Lingchan Moon Palace.
In the courtyard, Bai Ling was sitting in front of a stone table, holding a fresh flower in her hand, and was picking off the petals out of boredom.
Pink petals fall one by one.
Some of them fell on the hem of her pink skirt and merged with it, as if they were the pink flowers embroidered on it.
Xia Chan, holding a sword, stood silently under the eaves, staring at her blankly, but her eyes were unfocused and her thoughts had flown to who knows where.
When footsteps were heard at the door.
The two of them came to their senses and looked over there together.
A young man in a loose Confucian robe walked in gracefully.
That handsome face and slender body were like a ray of sunshine, shining into the two people's originally calm and boring pupils, causing ripples.
Bai Ling's eyes lit up, she stood up, smiled sweetly, two sweet dimples appeared on her face, and said crisply: "Sir, are you here to pay your respects to the young lady so early?"
Zhu'er stood outside and didn't dare to come in.
Not everyone can enter the Lingchan Moon Palace.
Luo Qingzhou said directly: "Bai Ling, the princess just sent someone to the mansion and asked me to come over."
"The eldest princess?"
Bai Ling frowned and asked in confusion, "Why did the princess ask you to go?"
Luo Qingzhou shrugged: "I don't know either, but the second young lady is there."
Bai Ling said "Oh" and asked curiously: "Why is the son-in-law here? Go quickly."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at the girl under the eaves, then looked at her and said, "The eldest princess is a girl, can I go see her alone?"
Bailing was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't understand something.
Luo Qingzhou said seriously: "As a son-in-law, if I want to go out to see other women, shouldn't the young lady send someone to follow and supervise me?"
Bai Ling: “…”
She finally reacted, turned her head, looked at the girl under the eaves, and couldn't help but laugh: "Chanchan, this is the first time that the son-in-law invites you to go out with him. Go and supervise the son-in-law, don't let him mess around outside, I'll stay at home and watch over the young lady."
Xia Chan stood under the eaves holding a sword, with a cold face, motionless.
Luo Qingzhou had no choice but to walk over and said, "Miss Xia Chan, there is a reward. If you accompany me once, I will give you a string of candied haws."
As he spoke, he suddenly took out a string of candied haws from behind and handed it to her.
When Bai Ling saw this, her eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly ran over and said, "Uncle-in-law! Uncle-in-law! I'll go with you! I'll supervise you! Let Chanchan stay at home to look after the young lady!"
Just as he finished speaking, the candied haws in Luo Qingzhou's hand was suddenly snatched away.
Xia Chan held a sword in one hand and a candied haws in the other, walked out of the eaves, and walked towards the door coldly.
"Uncle..."
Bailing pouted her lips, looking pitiful.
Luo Qingzhou said: "No more, only one string is left."
As he said this, he glanced at the cold girl who was walking towards the door, and immediately took out another string and secretly stuffed it into her hand. He reached out and pinched her pink face, then left quickly with a serious face.
Bai Ling stood there in a daze, holding the candied haws in one hand and touching her pinched face with the other.
Only after they both walked out of the door did she stamp her feet and mutter, "Stinky son-in-law, taking advantage of me again! Hateful!"
As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes happily and began to eat the candied haws.
Zhu'er was anxious and led the way quickly.
Luo Qingzhou and Xia Chan followed behind.
When they arrived at the hall, a girl in a yellow dress stood up from her chair, looked at him curiously, and said with a smile: "This must be Mr. Luo. I am Yuewu, a maidservant of the princess. The princess wants to invite Mr. Luo to come over. I wonder if Mr. Luo can make it convenient for you?"
Luo Qingzhou bowed and said, "Miss Yuewu, I wonder why the princess wants to see me?"
Yue Wu smiled and said, "Young Master Luo, you will know when you go."
Song Ruyue, who was accompanying the guests, stood up and said, "Qingzhou, go quickly, Weimo is still there. If the princess has something to ask, if you can do it, you must do your best to help and satisfy the princess."
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully: "Yes, mother-in-law."
Yuewu smiled and said goodbye, "Madam Qin, we will leave first."
The group left the mansion.
There was already a carriage waiting at the gate.
Yue Wu smiled and said, "Mr. Luo, please go first."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at Xia Chan behind him, did not refuse, and got on the carriage directly.
Xia Chan definitely couldn't get on the carriage.
There are some rules that you must follow outside.
Yuewu also got on the carriage.
The two men sat in the carriage, looking at each other.
Xia Chan and Zhu Er followed the carriage.
The guards followed behind.
On the streets of the city, carriages can only move slowly and cannot gallop.
"I heard from Miss Qin that Master Luo is a scholar and is preparing for next year's autumn exam. Miss Qin is known as the first talented woman in Mo City, and even the princess praised her poems. I guess Master Luo's talent is also excellent, right?"
Yuewu smiled and spoke.
Luo Qingzhou said modestly: "How can I compare with Miss Qin Er? I am just a bookworm who can only recite some articles and solve some problems in books. I don't have any talent at all."
