Train to Another World

There was no need to report the situation of the test by the Protector of the Country, as everyone knew the result. The officials of the Ministry of Rites walked out of the city and began a long and cumbersome welcoming ceremony.

This set of ceremonies was originally used to welcome foreign envoys, and it had not been used for a long time. It took the slightly older officials to find out the records of the year before they knew what to do.

After all, the previous emperor was a man of great talent and strategy, and the current emperor trusted his people. There were no envoys from other countries around Dashun who needed to be welcomed with such a grand ceremony.

However, for Li Zhuoguang, he only felt trouble and noise.

He smiled stiffly, watching the singing and ceremony over and over again. He whispered to Sun Shangshu: "Can this thing be saved?"

Unexpectedly, Sun Shangshu smiled when he heard his words, walked forward, waved his hand impatiently at the leading official of the Ministry of Rites, and said something else.

Then, in the incredulous eyes of the official of the Ministry of Rites, he dismissed the other officials, got on his horse, and called Li Zhuoguang to follow him into the city.

Li Zhuoguang could see that Sun Shangshu either hated this or he had never gotten along with the people from the Ministry of Rites. If he hadn't known what Li Zhuoguang and the others were thinking, he would have done it a long time ago.

However, his approach was exactly what Li Zhuoguang wanted. Li Zhuoguang pretended not to see the expression of the officials from the Ministry of Rites who were about to cry, hurriedly got on the carriage, and followed Sun Shangshu into the city.

If it were an ordinary person, even an envoy from another country, they would first stay at the Honglu Temple after entering the city. After the foreign guests had washed and dressed, officials from the Ministry of Rites would come to teach them the rules and etiquette, and only then would they be called into the palace to meet the emperor.

From arriving in the capital to meeting the emperor, the waiting time ranged from one or two days to one or two months. But Li Zhuoguang was led by Sun Shangshu and walked directly to the direction of the palace.

Who would dare to leave such people alone? Not to mention waiting for one or two days, even if they waited for one or two more hours, they would be afraid that the other party would get impatient and open the palace.

Arriving at the gate of the palace, even Shangshu Sun was startled. The emperor, the queen and the prince were already waiting in front of the palace gate. Although the three of them were sitting in front of the palace gate, they stood up when they saw the carriage that Li Zhuoguang was riding.

The previous emperor was the founding emperor, and although the current emperor is only the second, there has never been a precedent for the emperor to greet him at the palace gate since the founding of Dashun. Now this situation has occurred, even Shangshu Sun was unexpected. Didn't the old man Dong Wenchang stop him?

Li Zhuoguang saw the emperor's family of three as soon as he got off the carriage. Why was he able to recognize them? It was probably because Shangshu Sun had already dismounted and went to salute.

In Wang Jianzheng's words, although Shangshu Sun was only a minister, he was also a powerful official who was above one person and ten thousand people. Who else could make him rush over to salute when he saw him except the emperor?

Li Zhuoguang walked over leisurely, bowed his hands, and greeted: "Hello, I am Li Zhuoguang."

The emperor also bowed his hands in a strange way and said: "Hello, I am the emperor of Dashun, Chen Rui Chen Jifu."

Li Zhuoguang raised his eyebrows. The emperor's name was unexpectedly down-to-earth: "Nice to meet you."

"I wonder if you want to have a meal first or..."

"Let's talk about business first."

The emperor nodded. After all, the incident happened in his territory. To be honest, he was more anxious than Li Zhuoguang. Hearing that Li Zhuoguang planned to discuss matters first, he couldn't agree more.

Knowing that Li Zhuoguang and others were going to discuss matters directly with the emperor, the queen took the prince and prepared to leave first. Although the prince was now old enough to observe politics, it would be better not to act on his own if the emperor didn't speak. The emperor was kind and didn't care at all, but if the censors knew about it, they would inevitably report it, which was always not good.

But this time the prince left reluctantly, and it was not because he cared about state affairs. From the way he glanced at Ariana, it was clear that he cared about something else.

Everyone present, including Ariana, knew it well, but no one took it to heart.

When he came to the imperial study, he saw that there was no one inside except eunuchs and palace maids, which surprised Sun Shangshu a little, so he asked: "Your Majesty, should someone invite Master Dong to come?"

The emperor showed a trace of unnaturalness on his face, and said: "Master Dong has been ill recently and is resting in the mansion."

"Ill?" Sun Shangshu showed an incredible look on his face, but then he realized that there were outsiders present, so he collected his mind, turned his head and said to Li Zhuoguang: "Then let's talk first."

The furnishings in the imperial study had been changed by the emperor's order in advance. The seats at the top were moved away, and everyone sat down without distinction of priority.

Li Zhuoguang spoke first: "They should have reported the specific situation of the monster to you. We believe that since the incident happened in Dashun and the country has enough strength, the relevant investigation should be carried out by Dashun. If the investigation encounters obstacles or finds the root cause, we will solve it."

The emperor had no reason to refuse such a suggestion. This time, the border of Dashun was attacked by monsters. Li Zhuoguang and his group of gods came here to warn and help kill monsters. Now they also proposed to help solve the root problem and did not mention the reward. What else could the emperor be dissatisfied with?

It was only because his princesses were still young, otherwise he would have to send a few of them to Li Zhuoguang as maids. If they could accomplish good things, it would be even better.

In an atmosphere where both parties regarded solving the problem as their top priority, the agreement was reached within half an hour. The people sent out to investigate before were all from the Ministry of War and the Taoist Academy. Now that the emperor nods, Li Zhuoguang's investigation requirements will soon be fully launched.

After both parties reached an agreement, the emperor prepared a grand banquet and invited Li Zhuoguang to the banquet. Although Li Zhuoguang didn't like this very much, after reaching the intention of cooperation, he still tried not to shirk the other party's banquet.

However, there was still some time before evening, so officials from the Ministry of Rites took Li Zhuoguang to Honglu Temple to settle down. They only waited until evening before entering the palace for the banquet.

Not long after Li Zhuoguang left the imperial study, Sun Shangshu asked the emperor: "Then Grand Master Dong, how could he be sick?"

The emperor also waved his hands irritably: "The imperial doctor has looked at it and it is true that he is ill. There must be something fishy in this. After all, the imperial master...sigh! I don't want to think so either."

Sun Shangshu was an impatient activist. He immediately said to the emperor, "I'll go see him."

"That's fine." The emperor also nodded. After all, as an emperor, he could not leave the palace at will. Since Master Dong fell ill, he had only listened to reports from the imperial doctor and eunuchs. There were some things that they could not find out.

It would be great if Sun Shangshu could go there in person.