Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

Three deep, resonant drumbeats echoed from the palace's watchtowers, piercing the morning mist and settling across the vermilion steps.

The palace eunuch on duty, holding his ivory token, rushed to the palace steps and shouted loudly, "Attendance!"

The Imperial Guards on the left and right immediately stood at attention, their armor plates silent, and the Imperial Dragon Guards stood ready in their positions with their spears.

His Highness cracked his whip three times, breaking the silence of dawn. This was the signal that the Emperor was about to arrive. All the civil and military officials immediately stopped chatting, straightened their court tablets, and stood in their positions.

Zhao Dunwen's heart sank to the bottom. Looking at the still chaotic and disorganized ranks of civil officials, his legs went weak.

If they were to enter the palace in such a disordered manner, the Emperor might not care, but there were also the Palace Guards, the Palace Attendants, and the Palace Gatekeepers in charge of their duties...

If anything goes wrong, it will be a serious crime for him, the Palace Attendant, to fail in his duties and to disrespect the court officials. At best, he will be fined or demoted; at worst, he will be transferred to a sinecure.

He was truly panicked now, his legs were trembling, and he rushed to the group of officials, pleading desperately, but received no response whatsoever.

Gao Zhao lagged behind, mingling with the other censors in a separate line. He found Huang Baoguang and whispered, "Impeach him later!"

Huang Baoguang looked at him in surprise, then shook his head and refused, saying, "The Bureau of Palace Gates is not subject to the supervision of the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate; I cannot impeach it!"

"Tsk!" Gao Zhao clicked his tongue, quite worried about his intelligence. With your aptitude, what are you doing in the Censorate! If you're so honest, when will you ever get a promotion and a raise!

Gao Zhao was worried about him, so he earnestly instructed him: "Who told you to impeach the Palace Gatekeeper? Go impeach Wang Fu! Tell him that he did not follow the rules of the court and openly violated the etiquette of the court, which is disrespectful to the Emperor!"

Huang Baoguang suddenly turned his head, staring at him in astonishment, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word for a long time!

"Don't look at me like that. You censors are there to check and balance powerful officials. Whoever has the highest rank, you impeach them!"

Gao Zhao counted on his fingers and said to him, "In this way, you'll gain a reputation for not fearing authority, and you'll also get the emperor's attention. Think about it, if you don't get promoted, who will?"

Huang Baoguang shook his head and said dryly, "As an official, I do not seek high office or generous salary; I only wish to do my part for the country and its people."

Gao Zhao's eyes lit up, as if he had met a kindred spirit. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Well said! It seems we are on the same level! We both care about the common people and have no regard for ourselves. Our hearts are clear!"

Then Gao Zhao changed the subject, saying, "Although we don't crave wealth and fame, a higher official position allows us to do more for the country! So, Lao Huang, don't hesitate, just go and impeach them! The officials are waiting for you, and the people are waiting for you too!"

Huang Baoguang's lips twitched, unsure of what to say, so he could only nod awkwardly.

……

Zhao Dunwen failed to persuade the civil officials. Seeing that the emperor was about to ascend the throne, and that he still had the duty of announcing the emperor's ascension, he dared not delay any longer. He hurriedly ran to the middle section of the imperial road on the Danchi steps, stood opposite another attendant, and led the civil officials and military officers of the rank of Hengban and above.

The job that was once incredibly prestigious now filled him with trepidation. He stole a glance at the end of the list of civil officials and saw Gao Zhaoyang smiling and winking at him!

When Zhao Dunwen caught sight of that mocking look, he was instantly enraged. He felt so suffocated that he could hardly breathe. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the ceremonial register tightly in his hand. However, being in the lead-up position and bearing the heavy responsibility of the master of ceremonies, he could not vent his anger even slightly. He could only forcefully suppress his resentment.

At this moment, the elegant music of string and bamboo instruments drifted slowly from outside the palace, and the palace servants moved slowly on both sides, the signs of the emperor's ascension to the palace drawing ever closer.

