Chapter 32

Zhou Xingyun is a second-generation rich kid.

After returning from studying abroad, she went to work for her family's company, a film and television media company. She wanted to be a producer, so recently she has been screening the scripts that the company has stockpiled, as well as the novels whose copyrights have been bought by the company.

She wanted to choose a script or novel that interested her and adapt it into a film, preferably a huge hit to prove her abilities to her father.

However, a month has passed since she joined the company, and she still hasn't finalized the script.

"Ugh, so annoying," Zhou Xingyun couldn't help but exclaim as soon as she entered the house. She kicked off her high heels in the entryway, rubbed her hair haphazardly, and walked towards the sofa.

Why are there so many scripts in the company, yet not a single one is acceptable?!

Her father called her to his office today and asked her how her work was going. What could she possibly do? She got stuck on the very first step: choosing a script.

The thought of her father's admonition not to be too picky made her feel irritated.

She just wanted to make something she liked, something with a bit of depth, instead of the same old idol dramas. She didn't even dare to ask for much in terms of how exciting the plot would be, but even so, the scripts still fell far short of her expectations.

What can she do? Why insist on picking out a pile of dog poop and then painstakingly carving it? No matter how much she carves it, it will never become a beautiful piece of jade, because the material was wrong from the start.

Zhou Xingyun plopped down on the sofa, leaned back against the sofa, closed his eyes, and pretended to doze off.

After resting for a while and feeling calmer, she took out her phone and went to Feihong Novel Network.

She reads novels on Feihong Novel Network, partly because she genuinely enjoys reading them, and partly because she hopes to find a novel she likes that is also suitable for film or television adaptation.

Recently, she has become fond of a novel called "The Female Painter of the Tang Dynasty".

This novel is quite good. The theme is very novel, and the female protagonist's personality is not the typical Cinderella pitiful girl. She was pleasantly surprised when she first read it, so she impulsively gave the author a reward.

Tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan are nothing to her; spending money to buy happiness is worth it.

Who knew that she would run into a stubborn mule that day who insisted on competing with her for first place for some reason. She got angry and argued with him for two rounds, resulting in both of them getting hurt and becoming a laughing stock for other netizens.

She was still angry when Eryuetian, the author of "The Great Tang Female Painter," suddenly contacted her and said she would return the money to her.

She didn't actually care about the money, but the author's attitude pleased her greatly, instantly lifting her spirits and filling her with goodwill towards the author.

For a moment, she even considered buying the copyright to this author's novel to make her happy.

Unfortunately, after careful evaluation, she found that neither of February Sky's two novels were actually very suitable for film or television adaptation.

The plot is still a bit thin.

......

Zhou Xingyun shook off the random thoughts in her mind and clicked into "The Great Tang Female Painter" to focus on reading the latest chapter. She hadn't clicked on it for two days, and the five chapters she had saved were enough for her to read for a while.

She saw Yan Huaijin being summoned to the palace and saw Emperor Taizong of Tang make his appearance.

The character of Emperor Taizong of Tang has appeared in previous chapters, but mostly in very brief descriptions. This time, through the female protagonist's perspective, he truly comes to the forefront.

He was the King of Qin, the General of Heavenly Strategy appointed by the emperor, and the initiator of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. He ascended the throne by killing his brothers.

But he was also a diligent and capable ruler, skilled at recognizing and utilizing talent. He tolerated former political enemies, humbly accepted advice, and, most importantly, achieved a multi-ethnic rule under the Heavenly Khan...

In just one short chapter, the entire life of Emperor Taizong of Tang seemed to be told, and Zhou Xingyun immediately grasped the charm of this character.

“This is the protagonist I wanted,” she murmured.

She wanted to create a three-dimensional, complex, and magnificent character, but unfortunately, Emperor Taizong of Tang was not the protagonist; he was merely a minor supporting character who appeared in one chapter of "The Great Tang Female Painter".

Zhou Xingyun felt a pang of regret and sighed for a while before continuing to read.

Having received the imperial decree, Yan Huaijin naturally devoted himself to painting.

However, painting portraits of the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion was no easy task. The order of painting depended on their official rank.

