Chapter 582: Empress: Search for a song of "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" for me
Chapter 582: Empress: Please search for a song "Song of Water Melody" for me
"Your Majesty, is it so urgent?" Zhao Duan showed an embarrassment. He had not yet figured out how to trick the empress.
Xu Zhenguan looked at him with doubtful eyes:
"Is there a problem? Now that the news of King Mu's death has spread, the entire court will be in motion. You are still in Zhengyang Mountain, and the people of Jingchuan County still don't know your whereabouts.
You should go back first, or you can borrow Zhang Yanyi's help to quickly return to Jingchuan Town to stabilize the army's morale... You have to go through the murals when you go back, I will go with you and will not delay you for anything."
These words were well-reasoned and made Zhao Duan feel a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult, so he nodded: "Okay."
The emperor and his minister left the Golden Palace and soon arrived at the third floor of the small building.
Zhao Duan walked to the mural with familiarity, sat cross-legged in meditation, and looked up at the empress who was sitting on a cushion facing him.
The hem of the pure white dress spread out, covering the entire lower body.
"Zhao Qing..." Xu Zhenguan saw that he was about to close his eyes, and suddenly spoke. In the latter's puzzled eyes, he said faintly: "You have nothing else to report?"
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No. Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
The empress looked at him meaningfully and said slowly, "It's okay."
"Oh." Zhao Duan's heart was beating strangely. He felt that Zhenbao's reaction today was a little abnormal, but he couldn't figure out the reason for a moment. So he simply rose from his substitute and stepped into the mural.
He will play Zhang Hui again in "The World", fool the empress once, and then return to Zhengyang Mountain to take care of the follow-up.
Almost at the same time, Xu Zhenguan also closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and his mind sank into "The World".
……
……
It was at the same time that the news of Xu Jingtang's death spread in the capital.
West of the capital, in the territory of Xiping Road, on a small road close to the border, two monks were walking one after the other.
The former was an old monk with a slightly hunched figure, wearing brown monk's robes and having an old face.
The latter turned out to be a handsome monk wearing a white monk's robe. Although he was not young, he still had red lips and white teeth.
It was the long-lost abbot of the Shenlong Temple, Monk Xuanyin, and Bian Ji, who was famous for his saying "Grass turns green in spring".
At the beginning, after the empress failed in her Fengshan ceremony and was promoted to a celestial being, Xuan Yin knew that she had failed, so she left the capital early, leaving everything behind and only taking Bian Ji with her.
In the past few months, the two of them almost disappeared from everyone's sight, and no one could have imagined that they would come to the border.
"Abbot, the checkpoint leading to the Western Region is ahead. It seems that just as the people I met along the way said, there is strife in the country of Yu, and the Western Region is not honest. For this reason, the Duke of Zhenguo blocked the road to the Western Region. Otherwise, this road would not be so deserted."
Bian Ji looked exhausted, carrying a small bag on his back. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the city standing in the distance.
This is not his first time here.
Back then, when he was still a teenager and Xuan Yin was not yet the abbot, the two of them walked out of the temple and entered the Western Regions. They caused a scene in the Buddhist temple, brought back two boxes of scriptures, and laid the foundation for Xuan Yin to inherit the position of Shenlong Temple.
Monk Xuanyin suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked towards the south, his brown eyes seemed to be looking infinitely far away.
The old monk said calmly: "Xu Jingtang is dead."
Bian Ji was surprised: "Why did he die?"
Xuan Yin said: "The star of death has fallen. As expected, Xu Jingtang still invited the god of death to come, and Zhang Yanyi took action as expected."
Bian Ji said angrily:
"This man boasted before, how could he be so short-sighted? Fortunately, you wrote a letter to Huaishui and dispatched Kongzhu and others to help. Now that the Yunfu army has been defeated, doesn't it give the empress a chance to catch her breath?"
Because of the destruction of Shenlong Temple, Bian Ji was full of hostility towards the empress and Zhao Duan.
After a pause, he became worried again:
"Abbot, now that Xu Jingtang has been defeated, although there are still several rebel kings on the chessboard, the only one who can really threaten the throne is probably Prince Jing... Only when Prince Jing ascends the throne can the Shenlong Temple in Yu Kingdom have a place to stay."
Bian Ji was a little worried.
Bad news, King Mu is dead.
Good news, Prince Jing, the most favored prince in Shenlong Temple and the most powerful among the eight princes, is still here.
Moreover, with the loss of Prince Mu as a competitor, all forces hostile to the Empress will have to turn to support Prince Jing.
This means that within a short period of time, Prince Jing's power may expand again and reach a new height.
"His Majesty's enemies are not limited to the kings." Old Monk Xuanyin said softly.
He turned to the west and looked at the mountains:
"Do you still remember the 'Tian Shou destroyed Buddhism' when the dynasty changed six hundred years ago?"
Bian Ji was startled and asked in surprise: "Abbot, you mean that the Dharma King of the Western Regions will..."
