Its daybreak.

While it is raining in the south in early spring, thousands of miles away in the capital of the Dali Dynasty, the sky is clear and the sun is rising.

This city with a large population and the heart of the country has ushered in a new day.

Chenchun Xiaozhu is a small courtyard located in an inconspicuous corner of the capital of the Dali Dynasty. Although it is inconspicuous, the people who live here make it very meaningful.

This is the residence of Confucius Deng Changchun, and it can be said to be a holy place in the hearts of countless scholars throughout the Dali Dynasty. Even if they just pass by this place from a distance, people will be cautious about what they say and do, for fear that a slight mistake will cause displeasure to the Confucius.

Of course, from the perspective of a master, you will not have much emotion towards someone because of some mistakes. However, if anyone messes around here, there are people who can teach you how to behave.

The Master does not tolerate blasphemy, and he will not blame you, but the world does not allow it.

In the early morning, the area several kilometers around Chun Xiaozhu was under martial law because a big shot would come to visit Master Deng Changchun today.

When you formally visit the Master, you must say hello in advance even today. This is a matter of etiquette. Of course, if you are visiting in private, it is a different matter. However, whether the Master wants to see you in private depends on his mood.

A big shot is coming to visit the Master. The so-called martial law is just a formality. Who dares to cause chaos in this place?

When the morning sun first rose, a large group of honor guards slowly came towards Chenchun Xiaozhu in the distance.

The honor guard was of extremely high standard, numbering over a thousand people, sounding gongs to clear the way, being escorted by troops, and being accompanied by groups of maids and servants.

Wherever the honor guard passed, everyone stood respectfully on the roadside and saluted, because this was the honor guard of the eldest princess Xia Ziyue of Dali.

In a luxurious chariot that is five meters long and wide, Xia Ziyue is dressed up for traveling. Her noble temperament, beautiful face, and luxurious attire all show her royal style.

When the eldest princess travels, there is a huge ceremony, and the places she passes are strictly prohibited, which is very troublesome, but there is no way. As the eldest princess, she has to go on an official trip, especially to visit her master. Such cumbersome matters are necessary.

In the carriage, the eldest princess had a smile on her face, because she thought of happy things, and it was not because of her visit to the Master. After all, the so-called visit was just a formality. Many things had already been decided, and it was just a formality. The happy things were of course hers.

It's a private matter.

As the elder sister of today's emperor and one of the most noble people in the entire Dali Dynasty, no one dares to inquire about the eldest princess's private affairs, and few people dare to try to figure out her thoughts.

In other words, most of the time, she can only keep her private matters in her heart. Once spread, it will rise to political heights.

Different statuses are actually accompanied by many invisible shackles. The world is so helpless.

How could the eldest princess be unhappy now? You must know that Li Qiu has already been promoted to the fourth rank, becoming a state shepherd and a frontier official.

What does this mean?

It means that the 'distance' between her and Li Qiu is getting closer and closer, how could she be unhappy.

If in the future Li Qiuguan becomes a first-class official, makes great achievements, and reaches the mythical realm through cultivation... maybe then, the regrets of the past will no longer be regrets.

The eldest princess is no longer the ignorant little girl she once was. She knows how to make choices and restraint. The future is still long, so don’t rush for the moment.

She is not a nymphomaniac who thinks that Li Qiu's efforts now are due to her, but that Li Qiu can leave his ordinary life and become an official, and his status can be improved little by little, which is what she wants to see.

It would be good if we could be closer, even closer. As time passed, the so-called flowers before the moon and under the moon were already the extravagant hopes of young and ignorant people for her and Li Qiu. Now this is good...

"Your Highness, Princess, not far ahead is Chenchun Xiaozhu." Xia Ziyue's thoughts were interrupted by the maid's voice coming from outside the carriage.

Putting away the little girl's thoughts, the eldest princess said, neither sad nor happy: "Master likes to be quiet. Please stop three hundred steps away from Chenchun Xiaozhu. I will go there alone then."

"Follow your orders"

Ceremonies and the like are for the world to see, and those born in the royal family must pay attention to these things, but the real visit to Xia Ziyue was as a junior.