She pondered for a long time in the courtyard, holding her head in her hands, and finally decided to take a simple and direct approach: visit them one by one according to their ranking.

The first person they were to visit was naturally Duke Changsun Wuji of Zhao.

Speaking of Changsun Wuji, he was not only a founding hero, but also a member of the imperial family and the first meritorious official in the Lingyan Pavilion appointed by Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, in Yan Huaijin's view, his position as the first meritorious official was partly due to Emperor Taizong's favoritism.

After all, in the early days of the founding of the dynasty, apart from following Emperor Taizong in launching the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Changsun Wuji didn't really have any outstanding achievements. His greater contributions were in the revision and compilation of laws and regulations after the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

well.

After all, they were childhood friends, and there was a foundation of affection between them. In addition, he always showed no greed for credit or power in front of Emperor Taizong, which made it easy for Emperor Taizong to trust and be close to him.

In fact, after Emperor Taizong of Tang offered him an official position, he declined. Emperor Taizong then personally wrote the "Ode to the Majestic Phoenix" and presented it to him.

In his poem, Emperor Taizong compared himself to a phoenix, recalling the hardships of the past, and expressing his gratitude for "relying on virtuous men to rely on," indicating that he was able to revive the dynasty thanks to the assistance of virtuous men like Changsun Wuji.

It was because of this poem, and because Emperor Taizong was the second among his brothers, that the nickname "Erfeng" (Second Phoenix) for Emperor Taizong of Tang came about on the modern internet.

Seeing that the appointed time was almost up, Yan Huaijin carried her small painting box to the Duke of Zhao's mansion.

This was the second time she had met the Duke of Zhao. The first time was a few days earlier in the Taiji Hall when she met the emperor. The Duke of Zhao was among the officials in the hall. He was tall, with a broad forehead and a long beard. He had a very refined and scholarly demeanor and was a typical scholar-official.

He showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever when Yan Huaijin painted his portrait; on the contrary, he treated him with great courtesy.

"Please, Madam Yan."

"You're too kind, Duke."

Yan Huaijin returned the greeting and took out his paintbrushes and paints one by one from the box and placed them on the table.

When she was painting, the Duke of Zhao stood upright in front of her.

Yan Huaijin held back for a while, but in the end she couldn't help herself; she was still the little painter who liked to give feedback to her models.

"I wonder if the Duke's mansion has any Tang laws?"

Duke Zhao has been in charge of compiling the Tang Code for many years, so he must have some in his household.

Duke Zhao replied in bewilderment, "Of course there is."

"I wonder if the Duke would be willing to hold the scroll and stand sideways by the window, where the red apricots outside are in full bloom, a truly beautiful sight."

Since the sage didn't make any demands, she could draw however she wanted.

The Duke of Zhao had no objection to this.

He took the law book and felt much more at ease standing there.

Yan Huaijin painted this picture very carefully, and it was not something that could be finished in a short time. Seeing that it was getting dark, she took her leave. As for the painting, Duke Zhao left it at his residence on the grounds that it would be troublesome to carry it back and forth. Her painting box was also left at the residence.

That evening, Yan Huaijin returned home empty-handed, much to her father's surprise.

"How dare you? You promised to paint for the Duke, and you didn't go?"

He even sneaked out to play for her.

"I didn't!"

"You still dare to argue? You're getting more and more audacious."

The Yan family was thrown into chaos before Yan Huaijin finally explained that he had genuinely gone to work diligently.

......

The night was cool and still.

Changsun Wuji arrived at the painting studio dressed in plain clothes. He had specially ordered the studio to be prepared so that Yan Huaijin could paint more easily.

On the desk in the studio, various bottles and jars were arranged in a seemingly chaotic yet orderly manner, and in the very center was a large, unfinished portrait of himself.

Changsun Wuji put down the candle in his hand and quietly gazed at the painting and the scroll in the hands of the person in the painting.

Actually, he didn't take this little girl seriously at first, but today, while painting, she suddenly suggested that he hold Tang Lu's hand, which really surprised him.

Although he never said it, he had been in charge of revising the laws for many years, and the Tang Code held an extraordinary place in his heart.

