A wave of scorn washed over the assembled ministers as they prepared to renew their assault. Truth be told, Old Master Jun's attempt at self-justification was threadbare. He was, after all, a career military man, possessing precious little scholarly depth; merely managing to fabricate an excuse was an achievement in itself. To demand that excuse be flawless and airtight was sheer folly.

Unexpectedly, a white-haired elder stepped forward with a heavy stomp. This man was built like a fortress; standing beside Jun Zhantian, they resembled two imposing mountains. His side whiskers flared out like a leopard's mane, his face a mass of rugged flesh radiating sheer, untamed power. This was Old Master Dugu, the military’s undisputed second in command, currently the most formidable figure in the capital: Dugu Zongheng!

The most brutally stubborn, the most incorrigible rogue, the most unyielding brute in the entire Tianxiang Kingdom! The master director of its most powerful family! A man whose sheer audacity was the stuff of legend, who treated ignorance as wisdom and used the broad edge of his blade to argue reason. Every civil official in the court held him in deep apprehension, and even the current Emperor found him utterly intractable.

As this venerable figure took his stand, murmurs rippled through the assembly. Isn't this fellow known for skipping court sessions for years? Why is he here today? To appear at such a* critical juncture—this old, stiff-necked fool showing up—it's decidedly unusual.*

Dugu Zongheng’s round eyes snapped open like a bear emerging from the wilderness. He clasped his fists and boomed, his voice coarse, "Your Majesty, the assassination attempt on the Princess, the attempted murder of all the court officials—these are indeed matters that shake the very foundations of the state! Thanks to Old Man Jun... Old Man Jun Zhantian’s decisive action, this catastrophe of staggering proportions has been averted! I hold that Old Man Jun’s actions were not only blameless but meritorious! Massively meritorious!"

A thin, goat-bearded elder standing nearby scoffed, "If such treasonous villainy that endangers the nation and its people, throwing the court and the realm into chaos, is to be counted as merit, won't the world point fingers in icy disapproval?"

This goat-bearded man, so gaunt he seemed to weigh less than half an ounce, was Meng Youfang, the third-ranking figure in the Meng family. Last night, his household had suffered the most brutal devastation; scarcely a single roof tile remained intact. A high official, forced to sleep under the open sky in the opulent capital with his entire family, he was seething with suppressed rage that nearly choked him. Seeing the two military behemoths publicly twisting black into white, he could endure no more and leaped forward.

Dugu Zongheng roared in fury, spinning around to fix a savage glare on Meng Youfang. His massive mouth opened, revealing his yellowed front teeth, and his voice thundered, shaking the very rafters: "Screw your grandmother! You piece of sour dog waste! Are you saying what I said is wrong? Huh?!" As his anger surged, his hair and beard stood even straighter, his mouth gaping wide as if to swallow the withered, skinny goat-bearded man whole. He looked utterly ferocious.

Immediately, General Dugu Wudi, standing beside him, jumped up to lend support: "Meng Youfang, what’s your meaning?! My father is speaking to His Majesty—is that something you, old relic, get to interrupt!?" He extended a hand the size of a cattail fan, reaching to grab the frail man by the neck and hoist him up.

The assembled nobles stared, their gazes flicking back and forth. This father and son pair was truly... unbeatable, resorting to base thuggery right in the Golden Hall! Even His Majesty, the puppet master of this entire spectacle, was struck dumb with astonishment.

"Enough!" the Emperor roared, leaping up in a fit of rage. "A gaggle of civil and military officials engaging in foul language and ready to come to blows right here in the Golden Hall! What kind of conduct is this? Are we in a fish market screaming match?"

The Emperor’s anger instantly silenced the hall. Except for the patriarchs of the great families—the Jun, Dugu, Li, Meng, Song, Tang, and Murong clans—all others, regardless of rank, immediately dropped to their knees, crying out in unison, "Your servants are guilty and await Your Majesty’s punishment."

"Very well, I am aware of the full scope of this matter. While Jun Zhantian’s original intent was to capture the assassins, his handling of the situation was indeed improper and caused unrest in the capital. He shall be fined a year's salary and ordered to reflect on his faults behind closed doors for three months. However, for his merit in capturing the assassins, he is separately awarded one thousand taels of gold and a thousand-year-old ginseng root. All military affairs shall be temporarily placed under the full command of Dugu Zongheng. Furthermore, you major families, without discerning right from wrong and focused only on your personal losses, have wrongly accused a minister; each of you shall have your rank demoted by one level. To prevent further turmoil, your family military authority is temporarily reclaimed by the Ministry of War for one year; the matter will be re-addressed after that period."

