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 put his hands behind his back, trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to rise, and tried his best to keep a calm expression and remain calm.

The young Confucian scholar repeatedly examined the two newly conceived great rituals of sealing the heavens and consecrating the earth.

"Of all the creatures in the world, besides the breeze and the bright sun, thunder is the most suitable and represents the will of heaven. Based on thunder, I have constructed a new great ceremony to repay heaven's merits... The Ceremony of Thunder..."

In his mind, he examined it objectively and rationally over and over again...

"What about the earth? At the Dongshan Ditan Temple at the foot of the mountain, the ceremony of reporting merits to the earth... is similar to the thunder of heaven. The sound of the earth should be... an earthquake!"

The young scholar walked quickly down the mountain, talking to himself silently all the way.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he finally couldn't help it. In the dark night and the tranquility of the mountains, he clenched his fist and swung it fiercely in front of him.

I remember the last time I felt so enlightened was when I was facing the aggressive Tao Yuanran at the debate on Confucianism and Taoism in Mount Zhongnan.

At this time, he was passing by a jungle full of flowers, and the Jiutian Hangong flowers that were produced in abundance in Jiyue Mountain were blooming vigorously by the roadside.

The snow-white crescent-shaped petals look like lit lamps under the moonlight, emitting a hazy halo.

Zhao Rong stopped, turned around, walked to the most lush flower patch on the side of the road, rolled up his sleeves, bent down and reached out his hand.

He picked four of the most beautifully blooming Hangong flowers, carefully put them into the brocade bag in his sleeve, and placed them close to his heart.

He stood up, sniffed the faint cold fragrance, nodded, put down his sleeves, turned around and left.

However, the moment he turned around, Zhao Rong suddenly changed his pace 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?"

The figure should belong to a slender woman. As she approached, she took out a night-shining pearl with a pale yellow halo.

The quiet and bookish little face was brightened up a little.

"I, Doukou, am someone close to the queen." Doukou said in a low voice.

"Oh, what's up young lady, but...did the queen give you any instructions?"

In the darkness, after learning who was coming, the young scholar reached into his sleeves and clenched his hands, not loosening them even a little.

"Yes," Doukou nodded in an unclear manner.

She suddenly asked, "Is there anything happy about Mr. Zhao?"

The gaze of the girl in palace dress lingered on the face of the young scholar.

Zhao Rong's smile faded, and he nodded, "...I just wrote a poem by accident, but my skills are still not up to par, so I was a little boastful. Please forgive me, young lady."

Doukou's eyes, which had been drooping calmly, seemed to brighten up.

"Why is this a joke?"

She looked at Zhao Rong and said seriously, "A masterpiece that will make you happy... If you don't mind, can you let me have the honor of seeing it?"

Zhao Rong glanced at the girl in palace dress and said, "Let's talk about it another day... Miss, you haven't told me yet what the Queen wants you to come to me for."

Doukou lowered her eyes and didn't force it anymore.

She stepped aside to make way and whispered, "Please move, Mr. Zhao. The queen 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 slightly and walked forward calmly.

"This way please... this way..."

Afterwards, Doukou led the way on one side, repeatedly indicating directions to Zhao Rong.

Soon, the two came to an ancient pavilion by the lake.

Inside the pavilion, there is a graceful woman covered with a veil and wearing a snow-white fur coat, sitting alone on a stone bench. She faces the quiet lake, seemingly absent-mindedly gazing at the moon in the water.

A certain young scholar narrowed his eyes slightly.

Who else could be in the pavilion but Dugu Chanyi?

At this time, outside the pavilion, Doukou stopped tactfully, turned around and went back a little further away.

Zhao Rong stood tall and slender with his hands clasped behind his back.

He looked around at the scene and couldn't help but twitch the corners of his lips.

Why is there another scene of two people being alone in a lonely pavilion by the lake?

Something almost happened last time, and you haven’t learned your lesson... And this time, you actually chose the middle of the night to meet.

The young scholar did not climb the steps to enter the pavilion, but suddenly stopped at the path outside the pavilion.

"Your Majesty, it is inappropriate for the emperor and his subjects to meet in the middle of the night. If you have anything to say, you can send someone to discuss it. I will take my leave now..."

Having said that, he turned around and returned the same way.

"Mr. Zhao."

The noble woman in the pavilion suddenly shouted.

The young scholar turned his back and walked without stopping.

Dugu Chanyi suddenly shouted, "Zhao Ziyu, stop!"

Zhao Rong also advanced calmly.

ignore.