The brown monk's robe fluttered like waves in the autumn wind from the west:
“The Buddhist sect in the Western Regions has always remembered the hatred from the past. Moreover, now that the branch of Shenlong Temple has been defeated, isn’t this a good opportunity for the Dharma King to merge the Eastern and Western Buddhism?
I didn't move before because I wanted to sit back and watch the internal fighting among the kings in Yu. Now that Xu Jingtang is dead, the balance has been broken, and the Western Regions should also be restless. "
Bian Ji understood something, his eyes lit up, and he said:
"So, you chose this time to enter the Western Regions because..."
Xuan Yin did not answer, but took a step forward, stepping on the yellowish sand. The world was vast and people were like ants.
Bian Ji hurriedly followed.
Two monks, one old and one young, returned to the Western Regions after twenty years.
……
Yunfu Road.
South of Zhengyang Mountain, for another thousand miles, there is endless dense forest.
The forest was like the sea, cutting a green dividing line across the earth. Outside the dense forest, at regular intervals along the river, there was a southwestern border army outpost.
This is Southwest Xinjiang.
It is also outside the borders of the Yu State, where the Liao people live. In the vast mountains, birds and beasts are startled and fly away, as if they have sensed the movement of Zhengyang Mountain in the north.
As if in a forest from ancient times, a "sentinel" stood on the dense tree canopy, staring towards the north.
She was a slender female hunter, wearing a dress made of animal skins. Her exposed skin was as dark and shiny as ink. She was a woman in her twenties, with a pair of narrowed green pupils on her exotic face.
The female sentry turned nimbly, with such a large amplitude that the string of bone decorations hanging from the leather skirt at her waist made a sound.
She whistled loudly!
"Wow!"
In the distant treetops, a huge bird flapped its wings and flew up. When its wings flapped, it stirred up a strong wind and flew towards them.
The female sentry leaped onto the bird's back, knelt on her knees, grabbed the feathers on the giant bird's back with both hands, flew over the forest, and flew towards a huge "bird's nest" in the distance!
When we got closer, we found that the "Bird's Nest" was a huge, cylindrical village, like a ring of a god fallen to the earth.
A peaceful area has been carved out in the forest where wild beasts and poisonous insects roam.
On the circular city wall, the Liaoren sentinels looked up, saw the big bird, and then looked away.
A young female sentinel who had received the gift of "white flute" from the Liao people flew past the city wall.
Inside the village below, there are densely packed buildings scattered all over the place, and tribesmen are coming in and out one by one.
In the square, many female tribesmen were drying fruits and meat and hanging them up.
In the center of many buildings, a majestic "temple" is the most eye-catching.
The female sentry rolled over and landed near the temple. Under the scrutiny of the people around her, she quickly walked up the stairs and came to the entrance of the temple.
If Zhao Du'an were here, he would be surprised to find that the interior of the so-called temple is actually a small building with an architectural style very similar to that of the Yu State.
"Dong dong dong..."
The woman named "Bai Di" knocked on the door.
"Enter."
A voice came from inside the door.
When Bai Di pushed open the door, what came into view was not some majestic sacrificial site, but... a... study!
Yes!
Study! The floor was covered with a knitted carpet from the Western Regions. In the spacious room were elegant desks, with pens, inkstones, and paper scattered on the desks...
There are also many books.
Pieces of porcelain are placed on the antique shelves, and landscape paintings and calligraphy are hung on the walls, all of which are printed with numerous private seals of collectors from past dynasties.
In the corner, there were large vases filled with trimmed branches. Next to the vases hung a birdcage, in which a parrot was dozing, seemingly about to fall off the wooden stick it was standing on at any moment.
There are several huge bookshelves around the room, which are filled with all kinds of books, no less than the great bibliophiles of the Yu State.
Among them is even the most popular "On the Study of Mind" in the Confucian scholars of Dayu in the past year... Well, it was written by Mr. Zhengyang, but the signature ranked second, and the first signature was "Zhao Duan"...
At this moment, under a bookshelf, a long-haired man wearing a loose purple Confucian robe was barefoot, standing on a bamboo stool, flipping through ancient books.
Hearing the noise, the man turned around, revealing a face that was very different from that of the Liao people and more similar to that of the Yu people, except that he had no beard, but only blue stubble.
"Clan leader."
Bai Dizi looked at the furnishings in the room with curiosity and awe, then knelt on one knee and reported truthfully what he had observed.
The long-haired purple-shirted man frowned and jumped down from the stool barefoot:
"In the direction of Zhengyang Mountain, dark clouds gathered and then melted away by blue clouds? There were also columns of air rising up and dissipating?"
"Yes." Bai Di nodded.
The long-haired, purple-shirted man pondered for a moment and said softly, "I'm afraid Xu Jingtang is dead."
Then, he walked quickly to the table, spread out a piece of rice paper, picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, quickly wrote a letter, and then folded it and handed it to her: "Send it out."
