Chapter 362 The female Bodhisattva is here too!

What is the relationship between my Dalang and the empress?

This is a sensitive topic in the Zhao family. No matter how popular the rumors are, they are ultimately just unconfirmed "rumors."

And because they are family, they know Zhao Duan better. Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan privately tend to think that this matter is not reliable.

There is a high possibility of misinformation spreading.

But today, Xu Zhenguan came to the Zhao family in person at night, and sat down to invite them to dinner openly.

The meaning conveyed by this behavior has slightly exceeded the boundaries between the monarch and his subjects.

Well, if the empress goes to a place like the Grand Tutor's Mansion and has a family dinner with ministers like Dong Xuan, it is an exception.

But Zhao Duan's official identity was only a fourth-rank military officer.

"The dinner at Zhao Qing's house is quite sumptuous."

Xu Zhenguan was calm and collected. He picked up his chopsticks and looked at the table full of dishes with a little surprise.

Zhao Duan explained with a smile: "Today is a celebration, so we'll have something more substantial."

Xu Zhenguan smiled and said, "In that case, it's time for me to come."

“Haha… is… is not…”

Eugene Hua was awkward and speechless, not acting like the mistress of the house at all.

Zhao Pan, who was fearless in the past, was overshadowed by Xu Zhenguan and became surprisingly obedient.

He just stole a glance at the female emperor and his elder brother, and in a trance, he had a clear understanding of the four words "fairy couple".

She used to think she was pretty, but since she had seen Zhao Duan so often, she no longer thought he was that handsome.

The little girl also secretly thought that when she grew up, she might have the idea that the rumored "sister-in-law" would be pretty.

But when he saw the real person today, Zhao Pan realized the huge gap between them.

It's not just the appearance itself.

When appearance reaches a certain level, what is better or worse is no longer determined by appearance, but by temperament.

The empress's temperament is rare in the world.

This means that even if the "emperor"'s coat is stripped off, just a beautiful woman standing in front of them is enough to make everyone nervous and timid, and even feel inferior.

Just as people will be afraid when they encounter wild beasts, officials in the government also have their own aura, and a woman's appearance also has a similar awe-inspiring effect.

Zhao Pan even felt that no one in the world was worthy of being called "sister-in-law", including his eldest brother.

Any trace of competitive spirit has long since disappeared.

"Is there something on my face?"

Xu Zhenguan looked at Zhao Pan with a smile. With her level, she could see through the girl's mind with just one glance.

"Ah... no..." Zhao Pan panicked, nervous and at a loss, feeling as awkward as a fan meeting his idol.

"Your Majesty is teasing you." Zhao Duan smiled and rescued her.

Xu Zhenguan seemed to be in a good mood today, very approachable. He immediately smiled and agreed to ease the atmosphere, saying something like:

Zhao Qing told me about the women in his family... and today I saw that they were indeed quite pretty... and so on.

Eugene Hua finally came to her senses and continued to be humble.

With Zhao Duan's jokes and adjustments to the atmosphere, the atmosphere in the hall soon became visibly more relaxed.

Xu Zhenguan was also greatly surprised by some novel dishes on the table.

When she learned from Eugene that these were all new dishes Zhao Duan had "invented" in his spare time, she looked at him with a different look, and said softly:

"Zhao Qing, you can also create new dishes? The surprises you give me are really endless."

This statement has some mapping.

"These are just small fights, nothing compared to your Majesty governing a big country and cooking small delicacies." Zhao Duan offered a smooth flattery... no, a dragon fart.

When did Eugenia and her daughter ever dine with the emperor?

After reluctantly eating a few bites, Eugene Hua stood up, found an excuse that she was full, and dragged her daughter away from the table early.

Zhao Pan was still reluctant to leave, but he was still pulled by his mother out of the inner hall and into the courtyard.

Leave this place for the king and his minister to be alone together.

…

When there were only two people left in the hall, Zhao Duan served the empress a bowl of borscht and put it down before saying:

"Your Majesty's coming here really surprised me."

Xu Zhenguan didn't really come to eat. After tasting a few dishes on the table, she put down her chopsticks, her eyes filled with complex surprise. She said softly:

"I should be telling you this. I heard from Mo Chou about what happened in the Plum Garden. Could you please tell me in detail?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to report."

Zhao Duan immediately started to explain slowly, starting from what he had seen in the Xiuwen Pavilion about the Zhengyang theory and discovered loopholes, to how he passed on the message and lured people to the Bailu Academy.

No matter what, he recounted the entire conversation over the past two days in detail.

During the process, Xu Zhenguan listened quietly without interrupting.

"...I never expected Zhengyang to suddenly admit defeat, and even hang me in public," Zhao Duan said helplessly, "This old villain deserves death."

You are still feeling wronged...Xu Zhenguan didn't say anything, but his lips tightened a little.

Even though she had already heard Zhengyang's version, Zhao Duan's retelling from his own perspective still stirred up waves in her heart.

The inherent impression of this man who always smiles in front of him but is actually very cunning and scheming was further heightened.

She was a little dazed. How many times had this happened?

In just over half a year, how much has this guy been hiding that hasn't been exposed?

You know poetry and prose, and you understand how to govern a country.

