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

Chu Ling's feigned illness and departure from the palace did not cause any ripples in the Yu Palace. Although the three empresses' attendants came during this time, the imperial physician covered for them, and no changes occurred.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Chu Ling stayed in the Imperial Garden for two days. Except for mealtimes when some people would come and go, Chu Ling spent the rest of the time alone.

And so, Chu Ling recovered from his illness and returned to the Daxing Palace.

"Why didn't Xiao Qing come?"

Chu Ling sat on the throne, looking at Xu Hui, who had reported the situation. Xu Hui was one of the commanders of the Imperial Guards, second only to Han Qing, the Grand General of the Imperial Guards.

"Your Majesty, Sun Miao, the Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Imperial Secretariat, has recently fallen ill. The affairs of the Secretariat are numerous and complicated. The Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Palace Attendant needs to assist Attendant-in-Ordinary Cao in managing the Secretariat. Therefore, he cannot come to the palace as summoned by imperial decree," Xu Hui said, raising his hand in a salute.

Chu Ling frowned.

During his two days of quiet recuperation in the Imperial Garden, Chu Ling thought a lot. He had some questions for Xiao Jing, and of course, he would take the opportunity to ask them during the teaching and guidance session.

So before returning to the Daxing Palace, Chu Ling ordered Li Zhong to convey an imperial decree to summon the Imperial Tutor Xiao Jing to the palace.

Chu Ling still has this much power.

This is one of the few remaining powers.

However, Chu Ling clearly sensed something was wrong with Xu Hui's answer.

"understood."

After a moment's hesitation, Chu Ling said to Xu Hui, "Step down."

"My minister retire."

Xu Hui bowed and said.

Could it be that something has happened in the court?

Watching Xu Hui's departing figure, Chu Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.

"His Majesty."

Li Zhong, who was serving the emperor, bowed his head and stepped forward.

"Go and find out what happened in the outer court."

Chu Ling said in a low voice.

"Here!"

Li Zhong responded, but he did not leave in a hurry.

Xiao Jing did not come to the palace as summoned, which aroused suspicion not only in Chu Ling but also in Li Zhong, since Xiao Jing had agreed when Li Zhong went to summon him.

But why didn't he enter the palace?

In the Yu Palace, haste solves nothing.

Especially when there are subtle changes, you must be patient, otherwise someone will find a way to use it against you.

And so, it gradually got dark.

Inside the palace.

Chu Ling sat on the throne, hunched over his desk, practicing calligraphy. Since having the Imperial Tutor, Chu Ling was no longer like he was in the Tenth Prince's Mansion, where no one cared about what he did.

Every time Xiao Jing entered the palace to teach and answer questions, he would leave Chu Ling with homework, one of which was copying. Chu Ling did not object to this.

The word is like its person.

As the emperor of Dayu, once he assumes power and assumes personal rule, he will have to deal with state affairs. If his handwriting is too ugly, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Moreover, for Chu Ling, copying calligraphy not only helps him practice his handwriting, but also helps him cultivate his mind.

In such circumstances, maintaining composure is of utmost importance. Chu Ling's state of mind is to lie low and wait for the best opportunity to break the deadlock.

This situation can be resolved gradually.

After all, he is too young.

Being half a step ahead, that's called genius.

Being one step ahead is considered crazy.

A mad emperor is the last thing the Great Yu needs.

So anyone can be impatient, but Chu Ling cannot be impatient. Once he gets impatient and chooses to personally intervene, it's fine if he wins, but if he loses, then everything is over.

Chu Ling can't afford to lose.

He has too few chips in his hand.

Therefore, Chu Ling must be extremely cautious no matter what step he takes.

The hall was very quiet.

Wan Qiu'er stood quietly to the side. A figure appeared at the palace gate, which made Wan Qiu'er look over. When she saw that it was Li Zhong, Wan Qiu'er returned to normal.

However, a question arose in Wan Qiu'er's heart.

Why did Li Zhong panic?

Although Li Zhong didn't show much change on the surface, Wan Qiu'er could still see some subtle expressions.

"Your Majesty, something happened."

Li Zhong, who walked to Chu Ling's side, waited a moment, glanced around to make sure there was nothing amiss, and then whispered to Chu Ling, who was engrossed in copying at his desk.

Chu Ling's hand paused, but then moved again.

"The Western Liang rebelled, and Li Jin, under the pretext of the empress causing chaos in the court, led his troops eastward." These few words shocked Chu Ling. He never expected such a major event to occur.

It's utterly unbelievable that Li Jin, one of the Ten Pillars of State and one of the Twelve Dukes of the State, would betray Xiliang.

It should be noted that, apart from Li Jin and his eldest son who were leading troops outside, the rest of Li Jin's lineage were all based in Yudu.

What benefit does Li Jin gain from doing this?

Where is Li Bin?

Chu Ling thought of someone, put down his pen, and said to Li Zhongdao.

"The entire household of the Duke of Xun has been placed under guard."

Li Zhongru said truthfully.

What has been the reaction in the government regarding this matter?

Chu Ling asked again.

Chu Ling knew a little about Li Jin. He was stubborn and loyal to Emperor Taizu. He was not from a powerful clan in Guanzhong. He was one of the outlaws that Emperor Taizu befriended when he was being chased by the Six Doors. He had even saved Emperor Taizu's life.

Such a person would actually rebel against the Great Yu.

Chu Ling felt that things were not simple.

"Many people don't believe it."

Li Zhongdao: "Especially Xiao Jing, the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace."

At this moment, Li Zhong suddenly understood why Xiao Jing had immediately expressed his willingness to enter the palace upon learning of his summons.

"That……"

Just as Chu Ling was about to say something, Xu Hui appeared at the palace gate.

"What's the matter."

Chu Ling frowned as she looked over.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has summoned Li Zhong."

Xu Hui raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

Now, Li Zhong became nervous.

"What brings you here?"

Chu Ling stared at Xu Hui and said.

"I don't know."

Xu Hui lowered his head and said.

At this moment, Chu Ling understood that Li Zhong must have been discovered while gathering information, and now Chu Ling faced a choice.

It was Li Zhong who was told to leave.

We should still protect Li Zhong!

Chu Ling had thought it would be a small matter, but to his utter surprise, it turned out this way, completely disrupting his plans.

"I want to see the three empresses!"

Chu Ling stood up and walked towards Xu Hui.

This surprised Li Zhong. He hadn't expected the new emperor to act this way. But what surprised Li Zhong even more was why the three empresses summoned him.

He was being very careful.

Xu Hui frowned.

The new emperor's sudden request to see the three empresses was something he hadn't expected.

"I must inform the three empresses of this matter."

Xu Hui hesitated for a moment, then bowed to Chu Ling.

"I can wait."

Chu Ling said calmly.

Xu Hui's reaction made Chu Ling realize that Li Zhong was being watched. No matter how cautious Li Zhong had been before, it was impossible for someone to be secretly watching him and have their every thought detected.

It is easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow.

Protecting Li Zhong was Chu Ling's idea, because Li Zhong had never done anything to wrong him since he joined the army, and importantly, all of Li Zhong's men had been incorporated into the Plum Blossom Inner Guard.

If Li Zhong were half-hearted, Chu Ling would find a way to get rid of him. But the problem is that Li Zhong hasn't. If he doesn't make any statement, how can he break the deadlock in the future? He doesn't even have a single person he can use.

Chu Ling never imagined that so many things would happen just because he went out of the palace. But what Chu Ling couldn't understand even more than protecting Li Zhong was Li Jin. This didn't make sense at all!