Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 719 Heaven, Earth, and Human Heart

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. When Xu Shou reminded An Taixuan that it was time to return home, An Taixuan felt that time had flown by and inexplicably felt a sense of joy that made him forget his homeland.

After all, he had no pressure at all during his days in Taiping Domain, and had long since put the affairs of Anguo out of his mind.

An Taixuan also became friends with many people and helped with some construction projects to benefit the people.

Seeing the results of his and everyone's joint efforts gave Ahn Tae-hyun a special sense of accomplishment.

This was a feeling he had never experienced even when he was the emperor and had made achievements.

In the past, those achievements were either praised by others or described in documents and reports, making it difficult to see the true situation.

Now, the rewards of his hard work are truly evident, bringing real benefits to the local people and generating significant positive feedback for him.

"Three days? That's so fast. I wanted to stay here and celebrate the New Year..."

An Taixuan paused, realizing that as the ruler of a country, he could not stay abroad for long.

"Master Xu, go and call the others. It's time to go back."

He can be absent here, but Anguo cannot do without him.

When Xu Shou heard An Taixuan say this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, fearing that this person really didn't want to go back for a while.

Upon receiving the message, An Jing reluctantly bid farewell to Qing Wan. She had been learning from Qing Wan these past few days and had learned a lot of new things.

Qingwan said to Anjing earnestly, "Princess, you must remember that you are a young person. When facing those cunning old guys, you must strike hard and not have any pity, otherwise you will suffer the consequences!"

An Jing couldn't help but chuckle, "You're a little adult, but you're not even as old as me, yet you call me a young person."

Qingwan shook her head and said, "But I've been through more than you, so let me tell you... never mind, there are some things I can't tell you."

Upon hearing this, An Jing said quietly, "Aren't we friends? What can't we say?"

Qingwan sighed softly, "Although we are friends, there is still a deep chasm between us! You are a princess of a great dynasty, while I am just a little fairy serving the people."

An Jing fell silent upon hearing this. She understood what Qing Wan meant; she and Lu Zheng and the others were not the same kind of people.

An Jing's expression was somewhat complicated. He raised his hand and pinched Qing Wan's cheek. "You've really grown up. You're not as cute as you used to be..."

After saying their goodbyes, An Taixuan and his party disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Qingwan stared at the empty seats for a long while before whispering, "The Emperor's outings are really different. Those people must be near-saints or martial arts saints..."

Apart from Xu Shou and An Jing, the identities of the others remain unknown, but they all exude a powerful aura.

Lu Zheng said, "After all, he is the emperor of a country, bearing the fortune of a great dynasty, but his cultivation is not high enough. When he comes to such a far place, he naturally needs someone to protect him to prevent any accidents from happening."

Qingwan snorted, "Are you just here to protect us? I have a feeling that those old guys are looking at us strangely."

Qingwan's cultivation level wasn't high, but she was protected by the Buddha's original power, so she could naturally sense some unusual things that others would find hard to detect.

Of course, Lu Zheng was aware of this as well, but he didn't say it out loud.

It's normal for the other party to be wary and cautious when they come here. As long as nothing goes wrong, Lu Zheng can tolerate the attitude of some people.

There are plenty of people in this world who hate him to the bone, so why would they care about a few older people who don't have a good attitude?

He understood why those people acted that way; they saw him as a potential threat.

An Taixuan was still a little depressed when he returned to the Anguo Palace, feeling like he had returned to a mess.

He kept Xu Shou behind and said quietly, "How can a golden carp be confined to a pond? Can it transform into a dragon?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shou's eyes flickered, and he said softly, "He walks the path of a sage, not the path of an emperor..."

An Taixuan said calmly, "I know. I want to know how much potential he has to become a saint."

Xu Shou remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "This boy is entangled in too many karmas, including connections with sages, and there should be more than one sage involved. My cultivation is insufficient to see through him..."

When Xu Shou first met Lu Zheng, he could sense the changes in the strength of the other's aura, but now he really couldn't discern the truth of the matter.

It was as if a chaotic haze shrouded Lu Zheng, obscuring the secrets of heaven and preventing him from observing or deducing anything.

An Taixuan was slightly surprised upon hearing this. He was well aware of Xu Shou's abilities. Xu Shou was the most skilled at observing qi among the famous cultivators in An Kingdom. If even Xu Shou couldn't see through him, he must have something extremely special about him.

