Chapter 66 Master Xuan Jing (I) Update
She stood up from the main seat, walked over and helped Du Hui up with her own hands.
"We are all family, why are you being so serious, sir?"
After helping Du Hui to his feet, Liu Ziye went to help the others who had prostrated themselves one by one. "Excuse me, gentlemen! Please stand up quickly!"
During this process, Liu Ziye matched the faces of more than a dozen people one by one according to Du Hui's previous description on paper.
Everyone could see that her attitude was extremely sincere and she really respected them from the bottom of her heart.
One person said, "In the past, everyone said that the young Marquis of Xiguan was foolish, stubborn, arrogant and unruly. How wrong they are!"
"That's right. Young Marquis, we bow to you willingly!"
Liu Ziye had been focused on expanding her territory for a while now, and she was aware of Du Hui's actions behind the scenes. From her perspective, the need to support her own relentless expansion was enough to keep Du Hui busy day and night.
Now it seems that this truly influential strategist has done much more than just this!
The moment Liu Ziye looked over, Du Hui knew that the young marquis must have understood the situation.
The two reached a consensus at that moment. Liu Ziye completed the role obligations she was supposed to fulfill today without any hesitation. She gave sufficient courtesy and care to every gentleman who joined the Xiguan Marquis Mansion, talked about each person's areas of expertise, and gave recognition and encouragement.
The whole appearance was perfectly coordinated.
All the gentlemen in the room sighed with emotion that their investment had never been tarnished, and left the main hall full of confidence.
When Du Hui and Liu Ziye were the only ones left in the hall, Liu Ziye waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the study in the backyard."
The study was renovated and a porch with brick walls and a wooden roof was added. A pond was carved out behind the porch and a pond full of fish and aquatic plants was raised.
The entire layout of the study was very reasonable before, so only the exterior walls, roof, and interior wall fixtures were renovated.
Liu Ziye found his seat familiarly and sat down. Thinking about what had just happened, he couldn't help but want to laugh.
"Sir, what kind of tonic did you give us?"
At this point, Du Hui clearly relaxed his stance a bit, but his tone remained serious: "Young Marquis is out there expanding territory and conquering the world. As someone who sits comfortably behind him, how can I not contribute my remaining energy?"
"The young marquis is leading the charge. If I, Du, cannot make his achievements known, then I have no business remaining at the top of the teaching chair in the Marquisate!"
Liu Ziye pondered for a moment.
She had considered winning over people's hearts and establishing a strategic team besides engineers.
It was simply because there were too many things to do, so she couldn't take big steps, and ultimately her foundation was unstable and she was in a state of panic.
Although she didn't expect what Du Hui did, it was exactly what she wanted.
Liu Ziye looked at Mr. Du without saying anything, just smiling briefly.
Du Hui immediately understood.
If he had previously made presumptuous assumptions and acted on his own, today, he officially received a clear answer from Liu Ziye.
It means that everything is just as he thought.
What the young marquis wants to do is to focus on the long term. It is not just to rely on opening a few mines and building a few roads later, to be satisfied with the products of the fiefdom, and to lie drunk in Xiguan from then on.
He confirmed that the young marquis really had ambitions for the world and the Great Zhou.
Through a silent exchange of codes and eye contact, the master and the minister reached a consensus.
Du Hui knew that from now on, whenever he greeted Liu Ziye in private, he would no longer address him as "Young Marquis" or "Mr. Du", but "Lord" and "Your humble servant".
The teapot rolled over, and water overflowed from the spout and dripped onto the red hot charcoal.
With a "sizzle", it turned into wisps of white smoke.
Liu Ziye lifted the handle of the teapot and poured boiling water into the tea leaves. The water and tea leaves swirled at the bottom of the pot.
She calmly brewed tea, and only after the second pot was ready did she look across at Du Hui and say, "Sir, have some tea."
Du Hui stood up and solemnly took the teacup offered by Liu Ziye with both hands: "Thank you, young lord."
After he sat down again, seemingly as usual, yet clearly different, Liu Ziye asked him, "Sir, your letter said there's an important person you need me to meet in person. Who is it?"
"Exactly."
Du Hui said.
"I wonder if the young marquis has ever heard of Master Xuan Jing before?"
Liu Ziye frowned slightly and thought: "Master Xuan Jing? I've never heard of him."
Judging from the title, this should be a monk. Since he can be called a mage, his level must be quite high.
"Indeed, our Western Border is unlike other counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty, where there's a temple every ten or thirty miles. Aside from the sparsely populated Yanyun Temple in the north of the city, there aren't any other temples. Young Marquis doesn't know much about this, but he often thinks about it."
Du Hui said, "According to Wang Zhi, while the young marquis and I were both away from home, this Master Xuan Jing took the initiative to visit us. At the time, our doorman intended to invite Wang Zhi to receive him and keep him at the mansion. However, upon hearing that the young marquis was not at the mansion, the Master refused to leave and took up residence at the Yanyun Temple in the north of the city, where he remains until now."
"After hearing the news, Du immediately rushed to Yanyun Temple to meet Master Xuanjing, but was unable to see him. I believe only you, the young marquis, could possibly invite the master to meet again."
After listening to this, Liu Ziye asked curiously, "Who is this Master Xuan Jing? He's just a Buddhist monk. Does that mean we need to pay so much attention to him?"
In her previous life, she was in high school and read and memorized political textbooks and the basic principles and theories of Marxism.
The few people who came here also read the classics of this world according to the book list given by Du Hui, but they mainly focused on Confucian classics, and rarely touched on Buddhist and Taoist classics.
After hearing Liu Ziye's question, Du Hui said seriously, "It's very necessary."
"Please explain it in detail, sir." Liu Ziye asked humbly.
