Although Guo Juli is young, he is very efficient. After listening to Mu Zhuohua, he rented the house the next day and negotiated the price to twenty taels. The master and servant did not have much luggage, so they moved in and settled down in one day, finally feeling quiet.
After Guo Juli put away the luggage, it was time to go to bed.
Mu Zhuohua changed into pajamas and lay on the large carved bed, feeling like he was reborn.
Guo Juli's room was not cleaned up yet, so he shared a bed with Mu Zhuohua.
"Miss, this is our new home." Guo Juli's eyes were full of satisfaction. "Although it is much smaller than the Mu family, it is peaceful to sleep in."
Mu Zhuohua smiled faintly: "Silly, this is rented. When I become a high-ranking official, I will buy you a big house to live in. That will be our home."
Guo Juli was a little worried: "Don't make it too big. I don't want to be too far away from you."
Mu Zhuohua said: "When I have power and money, you will also be a lady. Don't always think of yourself as a maid."
Guo Juli said: "It's too difficult to be a lady. I'd rather be a maid."
Mu Zhuohua said: "You are such a useless girl..."
Guo Juli yawned: "Follow the young lady, you won't be wrong."
Mu Zhuohua curled the corners of his mouth and rubbed her head: "Then you have to listen to me."
"Listening..."
"Buy all the household items tomorrow. Don't save money and buy some good ones."
"I heard..."
"You should also make some nice clothes for yourself. I will feel proud when I take you out."
"I heard..."
"By the way, let's find out who lives on this street among our neighbors. We need to prepare some gifts to go around..."
"Huff, huff..."
"You're asleep so soon... You're such a pig..."
The next day, Mu Zhuohua took Guo Juli out to buy a lot of the most famous cakes in Dingjing City and gave gifts to every household. Those high-ranking officials naturally did not ask for an audience. Mu Zhuohua just left gifts and visiting cards at the gatehouse and left. Mu Zhuohua's real target was not these big shots. She wanted to see those who lived in the former Imperial Medical Bureau.
Most of the people living in the back alley of Zhuque are only about the seventh rank, which is comparable to Mu Zhuohua, but not as promising as the new Tanhua. When they saw Mu Zhuohua coming to visit, they naturally welcomed her warmly. Mu Zhuohua was led into the house by the host, and they drank tea and chatted with the cakes of Yipin Pavilion. In just two days, she had almost figured out the situation in the court. Mu Zhuohua learned a lot about the likes and dislikes of several princes, the relationships between the adults in the court, and the tips for being an official in the court in two days. Of course, she did not forget the most concerned thing, which was to look at the furnishings in the mansion and verify them one by one with her guesses about her maternal ancestors, but she could not find any similarities.
There was no hot spring in sight, and there was not even a single apricot blossom.
After eliminating them one by one, the only thing left was the neighbor with the door closed. This house was just to the left of Mu Zhuohua's residence. The two families shared a wall. Mu Zhuohua looked around outside and found that the yard next door was twice as big as the one she lived in. It was said that many owners had changed. If you ask who lived there 20 years ago, no one knows. Mu Zhuohua thought that she could only go to visit at night.
After two days, Mu Zhuohua's official uniform and appointment were all given, and she was awarded the rank of editor of the seventh rank. The editor of the Hanlin Academy did not have a substantive position. For these newly-appointed Jinshi, there was still a period of observation and learning. However, the treatment of the first-class was special, and the three of them could also give lectures to the princes.
This was naturally a good job for many people. One of the three princes would surely ascend the throne someday. Now that they had established a good relationship and had the title of master and apprentice, the new emperor would not treat them unfairly when he ascended the throne. But Mu Zhuohua was very embarrassed. First, she was younger than the three princes, and second, she was a woman. No matter what, there were no women who taught men in this era. Emperor Zhaoming was clearly putting her on the spot.
Mu Zhuohua gritted her teeth and went to the Hanlin Academy to report for duty. After greeting and getting to know the others, she went to collect her things. As soon as Mu Zhuohua left, everyone started talking.
"It's the first time that we have a woman in the Hanlin Academy."
