Zhang Jun first nodded slowly upon hearing this, then shook his head. "Yanxiu, if it were just that, then naturally I would be deemed greedy. But among the close officials, I am the only one left idle..."

Liu Ziyu was slightly taken aback.

"Let's continue," Zhang Jun said, pouring himself another drink. He finished it in one gulp before saying, "Scholar Lin is deep and well-established. He rarely speaks, yet he often achieves great things..."

Liu Ziyu immediately nodded, interjecting, "I am naturally aware of this. For example, after the Xiangyang affair, none of the meritorious officials received promotions, but people in the Privy Council rumored that everyone received generous rewards... For the commanders of the Imperial Guards, no reward is as good as expanding their armies. For a courtier like Scholar Lin, nothing is more valuable than the Emperor's trust... I heard that among the four or five scholars in the Hanlin Academy, the others combined are not as often on duty as Scholar Lin?"

"Indeed," Zhang Jun replied, his voice low. "In recent days, the other scholars, such as Wang Tao (from Prince Kang's household) with his deep experience, Shen Yiqiu with his beautiful prose, and Li Ruopu (brother of Li Ruoshui) with his family's loyalty, cannot shake Scholar Lin's position in the slightest."

Liu Ziyu pondered, carefully wording his thoughts. "Actually, it is normal for the Emperor to be mindful of the past. Scholar Lin not only has recent merits, but he was also a close official on Mount Bagong... Deyuan, it is true that the Emperor forgets the past after escaping danger, but he never forgets the ministers who suffered with him."

"Indeed," Zhang Jun pretended not to understand the meaning of his continued persuasion, and instead, with a tipsy tone, continued, "The Emperor is indeed mindful of the past and always treats his close officials who shared hardships with him well... Think about it, if Wang Boyan and Wang Yuan had not chosen to share the difficulties on Mount Bagong, how could they be so successful today? If Yang Yizhong had not been with him since his ascension, how could he have gained such trust from the Emperor? If Liu Yan had not served in the Mingdao Palace, how could he have risen so high? If Yuwen Xuzhong had not accompanied him as a senior official during Han Shizhong's mutiny, how could he have secured a place as one of the four chancellors? Even Hu Mingzhong, if he had not shown his sincerity by taking off his clothes that day, would his advice be so readily followed? Even Li Gongxiang can have a tacit understanding with the Emperor, isn't it also due to the kindness of that day's hand-in-hand entrustment?"

Liu Ziyu sighed. "If that's the case, what else do you have to say? Does the Emperor only trust these people and not you, Zhang Deyuan? Has he not given you a high position, or has he not appointed the people you recommended? Wasn't I recommended by you? Before I came today, weren't there many talented people blocking your door, hoping to build a relationship and ask you to take care of them in the palace tomorrow?"

"I understand Yanxiu's meaning," Zhang Jun's voice was even more muffled. "I have no complaints. As you and others have said, I became the Censor-in-Chief at the age of thirty-one, holding a position equivalent to half a chancellor, and the talents I recommend are almost always appointed by the Emperor. With such favor, what else can I say? But you don't know, the Emperor's intentions are clear now, and it is true that I am trapped in this position and cannot move..."

"What exactly do you mean, Deyuan?" Liu Ziyu finally became impatient. "You keep saying you have no complaints, but all I hear is resentment, and I don't understand how you are trapped..."

"Actually, it's simple," Zhang Jun said helplessly, finally lowering his voice and revealing the truth after drinking. "I am precisely trapped here by the Emperor. Now, everyone above and below understands that because the situation is chaotic, the Emperor wants to stabilize the court to reassure the people..."

"Everyone knows this."

"Then let me ask you, what does the Censor-in-Chief do?" Zhang Jun asked and answered himself. "Originally, it was to restrain the various chancellors and important officials of the court on behalf of the Emperor. But in this situation, when I look around, the chancellors and the heads of the various ministries are all secure in their positions unless there are obvious mistakes. Doesn't this mean that the Censorate has lost its usual effectiveness?"

