Ancient Secret Realm (VI)
After lunch, the two chatted for a while. Du Fuan came in and asked if the memorials from the Imperial Study should be moved to Guanju Palace. Xie Zhitiao agreed. Turning around, he met Lin Zhuo's smiling gaze.
"Speaking of which, can you review memorials?"
Xie Zhitiao snorted softly: "No, isn't this just asking someone to move in and criticize it together with you?"
Lin Zhuo glanced at him, snorted softly, and whispered softly: "Your Majesty, I am a woman, and the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs."
"You've adapted to your status quite quickly," Xie Zhitiao raised his eyebrows, "but you're used to bullying me. Qingqing, don't you love me anymore?" He called her the same name Qiu Ji used to call Chang Junning.
"Aren't you trying to tease me too?" Lin Zhuo stood up and tidied up the desk. "Alright, I'll look through it with you. Maybe there's some clues."
Illusions were usually used to test one's character, but this wasn't a simple illusion. Lin Zhuo had read in a book that an illusion could also be the obsession of the one who created it. If the obsession was resolved, the illusion would naturally dissolve.
She and Xie Zhitiao did not have the memories of Chang Junning and Qiu Ji themselves, so it was difficult to know what their obsession was, and they could only infer it from other things.
Du Fuan also brought over some of the memorials that Qiu Ji had already reviewed. After dismissing the servants, Xie Zhitiao leaned on the chaise longue with several reviewed memorials. Lin Zhuo, brush in hand, sat at the desk and tried to review a few memorials, imitating Qiu Ji's handwriting.
Her pen-holding posture was beautiful, and she imitated the handwriting of others very well. Xie Zhitiao's gaze shifted from the memorial to the girl.
He stared at her intently, and felt that the sky outside the window was brighter.
"Have you finished reading it?" Lin Zhuo noticed his gaze and asked him without raising his head.
Xie Zhitiao sat down beside her, holding a memorial. As they got closer, he could smell her light woody scent again. He felt at ease. He gathered himself and handed her the memorial: "Take a look at this."
After Lin Zhuo finished reviewing the one in his hand, he put down his pen and took the other memorial.
Fang Yuan, the Minister of Works, was one of the few ministers in the court who was loyal to Qiu Ji himself rather than the throne. In the third year of Qiu Ji's reign, he issued an edict to build the canal.
The canal project consumed both manpower and materials, and there was widespread opposition in the court. Qiu Ji was enraged and beheaded several ministers, but the canal project was finally decided.
Fang Yuan had been Qiu Ji's study partner, and his memorials clearly indicated a good relationship between them. Fang Yuan, supervising the construction work in the south, had only just arrived a few days ago. He reported on the canal's progress, and it was clear that he, too, supported the project.
Qiu Ji did not respond to requests for comment regarding the canal project, only promising further funding and asking him to oversee the work. There was only one specific point where Qiu Ji addressed the issue.
Fang Yuan sighed at the end: "If the late Empress Dowager were still alive, she would surely be proud of Your Majesty's decision."
There was resentment in Qiu Ji's words: "I don't need their approval." He was like a weird kid who said the grapes were sour because he couldn't eat them.
Lin Zhuo didn't notice the awkwardness in Qiu Ji's words at all. She frowned and said, "Are you trying to say that Fang Yuan is the breakthrough point?"
Xie Zhitiao rolled his eyes and sighed: "Even if he is, can we call him back?" He hated his senior sister for being a piece of wood.
"Look at this." He pointed at Fang Yuan's words. "If Qiu Ji really didn't care about the late emperor and the empress dowager, would Fang Yuan, as their good friend, say this?"
Lin Zhuo suddenly looked up at him: "You mean..."
Xie Zhitiao curved his eyebrows and said, "Well, the late emperor and the empress dowager are the key points."
But the former Empress Dowager had passed away, and Qiu Ji had died of anger. The two were once again in a dead end.
Lin Zhuo pinched his brows and sighed, "Never mind, there's no rush. Let's review these memorials first."
Xie Zhitiao sat opposite her as he was told and took another brush.
"You were in the previous dynasty, and there might be some clues from the ministers' mouths, so pay more attention. There are no other concubines in the harem, so I can only try to find out what Chunhe has to say." Lin Zhao said in a calm voice.
Xie Zhitiao looked at her, but didn't respond for a moment. She seemed to have become the same Lin Zha again, always busy with the affairs of the sect and never smiling.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Lin Zhuo looked up at him: "Is there something wrong?"
Xie Zhitiao shook his head. Of course not. Senior Sister's arrangements were always sound. His eyes swam, and he suddenly remembered something. His ears flushed, and he grumbled, "Senior Sister... there's something else..."