"Don't tell me, she's pretty."
"Go away, is this a matter of appearance? I mean, according to convention, we should go to Xiaoqin Palace to hold a banquet to welcome the new Jinshi. Xiaoqin Palace is a place of fireworks. Do you think we should invite her?"
"This... it's not good to invite her, and it's not good not to invite her either..."
"Anyway, she is also a Tanhua. Now she has the opportunity to give lectures to the prince. Who knows when she will become the imperial concubine..."
"After hearing what you said, I want to be a woman."
Mu Zhuohua naturally knew that it was not easy for a woman to do things among men. Some things can only be more open-minded and let go.
Shen Jinghong and Song Lianxi's attitude towards Mu Zhuohua was much better than others, maybe because of the friendship of being on the same list. The three of them worked in the same office. Each of them took turns to give lectures to the prince. The lectures were given in the imperial study, which was not far from the Hanlin Academy.
On the first day, Shen Jinghong held a meeting to discuss the content of each lecture. The three of them chose the subject they were best at. Mu Zhuohua thought Shen Jinghong would choose poetry, but he chose history. Song Lianxi taught Confucian classics. Mu Zhuohua thought about it and chose geography.
"Geography?" Shen Jinghong raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Mu Bianxiu is really knowledgeable."
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said, "Just kidding. I am not as knowledgeable as you two. But I read a lot of books, so I will talk about the customs and customs of the world. I hope the princes will like it."
"Then we will wait and see." Shen Jinghong said with a smile.
Shen Jinghong naturally gave the first day's lecture. Mu Zhuohua read books in his seat all day, while Song Lianxi prepared for the class all day. He walked around from time to time, muttering to himself. He was obviously a little nervous and admired Mu Zhuohua's leisurely and contented attitude.
In the evening, as soon as Shen Jinghong came back, Song Lianxi immediately went to meet him and asked, "Editor Shen, how was the lecture today?"
Shen Jinghong put down the book and smiled, "The three princes are smart, studious, and polite. Editor Song does not need to worry too much."
After hearing Shen Jinghong's comforting words, Song Lianxi relaxed a little.
"By the way, my colleagues in the Hanlin Academy said that they will host a banquet for us new scholars in the Xiaoqin Palace in a few days, and asked the three of us to go." Song Lianxi said.
Shen Jinghong was a little surprised when he heard this, and looked at Mu Zhuohua: "Will Editor Mu go too?"
Xiao Qin Palace is, after all, a place of romance. The State of Chen did not prohibit officials from visiting prostitutes. Since ancient times, many literati have been romantic, and the business of Huaxiang is very prosperous. For them, gold and silver are important, but if they can get the poems and calligraphy of the great talents, it will be a treasure that will raise their status.
Mu Zhuohua thought of the colleague who came to convey the invitation today. Although the man had a smile on his face, he was thinking of watching a good show in his heart. He repeatedly emphasized that Mu Zhuohua should go with him. Mu Zhuohua had never been afraid of these things, so he smiled and nodded and agreed.
"Since it is a convention, I naturally dare not break the rules." Mu Zhuohua smiled calmly, "I will definitely attend the banquet on time."
Song Lianxi took a deep look at Mu Zhuohua, and did not see the slightest embarrassment on her face. He secretly admired her in his heart.
"Okay, then the three of us will go together." Shen Jinghong said with a smile.
Two days later, Song Lianxi also finished his lecture, and it was finally Mu Zhuohua's turn to be roasted by the fire.
The princes had their classes in a side hall of the imperial study. It was said that Emperor Zhaoming would come to listen and take a look at the class when he was free. Fortunately, Emperor Zhaoming was not free on the day when Mu Zhuohua gave her lecture, otherwise she would inevitably be nervous.
When Mu Zhuohua walked into the classroom, the three princes had already taken their seats. There were six tables in the classroom. The first three were seats for the princes, and the back three were for their respective tutors.
After Mu Zhuohua entered the room, he walked to the podium and exchanged greetings with the three princes.
"I'm Mu Zhuohua, an editor of the Hanlin Academy. Today I will talk to the princes about geography."
