The four members of the academy were fetched by horse carriages sent from the palace. But the remaining six, whether they were Chen Chao who represented the warden faction, or young geniuses from the Heavenly Imperial Institution, or those descendants of aristocratic families, they all entered the palace on their own.
This seemingly minor difference in treatment actually revealed a lot. It could be said that the respected status of the academy could be reflected here, but it could also be said that the academy had always been an outsider to the Great Liang Dynasty. This kind of reception was the attitude towards guests from start to end.
Sitting in the manure cart that transformed into a prison wagon, then transformed from a prison wagon to a horse carriage, Chen Chao was sizing up this vast Divine Capital along the way.
The Divine Capital was too large for the common people living here to traverse in their lifetime. Even someone like Chen Chao might not be able to see the Divine Capital's entirety in his lifetime unless he deliberately made an effort to explore it.
Although the carriage was simple, it had the emblem of the Left Guard and the journey was extremely smooth. However, even so, it was already dark before they made it halfway there. Fortunately, the time had been calculated before they came. At this moment, there was still some time before the imperial banquet started. If nothing unexpected happened, they could still arrive at the palace within the designated time no matter what.
It had been a long time since they last met, but Weng Quan had not changed. He was still a talkative person and he talked a lot on the way, whether it was about family matters or trivial matters in the Left Guard's office. There was nothing he did not talk about. Even though Chen Chao was long prepared, he still felt a headache at the moment.
It was just that during the journey from Tianqing County to the capital city, he could not make Weng Quan change anything. But now, things were different. Chen Chao said woodenly without any expression, "From now on, you can't say a word until we arrive at the palace."
Weng Quan was incredibly shocked. At the same time, he was extremely puzzled as he asked, "Why, Deputy Commander?"
Chen Chao replied calmly, "No why. This is an order."
If it were in the past, Weng Quan naturally would have ignored Chen Chao. But at this moment, Chen Chao had become the deputy commander of the Left Guard, he was theoretically his superior, so he couldn't refute him. He could only hold it in and said, "This subordinate obeys."
Chen Chao nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this deputy commander position was indeed useful, and he could not help feeling a little happy.
Because Weng Quan could not speak, he was a little irritable. As a result, the frequency of the whip cracking increased, which also meant that the horses were galloping with more effort, which also made them arrive at the palace earlier.
The huge imperial palace stood silently in the night, like a giant who had experienced countless winds and rains.
As Weng Quan pulled the reins, the horse carriage stopped and he snorted with some dissatisfaction, Weng Quan did not say anything, but it was clear that he was not too happy.
Chen Chao walked out of the cabin and asked, "Will it still be you fetching me back to the academy after it ends?"
Weng Quan was silent.
The corners of Chen Chao's mouth twitched and he said with a frown, "You can talk now!"
Only then, did Weng Quan said gloomily, "It will naturally be this subordinate. Deputy Commander, enter the palace. This subordinate will wait here."
Chen Chao looked at Weng Quan and forcibly endured his anger as he said, "Someone as dumb as you managed to enter the Left Guard. Just how much money did Song Lian take from you?"
Weng Quan said a little panicky, "Deputy Commander, don't talk nonsense. My Second Uncle didn't take this subordinate's money!"
Chen Chao was silent for a moment and said, "I'm sorry."
After saying this, he turned and headed towards the imperial city, thinking to himself that these two great geniuses were indeed related by blood.
There were already eunuchs waiting in front of the palace gate for some time. When they saw the young man in black with a saber hanging at his waist walking towards them, one of them immediately approached him with a smile and asked, "Are you Commander Chen?"
Unlike Weng Quan, this eunuch who did not look old was very eloquent and even dropped the word 'deputy' in his words. Chen Chao was clearly pleased and nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's me."
"Please follow me, Commander." The young eunuch pointed ahead.
Chen Chao had originally intended to wait here for Xie Nandu, but he realized that the group from the academy would likely be together. At that time, he might be embarrassed again. So he shook his head and followed the young eunuch ahead.
"I don't know how to address you, Lord Eunuch?" Since the other party had been so polite, Chen Chao naturally had to return the favor.[1. Fun fact, the respected form of address for a eunuch would be 公公, there is no suitable translation. So I'll just say lord eunuch. Most eunuchs don't get this treatment.]
The young eunuch smiled and said, "My surname is Li."
Chen Chao clasped his hands and asked, "Lord Eunuch Li, it's permitted to bring a saber into the palace?"
Watching Eunuch Li lead him and walk into the imperial palace, Chen Chao felt a little puzzled too. They did not search his body when entered, nor was he made to remove his saber. The rules were actually so lax?
Eunuch Li explained with a smile, "Commander Chen is a commander of the Left Guard, responsible for the security of the Divine Capital. You're naturally one of us. It's not a rare thing to enter the palace armed. As for the palace rules, it has always been this way too. It's not a big deal to bring a saber into the palace. Could it be that Commander Chen is planning to assassinate His Majesty?"
Although Eunuch Li's words were light-hearted, Chen Chao still felt a chill run down his spine. Could one really speak so casually about assassination?
"Even if Commander Chen had rebellious intent, how could His Majesty be so easy to kill?" Eunuch Li's face belied the casual tone of his words.
However, this sentence was true. The Great Liang emperor was one of the few peerless martial artists in the Great Liang Dynasty. Forget about one Chen Chao, even if there were ten thousand Chen Chaos, it would be impossible to assassinate the emperor.