Liu Ziyu frowned slightly, obviously having not thought of it this way.

"In addition, Yanxiu doesn't know that Chancellor Xu and Chancellor Wang are close friends with Chancellor Zhang Que, who is recuperating in Huainan, but Chancellor Zhang has always been at odds with me. These days, Chancellor Zhang's health is said to be deteriorating, and they are pressing me tightly," Zhang Jun continued with a sigh. "Therefore, when the Emperor needs the censorate to issue impeachment, these two chancellors always bypass me and seek out Hu Mingzhong directly, while the other two chancellors pretend not to know. Anyway, Hu Mingzhong is also a close official to the Emperor and is equally useful to him..."

"Are you saying you are being sidelined by Hu Mingzhong?" Liu Ziyu was slightly moved. "In that case, why not suppress him openly? You are the Censor-in-Chief, he is your subordinate, and he is also your junior in terms of friendship. You have every right to do so..."

"That is another helpless point," Zhang Jun said, pointing to the sky with a tipsy gesture. "The Emperor is watching... Hu Mingzhong and I are both close officials, both confidants of the Emperor. And Hu Mingzhong has previously impeached me and Han Shizhong for official matters. If I do this now, what will the Emperor, who has shown me such great kindness, think? Resentment is unacceptable, but is it okay to take revenge? Even if I recommend Hu Mingzhong to a good position and push him out, do you think our Emperor, with his shrewdness, wouldn't understand?"

Liu Ziyu thought it over and over again, and also felt helpless, because the three parties in this matter formed a loop, with two knots, and ultimately all returned to the Emperor.

"The two chancellors have good methods, they have understood the Emperor's intentions and specifically used Hu Mingzhong as a clever choice," Liu Ziyu sighed after a long silence. "But what's wrong with enduring it for a while? Others would be eager to be in your position as Censor-in-Chief."

"Has Yanxiu forgotten my ambition?" Zhang Jun drank another cup and repeatedly waved his hand. "I am from Sichuan. After the Emperor said those words about us becoming Zhuge Liang by the Ying River, I vowed to be Zhuge Liang in this life! The country is falling apart, others are serving the country, how can I be idle here?"

Hearing this, Liu Ziyu's previous slight annoyance dissolved, and he instead felt respect. "In that case, what do you intend to do, Deyuan?"

"I want to voluntarily resign and go out to manage a region like Zhao Yuanzhen (Zhao Ding)," Zhang Jun replied directly.

Liu Ziyu was not surprised, but smiled bitterly. "You advised me to raise my sights and stay in the central government, but now you want to run away..."

"Advising you to stay here is because you are useful here. Didn't the Xiangyang affair prove my words?" Zhang Jun said dismissively. "And the reason I am seeking to leave now is because I am not very useful in the central government."

"You always have a reason," Liu Ziyu smiled even more bitterly. "Then where do you plan to go?"

"I estimate that in another month or two, someone in Guanzhong will come out to clean up the situation... There are seven or eight commanders, there must be one or two who are either tyrannical or loyal, right?"

"That's natural... You want to go to Shaanxi?" Liu Ziyu frowned slightly.

"I want to go to Chuan-Shaan," Zhang Jun corrected. "The Emperor is most wary of civil officials leading military affairs. If I ask to go to Shaanxi now, the Emperor will definitely not allow it... But I am originally from Sichuan, so if I ask to go to Sichuan to appease the people, imitating Zhao Ding's support of Zhang Boying (Zhang Jun) by standing in Huainan, the Emperor will have nothing to say."

"And then wait for a tyrannical figure to emerge in Guanzhong, and you will be your Zhang Boying?" Liu Yanxiu said thoughtfully. "The logic is sound, but there are still a few difficulties... The Emperor asked you to look after Han Shizhong. After you leave, who will be responsible for Han Shizhong?"

Zhang Jun smiled even more bitterly. "That is another reason why I am seeking to leave. Han Shizhong is the closest general to Nanyang. The Emperor always talks about him as his backbone, he can take care of him himself, why does he need me to look after him? This is one time, that is another."