Lin Zhuo signaled him with his eyes.
Xie Zhitiao stammered, "I...will you keep a bed for me tonight?"
Lin Zhao paused, quickly moving the brush away, saving the memorial from being destroyed. She blushed, lowered her head, and said nothing.
Qiu Ji rarely stayed in his own palace, and mostly slept in Guanju Palace. Since Xie Zhitiao became his wife, he naturally could not stay in the Qianqing Palace to arouse suspicion.
Lin Zhuo didn't know how to respond. Did they really have to sleep on the same bed? Although he had experienced this as a child, Xie Zhitiao was already an adult. Like other monks, some of them already had a Taoist partner.
She suddenly thought of something and asked him, "What would you do if I wasn't here?"
Xie Zhitiao was too shy to think twice and said, "Let her sleep on the floor, and then change her memory the next day." Since she was not his senior sister, he had no reason to be gentle with her, so he just let her sleep on the floor.
After answering, he suddenly realized.
Lin Zhuo looked at him tenderly and said, "Then come back tonight and sleep on the chaise longue. You can change the palace maid's memory the next day."
Xie Zhitiao touched his nose and said angrily, "...I know." Lin Zhuo is so smart, he will definitely be able to think of a solution, why is he being shy here?
He muttered, "Changing memories is such a waste of spiritual energy. There's no spiritual energy here. What if my spiritual energy runs out?"
Lin Zhuo finally put down his pen, his expression a little strange: "No spiritual energy?"
"No."
"Not a single bit?"
Xie Zhitiao was confused: "No."
"..." Lin Zhuo frowned. "Even if it's an illusion, there shouldn't be a trace of spiritual energy. Even the mortal world has spiritual energy now." She looked at the slightly lower round sun outside the window. "Unless now is the time before the fall of the God Realm."
The divine realm fell, and spiritual energy flooded into the human world, leading to the emergence of human monks. Lin Zhuo had originally believed that this illusion was simply the result of someone's obsession on earth being too strong, leading to their being drawn into this illusion. But now, it seems that perhaps this was their obsession before their ascension.
Qiu Ji, Chang Junning, Chun He, Du Fuan, none of the gods she knew had these names. Or was it that none of them were Him?
Lin Zhuo came back to his senses and saw Xie Zhitiao still looking at him eagerly. He stuffed another memorial into his hand and said, "A Tiao, you are 112 years old this year, not two years old. Men and women should not touch each other."
She paused and added, "You are a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Stage. It's just a matter of changing your memory a few times. Don't get angry." How could she let his spiritual power be exhausted?
Xie Zhitiao knew he couldn't sleep in the same bed with her, so he just teased her. Sure enough, the prim and proper senior sister was cuter.
Lin Zhuo helped to review the memorials. A minister asked to see him in the imperial study, so Xie Zhitiao had to leave with the memorials.
After Xie Zhitiao left, Chunhe came in to wait on her. After enduring for a long time, she quietly asked her, "My Lady, are you okay?"
Feeling her concern, Lin Zhuo smiled and said, "Nothing, don't worry." She drank a bowl of Tremella soup and remembered that Madam Bo often made soup for her daughter a few years ago. She mentioned, "Chun He, I miss mother a little."
The girl lowered her voice a little, and lowered her head to look at the small bowl in her hand, making it difficult to see her expression.
Chun He felt distressed again. She took the bowl from Lin Zhuo's hand and stepped forward to press her shoulders: "My Lady, Madam Bo is doing well at home. You take care of yourself, and Madam Bo will be relieved, right?"
Lin Zhuo said "hmm" lightly, waved his hand, and told everyone else in the hall to leave. Chun He then stopped, went to the dressing table, took out a small box, and presented it to Lin Zhuo.
Lin Zhao opened it and found a series of family letters inside. There weren't many, all from the Marquis' wife. Qiu Ji had not allowed Chang Junning to contact the Marquis of Wuyang, and she missed her mother, so she could only occasionally have the palace maids who went to buy groceries deliver a few letters from home.
Each letter was short, expressing a mother's concern for her daughter. Lin Zhuo read through the letters one by one, feeling something was amiss. She raised her eyes and asked Chun He, "Has it been a while since I last wrote to you, mother?"
Chun He whispered softly, "Did your Majesty forget? We just sent a letter at the beginning of this month." Lin Zhuo pursed his lips and said, "I did forget a little. I miss you so much, and I don't know how long it will take for you to reply this time."
Chun He stepped forward and collected the letter. "Don't worry, Madam. According to past practice, the letter from the Madam will arrive around... the beginning of next month."
