"Then come with me," Huang Gong sighed softly, unsure whether this trip was the right or wrong one.
The two walked through the alley and arrived at the central street of the Southern Kingdom's imperial city. This was the most prosperous place in the Southern Kingdom, and the imperial palace was located on this street.
Upon arriving on the street, he attracted the attention of many people because Huang Gong was wearing a long golden robe, a golden garment reserved for powerful figures in the imperial palace.
The fact that Huang Gong's clothes were entirely gold was enough to demonstrate the extent of his power.
Chen Zhou overheard many people's comments.
"Look, look! Those are the robes of cultivators from the Southern Kingdom! Is that Lord Golden Spear?"
"No way! I had the honor of seeing Lord Golden Spear once before, and he didn't look like this. That must be Lord Royal Bow, right?"
"Yes! That's Lord Huang Gong. I heard he was dealing with the Murong family's manhunt. Why is he suddenly here?"
"Huh? There's a young man in a Taoist robe following behind him!"
"Could it be Lord Huang Gong's disciple?"
...........
The appearance of the Imperial Bow immediately sparked a lot of discussion, after all, the Imperial Bow was a top figure in the Southern Kingdom and was rarely seen.
Chen Zhou wanted to hear what the crowd would say, but Huang Gong spoke up: "Hurry up! Keep up!"
Chen Zhou could only awkwardly follow behind Huang Gong, and the two soon arrived at the palace gate.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Huang Gong."
Upon seeing the imperial bow appear, the soldiers at the palace gate immediately knelt down and shouted in unison.
The gate opened, Huang Gong nodded, and the two went inside.
"The Southern Kingdom's Imperial Palace occupies thirty percent of the Southern Kingdom's capital. It encompasses everything, including ordinary commercial streets, and many wealthy and powerful people reside within its walls. In the Southern Kingdom, the Imperial Palace is the symbol of power," Huang Gong slowly explained to Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou nodded repeatedly. Since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it. His main purpose for coming here was to see Jiang Ying.
"This is the Imperial Road, the only way for ministers to go to court," Huang Gong continued, leading Chen Zhou directly onto the Imperial Road.
Chen Zhou immediately realized something was wrong.
The only way for ministers to go to court, that means this is the road to court?
"Where are we going?" Chen Zhou asked immediately.
"To meet the Emperor," Huang Gong said coldly.
An audience with the Emperor?
Chen Zhou murmured, "Wait! An audience with the Emperor?"
Am I going to see the Emperor?
Chen Zhou was filled with a thousand questions: Why did he have to meet with the emperor?
In the end, Chen Zhou did not ask the question, but instead remained silent and walked with Huang Gong on the imperial road.
The imperial road was long, and the two walked in silence for a long time. Perhaps there was some special rule, because Huang Gong did not continue to introduce himself to Chen Zhou along the way, and the two remained silent.
Soon the two walked across the imperial road and began to climb the steps.
Chen Zhou roughly calculated that there were exactly ninety-nine steps.
Both Huang Gong and Chen Zhou are cultivators, and their walking and climbing speed is unmatched by ordinary people.
The two quickly climbed the steps.
A classical pavilion comes into view, which is where the ministers hold court daily.
Huang Gong led Chen Zhou directly inside, and stopped a few steps below the steps of the throne.
"The Emperor bows in greeting to the Son of Heaven!"
Chen Zhou followed Huang Gong's movements and bent down. The next moment, a powerful voice came from behind the throne, and Chen Zhou realized that there was another room behind it.
"What matter do you wish to report?"
It was the voice of a eunuch.
Clearly, this eunuch was the emperor's personal eunuch, and he managed all the other eunuchs.
For some reason, Chen Zhou could vaguely sense the flow of true energy in the room behind the throne.
"Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter to report," Huang Gong said, bowing without changing his posture.
"What is it?" A lazy yet somewhat authoritative voice came from the room, followed by a person wearing a crimson-gold dragon robe, and then a chief eunuch in a purple robe with black patterns.
The true energy fluctuations that Chen Zhou sensed were emitted by the eunuch, and they were not weak at all! They even exceeded Chen Zhou's level by several levels, so Chen Zhou had no way of knowing his specific cultivation level.
At this moment, Chen Zhou realized that the Southern Kingdom did not only have the three great cultivators on the surface, but also a hidden powerhouse within the imperial palace!
This is the chief eunuch.
He is probably the one who protects the emperor at all times, while the three great cultivators of the Southern Kingdom are merely a spearhead used to attack external forces.
"Chen Zhou, the chief disciple of the Sword Cloud Sect, has come to visit." Huang Gong still did not straighten up and remained bowed as he spoke.
"Oh? Is that Chen Zhou who won first place in the Sword Cloud Sect's Grand Competition?" The Southern Emperor's interest was piqued, and his earlier languor lessened considerably.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Huang Gong replied.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Chen Zhou immediately announced loudly.
"No need for formalities, please rise. May I ask what the Sword Cloud Sect is up to?" The Emperor valued the relationship with the Sword Cloud Sect highly. Upon learning that Chen Zhou was the Sword Cloud Sect's chief disciple, he immediately made a plan. He had to treat Chen Zhou well so that the two forces could become even closer.
With the connection to the Sword Cloud Sect, the Southern Kingdom can truly be as impregnable as a rock.
Although we are currently in a time of peace, there are still some areas on the Tianyun Continent that are vaguely turbulent, and war may break out soon.
The emperor must consider the well-being of the entire southern kingdom.
"Your Majesty, I have a mission with the Sword Cloud Sect on this trip. While passing through the Southern Kingdom, I encountered many injustices. Therefore, I have come here specifically to report to you, hoping that the Southern Kingdom can become more prosperous," Chen Zhou said.
These imperial bows had never been mentioned to Chen Zhou before; Chen Zhou had learned these words on the spot and was trying to appear completely innocent.
The news of the Murong family hunting down the criminals had probably already reached his ears.
"I'd like to hear your detailed explanation," the Emperor said slowly, seated on his throne.
Chen Zhou recounted the general course of events again, this being the second time. Naturally, Chen Zhou was quite skilled, and the story he told made him seem incredibly weak, suffering immense oppression from the Murong family of the Southern Kingdom.
The emperor's expression changed repeatedly as he listened, and it changed drastically when he heard Chen Zhou say that he was the murderer being hunted by the Murong family.
"The Murong family has gone too far!" the emperor said, quite angrily.
"Your Majesty, is this matter true?" The chief eunuch asked for the first time.
Huang Gong dared not be careless in the slightest and immediately replied, "It is true."
"Summon Murong Er immediately! I want to hear when this so-called southern gateway became a gate of exploitation!"
The emperor was furious. He had never heard of these things before, and he was also unaware that the people's situation was so dire, all because of the Murong family's private army.
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