Zhao Rong strode down the mountain along the winding stone steps.
On the way, his thoughts became clearer and clearer.
The pace is getting faster and faster.
He held his hands and tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to raise. He tried his best to keep his face calm and tried his best to stay calm.
The young Confucian scholar repeatedly reviewed the newly conceived two great rituals of sealing heaven and Zen.
"Regardless of all things in the world, apart from the breeze and the light, thunder is the most suitable and representative of the will of heaven. Based on thunder, I have constructed a new gift to repay heaven...the gift of thunder..."
In his mind, he went through objective and rational checks over and over again...
"What about the earth? On the Dongshan Earth Altar at the foot of the mountain, the gift of retribution facing the earth... is similar to the thunder of heaven. The sound of the earth should be... an earthquake!"
The young Confucian scholar walked quickly down the mountain, talking silently to himself.
When we reached the foot of the mountain, I finally couldn't help it. In the dark night and the tranquil mountain scenery, I clenched my fist and waved it hard in front of me.
I remember the last time I was so enlightened was when I was facing the aggressive Tao Yuanran at the Zhongnan Mountain Confucianism-Taoism Debate.
At this time, he was passing by a jungle full of flowers, and the Jiutian Hangong flower, which is abundant in Jiyue Mountain, was blooming by the roadside.
The snow-white crescent-shaped petals look like lit lamps under the moonlight, emitting a hazy glow.
Zhao Rong stopped, turned around, walked to a place with the most luxuriant flowers beside the road, rolled up his sleeves, bent down and reached out his hands.
I picked out four of the most splendid blooming Han Palace flowers, carefully put them into the brocade bag in my sleeve, and put them away.
He straightened up, took a sip of the faint cold fragrance, nodded, put down his sleeves, and turned to leave.
However, the moment he turned around, Zhao Rong suddenly changed his steps and quickly took a few steps back.
He frowned and stared at the figure that suddenly appeared not far away, and said:
"who is it?"
This figure should belong to a slender woman. At this time, she approached and took out a luminous pearl with a light yellow halo.
The demure and bookish little face was a little brighter.
"I, Daukou, am the one who is close to the queen." Daukou whispered.
"Oh, what's the matter, miss? But...do you have any orders?"
In the darkness, after learning of the visitor, the young Confucian scholar put his hands into his sleeves and clenched them tightly, but he still did not loosen his grip even a little bit.
"Yes," Kao Kao nodded with unclear meaning.
She suddenly said: "Mr. Zhao, what is it that makes you happy?"
The gaze of the girl in palace clothes lingered on the face of the young Confucian scholar.
The smile on Zhao Rong's face faded, he nodded and said: "...I just happened to do something with my wonderful skills, but my cultivation is still not up to par. I'm a little bit shy, and the girl laughed."
Cardamom's originally dull and downcast eyes seemed to light up.
"Why come and laugh?"
She and Zhao Rong looked at each other and said seriously: "A masterpiece that can make you happy... If you don't mind, can I have the opportunity to see it?"
Zhao Rong glanced at the girl in palace clothes and said, "Let's talk about it some other time... The girl hasn't said yet why the queen asked you to come to see me."
Daukou lowered his eyes and didn't force it any further.
She turned aside to make way and whispered: "Mr. Zhao, please move. Your Majesty has been waiting for a long time."
Zhao Rong looked at her for a while, then looked at the silent surroundings. After a moment, he nodded lightly and walked forward calmly.
"This way please...this way..."
Later, Dou Kao led the way from one side and gave Zhao Rong the direction again and again.
Not long after, the two came to an ancient pavilion by the lake.
In the pavilion, there is a graceful veiled woman, dressed in snow fur, sitting alone on a stone bench. She faces the Jinghu Lake, seeming to be distractedly looking at the moon in the water.
A young Confucian scholar narrowed his eyes slightly.
Who is it not Dugu Chanyi in the pavilion?
At this time, outside the pavilion, Dou Kao stopped in a sensible manner, turned around and returned, staying a little further away.
Zhao Rong has a slender figure, standing on the spot with his hands folded.
He looked around at the surrounding scene and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his lips.
Why is it this scene of two people alone in a lonely pavilion by the lake?
Something almost happened last time, why don't you remember it better... And this time, my dear, I just chose a time to meet in the middle of the night.
The young Confucian scholar did not take the steps to enter the pavilion, but suddenly paused on the path outside the pavilion.
"Your Majesty, it's not appropriate for the monarch and his ministers to meet in the middle of the night. If you have anything to do, you can just send someone to the branch. I'll take my leave now..."
With that said, he turned around and returned the way he came.
"Mr. Zhao."
The distinguished woman in the pavilion suddenly shouted.
The young Confucian scholar with his back turned kept walking.
Dugu Chanyi suddenly shouted: "Zhao Ziyu, stop!"
Zhao Rong also moved forward calmly.
ignore.
