Chapter 582: Empress: Please search for a song "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" for me
"Your Majesty, is it so urgent?" Zhao Duan looked embarrassed. He hadn't figured out how to trick the empress yet.
Xu Zhenguan looked at him with doubtful eyes:
"Is there a problem? Now that the news of Prince Mu's death has spread, the entire court will be in turmoil. You are still in Zhengyang Mountain, and the people of Jingchuan County still don't know your whereabouts.
You should go back first, or perhaps with Zhang Yanyi's help, quickly return to Jingchuan Town and stabilize the army's morale... You have to go through the murals anyway, so I will accompany you and won't delay you for anything."
The words were well-reasoned and made Zhao Duan feel a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult, so he nodded: "Okay."
The emperor and his minister left the Golden Palace and soon arrived at the third floor of the small building.
Zhao Duan walked to the mural familiarly, sat cross-legged in meditation, and looked up at the empress who was sitting on a cushion facing him.
The hem of the pure white dress spread out, covering the entire lower body.
"Zhao Qing..." Xu Zhenguan saw that he was about to close his eyes, and suddenly spoke. Facing the latter's puzzled eyes, he said quietly, "You don't have anything else to report, right?"
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No. Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
The empress looked at him meaningfully and said slowly, "It's okay."
"Oh." Zhao Duan's heart was beating strangely. He felt that Zhenbao's reaction today was a little abnormal, but he couldn't find a clue for a while, so he simply rose from his substitute and stepped into the mural.
He will play Zhang Hui again in "The World", fooling and appeasing the empress once, and then returning to Zhengyang Mountain to take care of the follow-up.
Almost at the same time, Xu Zhenguan also closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and his mind immersed in "The World".
…
…
It was at the same time that the news of Xu Jingtang's death spread in the capital.
West of the capital, in the territory of Xiping Road, on a small road near the border, two monks were walking one in front and one behind.
The former was an old monk with a slightly hunched figure, wearing brown monk's robes and an old face.
The latter turned out to be a handsome monk wearing a white monk's robe. Although he was not young, he still had red lips and white teeth.
It was the long-lost abbot of Shenlong Temple, Monk Xuanyin, and Bian Ji, who was famous for his saying "Grass turns green in spring".
At the beginning, after the empress failed in her Fengshan ceremony and was promoted to a celestial being, Xuan Yin knew that she had failed, so she left the capital early, leaving everything behind and only taking Bian Ji with her.
In the past few months, the two of them almost disappeared from everyone's sight, and no one could have imagined that they would come to the border.
"Abbot, the checkpoint leading to the Western Regions is just ahead. It seems that, just as the people I met along the way said, there is unrest in the Yu Kingdom, and the Western Regions are not behaving properly. The Duke of Zhenguo has blocked the road to the Western Regions for this reason. Otherwise, this road wouldn't be so deserted."
Bian Ji looked exhausted, carrying a small bag on his back. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the city standing in the distance.
This is not his first time here.
Back then, when he was still a teenager and Xuan Yin was not yet the abbot, the two of them had walked out of here, broke into the Western Regions, caused a scene in the Buddhist headquarters, and forcefully brought back two boxes of scriptures, which also laid the foundation for Xuan Yin to inherit the position of Shenlong Temple.
Monk Xuanyin suddenly stopped and turned to look towards the south. His brown eyes seemed to be looking infinitely far away.
The old monk said calmly, "Xu Jingtang is dead."
Bian Ji was surprised: "Why did he die?"
Xuan Yin said, "The star of death has fallen. As expected, Xu Jingtang invited the God of Death to descend, and Zhang Yanyi took action as expected."
Bian Ji said angrily:
"This man boasted before, how could he be so short-sighted? Fortunately, you sent a letter to Huaishui and dispatched Kongzhu and others to help. Now that the Yunfu army has been defeated, doesn't this give the empress a chance to catch her breath?"
Because of the destruction of Shenlong Temple, Bian Ji was full of hostility towards the empress and Zhao Duan.
After a pause, he became worried again:
"Abbot, now that Xu Jingtang has been defeated, although there are still several rebel kings on the chessboard, the only one who can truly threaten the throne is probably Prince Jing... Only when Prince Jing ascends the throne will there be a place for our Shenlong Temple in Yu Kingdom."
Bian Ji was a little worried.
Bad news, King Mu is dead.
Good news, the most promising prince in Shenlong Temple and the most powerful among the eight princes is still here.
Moreover, having lost Prince Mu as a competitor, all forces hostile to the Empress will have no choice but to turn to support Prince Jing.
This means that in a short period of time, Prince Jing's power may expand again and reach a new height.
"His Majesty's enemies are not limited to the kings." Old Monk Xuanyin said softly.
He turned towards the west and looked out at the mountains:
"Do you remember the 'Tian Shou Destroys Buddhism' during the dynasty change six hundred years ago?"
