Jie teaches the Immortal Sweeping Heaven’s Cultivation of All Heavens

Now, Liu Dong dares not disappear so easily.

After he disappears, many people will be buried with him, and many families will be torn apart.

Liu Tong has already been deeply mired in the mire by Emperor Qianming.

How can he successfully extricate himself from this quagmire?

The best way is for him to use the whetstone to break the knife, kill the person holding the knife, and then take that position himself.

But Liu Dong had no interest in that position.

"Fourth Brother," the Fifth Prince called out obediently.

Liu Tong nodded at him.

The three men entered the Princess's residence with the facade of being good buddies.

The eldest princess was the emperor's younger sister. When the emperor was still a prince, she always stood by his side and helped him seize the throne by pulling in the help of his husband's family.

Therefore, the emperor valued this younger sister highly and gave her a prestigious status and certain powers.

Although the eldest princess could not attend court, she still wielded considerable power, and some ministers had pledged allegiance to her.

The eldest princess loved poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and every year in spring and autumn she would hold a literary gathering, inviting all the talented men and women in the capital to participate.

If anyone can make a name for themselves at a literary gathering, the eldest princess will recommend them for a government official position.

Therefore, the Princess's literary gathering was a grand event that many people were eager to participate in.

As the eldest princess's nephew, Liu Dong and the other princes always received invitations, but they didn't always attend.

Today, he, the Crown Prince, and the Fifth Prince all came to participate, which is the first time in many years.

The eldest princess's son, Lu Huaiyuan, came up to greet the three of them.

Lu Huaiyuan was the same age as the eldest prince, but older than Liu Tong and the other two.

Lu Huaiyuan treated all three people the same way, showing no favoritism to any of them.

They wouldn't fawn over the Crown Prince just because he's the prince.

Lu Huaiyuan did not participate in the struggle for the throne.

Little did he know that the Crown Prince was very dissatisfied with him because of this.

The Crown Prince believed that Lu Huaiyuan should favor him, the Crown Prince.

Lu Huaiyuan first took the three of them to see the eldest princess, and then led them to the flower hall.

There are already quite a few young gentlemen here, as well as some scholars with letters of recommendation.

Everyone quickly paid their respects to the three princes.

Liu Dong and the Crown Prince sat opposite each other in the main seats, while everyone else sat below them.

Lu Huaiyuan started a conversation, and everyone started talking about it at length.

They vied to show off in front of the three princes, hoping to gain the princes' attention for their talents and abilities.

The crown prince listened attentively to these discussions, carefully analyzing which of these people were truly capable and could be used by him.

Liu Dong was lost in thought.

He had no interest in these grand pronouncements, nor did he want to add any more people to his camp.

He simply couldn't protect them all.

The Fifth Prince wasn't interested either, and Liu Dong noticed him secretly yawning.

Not long after, the eldest princess's head maid invited everyone to the garden.

The literary gathering is about to officially begin.

Besides the eldest princess, there were many young ladies and young women in the garden.

The separation between men and women in this world is not as strict; men and women can sit together and chat.

Liu Tong and the other two sat next to the eldest princess.

The eldest princess chuckled, "You're all getting on in years. There are quite a few young ladies here at this literary gathering, so you can take your time to choose. If you like any of them, your aunt can act as a matchmaker."

The prince smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Aunt."

Liu Tong smiled and said, "Aunt, you should take care of my cousin first. My eldest brother's son has already been born, but my cousin is still not married."

The eldest princess nodded in agreement, "It's indeed time to find someone for Huaiyuan. I'm still thinking about having a grandson." While they were chatting and laughing, a group of talented men and women had already begun their talent show.

There were performers playing musical instruments, dancing, painting, and playing the flute...

Liu Dong and the other three sat up and enjoyed the view.

The eldest princess said, "Aren't you going to join in and have a go?"

The crown prince smiled and shook his head.

He is the crown prince; he cannot be like those young people.

Liu Tong also shook his head; he wasn't interested.

He wouldn't have come this time if the Imperial Concubine hadn't asked him to.

The Song family's two daughters are going to attend this literary gathering, and the Song family hopes that Liu Dong will come and cultivate a relationship with them.

Liu Dong spotted the two young ladies from the Song family in the crowd.

Both of them are very beautiful.

The Song family is known for its beauties, and the Imperial Concubine was one of them.

Song Xuemei and Song Xuelan, unlike the Imperial Concubine, stood out among a group of young ladies.

One of them performed painting, and the other performed playing the piano.

Their skills are excellent, which has earned them much praise.

This also attracted the admiration of many talented young men.

The Fifth Prince was interested. After telling the Crown Prince, he excitedly headed towards the crowd.

Because of his identity, many people gathered around and spoke to him.

The crown prince smiled and shook his head when he saw this.

Crown Prince: "Fifth Prince still loves to play."

He looks like the perfect older brother.

Liu Tong glanced at the Crown Prince.

With the Fifth Prince being so unreliable, he, as the Crown Prince, can finally rest easy.

After showcasing their talents, the talented men and women competed for the top three spots, earning the princess's praise.

The fifth prince performed playing the flute, but he did not make it into the top three.

Afterwards, the eldest princess asked everyone to compose a poem on the theme of "autumn".

Liu Dong and the Crown Prince also have to do it.

Liu Tong didn't have much talent for writing poetry, but he could still manage to compose one or two poems without plagiarizing the works of the first generation of poets.

But he won't; someone else will.

Upon hearing the lines, "A winding stone path leads up the cold mountain, where houses stand amidst the deep white clouds. I stop my carriage to admire the maple forest at dusk, its frosted leaves redder than February flowers," Liu Dong raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked at the author of the poem—the Fifth Prince.

When was his fifth brother transported to another time?
It must have been the time we fell into the water together ten years ago.

Over the years, he has kept his identity well hidden, preventing Liu Dong from discovering his transmigrator identity.

It's also possible that Liu Tong had too little contact with the Fifth Prince, so she didn't notice.

He had no opportunity to shine in the palace, and he always kept a low profile, serving as the crown prince's attendant, which made him almost invisible to everyone.

If it weren't for this poem, Liu Dong wouldn't have known that there was a time traveler beside her.

Why wasn't he keeping a low profile this time?

Was it the Crown Prince's idea? Or was he just being too ambitious?

Liu Tong's lips curled up slightly; perhaps he had a way to extricate himself from this quagmire.

Back in their own palaces—a year ago, the eldest prince got married and moved out of the palace, establishing his own palace. Taking advantage of this, Liu Tong and the fifth prince also got their own palaces—Liu Tong summoned Xiao Luzi and instructed him to send people to keep an eye on the fifth prince.

Liu Tong: "You go and keep an eye on this yourself. No third person can know about this."

Over the years, Xiao Luzi has also mastered the Sunflower Manual, becoming a top-tier martial artist. Sending him to keep an eye on the Fifth Prince will ensure he isn't discovered.

Liu Dong wondered if the Sunflower Manual she had given him wasn't "authentic," because after practicing it, Xiao Luzi didn't become as feminine as the Eastern Cult Leader, nor did he like using embroidery needles. (End of Chapter)