He waited outside the Imperial Study for a long time and didn’t receive a summons to enter from Emperor Xuanming. Instead, it was Grand Tutor Deng who came out, wearing a slight smile and seemingly in a good mood.
When he saw Chu Heng, not only did his eyes lose any trace of defensiveness, there was even a hint of superiority.
"Lord Chu, how have you been lately?" Grand Tutor Deng walked up to Chu Heng and assessed him from head to toe, realizing that the opponent he once considered a political rival was, in fact, no more than this.
It was only because he had been favored before that he lived a better life than people like him, with more power.
But things were different now. His Deng family was the one most favored, and now which official in the court could match the Deng family!
Even Chu Heng no longer had the chance to enter the palace and meet the Emperor.
"Grand Tutor Deng." Chu Heng didn’t show any sign of dissatisfaction or resentment, merely nodded slightly at Grand Tutor Deng.
Grand Tutor Deng, however, was displeased. In the past, he couldn’t surpass Chu Heng, but now even though Chu Heng has been transferred to the Ministry of War and is not as favored, why does he still appear so posed? Does he not take him seriously?
"What brings Lord Chu to the palace today?"
"Nothing much." Chu Heng replied with a light smile.
"Since there’s nothing much, will Lord Chu acpany me out of the palace?" Grand Tutor Deng snorted coldly, his displeasure with Chu Heng evident on his face.
Chu Heng glanced at the Golden Throne Hall.
As if disillusioned, and yet also as if submitting, he smiled at Grand Tutor Deng: "Alright."
With that, he truly left with Grand Tutor Deng.
Outside the Imperial Study.
He Dequan, upon seeing the two departing figures of Chu Heng and Grand Tutor Deng, hurried back into the hall. Seeing Emperor Xuanming, he immediately knelt down.
"Have they left?"
"In response to the Emperor, Lord Chu has indeed left." He Dequan answered tremblingly, not daring to hide anything.
"Tell me, how did he leave?"
He Dequan recounted the recent scene without any personal emotion.
Emperor Xuanming had dark circles under his eyes, appearing less spirited than before.
After listening, he said nothing and merely waved for He Dequan to leave.
After leaving the palace, Chu Heng did not go directly to the yamen. Instead, he visited various shops, and soon there were more guards stationed at each one.
If troublemakers appeared, they could be directly suppressed by force.
He originally thought things could progress smoothly, after all, as long as he followed Emperor Xuanming, he could deal with the Deng family.
However, Grand Tutor Deng’s actions in the palace and Emperor Xuanming’s reluctance to see him made Chu Heng suddenly realize that now was not the time to deal with Grand Tutor Deng and that more preparations were needed.
Furthermore, the Emperor’s unwillingness to see him, unlike with other officials, was due to questioning his loyalty, especially because of the previous incident with King of Huainan, where he had instructed the officials not to trouble the King of Huainan’s corpse.
At the time, it was to preserve the bond between sovereign and subject, as King of Huainan was under the influence of the Lover Gu and mitted such bold acts.
But now, Emperor Xuanming was provoked and when thinking of the King of Huainan, likely only harbored hatred.
At such times, if anyone mentioned this small matter he once did to the Emperor, it would easily arouse Emperor Xuanming’s suspicion towards him.
Of course, this suspicion wasn’t severe, at least not more than his trust.
This was also related to Chu Heng’s recent consistent alignment with Emperor Xuanming’s policies after handling the affairs concerning King of Huainan’s widow and so forth in various state affairs.
What he needed to do now was to first make Emperor Xuanming aware of his loyalty.
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