Chapter 856: Chapter 24: Shocking! Great Emperor, So This Is the Real You
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Daqian Imperial City.
Still the "Zhuozheng Pavilion".
Now that Emperor Longchang is advanced in age, aside from the regular grand court meetings, he mostly works in the Zhuozheng Pavilion on usual days.
Daqian has seven counties and one capital, with vast territories and expanses. Countless matters occur daily, but very few truly require the personal attention of Emperor Longchang.
Take for instance the recent promotion of the Changning Wang Family from a seventh-grade to a sixth-grade noble family. According to protocol, it’s required for Commandery Governor Taishi An Kang to prepare the documents, draft a petition for promotion, and send it to the capital to be personally reviewed and approved by His Majesty.
But in fact, the vast majority of ordinary petitions are prepared and processed by the extensive Inner Pavilion staff according to procedures, submitted to three Elders for review, and if there are no issues, it is executed with the signatures of all three Elders and the seal affixed.
Only a very few major matters, or those randomly chosen for inspection, would be placed before His Majesty for personal review and approval.
This indeed is as it should be. With the vast scale of the Daqian Kingdom, if every matter big or small required the Emperor’s personal decision, even if the Great Emperor had all the time in the world, it wouldn’t be enough.
The grand Great Emperor would be buried under piles of official documents like mountains and seas.
Moreover, now that Emperor Longchang grows older, with dwindling energy, the time he spends dealing with court affairs decreases further, with most of his time spent resting in the Zhuozheng Pavilion, occasionally summoning the more outstanding juniors among his descendants.
The Great Celestial Pride is already the top Celestial Pride in Daqian, and without any accidents, will undoubtedly become one of the pillars of the Empire in the future.
Therefore, even the Emperor Longchang holds the Great Celestial Pride in high esteem. If a Great Celestial Pride has important matters to report, they can even request an audience with the Emperor.
As long as the Emperor is not too busy, he will likely find the time to meet with them.
However, very few Great Celestial Prides would take the initiative to request an audience, as he is a Great Emperor who has ruled over Daqian for more than three thousand years, exceedingly awe-inspiring before the juniors. If they accidentally offend him, they might face the consequences.
On the grand avenue within the palace, Old Yao personally led Wang Liyao towards the Zhuozheng Pavilion.
He bent slightly, occasionally turning to remind Wang Liyao of the rules within the Imperial Palace and what to watch out for during the upcoming audience with the Emperor.
Throughout the entire Daqian Kingdom, the Great Celestial Pride is also the top-tier talent. Thus, even though Old Yao is a trusted confidant of Emperor Longchang, he was very amiable and patient with Wang Liyao.
Meanwhile, Wang Liyao would not look down on Old Yao in the slightest just because he is a eunuch.
Just from the overwhelming pressure and that frightening aura he displayed when delivering the imperial edict, it is clear that he must be a high-ranking figure, whose strength might not lose to Celestial River Zhenren.
However, Wang Liyao also faintly wondered why someone at the Divine Power Realm would stay by the Emperor’s side as a eunuch. But this curiosity she would never show on the surface.
Both of them walked briskly.
In no time, they arrived outside the Zhuozheng Pavilion.
At the door, stood two imposing guards, but both were only at the Celestial Human Realm, merely there for show. After all, if someone dared to assassinate the Emperor, merely two guards of the Celestial Human Realm would be far from sufficient.
Following protocol to report their arrival, Wang Liyao was soon invited into the Zhuozheng Pavilion.
Behind a large desk, Emperor Longchang no longer looked sleepy as he usually did, but appeared much younger.
Unlike his amiable demeanor when with his descendants, at this moment, his eyes were deep as the sea, with an unrecognizable expression, and even while sitting casually, he exuded the natural majesty of an Emperor.
Seeing Wang Liyao enter, his gaze swept over, resting on Wang Liyao.
"Liyao greets the Great Emperor."
Wang Liyao stepped forward and gave a deep bow.
Even with her status and cultivation, confronting this ruler who has controlled the Daqian Kingdom for over three thousand years, her heart still felt a bit apprehensive and nervous.
Unlike ancient Huaxia, where one had to perform a kowtow to the monarch.
Generally speaking, Black Tortoise Cultivators only bow to their ancestors, and only in very special circumstances would they kneel to the monarch, usually, a deep bow suffices. Moreover, Wang Liyao is a Great Celestial Pride from the Academy, with a transcendent status.
After a few seconds of pause,
Emperor Longchang’s authoritative voice sounded, "Dispense with formality. Be seated, have some tea."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After expressing her gratitude, Wang Liyao sat on the chair Old Yao had brought over.
Following Old Yao’s prior advice, she did not sit fully, resting only halfway with her back straight, her demeanor humble, exemplifying the etiquette a junior should show to a senior.
While accepting the tea, her peripheral vision swept over the documents on Emperor Longchang’s desk, spotting phrases like Changning Wang Family, among others.
It was quite apparent that the Emperor was catching up on information about the Changning Wang Family before her arrival.
However, such information usually only reflects what the Wang Family is willing to showcase to outsiders, with the family keeping many more secrets internally.
These secrets are managed by the family’s Artifact Spirit, and even with a powerful intelligence agency intentionally targeting them, it’s hard to uncover much.
This kind of concealment is not a tradition unique to the Wang Family. In fact, most noble families in this world would hold back some cards; after all, who doesn’t have some secrets or trump cards? The older the family, the more hidden secrets and trump cards they have, which indeed form part of the foundation of the noble families.
The Daqian Imperial Family, the Wu Family, undoubtedly has the most secrets and trump cards of any family.
