In the Eastern Kyushu, Chang'an, the sunlight rising through the clouds became hot, a breeze blew, and with a rustling sound, the leaves of the phoenix trees swayed gently accompanied by the chirping of cicadas.
"Retire—"
The eunuch's shrill voice came from the palace in the distance. Soon, court officials walked out of the Wenzhao Hall in groups of three or four. Min Changwen walked at the end. He stepped over the high threshold, looked at the sky which was already bright, squinted his eyes, and the bright sunlight shone on his head. His once gray hair and beard were now completely white. He was a little absent-minded as he looked at his colleagues who were walking and laughing in groups in front of him.
I thought of my best friend, Uncle Hua, and his student, Lu Liangsheng, the imperial teacher of the Sui Dynasty. I wonder how they are doing now.
"Perhaps, I should secretly go and see the reincarnation of Uncle Hua... Just a glance can help me relieve my boredom, and maybe we can even become friends regardless of age."
Thinking about his close friend of many years turning into a child, he couldn't help but smile on his old face.
"Min Qing, walk a step slower."
A powerful voice suddenly came from Wenzhao Hall, and the old man turned around and bowed to a figure wearing a dragon robe and a crown.
"Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"
"I called you to stop, can't I say something else?"
Two eunuchs carefully lifted the hem of the robe embroidered with dragon and cloud patterns, took a step forward, and carried the dragon robe with their strong bodies out of the Wenzhao Hall. Yang Guang stroked open the swaying pearl curtain, smiled, and invited the old minister in front of him to walk on the fence corridor carved from white rocks.
"I saw Min Qing laughing alone. Is there anything funny about it? How about telling me about it?"
Although the emperor was young, Min Changwen did not dare to neglect him, especially after Duke Yue passed away and the imperial teacher went out to sea. The emperor in front of him gradually matured, and his every move and every word were quite similar to that of Yang Jian when he was still alive.
The emperor and his minister walked slowly under the palace eaves, watching the scorching summer sun approaching noon.
Amid the sound of cicadas chirping, Min Changwen replied with a smile.
"Your Majesty, I am thinking of Uncle Hua. I have heard from Master Lu that Uncle Hua was reincarnated as a human being and married into a wealthy family named Cui, not far from Chang'an. I was thinking that I should go visit him when I have time and think about our past friendship. When we meet again, we will be an old man and a young man, and maybe we can renew our friendship regardless of age difference."
Yang Guang pursed his lips and smiled, then sighed with some emotion. He stopped and looked at the square in the distance, where a group of civil and military officials were still leaving.
"If the Imperial Master had not revealed many things that ordinary people cannot know, how many people would be able to let go of the uncertainty of life and death? When my father passed away, I was originally overwhelmed with grief, but the Imperial Master easily resolved the issue, allowing my father to pass away gracefully, making all the ministers, as well as me and my mother, all laugh. It would be great if everyone in the world could be like this."
At the side, the old man turned his head, stroked his white beard, restrained his smile, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, life and death are predetermined. Life is joyful and death is sad. This is for solemnity and respect. If you abandon these, you will have no joy or sorrow after a long time. This is not a good thing. When people are not afraid of death and are not grateful for life, it will be terrible."
"Min Qing, you've talked me to death."
Yang Guang withdrew his gaze from the distance, smiled rather distressedly, turned around and continued to walk forward, waving one of his wide sleeves to let the eunuchs who followed him step back, and then put his hands behind his back.
"By the way, how long has the Imperial Master been out at sea? Has there been any news back?"
"Your Majesty doesn't even know, how can this old minister know it first?" Min Changwen always speaks his mind. "It's nothing for Your Majesty to care about the Imperial Master, but this old minister thinks that Your Majesty should ask more about the Grand Canal."
The old man had something in mind when he said this. After the death of Duke Yue, no one could hinder the emperor in front of him. As soon as Lu Liangsheng went out to sea, he began to plan the Grand Canal, from the capital to the north, then to the east, and then turned south, all the way to Suzhou and Hangzhou. Such a large project would also require all the states and counties close to the canal to share the pressure from the court, which was enormous.
A large number of young and strong people needed to be conscripted and provided with food and drink. At this time, there was already an uproar outside, especially for some aristocratic families. Although the share they received was not much, it was their money and food. They were heartbroken to have their share reduced for no reason. They had been submitting letters to the emperor for several months. As an official of the Ministry of Personnel, Min Changwen found it quite difficult even though he was stubborn.
"Min Qing, don't ask too many questions about this matter. Just do it directly. I will handle the rest."
Speaking of digging the Grand Canal, the smile on Yang Guang's face turned cold. When some attendants came up to him as if they had something to say, he scolded them and sent them away. As they walked away, he continued to talk about the canal with Min Changwen.
"I know the pressure you are under, but as the emperor, I am at the top. Do you know the pressure? I am not afraid, so what are you afraid of? When my father was still alive, he kept talking about the canal. Unfortunately, he didn't wait until it was put into action and handed the finished blueprint to me. As a son, how can I not fulfill my father's wish? Moreover, this is a major event that benefits the country and the people, and will benefit millions of people in the future. Even if I am gone one day, the dynasties that come after me will always remember me and you, okay?"