Nowadays, even the discussion of Confucianism has caused such a big stir.

"Where did you get this so-called 'Xinxue' from?"

Xu Zhenguan stared at Zhao Duan and asked seriously:

"This isn't something you can figure out through self-study, or at your age, you shouldn't be able to do it."

Do you believe me when I say I was dreaming and an immortal taught me… Zhao Duan muttered, but he had already found an excuse for this. He said seriously:

"In fact, I only put forward an idea. It is not as complete a theory as Your Majesty imagines. If there really is such a good thing, why would I test Zhengyang first?"

Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment and hesitated, "You mean..."

"In fact, my theory of the School of Mind was originally derived from Zhengyang's books. When I flipped through his works the other day, I could already see a few words that revealed a subtle hint of establishing a new school of thought.

I will remember this. At first, I had no confidence at all. I just wanted to be a vanguard, to test Zhengyang in private, so as to know ourselves and the enemy, and to learn more about the enemy's strengths and weaknesses for the Grand Master..."

"I didn't expect it to actually inspire the other party. Rather than saying that I defeated Zhengyang, it's better to say that he defeated himself. Haha... Sometimes, people may just lack that little layer of enlightenment.

The people of Zhengyang couldn't see clearly what was happening. Scholars like Master Dong and Han Zhou, who had been taught the orthodox school since childhood, couldn't break free from their fixed mindset. On the contrary, a warrior like me was able to see clearly. With my guidance, they naturally understood."

Zhao Duan talked freely.

According to him, Zhengyang was only one step away from understanding the philosophy of mind.

Zhao Duan, standing outside the situation, could see things clearly. He dug out those contradictions from Zhengyang's own theories and works, and when the bullets were fired, they immediately opened Zhengyang's eyes...

This explanation is undoubtedly much more reliable than the Confucian theory that a warrior in his twenties who had not received much education came up with.

The former is so outrageous that it's too fake.

So Zhao Duan had already made up a reason before taking action.

Once this explanation came out, it could barely be explained. Although it was still a bit outrageous, at least it sounded like that.

"Your Majesty, I even suspect that Zhengyang did this on purpose."

Zhao Duan continued to increase his bet, with a mysterious look on his face:

"Perhaps, he had come up with the School of Mind in the beginning, but knew that once it was made public, it would attract attacks from many Confucian scholars and would also offend Prince Mu... So this old villain was scheming and deliberately came to the capital to shift the blame to me.

This way he'll have an explanation when he returns... I see this man has a treacherous face, and his heart is black when you slice it open. I've suffered an unprovoked disaster this time, it's really..."

At first Xu Zhenguan listened carefully and followed his train of thought, but the more he listened the more outrageous it became.

In the end, my face turned black, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"You're so shameless. Your initial guess made some sense, but what kind of conspiracy is behind it? Would Zhengyang give up the opportunity to leave his name in history and give you the title of founding a school?"

Zhao Duan spread his hands, looking innocent:

"Who knows? Scholars are often bad people. How can they be as pure-minded as a warrior like me, who is utterly loyal to Your Majesty?"

“…”

Xu Zhenguan was too lazy to pay attention to him.

As for the explanation given by Zhao Duan, she was still skeptical in her heart. Her intuition always told her that this was not what this guy said.

But the Empress couldn't guess that Zhao Duan had some secrets or something special about him.

The fact that Emperor Taizu's Dragon Soul chose him already explains a lot.

She just didn't want to delve into it.

"You'd better say the same thing when facing other people's doubts." Xu Zhenguan said indifferently.

Zhao Duan said sincerely: "Everything I said is true."

"Hehe..." Xu Zhenguan sneered. The more this guy acted like this, the more she disbelieved him.

Just as they were about to say something, the king and his minister suddenly turned their heads at the same time and looked towards the main gate of the Zhao family's courtyard.

…

"Mother, His Majesty has such a powerful aura."

In the courtyard, after Zhao Pan left the inner hall, he felt that most of the heavy pressure on his body was suddenly relieved.

He exhaled heavily, "My palms are sweaty."

"What's wrong with being a mother?" Eugene Hua was almost exhausted. She sat on the stone bench in the yard. Regardless of the coldness of her buttocks, she turned her head and looked back at the brightly lit inner hall, and said worriedly:

"As the saying goes, serving a king is like serving a tiger. It's really not easy for Dalang."

"..." Zhao Pan couldn't help but say, "Big brother and His Majesty might not be that kind of companion, right?"

Eugene looked at her daughter strangely: "Which one do you think it is?"

Zhao Pan hesitated for a moment, realizing that he had overthought. Just as he was about to explain, the voice of the Empress's guards suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate:

"Who?"

Then, the mother and daughter only heard faint groans.

Then, in the darkness of the night, a beautiful female Bodhisattva with plump white skin, long black hair, and only a thin monk's robe on in the cold late autumn, was seen approaching from afar.

Prajna Bodhisattva smiled and nodded towards the mother and daughter, saying:

"Amitabha, I am here to look for Master Zhao."

After she finished speaking, she raised her almost transparent eyes and looked towards the dining room in front of her with a strange smile:

"It seems I came at an unfortunate time."

…

Next chapter in the early morning

(End of this chapter)