The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 362 Secret Imperial Decree
Azi took a small wolf-hair brush, dipped it in ink, smiled ingratiatingly at Zhao Ti, and then began to write.

It took her almost 15 minutes to finish writing the character "善" (goodness); it would be more accurate to call it drawing rather than writing.

She gripped the brush tightly, making strokes and smears, which made Zhao Ti's face darken even more.

"Your Majesty, I've finished writing." Azi glanced at Zhao Ti's expression, her heart skipped a beat, and she said cautiously.

Zhao Ti looked at the extremely ugly, ferocious, and sinister thing on the Xuan paper, which was difficult to connect with the written characters without careful examination, and slowly said, "Is this what you wrote about goodness?"

Azi said, "Yes...it is good. That's what Sister Wan'er taught us yesterday."

"Is this how you're taught?" Zhao Ti took a breath. "But is what you write the same as Wanqing's?"

"This is my first time writing, so there will always be some shortcomings. I'll just practice more often in the future," Azi said softly.

Zhao Ti looked at her and pondered for a moment: "Kindness arises from the heart, and only true kindness is beautiful. One needs to have kind thoughts in one's heart to write the character for 'kindness' well, do you understand?"

"Only by having good intentions can one write well about kindness?" Azi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, but that's not what Brother Duan Yu said."

"Hmm?" Zhao Ti frowned. "What did he say?"

“Brother Duan Yu said…” Azi carefully chose her words: “Brother Duan Yu said that the quality of one’s handwriting has little to do with one’s character, nor with loyalty or treachery, good or evil. Many great villains in ancient times had very good handwriting…”

"Did he say that?" Zhao Ti asked calmly.

"He, he said that. If I'm lying even a little bit, may I be struck by lightning..." Azi immediately raised her hand and swore.

Zhao Ti glanced at the delicate, fair hand and snorted, "Do you think he's right?"

Azi said, "I think the quality of handwriting has little to do with the person..."

Zhao Ti coldly said, "The shape of the characters may not matter much, but how can the meaning not matter? The characters written by a person with evil intentions will also have evil meanings!"

"Your Majesty, what does the word mean?" Azi asked, puzzled.

“The meaning of the character…” Zhao Ti stared at the crooked and ugly character “善” on the Xuan paper, its strokes full of wild and unruly intent, and couldn’t help but snort again.

"The shape of the characters is like the moves, while the meaning is like the internal strength. Moves are external, and internal strength is internal, do you understand?"

Azi nodded: "I understand, I understand, but how can Your Majesty see inside? When Your Majesty fights someone, can you see the flow of their internal energy?"

Zhao Ti said, “Internal strength can also be released externally, and internal energy can also dissipate. Just like the meaning of words, once it dissipates, one can know good and evil, right and wrong. Those who don’t know how to read words look at the shape of the words, while those who do know how to read words look at the meaning of the words. Those who don’t know how to read words can only distinguish beauty and ugliness by their shape. That’s why there is the saying that the quality of writing has nothing to do with a person’s character, because the calligraphy of many treacherous officials and villains is also excellent.”

Azi asked, "What do you think of the meaning of my words, Your Majesty?"

Zhao Ti said, "His mind is wicked, full of malice, full of tricks, and devoid of any good intentions!"

"Huh?" Azi was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head and remained silent, her face twitching, looking as if she were living a life worse than death and her heart was ashen.

She never felt that she was wicked. She acted as she pleased, doing whatever she wanted according to her own whims. Whether it was murder or arson, beating chickens or scolding dogs, she never felt that she was wrong or that she was at fault.

Very few evil people think they are evil. Most are like her, as long as they are comfortable and get what they want, they feel it is right. There are not many people in the world like the Four Evils who actively flaunt their evil.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" Zhao Ti asked A Zi calmly.

“Your Majesty is always right, and I am definitely wrong. I should never have been born into this world. I am just a useless thing that Duan Zhengchun and Ruan Xingzhu had after they had their fun. They should have just killed me instead of abandoning me, so that I wouldn’t have to suffer in this world. I have suffered since I was a child and I even thought about harming others…” Azi started to cry as she spoke.

Zhao Ti watched as her tears fell in a "pitter-patter" sound, then squinted his eyes and made no move.

Azi is best at disguising herself and at feigning pitifulness to make people feel sorry for her. She did this in front of Ding Chunqiu when she was in the Xingxiu Sect, and she did the same in front of her senior brother Zhaixingzi. She did the same in front of other senior brothers who were more powerful than her.

But once they gain power, if they have the ability to suppress their opponents or have a powerful backer to rely on, they will immediately turn against them.

Once she gained power, she became even more arrogant, and revenge was never too late. She would use all sorts of vicious methods to torture her opponent. That was Ah Zi's personality before.