Two attendants bowed respectfully and stood at attention, awaiting the announcement. Zhao Dunwen was in a state of confusion, his eyes constantly glancing at the ranks of civil officials. The misaligned and disorganized order of the ranks was like a thorn, pricking his eyes at every moment.

The eunuch's high-pitched, drawn-out shout pierced the morning mist, carrying from the palace gates all the way to the foot of the steps: "His Majesty has arrived—"

Zhao Dunwen quickly suppressed his distracting thoughts and, together with another attendant opposite him, stood up and loudly proclaimed, "Hail! All officials, pay your respects!"

The civil and military officials on the imperial steps all held their tablets and bowed, performing the usual court etiquette. Three shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" resounded throughout the palace. After the ceremony, they returned to their respective ranks.

The uneven ranks of the civil officials stood out conspicuously on the open red steps.

Zhao Ji, however, paid no attention to these matters and proceeded directly to the meeting, following the usual procedures without going into further detail.

Gao Qiu noticed the unusual arrangement of the civil officials' ranks, frowned slightly, and felt a sudden unease. Oh no, this kid had finally made a mistake!

He glared at Zhao Dunwen with a sinister look, secretly plotting to find an opportunity to deal with him!

Zhao Dunwen also noticed Gao Qiu's gaze. He was stunned for a moment, then realized that the civil official formation was arranged by Gao Zhao. Gao Qiu was afraid of making a move, so he naturally dared not act rashly!

The Palace Attendant Censor has no jurisdiction over their Palace Gate Office, so as long as the Emperor doesn't find out, it seems like everything will be fine!

Even if it were discovered by their own gatekeepers, it would be an internal matter. They would give them a few words of reprimand behind closed doors, and that would be the end of it!

Thinking of this, Zhao Dunwen felt a sense of relief and secretly began to look forward to it.

He then looked up at Gao Zhao, who was standing below the steps, and thought viciously, "You made me lose face so much today. Wait until after the morning court session, and I'll see how I deal with you."

As time slowly passed and the agenda of the court meeting was completed one by one, Zhao Dunwen was overjoyed, feeling that this disaster had been averted.

Just then, an imperial censor stepped forward amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

"Your subject, Huang Baoguang, the Supervising Censor, impeached Wang Fu, a Hanlin Academician and Attendant Reader, for disobeying the system of joint attendance and disrupting the etiquette of the court. This is a crime of contempt for Your Majesty and a grave offense of disrespect!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent. All the civil and military officials turned their heads and focused their gazes on Wang Fu, who was standing at the front of the civil officials. Their eyes were filled with a mixture of amusement and surprise.

Everyone knows what happened, but no one expected it to be approached from this angle!

Zhao Dunwen's face turned deathly pale, and his heart was in his throat!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji turned his gaze. Although he couldn't remember the exact order of the ranks, he was very clear about where his close ministers stood. Sure enough, upon seeing that everyone was standing in a chaotic manner, his face immediately darkened.

When Wang Fu was impeached, he was first taken aback, then realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped forward to say, "Your Majesty, please understand! I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting the court or showing contempt for the emperor!"

"Today's disordered order is due to improper guidance from the Palace Gate Guard. I noticed that the newcomers were new to this task and feared that hasty and chaotic movements might disturb the court etiquette. Therefore, I casually advised them to postpone the correction. It was by no means an intention to disobey the established rules of the court!"

Upon hearing this, all eyes in the hall shifted again, focusing on Zhao Dunwen.

Zhao Dunwen was already pale and in a state of mental confusion. The moment he was locked onto by thousands of eyes, he felt cold all over, his hands and feet went numb, and he almost lost his balance.

Zhao Ji glanced at the crowd and roughly guessed what was going on!

On his throne, Zhao Ji remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, his voice carrying imperial authority: "The court etiquette is the foundation of the nation; how can it be lightly disregarded! The Palace Gate Guards have been negligent in their duties and disorderly in their guidance; this is a grave dereliction of duty! After the court session, order the Palace Gate Guards to thoroughly investigate and provide a full report!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" The two chief officials of the Eastern Upper Gate Guard stepped forward to receive the decree, while giving Zhao Dunwen a cold look that chilled him to the bone!