·
Before the soldiers on the other side realized what was happening, seventy or eighty stonemasons rushed over with iron chisels in hand. Instantly, the skull was pierced, leaving a pool of red and white liquid on the ground.
Dozens of people took advantage of the momentum and quickly rushed out of the cliff.
But what awaited them ahead were armored and sword-wielding soldiers dozens to their number. The path down the mountain was impossible. In desperation, the remaining ten or so men, at Yu Qing's shout, leaped down the steep slope to the side.
They rolled naked down the steep slope, and half of them were either hit by rocks or pierced by grass and branches.
In the end, there were only a dozen of them who could still run, and they were wandering around in the forest like mice that had completely lost their direction.
The few moments of life earned eventually came to an end.
But Yu Qing was right. As long as they had not reached the final desperate moment, they could not allow themselves to die in the mountains and forests, leaving their loved ones at home without hope.
The man lying on the ground, at his words, struggled to stand up again. He looked up at the endless sky and once again embarked on the road to survival in this desperate situation.
An hour later, the mountain peak was capped and there was no way to go anymore, so everyone stopped.
Looking back along the road they had come, they could faintly hear the sound of footsteps and the clash of swords and spears. It was clear they would soon be found by the pursuing soldiers. Even if they tried their best to carve out a space for themselves to survive, it would be in vain.
We are just ants, why should we pray for God's attention and mercy?
This time, Yu Qing and others actually sat on the ground. Before the pursuers arrived, they sat on the top of the world-famous Lingyun Peak of Dongwang Mountain, admiring the red afterglow of the sunset and the mountains and forests illuminated by golden light.
"Found it! They're here!"
"You're just a rat in the gutter, slithering around and annoying everyone!"
"Take them down!"
These soldiers who claimed to protect them and defend the Great Zhou, didn't they know who they were actually protecting?
When the stormy storm came to capture them, those few people who had enjoyed the most beautiful scenery in their lives took a step forward and jumped down from the top of the mountain together.
·
Cui Mingyan was all smiles as he accompanied the prince down the mountain. He humorously told a joke he had heard about officialdom.
It’s not that Crown Prince Liu Ziling didn’t notice his deliberate flattery, but how many people who squeezed in front of him didn’t feel the same way?
As long as these people are truly useful and can truly do things in accordance with his will, he will use them.
He smiled relaxedly.
Cui Ming felt greatly encouraged.
"Bang——"
"Bang——" "Bang——" "Bang——"
However, the sound of a series of heavy objects falling to the ground interrupted the next words he was about to say.
The guards around the prince immediately took full precautions and surrounded the prince.
“Who is it?”
A team was separated from the guards and stood on high alert for a moment. After finding that there was no subsequent unusual movement, they surrounded the source of the sound.
Cui Ming reacted quickly and immediately shouted, "Protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
The government soldiers from Dongwang Mountain and the conscripted central army garrison were immediately scattered.
A moment later, the Imperial Guards who had gone to investigate reported back from the woods along the hillside path, "Your Highness, judging by their appearance, they appear to be a dozen or so laborers from Dongwang Mountain, who were tasked with repairing the palace. They fell from a great height for unknown reasons."
Liu Ziling asked, "Are there any survivors?"
“No.”
When Cui Ming heard that they were servants, he broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, they were all dead, so he could say whatever he wanted.
He immediately said, "Some cunning and lazy fellows ignored orders and left the camp for recreation. They rolled down here and must have fallen from the peak of the West Mountain."
"Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was preoccupied with the construction of the Suzumiya Palace, never having the leisure to admire the sunset and maple leaves on the western hills. Yet, these cunning and unscrupulous people were so greedy that they had a blast! They deserved to lose their lives if they weren't careful."
Liu Ziling said nothing. He looked up at the place where the guards pointed out the body had fallen.
High above, where the clouds and mist were rising, a faint mountain range was visible. It was the western peak of Dongwang Mountain. These people had probably fallen from that peak.
He said: "If they were just enjoying the scenery, why would more than a dozen people fall at the same time? If one or two people fell accidentally, it's understandable."
When Cui Ming heard this, he trembled nervously.
"Maybe... maybe one or two people got into trouble, and the others were about to rescue them. But these common people were so stupid and clumsy that they not only failed to save them, but also got themselves into trouble."
Upon hearing this, the prince turned his ink-like eyes and stared at Cui Ming: "Really?"
His relaxed demeanor faded completely, and he asked, "Master Cui, why are you so flustered?"
Cui Ming hurriedly said, "I am not panicking!"
"Yeah?"
Liu Ziling obviously didn't believe it.
He turned to look at the direction where these people fell and said, "Even these people, as Lord Cui calls them, should be able to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the Western Hills. If I come here and cannot enjoy it to my heart's content, then wouldn't I be unworthy of being the Crown Prince?"
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go and head to the West Mountain Road!"
"Your Highness!"
Cui Ming knelt anxiously. "Your Highness, you are the crown prince of a country, second only to the emperor and above all others! You control the vast lands of the Great Zhou and enjoy the tributes of the people! A few trivial matters are not worth risking your life to explore. Don't you agree?"
"adventure?"
Liu Ziling clearly grasped his choice of words.
He put on a faint smile and asked Cui Ming, who was kneeling on the ground, "Since I am the crown prince, I am only here to explore the mountains of our Great Zhou. I have the support of the imperial guards, the central army, and even Lord Cui. How can I be in danger?"
Cui Ming bravely looked the Crown Prince in the face: "Your Highness! The danger is not in your body, but in your heart. It may not happen today, but it will arise secretly today. You must be on guard!"
"How dare you! What gives you the confidence, Master Cui, to think you can threaten me in person like this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