Master is just a title, not an official position, and Deng Changchun is not a minister of the Dali Dynasty, but a symbol of spiritual civilization. It would be unsightly to bring the officialdom here.

After all, Xia Ziyue is Liu Neng's apprentice, not Deng Changchun's, so some necessary formalities still have to be followed.

The swarming honor guard stopped in the distance. Xia Ziyue only brought a personal maid to the front of the small courtyard and said respectfully: "Junior Xia Ziyue, come to visit Mr. Deng."

"Xiaoyue is here, come in, you're welcome, just treat yourself as if you were at your own home," Deng Changchun's kind voice came from the courtyard.

Immediately, the door opened, and it was Deng Changchun's servant who opened the door. The old man Zhenyijing whom I had met in Xianyang City Yunjing had been with Deng Changchun for many years.

In the small courtyard, Deng Changchun was wearing coarse clothes and holding a pair of scissors, pruning an ancient wooden potted plant, as if he was leisurely and contented with his retirement.

The fact is that at his age, he has nothing to worry about now for the peace and prosperity of the country and the people, and he is really caring for his old age.

The eldest princess stepped over and said: "Mr. Deng is very elegant. Ziyue has also learned some gardening. Why don't you let Ziyue help you?"

Avoiding outsiders, although the relationship between the two is not master and apprentice, they still get along normally like ordinary elders and juniors.

"No, Xiaoyue, please don't. It's not that I don't believe in your gardening, but this thousand-year-old pine is my heart and soul. Even though it's only two feet high, it's really a thousand years old. You're going to break it for me."

, I can’t help but feel so distressed." Upon hearing this, Deng Changchun immediately hid the scissors behind his back and said as cautiously as a child.

Thousand-year-old pine, no more than two feet tall. The main pole is thick and purple-black, shaped like a dragon's disk. The bark is like dragon scales. The pine needles are blue and metallic, and the pine needles actually make a golden sound when they collide.

Although it is only an ornamental object, it is also a real treasure. You can't buy that kind if you have money. Moreover, the needles of thousand-year-old pine have special effects. Drinking it as tea can be more refreshing than the best tea. There are also

Nourishing effect on the spirit.

Deng Changchun has been raising this thousand-year-old pine tree for more than a hundred years. It has feelings and is a precious treasure.

Feeling amused, Xia Ziyue didn't force it and said: "Okay, okay, then Ziyue won't mess with Mr. Deng's precious Thousand Years Song."

"That's good," Deng Changchun said with lingering fear, thinking of the belongings belonging to Liu Neng that Xia Ziyue naughtily destroyed when she was a child.

She went to the side and poured a cup of tea in person. Taking advantage of Deng Changchun's pause, Xia Ziyue handed it to him and said, "Mr. Deng, in two months the battle between the four great talents will come to its final conclusion. This is a big event."

It is a grand event for tens of thousands of scholars from Li Dynasty, and I hope Mr. Deng will come forward to make the final judgment."

Xia Ziyue came here specifically for this matter. To put it bluntly, she asked Deng Changchun to be the referee.

It is said that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Scholars compete for the four great talents. In the end, it is a competition between elites from all sides. No one will be convinced by anyone, so a respected person is needed to preside over it.

And Deng Changchun couldn't be more suitable to be this referee. As the master, no matter what the result is, no one will question his judgment. If you question the master, how confident are you in yourself?

It's not that only Deng Changchun can be the referee. There is still a wife in the Dali Dynasty, but the other party has something to do, and Deng Changchun is fine, so he came to invite him.

But when the time comes, the referee will not be Deng Changchun alone. The emperor will also be one of the referees, as well as the prime minister of the dynasty.

Master Deng represents the scholars, the emperor represents the royal family, and the prime minister represents the officialdom. In the end, representatives from these three parties will evaluate the four talents. Only when they are recognized by these three parties can the four talents truly deserve their names.

The battle between the four great talents can be regarded as the biggest event for the Dali Dynasty, other than the battle for the top three in the imperial examination. There are countless scholars in the world who are eager to compete.

And judging from the previous years, the top three in the imperial examination before and after the battle between the four great talents were almost all covered by the four great talents. In other words, if you win the title of the four great talents, it is almost certain that you will be in the top three in the next imperial examination.

