Royal study room.
Li Chenan sat opposite Nian Chengfeng and Wen Boiyu under their surprised gazes.
He simply ignored the two men's doubtful glances on his face, and calmly took out the fire sticks and lit the tea stove:
"Don't ask, I won't tell you that you were beaten by someone if you asked!"
He raised his head, looked at Wen Boiyu, and grinned: "Are you Mr. Boiyu?"
"Exactly...but I guess you were beaten by a woman!"
Li Chenan raised his eyebrows, "It's not difficult to guess!"
"Why did that Miss Xiao beat you? Is it difficult to guess?"
"You really can't guess this!"
"Then stop guessing and get down to business."
"I didn't sleep all night last night. We spent the whole night talking in that shabby place in the flower garden, all about you."
"They also told me in detail your thoughts on governing the country. I agree with some of your views, such as attaching importance to industry and commerce, punishing corrupt officials, breaking down trade barriers between various places, etc."
"But I have a question."
Li Chenan raised his hand: "Please speak!"
"Everything depends on people. To achieve success, it depends on people."
"People are all different, and they are all different. Too many officials are full of enthusiasm for serving the country and the people when they first leave the academy and enter officialdom."
"But after these people become officials, the vast majority of them will forget their original intentions within two or three years."
"They no longer care about the suffering of the people under their control, but care about the preferences of their superiors."
"They began to steal people's wealth and anointing to please their superiors and seek greater official positions."
"This is not just true for Ningguo, it is true for the whole world and thousands of years of history!"
"That's why there is a saying that the dynasty lasts only three hundred years."
"What I want to ask you is...what's the solution to this disadvantage?"
Li Chenan twisted a handful of tea and put it into the teapot. He pondered for a moment, raised his eyes, and said: "This is the first thing I need to do urgently!"
"What's the matter?"
"legislation!"
Wen Boyu frowned: "What method?"
"The supreme constitution above the imperial power!"
"..."
Sitting around the stove making tea, Li Chenan talked eloquently. His words completely subverted their understanding and made them dumbfounded.
…
…
From early morning to dusk, the snow still showed no sign of stopping.
In the backyard of Taiyuan University, the garden is filled with flowers and everyone is sitting uneasily.
Even though he stayed up all night last night, he didn't feel tired at all.
He walked back and forth in the room, with no plans for the rest of the chess game in his mind.
At this time, the world was no longer in his heart.
Only the girl riding the donkey.
And the hands holding that girl!
Those hands are so natural!
That girl is also extremely natural!
Hua Manting lowered her head, stepped up, walked out of the room, and stood in the heavy snow at dusk.
Back then, Xiao Mantou was here, in the heavy snow of this cold winter, so it was natural.
Natural cooking wine.
Drink with yourself naturally.
Leave it natural.
Then it happened naturally.
I was forty-five that year.
She is twenty-one.
Now Li Chenan is seventeen and that girl is twenty.
She is Xiao Mantou's daughter, her own daughter.
In the past twenty years, Xiao Mantou has never been to Kyoto again, and she has never even left Wanxi Zhai!
And I have never been to Wanxi Zhai, and I have not even sent anyone to Wanxi Zhai to have a look.
Just because his identity cannot be exposed.
Don't bring any danger to them.
But he didn't expect that twenty years later, his daughter would come to Kyoto.
She is as beautiful as her mother.
It's just that her character seems to be more stubborn than her mother's.
Now she has obviously fallen in love with Li Chenan... Li Chenan must ascend the throne and become emperor!
If he is the emperor, then his daughter must be the queen!
Hua Manting's eyes slowly narrowed, but Zhongli Ruoshui was in front of her daughter. Li Chenan was deeply passionate about Zhongli Ruoshui, and even refused to wear the crown for Zhongli Ruoshui.
Then Zhongli Ruoshui must die!
He raised his head and looked up at the sky.
Heavy snow fell on his face, and at this moment, he made up his mind.
"Taohua, I'm sorry!"
At this moment, the fence gate of the small courtyard suddenly opened with a creak.
