If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming slowly withdrew his divine sense from the Imperial Garden, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of cold tea, and leaned back in his chair to ponder.

He saw through Emperor Yongchang's thoughts perfectly.

The young emperor ran into a brick wall in front of Su Mingyue.

He also ran into a brick wall in front of Zhou Ming.

None of the officials listened to him, and he couldn't even command the eunuchs and palace maids. He was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it.

Bringing Su Mingli out was ostensibly a way of promising this spoiled cousin a rosy picture, but in reality, it was a test.

Look at all these officials, are they on Zhou Ming, this outsider, or on the eldest son of the Marquis's family?

No matter who he sides with, Emperor Yongchang will not lose: if the ministers side with Su Mingli, he can use Su Mingli to slowly undermine Su Mingyue's foundation.

If the court officials still side with Zhou Ming, he won't suffer any loss; he'll just have Su Mingli, who's now in a precarious position.

However, Zhou Ming did not intend to give him this opportunity to test him.

Su Mingli wants to be an official, so let him be one.

The position of prefect was originally assigned to Zhou Ming temporarily to facilitate the command of military and political affairs in Yuyang Prefecture.

Now that Yuyang County is running smoothly, with the old minister Chen Langzhong overseeing things, there shouldn't be any major problems with daily administration.

Moreover, his current divine sense is sufficient to cover a radius of forty kilometers.

The entire city of Yuyang, along with the surrounding towns, was within his perception range.

If anything goes wrong, he can fix it at any time.

As for guarding the palace.

This young master shouldn't even think about it. With his limited brain capacity, he'd probably be counting money for the Emperor Yongchang even after being sold out.

Let him be a prefect, give him some proper work to do, so he won't spend all his time fighting crickets with Emperor Yongchang.

If this goes on for too long, and if Emperor Yongchang manages to mislead people into causing some trouble, Zhou Ming will be the one cleaning up the mess in the end.

However, Emperor Yongchang should not be let off so easily.

These past few days he's been smashing things and plotting to seize power, making quite a fuss. He needs to be taught a lesson so he knows who really holds power in this palace.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Ming's eyes lit up and he had an idea.

He beckoned to several Imperial Guard captains and whispered something in their ears.

After hearing this, the captains looked at each other, their faces showing a "can this really be done?" expression, but none of them dared to ask any more questions. They clasped their hands in apology and left.

The next morning, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which had been quiet for several days, became lively again.

Emperor Yongchang, for the first time ever, took the initiative to issue an imperial decree to attend the morning court session.

Having missed court for several days, he seemed to have regained his interest. He put on a brand-new bright yellow imperial robe, polishing the tassels on his crown until they shone, and sat upright on the dragon throne early in the morning.

Inside the hall, civil and military officials lined up on both sides, performing their rites in accordance with proper etiquette.

For the first time ever, Su Mingli stood at the front of the military officers' line.

Dressed in a brand-new military officer's court robe, with a newly fitted jade belt hanging at his waist, he raised his chin slightly, giving off the air of "This young master is going to court properly today."

Emperor Yongchang sat upright on the dragon throne, his hands resting on the armrests. His gaze swept over the dark mass of officials below, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

He was about to speak.

He was prepared to announce in front of the entire court that he would appoint Su Mingli as the Prefect of Yuyang County and Commander of the Imperial Guards.

Once this appointment is announced, the reactions of the entire court will allow him to see many things clearly.

However, before he could even open his mouth, Zhou Ming, standing at the very back of the civil official line, stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said in a loud voice:

"Your Majesty, a batch of Akhal-Teke horses was delivered to the palace yesterday."

"Judging by its appearance, its coat is as red as blood, and its hooves are as white as snow. It is a fine horse that is rare to find in a hundred years, and it is a perfect match for Your Majesty."

"I have already ordered someone to bring him outside the palace. Would Your Majesty like to see him in person?"

Emperor Yongchang was momentarily speechless at his sudden remark, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

He scrutinized Zhou Ming's face, trying to discern something from this audacious servant.

But Zhou Ming's face, with its pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, showed no extra expression; he simply waited respectfully for a reply.

Emperor Yongchang pondered for a moment, then, deciding that inspecting a horse wouldn't take much time, spoke:

"Then let someone bring it up so I can have a good look at the Akhal-Teke horse you described as a once-in-a-century gem."

Zhou Ming turned around and waved to the Imperial Guards outside the hall, then turned his head and quickly glanced in the direction of Emperor Yongchang.

There was no respect in that glance, only a mocking, schadenfreude as if watching a good show.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yongchang was sitting too far away to see clearly.

A moment later, a member of the Imperial Guard walked in from outside the palace, leading a deer.

The deer was an adult male with a pair of large, forked antlers on its head, grayish-brown fur, and long, thin legs. Its hooves clattered on the gleaming gold brick floor of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Terrified by the dense crowd of court officials and eunuchs on both sides of the hall, it trembled all over, its eyes darting left and right, its tail tucked tightly behind its rear.

The imperial guard leading the deer remained expressionless, leading it to the very center of the main hall. Standing where all the officials' eyes were focused, he knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"Your Majesty, the Ferghana horses have arrived."

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was first deathly silent, then someone gasped very lightly and quickly, before abruptly stopping as if someone had been choked.

Several ministers standing in the back row lowered their heads so low they were almost buried in their chests, their shoulders trembling slightly.

The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of the older ministers wiped their eyes with their sleeves and took another look. After confirming that they hadn't seen wrong, the expressions on their faces became extremely interesting.

Emperor Yongchang's face immediately darkened.

It wasn't a metaphor; it was a visible process where the skin sank layer by layer, turning from normal skin color to ashen in just a few breaths.

His fingers, which were resting on the armrests of the dragon throne, tightened suddenly, his knuckles turning blue, and the dragon robe on his chest heaved violently twice.

He roared, his voice echoing through the carved dome of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and his gaze fixed on Zhou Ming:

"This is clearly a deer, not a once-in-a-century Akhal-Teke horse! You are clearly deceiving me, you are... you are committing treason!"

The entire court was silent, everyone lowered their heads, and no one dared to make a sound at this moment.

Zhou Ming was not angry after hearing Emperor Yongchang's angry shout; he didn't even raise an eyebrow.

He clasped his hands together in front of him and slowly turned around to face Emperor Yongchang on the dragon throne.

He glanced slowly at the still trembling deer again, then turned his gaze back to Emperor Yongchang.

His tone was neither hurried nor slow, as if he were reasoning with a sulking junior:

"Your Majesty, you must be overworked these past few days and your eyes are playing tricks on you. That's not a deer at all. Look closely."

"With its crimson coat and strong hooves, it is clearly an Akhal-Teke horse."

Emperor Yongchang abruptly stood up from his dragon throne, his sleeves flapping wildly, his voice cracking with rage:

"Do you think I'm blind, unable to tell the difference between a deer and a horse?"

His finger, which was pointing at Zhou Ming, was trembling violently, and the veins on the back of his hand were bulging out one by one.