Dugu Chanyi jerked her head back, her chest rising and falling violently, "Just think about it with your conscience, how is Aijia treating you? Why do you treat Aijia like this!"
Hearing this last sentence, Zhao Rong, who had always been calm, stopped, turned his head, and said solemnly:
"Your Majesty, you can lose your temper any way you want and scold me angrily. I don't care what your reasons are. Anyway, just do what you should do. After tomorrow's gift, you can leave Dali with a clear conscience."
"However, my dear, please don't talk nonsense. If outsiders hear it, you may be misunderstood. Especially in the middle of the night, when men and women are alone... When three people become tigers, you have to be careful."
Dugu Chanyi seemed to be happy and said sarcastically: "Have a clear conscience? Ha, are you saying that the Ai family is unreasonably making trouble?"
Zhao Rong was noncommittal, glanced at the sky, and then turned around.
He turned his back to her and whispered as he walked:
"Your Majesty is the Queen Mother of a country and is extremely noble. From now on, you should be more cautious in your words and deeds. Please do not choose this time and place when summoning your ministers. Please respect yourself."
Dugu Chanyi said angrily: "You stand still for the Ai family! There is no need for you to pretend to teach the Ai family. You talk so much about morality and righteousness, but in the end, what you do is just stupid things. It is extremely hypocritical."
She waved her sleeves and snorted coldly when she saw the Confucian scholar's back stopped.
"Why, you finally know that you are guilty? Zhao Ziyu, the Ai family is really suffering. I misjudged you. You men really don't have any good things... That day by the bathhouse of Guanghan Palace, when you did those rude things, it was very disrespectful.
If you offend the Ai family and behave in an obscene way, why didn’t you see you so polite and benevolent at that time?”
"All the benevolence, righteousness and morality you Confucian scholars use to bully weak women?"
The beautiful Queen Mother tightened the snow fur covering her body, looked at him sideways, and sneered:
"Afterwards, you gave a solemn explanation that it was a misunderstanding. What's the point? Let's clear things up, write off the matter, and let the Ai family forget the blame... Haha, the Ai family is really stupid, really, I still believed you..."
There was a sneer on her pretty face, and she spoke bitterly, but under the moonlight, her eyes gradually became crystal clear, and she slowly lay down with two lines of clear tears.
The woman suppressed her tears, waved her hand and said disdainfully with a suppressed tone of grievance:
"I thought that no matter how despicable and despicable you are, bullying us orphans and widowed mothers, you at least still have some principles. Although the Aijia and His Majesty are not so capable of winning over you, as a man, you should stand neutral according to your conscience.
...The result...is really bullying people too much, bullying people too much!"
Zhao Rong listened quietly for a while, raised his head and glanced at the sky again, and then stretched out three fingers under the gaze of a sad woman.
"I'll just say three points. First, I was indeed offended that day. The specific reason is difficult to explain...but I have no intention of shutting up the queen. I am willing to bear the revenge from the queen, and I am also willing to actively compensate.
It’s just that you can’t use one mistake to compensate for another mistake, so I’m sorry that I can’t give you what I really want.”
"Secondly, I'm not stupid. I can see that your Majesty is very smart and smart. Why do you still act like a weak woman to win sympathy? I know exactly what your Majesty wants. There is no need to act like this.
Just say it clearly."
Dugu Chanyi grabbed her sleeves and lowered her head to wipe away her tears. At this moment, she frowned and raised her head: "Then what you mean is that Aijia Ruoming said..."
Zhao Rong nodded and interrupted: "I won't agree even if you say so."
"…………"
Dugu Chanyi's eyes widened and he pointed at him and said: "Zhao Ziyu, you..."
Zhao Rong smiled and said, "I'm just telling the truth. I hope the empress can also tell the truth and don't pretend to be a weak white lotus. Smart women are actually more appreciated by men. As for women's tears, I might have believed them before, but now.
...I believe it, but not completely. And..."
He paused, glanced sideways at the widow who was wet with tears in Begonia not far away, then moved his eyes away, staring at the blooming Han Palace flowers next to him and said:
"Besides, it seems I wasn't the only one who was rude that day..."
"What do you mean!"
Zhao Rong lowered his eyes, "I will put away those little toys of the empress next time... Although I am as noble as the empress, it does not mean that I cannot have this kind of... This kind of hobbies in the boudoir. After all, I have been in the palace for a long time, lonely and alone...
Don't show yourself in front of outsiders again, it will offend your elegance."
Dugu Chanyi immediately couldn't help but took a step forward and cried angrily: "The Ai family has already said that this is not from the Ai family! Don't taint the Ai family's innocence!"
Zhao Rong squinted at her.
The look roughly means... Well, I believe everything you say, okay.
Dugu Chanyi: "???"
Zhao Rong shook his head and changed his words, "Okay, you can explain this as an accident, but what about the other accidents?"