With the odds of choosing three out of four, one can imagine how much scholars attach great importance to the competition between the four great talents.

Being a referee is a matter that has been approved in advance. Xia Ziyue made a special trip just to go through the process, but it is also a necessary process and a sign of respect for the master.

Hearing this, Deng Changchun smiled and said: "Sure, I have nothing to do anyway, and I am happy to see young people show off."

"I don't know how excited all the scholars in the world will be when they know that they have the opportunity to receive personal guidance from Mr. Deng," Xia Ziyue said with a smile.

Deng Changchun didn't care. He was going to join in the fun anyway. He suddenly thought of something and asked Xia Ziyue, "By the way, Xiaoyue, has that little guy represented his hometown in the competition of the Four Talents?"

?Although that boy is a scholar, he is still old enough. Besides, there is no requirement for fame in the competition between the four great talents."

"Mr. Deng is talking about Xiao Jing. As far as I know, he was not involved. From what I know about him, he has an indifferent temperament and it is normal for him not to be interested in these things," Xia Ziyue said with a smile.

Deng Changchun said with a smile: "I was still thinking that if he also participates, no matter how he performs, he will be given the title of one of the four great talents to shine. Who knows that he has not participated?"

Hearing this, Xia Ziyue was shocked, thinking to herself, when did Mr. Deng and Xiao Jing have such a good relationship? They even considered arranging a shady plot regardless of other people's feelings!

Fortunately, Yun Jing did not participate. If a shocking scandal really broke out, what would scholars all over the world think? How should Yun Jing handle himself?

My own master is unreliable enough. Mr. Deng was not like this in the past...

Feeling weird, Xia Ziyue said: "Xiao Jing is a good boy, Mr. Deng, please don't harm him."

"Just get used to him. That kid is very humble and has a lot of stuff in his belly. Sometimes you don't even know what kind of surprise he will bring you if you don't force him. I know what you want.

Protect him, but Taoism is like gold and is not afraid of fire. Do you really think that if you put him on the fire and roast him, he won't be able to deal with it?" Deng Changchun said with an expression on his face that I had already seen through.

Thinking of Yunjing's recent actions, Xia Ziyue thought deeply, but smiled and said: "However, he has no interest in competing for the so-called four talents."

"So there's nothing we can do about it. Hey, why don't you say he's a young man who doesn't like to be in the limelight? I still want to see him compete with those young talents, but now I can't.

It’s such fun,” Deng Changchun said with a bit of regret.

Xia Ziyue couldn't understand why Deng Changchun cared so much about Yunjing, but she had no intention of getting to the bottom of this matter. After all, it was a good thing that Yunjing was valued by Deng Changchun.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the process was completed, and Xia Ziyue did not want to stay too long and said goodbye.

Deng Changchun didn't try too hard to stay. After all, he was old and had nothing to talk about with young people. If an ignorant guy raised questions to embarrass him like he did to Liu Neng, he would be interested in discussing something, but if the other person didn't understand, he would

no solution anymore.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on...

Just as Xia Ziyue was about to leave, another of her personal maids came to the door in a hurry, even ignoring the eldest princess' previous order to keep them at a distance.

When such a situation occurs, the only explanation is that something big has happened and Xia Ziyue needs to be informed as soon as possible without delay.

Even though it was an urgent matter, the maid who arrived did not rush into the small courtyard, but waited respectfully at the door.

No matter how big the matter is, it cannot offend the Master and his elders.

Seeing this, Xia Ziyue bowed to Deng Changchun and said goodbye, came to the door and asked: "What's the matter?"

"Go back to Your Highness the Princess. Your father-in-law from the Niujiao Town Villa has urgently sent you a letter. It is of great importance and I have no choice but to offend you. Please punish the Princess. This matter is extremely urgent. Please see the Princess." The maid hurriedly handed over a stack of paper and said.

In just a few hours, your father-in-law, who was thousands of miles away, actually delivered the message and delivered it to the eldest princess. Although this method of message delivery was not as timely and convenient as twin flowers, it was still quite fast.

After hearing the words Niujiao Town, the eldest princess's expression, which was still a little unhappy at first, softened and she took the stack of papers and browsed them quickly.
To be continued...