Chapter 411 Where is Lord Shen?

Emperor Longqing remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Since the Empress Dowager has spoken, let's just assume the two children are not meant to be."

"Your Majesty and Minister Chen, please don't be angry. The child is still young; we can teach him slowly."

Empress Dowager Chen twitched the corners of her mouth, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I only ask one thing of Your Majesty: wait until the Southern Yue delegation leaves before issuing the decree to dissolve the engagement, so as to at least save face for the Chen family."

Since Empress Dowager Chen spoke up herself, Emperor Longqing naturally couldn't refute her.

"As Your Majesty wishes."

Empress Dowager Chen left with Vice Minister Chen.

Cai rushed in to serve tea, saying, "Your Majesty, the Shadow Guard has delivered a secret letter."

After saying that, he took an envelope out of his sleeve and handed it over.

Emperor Longqing raised an eyebrow. "Shadow Guard? Bring them here for a look."

The Shadow Guards were his secret bodyguards, responsible for protecting the emperor's safety and gathering intelligence.

However, ever since the sixth brother took over the Flying Eagle Guard, he has been very adept at supervising all officials.

All information was collected very promptly.

The shadow guards gradually withdrew, rarely inquiring about news anymore, and instead focused solely on protecting his safety.

The Longqing Emperor opened the envelope; inside was a blank sheet of paper.

Bring a piece of white paper close to a candle; as the paper heats up, a line of words gradually appears.

Cai Chong vaguely saw two words appear on it first.

Chen Chu.

He quickly lowered his head and bowed, retreating to the back.

Emperor Longqing stared at a line of words that gradually appeared on the white paper, and after a long while, he let out a cold snort.

"I never imagined that I could misjudge someone."

Cai Chong was puzzled. He looked up and saw that the Longqing Emperor's face was gloomy and uncertain in the shadows of the candlelight.

"His Majesty?"

Emperor Longqing came to his senses and lit the white paper on the candle.

A thin sheet of paper will quickly turn to ashes when it comes into contact with a flame.

"It's nothing. Are there any important memorials that haven't been approved yet today?"

Cai Chong quickly stepped forward and flipped through the documents on the table.

"Most of them have been approved. Tomorrow we will meet with the South Vietnamese delegation. Your Majesty, please rest early tonight."

My gaze fell upon the bottommost document.

"Oh, and there's also a memorial from Lord Shen requesting leave, saying he suddenly caught a cold and can't enter the palace tomorrow."

The Longqing Emperor stroked his beard and gave a meaningful, cold smile.

"Caught a cold? Haha."

Cai Chong felt that the two "hehe" sounds were meaningful, but he didn't dare to ask any further questions.

Even though he had served the emperor for nearly twenty years, he still sometimes couldn't quite grasp the emperor's thoughts.

It snowed all night, and the next day, the entire capital was covered in a blanket of white.

Shen Chu was awakened by the honking of the big white goose.

Looking out the window, after the snow, the sky cleared, and the big white goose, Fa Cai, was scrambling its neck and wiggling its chubby body, chasing Yuan Bao in the yard.

Yuanbao wore a pink scarf around her neck and a pink cotton-padded jacket embroidered with delicate little flowers.

It's obvious at a glance that this is the eldest brother's masterpiece.

The pink and tender ingots left tiny paw prints on the snow.

The big white goose, Facai, flapped its wings and chased after Yuanbao, trying to bite Yuanbao's cotton-padded jacket with its flat beak.

Hongxiu shook her head, "Facai suffered because he was late. The remaining fabric used to make clothes for the young masters was used to make cotton-padded jackets for Yuanbao."

Otherwise, how could they leave a disguise for getting rich?

Turning around, he saw Chen Chu staring blankly into space.

He waved his hand in front of her face. "Girl, what's wrong?"

Shen Chu snapped out of her daze and smiled.

"It's nothing, I just thought it was a beautiful sight to see the cat jumping and the goose laughing."

It feels like I haven't had this much leisure time in years.

Hongxiu smiled and said, "Miss, you haven't had a moment of peace in the past ten years. You've had a very hard life."

"Once you and His Highness Prince Rui are married, happiness will be yours forever."

Shen Chu couldn't help but laugh and raised her hand to rub her face.

"I wonder what the situation is like in the palace today. My eyelids started twitching inexplicably when I woke up this morning. I hope nothing bad has happened."