Dugu Chanyi turned her head back sharply, her chest rising and falling violently, "Think about it with your conscience, how have I treated you? Why do you treat me like this!"

After hearing the last sentence, Zhao Rong, who had been calm all along, stopped walking, turned around, and said solemnly:

"Your Majesty, you can get angry however you want and scold me. I don't care what your reasons are. I will just do what I should do and leave Dali with a clear conscience after the ceremony tomorrow."

"But, Madam, please don't talk nonsense. If outsiders hear it, there's no telling how it will be misunderstood, especially in the middle of the night when a man and a woman are alone... Three people can make a tiger, so we must be on guard."

Dugu Chanyi seemed to be amused and said sarcastically, "You have a clear conscience? Oh, are you saying that I am being unreasonable?"

Zhao Rong did not comment, looked at the sky, then turned around.

He turned his back to her and whispered as he walked:

"Your Majesty is the Queen Mother of a country, you are extremely honorable. You should be more careful in your words and actions in the future. When summoning ministers, do not choose this time and place. Please respect yourself."

Dugu Chanyi said angrily, "Stop right there! I don't need you to pretend to teach me. You talk a lot about morality and righteousness, but in the end, you only do petty and despicable things. You are so hypocritical."

She waved her sleeves and saw the scholar's back stop and snorted coldly.

"Why, you finally feel guilty? Zhao Ziyu, I'm so miserable, I misjudged you, you men are really bad... That day by the Guanghan Palace bathing pool, you were so rude, you offended me, your behavior and words were vulgar, why didn't you act so polite and righteous at that time?"

"So the morality and ethics of you Confucian scholars are all used to bully weak women?"

The beautiful queen mother tightened her snow-covered coat, glared at him with a sneer, and said:

"Afterwards, you solemnly explained that it was a misunderstanding, and even said that we were even now, that the matter was written off, and that I would let bygones be bygones... Haha, I was so stupid, really, I actually believed you..."

She had a sneer on her pretty face and spoke hatefully, but under the moonlight, her eyes had gradually become crystal clear and two lines of tears slowly fell.

The woman suppressed her tears and said with a suppressed tone of grievance, waving her hand disdainfully:

"I thought that no matter how despicable and mean you are, and how you bully us orphans and widows, you at least have some principles. Although I and Your Majesty don't have the ability to win you over, as a man, you should also stand neutral according to your conscience... But... You really go too far, too far!"

Zhao Rong listened quietly for a while, raised his head to look at the sky again, and then, under the gaze of a certain sad woman, he stretched out three fingers.

"Just three points. First, I did offend you that day. It's hard to explain why... But I have no intention of trying to silence you. I am willing to take the revenge from you and make amends. But I can't make up for one mistake with another, so I'm sorry I can't give you what you really want."

"Second, I am not stupid. I can see that Your Majesty is very smart and shrewd. Why do you have to act like a weak woman to gain sympathy? I know exactly what Your Majesty wants. There is no need to act like this. You can just say it clearly."

Dugu Chanyi grasped her sleeves, lowered her head and wiped her tears, then frowned and raised her head: "So what you mean is, if I were to say clearly..."

Zhao Rong nodded and interrupted, "Even if you tell me clearly, I won't agree."

“…”

Dugu Chanyi's eyes widened as he pointed at him and said, "Zhao Ziyu, you..."

Zhao Rong smiled, "I'm just telling the truth. I hope the queen can tell the truth too. Don't pretend to be weak and innocent. Smart women are actually more appreciated by men. As for women's tears, I may have believed them in the past, but now... I believe them, but not completely. And..."

He paused, glanced at the widow whose eyes were wet with tears not far away, then looked away and stared at the bushes of Han Gong flowers blooming nearby and said:

"Besides, it seems that I was not the only one who was disrespectful that day..."

"What do you mean!"

Zhao Rong lowered his eyes, "Your Highness, please keep those little toys well next time... Although your status is noble, it doesn't mean you can't have these... these kinds of hobbies. After all, you have been in the deep palace for a long time, lonely and widowed... Don't show them off in front of other men, it's unrefined."

Dugu Chanyi couldn't help but take a step forward and cried angrily, "I've already said it, this is not mine! Don't tarnish my innocence!"

Zhao Rong glanced at her.

The look in his eyes roughly means... Well, I believe everything you say, okay?

Dugu Chanyi: “???”

Zhao Rong shook his head and changed the subject, "Okay, you can explain this as an accident, but what about the other accidents?"

"Your Majesty said that she knew I was coming, so why did she go to such an awkward place like the bathhouse to meet me? She even wore such inappropriate clothes to meet me... It's hard for me not to think in some ways. Is Your Majesty doing a sting operation?"

