Chapter 631
Desire and Hypocrisy
Old Yao was wearing his faded old robe and cloth shoes, which left shallow watermarks on the gleaming gold bricks.
He walked slowly and calmly, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
Imperial guards stepped forward to stop them, and a halberd whistled as it was swung, the cold light of the blade sweeping across the candlelight in the hall.
Old Yao didn't even look at it. With a casual flick of his wrist, the halberd was bent like a tree branch in the wind, causing the imperial guard wielding it to stumble back several steps.
Several more imperial guards stepped forward, but he remained unhurried, casually deflecting the halberds one by one with a wave of his hand. His strength was light, yet no one could get close to him.
Dozens of imperial guards stood watch on both sides of the main hall, but none of them could stop him.
Marquis Yuan Hengli Zhen, clad in armor, stepped forward and stood beneath the throne.
But Old Man Yao stopped twenty paces away from the throne, glanced at the middle-aged eunuch beside Emperor Jing, and stopped walking. He looked up at Emperor Jing on the throne, his gaze calm.
Dozens of eyes were fixed on him in the hall, but Old Man Yao seemed oblivious to his surroundings. After a long while, he sighed, "I never imagined that the young man from back then would grow so old."
Emperor Jing straightened up slightly on his throne, his cloudy old eyes narrowed, and he carefully examined Old Man Yao by the light of the candles in the hall, facing the wind and snow outside the hall.
All the officials and civil servants looked at each other in silence. The hall was so quiet that the crackling of the charcoal fire and the sound of the wind and snow hitting the windowpanes could be heard.
When he saw Old Man Yao's face clearly, he murmured, "You are..."
But so much time had passed that the face in his memory had been worn away by the years, leaving only a blurry outline. He felt it was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.
He struggled to his feet, his arms trembling slightly, as he leaned on the armrests of the dragon throne. The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward to help him down the imperial path and walk towards Old Man Yao.
Yuan Zhu, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, bowed and reminded Your Majesty, "Your Majesty, be careful, this person's origins are unknown..."
Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Jing walked past him and casually pushed him aside.
Emperor Jing staggered to a stop in front of Old Man Yao, his back hunched and head tilted, like an old pine tree bent by wind and snow. He squinted, leaned closer to look, and looked again and again.
Emperor Jing's eyes suddenly brightened, as if someone had adjusted the wick of a dying oil lamp: "You are...you are the gentleman who drank with the headmaster in the peach blossom forest back then."
The courtiers remained silent.
Princess Liyang suddenly turned to look at Old Man Yao. Just now in the carriage, she was telling a story she had overheard by chance, but Old Man Yao was convinced that the story was true.
Because the other party was already part of that story.
Someone secretly went to check on Lu Jin, but Lu Jin remained indifferent, standing with his eyes downcast and hands folded, as if it were none of his business.
Emperor Jing looked at Old Man Yao's gray hair and sighed, "I'm getting old. Forty-one years have passed, and everyone has grown old, but I seem to be aging faster than you and the headmaster."
old.
The wheat has been harvested dozens of times, and the flowers have bloomed and faded for forty-one years.
The young crown prince who could draw a bow weighing a hundred catties, eat seven large bowls of rice in one meal, and ride a horse for a day and a night without getting tired is now an old emperor, confined to the palace for a long time.
Emperor Jing seemed to have mustered some strength, straightened his back slightly, and smiled as he recalled, "Back then, I was really bold. I dared to snatch wine from the headmaster's table and even won a game of guessing... I've won many times in my life. Winning the throne counts as one, and the great victory I achieved in the ninth year of the Lisheng era, which angered the emperor of the Southern Dynasty to death, counts as another. But whenever I think back on it in the quiet of the night, all those victories are not as good as that one time I won against the headmaster."
Old Yao casually remarked, "Reincarnation counts as one time too."
Princess Liyang's expression changed.
Emperor Jing was not offended. Instead, he burst into laughter, his voice booming: "Forty-one years have passed, and your tongue is still as sharp as ever. I remember when I escaped from Yingkou, I went a day and a night without eating. That night, you lit a bonfire, and I ate while tears streamed down my face. I was in a terrible state... You said with disdain that I should stay away from the bonfire, or I might get burned."
Princess Liyang's gaze toward Old Man Yao became even more complicated.
Just then, Emperor Jing coughed violently, bending his back even more, his entire weight pressing down on the eunuch's shoulders.
Old Yao grabbed his wrist and closed his eyes to take his pulse.
The civil and military officials in the hall were shocked: "How dare you!"
"presumptuous!"
"Protect the Emperor!"
Emperor Jing raised his hand, and that withered hand paused in mid-air for a moment.
All sounds inside the hall ceased abruptly, and the Imperial Guards and Yuan Heng Li Zhen slowly retreated.
In the silence, Emperor Jing let Old Man Yao take his pulse. After a moment, Old Man Yao slowly said, "Your time has come. Seventy-three years old, that's enough. If an ordinary person lived to this age, their grandchildren would be holding their grandchildren."
Emperor Jing was not angry; instead, he laughed and said, "Sir, your words are still so unpleasant to hear."
Old Yao recited a prescription to himself: "Astragalus membranaceus 3 qian, Codonopsis pilosula 2 qian, Angelica sinensis 2 qian, Lycium barbarum 3 qian, Rehmannia glutinosa 2 qian, Cornus officinalis 2 qian, Eucommia ulmoides 2 qian, Achyranthes bidentata 2 qian... Boil with three bowls of water down to one bowl, one dose per day, for seven consecutive days. After seven days, if you feel lighter, reduce the prescription by half and continue for 21 days. After that, take one dose on the first and fifteenth of each month."