"That's true," Liu Ziyu nodded lightly. "Then who are you going to recommend to be the Censor-in-Chief after you leave? Hu Mingzhong? It can't be Li Guang, right? This person is a former staff member of Li Gongxiang, so you need to be careful about this kind of thing."

"I am not so confused as to let Li Guang do it, but I can't feel at ease recommending Hu Mingzhong," Zhang Jun shook his head repeatedly. "Supervising Censor He Zhu, Secretariat Drafter Fan Zongyin, Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei, Minister of Works Ye Mengde, Hanlin Scholar Li Ruopu... these are all good choices. If the Emperor asks me, I will just recommend them and let the Emperor choose."

Liu Ziyu wanted to say that since he knew the Emperor was mindful of the past, how could these people be compared to Hu Mingzhong, who took off his clothes in the tent that day? But when it came to such an important position as the Censor-in-Chief, he, as a close official to the Emperor, did not want to say more.

"If Deyuan goes to Chuan-Shu, and I can't follow you, have you thought about finding a suitable military advisor to manage the secretarial documents in your staff?" With this thought, Liu Yanxiu simply changed the subject.

"I have already considered this matter," Zhang Jun raised his glass for another drink. "Zhe Yanzhi was demoted to Changhua Army (Hainan), I want to ask the Emperor to pardon him, and then ask him to be a military advisor in Chuan-Shu; I also have my eye on someone for the equally important financial matters. When I go to Chuan-Shu, I will definitely achieve something..."

Knowing that the other party had made up his mind to leave, Liu Ziyu did not want to say more, so he simply raised his glass and drank with him, as a friend.

In this way, the two of them rarely sought leisure, drinking from morning until the sun was setting in the west, before returning drunk and resting in Zhang Jun's residence... However, before they had slept for a while, and before the alcohol had worn off, an eunuch suddenly came to deliver an imperial edict, saying that the Emperor had an appointment and wanted the two of them to go out of the city incognito for a while.

The two of them got up in a daze, their heads pounding and dizzy. The eunuch had to have Zhang Jun's family find a mule cart to carry the two of them out of the city, all the way to the Bai River.

At this time, the sunlight was still sufficient, but no less than a hundred people had gathered on the embankment by the Bai River. Not to mention the eunuchs, guards, imperial physicians, and painters, several chancellors, several ministers, several Hanlin scholars, secretariat drafters, and of course, the several close officials most cared for by the Emperor, almost everyone was there.

Emperor Zhao himself was only wearing a loose, cross-collared linen robe, standing under a large tree by the river with Lady Wu, who was also dressed in casual clothes... When he turned around and saw the two drunk confidants climbing out of the mule cart, he couldn't help but laugh:

"Deyuan, Yanxiu, you two are really too much. Knowing that the weather is beautiful today and the scenery by the river is excellent, you only enjoy drinking and having fun yourselves. Unlike me, who rarely comes out, I am still thinking of you!"

Zhang Jun and Liu Ziyu exchanged glances and awkwardly bowed in salute. Liu Ziyu was fine, but Zhang Jun, with his scholar's demeanor, had drunk too much, and staggered, almost falling to the ground.

"There are no formalities today," Zhao Jiu raised his hand, signaling the eunuch to be careful and help the two drunkards up, before laughing again. "It's like this, I have admired the poems of the Great Scholar Su since I was young, so today I specially set up a banquet to entertain the descendants of the Great Scholar Su. However, I am not proficient in scholarship and am afraid of making a fool of myself, so I gathered you people here to embolden myself..."

Liu Ziyu was fine, but Zhang Jun instinctively realized that the Emperor was up to something again... Because the large-scale palace examination and conferral of official positions was tomorrow, which was a top priority. At this crucial moment, why did he want to gather important officials here today to entertain Su Shi's grandson?

However, with the alcohol taking effect, Censor Zhang only thought about it and his head began to ache, so he could only respond with a dazed voice.