Bian Ji's mind was moved, and he asked in surprise: "Abbot, you mean that the Dharma King of the Western Regions will..."
The brown monk's robe fluttered like waves in the autumn wind from the west.
"The Buddhist sect in the Western Regions has always remembered the hatred from the past. Moreover, now that the branch of Shenlong Temple has been defeated, isn't this a good opportunity for the Dharma King to merge the Eastern and Western Buddhism?
"I didn't move before because I wanted to sit back and watch the internal strife among the kings of Yu. Now that Xu Jingtang is dead, the balance has been broken, and the Western Regions will also be restless."
Bian Ji understood something, his eyes lit up, and he said:
"So, you chose this time to enter the Western Regions because..."
Xuan Yin did not answer, but just took a step forward, stepping on the yellowish sand. The world was vast and people were like ants.
Bian Ji hurried to catch up.
Two monks, one old and one young, returned to the Western Regions after twenty years.
…
Yunfu Road.
South of Zhengyang Mountain, another thousand miles away, there is an endless dense forest.
The forest is like the sea, cutting a green dividing line across the earth. Outside the dense forest, there is a southwestern border army outpost at regular intervals along the river.
This is Southwest DJI.
It is also outside the territory of the Yu State, where the Liao people live. In the vast mountains, birds and beasts are startled and fly away, as if they have sensed the movement of Zhengyang Mountain in the north.
As if in a forest from ancient times, a "sentinel" stood on the dense treetops, gazing towards the north.
She was a slender female hunter, wearing a dress made of animal skins. Her exposed skin was as black and shiny as ink. She was a woman in her twenties, with a pair of narrow green eyes on her exotic face.
The female sentry turned nimbly, and the movement was so large that the string of bone decorations hanging from the leather skirt at her waist made a sound.
She blew a loud whistle!
"Bah!"
In the distant treetops, a huge bird flapped its wings and flew up. When its wings flapped, it stirred up a strong wind and flew towards them.
The female sentry jumped onto the bird's back, knelt on her knees, grabbed the feathers on the giant bird's back with both hands, flew over the forest, and flew towards a huge "bird's nest" in the distance!
When we got closer, we found that the "Bird's Nest" was a huge, cylindrical village, like a ring of a god fallen to the earth.
A peaceful area has been carved out in the forest where wild beasts and poisonous insects roam.
On the circular city wall, the Liaoren sentries looked up, saw the big bird, and then looked away.
A young female sentinel who had received the gift of "white flute" from the Liao people flew past the city wall.
Inside the village below, there are densely packed buildings scattered all over the place, and tribesmen are coming in and out one by one.
In the square, many female tribesmen were drying fruits and meat and hanging them up.
In the center of the many buildings, a majestic "temple" is the most eye-catching.
The female sentry rolled over and landed near the temple. Under the scrutiny of the people around her, she quickly walked up the stairs and came to the entrance of the temple.
If Zhao Du'an were here, he would be surprised to find that the interior of the so-called temple was actually a small building with an architectural style very similar to that of the Yu State.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
The woman named "Bai Di" knocked on the door.
"Enter."
A voice came from inside the door.
When Bai Di pushed open the door, what came into view was not some majestic sacrificial site, but... a... study!
Yes!
study!
The floor was covered with a knitted carpet from the Western Regions. Inside the spacious room stood a series of elegant desks, scattered with pens, inkstones, and paper...
There are also many books.
Pieces of porcelain are placed on the antique shelves, and landscape paintings and calligraphy are hung on the walls, all of which are printed with the private seals of collectors from past dynasties.
In the corner, there were large vases filled with trimmed branches. Next to the vases hung a birdcage, in which a parrot was dozing, as if it would fall off the wooden stick it was standing on at any time.
There are also several huge bookshelves around the room, which are filled with all kinds of books, no less than the great book collectors of the Yu State.
Among them is even "On the Study of the Mind," the most popular work among the Dayu Confucian scholars in recent years... Well, it was written by Mr. Zhengyang, but the signature is only second, with "Zhao Duan" being the first...
At this moment, under a bookshelf, a long-haired man wearing a loose purple Confucian robe was barefoot, standing on a bamboo stool, flipping through ancient books.
Hearing the noise, the man turned around, revealing a face that was very different from that of the Liao people and more similar to that of the Yu people, except that he had no beard, but a blue stubble.
"Chief."
Bai Dizi looked at the furnishings in the room with curiosity and awe, then knelt on one knee and reported truthfully what he had observed.
The long-haired, purple-shirted man frowned and jumped down from the stool barefoot.
"In the direction of Zhengyang Mountain, dark clouds gathered, then melted away by blue clouds? Furthermore, columns of air rose and dissipated?"
"Yes." Bai Di nodded.
The long-haired, purple-shirted man pondered for a moment and said softly, "I'm afraid Xu Jingtang is dead."
Then, he quickly walked to the table, spread out a piece of rice paper, picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, quickly wrote a letter, and then folded it and handed it to her: "Send it out."