It's hard to tell whether Azi has changed at this moment, after all, people's hearts are not as volatile as water, and are the most unpredictable.

Seeing that Zhao Ti had no reaction, A Zi cried louder and louder, finally sobbing uncontrollably, "I am the most pitiful person in the world, but also the least pitiful. Everything is my own fault. I would rather be dead..."

Zhao Ti frowned: "Alright, stop crying."

"I... I didn't want to cry, but I don't know why I couldn't stop..." Azi's body convulsed, her chest heaving violently, and the tears fell on her clothes with a "pitter-patter" sound, revealing the emerald green color of her undergarment.

Zhao Ti raised his arm and shot out a gust of wind, striking two acupoints on her body. She was immediately unable to move, but tears still kept rolling down her cheeks.

Zhao Ti stood up and walked up to her. Azi asked in a panic, "Your Majesty, what does Your Majesty want to do?"

"The past is gone, like water without a trace. Let's not think about it anymore, nor mention it again. Let's just pretend that the old Azi is dead."

"Huh? Your Majesty, you think I'm dead? Then... who am I now?"

Zhao Ti said, "No matter who you are now, whether you're a cat or a dog, a flower or a blade of grass, I'll treat you as a new person, and you should also treat yourself as a new person, severing all ties with the past and starting all over again. Plant flowers, do manual labor, read and write, cultivate kindness. Can you do that?"

“I…” Azi’s eyes glistened: “I don’t know if I can do it.”

"If you want to do it, you have to forget the past and cut everything off from it. Give it a try." Zhao Ti saw that she had stopped crying and then released her pressure points.

"Then I'll give it a try?" Azi wiped away the tears on her face, leaving patches of rouge scattered all over her face, making her little face a mess.

“I once learned a spell called the Soul Transfer Technique, which can be cast by burning incense to transfer a person’s soul or directly erase all of their memories,” Zhao Ti said calmly.

"Transfer... Soul Transfer Technique?" Azi exclaimed in surprise.

“If the soul is swapped, then the person being swapped is completely dead. The new soul enters that body. As for erasing all memories, it means turning that person into an idiot, forgetting the past and even reducing their intelligence to that of a child. They are no longer the same person as before,” Zhao Ti said.

"Ah?" Azi shuddered upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, you..." Zhao Ti said, "If you are unable to change your bad habits, cannot turn over a new leaf and start afresh, and still cannot forget your old evils, I will not kill you directly when I am impatient, so as not to make Wanqing and Ling'er sad. I will use the Soul Transfer Technique to change your soul."

"I, I don't want to..." Azi's face turned pale with fright, and she took a few steps back.

Zhao Ti said leisurely, "At that time, whether it is a new soul or an old soul that has been erased to the point of being blank, it will no longer do evil. It will be easier and simpler to teach it than to do it now."

Azi's lips were completely bloodless, and she stammered, "Your Majesty..."

"Azi, which of these two do you think is better? After all, it's your body, so I'd better ask you first, lest I accidentally choose one in a fit of anger that doesn't suit your taste." Zhao Ti's tone was nonchalant, devoid of any emotion.

“I don’t want any of them, I don’t want any of them…” Azi waved her hands frantically, trembling as she said, “Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely sever ties with the past, start anew, forget the past, and never, never do evil again.”

Zhao Ti looked at her and leaned forward slightly: "Can you do it?"

Azi nodded vigorously: "I can do it, I can definitely do it, Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely do it."

"Alright, go ahead then. I'll observe your future actions." Zhao Ti waved his hand.

Azi turned around in a panic and walked towards the door. She heard Zhao Ti mutter to himself behind her: "Then let's find someone else to test this technique first? Now that we've mastered it, we have to try it out. Is the Ghost Grass better, or the Ruyi?"

Azi was so frightened that she took a few quick steps. After leaving the room, she felt her whole body was soaked in sweat. She touched her chest and felt her heart pounding violently. She thought to herself, "This is bad. The king is actually practicing such an evil thing. Once he uses it, it will be a hundred or a thousand times more terrifying than death."

She glanced back at the door; through the latticework, Zhao Ti's figure was faintly visible. She took a deep breath and ran back to her residence.

But for some reason, even though he had martial arts skills, his legs were not under his control and kept shaking. He kept thinking about Zhao Ti's words and became more and more afraid. When he was halfway there, he couldn't help but burst into tears again.

Just then, Tong Guan came along carrying a flower basket and had picked mallows. Seeing her, he asked in surprise, "Miss Azi, what's wrong? Who made you angry?"

Azi blurted out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he, he..."

Tong Guan was taken aback at first, then overjoyed: "So it's you, young master? What have you been doing? That's wonderful, wonderful..."

