After seeing Zhao Sixing off, Xu Di went to the Marquis's study to say a few words. Seeing that it was still early, he went to the Hanlin Academy.
Xu Di kept a low profile in the Hanlin Academy. The third-ranked scholar who entered the Hanlin Academy with him had already lectured Emperor Liang Cheng on the classics several times in the Imperial Study, but Xu Di had never gone. Even Xu Di's superior had hinted to him that he should ask his elders to help him get a chance to appear before the emperor.
They meant well, so Xu Di smiled and agreed. Besides holding an insignificant position in the Hanlin Academy, he also served as a secret agent for Emperor Liang Cheng.
Among the ministers in the court, some are neutral, some openly pledge allegiance to the princes, and some secretly, even through schemes within schemes, pledge allegiance. Although the borders of the Great Liang Dynasty have become relatively stable, the capital is turbulent and unpredictable. Recently, Emperor Cheng of Liang discovered that some of his confidants had secretly pledged allegiance to the princes.
These were all instructions given by Chen Wufu to Xu Di. Emperor Liang Cheng's order was to carefully examine those ministers and find out their true identities.
Xu Di once jokingly told Chen Zhaoci that at first he thought he had a script for a palace drama, then he found out it was more like a farming novel, then it seemed to be a political novel, and now he realized it was more like an Infernal Affairs script.
In the past few days, Xu Di discovered that Marquis Yongping seemed to have some connection with the First Prince. He thoroughly investigated Marquis Yongping's network of relationships but found no obvious connection between him and the First Prince. However, when Jiang Shi arranged for people to deal with Zhou Junhong, she discovered that the person secretly connecting Marquis Yongping's residence and the First Prince was from Jiang Shi.
Xu Di had a very bold idea in mind: he felt he needed to thoroughly investigate Jiang Zhaoming.
Jiang Zhaoming was Emperor Liang Cheng's confidant, a fact known to everyone in the court. It could be said that Jiang Zhaoming was Emperor Liang Cheng's money bag. Not only did the national treasury rely on Jiang Zhaoming's salt, iron, and silk taxes in Jiangnan, but also on the grain from the land of fish and rice. Controlling Jiang Zhaoming was tantamount to strangling Emperor Liang Cheng.
Chen Wufu had told Xu Di about the situation of several ministers in the court. When he mentioned Jiang Zhaoming, Chen Wufu said that no matter who betrayed Emperor Liang Cheng, Jiang Zhaoming would not betray his master. It was because of Chen Wufu's endorsement that Xu Di had not investigated Jiang Zhaoming in detail. But now, Xu Di felt that it was really necessary to take action against Jiang Zhaoming.
Xu Di had a group of guards under his command, who were carefully selected by Chen Wufu from the guards of Emperor Liang Cheng. They were handed over to Xu Di a couple of years ago and underwent Xu Di's meticulous special operations training, not only in reconnaissance, but more importantly, in conducting reconnaissance, which was the focus of Xu Di's training.
Thinking about these things along the way, Xu Di pondered for a long time before stopping at the entrance of the Hanlin Academy. He looked at Li Jialiang, who was following behind him, gave him a few simple instructions, and watched as Li Jialiang hurriedly left before entering the Hanlin Academy.
Xu Di is currently a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, holding the rank of seventh grade. After entering, he saw everyone busy with their own affairs, so he gave a brief greeting and returned to his seat.
Although Xu Di was a compiler, he worked alongside a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, editing classics. A lecturer was someone who could lecture the emperor on the classics. The third-place winner of this year's imperial examination entered the Hanlin Academy with Xu Di and was also appointed as a compiler of the seventh rank. He had already lectured on the classics to Emperor Liang Cheng with one of the lecturers.
Xu Di flipped through several books on the table. The Royal Library contained many rare and unique copies. For many scholars, being able to browse such rare books here was a great honor.
Xu Di had only been sitting for a short while when Zhou, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, sent someone to invite him. After Xu Di went with him, Zhou told him that the Emperor wanted him to give a lecture on the classics that afternoon. As for what he would lecture on, the scholar handed him a slip of paper with writing on it.
Xu Di glanced at it; it was just a simple sentence. He guessed that Emperor Liang Cheng had something he wanted to tell him personally. Xu Di agreed, saying that he would go back and prepare properly, and then returned to his seat.
Lunch was delivered by servants from the mansion. Colleagues here either had their meals delivered by family members or ate something simple at a small restaurant on the street. Generally, no one went home for lunch.
After the meal, Xu Di took the token given to him by the scholar and waited at the palace gate for Emperor Liang Cheng's summons.
After waiting for quite a while at the palace gate, and seeing that it was already past mid-afternoon, a young eunuch hurriedly ran out from inside. Seeing Xu Di standing at the palace gate, he quickly bowed to Xu Di and asked him to come into the palace with him.
After the court session, Emperor Liang Cheng would handle daily government affairs in a palace near the court and also summon some ministers to this palace. Xu Di waited at the palace gate for a while until two ministers came out. Chen Wufu then came out and said to Xu Di with a smile, "Editor Xu, please come in."
Xu Di repeatedly said he dared not, and followed Chen Wufu into the main hall.
This wasn't Xu Di's first time here. After entering, he knelt down, performed the salutation, and then knelt on the ground.
After waiting for quite a while, Emperor Liang Cheng said indifferently, "Editor Xu, get up."
Xu Di was taken aback for a moment, but he calmly stood up from the ground and stood at his sides with his hands at his sides.
This society is a monarchical society. When the emperor is angry, corpses will float for miles. That's no joke. Human rights and the right to free speech are all meaningless here. Xu Di is well aware of the rules of this society. In order to live well with his family in this society, he can only do as the Romans do.
Emperor Liang's attitude immediately put Xu Di on high alert. He remained calm on the surface, but his mind raced.
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