Chen Chao nodded in agreement and said seriously, "His Majesty's martial cultivation is unparalleled, and his power is unmatched. It is natural that no one can kill him."
Eunuch Li smiled slightly, but did not follow-up.
……
……
The location of the imperial banquet tonight was not in the usual South Garden, but in the Virtuous Sun Palace. The young people attending the banquet could understand this change too. Although they were selected as one of the ten, they were only youngsters after all and had not yet made great achievements. They naturally could not compare to the court officials who have made great contributions.
"Although we cannot enter South Garden today, I believe that one day, Commander Chen will be able to drink and chat with His Majesty in South Garden."
Eunuch Li smiled slightly and said in an unhurried tone.
Chen Chao replied, "I dare not wish for that. As long as I can contribute to the imperial court, that will do."
Eunuch Li praised, "I've heard about the major incident that blew up in the capital before. Commander Chen's commitment to defending our territory is touching. Especially those final words you said in the hall of the Ministry of Penalty, they made people feel their hot blood surging when they hear it and recollect the aftertaste."
When he mentioned the incident, Chen Chao felt a little embarrassed. That was originally something he said to provoke the middle-aged daoist nun. But now, it spread and he did not know how to face it.
"Eunuch Li is too kind. As the warden of a region, that's something that I should do in the first place." Chen Chao smiled and reacted very quickly, adjusting his attitude.
Eunuch Li nodded and said, "If everyone in our Great Liang Dynasty was like Commander Chen, how could those foreign cultivators dare to underestimate us?"
Chen Chao did not know how to answer this time. In the end, he just smiled and changed the subject.
Eunuch Li walked unhurriedly towards the Virtuous Sun Palace, chatting quite a bit with Chen Chao along the way. He spoke with great tact and gave off a pleasant feeling, making it hard for Chen Chao to feel any dislike towards him.
Chen Chao thought to himself that if this Eunuch Li was not so young, he would likely have been in a high position within the imperial palace.
Before long, the two arrived in front of the Virtuous Sun Palace. Although the Virtuous Sun Palace was not as formal as the South Garden, it was still an important palace within the imperial palace and naturally very spacious. At this moment, palace servants had long been sent to set up for the imperial banquet. Currently, this palace was decorated with numerous night pearls of the same size, illuminating the palace as bright as day.
Chen Chao was just thinking of expressing his feelings and stepping into the palace. But Eunuch Li spoke at this moment, "Commander Chen, follow me."
He stood at the palace entrance and gave Chen Chao a glance. Then, he actually walked past the palace door without entering and walked even further ahead.
Chen Chao was stunned for a moment. After confirming that Eunuch Li was talking to him, he bit the bullet and followed him in front.
A moment later, Chen Chao still could not help but ask, "Eunuch Li, isn't the banquet in the Virtuous Sun Palace?"
Eunuch Li said without turning his head, "It's in the Virtuous Sun Palace, but someone wants to meet Commander Chen before the imperial banquet starts."
Chen Chao made a sound of acknowledgment and asked with a forced smile, "Is it His Majesty?"
Eunuch Li shook his head and said softly, "No."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chao relaxed a little. But he still held great curiosity towards the nobleman he was about to meet.
He was currently in the imperial palace. Logically speaking, as long as the emperor did not want him dead, no one would dare to kill him. However, he still felt a little worried and subconsciously wanted to grab the handle of his saber. But at this moment, the voice of Eunuch Li sounded out at the same time, "Commander Chen, hold it in. Some actions may be deemed as impolite.
Chen Chao was taken aback with shock. He had traveled with Eunuch Li all the way here but had not been able to discern the latter's depth. Now, with just one sentence, Chen Chao understood that Eunuch Li was surely a cultivator with an extremely profound cultivation, so profound that he could not even detect any clues about his background.
The imperial palace was indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Although he did not grasp the handle of his saber, the palm of Chen Chao's hand was already sweating and his expression did not look too good.
Eunuch Li smiled and said, "Commander Chen, relax a little. This is the imperial city. As long as His Majesty doesn't want you dead, you will not die."
Chen Chao said softly, "Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Li."
After saying this, he took a deep breath and felt much more relaxed.
Eunuch Li did not say anything else and quickly led Chen Chao into a palace. Then, Chen Chao saw a woman dressed in palace attire standing not far away. She was currently looking at him.
Chen Chao's expression changed slightly. After seeing clearly that the woman was dressed in the concubine attire of the imperial harem, he became a little nervous.
The current emperor was known for his devotion to one woman, having not taken any concubines in the thirteen years since he ascended to the throne. In the imperial harem, there was only the empress alone.
Now, this woman was dressed in such an attire, no matter how dumb Chen Chao was, he would also know that she was the empress of the Great Liang Dynasty.
Although before and after entering the palace, he had been worried about whether he would meet the emperor or not, it did not mean that he was only afraid of meeting the emperor in the imperial palace.
Actually, he did not want to meet this empress too.
But no matter how unwilling he was, he met her at this moment too.
After a moment of silence, Chen Chao was about to pay homage to this empress.
The majesty of the empress was ranked on par with the emperor. He was a subject of the Great Liang emperor and must pay respects after seeing her.
This was the rule.
The empress shook her head and said gently, "No need."
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