This little girl understands him.

Thinking back to when they parted today, the girl specifically told him to wear his official robes tomorrow, saying that it would make him look more dignified. A smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

It turns out he was dressed casually today; no wonder his clothing was only depicted with a few strokes in the painting.

Aaaaaaahhhhh!

Upon seeing this, Zhou Xingyun suddenly understood Changsun Wuji again.

Although according to the novel, Changsun Wuji is already an old man in his forties or fifties, he still seems a bit charming.

Of the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion, this was only the first one to emerge. There were still twenty-three more to come. She wondered what kind of charisma the others would possess. The thought that so many remarkable figures were actually ministers of Emperor Taizong of Tang and were all so loyal to her made her even more fond of Emperor Taizong.

This person is absolutely amazing!

After expressing her regret once again, she reluctantly put down her phone and prepared to wash up and go to bed.

Late at night.

"Oh dear..." Zhou Xingyun threw back the covers and opened his eyes in the darkness.

I can't sleep, I just can't sleep.

Her mind is now filled with thoughts of Emperor Taizong of Tang and Changsun Wuji.

Actually, when she read the first few chapters, she had quite a prejudice against the character Changsun Wuji, after all, he later caused the death of the King of Wu.

The King of Wu was such a wise and decisive man, yet he was wronged and killed. Who wouldn't hate him for that!

But after reading this chapter, she shamefully felt a touch of the charm of a refined scholar-official. Thinking of Changsun Wuji's years of diligent service, only to end up stripped of his title, exiled, and hanged himself, she felt a deep sadness for him as well.

If Emperor Taizong of Tang could know in the afterlife that his former playmate, longtime friend, and loyal minister had met such an end, would he be able to rest in peace?

Zhou Xingyun was completely lost in his own fantasy.

She is full of energy now, and the drowsiness she felt on her way home has long since disappeared.

She endured it in the darkness, but ultimately couldn't resist and picked up her phone in the middle of the night to send a message to the author.

Lucky Come On: Sir, if Emperor Taizong of Tang knew that Changsun Wuji had ended up like this, would he be able to rest in peace in the afterlife?

Lucky one: And what about the Prince of Wu? If Emperor Taizong of Tang knew that his son had been falsely accused of treason right after his death, would he hate Changsun Wuji to the extreme?

Lucky one: But Changsun Wuji also suffered a terrible fate. Will he forgive him because he also met a bad end?

......

After sending out a bunch of messages in a jumbled mess to vent his frustration, Zhou Xingyun finally closed his eyes and went to sleep, satisfied.

the next day.

The first thing Zhou Xingyun did when she woke up was to check her phone. She wanted to see if Er Yuetian had seen the message and replied to her.

Then her world collapsed.

February Sky: How do you know that all of this is not within Emperor Taizong's control?

February Sky: As an emperor, why would he say that the Prince of Wu was "as brave and decisive as me" in front of Li Zhi's uncle, even though Li Zhi had already been made crown prince?

February Sky: Wasn't he implying to Changsun Wuji that he should get rid of the Prince of Wu, a major threat to Li Zhi, in advance?

February Sky: Changsun Wuji wields immense power in the court. After Emperor Taizong's death, the stability of the imperial power will inevitably be shaken. Taking advantage of the Wu King incident, we can also eliminate him. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

February Sky: Of course, these are just my guesses, and everyone is free to judge for themselves.

!!

Zhou Xingyun leaned back on the headboard. It's no exaggeration to say that when she saw the first sentence of "February Sky," she instantly got goosebumps all over her body.

How do you know that all of this was outside of Emperor Taizong's control...?

In other words, all of this was planned by Emperor Taizong of Tang before his death. In order to consolidate his imperial power in the future, he hinted to Changsun Wuji to eliminate the Prince of Wu. And because Changsun Wuji had wrongfully killed the Prince of Wu, it became reasonable for the new emperor to eliminate him.

Power and righteousness both sided with imperial authority; is this what they call imperial strategy...?

Zhou Xingyun trembled, his pupils shining.

What should I do if she seems to love Emperor Taizong of Tang even more?!