Mu Zhuohua had just finished speaking when he heard Liu Chen say in a provocative tone: "Why doesn't Editor Mu bring books when you lecture?"
Mu Zhuohua smiled slightly and said: "What I want to talk about is all in my head, not in books."
Liu Chen sneered: "Editor Mu is very capable. He doesn't bring books when he lectures. He is even better than Editor Shen."
Liu Yu spoke for Mu Zhuohua in a gentle voice: "Brother, you might as well listen to Editor Mu's lectures. Although Editor Mu is younger than us, he must have real talents and knowledge to be able to win the third place in the imperial examination at such a young age."
Liu Chen snorted coldly: "Then please let Editor Mu show us your real talents and knowledge."
Mu Zhuohua didn't care and kept smiling. She came with a bamboo tube on her back. At this time, she opened the bamboo tube, pulled out a scroll from it, shook it, opened it, and hung it on the wall behind her.
Several people in the audience looked at it carefully and asked in confusion, "Is this a geomancy map?"
Mu Zhuohua picked up the teaching stick and turned to face everyone, "This is a map drawn by me. This map extends from the northern grasslands to the coast of Nanyue in the south and to the desert in the west. The green on the map is mountains and rivers, the winding black lines are rivers, and cinnabar marks the abundant resources in each place."
Mu Zhuohua paused before saying, "Your Highnesses will either be in charge of the world or stationed in one place in the future. You must have an understanding of the world. As the saying goes, you must know astronomy and geography. Geography is related to people's livelihood and politics, so you must learn it."
Mu Zhuohua's words really piqued everyone's interest. Liu Jin's eyes lit up and said, "You even know the geography of Beiliang and Nanyue?"
Mu Zhuohua naturally knew that their Mu family was the richest family in Jiangnan, and their business was so big that it was not just within the territory of Chen. Not to mention Nanyue and Beiliang, they also had ships overseas. If the princes wanted to know these things, they would have known them, but the education of the State of Chen focused more on learning the classics of the ancient sages, and did not attach much importance to these things.
"Everyone thinks that the people of South Vietnam are ignorant, and there is no merit in the miasma everywhere. In fact, they do not understand the advantages of South Vietnam. If Your Highness is interested, let me tell you one by one."
Mu Zhuohua's voice was clear and pleasant. When she lectured, she quoted classics and told one or two folk jokes from time to time, which made everyone laugh and cheered up. Even Liu Chen, who was going to make things difficult for Mu Zhuohua, was fascinated by her and forgot to interrupt her. Half a day of lectures was spent in laughter, until Mu Zhuohua finished speaking, and everyone withdrew their minds with reluctance.
Liu Jin was fascinated by what he heard and could not help asking, "Editor Mu, please tell me a little more. Is the custom of the walking marriage tribe in Nanyue that you just mentioned true or false? How come I have never heard of it?"
Liu Chen said, "I'm afraid you made it up yourself."
Mu Zhuohua said, "There is a book called "Strange Stories of Nanyue" written by Fang Yan, a scholar from the State of Chen. It records what he saw and heard in Nanyue. Your Highness can take a look at it."
Liu Chen said with a cold face, "We don't have time to read such miscellaneous books."
Liu Jin glanced at Liu Chen. He had long seen that Liu Chen disliked Mu Zhuohua, and Liu Jin and Liu Chen had always been at odds. Liu Jin liked to oppose Liu Chen the most. If Liu Chen wanted to target Mu Zhuohua, then he would naturally protect him.
"Brother, Editor Mu is really well-informed. She is right. If you want to conquer the world, you should know more about the world. If you want to conquer Nanyue, you should know more about Nanyue. Brother, you are probably satisfied with the status quo and don't want to unify the world."
Liu Chen heard Liu Jin's sarcastic words and slammed the table and stood up: "How dare you! When I led the army to attack Beiliang, what were you doing? Can the world be conquered by reading a few books!" Liu Chen glared at Mu Zhuohua, "Only those who are greedy for life and afraid of death would talk about war on paper. The world is won by real swords and guns!"
