The palace lunch in Guanghan Palace was just as Zhao Rong had expected when he arrived.

There was a long dining table with a wide variety of dishes, so many that he couldn't remember their names.

Dugu, Zhao Rong, the little emperor and a few others sat down at a great distance from each other, observing strict etiquette.

But Zhao Rong still didn't see what Dugu looked like. In fact, this time was not as good as the last time in the mourning hall, when he could see the figure of the widow above.

This time, she didn't even reveal her figure, hiding behind heavy curtains.

However, from the tone of Dugu behind the curtain, Zhao Rong knew that she must be quite surprised and delighted at his initiative to come.

The reason is self-evident.

As if to avoid suspicion, not only were there three people at the banquet, but Dugu also invited civil servants and Confucian scholars such as Zhang Huizhi to join them.

So, Zhao Rong had a rather boring and rigid palace banquet.

Most people at the table followed the Confucian etiquette of not talking while eating. Dugu's occasional polite words to warm up the atmosphere also followed the format of questions and answers between the monarch and his subjects.

While eating, Zhao Rong counted the number of times the female figure behind the curtain took her handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth.

For each dish in front of her, she would only take one piece of food with chopsticks and chew it only eight to ten times. Then she would put down her chopsticks, reach out to take the handkerchief handed to her by the Crescent Moon Lady beside her, wipe the corners of her mouth, and then take a new pair of chopsticks to pick up the next dish.

Zhao Rong nodded, muttered something in his heart, and then didn't look at him much, just occasionally looking at the little emperor Li Wangque.

Since the little emperor came to his mother, he immediately became well-behaved and quiet. He also observed etiquette while eating and never looked around.

After two sticks of incense, the lunch ended.

"Mr. Zhao and the other gentlemen, do you have time to stroll around the back garden after dinner and enjoy the chime music and dance of our Dali Palace?"

Behind the curtain, the shadowy figure put down the handkerchief he was using to wipe his mouth and asked in a clear voice.

Since all those present were scholars, of course they could not accept this kind of invitation. Well, at least there were too many people here now, so they could not be the first to accept.

Zhao Rong, Zhang Huizhi and others looked at each other, shook their heads and declined.

The little emperor standing by had a slightly regretful look on his face, but he didn't dare to say anything. He lowered his head obediently, as if he was afraid that the widowed queen mother at the top would notice him and keep him.

Upon hearing this, Dugu did not force it. After a few polite words, she let Zhao Rong and others leave.

After leaving Guanghan Palace, Zhao Rong exchanged a few words with Zhang Huizhi and others before parting ways.

Before the latter left, he mentioned the matter of drinking in his spare time, and Zhao Rong chuckled and agreed.

"Mr. Zhao, why didn't you accept my mother's invitation just now? The singing and dancing in the palace are unique, and our Lidi women's dancing is the best in the northern mountains of Wangque. I wonder how many immortals want to see it. Sir, have you heard of it before?

"However, the most beautiful women with slim waists who are good at singing and dancing are all in the Music Bureau and the palace, all around my mother, and are generally not seen by outsiders."

Zhao Rong thought about it and nodded, "I heard Brother Yiwu mention it a little bit."

The little emperor followed Zhao Rong's example, rolled up his sleeves, and walked side by side with him.

At this moment, he sighed like a little adult, and said with regret on his face:

"Although I am the emperor, my mother rarely lets me have any contact with these things. The sisters from the music studio never perform in front of me. For example, Sister Doukou always comes to supervise me reviewing my lessons... Mr. Zhao, it's a pity that you rejected such a rare opportunity just now."

When the young emperor referred to himself in front of Zhao Rong, he seldom used titles such as "朕" or "孤".

Um, you also want to have a rub, so you feel sorry for me, right? Hearing what you said, if it weren't for the need to "see the truth" recently, I would have to go and see, and have a good time with the slender beauty of your Dali Palace...

Zhao Rong blinked.

He frowned, patted Li Wangque on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "As scholars, how can we indulge in this? You are the king of a country. Indulging in female music is a sign of the country's demise."

The little emperor's face became serious, "Thank you for your teachings, sir."

Zhao Rong waved his hand modestly.

He looked at the road ahead and suddenly whispered, "Actually, you can look at this female musician."

Li Wangque was stunned. "What do you mean, sir?"

