Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 374: Heaven and Earth Avenue
"Does An Jing have the aura of an emperor?"

An Taixuan was slightly surprised when he heard this. He was not a Qi Refiner and could not see people's fortune as accurately as Xu Shou.

Xu Shou nodded slightly and said, "There is a slight hint, and there is a trend of gradual condensation."

Xu Shou paused, then continued, "In fact, women of the royal family can also have the aura of an emperor, but it's not as strong as that of men. Generally speaking, when a woman of the royal family is born, the imperial aura is strongest, and then gradually dissipates..."

"I have observed the Princess's aura, which was not there before. That trace of imperial aura must have been condensed recently."

An Taixuan had a strange expression on his face, and he stroked his chin as he said, "She suddenly had the idea of becoming emperor, and she just confessed it to me. It seems that this has given her the aura of an emperor."

"I see." Xu Shou smiled slightly, but was not too surprised. "The eldest princess looks a lot like Your Majesty."

An Taixuan said helplessly: "But she is a woman. How can a woman be the emperor?"

Xu Shou said: "There are goddesses and queens in this world. It is not impossible for a woman to ascend the throne."

An Taixuan couldn't help but look at Xu Shou, "Master Xu also thinks she can become emperor?"

Xu Shou said calmly, "As an outsider, I can't comment on the dispute over the crown prince. I'm merely expressing my own views, not supporting or opposing the eldest princess. If the eldest princess can ascend to the throne, it's destiny, and there's nothing wrong with that. As for whether the eldest princess has the ability, I'm not very knowledgeable and can't predict the future."

Xu Shou suddenly paused and asked, "Really? Who else thinks so?"

An Taixuan's tone changed, and he said lightly: "That Lu Zheng, I suspect that it was he who instigated An Jing to have such an idea."

Xu Shou smiled when he heard this, "Oh? Young Master Lu does have unusual ideas."

My friend? An Taixuan's expression changed slightly. Are you two getting along so well?

An Taixuan sighed, "Master Xu, what do you think I should do?"

Xu Shou said, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life. There is actually no need to consider the issue of appointing a crown prince so early."

An Taixuan thought to himself that he hadn't considered appointing a crown prince, so wasn't he discussing An Jing?
An Taixuan blinked and couldn't help asking, "Master Xu, do you think I can give An Jing a chance?"

Xu Shou stroked his beard and said, "Who can predict the future?"

An Taixuan understood. No matter whether he objected or not, this matter was not up to him alone. There was no need to rush to make a conclusion on what to do with An Jing.

Now is the time to use people, he can't take back the power given to An Jing at this moment.

Thinking of this, An Taixuan felt that his other sons might also be able to gain some experience and see who could be entrusted with an important task.

An Taixuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Master Xu's words make sense."

Xu Shou smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it's good that you can figure it out. There's no need to worry too much about it."

An Taixuan nodded slightly, feeling much more relaxed.

Even a figure like Xu Shou felt that the idea of a female emperor was not absurd or impossible, so there was no need for him to worry so much about it.

If An Jing really has the ability to gain the recognition of the royal family, court officials, and the gentry and common people, what reason does he have to stop it?
Seeing that An Taixuan looked better, Xu Shou asked, "Your Majesty, do you know where that young friend Lu is?"

An Taixuan asked, "Master Xu wants to see him?"

Xu Shou nodded and said, "I want to talk to him to resolve the confusion in my heart. Before coming here, I had a fortune-teller, but I couldn't determine his location."

An Taixuan's thoughts turned, and he said with a smile, "He should be in Yunmeng Sect, Yunmeng Lake, Chu State. Master Xu can go find him and verify some things."

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Xu Shou asked.

An Taixuan told some things about Lu Zheng.

Xu Shou was slightly surprised when he heard this. The fortunes of all the countries in the world were shaken. Could it be related to Lu Zheng?

Xu Shou couldn't help but say, "It's not good to pry into other people's secrets, right?"

He is a grandmaster after all. Asking him to find out the secrets hidden in a young man is not a gentleman's behavior!

An Taixuan knew he couldn't force Xu Shou, so he said, "Master Xu was originally going to go find him and spend some time with him to see what kind of person he is. There's no need to forcefully pry into him... Plus, he's in Chu. If he really did something like this, he'd be in danger. Master Xu can go and protect him."

Xu Shou asked, "Your Majesty wants me to bring him back?"

"Well..." An Taixuan thought for a moment and said, "No need. You can't keep someone by force. I just want to ask Xu Shou to keep an eye on the situation. After all, this person is very important. The new policies I want to implement all come from him."

As a grandmaster, it would be quite appropriate for Xu Shou to go and look for Lu Zheng, and An Taixuan would not stop him.

Xu Shou nodded slightly upon hearing this and said, "That's fine."

An Taixuan wrote a letter and a list, "Please ask Master Xu to take a letter to him, and also go to the imperial treasury to get some gifts and deliver them to him for me. You have such a young mind forged in literature, I cannot fail to express my gratitude and reward you."

"Okay." Xu Shou took the things and nodded in response, "Then I will leave right away."