Dugu Chanyi retorted: "You...you are the one who is trying to lure people into law enforcement."

As she spoke, her chest heaved and her eyes looked away.

Zhao Rong glanced at her veiled profile, unable to see her specific expression. After a moment, he nodded and said:

"Well, I actually don't quite believe that the Queen did it on purpose to seduce me into being disrespectful."

"Oh, you also know that you are not worthy of me!"

Dugu Chanyi bit her silver teeth to pieces.

Zhao Rong shook his head. "Because it's too low-level. I'm determined. Who doesn't know that?"

Dugu Chanyi: “…”

Could you be more shameless?

Zhao Rong smiled again, and finally put down the last finger he had raised, restrained his smile, and said seriously:

"Your Highness just pointed at me, but it seems like she didn't say anything from beginning to end. How could I go too far and not even stand neutral... I really don't understand what happened."

Dugu Chanyi got angry when he heard this, and asked with gritted teeth:

"How dare you say that! Yesterday at the dinner, Mr. Meng asked me if I had done anything rude. I helped you out and said all the nice things about you. But you couldn't even follow the rules to hold a formal Fengshan ceremony for me. You deliberately made things difficult for me and held a mediocre Fengshan ceremony."

Zhao Rong was stunned, then he carefully pondered her words and couldn't help laughing:

"Is this intentional? Could it be that I am not capable enough?"

Dugu Chanyi was stunned. "What do you mean by incompetent? Didn't you guys already have an agreement? You and Mr. Meng agreed to hold an ordinary Fengshan ceremony tomorrow. She came to tell me last night. Did he tell you to do that? Or did you do it on purpose?"

"I don't know how I have offended you. You are unwilling to even conduct a normal Fengshan ceremony step by step. Can't you let the heavens decide your majesty's fate?"

Zhao Rong smiled.

He shook his head.

So that's how it is. Everything that happened tonight is explained.

The young scholar smiled and glanced at the beautiful woman who was squinting and glaring at him. She probably thought he was laughing at her.

He suddenly said: "Oh, so that's what Mr. Meng told you... Haha, besides, the queen is also quite an amateur... But what's more interesting is Mr. Meng, the one under me, haha..."

At this point, he nodded, chuckled and turned his head.

Then he left without explaining anything.

Thus, Dugu Chanyi was the only one left standing there in a daze.

"Hey, Zhao Ziyu, give me an explanation first! Don't leave."

The young scholar in the distance ignored him. Before walking away, he raised his head to look at the sky which was about to see dawn.

His expression became restrained and his steps became faster.

The stunning woman in a snow-white fur coat frowned and said nothing.

After a moment, she looked towards the top of Jiyue Mountain and whispered softly:

"As long as you, Zhao Ziyu, hold a proper Fengshan ceremony and don't deliberately make trouble in the middle, is this not even a small request..."

…

"Zhao Rong, you have the Li Ji Sword Pill that can trigger strange phenomena. Why don't you trick her and make her a promise? It's like a timely help. After the ceremony is successfully held, you can make this orphan and widow grateful to you?"

On the way back, a sword spirit suddenly asked.

"Oh, this is a favor from a mother and son at the pinnacle of power in a great secular dynasty. You shouldn't look down on it now, right? It will also be of great benefit to your future studies in the academy. Moreover, this orphan and widow have such great dragon energy and magnificent luck, so maybe you can take some of it. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone? It's just a matter of talking."

The young scholar touched something in his sleeve and remained silent.

…

After Zhao Rong came down the mountain, he did not return to the camp immediately, but turned around and quietly walked towards the direction of the Dali Imperial Mausoleum in his memory.

About half an hour later, Zhao Rong returned to the camp.

At this time, there was a parchment map in his sleeve.

The imperial mausoleum craftsmen who were rescued and settled by him have already said goodbye and left.

Before leaving, the craftsmen not only expressed their gratitude to him, but also handed him the parchment scroll.

This is a map of the imperial mausoleum made according to Zhao Rong's instructions the day before.

It detailed the time and method of entering this brand new imperial mausoleum. The locations of living people sacrificed in the mausoleum were also carefully marked, so that he could go back and rescue people when he had time.

Zhao Rong took out the parchment scroll, glanced at it twice, nodded slightly, and put the thing away.

He glanced at the sky again.

There was less than an hour left until the scheduled time for the Fengshan Ceremony.

Zhao Rong took a deep breath and looked serious.

He will replace the old gift with the newly designed one within this hour!

…