Hua Manting looked intently and saw a girl wearing a green cotton-padded jacket swaying in on a small black donkey.
Xiao Baozi jumped off the donkey's back and stood in front of Hua Manting. The corner of his mouth curled up, "Watching the snow?"
Hua Manting's face that was as cold as ice just now was rippling like a spring breeze, "So, not really."
Xiao Baozi tilted his slender neck and said, "The words of the learned scholars are different, and I, who come from the mountains, can't understand them."
Hua Manting smiled kindly:
"It's cold outside, sit inside!"
"good!"
Xiao Baozi looked at the simple courtyard, followed Hua Manting into the cabin, sat in front of Hua Manting, and said:
"I heard that you and Chen An are close friends. You and Chen An are considered brothers. Let's not get too estranged. How about I call you brother?"
Hua Manting's hand holding the teapot suddenly stopped in the air.
"……good."
"Brother," Xiao Baozi leaned over, "I should have come to see you a long time ago, but then...then I felt a little conflicted, so I couldn't make up my mind, so I came a little late."
Hua Manting put the teapot on the stove and asked, "What's the contradiction?"
"That's right. I didn't come to Kyoto to find my biological parents."
"It was my disciples from Wanxi Zhai who wrote that they found a good employer, your brother Li Chenan."
"So I decided to go out for a walk and have a look. See what Li Chenan is like, and don't deceive my disciples."
"He and I met in Shilipo, and we went to Shuangjiao Mountain for a walk together. This walk brought us to Kyoto."
"Yan Jidao said that my master Xiao Mantou was also a legendary existence in Kyoto back then... I now roughly understand what he meant... He said that if he wants to know the master's story, he should come to you."
"Brother, actually I don't care much about mother's story. I'm just wondering, do you know Xi Wei?"
"After all, the matter between her and Xi Wei should be very secret. If you know their story, you should know Xi Wei!"
Hua Manting pondered for three breaths and nodded.
Xiao Baozi asked again: "He...is he really a bad person?"
No matter what, he is his father after all.
Xiao Baozi finally came here and found Hua Manting. She expected to know from Hua Manting's mouth what kind of person Xi Wei really was.
Hua Manting rubbed her hands and hesitated for five breaths, "Xi Wei... is not a good person."
Xiao Baozi's heart sank, and there was a hint of disappointment on his face.
If he is not a good person, he is certainly a bad person.
"You are an adult, but as a father, he has never cared about you mother and daughter. From this point of view, he is not a good person."
"But I'm afraid you don't know his difficulties..."
The corner of Xiao Baozi's mouth curled up: "The reason?"
"People are born to suffer in this world. Brother, you don't need to whitewash it for him. I have heard a lot about him these days, but I didn't pay much attention to him in the past."
"Okay, let's come and see you and determine what kind of person he is. That's enough."
Xiao Baozi stood up, and Hua Manting immediately raised his head, with a very nervous look on his face: "No, Xi Wei is not a bad person!"
Xiao Baozi shrugged and walked towards the door.
Hua Manting quickly stood up and said: "He is doing it for Ning Guo!"
Xiao Baozi turned around and said, "In the name of righteousness?"
"Which is more important, country or family?"
"Li Chenan is different!"
"When he was in Huaishan County, Li Chenan said that if he couldn't even save Zhongli Ruoshui, how could he save the world!"
"This is responsibility!"
"Xi Wei doesn't even dare to recognize his wife and daughter. You said he did it for Ning Guo... do you believe it?"
Xiao Baozi walked out of this door.
"Brother, I guess you were also deceived by Xi Wei, but fortunately, you have nothing to lose. It's just that my mother's life is not worth living."
She walked into the heavy snow, and Hua Manting followed her.
"girl……"
Xiao Baozi waved his hand with his back to him: "It's too snowy, so I won't give it away."
"Brother, Chen An and I will come to see you another day!"
"Or you can go to the Plum Garden when you have time."
"I have to rush back, don't let that guy Wang Zhenghaoxuan eat the essence of the dog meat!"
