fifth form

Chapter 2499 Qilin Pavilion

For those at the center of the Empress Dowager's funeral, this was a journey of life and death and future.

But for those who stay away, everyone just lives their life as usual.

Zhang Xuezhou said that he was not far away, but he was not involved either.

He participated in the duties of officials according to the funeral specifications, then went to the Taimiao to perform the sacrificial ceremony, and sang sacrificial words to the Empress Dowager with many colleagues.

"Han Yan, you and His Majesty have been together recently, so why don't you tell me if it is possible for us to become officials this time?"

"Dongfang Shuo, aren't you a little too hasty to resign? You haven't attended court for two years. Wouldn't it be fine if you waited another half a year?"

"Master Wei just held on!"

"Lord Wei holds three official posts at the same time: Jianzhang Supervisor, Shizhong, and Taizhong Daifu. This is really enviable!"

"That's because Lord Wei has a legitimate reason to do so. Madam Wei entered the palace to accompany His Majesty, and her relatives were honored. No one can say anything about it. But Dongfang Shuo doesn't have that condition!"

"The position that Your Majesty has conferred on Lord Wei is in line with the court system, and the position of Taizhong Daifu is not completely beyond the scope, which makes it a bit difficult for Dongfang Shuo!"

"The main reason is that our identities are too clean. We don't have any connections behind us, so it's easy for us to be sidelined even if we become officials!"

"What other connections do we need, Your Majesty..."

After Zhang Xuezhou was stripped of his position as Taizhong Daifu, he was demoted to the Eunuchs' Office.

Perhaps there is really nothing profitable here, and no one cares about an institution that manages eunuchs. Neither Anle Palace nor Changxin Palace has taken a fancy to this place, and they have never sent important personnel to manage the eunuchs.

The new emperor assigned them to the Eunuchs' Office.

They are just small minions in other places, but they are the masters in the eunuchs' office, and no eunuch would risk offending them.

After participating in the sacrifice in the Taimiao, everyone returned to the eunuchs' office, where they were served food and drinks. They gathered together and chatted from time to time.

Some things involved Han Yan, Zhang Xuezhou, and Wei Qing who was not present.

Han Yan pursed her lips and did not respond, while Zhang Xuezhou was chatting with others.

The new emperor was forced to pretend to be sick and lie in bed, so there was no possibility for them to become high-ranking officials.

This trip is a contest between the remaining forces of Changxin Palace and Anle Palace, and these little Karamis can only watch the show in the Eunuch's Office.

If Changxin Palace wins overwhelmingly and leaves some vacancies, it will be possible for everyone to get in.

But this kind of thing is something that Han Yan and Zhang Xuezhou can't be sure of, even the new emperor finds it difficult to know.

"Everyone, there is a Taoist priest Ding outside the Silanfang Gate who is good at fortune-telling. Nine out of ten things he predicts are accurate. If you want to know about your future, you can go and have a look!"

Perhaps he was annoyed by the questions, Han Yan, with a sick look still on his face, gave everyone directions.

He has been staying in Silanfang for a while, and Han Yan has spent a lot of money and taken a lot of tonics.

After nearly half a month of adjustment, the evil fire in his heart finally subsided a little.

Of course, Han Yan had no choice at the moment. Even if he wanted to go to Silanfang for fun, Silanfang would not dare to receive guests during the period of mourning. If Han Yan was asked to marry a wife and concubines, how could he easily agree to that?

He was filled with rage, and was also involved in the secret decree to inspect the Empress Dowager, so his body and mind were in very poor condition.

After sending away Mr. Guo who kept asking questions, Han Yan slowly chewed the hard-to-swallow vegetables, glancing at Zhang Xuezhou from time to time.

"Master Dongfang, where are you going these days?"

Han Yan swallowed the vegetables with difficulty, then took a few mouthfuls of millet rice, and then asked Zhang Xuezhou, who had a happy face.

Zhang Xuezhou is ill and will not be awake for long. Han Yan really wants to know how Zhang Xuezhou will find out the secrets of Empress Dou and when he will take action.

Their kind of spying is similar to grabbing evidence, but it is unknown how the new emperor will use it.

But it is obvious that the sooner Han Yan and Zhang Xuezhou act, the better, and the sooner they can get evidence of their actions, the better.

Perhaps during this wave of turmoil in the court, these handles may play an unexpected role.

"I'm going to go to Qilin Pavilion where the Grand Historian is," Zhang Xuezhou said, "I'll come out after the sacrificial ceremony. If Prime Minister Xu and Censor Zhuang see me off in advance, I can go to the Ba Mausoleum with them!"