Mu Zhuohua's forehead twitched. She really didn't expect that her policy of raising barbarians would make Liu Chen so angry. It was really her own fault.
"Your Highness knows the most about Beiliang, so let's talk about Beiliang in three days. That's it for today. I'll take my leave!"
Mu Zhuohua left after saying that, not daring to stay for a moment.
Mu Zhuohua returned to the Hanlin Academy, gulped down a large bowl of water, and then heaved a long sigh of relief.
Song Lianxi smiled and said, "You run so fast, is there a tiger chasing you?"
Mu Zhuohua sighed, "It's hard to say, it's more ferocious than a tiger."
Song Lianxi said, "I have something to congratulate you on."
Mu Zhuohua asked curiously, "What is it?"
Song Lianxi said, "The imperial edict just came, transferring you to the Lifan Temple."
Mu Zhuohua said happily, "Then I don't have to teach the three princes?"
"Teaching the princes is a great opportunity, look how scared you are." Song Lianxi laughed, "If His Majesty didn't issue an imperial edict saying no, then you still have to run back and forth."
Mu Zhuohua's face fell immediately.
Lifan Temple is in charge of the affairs of Beiliang. Three years ago, Beiliang and Dachen negotiated peace and opened border trade. Mu Zhuohua thought that it was probably because her policy of raising barbarians was seen by the head of Lifan Temple, so he decided to let her work in Lifan Temple.
Lifan Temple was originally under the Ministry of Rites, and began to become independent three years ago. With the increase of exchanges with Beiliang, its status has become increasingly important. Now it is on par with the six ministries.
Mu Zhuohua suddenly remembered something and raised his head abruptly: "The Minister of Lifan Temple seems to be His Royal Highness Prince Ding?"
Song Lianxi said as a matter of course: "Of course, who knows Beiliang better than him?"
There were three investigation reports in front of Liu Yan. The first one was about the Zhixian Fruit, which stated the records of entry and exit in the palace in the past ten years. There are a lot of medicinal materials in the palace, and every time they are used, they must be signed and registered, so there are a lot of account books, which cannot be kept all the time. Generally, only records within ten years are kept. The report states that the palace would receive ten Zhixian Fruits every three years, and one would be used every three months as medicine to treat Emperor Zhaoming's cough. Apart from this, no one else has used Zhixian Fruits.
The second report is about the investigation of Gu Yixiao's life experience. Gu Yixiao appeared in Huaizhou 20 years ago. A middle-aged man sold her to the largest brothel in Huaizhou, Yanbo Tower, at a high price. Gu Yixiao had no relatives and no friends, and her memory was incomplete. She could not tell her origins, nor did she remember her name. Because of her beautiful appearance, she was named Gu Yixiao, "One glance is enough to conquer the city, and one smile is worth a thousand gold coins." Gu Yixiao was sought after as soon as she appeared on the stage. Half a year later, she was redeemed as a concubine by Mu Rong, the richest man in Jiangnan. According to the madam of Yanbo Tower, Gu Yixiao spoke with a Dingjing accent and behaved elegantly. The man who sold her said that Gu Yixiao was the descendant of an official, and her father committed a serious crime, and her family was broken up. He did not say much about the rest. After many years, the man who sold her was also difficult to find.
The third one was about the investigation of the eagle claw hook. There are two types of eagle claw hooks similar to the one on Deputy General Yuan. The earliest one was the Seven Eagles of Jingzhou. These seven people disappeared for many years and the last time they appeared was eight years ago. There are rumors that the seven people were killed by their enemies. The other one is far away in the Western Regions and has never entered the territory of Chen State. It is unlikely.
Three clues, after careful investigation, there is no clue again.
Liu Yan pinched his eyebrows and felt tired.
Zhimo knocked on the door and came in: "Your Highness, Doctor Wan is here."
Liu Yan put away a few pieces of paper and said, "Please let him in."
Zhimo turned and went out. Not long after, he brought in an old man with white hair and beard.
Liu Yan smiled and said, "Doctor Wan, it's been a long time."