Emperor Jing agreed, "Very well." One of the ministers whispered a reminder, "Your Majesty, this person's origins are unknown. Forty-one years have passed, and people's hearts are unpredictable. Be careful, the prescription might contain a toxic contraindication..."
Old Yao glanced at him sideways: "The prescription isn't poisonous. Add it yourself if you want."
Emperor Jing laughed heartily: "Very good, very good! The teacher is still the same teacher as before!"
He slowly suppressed his smile, turned and walked slowly down the imperial road, sitting back on the dragon throne. Having reminisced enough, he was once again the emperor who ruled over five thousand miles of territory.
Human relationships in this world were severed the moment one sits on the dragon throne.
Emperor Jing leaned back on his dragon throne, gazing at Old Man Yao for a long time: "Mr. Yao, it's been forty-one years. Why have you returned to the mortal world this time?"
Old Yao pointed at Princess Liyang and said, "This little girl is pleasing to the eye."
Emperor Jing glanced at Princess Liyang: "Why do you find her so pleasing to the eye? She caused quite a bit of trouble before."
Old Yao smiled and said, "If it looks good, it looks good. There's no reason why."
Emperor Jing stared into Old Man Yao's eyes with his cloudy eyes, trying to see something in them: "Just now, the Marquis of Champion said that he had never heard of your name in the Temple of Martial Arts."
Old Yao sneered, "Who is the Marquis of Champion? Let Wu Kezhi tell you."
Emperor Jing pondered for a moment: "Does the headmaster know that you have come here, sir?"
Old Yao said calmly, "I don't need to inform him where I'm going."
Emperor Jing's brows furrowed. He glanced at Princess Liyang, then looked at Old Man Yao: "Mr. Yao, would you be willing to serve me? I am willing to offer you the position of Imperial Advisor."
Princess Liyang was taken aback, her fingers clenching her sleeves tightly.
Emperor Jing still harbored resentment over the trouble she had caused before and did not want to keep Mr. Yao by her side. Once she lost the Martial Temple as her backer, her other supporters would eventually switch sides, and she would no longer be able to cause any trouble in the capital.
Princess Liyang looked nervously at Old Man Yao. She knew that Old Man Yao had ulterior motives for coming down the mountain with her. The title of Imperial Preceptor was much more useful than following her.
The next moment, Old Man Yao casually replied, "I'm old, and I just want to find a place to live out my remaining years in peace. I think Princess Liyang's residence would be a good choice."
Princess Liyang slowly loosened her grip on her sleeve, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes.
At this moment, Yuan Xiang, who had remained silent throughout, finally raised his eyelids and slowly said, "Your Majesty, His Highness was mischievous in his youth but not inherently bad. Let Mr. Yao stay by His Highness's side and teach him carefully. I think he won't cause any more trouble."
Emperor Jing pondered for a moment, then his brows finally relaxed, and he slowly said, "As you wish, my daughter will stay in Princess Liyang's residence. She was the apple of my eye when she was young, and was raised to be somewhat willful and unruly. I hope you will take good care of her and prevent her from acting rashly."
The courtiers exchanged glances, but before they could say anything, Emperor Jing waved his sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, "Dismiss the court."
The middle-aged eunuch beside Emperor Jing gave Old Man Yao a deep look and announced loudly, "Court adjourned!"
Some people were unwilling to give up and lingered in the hall, refusing to leave.
They glanced at Lu Jin discreetly, but Lu Jin ignored them and walked away on his own, neither forming cliques nor colluding with others, venturing alone into the heavy snow.
Old Yao slowly walked out, when Emperor Jing suddenly called out to him, "Mr. Yao."
Old Yao looked back and saw Emperor Jing sitting alone on the dragon throne, shrouded in shadow, like a flickering candle that would be extinguished by a gust of wind.
Emperor Jing sighed and said, "Mr. Yao, I don't know if I will ever see the headmaster again in this life. If you have the chance to see him, please tell him that I have not forgotten the promise I made to him back then."
Old Yao agreed, "Okay."
……
……
As Princess Liyang stepped out of the palace, she took a deep breath in the snow, feeling the air was cool and sweet.
After returning to the capital, she sent more than ten visiting cards to the palace, but all her efforts were in vain. Only now has she overcome the most difficult hurdle.
At this moment, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat passed by her and said expressionlessly, "Your Highness is truly a person favored by Heaven. Even in such a predicament, you have managed to turn the tide."
Princess Liyang smiled and said, "This mission to Ningchao was fraught with danger. If it weren't for the support of the elite troops from Longyou and Dongjing, I would have died on the way... It was the idea of the Vice Minister of the Chancellery to send me to marry a foreign ruler, right? I will definitely report back later."
The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat twitched: "Jiang Yu and Yuan Chong are getting more and more confused. They don't understand that a woman's skirt can be a deadly weapon."
Princess Liyang was not angry upon hearing this, but said meaningfully, "Is the Vice Minister of the Chancellery trying to imply that I gained the support of the two military governors by using my beauty to please them? But my lord, a woman's skirt is never a knife, it is the desire in one's heart that is. And the desire in our hearts is not our enemy, it is hypocrisy."
After saying that, Princess Liyang didn't look at the other person again. She turned around, took Old Man Yao's arm, and said with a smile, "Old man, let's go. The mansion should have prepared food and two jars of fifty-year-old Yuquan wine. I will sit next to you tonight and serve you wine and food. From now on, you will be the biggest backer of all my backers."
Old Yao glanced at her sideways: "You said before that my apprentice was the one."
Princess Liyang smiled warmly: "Don't you know? Women are the most fickle of all." (End of Chapter)