"That's it?" Han Yan asked in surprise. "It can only be done this way." Zhang Xuezhou nodded and said, "You know my home is a little far from the palace. It's inconvenient to go back and forth every day. I can only stay at the Grand Historian's place to avoid delaying the sacrificial ceremony!"

"Fortunately, we have never started a family, so we can live near the imperial city," Sang Hongyang sighed.

"It is most convenient for Han Yan to live in the imperial palace," said Guo Sheren enviously.

"Han Yan has been your Majesty's study companion since childhood. You can't envy this," Mei Gao said with a smile.

Seeing that everyone was interrupting again, Han Yan had no choice but to remain silent, but he knew that Zhang Xuezhou would not act so quickly.

After thinking about Zhang Xuezhou's conditions, Han Yan finally agreed with them. As Zhang Xuezhou's home was so far away from the palace, not to mention it was inconvenient for him to spy on Empress Dowager Dou, he had not been able to attend the morning court normally before.

"Everyone, I'm not feeling well, so I'll leave first!"

After finishing the food in the bowl, Han Yan bowed to everyone.

Unable to go to Silanfang to have fun, Han Yan could only endure the discomfort and run to the harem to see what was going on.

He was the first to say goodbye to everyone, and after a while, Zhang Xuezhou also stood up and said goodbye.

There are many people living in the palace, and Han Yan is not an exception. People like Yi Shuo also live in the palace and only leave on holidays.

However, the accommodation environment in the palace was another matter. Although the buildings in the palace were grand and elegant, it was normal for servants to sleep more than ten or even dozens of people in one room. There were even residences for hundreds of people. Few people had a single room to live in, which made Sang Hongyang and others prefer to live outside.

The Grand Historian was in charge of classics, astronomy, calendars, documents, and recording of important events. He had a unique status in the imperial palace and was considered to be a group that received special treatment.

Zhang Xuezhou had no relationship with the Grand Historian Sima Tan, but it was not a problem for him to pass the time in the Tianlu Qilin Pavilion with the order.

What is more interesting is that the Grand Historian has magical powers that allow him to travel around, and the wide range of investigation also allows Sima Tan to hear about things in all directions in the Qilin Pavilion and record the relevant information more accurately.

Even in Qilin Pavilion, Zhang Xuezhou could learn about the important events in the palace by asking Sima Tan.

"Are you going to pee in Qilin Pavilion again?"

Tianlu Qilin Pavilion was closed as usual. Zhang Xuezhou poked his head around to find the entrance for a while before he heard Sima Tan's voice.

"I have the token this time, so even if I want to pee, I have a legal place to pee!"

Zhang Xuezhou touched his sleeve pocket and took out the token.

"This is the dragon-faced key of the exquisite lock. Anyone holding a complete key can freely enter and exit Qilin Pavilion and the Secret Pavilion. Anyone holding a half-piece of the key can enter Qilin Pavilion three times. Are you going to use the key now?"

"Yes!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

The closed and locked door opened a crack a few steps away, revealing half of Sima Tan's face.

"The door here is only half open?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"The first time you come in you have to enter through a squeeze door, the second time you can open half the door, and the third time you have to open the door fully," Sima Tan said.

"This is using the door-opening scale to count me!"

Zhang Xuezhou complained and squeezed into the door, while Sima Tan took the key and touched it.

"Others come here one after another, but you use it once and can stay for two more times. His Majesty is really very kind to you!"

Sima Tan paid no attention to Zhang Xuezhou's teasing about his counting, but instead marveled at the jade key.

He was impeached one moment, and then he was sent the keys to Qilin Pavilion to cultivate his character. It is not common for there to be both punishment and reward.

Sima Tan keenly realized that there was something to be dug up here, but now was definitely not the time to dig up such gossip about Zhang Xuezhou.

He opened the secret door of Qilin Pavilion for Zhang Xuezhou. After giving some simple directions, Sima Tan reached out and moved the crown on his head. A probe emerged from the crown and began to rotate, hanging by his neck and flying towards the top of the attic.

This magic weapon combined with the flying technique made it difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to complain.

However, the attic platform that Sima Tan flew to was more exquisite. It was the highest point in the Weiyang Palace complex. Many instruments were installed on the platform, and one could observe the stars, wind direction, etc. from the attic.

Even without using any magic, one can still see the gloomy and gloomy Anle Palace from afar.