"Mr. Zhao, I'm afraid I might forget the words later..."

In a large tent, a young boy's childish voice suddenly sounded.

"It's okay. I'm here."

It is the voice of a young man, gentle, steady and calm.

"Um."

The air was quiet for a while.

"Mr. Zhao."

The boy couldn't help but call out again.

"Um?"

He hesitated, "What if... I mean what if, I forget a certain step or do it poorly, will it ruin your and Mr. Gu's plan?"

The boy's voice gradually faded.

"Sir, it's not that I didn't listen to you and take notes and prepare carefully. I can recite the process document you gave me before by heart. It's just that you just revised the new steps you instructed, and I'm a little unsure... I'm afraid it will affect you, sir."

The young man chuckled.

"Nothing, don't think too much. Wait a minute, I am very close to Your Majesty, I will follow you all the way, and I will remind you. Besides, some negligence will not cause any trouble. As long as the two most important rituals are done, it will be fine. And..."

"And what, sir!"

"Moreover, all kinds of etiquette are just formalities. The intention is the most important. Your Majesty, if your intention is sincere, your Majesty will be successful."

"Sincerity... Sir, I understand."

This is a large and quiet tent, with a young man in a dragon robe and a young Confucian scholar inside. In addition, there is an ancient and tall water clock in the center.

At this moment, no one spoke in the tent. It was extremely quiet, with only the ticking sound of the water clock.

A reminder of the passage of time.

At this time, the young man in dragon robe nodded, his face firm, and said nothing more.

The young boy and the young scholar stood beside the water clock, facing each other in silence.

I don't know what I'm waiting for.

The clothes they wore today were different from the past.

The young man wore a court robe made of bright yellow satin embroidered with clouds and dragons. The upper and lower garments were connected, with arrow sleeves... The entire robe was made of bright yellow satin, with two bright yellow hanging ribbons on each side. At the same time, he wore a court crown on his head.

The dress is meticulous, solemn and luxurious.

The young scholar wore a snow-white ritual robe embroidered with cloud patterns, his hair was tied up in a dignified and elegant crown, and he had a pale and thin face and a pair of sharp eyes.

The temperament is clean, elegant and gentle.

At this time, there were only two people in the big tent.

Tick-tock…tick-tock…

The sound of dripping water seemed to be infinitely amplified and echoed in my ears.

At some point, Zhao Rong turned around and suddenly whispered:

"Please remember the two things I asked you to do not long ago."

The little emperor was slightly stunned, nodded vigorously, and repeated while counting on his fingers:

"Remember, Mr. Zhao. The first thing is, before I climb to the top of the Jiyue Mountain and prepare to report my merits to the heaven, I will personally place a golden scroll into the tree hole of the thunderwood tree in the center of the mountain top."

He paused and thought for a moment, then said, "Well, we have to finish it before 15:00, then quickly head to the Temple of Heaven to avoid the impending thunderbolts, and then complete the final Fengshan ceremony at the Temple of Heaven."

Zhao Rong nodded slightly, "Good."

Li Wangque smiled, and after being encouraged, he said in a high-spirited tone:

“The second thing is to be done after the first.”

"When I went up to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices, there were eleven bronze ritual vessels at the edge of the Temple of Heaven, including five bronze beans, five bronze steps, and a bronze tripod incense burner."

"The bronze beans contain five kinds of condiments: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty. The bronze tripod contains millet, yellow rice, barley, rice, and soybeans, which represent a good harvest. As for the bronze tripod incense burner, it is on the left side at the edge."

The boy spoke clearly, repeating the arrangements made by the trustworthy gentleman:

"When the penultimate process of the Tiantan sacrifice is over, I will personally throw these bronze ritual vessels and the food offerings inside them into the nearby Moon Lake to complete the Fengshan Ceremony."

Zhao Rong smiled, squinted his eyes and nodded, and suggested: "Anything else, for example... the copper tripod incense burner at the edge."

"Sir, I remember. I haven't forgotten what you said... Isn't the shape of this copper tripod incense burner simple and unsophisticated? The whole is round, the color is black with purple, and the height and width are no more than one foot. It is a tripod with two ears and three legs, right? It also has a furnace cover on the top. I remember it and I could recognize it at that time."

Zhao Rong lowered his eyes and nodded.

He smiled again: "And... "

The little emperor Li Wangque said seriously:

"Sir, you said that you should throw this bronze tripod incense burner into the Moon Altar along with other bronze vessels. I will decide based on the timing. If any strange phenomena occur during the Fengshan Ceremony before this final step, I will push this tripod into the Moon Altar. If there are no unusual phenomena during the entire Fengshan process, I will not push this tripod into the Moon Altar. I will leave the tripod in place and push the other bronze ritual vessels forward as the end of this Fengshan Ceremony."

The young man answered every word correctly and could recite the instructions of this dear gentleman by heart.

No matter how strange Mr. Zhao's instructions and arrangements were, I followed them obediently without any doubt or questions.

At this moment, the young man in dragon robe looked at the young Confucian scholar with hope, wanting praise and encouragement from this most respected gentleman.