An Taixuan said, "Thank you for troubling Master Xu."

Xu Shou bowed and left the imperial study, then went to the eunuch to get a gift.

An Taixuan tapped his fingers and murmured, "Savior Wenxin, I want to see how a young man like you can save the world."

Princess's Mansion. An Jing hurried back to the mansion, bathed and changed his clothes, but he was still a little uneasy.

She sat in the study, trying to read a book to calm down, but she couldn't calm down.

"I was too rash. I shouldn't have told Father right after I got back."

An Jing lay on the desk, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking listless.

"Lu Zheng prepared so many words for me, but I didn't say much. Sigh, facing my father, I'm still far behind. I don't even dare to say a word."

An Jing was feeling a little depressed, feeling that he had messed things up and should have performed better.

But it seems too late to say anything now.

An Jing looked at the "New Poetry" placed next to him again, and thought to himself, could this classic really be compiled by Lu Zheng?

She was a little bit unconvinced, but she also felt that apart from Lu Zheng, no one else would be able to compile such a classic.

"In fact, he compiled more than one book. Before, when I was in Yunmeng Sect, he also gave me a medical book and most of an agricultural book..."

An Jing murmured softly, "Even that little girl Qing Wan is compiling a book! Oh, why do I feel like I'm a bit of a failure as a princess? It seems like I haven't done anything truly beneficial to the people. How can I win their hearts and fight for that position?"

When I first met Lu Zheng, he was just a local scholar with no reputation, but now he has done a lot of practical things, which is better than those high-ranking officials who are just sitting in their positions and doing nothing.

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Princess, some memorials have been sent from the palace."

An Jing stood up suddenly upon hearing this, and suddenly became energetic. He opened the door in a hurry and took a stack of memorials in his hand.

Her eyes were sparkling and bright. Her father actually asked her to read the memorial. Had he made the decision so quickly?
An Jing's face lit up with joy, and he added, "It seems that Father doesn't object, but I still have to work hard. This is just the beginning!"

If she wants to fight for that position, she needs the recognition of many people, and this is just the first step she has taken.

……

"Why do you two have so many questions?"

Meng Yuan looked at the two people in front of him, his eyelids twitching.

It has been three days, three full days and three nights, and Lu Zheng and Qing Wan's questions seem to be endless, with a hundred thousand whys.

Some of the questions were so strange and tricky that even Meng Yuan was confused. Lu Zheng said that he had read them from a book in Wanjing Tower.

As a cultivator who is half a step away from asking the way, Meng Yuan is unable to answer all the questions.

At the beginning, Meng Yuan would force himself to think about some strange questions and give ambiguous answers to save his self-esteem.

Later on, Meng Yuan simply didn't know, wasn't clear about it, and had never heard of it. If he had known, he would have become a saint long ago. You ask me, and I also want to ask you.

"last question."

Lu Zheng asked seriously, "If one's own sea of consciousness is cultivated into a small world, or even possesses complete Taoist rules, can it control the world's laws?"

Meng Yuan rolled his eyes when he heard this, "Are you overthinking it?"

Meng Yuan pointed outside and said, "Our Yunmeng Sect is a small world with its own laws of nature. It is also connected to the outside world, but it cannot affect the entire world. Have you ever seen a drop of water affect an ocean?"

"Even a saint can't do it. A saint can only control part of the Dao and is still under the rules. He cannot have the power to control the entire world."

Lu Zheng asked, "Is there no solution?"

Meng Yuan thought for a moment and said, "At least one person can't do it."

"Hmm?" Lu Zheng's eyes moved slightly when he heard that.

Meng Yuan said quietly, "There are so many great ways to cultivate in the world, and you can improve your literary energy here. Do you know why?"

Lu Zheng asked, "Why?"

Meng Yuan smiled faintly and said, "Because there are many Confucian scholars in the world, and there are also Confucian practitioners in the Yunmeng Sect, as long as there are enough Confucian practitioners, the Confucianism of heaven and earth can last forever. Even if you study in a corner, the Confucianism of heaven and earth can be resonated with you, allowing you to cultivate literary energy..."

"The same goes for other great ways. Other cultivation methods activate the great ways through practice, while Confucianism and Taoism use reading..."

"There are few Confucian scholars in Chu. In fact, on the one hand, it is because Confucianism in Chu is suppressed by Shintoism. Confucian scholars in Chu read and grow in literary talent more slowly than those in your country of An."

"If you study at a place like the Jixia Academy, where you're nurtured by the spirit of literature every day, your Confucianism and Taoism will improve even faster. Local conditions nurture local people. It's difficult for cultivators to emerge from remote and barren areas, and it's not just because of the spiritual energy."

Meng Yuan paused, then continued, "So, if you want to cultivate the Tao and control the world, you need enough people to practice the same Tao. However, the world is so vast that even if everyone cultivates together, they probably can't shake the entire world."

"And even if that were possible, it would be everyone's will controlling the world, not just you..."

"Of course, I'm just saying that. I read this in some books. No one can achieve that level."

(End of this chapter)