An Taixuan said leisurely, "It seems that a sage values ​​him highly? Is it the protection of the ancient sages of Confucianism and Taoism? Our An Kingdom has indeed produced an extraordinary young man..."

Unfortunately, the young man's ideals and ambitions were too great, and even Anguo could not tolerate him.

An Taixuan genuinely wanted Lu Zheng to return to check and balance the court officials, but he estimated that if Lu Zheng really returned, those princes and ministers who usually didn't get along with each other would probably unite to oppose him.

After all, factional disputes in the imperial court are mostly just noise and bickering, but with Lu Zheng involved, it could really be a matter of life and death.

Many people harbor resentment towards Lu Zheng because of the new law, and even though Lu Zheng is now far away, there are still people who want to slander him.

If Lu Zheng were to return and confront these powerful figures, even An Taixuan could hardly imagine what would happen.

"call……"

An Taixuan let out a breath of stale air, "Forget it, I can't control him anyway."

An Taixuan paused for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid we'll have to trouble Master Xu to take a few people to the Taiping Domain to learn something. There are some things there that are worth learning from."

Although that place is not a dynastic system at all, and it resists the privileged class, things have many facets, and there are still many things that Anguo can learn from it.

An Taixuan felt that he had gained a lot of insights from his personal experience and that it was necessary to send a few more people to practice and learn.

An Taixuan had informed Lu Zheng beforehand to avoid Lu Zheng misunderstanding that he was sending someone to supervise.

In fact, Lu Zheng is not afraid of any supervision, nor is he afraid that someone will try to steal his knowledge. What he is afraid of is that not many people are willing to learn about the new ideology and system.

An Taixuan thought for a moment, "An Dingyuan is not bad. Wasn't he doing a great job as the prefect of Hongzhou? He's also quite close to Lu Zheng. And..."

An Taixuan called out the names of several people.

Xu Shou wrote it all down and nodded, saying, "I understand."

An Taixuan said, "Master Xu, there's no need to rush. Let's wait until after the New Year! I really don't want to face all the civil and military officials alone. It's so annoying!"

An Taixuan couldn't help but feel unhappy when he thought about the various affairs of the court.

……

On the other side, not long after An Taixuan and his group left, another group of people arrived in Taiping Domain from tens of thousands of miles away.

When Lu Zheng and the others saw the newcomer, they were all a little surprised.

"What, after all these years, you don't recognize me anymore?"

Meng Yuan was dressed in a simple blue robe, but his demeanor exuded the air of a hermit.

Qingwan nodded and looked Mengyuan up and down. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the books in the Wanjing Tower? What brings you here in this freezing weather?" Mengyuan chuckled and said, "Can't I change my environment? This old man is so tired of being in the Wanjing Tower. I heard from that old monster Yunhe that you guys are something special, so I came to take a look..."

Since breaking through to the Dao Inquiry Realm, Meng Yuan has felt restless and unable to stay idle.

After advancing his cultivation level, he returned and guarded the Wanjing Tower for a period of time. Upon learning about the Taiping Domain incident, he took the initiative to explain to the Yunmeng Sect Master that he wanted to come and assist Lu Zheng.

After all, Yunmeng Sect was one of the first forces to invest in Lu Zheng.

And no other force is aware of this matter.

Now that Lu Zheng's appeal has attracted so many people, it's perfectly reasonable for the Yunmeng Sect to openly send people over.

Upon learning of Meng Yuan's purpose, Lu Zheng and Qing Wan were naturally overjoyed.

Qingwan chuckled and said, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Senior, you didn't happen to come here right on time to celebrate the New Year and have a feast, did you?"

Meng Yuan snorted, "You think I'm as greedy as a little girl like you! Oh, right, I also brought you some books..."

The Yunmeng Sect has a deep foundation; they can offer many things that other dynasties or major powers don't have.

With a flick of his sleeve, Meng Yuan displayed stacks of books in front of Lu Zheng and the others.

These were all classic texts that Lu Zheng had not previously browsed in the Wan Jing Lou.

Meng Yuan flipped his hand again and took out a spirit wood box, handing it to Lu Zheng.

"The sect leader knew you needed these things, so he specially arranged for them. Tsk tsk, let me tell you, the sect leader doesn't usually care about me this much..."

Lu Zheng took the box with both hands, opened it, and a special and mysterious aura emanated from it.

The books inside the box gleamed, radiating an extraordinary spiritual aura; they were original works of Legalist philosophy.

