The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 389 Eastern Investigation Factory
Li Miao narrowed his eyes, meeting the gaze of the emperor on the dragon throne. Their eyes met in mid-air. He suddenly took a step forward, reaching out to shield Zhu Zai behind him.

The emperor slowly turned his head, his gaze fixed intently on Li Miao. Although he made no move, his eyes were full of spirit, and his body faintly emanated a true energy even more vast and powerful than Li Miao's.

Six months ago, when Li Miao left the capital, the emperor was still in a daze and looked extremely haggard. He needed to be fed bite by bite not only to speak and act, but also to eat. Otherwise, Li Miao would not have felt at ease leaving Shuntian.

But now, Li Miao could no longer see any difference between the emperor and the one before he was possessed last year. Even the arrogance in his eyes had disappeared, and his eyes were like a deep pool, devoid of any emotion.

Having eliminated his mental flaws, even though both of them had reached the level of unifying the four paths, Li Miao, with the emperor's resources, was not confident of defeating him.

A ferocious smile slowly spread across Li Miao's lips as he clenched his black glove, making a creaking sound.

"Commander."

He didn't turn around, but called out to Zhu Zai, wanting him to leave the hall first.

But immediately following the end of his sentence, two voices rang out at the same time.

"Da Li."

"Da Li."

One came from behind, and the other from the dragon throne in front.

"?"

Li Miao's upturned smile froze.

"WTF?"

He looked at the emperor who had stood up.

"What did you call me just now?"

The emperor froze for a moment, seemingly embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, he slowly exhaled.

"Minister Li... were you injured by the bandits in Nanjing?"

The emperor stepped down the steps, his gaze sweeping over Li Miao as if checking for injuries. After a while, he slowly nodded.

"It's good that you're alright... Thank you for your hard work."

Li Miao's expression grew increasingly strange.

"Didn't you tell me about these things... Commander, what's the procedure here?"

Zhu Zai and the emperor spread their hands together.

"As you can see."

Li Miao's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them several times.

Snapped.

He slapped himself across the face and slowly slid his hand down.

"Master Ji... well done..."

Li Miao suddenly remembered that after defeating the emperor in the imperial tomb, when he proposed using Zhu Zai as the blueprint for controlling the emperor's Gu worms, Ji Tianrui seemed to have a playful smile on her face.

But even though this witch's own mother died and she herself was cut in half, she always had an unfathomable smile on her face. In addition, she never said anything, so Li Miao didn't pay any attention to her at the time.

Looking back now... Ji Tianrui was laughing at him back then.

They laughed at him for recognizing a thief as his father.

"Your Excellency... Minister Li..."

The emperor hesitated before speaking.

"Shut up first."

Li Miao raised his hand and pointed to Zhu Zai, who was standing to the side, relying on his long beard to cover his smile, but whose shoulders kept shaking.

"You too."

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh.

"I shouldn't have believed that witch."

"Forget it, the gate of Qianqing Palace is too big. It's inevitable that some eunuchs or palace maids will pass by. Let's find a quiet place to talk."

--------

The rear hall of the Qianqing Palace was where the emperor lived.

Li Miao lay back in the chair, propping his face up with his left hand, his gaze darting back and forth between Zhu Zai and the emperor, who sat upright opposite him.

Zhu Zai leisurely sipped his tea, occasionally stealing glances at Li Miao. "This old man..."

Li Miao pursed his lips and looked at the emperor beside him.

His appearance was no different from before; his cheeks were thin, his forehead was full, his eyes were bright and piercing, and three long strands of beard flowed down his chin. He looked more like a Taoist priest than an emperor.

But this expression... it has no resemblance to what it was before.

Li Miao could even tell that he was a little nervous.

With his cultivation at the Celestial Realm and the perfection of the three paths of destiny, the emperor could deliberately conceal his abilities without revealing any major flaws. However, Li Miao could naturally discern the emperor's current emotions from his somewhat rapid breathing, slightly evasive gaze, and surging true energy.

He looks like an old man who hasn't seen his children for years and wants to get closer to them but doesn't know how to start the conversation.

"Tsk."

Li Miao pursed her lips and looked at Zhu Zai.

"Commander, please speak."

Zhu Zai then put down his teacup and cleared his throat.

"Well, in short, there's something wrong with the Gu worms left behind by that demoness Ji Tianrui. At least they're different from the ones that the Miao King possessed."

"His Majesty now has lost most of his previous memories, and the remaining memories are fragmented, only instinctively aligning with my likes and dislikes."

"That is to say..."

Li Miao took over the conversation.

"He is just like you now, suffering from amnesia."

"Yes."

Zhu Zai nodded, picked up his teacup and took a sip, glancing at Li Miao from above the teacup.

Li Miao let out a long sigh.

"No wonder...no wonder you still have to handle state affairs personally. Logically speaking, the emperor's abilities are a hundred times better than yours, it's just that he didn't care much about the world before..."

"No wonder those civil officials who were previously firmly under the emperor's control dared to challenge you, who were unconditionally supported by the emperor... They've already sensed something's wrong..."

"So that's how it is... Could you please stop looking at me like that? I don't know how you feel, but I have no connection with you whatsoever." Li Miao pointed at the emperor.

The emperor's gaze darkened, and he turned his head away.

But his obedience only made Li Miao more and more irritated.

"What a mess!"

"Never mind... Your Majesty over there."

The emperor turned his head.

"big--"

Then, under Li Miao's icy gaze, he abruptly changed his mind.

"—Minister Li, what is it?"

"How much do you remember about Liu Jin and his gang of eunuchs?"

The emperor pondered for a moment, then spoke sincerely.

"He came from a humble background; he was just an ordinary person who sold himself into the palace to become a eunuch. At first, he was in charge of sweeping the Chenglu Terrace. One day, I saw him come to deliver dew, and I happened to find his appearance pleasing, so I kept him by my side to serve him."

"After he began to practice martial arts, I realized that he was exceptionally talented and made rapid progress. I gave him several tasks, which he performed flawlessly. As a result, I trusted him even more."

As he spoke, the emperor raised his hand and grabbed a stack of documents from a bookshelf on the side, then lightly handed them to Li Miao.

"I had some disagreements with Minister Zhu before, and in recent years the Ministry of War has been interfering more and more with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. So I thought I would establish an office in the inner court to replace the Embroidered Uniform Guard. These are the people I have selected."

Li Miao casually flipped through the stack of documents and frowned.

"There don't seem to be many people, but the quality is truly terrifying; top-tier experts occupy an entire page."

"That's true. With all the celestial inheritances and massive resources in the palace, and the deliberate collection from all over the world, it would be strange if they couldn't produce these experts."

Li Miao closed the book, looked at the cover, and read aloud in a deep voice.

"Dongji Factory".

(End of this chapter)