Lin Zhuo was lost in thought. The palace maids who came to buy money left the palace at the beginning of each month. She would deliver a letter that month, and the letter from Lady Bo would arrive the following month. In other words, Lady Bo's Lady Zhang would deliver a letter to her daughter every two months.
Lin Zhuo frowned, closed his eyes, and leaned his head against her back. In two months, would a mother who truly loved her daughter only write a question on less than two pages? Furthermore, those letters looked stiff, like they were merely tasks to be completed.
Lin Zhuo closed his eyes and leaned back on the chaise longue. Chun He lit some incense, walked out with light steps.
——
Xie Zhitiao sat in the imperial study, looking expressionlessly at the two ministers weeping below. He felt that he could understand Qiu Ji's irritability.
"Your Majesty!" Lord Zhang fell to the ground and cried, "My children haven't eaten meat for several days. I simply don't have the energy to support the canal! Your Majesty knows that my family is already poor. From my elderly mother to my youngest grandson, everyone relies on my meager salary to support them all!"
Lord Huang, who was kneeling beside him, was not to be outdone. Sweat was dripping down his fat face, and his tearful eyes were almost invisible.
"Your Majesty! The west wall of my house is leaking, and I still can't find the money to repair it. My wife's clothes are torn and she can only patch them up and continue wearing them. I am truly short of money, Your Majesty!"
Xie Zhitiao threw a memorial to Mr. Huang and said with a smile: "My dear Mr. Huang, please take a look at this before you speak." The memorial was the evidence of Mr. Huang's corruption submitted by the Ministry of Justice.
Lord Huang had never seen the tyrant smiling like this before, and was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat. He regretted agreeing to Lord Zhang's request to come to the tyrant and cry "poor." Zhang was the uncle of the demon concubine's mother, and even for the sake of the demon concubine, the tyrant would not punish him too harshly.
Trembling, he went to pick up the memorial from the ground. Before he could finish reading it, his clothes were soaked with sweat. He fell to the ground, this time crying with genuine emotion: "Your Majesty, this is unjust! This minister is unjust!"
Xie Zhitiao threw the imperial edict he had written long ago to Du Fuan, still smiling: "I know that you are wronged. To help you prove your innocence, I will ask the Yulin Army to go."
He raised his eyes, glanced at Master Zhang who was sitting quietly beside him, and then said, "Du Fuan, copied it."
"Yes." Du Fuan stepped forward, "Sir Huang, please go with me."
It was not until Lord Huang was taken away that Lord Zhang came to his senses.
"My dear Zhang, do you have anything else to report?" Xie Zhitiao still had that smiling face.
Lord Zhang kowtowed, a cold sweat pouring down his face. "I... fully support the canal project."
"Well, go down."
Master Zhang walked out of the imperial study with unsteady steps and trembling hands. He glanced back at the imperial study, a look of deep fear in his eyes. This tyrant was more controlled than before, and even more fearful.
Xie Zhitiao's smile faded the moment he left the imperial study. Being an emperor was truly difficult. His attempts to smooth relations with his subjects only backfired, frightening them even more.
He glanced at another scroll of imperial edict beside him. It was written by Qiu Ji, ordering the execution of Lord Huang's clan. Xie Zhitiao thought about it and decided to ask Du Fuan to deal with it when he returned.
Thinking of Zhang and Huang's terrified expressions, Xie Zhitiao sneered. If Qiu Ji had been sitting here, those two would have been dead long ago. Stupid.
After thinking about it, he asked someone to summon Yu Jie, the governor of the Ministry of Justice, and Qiu Ji's subordinates. The Zhang family and the Wuyang Marquis's Mansion should also be investigated.
——
At the hour of Xu, Xie Zhitiao put down his pen and planned to go to Guanju Palace to rest. Du Fuan came in and asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to the hot spring pool today?"
Xie Zhitiao raised an eyebrow. Hot springs? This tyrant really knows how to enjoy himself. He nodded: "Let's go."
Arriving at Huaqing Palace, Xie Zhitiao saw a few familiar-looking palace servants guarding the palace. He paid them no mind, stopped the people following him, and walked into the steamy palace. He really didn't like the idea of someone following him while he was soaking in a hot spring.
The sound of gurgling water came from the hot spring pool. Xie Zhitiao took off his outer robe, wearing only his inner garment, and went behind the screen.
“Crash.”
A woman in the pool had her back to him, revealing her smooth and slender butterfly bones. She raised her fair white arms from the water, lifted her long hair that was scattered in the water, and revealed the light-colored tie around her neck.
Lin Zhuo turned around warily: "Who!?"
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