At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

Night fell quietly.

The Daxing Hall was very quiet.

Chu Ling was unaware of the momentous events that had transpired in the Great Yu court since his return from Chang Le Palace, nor of the ripples that this event had stirred up in the capital of Yu!

In places he couldn't see, the game and struggle continued.

Dayu is moving towards a new era.

A situation that has never occurred before.

Inside the main hall.

"The Empress Dowager agrees to His Majesty's request to study horsemanship?"

Wan Qiu'er looked surprised and confirmed it with some disbelief.

"how?"

Chu Ling smiled and looked at Wan Qiu'er, saying, "Do you think I'm lying to you?"

"That's not what I meant."

Wan Qiu'er lowered her head slightly and said.

In Wan Qiu'er's view, the three empresses were very wary of the new emperor and even sent many spies to the emperor's court, which was clearly an attempt to trap the new emperor.

But today, the new emperor returned from Chang Le Palace with unexpected news, which surprised Wan Qiu'er. Why would the Empress Dowager approve this?

After all, if you really want to learn riding skills, you have to go to the training ground of the Imperial Garden in Yu Palace. Riding skills are not something you can learn just by riding a horse a few laps.

If horsemanship were truly that simple, the Great Yu would have no shortage of fierce archers and cavalry. If that were the case, the powerful enemies located in the northern border and western Liang of the Great Yu would have been wiped out by the Great Yu's troops long ago!

A person who is proficient in riding cannot be trained in a short period of time.

The new emperor was going to the training grounds of the Yu Palace to improve his horsemanship, so it was inevitable that he would go to the same place, since the two were so close to each other.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Wan Qiu'er like this, Chu Ling raised an eyebrow and leaned over to speak to her.

"No...nothing."

Wan Qiu'er was startled, and then said, "This servant is thinking about how to teach Your Majesty, after all, this servant has never taught anyone before."

"Teach me the way others have taught you."

Chu Ling smiled slightly, but then looked puzzled and asked, "By the way, you know how to ride. Who taught you that?"

Wan Qiu'er remained silent.

Chu Ling: "..."

Wan Qiu'er always acts this way in such situations, which is quite frustrating. However, Chu Ling doesn't care. At least compared to when they first met, Wan Qiu'er is now able to say a few more words.

Take your time.

Chu Ling sized up Wan Qiu'er, pondering something: if he could train Wan Qiu'er and uncover her secrets, could this aloof maid, who was also highly skilled in martial arts, possibly be of use to him?

"Your Majesty, Li Shaojian has returned."

A figure walked in from outside the hall, which made Chu Ling look in the direction of the sound.

finally come back!

Chu Ling narrowed his eyes slightly, but thought to himself, "He was sent to Phoenix Palace to deliver a message, and it's already dark by the time he returned to Daxing Hall. Chu Ling is a little curious about what Li Zhong has been through."

"Summon him to see me."

Chu Ling said coldly.

"Here!"

The man bowed and said hello, but his expression was somewhat unnatural, which made Chu Ling suspicious. However, Chu Ling's doubts were quickly dispelled.

Li Zhong, limping and with bulging cheeks, walked in from outside the hall.

Upon seeing this, Chu Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.

Was he punished at the Phoenix Palace?

"This servant greets Your Majesty."

Li Zhong's words were somewhat unclear, and as he raised his hand to bow, a sudden pain made him frown.

"What's wrong with you?"

Chu Ling feigned confusion.

"Your Majesty, I accidentally fell down."

Li Zhong said this against his will.

"Fell down?"

Chu Ling frowned and asked, "How could you fall so hard?"

"Yes."

Li Zhong lowered his head and said.

Just as Chu Ling had guessed, Li Zhong was forced to kneel as punishment after arriving at the Phoenix Palace. Kneeling was nothing unusual, as kneeling was a common punishment for those working in the inner court, and Li Zhong was used to it. However, after kneeling for more than an hour, the Empress Dowager's attendant, Da Fengluan, suddenly came out to deliver an imperial edict, ordering him to slap himself.

Li Zhong was stunned.

If he had been told to slap himself from the beginning, Li Zhong wouldn't have thought much of it. But he had been kneeling for over an hour, and suddenly being told to slap himself made him start to overthink things.

When Li Zhong left Fengluan Palace, it was still dark, but by the time he returned to Daxing Palace, it was already dark. Well, Li Zhong didn't go straight back to Daxing Palace; instead, he went to gather information.

This inquiry turned out to be quite significant.

Li Zhong was stunned.

Xu Chu, who had originally been granted permission by the Empress Dowager to resign from his position as Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, was unexpectedly granted the title of Pillar of State by the Grand Empress Dowager and reinstated to his original post. This caused a great uproar in the outer court.

In that instant, Li Zhong understood why he had been punished.

"You should step back first."

Chu Ling's voice rang out, causing Li Zhong to regain his composure and prepare to bow and take his leave. However, Wan Qiu'er's voice rang out from inside the hall, which startled Li Zhong.

Didn't the new emperor tell him to leave?!

Li Zhong's heart inevitably raced.

Inside the main hall, only Chu Ling and Li Zhong remained. The hall door was still open, and the cold wind that occasionally blew in was very chilly.

"Li Zhong, how does it feel to be arbitrarily punished?"

While Li Zhong was speculating, Chu Ling stepped down from her throne, walked towards Li Zhong, lifted her skirt, and squatted down. "No matter what, you are still my person, the Junior Supervisor of the Daxing Palace. Right now, the position of Junior Supervisor of the Daxing Palace is vacant, and you are the most senior person by my side. But now you are being treated like this. How do you feel?"

"This servant!"

"Keep your voice down, Your Majesty!!"

Seeing Li Zhong bow loudly, Chu Ling frowned, stared at Li Zhong, and said in a low voice, "Do you think you can get away with this in the Yu Palace?"

"!!!"

Li Zhong broke out in a cold sweat; he suddenly realized that he had been tricked by the new emperor.

"You're not feeling well, are you!"

Just as Li Zhong was alarmed, Chu Ling suddenly spoke loudly, which seemed to make some people standing outside the hall move, but Chu Ling did not pay attention.

"Li Zhong, I don't care what you thought before."

Chu Ling stretched out his hand, pointed at Li Zhong's head, and said in a low, cold voice, "I gave you a chance once, but you pretended to be confused that time. This time, I will give you another chance, and it will be the only one."

"My patience is limited. There may be one or two, but there will never be a third. If you think I am too young to be affected by even a Daxing Palace, then you can continue to play dumb for me. Otherwise, you should make a choice."

Li Zhong's hands trembled.

He never expected that the new emperor would suddenly change his attitude and even say such things to him. But Li Zhong understood one thing: if he did not make a choice after tonight, all his previous efforts would probably be in vain.

"I will give you one night."

Chu Ling caught a glimpse of figures moving outside the hall out of the corner of his eye. A slight smile played on his lips. He leaned forward and whispered to Li Zhong, "Now that you're in the palace, some things aren't as simple as you think. And..."

Chu Ling's voice was very low, so low that Li Zhong had to concentrate to hear it clearly. However, when people outside the hall saw this scene, they couldn't help but wonder what the new emperor had said to Li Zhong.