Bai Di did not ask anything, nor did he dare to pry, and he retreated respectfully. Just before closing the door, he heard the awakened parrot in the birdcage cursing:
"Who disturbed my sleep..."
The long-haired man in purple ignored the parrot. He just stood quietly in the house, looking at the scenery outside the window, and whispered:
"Master Zhang has come to Yunfu. Isn't he planning to come over to reminisce about the past?"
No one responded, only a breeze of autumn wind outside the window.
……
……
A city shrouded in darkness.
In an office.
Zhao Duan opened his eyes and straightened up from his desk.
I saw the familiar computer with the screen turned off, the blue folders piled up next to it, and a corner of the blue curtain lifted by the night breeze blowing in from the window.
"Back again..."
He rubbed his face, stood up, and paced around the room to relieve his fatigue.
Then he walked to the washstand familiarly and scooped up some clean water to splash on his face.
"Wow—"
Feeling the water flowing down his skin and wetting his collar, Zhao Duan raised his head and looked at the strange yet familiar face in the mirror.
I wiped my hands, took out my phone from my pocket, turned on the screen, and the time showed: 0:02
When no one enters, the world seems to come to a standstill, or to be more precise... reset and refresh?
"At this time, Zhenbao should have just come in. Well, we didn't show up at my house... which means we need to regroup every time we come in..."
This made Zhao Duan breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, if one came in and saw the empress lying on the sofa in her home with her long legs crossed, watching TV, and then turned around and said in a domineering tone: "I want..."
It’s quite a headache, isn’t it?
This is good, it gives him plenty of time to sort out his thoughts.
"Zhenbao went to my house by car last time, so she doesn't know the exact location. We should meet at that barbecue restaurant..."
"I checked my own home last time and found nothing special, nor any traces left by 'Old Xu'. There is nothing unusual in my office either."
"How do I start the 'main mission' in this world? Could it be that the breakthrough lies not in me, but in Zhen Bao?"
Zhao Duan pondered this serious question.
Old Xu left too many mysteries related to the mystery of his time travel, and he had no choice but to pay attention to it.
The matter of Xu Jingtang finally came to an end, and he also wanted to explore this world more deeply.
Since there are no clues in my home and office, the clue is most likely hidden in the Empress...
kindness……
Of course there is another possibility, which is what he speculated last time, that perhaps he needs to spend enough time with the empress.
In fact, helping her get familiar with this world is the correct way to unlock the hidden mission in this painting...
"There's no point in thinking too much, just deal with tonight."
Zhao Duan changed his clothes, opened the door, and trotted downstairs along the quiet corridor.
In order to cover up his lie, he must meet the empress tonight as Zhang Hui.
We can't keep her waiting any longer.
Not long after.
Zhao Duan took the car again and arrived at the "old place" where the two met... the store that was open late at night.
When I opened the car door, I saw Xu Zhenguan, dressed like an urban beauty, waiting obediently by the roadside.
She was still wearing trousers and a shirt, her sparkling feet were wearing thin-strap sandals, her long hair was draped over her shoulders, and her stunning face was slightly obscured by the night.
The whole person stood under the street light, as if he was the focus of the whole world.
And it seems out of tune with this prosperous world.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Zhao Duan adjusted his state, restored his "Zhang Hui" character, took elegant steps and walked over with a smile.
The empress turned back calmly, examining him with her eyes.
This time, perhaps because of her experience, she seemed particularly calm.
"Has it been a long time since we last met?" Xu Zhenguan stared at Zhang Hui and suddenly asked.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, realizing that there was a flaw in his words, which aroused the empress's temptation. Did she want to know the copy mechanism from him?
Heh...baby, you are wrong. As a fake NPC, I have the right to interpret this game... Zhao Duan was calm and smiled:
"Parting with a beautiful lady like Miss Xu, even if it's only one day, it feels like a year."
The empress looked at him quietly, and suddenly asked, "Are you teasing me?"
Hey, you learned so quickly? You even understand what flirting means? Zhao Duan was surprised.
Xu Zhenguan's eyebrows and eyes were cold, and he looked like he was keeping people at a distance:
"I remember telling you that I have a fiancé."
Zhao Duan was actually a little happy and smiled apologetically:
"I'm sorry. Last time I took Miss Xu home, I didn't want her to leave for some reason, so this time I'm going to meet her..."
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhenguan suddenly spoke up and interrupted his line:
"Yes, I had something urgent to do last time, so let's finish what I didn't finish last time. I'm very curious about the ancient poems you have here."
Zhao Duan was already prepared in his heart and said with a smile:
"...Since Miss Xu is interested, which one do you want?"
He planned to search for a few poems that he had not copied and give them to her. This way he would not be exposed and would also satisfy the empress's curiosity.
The next second, the empress said faintly: "Let's sing a song called 'Song of Water Melody'."
Zhao Duan: ???
……
Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)