Lu Zheng glanced at it, then closed the lid and put it away.

Meng Yuan smiled and said, "You're not following the usual path, kid. I never expected you to be able to walk more steadily than others, but you still have a long way to go..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "The road ahead is long and arduous, but I will continue to explore it. If there is a road to walk, someone has to walk it and pave it for those who come after. Qingwan, take Senior Meng around to see the sights."

Upon hearing this, Qingwan happily invited Mengyuan to visit and learn with her.

As Qingwan walked, she said, "Why did you come alone? Didn't you bring any disciples with you?"

Meng Yuan, with his hands behind his back, said leisurely, "This kind of thing is entirely voluntary. Some disciples in the sect wanted to come, and the sect leader has given his permission, but I won't bring them. They'll have to train on their own. The disciples of our Yunmeng Sect are not delicate people..."

"Wow, amazing, amazing..."

Qingwan nodded in realization.

Meng Yuan said, "You young people are nothing compared to me. You've improved so quickly. This can't be achieved by just eating rare and precious herbs. Just how many great opportunities have you had?"

"Ah? Not much, not much, just a little..."

Qingwan reached out and started counting on her fingers.

Meng Yuan raised an eyebrow. Goodness, do we really have to count them slowly?

He and Qingwan had met before; they had discussed topics like opportunities. A great opportunity was one that had been blessed by the profound and mysterious power of the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and that involved contact with the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Finding a rare treasure or a rare material while out and about doesn't significantly improve one's cultivation; such opportunities are merely ordinary chances.

Some powerful individuals may never encounter a great opportunity in their entire lives, and even reaching the Profound Realm is entirely due to their own solid talent.

Seeing Qingwan muttering and counting on her fingers, Mengyuan was speechless for a moment. Was she showing off to him?

Time flies, and it's already New Year's Eve.

Construction has now completely ceased in all areas of Taiping, and the city is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations for the festive celebrations.

Xiao Yan's two children were also taken back to Baize City to celebrate the New Year.

After not seeing their children for a while, Xiao Yan and her husband felt that their children had changed a lot. They were very mature at such a young age and were more knowledgeable, polite and capable than before.

We changed our educational approach. Instead of having our two children study various classics diligently as before, they learned a lot of knowledge and principles.

"Mother, will we go back after the New Year?"

Zerui tilted his little head up and looked at Xiao Yan.

Seeing that Ze Rui didn't seem to miss home at all, Xiao Yan felt a bit conflicted. "It seems you've really grown up. If you want to stay there and study, then stay there!"

Zerui said seriously, "Yes, yes, my sister and I should focus on our studies. We can't keep spoiling our parents all the time, as that's not good for our growth. That's what the teachers say... But don't worry, Mother, my sister and I will write to you and Father when we have time. We can keep in touch by letter."

Xiao Yan's lips twitched. "I think it's because the gentlemen aren't as strict as I am. You all wish you could stay away from me, right?"

"Ah this..."

Zerui's eyes darted around for a moment, then he quickly added, "The gentlemen are very strict too! We have to go out and work in the dead of winter... Ah, Mother, you seem thinner than before, are you working too hard..."

Xiao Yan waved her hand impatiently, "Stop beating around the bush, take your sister to greet the elders in the clan."

Zerui blinked. "I heard there are some older folks serving corvée labor. We should go see them and help them reform themselves so they can regain their freedom as soon as possible."

……

At night, the city was brightly lit, filled with a festive atmosphere and bustling activity.

High in the sky, the night was dark, and fierce wind and snow howled.

Lu Zheng sat suspended in mid-air, surrounded by an invisible, mysterious aura.

Amidst the sound of wind and snow, faint human voices could be heard, converging from all directions.

The voices of these people were perceived and manifested by Lu Zheng.

Even though they were thousands of miles apart, Lu Zheng could still feel the liveliness in many places and the beautiful expectations that countless people had for the future.

To establish a moral compass for this land and to secure a livelihood for its people.

Now, the people and the world here are united, and an invisible Daoist aura is forming.

These auras flowed continuously toward Lu Zheng and toward the Taiping Code.

As the first rays of dawn shone down from the horizon, Lu Zheng slowly awoke from a mysterious state.

Looking at the bright red sun, Lu Zheng said softly, "It's a new year again."

Lu Zheng stood up, concealing his imposing aura as he disappeared.

He turned to look north, his eyes shining like the blazing sun.

"Let's continue northward." (End of Chapter)