Tears welled in Azi's eyes, and she didn't hear his words clearly. She continued running towards the courtyard, where she encountered Youcao again. Youcao greeted her, "Miss, what's wrong? Did you not plant the flowers properly? I can help you..."

When Azi saw that it was Youcao, she panicked even more, tears streaming down her face as she cried out, "Youcao, Youcao, you're doomed! The King wants you, the King wants you..."

She continued running as she spoke, leaving Youcao looking completely bewildered. Tong Guan, hearing this from afar, was overjoyed and secretly exclaimed "Great!" a few more times.

Zhao Ti pondered before the table. Regardless of whether A Zi's crying was genuine or feigned, adding fuel to the fire was always a good idea.

Zhou Tong had mentioned the Soul Transfer Technique before, saying that someone in Xiangxi knew how to use it. As for the Embryo-Infused Incense, it was used by the Lingmen monk when he possessed Xuzhu's body. He combined the two, and Azi couldn't distinguish between the real and the fake.

Ah Zi has always been stubborn and won't admit defeat until she sees the coffin. This strong medicine will surely shock her and make her think and repent in fear.

At this moment, on the one hand, we urge her to work and study, so that she can cultivate her mind and body; on the other hand, we want her to know the consequences, that if she does not change, she will suffer terrible consequences. We hope that this two-pronged approach will have an effect and make her start to change.

A few more days passed in the blink of an eye. Seeing that the house was peaceful and Azi had not caused any trouble and was doing everything according to orders, Zhao Ti considered returning to Wulahai to oversee the war and launch a surprise attack on several major cities in the northwest of Liao.

But that very morning, not long after he entered the military headquarters, a soldier suddenly ran in to report: "Your Highness, someone from Tokyo has come with an imperial edict."

Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow: "Where?"

The soldier replied, "It's right behind us, we'll be there soon."

A moment later, a man dressed in the robes of an imperial eunuch entered from outside the military headquarters. Zhao Ti recognized him as Cui Chang, a palace attendant.

At this moment, Cui Chang bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Yan, His Majesty has an urgent decree to issue."

Zhao Ti said, "Since it is an imperial edict, there is no need for such formalities."

Then the imperial edict was read aloud by Cui Chang, and as he listened, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

The imperial edict actually ordered him to return to the capital immediately, saying that there were important matters to discuss, and the wording was rather cryptic.

After the imperial decree was issued, Zhao Ti asked, "Did His Majesty not send a verbal order?"

Cui Changdao said, "Your Highness, there is no oral decree from the Prince of Yan, but His Majesty has sent you a secret letter."

Zhao Ti raised his eyebrows and said, "Let me see it."

Cui Chang took out a yellow cloth bag from his inner pocket. Inside was a sealed message. Zhao Ti took it, opened it, and looked at it. His expression became uncertain.

The Northern Expeditionary Army aimed its sword at Yan and Yun, intending to seize fourteen prefectures. Among them, Ying and Mo prefectures had been recovered since the reign of Emperor Shizong Chai Rong and had been in the hands of the Song Dynasty for many years. So, the remaining fourteen prefectures were the only ones left.

The Song army split into two routes. One route went east, heading up from Yingzhou and Mozhou, heading straight for Zhuozhou, with the goal of reaching Youzhou in the rear, which was the Liao Dynasty's Nanjing Xijin Prefecture, Yanjing City.

The other route went west, attacking the seven prefectures behind the mountains, starting from Daizhou and heading towards Shuozhou.

Both armies numbered 200,000 each. After crossing the border, they achieved successive victories, but were each blocked at the passes of Zhuozhou and Shuozhou.

The reason for the obstruction was not that the Liao generals were fierce, the soldiers were strong, or the pass was too powerful to be breached, but that there were people in the enemy army who were skilled in magic. They performed magic in front of the pass to confuse the generals, preventing the soldiers from advancing and making it impossible to attack the city and pass, resulting in many losses.

The court also sent people with Taoist and martial arts skills, but they were no match for the enemy and were delayed at the pass, suffering heavy losses every day. If they did not take the city soon, they would have no choice but to withdraw their troops.

At this time, Zhao Ji was practicing magic in the palace and volunteered to go. Zhao Xu thought it over and asked him to go to the west to assist the army in the direction of Shuozhou. However, there was no one in the east army to take charge, so he wanted to transfer him back to receive the imperial decree to take charge of the military affairs of the east army.

After reading the letter, Zhao Ti pondered for a moment. The Sixteen Prefectures were not located on the grasslands, so they could not rely on the strange power of the grasslands. Even if the other party knew magic, they might still be able to break through it.

Thinking of this, he asked someone to take Cui Chang away to rest, and he sat on a chair to continue to ponder. Just as evening was approaching, someone came to report that Murong Longcheng was requesting an audience outside the office.

(End of this chapter)