Zhao Rong frowned and sighed in embarrassment, "You are a king. Watching this decadent dance requires an elder with high moral character to supervise and enlighten you."

He nodded reluctantly, "Well, let's do this next time. Next time you have a chance to watch this decadent dance, you can come find me and I'll check it for you."

Little Emperor: “…”

"What? You don't believe me if you don't say anything?"

"No... No, I was just wondering if it would implicate Mr. Master and tarnish his pure and simple mind?"

The young scholar waved his hand, "It's alright, with their limited skills, do they want to ruin my realm? Just come to me and I'll take care of it for you."

"Okay... okay, sir."

The little emperor scratched the back of his head.

The young scholar nodded with satisfaction.

In fact, he was not lying. After enduring this period of time, he successfully saw his true nature, and his state of mind as calm as still water, with few desires and a clear mind must have been greatly improved.

Even though it had been several days since that night, he still hadn't figured out what seeing one's mind and knowing one's nature was, but he thought it must be a very powerful state...

"Hey, Gui, if you're still alive, make a sound."

Zhao Rong thought about it and called out in his heart.

Waited for a moment.

No one answered.

In response, Zhao Rong remained calm and continued walking forward with his sleeves rolled up.

At this time, Li Wangque suddenly pulled his sleeve and whispered, "Mr. Zhao, you know that our women in Lidi have slim waists and are good at dancing. So do you know who is the best dancer in Lidi?"

Zhao Rong said without thinking: "It can't be your mother."

He said and smiled.

After waiting for three breaths, he didn't hear the boy next to him speak.

Zhao Rong was stunned and turned around to see Li Wangque looking at him with admiration.

“……”Is she really your mother?

"Your mother... cough cough, is the Queen Mother so powerful?" Zhao Rong coughed twice.

The little emperor nodded, looking proud:

"My mother is not only the most beautiful woman in Dali, the most beautiful woman with a slim waist, but also the undisputed best dancer in Dali."

“But I have never seen my mother dance, and according to rumors, she only danced once, at the founding ceremony. That one time, she became the undisputed number one Li woman, eclipsing all the women in Dali. Everyone said that my mother was the reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Goddess of the Li clan…”

He glanced at Zhao Rong who was listening attentively, and shook his head:

"My mother later became the queen and never danced again. Now that she is a widow... there will be no chance for her to show up and dance again. I will never be lucky enough to see her again... Well, there is no man who is qualified to ask my mother to do this now."

Zhao Rong nodded and just listened to it as an interesting story.

The young emperor and Zhao Rong walked together for a while. When they were about to part, the young man invited Zhao Rong to sit in the imperial study for a while, as he had some questions about the Book of Songs that he wanted to ask.

Zhao Rong glanced outside the palace wall in the distance. It was still early, so he thought about it, nodded and agreed, and said with a smile that he would go borrow a few more books to read.

The young man named Li Wangque nodded happily.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the imperial study with ease.

This was Zhao Rong's second time here. He had an excellent memory and was very familiar with the routes to the imperial study and other places in the palace.

The little emperor habitually dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs and closed the door.

Although he skipped classes and ran out today, he finally brought Mr. Zhao back to the palace for dinner. His mother didn't say anything about him at the banquet just now, so he escaped a disaster at the time.

The young man went to get the book with a happy look on his face and asked Zhao Rong for advice.

However, just as Li Wangque handed the book to Zhao Rong, the tightly closed door was suddenly opened by an outsider.

A bookish girl in palace dress walked straight in, and the girl named Xianyue Li who followed her was left guarding the door.

She had a red flower ornament on her forehead and came in front of the little emperor and Zhao Rong, holding up her wide sleeves with both hands.

The girl in palace dress seemed not to see Zhao Rong and her eyes were always on the little emperor.

Expressionless.

Zhao Rong looked at her curiously, and just when he thought that the latter was going to bow, the little emperor suddenly stood up, stood in front of the girl in palace dress, and knelt down without saying a word.

Facing the direction of Guanghan Palace.

…

Guanghan Palace.

In the hall where a dinner was held not long ago to entertain the Empress Dowager's guests, a group of young palace maids were cleaning the place with ease.

Very carefully.

The expensive curtain at the head of the hall was mercilessly torn down and replaced.