"Your Highness, have you been in good health these years?" Doctor Wan put down the medicine box on his back and tapped the top of the medicine box lightly. The medicine box slowly unfolded like a lotus, revealing nine grids, each of which contained different things needed for consultation.
"I was accidentally attacked a few days ago, and the two qi in my body became unbalanced. Recently, my meridians have been aching, so I asked someone to invite you here." Liu Yan stretched out his right hand and let Doctor Wan feel his pulse.
Doctor Wan frowned when he heard what Liu Yan said: "The two kinds of poisons in the prince's body are extremely overbearing. After forming a balanced state three years ago, it has been difficult to break. What kind of conspiracy could cause the conflict of the medicinal properties?"
Liu Yan asked: "Godly doctor, have you ever heard of Huanyang powder when you travel around the world?"
Doctor Wan was startled: "I have never heard of it. What kind of medicine is this?"
Although this answer was expected, Liu Yan still felt disappointed. "I heard it from a girl, but she didn't know the complete prescription either. She only knew that the main ingredient was the Zhixian Fruit." Liu Yan named several other medicines based on his memory, and then said, "It is said that this medicine is extremely powerful and can enter the blood through breathing. It can revive a person who has just died."
Doctor Wanshen was shocked after hearing Liu Yan's description. He frowned and muttered to himself. After a moment, he clapped his hands and praised, "Wonderful! There are people in this world who can come up with such a prescription! However, this medicine is indeed extremely dangerous. The name Huanyang Powder is also appropriate. It can revive the dead, but if a living person uses this medicine, it is easy to cause an imbalance of qi and blood, and bleed from all seven orifices to die. If the prince takes this medicine by mistake, it is indeed easy to cause an imbalance of the two qi in the body, and die on the spot."
"Luckily, you didn't ingest much, and I met a doctor who used silver needles to remove most of the medicinal properties
for me, but there are still some residues, so I asked the genius doctor to take a look." Doctor Wan smiled and said, "This doctor is really capable to dare to give you acupuncture, but he may lack experience. The superficial heat is easy to remove, but the internal toxins are difficult to clear. I will give you acupuncture for three days and write a prescription. If you take it for seven days, the medicinal properties of Huanyang Powder can be completely removed. Are you still insisting on soaking in the medicine pool now?"
Liu Yan said, "I dare not interrupt."
"In the past, it was once every seven days. Now that your old illness has recurred, you will soak for a month until the hidden pain in the meridians is eliminated." Doctor Wan carefully instructed.
"Thank you, doctor."
"Alas, the prince always calls me a doctor, but I feel ashamed. I have been running around for the past few years, but I can't think of a way to cure your disease. Your Majesty's cough is also helpless..."
Liu Yan said helplessly: "Doctor, don't blame yourself, maybe... everyone has their own destiny."
Doctor Wan traveled around the world, providing free medical treatment for people, with superb medical skills, and never entered the palace as an official. In those years, Chen and Beiliang fought for years, and there were many casualties. Doctor Wan asked to be a military doctor and saved countless lives. Later, Liu Yan was poisoned, and it was Doctor Wan who worked hard to remove the poison and prolong his life. Later, Chen and Beiliang negotiated peace, and the war stopped. Doctor Wan also left the army and traveled around the world, trying to find a way to cure the toxin for Liu Yan.
"Yuanluo flowers and vitality coexist and coexist, and they will never die. I am afraid that I will not be able to share the worries for the prince in my lifetime." Doctor Wan sighed.
Liu Yan smiled and said, "I have already prepared myself mentally. I picked up this life three years ago. I will cherish it if I can live one more day. Why should I think about the future?"
Doctor Wan Shen said, "Your Highness has experienced life and death, but
he still has such a broad mind. I really admire him." What doctors hate most is people who do not value their lives. Doctor Wan Shen recalled the appearance of Liu Yan when he saw him. He thought that after experiencing such a tragic war, he would be devastated and his temperament would change drastically, but he did not expect that he would cheer up again.
Perhaps it was because he had taken on too many lives and he was not living alone, so he cherished his life more.
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