Hongxiu didn't take it to heart.

"His Highness Prince Rui is here, nothing will happen. Miss, it's rare for you to have some free time, so please rest well today."

The palace was bustling with activity and peace at that moment.

The delegation from Nanyue to the Great Wei was led by King Jing, Shangguan Zhi.

After paying their respects to Emperor Longqing and presenting the gifts brought from Nanyue, the two sides began exchanging pleasantries.

This time, Shangguan Zhi brought with him several famous Confucian scholars from Nanyue.

Therefore, he proposed to Emperor Longqing that he would like to hold a philosophical discussion with the scholars and Confucian officials of the Great Wei.

Literary discussions have always been considered an elegant affair, and the Longqing Emperor readily agreed.

Both sides exchanged poems and calligraphy, appreciating each other's works and writings.

The atmosphere inside the hall was very lively.

A great scholar from Nanyue presented an article, saying, "None of you here have seen the magnificent landscape of Nanyue. This article is dedicated to showcasing the splendid mountains and rivers of Nanyue to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scroll was unfurled.

Everyone peered over and gasped in shock.

Once the scroll, which is more than ten feet long, is unfurled, the first thing that catches the eye is the handwriting.

It was written in multiple fonts: the running script was dignified and elegant, the cursive script was passionate and unrestrained, and the regular script was vigorous and powerful, with iron strokes and silver hooks.

Let's look at the content of the article again.

"The beauty of southern Yue lies in the wonder of its mountains and rivers; the wonder of the mountains is best embodied in their clouds and pines..."

The entire article is written in ornate language and has a majestic style, which is inspiring and uplifting to read.

Shangguan Zhi smiled and said, "This work was carefully crafted by several great scholars of our Southern Yue, and personally written by Mr. Zhang Xingzhi, a master calligrapher of our Southern Yue, and presented to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Wei."

The Longqing Emperor's lips twitched slightly.

This is not a gift, it's clearly showing off.

They're just showing off how well the scholars from Nanyue write and how good their calligraphy is.

With a polite smile on his face, he said, "Excellent article, excellent calligraphy. The Southern Yue is full of talented people. King Jing is very thoughtful."

Shangguan Zhi changed the subject.

"This is also the first time our South Vietnamese delegation has come to Great Wei. I wonder if anyone has written an article introducing the landscape of Great Wei?"

Can we connect through literature, and travel through the mountains and rivers of the Great Wei through literature?

The hall fell silent immediately.

This isn't about trying to understand the Great Wei; it's clearly about using articles and calligraphy to belittle the literary world of the Great Wei.

Emperor Longqing frowned and glanced at the group of ministers below.

The ministers' eyes flickered, unsure of how to respond.

With so many scholars in the Great Wei Dynasty, there were naturally plenty of articles introducing the landscape.

The problem is that with other people's excellent works preceding us, ordinary articles just don't stand out.

Prince Heng stepped forward and said with a smile, "Father, have you forgotten? More than twenty years ago, someone wrote an article praising the beautiful rivers and mountains of our Great Wei, and became famous throughout the world with just one poem."

One poem brings fame and recognition throughout the land?

The Longqing Emperor's heart stirred slightly. "You mean?"

Prince Heng said, "Of course it's Lord Shen's father, Lord Shen Zhixing, the former prefect of Liangzhou."

He swept his gaze across the crowd and deliberately called out loudly, "Where is Lord Shen?"

Pei Yuan, Ling Ce, Li Chengxuan, and the others all had slight changes in their expressions.

Someone replied, "Shen Chu has fallen ill today."

King Heng knew, of course, that Shen Chu had not come today. He smiled and introduced him to the several great scholars of Nan Yue.

"In our Great Wei, there is a man named Shen Zhixing who once wrote a poem about mountains and rivers. The article is profound, elegant, and magnificent."

Although Lord Shen Zhixing died young, his son is still an official in the court and has always possessed Lord Shen's works.

Several prominent scholars from the Southern Yue region appeared excited.

"Mr. Shen Zhixing's Ode to Mountains and Rivers? We have long heard of it, but it is a pity that we have never been able to see it in person. I wonder if we could have a look?"

Prince Heng bowed to Emperor Longqing and said, "Father, why don't you send someone to invite Lord Shen into the palace?"