A year's salary docked, three months of house arrest, and then a reward of a thousand gold taels and a thousand-year-old ginseng! For Old Master Jun, was this a punishment? It was clearly a public commendation disguised as a penalty, essentially granting him a vacation...

Only the phrase, ‘military affairs temporarily under the full command of Dugu Zongheng,’ seemed to hint at something else, but even that was tenuous. One by one, the ministers darted sidelong glances at the Dugu father and son—those incorrigible thugs. They all thought: If it’s going to be like this, perhaps it would have been better to let that old man Jun Zhantian continue in charge. Those Dugu father and son were far more overbearing than Jun Zhantian...

At least Old Master Jun was reasonable in normal times, but this Dugu pair seemed to have never understood reason. If their private family armies fell into the hands of these two brutes, what hope would there be of ever seeing them again?

For a moment, nearly everyone silently cursed the almost-beaten Meng Youfang: The Emperor was secretly directing things, Dugu Zongheng stepped in personally, and you still dared to interfere? Wasn't that courting disaster and inviting your own humiliation? If you bring misfortune upon yourself, you drag the rest of us down with you—what right did you have?

Almost everyone adopted a look of utter dejection. Whether it was feigned or not, at least the outward appearance was convincing; surviving in the imperial court required a certain degree of artifice for longevity.

Only a dozen or so individuals kept their heads bowed, their faces etched with genuine anger and deep resentment. However, these few were quickly noted in the minds of the great lords: anyone who couldn't see the currents of power in a moment like this was destined to be useless. They would discipline their nephews upon returning home, ensuring they kept a wide berth from these short-sighted fools, lest they be dragged into trouble sooner or later.

"You are all pillars of the state, yet you behave like this in the Golden Hall... I am truly disappointed! Immeasurably disappointed!" The Emperor was furious, incandescent with rage! After rattling off these punishments in quick succession, he slammed his hand down. "This matter is settled! No further words from anyone! Court is dismissed!"

The Minister of Rites, Sun Chenghe, urgently cried out, "May Your Majesty pause..." This man was none other than the prospective father-in-law of the corpulent Tang.

All the elders exchanged looks of contempt. Couldn't he see His Majesty was eager to return to his palace to savor the 'thrill' he had just experienced? Orchestrating the whole affair, reigning supreme, maneuvering and controlling everyone with a flick of his wrist, suppressing every major family in the capital to bring absolute calm—what a gratifying victory! And this fool chose this exact moment to delay the Emperor? What an absolute simpleton!

"What other business?!" The Emperor's temper was clearly strained. What had been feigned anger was now verging on genuine frustration due to the interruption.

"Your Majesty, with your leave, by the custom of our dynasty, today marks the annual Golden Autumn Festival. Regarding the traditional Golden Autumn Scholars' Banquet, may I inquire if it is still...?"

This Minister of Rites was clearly missing a vital connection. He was quite the blockhead! All the court officials sighed inwardly. What was the situation now? Every house was in mourning, and who had the mood for a Golden Autumn Scholars' Banquet? This young man was practically the grandfather of idiots—they needed to avoid this fool in the future, lest they be implicated by his idiocy someday!

As expected, the Emperor exploded in wrath, slamming his hand down. "The Golden Autumn Scholars' Banquet? We are in a time of great turmoil, and you speak of a banquet? If memory serves, the two officials I recently appointed to organize the banquet are on the list of those assassinated by the attackers days ago!" Saying this, he sharply tapped the list on the table before him, whipped his sleeve, and stalked out in a fury.

No one saw that as the Emperor turned away, he subtly curled his lips into a look of profound satisfaction...

Indeed, no one saw it, but the assembly of aged ministers secretly managed to share a subtle, knowing smile. It had unfolded exactly as their calculations predicted...

The Emperor was gone. Everyone who had been kneeling slowly stood up, rubbing their knees. The great lords exchanged glances, a shared sentiment of "just as we expected" passing between them. Li Shang snorted, giving Jun Zhantian a sidelong glance, and said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Old Jun, congratulations. Is your grandson recovering well?"

Li Shang had intentionally brought up Jun Zhantian’s painful subject, hoping that even if he couldn't overthrow the old man this time, he could at least enrage him, or at the very least, disgust him. But upon hearing this, Jun Zhantian was suddenly jolted back to reality. He ignored Li Shang, spread his legs, and bolted in the direction the Emperor had departed. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... quickly, lend me the Imperial Physician, Master Undying. It's urgent."

All the great lords stumbled as if they had tripped.