The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 217 Inspection
Seeing the emperor finally step into the front hall, the royal family members who were originally talking in low voices stopped talking, stood up and paid their respects with great ceremony.

"His Majesty--"

"Okay."

The emperor smiled gently, raised his hands and gave a light support.

"Today is a family dinner, there is no need to be formal. Such red tape is inevitable for foreign officials, but now we are all family, so let's skip it."

All the royal family members then stood up, but did not dare to take their seats. They stood where they were, waiting for the emperor's next words.

Li Miao quietly looked up at the emperor.

He had been in Dashuo for 27 years. As a captain of the Jinyiwei, he had naturally served as a guard many times and had seen the emperor from a distance several times. But this was the first time he had observed him from such a close distance.

The emperor had thin cheeks, a full forehead, bright eyes, three long strands of beard flowing down from his chin, and a smile on his face, looking both friendly and majestic. Judging only by his appearance, this emperor really looked like a wise and benevolent ruler.

If he wasn't wearing a Taoist robe with a thousand words and long hair, he would look even more like a Taoist. With this outfit, he looked even more like a wise Taoist.

Li Miao sneered inwardly.

The emperor's behavior as a sage, combined with the numerous corpses of celestial beings hanging in his tomb, seems so ironic and ridiculous.

Just as Li Miao was secretly complaining, the emperor, who was standing at the top, was about to ask the royal family members to take their seats, but his pupils suddenly shrank. He sniffed twice, his eyes suddenly focused, and the smile on his face disappeared.

A pair of sharp eyes that seemed to be real scanned everyone.

The royal family members who were originally smiling apologetically were suddenly startled and hurriedly bent down, trembling with fear.

"Oh, you can smell, too."

Li Miao chuckled.

He cut a wound on the street to let Emperor Jianwen know that he was there, and there was still a trace of blood on his body. Emperor Jianwen could smell his blood, and it was not surprising that the emperor could do it because his martial arts were the same as his.

Li Miao had anticipated this.

However, Li Miao had already deliberately concealed it, and he had stayed in the Qianqing Palace for a long time, so the smell of blood had already spread to everyone present.

The emperor knew he was coming, but he couldn't recognize which one it was.

This is Li Miao’s purpose.

Zhu Zai and Li Miao have not yet decided what attitude they should take towards the emperor. Regardless of whether the emperor is himself or Ji Tianrui, since he is now sitting on the throne, everything he does must be done with caution.

Not to mention that if they rashly attacked the emperor, whether successful or not, it would likely lead the entire Dashuo into the abyss of chaos. Zhu Zai and Li Miao could not afford the consequences of regicide alone.

No matter how incompetent and cruel the emperor was, no one was willing to bear the crime of regicide, because it meant that you became a target, and all those who wanted to compete for supremacy would be happy to use your head to establish their legitimacy.

By then, the whole world will be your enemy.

At this stage, it is still just a "pull and pull" stage. Li Miao will not jump out and become an enemy of the emperor right now, but he still needs to secretly restrict his strength.

Li Miao deliberately let the emperor know that he was coming, in order to make him be more cautious about attacking the royal family. Then he would see the actions of the Ming Cult and Emperor Jianwen, and then make plans.

Sure enough, the emperor looked around for a long time, but he couldn't tell which one was the master who fought against Emperor Jianwen.

The martial arts that Li Miao created using his "salary" are not easy to detect.

He was silent for a moment, but then he chuckled and returned to his gentle expression again.

"I just suddenly remembered that the thief had killed several members of the royal family on the way to the banquet. I couldn't help but feel pity for him and was distracted for a moment."

The royal family members then felt relieved and hurriedly said compliments to the emperor, such as "Your Majesty, thank you for your concern."

The emperor waved his hand. "Huang Daban was seriously injured. I asked him a few questions and then sent him to recover. I did not ask in detail which members of the royal family were killed or which members were frightened."

"Stand up and let me see if you are alright."

Zhu Zai thought to himself that this was not good, but he had nowhere to hide. He could only stand up with Li Miao, Princess Si Rou, and several other clan members who had come with them, walked in front of the emperor, and spoke in unison.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy. We are fine."

The moment he saw Zhu Zai standing up, the emperor's eyes suddenly became deep, and he stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Zai's hand.

"My dear minister, you are my confidant, and the Royal Guards are the eyes and ears of the court. Nothing must happen to you!"

Zhu Zai was about to thank him when he suddenly felt a thread of vital energy flowing into his meridians.

"His Majesty!"

Zhu Zai suddenly looked up at the emperor.

"My dear, I know a little bit about keeping healthy, and I have some accomplishments in martial arts. I would be worried if I didn't come to see if you have any internal injuries."

The emperor narrowed his eyes, looked at Zhu Zai, and his words were full of concern.

Zhu Zai did not detect any smile in those eyes.

Fortunately, he was prepared after being reminded by Li Miao, and there was nothing strange about his martial arts. After trying to remain calm, he spoke as usual.

"Your Majesty has shown me such a favor. I am deeply grateful and have no way to repay you!"

"It's okay, it's okay..."

The emperor smiled and took Zhu Zai's hand to check it out, but he exclaimed "Huh" in his heart.

"Is it really not this old thing?"

"He was most deeply involved with the Ming Cult some time ago, and tonight he happened to run into Emperor Jianwen. The man who fought with Emperor Jianwen is here again... But is Zhu Zai really clean?"

"But this martial art is indeed the style of the Jinyiwei, and the realm is just ordinary top..."

He didn't know that Li Miao, who was standing behind Zhu Zai, had quietly brought him within his reach. As long as the emperor had the slightest intention of attacking Zhu Zai, Li Miao would immediately take action.

In the eyes of the surrounding clans, this was a harmonious scene of a wise king and virtuous ministers. But in the dark, invisible to them, the three people at the center of this scene were already on edge, with murderous intent rising.

As long as one of the parties shows the slightest movement, blood will be splattered on the spot!
The scene became quiet for a moment.

After a while, the emperor smiled and let go of Zhu Zai's hand.

"My dear, you are fine. I am relieved."

After all, he was just suspicious, and he was extremely conceited, so he had no doubts about the results of his investigation. After a careful investigation, he found no clues, so he temporarily ruled out Zhu Zai's suspicion.

But he won't stop there.

The emperor turned his head and looked at the other royal family members standing beside him, his eyes were cold and he smiled gently.

"Come, let me take a look at the remaining ones."

"!!!"

Zhu Zai's hair stood on end, and he forced himself not to look back at Li Miao, a trace of cold sweat already running down his back.

(End of this chapter)