After several days of recuperation, the small wound on his head had almost completely healed. During these days, William Carter had also been observing certain people, including a few eunuchs and palace maids around him, as well as the imperial guards who stood watch at the entrance of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He understood that if he wanted to comfortably be a willful and self-indulgent tyrant, it was nothing but wishful thinking without a powerful military organization. Not everyone could be a tyrant. Especially if one wanted to do it with flair, to become the most infamous tyrant in history and still end up with a good ending—that was even harder. Spending all day eating, drinking, and having fun, neglecting state affairs, and letting various factions control the court—such a person was not a tyrant, but a mediocre ruler.

After roughly figuring out some of the historical background, William Carter was ready to start gradually gathering a military force. With a powerful military, not only could he sweep away all obstacles, but he could also intimidate the ambitious schemers lurking everywhere.

Whether it was winning people’s hearts or gathering military strength, the best way was always to start from within and grow outward, from small to large. Only by securing the inside could one deal with threats from outside—almost everyone understood this principle. Over the past days, he had observed the situation. There were quite a few eunuchs and maids around, but only six served him closely in his daily life. Among them, two were eunuchs, both about sixteen or seventeen years old, handsome, quick and nimble, not very talkative, and always appeared cautious and fearful.

The other four were maids, seemingly even younger. Each was delicate and lovely, pure and charming. Girls as beautiful and cute as these, in the era where William Carter originally lived, would have been idol-level school beauties pursued by countless boys. Here, however, they were merely lowly maids with almost no rights, serving the emperor’s daily needs.

The first time he saw these personal maids, William Carter was a little shocked. After all, in those TV dramas about ancient emperors he’d watched before, many of the palace maids looked truly pitiful. To save costs, they’d just grab a few extras from somewhere to make up the numbers. But thinking about it now, it made perfect sense. How could the emperor’s personal maids be of ordinary appearance? Even if someone was just a little less attractive or slightly out of shape, or had even the slightest flaw, there was absolutely no way she would be selected.

Within the Palace of Heavenly Purity, there was also a study reserved for the emperor. Its layout was smaller than the imperial study, of course. After all, very few emperors would summon ministers or handle state affairs directly in their living quarters.

When William Carter transmigrated here, it was already late autumn. It had rained for the past couple of days. The air was damp, and the weather a bit chilly. In the modestly sized study, William Carter lounged lazily on a reclining chair cushioned with soft, warm leather, with a pot of tea brewing on the side table. He had always known that drinking tea could cultivate one’s temperament and train patience. Brewing and drinking tea required calmness and composure, without haste or impatience. If one was restless, not only would the subtle, lingering flavor of the tea be lost, but it was also easy to burn one’s hands or mouth.

He had understood this before, but back then, William Carter was just an ordinary guy, not even sure how he’d pay next month’s living expenses. Who had the mood to care about such things? Besides, who had ever seen a young man pulling all-nighters and frantically gaming, calmly brewing a pot of piping hot Longjing tea to savor while in the heat of a PK battle?

But now, he was the emperor. Since he had transmigrated into an emperor, he had to act the part, with the proper bearing and authority. That was professional ethics, wasn’t it? Besides, from what he’d heard from the empress, the current situation was a tangled mess. If he ignored everything and rushed in headlong to fix it, that would be courting death. He might even lose his life, so how could he talk about becoming the greatest tyrant in history? Governing a great country is like cooking a small fish—some things simply can’t be rushed.

Leaving aside the personal eunuchs and maids for now, William Carter had someone summon an imperial guard who had been stationed outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity and whom he had been observing for several days.

“Your humble servant, third-rank imperial guard Evelyn Foster, greets Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor, long live, long, long live.” This Evelyn Foster was tall and straight, clad in exquisite, gleaming light armor. With his handsome features and heroic bearing, if he had worked as a host in William Carter’s original era, he would have guaranteed a steady stream of customers.

He hadn’t summoned him because of his looks. Over the past few days, William Carter had observed him, intentionally or not. Not only did Evelyn Foster stand tall and straight, but he was also extremely vigilant. The imperial physicians who had come several times might have been let through with only a cursory check by others. But during his watch, the physicians had come three times, and each time he had thoroughly inspected them from head to toe, including every corner of their medicine chests. He did this every time, never relaxing just because he had checked the day before.

In addition, all the eunuchs and maids coming and going—except for William Carter’s personal attendants—were strictly checked by him before being allowed in or out. As for William Carter’s personal attendants, although he didn’t search them, his eagle-like eyes would fix on them as they passed, his hand resting on his sword hilt, as if ready to strike at the slightest sign of trouble, showing not a trace of mercy. This made them extremely nervous every time they entered or left. William Carter had overheard the maids whispering among themselves several times, complaining that the imperial guard was too fierce and too strict.

“Rise, Henry Foster.” William Carter said in a tone he had practiced for a long time—majestic yet not lacking in kindness. “Take a seat.”