The night was long and the day couldn't arrive soon enough.
Yunyin didn't have a good night, his mind one of confusion and hope.
What would become of tomorrow?
This was his first time since his reincarnation that he truly felt like something wouldn't work out. Even when his plans were destroyed, he found the path of becoming an official. Only now… what was he to do?
Replace the emperor?
Heh, while it might seem like a plan, it was virtually impossible.
As said, every official had 60 years of tenure per three stages. 60, 120, 180… but that wasn't the end of it. The final was 240 – the tenure of the Prime Minister and the Supreme Commander.
Compared to them, how long did the emperor's tenure last? It is exactly 60 years!
What did it mean to have a tenure so limited? It meant that the people could rest assured because a bad emperor's days were specifically limited, while it also warned the people that after an emperor passes on the throne, he is still alive and protects the empire from behind.
If one had to name the single strongest faction, it would be the Imperial Clan. With people who can contend to be the strongest and wisest of the world…
Yunyin threw these thoughts out of his mind. Those dissatisfied with the current emperor all had a single goal: become acquainted with a prince and contest the next throne.
An emperor usually had children right before ascending to the throne, and after doing so, at around the age of 120, he passes on the throne to those princes around 60 years old, and the cycle would repeat itself.
What these past emperors do is not something Yunyin knew. He didn't even know their lifespans, nor had he heard of these emperors going out a lot.
Maybe they were secret elders keeping enemies in check, maybe they protected the fortune of the empire…
Whatever it was, it was clear that every 60 years, there would be turbulent, chaotic years among the princes, their fight spanning not only the capital but the whole dynasty…
Thinking of this, Yunyin felt better. So what if the current emperor had displeased him? In the end, he would still be in the capital's ministries after he passed on the throne, while the emperor would no longer be the emperor.
The thought of outliving people naturally delighted him, so around the middle of the night, he was finally able to gain a few hours of sleep…
The next day, when he woke up, bad news had reached them already.
Servants of the Grand Secretariat had sent news to all officials that the morning court would be cancelled, an order issued the night before by the emperor himself.
Yunyin was enraged, no matter how 'relaxed' he was at the thought of outlasting the emperor, it would still mean 40 years of suffering if he didn't do anything.
For now he could only comply, but he had his own thoughts of how to take care of things!
A headache was about to form in this state of confusion between what to do…
He wanted to feel like a simple scholar in these moments, not having to contemplate such matters too deeply, at least wait until the Ministry Council in a few hours.
"Master, why don't you go and visit the assistant minister's residence?" Heiluan suggested when he heard his heavy sigh.
"Hm? Why should I go there? The assistant minister already left…"
"Didn't master say that Miss Ying is a scholar too? Master always feels most relaxed when going out as a scholar…" Heiluan, as attentive as always, pointed things out after an observation of Yunyin's behaviour yesterday when he came back home.
"Well, why not?" Yunyin thought of Yueling's curiosity, and he felt like he could lose himself in those eyes… so why not go there and have some fun?
It might make him forget the unpleasant feeling of not getting a single point of renown the past two days.
Two days! Even just attending court would give him some renown, yet here he was, getting none!
Having his enthusiasm dumped right after getting his first court reward… it wasn't a great start into his week.
When he arrived at the residence so early in the morning, a time where many servants hadn't even woken up yet, he reconsidered whether he was too early.
But walking to the pavilion, he thought he might just wait…
The sound of splashing and kicking could be heard from the left once more.
A dragon leaping forward and kicking a puppet, somewhat different from the last time where it was a claw.
"Yunyin?" as the kick landed and created a slight crack on the puppet's armour, Yueling, having already sensed someone approach, looked over and asked in surprise.
"Am I too early?" he asked while already moving to the chair and table on the side of the martial arts field.
"Uh… aren't you supposed to be in court?"
"Your father was right, the court has been cancelled. But at least there's no news of the evening court being cancelled, so maybe the evening court will still take place."
"That's good." Yueling became a lot more serious when it came to court cases, but seeing Yunyin so casual about it, she didn't know what to say anymore.
Usually she just listened to her father when he talked about court politics, her mind active yet her opinion not voiced. She didn't know whether it was her fear of disappointing her father, or her mother's teachings... or maybe both led to her being attentive yet unwilling to participate in these discussions.
Yunyin didn't know what she thought, only telling her not to worry about him and that she should just continue her work out while he would simply use the time to relax a bit.
Although confused, she didn't think much of it and simply continued her practice.
Yunyin occasionally observed her moves, but most of the time, his mind was thinking about plans and schemes.
He might not have any influence now, but a nine story pagoda is built by placing one brick upon another.