If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

As dawn broke, the light streamed through the window and fell upon the dragon bed.

Zhao Yu yawned, got up, and stretched.

He had a dream last night in which he unified the entire world and all sorts of teachers in his harem became his concubines. He was just about to shower them all on equal footing when he woke up.

This dream was truly rather uninteresting.

"Wash up."

Zhao Yu called out.

The palace gates opened in response, and Wei An was the first to enter, kneeling on the ground to pay his respects.

"Your Majesty, this humble servant greets you. May Your Majesty be well!"

Zhao Yu waved his hand.

"Go wash up."

As soon as he finished speaking, a line of beautiful palace maids filed in.

They carried golden basins, jade cups, salt, and fragrant dew in their hands, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Zhao Yu sat on the edge of the bed without making any unnecessary movements. He had already figured out the process in the past few days.

The palace maids, familiar with the place, stepped forward and surrounded him.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a palace maid took a specially made soft-bristled toothbrush, dipped it in cool jade dew, and carefully cleaned his mouth.

He lowered his head slightly, and another palace maid immediately brought out a spittoon to catch the mouthwash.

As soon as he looked up, someone offered him a warm, soft towel to wipe his cheeks.

Throughout the entire process, Zhao Yu only needed to move his mouth and turn his head to clean himself up completely.

After washing up, Zhao Yu stood up again, and immediately another palace maid came forward to help him change his clothes.

The old dragon robe was removed, and a new one was put on.

Zhao Yu looked at himself in the mirror and still looked as heroic and extraordinary as ever.

He nodded in satisfaction and then waved his hand.

"Serve the food."

The palace maids who had finished washing bowed and withdrew, while another group of palace maids quietly entered carrying exquisite food boxes.

One by one, breakfast dishes were placed on the table.

The menu wasn't extensive, but each dish exuded a subtle medicinal aroma.

Zhao Yu's nose twitched, and he knew that the dish contained those precious medicinal herbs.

Any one of these precious medicines would be a highly sought-after treasure in the martial arts world.

But within the imperial palace, it was merely a side dish in his breakfast.

After an elegant meal, Zhao Yu put down his chopsticks.

Wei An stepped forward at the opportune moment and bowed to inquire.

"Your Majesty, is it ready?"

Zhao Yu hummed in agreement.

Wei An immediately responded.

"Then shall this servant prepare the imperial carriage now and proceed to court?"

"There will be no court session today."

Zhao Yu waved his hand and refused.

Wei An was taken aback. He opened his mouth, but swallowed back the question he wanted to ask and quickly responded.

"Yes."

Zhao Yu was making plans in his mind.

The royal engineering team is working on road construction, and it will take at least three days to get away. The envoy from the Wolf Kingdom seeking peace has not yet arrived. There is really nothing that needs to be resolved at court right now. The only thing worth attending court for is to test Prince Qian Zhentian of Zhennan.

But he submitted a memorial last night explaining that he couldn't hold his liquor and wouldn't be coming today.

Besides, having finally traveled through time and become the emperor, do you expect him to hold those damn morning meetings every day like in the 20th century?

Previously, there was no other way; either there were external threats or internal corruption among officials that undermined imperial power, so he had to be vigilant and deal with them.

Now that the external threats have been eliminated, the five major families have also been temporarily stabilized by the right to recruit soldiers.

Moreover, he also needed to keep those old guys busy to prevent them from overthinking and discovering any clues.

Zhao Yu looked at Wei An.

"Go and inform Gan Qing to come and offer his advice, then go to the Xuanzheng Hall and tell the rest of you to disperse."

"Your servant obeys the decree."

Wei An acknowledged and withdrew.

……

Inside the Xuanzheng Hall, civil and military officials had already gathered for some time.

As the sun rose high in the sky, the dragon throne remained empty, and the crowd below began to stir.

"Why hasn't His Majesty arrived yet?"