Bai Di didn't ask anything, and didn't dare to pry. He retreated respectfully. Just before closing the door, he heard the parrot in the birdcage waking up and cursing:
"Who disturbed my sleep..."
The long-haired, purple-shirted man ignored the parrot and just stood quietly in the house, looking at the scenery outside the window, and whispered:
"Master Zhang is here in Yunfu. Isn't he planning to come over to reminisce about the past?"
No one responded, only a gust of autumn wind outside the window.
…
…
The city shrouded in darkness.
Inside an office.
Zhao Duan opened his eyes and straightened up from his desk.
I saw the familiar computer with the screen off, the blue folders piled up beside it, and a corner of the blue curtain lifted by the night breeze blowing in from the window.
"I'm back again..."
He rubbed his face, stood up, and paced around the room to relieve his fatigue.
Then he walked to the washstand familiarly and scooped up some clean water to splash on his face.
“Wow—”
Feeling the water flowing down his skin and wetting his collar, Zhao Duan raised his head and looked at the strange yet familiar face in the mirror.
I wiped my hands, took out my phone from my pocket, turned on the screen, and the time showed: 0:02
When no one enters, the world seems to stagnate, or more accurately... reset to zero and refresh?
"Zhenbao should have just come in by now. Well, we haven't shown up at my house... This means we need to regroup every time we come in..."
This made Zhao Duan breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, if one were to come in and see the empress lying on the sofa in her home, watching TV with her long legs crossed, and then turn around and say in a domineering tone, "I want..."
It’s quite a headache, isn’t it?
This is good, it gives him plenty of time to sort out his thoughts.
"Zhenbao took a car to my house last time, so she doesn't know the exact location. We should meet at that barbecue restaurant again..."
"I checked my own home last time and found nothing unusual, nor any traces of 'Old Xu'. There's nothing unusual in my office either."
"How do I unlock the 'main quest' in this world? Could it be that the breakthrough lies not with me, but with Zhen Bao?"
Zhao Duan pondered this serious question.
Old Xu left behind too many mysteries, all related to the mystery of his time travel, and he couldn't help but pay attention to it.
After Xu Jingtang's matter finally came to an end, he also wanted to explore the world more deeply.
Since there are no clues in my home and office, the clue is most likely hidden in the Empress...
kindness……
Of course, there is another possibility, which is what he speculated last time, that perhaps he needs to spend enough time with the empress.
In fact, helping her get familiar with this world was the correct way to unlock the hidden mission in this painting...
"There's no point in overthinking it. Let's just deal with tonight."
Zhao Duan changed his clothes, opened the door, and trotted downstairs along the quiet corridor.
In order to cover up his lie, he must meet the empress tonight as Zhang Hui.
We can't keep her waiting any longer.
Not long.
Zhao Duan took the car again and arrived at the "old place" where the two met... the store that was open late at night.
When I opened the car door, I saw Xu Zhenguan, dressed like an urban beauty, waiting obediently by the roadside.
She was still wearing trousers and a shirt, her sparkling feet shod in thin-strap sandals, her long hair draped over her shoulders, and her stunning face was slightly obscured by the night.
Standing under the street light, he seemed like the focus of the world.
It also seems out of tune with this bustling world.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Zhao Duan adjusted his state, restored his "Zhanghui" character, and walked over with an elegant step and a smile.
The empress turned back calmly, her eyes examining him.
This time, perhaps because of her experience, she seemed particularly calm.
"Has it been a long time since we last met?" Xu Zhenguan stared at Zhang Hui and suddenly asked.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, realizing that there was a flaw in his words, which aroused the empress's temptation. Did she want to know the copy mechanism from him?
Heh...baby, you're wrong. As a fake NPC, the right to interpret this game lies with me... Zhao Duan remained calm and smiled.
"Parting with a beautiful woman like Miss Xu, even if it's just one day, feels like a year."
The empress looked at him quietly, and suddenly asked, "Are you teasing me?"
"Hey, you've learned so quickly? You even understand what flirting means?" Zhao Duan was surprised.
Xu Zhenguan's eyebrows and eyes were cold, and he looked like he was keeping people at a distance:
"I remember telling you that I have a fiancé."
Zhao Duan was actually a little happy and smiled apologetically:
"I'm sorry. Last time I brought Miss Xu home, I didn't want her to leave for something, so this time..."
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhenguan suddenly spoke and interrupted his line:
"Yes, I had something urgent to do last time, so let's finish what I didn't finish last time. I'm very curious about the ancient poetry you have here."
Zhao Duan was already prepared in his heart and said with a smile:
"...Since Miss Xu is interested, which one would you like?"
He planned to search for a few poems that he had not copied and give them to her. This way he would not be exposed and would also satisfy the empress's curiosity.
The next second, the empress said quietly, "Let's sing 'Shui Tiao Ge Tou'."
Zhao Duan: ???
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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