The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 390 The Illusion of the True Mind
Li Miao finally learned the "official name" for this group of eunuchs, and no longer needed to use the roundabout way of calling them "Liu Jin's gang".

He looked at the four words on the cover and smiled helplessly.

"What is this, a convergence of world lines?"

"I originally thought that the Great Shuo was completely different from the Ming Dynasty of my previous life, especially since the emperor himself was now in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I thought the Eastern Depot shouldn't have to reappear. Does being a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard mean you have to fight the Eastern Depot?"

"Could it be that my previous habit of saying 'act first and report later, with imperial permission' has created a butterfly effect, giving rise to the Eastern Depot... What about the Western Depot? And its 'depot flower'? Will they create one too?"

"No, I'll take care of things the Eastern Depot wouldn't dare to do... If I destroy the Eastern Depot, then... I'll be the most beautiful woman in the depot? Those people in Yingzhou look just like me, and they even have Feng Lidao right here! And quite a few of them!"

"No, these things probably can't be explained by quantum mechanics. If a Dragon Gate Inn ever appears in the martial arts world, I'll just bomb it with cannons and never go there to kill people myself."

He naturally wouldn't say these words aloud; he just kept them to himself.

Then the emperor continued speaking.

"Liu Jin is extremely loyal to me."

"Ah."

Li Miao sneered.

"That's what all emperors think."

The emperor shook his head.

"No, he's different... at least in my memory."

"Good good."

Li Miao gave a perfunctory reply and threw the stack of documents on the table.

"Anything else, like their arrangements, where they planted spies beforehand, or which civil officials might be colluding with them?"

Zhu Zai continued the conversation.

"His Majesty still remembers all of this, and I have also sent people to investigate. Liu Jin must have known that His Majesty's condition was abnormal, so he abandoned all of his previous arrangements."

"In fact, with the wealth transported from Nanjing, they had no need to risk using their previous arrangements. Moreover, given His Majesty's control over the civil officials, Liu Jin knew their weaknesses, temperaments, and secrets perfectly well. He could collude with anyone he wanted, and there was no way to investigate him."

Li Miao frowned.

"So I'm still completely in the dark."

Zhu Zai and the emperor nodded in unison.

Li Miao twirled his fingers in thought for a moment, then looked at the emperor again.

"How good are your martial arts skills? How much of them do you have left?"

If we consider the Miao King's genuine Gu worms, and the emperor's temperament has only been altered while his memories remain, his martial arts skills should not have declined, and he could even make up for his temperamental shortcomings.

However, the Gu worm that Ji Tianrui gave her is obviously a "fake version". Not to mention whether she remembers the moves, her cultivation level may also be affected.

As expected, the emperor said in a deep voice.

"About 60-70%."

"The realm of the four paths as one is still there, but the moves have all been completely forgotten, and Jizhao has also been greatly affected."

Li Miao frowned and raised his hand to beckon.

"Let's see the illusion of stillness and illumination, the one from the true nature of mind."

If the emperor readily accepts good advice, then action must be taken.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zai's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly raised his hand to stop him: "Wait a minute—"

In an instant, the world changed.

Li Miao's vision blurred, and the scenery around him changed completely. When he finally saw everything clearly, he frowned.

He was standing in a grand hall, the floor of which was paved with gold bricks, and in the central room was a throne, adorned with elephants, mythical beasts, cranes, and incense pavilions. Sunlight shone on the kneeling figures of the noble beasts, reflecting a bluish-purple hue.

"Emperor Jianwen?"

Li Miao asked in confusion.

How could he not see that this was the Hall of Supreme Harmony? But how did this illusory vision of the emperor's true nature become exactly the same as that of the Jianwen Emperor?

"No, there is still a difference."

Li Miao turned to look outside the hall.

Outside the hall was not a vast expanse of bluestone ground, but an endless field with a few farmhouses scattered across it, from which wisps of smoke rose, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be faintly heard.

Li Miao looked down and saw clear water slowly flowing from the kneeling figures around him, converging and flowing out of the hall, into the boundless farmland outside.

"Oh."

Li Miao suddenly realized.

The current emperor's character has been changed.

Rather than saying this was the emperor's own reflection, it would be more accurate to say it was Zhu Zai's reflection. "I never expected that such a wise and virtuous ruler would actually be created." Li Miao's lips curled up as he turned to look at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne in the center of the hall.

Upon seeing this, he was suddenly taken aback.

There's not much to say about the emperor himself; his appearance is the same as in reality, except that a small stream flows from his body, running along the ground towards the farmland outside the palace.

But... Li Miao looked to the emperor's side.

There were three people standing there.

The two guards behind the emperor, one holding a golden mace and the other a battle axe, were dressed in golden armor and looked extremely imposing.

One of them stood to one side of the dragon throne, dressed in a crimson robe embroidered with gold and decorated with four-clawed python patterns, a cross-collar and wide sleeves, a jade leather belt around his waist, a knee-covering, a traveler's hat with a cloud and dragon patterned sash, and black boots. He stood close to the dragon throne, his hands behind his back, looking down at the ministers below.

Li Miao knew that this was the court attire of the Crown Prince, also known as the Crown Prince.

But... why do these three people look so familiar to Li Miao?

It's like looking in a mirror!
These three people are all myself, right?
The two guards and the crown prince who was ruling as regent all looked like Li Miao!

"Your Majesty, what's going on?"

Li Miao asked the emperor on the dragon throne.

The emperor flicked his sleeves, spread his hands, and said nothing.

It means "as you see".

Li Miao remained silent for a while, then smiled and shook his head.

"No wonder Zhu Yijing was in such a hurry... Forget it, let's dispel the illusion."

With a wave of his hand, the emperor sent Li Miao back to his seat.

He didn't rush to speak, but instead squinted at Zhu Zai.

"Ahem, Commander..."

Zhu Zai turned halfway around, drinking his tea sip by sip, without even glancing at Li Miao.

"What was that illusion all about?"

Zhu Zai acted as if he hadn't heard anything, sipping his tea.

"I'm not surnamed Zhu. Does your Zhu family not want the world anymore?"

Zhu Zai threw the teacup at him with a thud.

"Illusions can't be taken seriously... illusions! Can Jizhao's matter be considered real?"

Li Miao reached out and took the teacup off the table, placing it there.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore, okay...you old man."

Zhu Zai then put his hands in front of his chest and turned his face away from Li Miao.

The room fell silent for a moment.

After a long pause, Li Miao suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, even though you have no memories, you can still activate Jizhao as usual, right?"

The emperor nodded.

"That'll be easy."

Li Miao smiled.

"You used those worthless offerings and Yin Ruihua to practice with before, but I'm still much stronger than them... I'll practice with you. In half a month, how much of your strength will you be able to recover?"

The emperor pondered for a moment: "More than 80%."

"enough!"

Li Miao smiled.

"I was hesitant to let go of you because I thought you would retain your memories. Now that I've confirmed your true feelings, I can finally relax."

"Half a month!"

Li Miao held up one finger.

"Half a month!"

"Two perfect four paths united as one!"

"Who cares what they want to do or what their plans are!"

"Two four-way attacks combined, crush them!"

(End of this chapter)