Outside Chang'an City, in the middle of the Qinling Mountains, deep in the Zhongnan Mountains.
A family lives in a hut with only a simple fence around it, hidden in the deep clouds and fog, with birds circling in the sky and tigers guarding the surroundings.
In the fence, flowers are in full bloom.
There is a woman in commoner clothes, with her black hair wrapped in green cloth. She has an ordinary appearance, but her skin is as white as ice and snow, and her temperament is fresh and refined, completely natural.
She is watering a flower.
It was actually a stone flower.
Chacha walked over with two little balls on her head, also wearing common clothes. The difference from before was that her skin became dark, like a little black girl.
It's not like green tea becoming refined at all, but rather like coal becoming refined.
Chacha pinched her waist with her hands and said angrily: "Master, let's just leave Xuandu Temple. Why do we have to become so ugly?"
It made her afraid to wear a little white skirt.
Taizhen glanced at her, with an imperceptible smile on his lips, and said calmly: "The flowers are about to bloom. Just in case, we need to hide for a period of time. During this period, we need to keep a low profile as much as possible."
Chacha looked at the stone flower and wondered: "Will this stone flower really bloom? I don't think it has changed at all compared to before!"
Taizhen smiled half-heartedly and said, "It's almost time."
She stretched her waist. Even though she was wearing a plain dress, she could not block the graceful curves. Unfortunately, this place was inaccessible and no one could fully enjoy it.
"Disciple, Master is hungry."
Little grown-up Chacha sighed and said, "Then what do you want to eat?"
"Anything is fine."
"Then let me cook a bowl of noodles."
"no appetite."
“How about the wontons?”
"I do not want to eat."
"Where's the steamed pancake?"
"so so."
Chacha bared her teeth and said, "Master, what do you want to eat?"
Taizhen blinked and said with a smile, "Anything is fine."
Chacha: "..."
After a while, Chacha gave in and said helplessly: "Okay, I know you want to eat Yujia brown seeds, cherry bilo, sweet fish, steamed grass deer skin cake, and donkey mane roasted camel hump. I will go down the mountain to buy it for you. It’s okay to go to the head office.”
With this tone, those who didn't know better thought she was the elder in the family.
Taizhen smiled, as if she had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.
She stretched out her jade finger and placed it between Chacha's eyebrows.
"The Longmen Immortal Meeting is about to be held. Now there are Taoist priests everywhere in Chang'an City. I will seal your spiritual energy first to prevent you from being discovered by Taoist priests and taken away."
When Chacha heard that it was so dangerous, she shrank her neck and said timidly: "How about... Master, please bear with me and just eat the noodles."
Taizhen smiled slightly and flicked her on the head.
"Go early and come back early. Master will miss you."
The next moment, Chacha flew out of Zhongnan Mountain like a shooting star, looking like she had expected to be hopeless again...
…
Li Daoxuan left Xuandu Temple and went straight to Taiji Palace.
Since I haven't seen my senior sister, let's go and see the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty who will be remembered throughout the ages.
When I came to Chang'an this time, in addition to secretly investigating the Moro Sect, the Longmen Immortal Society and the canonization of the Tsing Yi Empress were inseparable from the core figure Li Shimin. In addition, the other party generously rewarded Qilin Whisk and Luo Yuexian. Li Daoxuan still has a good impression of him.
The closer he got to the imperial city, the more he felt the condensed dragon energy. Li Daoxuan even vaguely felt that the invisible real dragon transformed by the dragon energy was staring at him.
When the eunuch learned that it was the real person from Longhu Mountain who came to see him, he immediately went to report it.
…
Taiji Palace, Ganlu Palace.
Li Shimin was sitting on the dragon chair, looking at the memorial, frowning.
He didn't seem to be resting well these days. He looked a little haggard and had dark circles under his eyes.
"Your Majesty, it's time to have lunch, you have to take care of your dragon body!"
The eunuch in charge next to him advised.
Li Shimin continued to look at the memorial and sighed: "There is a severe drought in Kyoto, and the people can't drink a few sips of water every day. I am the emperor, but I can't solve the worries of the people, so why bother to eat?"
The eunuch said: "Your Majesty, you have ordered Huazhou, Tongzhou, Fangzhou, Danzhou and other places to transfer water, and set up seventeen water supply points in Chang'an, so that the people in the city can survive the severe drought, not to mention You also set an example, the concubines in the harem, and even His Royal Highness, are not allowed to use more than one bucket of water per day!"
In his opinion, His Majesty has done a good enough job, but it is just a drought caused by God and no rain, which cannot be overcome without human power.
Li Shimin said nothing, waved his hand to signal him to step back, and continued to read the memorial.
After a while, a eunuch came over, carrying a small birdcage with a little falcon in it.
This is a very rare bird that looks great and is very cute.
"Your Majesty, the birthday gift you asked me to prepare for Princess Changle some time ago is now ready."
Li Shimin walked over to look at the falcon, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Yes, Changle likes flowers and birds best. She should like this gift."
At this moment, someone reported outside the door that it was Shangshu Zuo Cheng Wei who was seeking an audience.
Li Shimin was startled, coughed, and quickly grabbed the little falcon into his sleeve, and then ordered the eunuch to hide the birdcage behind it.
In order to prevent the hawk from screaming, he covered the bird's mouth.
Wei Zheng was an old subordinate of Li Shimin's eldest brother Li Jiancheng. He even suggested that Li Jiancheng take the first step and kill Li Shimin, but it was not adopted.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he discovered that Wei Zheng was very talented. What was even more rare was that he was proud and upright. He dared to offend Yan Zhijian, so he was exempted from death penalty and entrusted with important tasks. Now he has been promoted to Zuocheng, the minister.
Wei Zheng also lived up to Li Shimin's trust. He wrote letters to remonstrate many times and pointed out the emperor's faults in court. He was not afraid of life and death, spoke sharply, and avoided many decision-making mistakes. He was called the number one leader in the Tang Dynasty.
So much so that Li Shimin was a little afraid of him now, fearing that if Wei Zheng came in and saw that he was playing tricks on the birds instead of doing political affairs, he would start nagging again.
After a while, Wei Zheng entered the palace.
He was majestic, clear-eyed, and had a vicious eye. He soon discovered that the emperor had a falcon hidden in his sleeve.
Wei Zheng smiled slightly and deliberately talked about a lot of miscellaneous things. Two moments had passed by the time he left.
Li Shimin hurriedly took out the falcon from his sleeve, only to find that the bird had been muffled to death, and his face darkened.
At this time, the eunuch who sent Wei Zheng away came back and said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, that fellow Wei Zheng——"
Li Shimin suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
The eunuch immediately knelt down, slapped himself, and said, "It's Mr. Wei. When he left, he told the servant that as a king, your majesty should concentrate on political affairs and must not fly eagles and fight birds... to lose one's ambition with playthings!"
Li Shimin said calmly: "Have you told him that this bird is just a birthday gift for Changle?"
"I have said it, but Mr. Wei said that there is a severe drought in Chang'an at the moment. Your Majesty is the father of the princess, but more importantly, he is the king of the people of Chang'an. Now that the people are in dire straits, your Majesty should be the king first and then the father."
Li Shimin's spirit was shaken. He pondered for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "What Wei Zheng said was so inspiring that I sent an order to reward Wei Zheng with a hundred pieces of silk and satin and a thousand taels of silver."
"promise!"
Li Shimin let out a long sigh and looked at the body of the little falcon in his hand, showing a look of regret.
At this moment, the eunuch came to report again.
"Your Majesty, Master Taichong of Longhu Mountain wants to see you!"
(End of chapter)