Yuewu smiled slightly, "Mr. Luo, I love poetry very much. After following the princess to Mo City this time, I heard about several poems, all of which were amazing. One of them, "Song of Water Melody", is like the work of a poet who came down to earth. There is also a poem, "Ode to Plum Blossoms", which makes me very impressed. However, I spent a lot of time asking people, but I still don't know who the authors of these two works are. However, the poem "Ode to Plum Blossoms" that is broken into dust, but the fragrance remains the same, seems to have come from the Qin Mansion. Could it be the work of Miss Qin Er?"
Luo Qingzhou said calmly: "I'm sorry, Miss Yuewu, I study at home every day and rarely go out. I'm not good at poetry, so I don't pay attention to these."
Yuewu looked at him with a smile and said nothing more.
Luo Qingzhou turned his head, opened the curtain beside him, looked at the girl outside and asked, "Are you tired?"
Zhu Er raised her head and said with a smile: "Master, I am not tired."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and said, "I'm asking about Miss Xia Chan."
Zhu Er: “…”
Xia Chan looked straight ahead with a cold face and ignored him.
Luo Qingzhou lowered the curtain, turned around, and met the gaze of the girl opposite him.
Neither of them spoke again.
The carriage soon arrived at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion.
At the gate, there were many soldiers wearing silver armor and holding silver spears.
Luo Qingzhou could clearly feel the strong murderous aura emanating from these soldiers. They were obviously soldiers who had been on the battlefield and had their blood stained.
Yuewu led the way with a graceful figure.
When they reached the palace gate, the guard reached out to stop Xia Chan and Zhu'er behind them.
Luo Qingzhou turned to look at the two girls and said, "You wait here."
Zhu'er walked obediently to the side and stood respectfully.
Xia Chan still followed behind him with a cold face and the sword tightly held in her hand.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her, then turned around and walked in front of her. He suddenly lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Be good, wait outside. When the uncle comes out later, I'll bring you some candied haws."
Xia Chan was stunned for a moment, her eyes fixed on his cheek which was so close to her, she smelled the familiar scent on him, felt the tenderness in his tone in her heart, and her expression was slightly dazed.
There was a pause.
She clenched the sword in her hand, turned around and left, away from the guards and Zhu'er, standing alone under a big tree not far away, looking at him, her pretty face still as cold as ice.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and followed Yuewu into the house.
Walking on the soft carpet, we passed through several gates guarded by female guards and turned into a luxuriously decorated corridor.
After passing through the corridor, Fang entered a hall.
On the right side of the main hall is a study.
Two maids in goose yellow dresses were standing at the door. When they saw him coming, they looked at him.
Yuewu walked to the door, bowed her head and said respectfully: "Your Highness, Master Luo is here."
After a while.
A clear female voice came from inside the room: "Let him in."
"yes."
Yuewu turned her head to look at the young man behind her, motioned for him to follow, and then walked in first.
Luo Qingzhou followed her, stepped on the red carpet, and entered the room.
Then, he stopped in front of a bead curtain.
Yue Wu lowered her head, stepped aside, and said softly, "Master Luo, just stand here and answer."
Luo Qingzhou bowed his head.
In front of the long table in the room, Nangong Huoyue, dressed in a fiery red dress, was kneeling there, writing with a wolf brush in her hand.
Miss Qin Er, dressed in a plain white dress, knelt beside her and gently ground ink for her.
Another moment passed.
Nangong Huoyuefang said as she wrote: "Mr. Luo is a scholar. I have a few questions for you. I hope you can answer them."
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully: "Your Highness, please ask."
Nangong Huoyue said: "A gentleman acts according to his position and does not wish to go beyond it. Master Luo, do you think this sentence in The Doctrine of the Mean makes sense?"
Luo Qingzhou hesitated for a moment and replied, "A gentleman is content with his fate, content with his current position, and follows the golden mean. He does not envy anything beyond his duty, and does not have unreasonable expectations for things beyond his duty. I think this sentence depends on the situation. For some people, it makes sense, but for others, it is too rigid and pedantic and should not be followed."
"oh?"
Nangong Huoyue put down the pen in her hand, turned her head and looked at him and said, "Explain it."
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully: "For some officials, this sentence can make them abide by the law, serve the public and the people wholeheartedly, not seek profit for themselves, not cheat, not only think about getting promoted and making money, but also do their own duty. But for those soldiers or students, and those who still have a lot of room for improvement, this sentence will hinder their progress and wipe out their ambitions. Just like soldiers, soldiers who don't want to be generals are not good soldiers, because only when soldiers have the dream of becoming generals can they be more passionate, more idealistic, more motivated, braver, and fight the enemy at all costs. If every soldier abides by the law, muddles by, and only wants to be a small soldier all his life, just doing his current job well, then this army will not be able to have combat effectiveness, let alone win battles all the time."
After these words were spoken, the room fell into silence.
After a while.
Nangong Huoyue said: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier... Mr. Luo, well said!"
Miss Qin Er, who was grinding ink nearby, lowered her head and the corners of her mouth moved slightly.
Nangong Huoyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you think, Mr. Luo, as the commander of an army, you should also have this kind of thought?"