"Could he be sick? He was perfectly fine yesterday. Could this be a medical emergency?"

Many civil officials secretly began to look forward to it.

If something were to happen to Zhao Yuzhen, it would be a tremendous blessing for them.

After all, Zhao Yu had instilled a psychological fear in them when the Wolf Kingdom besieged the city before. Even though Zhao Yu had chosen to back down now, they were still somewhat uneasy.

Just as everyone was chattering and discussing, Wei An appeared at the palace gate.

All eyes turned to that direction.

Wei An did not speak immediately. Instead, he looked around to make sure that Prince Qian Zhentian, Prince Qian Miao, and others were not there before pretending to walk up the steps.

He cleared his throat and announced arrogantly.

"His Majesty has decreed that there will be no court session today. All officials, dismissed!"

Upon hearing this, the entire court was first taken aback, and then erupted in uproar.

problem occurs?

It's entirely possible!

The Minister of Rites stepped forward and asked, feigning concern.

"Attending court is a rule established since the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty. He has never missed a session except for matters of national importance. Eunuch Wei, is His Majesty unwell?"

Wei An glanced at him sideways, mimicking Zhao Yu's tone of authority.

"What? Your Majesty is the supreme ruler of the Nine Dragons, can't you just not attend court if you don't want to? Besides, when was there ever a rule established at the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty that Your Majesty had to attend court every day!"

"you!"

The Minister of Rites was taken aback when he saw that a mere eunuch dared to make such a veiled criticism of him, and he became somewhat angry.

There is indeed no explicit rule about this matter, but it has been a practice continued by successive emperors.

Just as he was about to argue further, Li Qiang, the Minister of War beside him, quietly tugged at his sleeve and gave him a wink.

The Minister of Rites understood instantly.

Now that they have the power to recruit soldiers, whether the emperor attends court or not is none of their business.

It's better if they don't attend court; they can go back earlier and sleep with their beauties.

The Minister of Rites tactfully withdrew.

Seeing that no one else would step forward, Wei An raised his chin in satisfaction and shouted loudly.

"Court adjourned!"

The crowd gradually left the Xuanzheng Hall.

The group of civil officials walked side by side, and someone whispered a reminder to the Minister of Rites.

"Brother Wang, we have just obtained the authority to recruit soldiers, so we must not cause any unforeseen complications."

"Yes, yes, I was confused for a moment."

The Minister of Rites nodded repeatedly.

The Minister of Justice lowered his voice and echoed, "Once our respective military forces are solidified, we can hold our own courts and court sessions, regardless of whether the young emperor attends or not..."

Before he could finish speaking, Minister of War Li Qiang hurriedly interrupted him.

"Shut up! You want to die?!"

The Minister of Justice then realized his slip of the tongue and quickly shut his mouth and apologized.

After discussing it further, the group decided to inform the clan elders about the matter later.

As soon as the group reached the palace gate, they saw a carriage stop.

Gan Qing, leaning on his cane, got out of the car unsteadily.

The two sides met briefly, but neither gave the other a friendly look.

After Gan Qing's figure disappeared inside the palace gate, the group spat on the ground.

"What are you pretending for? Do you really think you're still the powerful prime minister you used to be?"

"That's right, once the Gan family falls, it'll be Brother Li's family's turn to rise to power!"

Someone looked at Li Qiang, the Minister of War, with a fawning expression.

Since the former Minister of War passed away, the Li family has spent a lot of resources to promote Li Qiang to the position. With his experienced abilities, Li Qiang has become one of the core figures in the court.

Li Qiang immediately smiled.

"Definitely, definitely!"

The Li family was already the head of the five major families forty or fifty years ago.

Who knew that the Gan family would produce a Gan Qing, who single-handedly led the Gan family to become the head of the five major families, which also caused the Li family to be relegated to second place for forty or fifty years.

Now that the opportunity has come, he naturally won't let it slip by.

He, Li Qiang, is determined to become the next Gan Qing!