"Your Majesty said she knew I was coming, so why did she meet me in such an awkward place in the bathhouse, and why did she even wear inappropriate clothes to meet me... It's hard for me not to think about it, is my Majesty a fishing law enforcement officer?
?”
Dugu Chanyi retorted: "You...you are the one who fishes and enforces the law."
As she spoke, her chest heaved and she looked away.
Zhao Rong glanced at her veiled profile and couldn't see clearly the woman's specific expression. After a moment, he nodded and said:
"Well, I actually don't really believe that your Majesty did it deliberately to seduce me into being rude."
"Oh, you also know that you don't deserve to be like this to the Aijia!"
Dugu Chan's clothes were bitten into pieces by his silver teeth.
Zhao Rong shook his head, "Because it's too low-level. I have a strong will. Who doesn't know?"
Dugu Chanyi: "......"
Can you be more shameless?
Zhao Rong smiled again, finally put down the last raised finger, suppressed his smile, and said seriously:
"The empress pointed her finger just now, but she didn't seem to say anything from the beginning to the end. Why did I bully others so much? Why didn't I even stand neutral...I really don't understand what happened."
Dugu Chanyi got angry when she heard this, gritted her teeth and asked:
"You still have the nerve to say that! Yesterday at the dinner, Mr. Meng asked me if you were rude. The Aijia helped you smooth over your words and said all kinds of nice things. But in the end, it was good for you and told the Aijia step by step.
We can't even hold a formal ceremony to enshrine him, so we have to deliberately stumbling upon the Ai family and hold an ordinary ceremony."
Zhao Rong was stunned for a moment, then chewed her words carefully, and couldn't help laughing:
"Is this intentional? Could it be that I'm not capable enough?"
Dugu Chanyi was startled, "Why are you not capable? Didn't you all make an appointment? You and Mr. Meng have agreed to hold a mediocre enshrinement ceremony tomorrow. She came to tell me last night, did he order you to do so?"
Yes! Or did you do it on purpose?"
"I don't know how the Ai family has offended you. They don't even want to carry out a normal ceremony of enshrining Zen. Can't we let God decide your majesty's fate?"
Zhao Rong smiled.
He shook his head.
I see, everything tonight has been explained.
The young Confucian scholar had a smile on his face and glanced at the beautiful woman who glared at him with narrowed eyes. She should have thought that he was laughing at her.
He suddenly said: "Oh, it turns out that Mr. Meng told you... Ha, in addition, the empress is quite a layman... But what is more interesting is the Mr. Meng who is here, haha..."
Having said this, he nodded, chuckled and turned his head.
Then he left without explaining anything.
As a result, Dugu Chanyi was left alone, slightly stunned.
"Hey, Zhao Ziyu, give the Ai family an explanation first! Don't leave."
The young Confucian scholar in the distance ignored him. Before leaving, he looked up at the dawning sky.
His expression calmed down and his steps became faster.
The stunning woman wearing a snow-white fur coat frowned and said nothing.
After a while, she glanced in the direction of the top of Jiyue Mountain and murmured softly:
"As long as you, Zhao Ziyu, hold a proper ceremony of enshrining Zen, and don't deliberately stumble in the middle, this is not enough..."
…
"Zhao Rong, you have the Li Ji Jian Wan that can trigger visions. Why don't you trick her and make a promise to her, which can be a help in times of need. After the ceremony is successfully held, you can make these orphans and widowed mothers be grateful to you?"
On the way back, a sword spirit suddenly asked.
"Oh, this is the kindness of a mother and her son who come from the pinnacle of power in a secular dynasty. It's not something you can't look down upon right now, right? It will also be of great benefit to you in the future when you study in the academy. And this is a good thing for orphans and widowers.
The female dragon's aura is so strong and her luck is spectacular, so she may be able to let you eat some. Wouldn't it be possible to kill multiple birds with one stone? It's just a matter of words."
The young Confucian scholar touched something in his sleeve and remained silent.
…
After Zhao Rong came down from the mountain, he did not return to the camp immediately. Instead, he turned around and walked quietly towards the Dali Imperial Tomb in his memory.
About half an hour later, Zhao Rong returned to the camp.
At this time, he had a parchment scroll map in his sleeve.
The craftsmen of the imperial mausoleum who had been rescued and settled by him had already said goodbye and left.
Before leaving, the craftsmen not only expressed gratitude to him, but also handed him the parchment.
This is a map of the imperial tombs made according to Zhao Rong's instructions the day before yesterday.
It details the time and method of entering this brand-new imperial mausoleum, and the places where living people will be worshiped in the imperial mausoleum are also carefully marked, making it easier for him to find time to go back and save people.
Zhao Rong took out the parchment, scanned it twice, nodded lightly, and put the things away.
He glanced at the sky again.
There is less than an hour left before the scheduled time for the Zen Ceremony.
Zhao Rong took a deep breath and looked serious.
He wants to replace the old gifts with newly designed gifts within this hour!