.
What is he doing at this time?
Of course, it is to renovate his "home"!
This story begins yesterday...
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