A white veil that was once worn by a very noble woman was also thrown to the ground casually, and its owner was nowhere to be found...

Deep in Guanghan Palace.

There is a place with mist and fragrance.

In the fairyland-like mist, there are faint green, red and a touch of white.

The mist suddenly rose up.

Looking carefully through the mist, we can see that this is actually a bathing pool covering an area of ​​dozens of meters, and it seems to be a natural hot spring, which is very rare.

The bath is luxuriously decorated and surrounded by rare and precious flowers and plants.

Among the lush and fragrant flowers and plants, there were some women's clothes scattered here and there, including skirts, ribbons, purple gauze, bellybands and underwear... one piece of clothing after another fell all the way to the edge of the bathing pool.

And in this huge bathing pool, at this moment, there is only a graceful white figure bathing in the hot spring water.

Around the bathing pool, there were often women of distinguished status walking around.

They stared intently, some holding basins, some passing towels, some holding clean dresses...

The most common ones are clean towels.

It is embroidered with golden silk thread and a picture of a goddess flying to the moon.

There were also some separated women who would sprinkle the finest flower petals, spices, essences and other expensive scents into the bath water from time to time.

“Cardamom.”

At this moment, the widow who was extremely noble in Dali in the bathtub suddenly called out.

"My lady, I am here."

Beside the bath, a girl in palace dress holding a gorgeous towel quickly glanced at the beautiful woman who was speaking with her eyes closed in the mist, then she lowered her eyebrows and responded in a pleasant manner.

Dugu Chanyi's shoulders were immersed in the water where pink petals were floating.

She was quiet for a moment.

No one dared to make a sound around the bath.

Doukou and others held their breath, waiting for this beautiful woman who looked like a goddess in a painting to speak.

For a moment, the air in the bathtub was filled with only the sound of water splashing and dripping.

Dugu Chanyi closed her eyes and rested, slightly tilting her head back. She gently reached out and pulled her jet-black satin-like hair over her left shoulder, combing it with her delicate hands. From time to time, she bent her jade palm, scooped up a handful of warm water, and poured it on her delicate collarbone.

The movements are graceful and the temperament is noble.

"I told him to study hard, but he just kept running around. Has he forgotten the lesson from Li Mingyi last time?"

Dugu Chanyi frowned slightly.

Doukou and the other girls lowered their heads and dared not utter a word.

"Kneel for two hours."

She stroked the wet black hair on her shoulders with her bare hands, lightly.

Doukou, who had a scholarly temperament, wanted to say something but hesitated, but finally closed her mouth and nodded, "I obey your order."

After she finished speaking, she handed the luxurious towel in her hand to Li Nu who was looking down at her, then turned around and left.

Shortly after the girl in palace dress named Doukou left.

Outside the misty bathing pool, a figure of a crescent-shaped girl suddenly appeared. She hurried to the front of the bathing pool, knelt down, and held a colorful ribbon in both hands and presented it to the bathing pool.

"My queen." He called softly.

A beautiful woman with her eyes closed in the bathtub suddenly opened her eyes. Her lacquer-like eyes were as bright and crystal as the North Star.

She turned her head and looked at the colorful ribbons that she hadn't seen for a long time.

She stretched out her jade arm and grabbed it in her hand.

Dugu Chanyi narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "Bring her in."

"yes."

The Crescent Moon Lady who delivered the token stepped back.

Dugu Chanyi stretched out a slender hand, brushed the rose petals on the water, and then suddenly stood up.

Streams of warm bath water flowed smoothly down the amazingly slender waist.

The sound of water drops.

In an instant, white snow and spring light appeared.

The ladies around her immediately stepped forward and gently wiped her body with towels.

There are a total of ninety-nine brand new towels embroidered with gold thread. They will only be used once and then destroyed. Moreover, the towels for each part must not be mixed and each has its own function.

"Um……"

The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

Except for a slight red flush from bathing, her cheeks, as white as milk, revealed a rare look of comfort and relaxation.

Afterwards, with the careful service of the women, she was put on a simple yet extremely clean dress.

Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were lazy. She used the colorful ribbon in her hand to casually tie up her wet black hair that was like a waterfall. She walked forward with bare feet, her dress dragging on the rare flowers and plants on the ground.

"Everyone leave the palace. No one is allowed to enter the palace without my permission."

"As you wish!"

…