Chapter 451: Grand Court Assembly

Da Wang already knew from Zhuti that Xie Yuan hadn't been going to her place to press her much these days, and he also roughly knew what was happening in the court; he had already guessed how long he would be detained when he went to attend court.

At the earliest by noon, at the latest it would take a whole day.

Upon returning to Youzhou, Da Wang only wanted to subdue that Daoist inheritor and quickly claim his reward; he had no inclination to work at all.

He's been away for months—isn't Youzhou also doing just fine?

So, the next morning, Da Wang's appearance in the Hall of Receiving Light after months away was extremely shocking.

As soon as he entered the hall, the officials all breathed a sigh of relief.

Da Wang actually got injured!

And such a serious injury!

Da Wang is really pushing himself—how shameful! How could we pile up a bunch of matters and wait for the battle-worn Da Wang to return and decide?

Xie Yuan was the most puzzled—didn't he just bump the back of his head? Wrapped up like this, who would believe it's just a bump?

Da Wang tightly wrapped his head in white bandages; to keep his face and eyes exposed, he also wound the bandages around his neck, making it much sturdier.

When this look debuted, it was full of delight, not fright.

The Chancellor exclaimed in shock, "Your Highness, Your Highness, what happened?" No one had said yesterday that Your Highness suffered a serious injury!

Da Wang felt the neck binding a bit tight; he coughed uncomfortably and, in a halting voice, said: "I, in Yizhou, was consecutively stabbed twice, my head suffered a bit of injury—just small matters. Come, let's begin."

No, what start? Da Wang is injured like this—other matters instantly became trivial.

The Chancellor and Grand Tutor kept asking whether the assassin had been brought to justice and who sent them; even the Minister of Finance couldn't spare to lament his huge shortfall.

With that look, who would believe it's just a minor thing!

Da Wang waved his hand firmly: "I can still hold on; let's start the discussion quickly! Chancellor, the assassin has a living captive—hand him over to Wei Ke for interrogation, you follow up."

The Chancellor promptly agreed; he always felt that when Da Wang called him, he craned his neck, which must be painful.

The Grand Tutor's affection for Da Wang is boundless; such a young child going out to inspect drought conditions suffers enough—who would still seize the opportunity to send two groups to assassinate him? It's utterly heartless!

Recently, the academies the Royal Residence set up in Yizhou and Bingzhou lack teachers; he originally wanted to mention this to Da Wang, but now he decides to think of a solution himself—such matters shouldn't bother Da Wang; aside from life and death, everything is trivial.

Da Wang, craning his neck, said: "Everyone, you've worked hard these past few months; if there's anything, report it quickly."

Xie Yuan leisurely said from below: "Is your neck feeling tight, Your Highness?" Seeing that he was truly anxious, he repeatedly urged the process a few times in a short while.

Da Wang: ……

Congratulations, you guessed right. The bandages are a bit tight, affecting Da Wang's breathing.

He himself forced the process: "Everyone else is fine, I have matters. This time I went out to meet a great talent; upon first meeting, I felt an instant connection, so I decided to exceptionally promote talent, appointing him as Commander of the Guard, overseeing the Royal Residence's guards, thus completing the system. Proclaim Dong Fu."

Da Wang still has some bottom line; he didn't go crazy and immediately make Dong Fu a Grand Marshal—at least he knows to follow procedure.

That was already enough to cause an uproar throughout the court.

The officials digested this: Does Da Wang mean he picked up someone along the way and immediately promoted them to Commander of the Guard?

You know, this position is one of the Nine Ministers even in Chang'an.

Appointing the Lu family's scion as Minister of Justice would have been fine enough—after all, he's a true scholar, the Professor of the Fanyang Academy—but they had never even heard of this Dong Fu.

Looking at the three big shots, each calmer than the last, the hall's discussion gradually faded to silence.

Da Wang was pleased, "You can read the room now? Today took the least time— not bad!"

"Mr. Xie? You have no objections?"

Xie Yuan stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said: "Your servant has no objections. If Your Highness takes a liking to him, he must have extraordinary talent."

Da Wang's tail almost perked up; with his head wrapped like this, he wishes to hear less nonsense! He silently praises himself, "Brilliant, Da Wang!"

Dong Fu ascended the hall; Da Wang introduced him with just a couple of sentences and that was that. Having finished the matter, he wanted to leave, but he accidentally met the Minister of Finance's gaze; Da Wang instantly saw that this person had something on his mind, that worried look—unless you're blind, you couldn't miss it.

He now announces the end of court; this person would not jump out to block it.

Da Wang stretched his neck, deciding to strike first.

"Minister of Finance Zhang, when I attacked the Qiang, the conditions were harsh, the environment brutal—Dayun Valley's high altitude makes breathing difficult, let alone that, I only had around four hundred men with me."

With such padding, the Minister of Finance had already begun to fear.

So, in this back-to-the-water battle, I promised them before the fight to boost morale: whoever captures Shaodang will receive a hundred gold each.

A hundred gold!

Minister of Finance Zhang nearly knocked his head on the ground, but the Grand Tutor steadied him.

"Your Highness! Is the grain you gave the commoners borrowed from the Ministry of Commerce? The treasury is so empty you could run horses in it."

Upon hearing this, Da Wang covered the back of his head: "Oh, my head hurts."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bao rushed forward to support Da Wang, loudly calling for the medical corps. A head injury is no small matter.

Amid the uproar in the hall, Xie Yuan stepped forward, calmly announcing that today's proceedings would end here, and the court was dismissed.

Dong Fu: ……

In the years that followed, he always remembered his first court assembly as being very…… lively.

Grand Marshal Dong exhausted his lifelong patience to come up with a modest, dignified adjective.