"Your Majesty, be careful with your words."
Min Changwen quickly interrupted him, saying that words like "the country will be gone someday" should not be said casually, especially coming from the emperor, as it was somewhat unlucky.
"What are you talking about?" Yang Guang laughed loudly, raised his hand and waved his sleeves: "I am the emperor. Even the emperor dares not speak, who else in the world dares to speak? If it were a court, it would be gone because of a word, so it doesn't matter. If the national teacher was here, I am sure he would praise my words and say 'well said'!"
Speaking of Lu Liangsheng, the old man fell silent. In fact, all the civil and military officials in the court, even the emperor, had heard about what happened in Penglai, Qingzhou. There was no need to guess, they knew that it was the imperial teacher who took the ferry away in the sudden strong wind. As for why a strong wind suddenly blew down many buildings in the guesthouse, everything became a mystery. Only when the imperial teacher returned to the court, perhaps they would be able to figure it out.
'Perhaps, Taoist Priest Sun who held back at Wanshou Temple knows something.'
Thinking roughly like this, the old man chatted with Yang Guang about some family matters. Seeing that it was getting late, he said goodbye and left the palace. In the swaying ox cart, Min Changwen lifted the curtain and took a look at the bustling street scene outside.
Pedestrians hurried, vendors shouted loudly, the fragrant mutton patties made people drool, a fat boy passing by pulled the manager's hand and came back, anxiously jumping up and down, shouting to buy; a man carrying a bag of rice walked into the grain store, wiped the sweat off his face, sat on the street and counted his morning gains, a smile appeared on his dark face, as if he was thinking about what to buy for his wife and daughter back home...
In the bustling market, oxcarts passed slowly, and amid the creaking sound of the shafts, a Taoist priest with a pointed face and monkey cheeks at a roadside stall clumsily took off a painted mask and covered his face with it. He turned his head and looked at the woman behind him, causing the woman to hit him with her fist. The priest grimaced in pain and quickly put the mask off.
"Come on, Xiaoxian, I'll show you some other places today."
The Taoist priest with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks was none other than Sun Yingxian. The woman he was holding was his wife Lu Xiaoxian, who had been brought here from Mount Qixia two months ago to see the world. As a result, Li Jinhua and Lu Laoshi, who were somewhat worried, also came along, and even the families of Lu Pan and eight others came along. It was a large group of people that formed a mighty and majestic team.
"No, I don't want to go shopping anymore. My parents are tired from walking, and you don't even look at the time." Xiao Xian broke free from his hand and went back to a stall at the back. Lu Laoshi was buying some cakes for his wife. When he saw his daughter and son-in-law coming over, he handed them a cake.
"It's almost noon. We won't be able to have lunch when we get back to the temple. Let's just make do with this for now."
"Oh, my father-in-law, why are you buying these things again?"
The Taoist priest quickly put away the cakes and pointed at the big bag on Lu Laoshi's elbow, which was full of dry food. He scratched his head and looked around. Seeing a restaurant, he hurriedly asked Xiaoxian to help pull the two elders over there. The servant at the door saw Sun Yingxian and thought she was very familiar, so he came to greet him with a smile.
"Master Sun is here, please come in, I will go and call Chef Zhu out."
"Xiao Sun, why did you bring us to such a big restaurant? It's free!" Li Jinhua stood outside the door. Looking at the furnishings inside, she knew that the dishes were not cheap. She pulled her husband's sleeve and was about to walk out.
"Come on, why waste all this money? If you want to eat something, I'll cook it for you when I get home. It will save you a lot."
At this time, a fat figure walked out of the corridor at the corner of the counter. The woman who was arguing with Lao Sun was stunned for a moment. She looked at Zhu Ganglie who was wearing an apron, smiled, raised her finger and pointed at him, walked up to him, and looked him up and down.
"I recognize you, Zhu Ganglie... Why are you a chef here?"
The fat black man had lived in Qixia Mountain for a period of time, so he was naturally familiar with Li Jinhua. What's more, she was Lu Liangsheng's mother. Zhu Ganglie's tone and expression were much gentler than those of others.
"I, Old Pig, like to eat and I also like to cook. If you come, you can try my cooking skills. I won't charge you a penny."
"No charge? Then I really sit down?"
Seeing Lao Zhu nod, Li Jinhua was not polite and pulled her somewhat reserved husband to find a table to sit down. She looked at the black man who went to the kitchen, and then looked at Sun Yingxian who was pouring tea for her daughter in front of her. Suddenly, she missed her son.
"Xiao Sun, where is Liangsheng now? When will he be back..."
Lu Laoshi, who was standing next to him, held his wife's hand and said, "Don't think about what he is doing."
This question stumped the Taoist priest. He held the teapot and thought for a while, looking at the bright sunshine outside the door, and for a moment he didn't know how to start.
The light spread and went far to the west, it was still a hazy early morning.
The person that everyone is concerned about.
At this time, the man was leading an old donkey, carrying a mermaid with its tail wagging on its back, and four scholars who were looking around. They were comparing their surroundings with a pair of purchased drawings in their hands, and they seemed a little confused.
Something seems to be wrong with the above route.