"Sir, am I right? I think it should be a word."

Zhao Rong said nothing when he heard this, but glanced at the innocent and childish face in front of him.

He pursed his lips and nodded: "Not bad."

The little emperor was delighted and raised his hand to adjust his heavy crown. Before the solemn ceremony was about to begin, being able to chat with the gentleman he loved seemed to make him relax a lot.

The air in the tent became quiet again.

Only the sound of dripping water fell on their ears.

Just like the footsteps of a countdown, getting closer to a certain predetermined time.

Zhao Rong tilted his head and looked for a while at the young man in dragon robe who affectionately called him sir.

One breath, two breaths...

At a certain moment, he opened his mouth and closed it again.

Straight face.

This was repeated twice.

Li Wangque seemed to have noticed something unusual as well. He looked up with curiosity.

"One more..."

Zhao Rong finally spoke.

"Whether or not to throw the incense burner into the lake, you first... first check my expression when the time comes..."

After he finished speaking, the young scholar looked away and no longer looked at the young man in dragon robe.

Li Wangque, who was adjusting his hat, was slightly stunned.

Act according to Mr. Zhao's expression? Well, he is good at this! For example, he is the best at reading the expressions of the Queen Mother and Sister Doukou...

The boy nodded quickly, "Oh."

Zhao Rong frowned and said nothing.

"gentlemen."

Li Wangque stared at the water clock for a while, then suddenly called out tentatively.

Zhao Rong said nothing, staring at the time on the water clock.

It is approaching four quarters past the Mao hour.

Li Wangque could not help but said, "Sir, I want you to be my husband. I went to ask my mother, but she said that she mentioned this to you, but you did not agree at that time."

Zhao Rong looked at the tall water clock calmly.

Li Wangque mustered up his courage and said, "I think it might be because my mother asked too early. At that time, the teacher had just arrived in Dali and didn't know Wangque, so of course he wouldn't agree casually... So I thought, I should ask you again if you are willing to accept a student now."

Zhao Rong turned around, looked at him seriously and said:

"I still have unfinished studies, and my talent and knowledge are limited, so it is difficult for me to accept this honor. After the ceremony today, I will return to the academy."

He paused, looked at the young man's face, and said solemnly:

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven of Dali, the king of the world. You have many teachers who are better than me to teach you. The Queen Mother can also arrange a famous teacher for your Majesty... Why bother with me?"

Li Wangque asked anxiously, "Sir, are you leaving today? Can't you stay in Dali for a few more days? Sir, what about Fairy Su? Can't she let you stay?"

"I have my own arrangements."

"Sir Sir, I don't want other gentlemen, or say they can have them, but not without you."

The young man reached out to hold the sleeve of the friendly Confucian scholar.

Zhao Rong raised his hand, pressed down the hand of the young emperor of Dali, frowned and asked, "Why?"

"Because Sir is different from other people, Sir will not take anything from me. I can feel it, and... I just feel close to you, Sir, and I feel safe. I don't know why, but I don't have much of this feeling with Queen Mother... I just feel at ease in my heart, and I feel that Sir... can protect me and Queen Mother."

Li Wangque raised his head and looked at Zhao Rong.

The latter pursed his lips.

Sometimes a young man's admiration and respect for his child is just so unreasonable.

Liking or disliking someone is both pure.

This is also something that Zhao Rong finds difficult and hard to bear.

He faced his true feelings. He already had many ties that were difficult to break, and he didn't want to be too involved, especially with the most dangerous imperial power in the world.

"Oh, Young Master Zhao is going to be a father. The little emperor just lost his father and felt insecure, and Young Master Zhao filled that gap. And you still say you don't have this intention?"

The sword spirit of the Heart Lake Bell suddenly joked, and it was very curious to see someone encounter this situation.

Then he laughed again:

"An orphan and a widow, an orphan and a widow, now the orphan has conquered half of the family and has already entered the family. Master Zhao, please work hard. The only thing missing is the widow. Go take care of her and comfort her lonely heart after she lost her husband."

"Tsk, I will take care of your wife and children. This should be something that most men who value righteousness would do without hesitation. They would even flock to it and dream of it. Isn't it wonderful, Mr. Zhao?"

I'm beautiful to you big head ghost.

Zhao Rong ignored it and didn't want to stay in Dali as the 'Prime Minister of Zhao', although Dugu and the little emperor would definitely be happy to do so... well, I'm talking about a real prime minister.

Zhao Rong frowned and suddenly took a step back.

Move away from the young man in dragon robe.

Because in his vision that could see energy, after the little emperor finished speaking these admiring words, the rich imperial dragon energy above the young man's head suddenly surged violently.

It seemed as if she was getting close to Zhao Rong, was attracted to him, and was sweeping towards him.

Zhao Rong had a vague feeling that as long as he looked inward a little and saw the evil dragon and dragon carp in the Heart Abyss, he would be able to put a lot of dragon energy into the Heart Abyss pool.

Eat this magical dragon energy that belongs only to the emperor of the world!

At this time, the young Confucian scholar took another step back.

You can't do that.

The emperor's dragon energy is very important to Li Wangque, how can he "eat" it?

On the side, Li Wangque looked at the young scholar's action, thinking it was some kind of rejection, he lowered his hands and lowered his head slightly.

Zhao Rong wanted to open his mouth, but paused. Without explaining, he said:

"Your Majesty was born in an imperial family. You shouldn't have such feelings towards outsiders... anyone."

Li Wangque shook his head. "The royal family is also mortal. They are afraid of cold and heat, and there are things they can't do anything about, just like the day when the uncle threatened them wantonly... Just like today when Mr. Zhao wants to leave, how can I keep him? It would be better if I was born in an ordinary family. Then my mother and I wouldn't be so tired, and I could go with Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Rong didn't respond, but looked him straight in the eye and said:

"I am neither harmful nor beneficial to the situation in Dali. Although I am noble in your eyes, I am still an outsider in Dali. Your mother knows this clearly, so I am leaving now. There is no need to keep me."

"And you and your mother must stay here. You are the emperor of Dali. This is your territory and your people. Just like what I told you in front of the flower garden that day, just like holding that hand, you can only rely on yourself to protect anything, otherwise someone will cut off your hand and hand it to you."

Hearing this, the Dragon Brand boy turned a little paler.

His body was swaying a little, as if the crown on his head was too heavy and too high.

Zhao Rong said in a serious tone: "Today, after I leave, don't worry about the outcome of the Fengshan Ceremony. No matter what, it won't be too bad."

At this point, he smiled, "Well, with Mr. Meng from our academy here, it can be guaranteed that this grand ceremony will be mediocre at best. Your mother wanted to hold this grand ceremony for you because she wanted you to have the prestige and popularity of the people like the late emperor, but even if it can't be achieved, it doesn't matter. You are still the king of Dali, but there will be more gossip. With a young ruler and a country in doubt, you don't need to belittle yourself."

Li Wangque listened attentively, staring at Zhao Rong intently, and nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

The young Confucian scholar suddenly took a step forward.

The red-yellow imperial aura that he had rejected dispersed, making way.

The young scholar walked up to the young man in dragon robes and looked straight into his stunned eyes:

"Li Wangque, I have nothing to give you before we part, except one word for you."

"Tolerate."

"I will endure until you grow up, endure until your will is as strong as a mountain, endure until you master one of the four arts of the emperor, the king, the tyrant, and the strong, endure until the traitor dies of old age, endure until the villain reveals his flaws..."

"Before that, going long will lead to more mistakes. Finally, let me tell you about Li Mingyi. I can't see through him, but there is one thing, he is also very patient. Well, except for bullying you with his status as a relative, this kind of person is either a crude warrior who disdains the imperial power, or a thief waiting for an opportunity, a marquis who steals the country."

Zhao Rong lowered his eyes slightly. "I warned your mother about this thief, but I don't know if she listened or not. Or did she think I was hinting at her? Haha... But she should be on guard. But your mother is still cooperating with Li Mingyi, and wants to use him to get rid of Zhou Dufu in the west..."

"In fact, I think Zhou Dufu is more suitable for cooperation than Li Mingyi. They are both warriors, but this old warrior looks more genuine. Well, it is also true that Zhou Dufu disobeyed you two, mother and son. Although I don't know the reason, it may be related to the death of the late emperor..."

"Of course, these are just my personal opinions. You can just take them as a reference. The emperor should never obey anyone, even the most trusted teacher or the closest elder..."

"No." Li Wangque looked up and said hastily, "I believe in Mr. Zhao!"

Zhao Rong glanced at his determined and serious expression, but did not respond. Instead, he said seriously, "So, from now on, you have to keep an eye on Li Mingyi for your mother to prevent her from being careless. As for your mother, she may have hidden some things, but she should be sincere to you."

The young man in dragon robe nodded silently.

It seems that all the words have been said.

The big tent fell silent again.

The young Confucian scholar turned around and suddenly raised his hand to help the young man in dragon robe adjust the complicated and heavy imperial crown on his head.

Focus on straightening him out.

The young man suddenly smiled, stopped tilting his head, didn't look at him, and stared straight ahead.

Tick-tock…tick-tock…

Amid the sound of dripping water, a moment that will determine the fate of the nation is finally approaching.

Inside the tent, the young scholar and the man in dragon robe restrained their expressions and faced the door.

The next moment, the faint sound of bells came as expected.

The young emperor in dragon robe is in front, and the young scholar in snow-white ceremonial robe is behind.

The two walked straight forward.

He reached out and pushed open the curtains covered with layers of gorgeous cloth.

Suddenly.

A dazzling burst of morning light shone through, and noises coming from all directions drowned the two of them like a tide.

Crash!

In the wasteland below Jiyue Mountain, hundreds of thousands of people gathered, ready to go.

At this moment, countless eyes filled with expectation and awe fell on the young Emperor Dali and a Confucian scholar in white who walked out of the central tent.

It was four quarters past the hour of Mao, and the Fengshan ceremony began.

…