You have truly caused me great suffering!

Early morning, the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

Chen Shao planned to invite Maode to the villa to enlighten her, lest she go down the path of immorality and never turn back.

The people sent out returned and said that the princess had not returned home.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shao said to Da Hu, "Let's go to Madam Zhao's place."

He asked someone to bring him the rubbings of the inscription he had made, wanting to exchange ideas with Li Qingzhao.

When they arrived at Li Qingzhao's residence, the young maid guarding the gate was bewildered and said that her mistress had gone to the Prince's Mansion.

Chen Shao and Da Hu exchanged a glance, both speechless, and had no choice but to drive back.

It turns out that they came together today to visit the princess.

After returning to the inner quarters, Chen Shao said to Cui Die, "Go and tell Yi An Jushi that I have an inscription here, which is what we agreed on last time. Invite her to come to the study to admire it together."

Just as Cui Die left, someone came in from outside, saying there was an important memorial to the emperor. Chen Shao quickly got up and went to the government office.

Chen Shao gave the officials a seven-day holiday.

Inside the Prince's mansion, three staff members were on duty each day, taking turns to rest.

In case of emergencies.

Chen Shao glanced at the report and saw that it was signed by Qu Duan, which made him a little nervous.

Qu Dapao always acts first and asks for permission later; I wonder what trouble he's gotten himself into this time.

"Turning a lake into farmland?"

Chen Shao looked at the report in his hand with a look of disgust. "Quickly cancel it and restore Guangde Lake."

Chen Shao was very supportive of Qu Duan's refusal to leave Jiangnan and his desire to recruit a new navy.

In his view, the Shandong Navy was mainly targeting Goryeo, Liaodong, and Japan.

And the South does indeed need its own navy.

One route in the north and one in the south, both routes cannot be delayed.

Chen Shao discovered that even Qu Duan had not grasped his intention to open the sea.

On the contrary, Xiao Ting might be the one who understands her best.

In recognition of Qu Duan's diligence, Chen Shao sent someone to deliver some rewards.

Qu Duan might not care much about these things, but those around him saw them and understood his meaning.

This can be considered a form of endorsement for him.

Moreover, the honor itself is a form of prestige, and it is not useless.

Chen Shao's protection of Qu Duan would earn him exceptional respect; otherwise, as a military man from the Northwest, even with a large army at his disposal, he would only receive superficial cooperation from local officials who were not truly proactive.

Then things will go very smoothly, and you will easily be hindered and questioned.

There are some things in this world that you can only tell if they are right or wrong after you've actually done them.

Therefore, Chen Shao cherishes subordinates like Qu Duan. Qu Duan has at least one thing that sets him apart from others: he dares to think and act.

Qu Duan's encounter with Chen Shao was also a stroke of luck, because the Prince of Dai truly had his back.

His tragic end in history was due not only to his problematic personality but also to the lack of a good superior who could control, trust, and protect him.

The staff drafted a reply according to Chen Shao's instructions and affixed Chen Shao's seal to it.

The reply has two meanings:
First, the practice of filling in lakes must be abolished;

II. Agreed to recruit a naval force

Chen Shao then flipped through the other reports, most of which were New Year's greetings to him.

Despite repeated reprimands for this wasteful behavior, it persists in various regions.

Fortunately, most of the reports were delivered with the caravans, except for those that were urgent.

While the caravan was responsible for making money for Chen Shao, it was actually originally established as an intelligence agency, a branch of Guangyuantang.

Doing business is an excellent means of collecting and transporting intelligence.

The council chamber felt empty and unusually cold due to the lack of people.

Chen Shao smiled and said, "If there's nothing else, you should head back early too."

The two advisors, both middle-aged, smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We will tidy it up again."

Chen Shao walked out of the lobby and glanced at the sky; the weather was indeed quite nice today.
-
Li Qingzhao arrived at Chen Shao's study with great excitement. She was indeed extremely interested in things like inscriptions on steles.

But when they arrived, they found that Chen Shao was not there, and the maid who had led the way had left long ago.

Li Qingzhao was a little bored. Her study was full of official reports, and she looked around curiously.

This is the study of the most powerful person in the Song Dynasty today, and it is from here that he governs the country.

There was a couch in Chen Shao's study, but no mat was laid out on the floor, so Li Qingzhao had to sit on the couch and wait.

She inwardly cursed Chen Shao for being unreliable. Only after the people outside had left and she could no longer hear their voices did she casually pick up a piece of paper piled on the wooden table next to her, glance at it, and quickly put it back in its place.

It turned out that there were reports everywhere here, and fearing that she might overhear some secrets, Li Qingzhao dared not look around.

There was also a medicine grinder-like object on the wooden table, its purpose of grinding something unknown.

Actually, this was brought by Li Shishi. She often accompanied Chen Shao to work in the study, and when she was bored, she would grind medicine pills for Chen Shao here.

Feeling a bit bored being alone, Li Qingzhao looked at it for a while, then picked it up and started playing with the wooden mallet-like object in her hand.

This state of being idle yet purposeful, waiting for Chen Shao to return, gave her a sense of peace and laziness.

Since her husband's death, Li Qingzhao often felt very lonely. She used to be able to confide in Maode, but lately, when she was with him, she would often say embarrassing things.

Thanks to Chen Shao's protection, she became well-off and no longer worried about her safety.

But she always felt like she was living under someone else's roof, as if she were sitting obediently in this study, not daring to look at anything too much.

At this moment, she couldn't help but think that if it were Maode, she wouldn't be so afraid.

Thinking that Maode had a son-in-law and was involved with Chen Shao, she felt that Chen Shao was a philanderer.

But this silver rod defiled Sister Song, who was married, and Maode, but it didn't touch him.

While Li Qingzhao felt fortunate, she also felt somewhat uneasy, wondering if she was really that bad.

The moment the thought crossed her mind, she felt a burning sensation all over her body and secretly spat at herself.

A moment later, Chen Shao suddenly walked into the small house. Li Qingzhao, who was lost in thought, felt a sudden tension and hurriedly stood up from the couch.

She had thought she would complain a bit, but since Maode and Sister Song weren't there, she didn't dare to complain to Chen Shao anymore.

The difference in their social status is too great.

Chen Shao himself had no such intention. He smiled and said, "I have some official business to attend to. It would be a disservice to have you stay here."

Li Qingzhao quickly shook her head, "The Prince of Dai is busy with countless affairs every day, it's all as he should do."

Chen Shao rubbed his hands together excitedly and took out a box from the cabinet behind the desk.

Then unfold the inscription you made yourself.

Seeing his cautious yet somewhat proud demeanor, Li Qingzhao couldn't help but smile.

This was the first time she had ever seen Chen Shao like this.

"How is it?" Chen Shao said, "This is my first time making a rubbing. Please give me your guidance on any shortcomings."

When these things were mentioned, the atmosphere between the two seemed to suddenly shift.

Li Qingzhao rested her fingers on her chin, gazing intently at the rubbing of the inscription, and said, "It seems that the King did not use Bletilla striata water. Perhaps he made the rubbing on short notice without preparing it. It would be best to boil Bletilla striata water yourself, fix the raw Xuan paper to the surface of the stele, and then use a palm brush to scrape away the air bubbles."

Chen Shao nodded blankly; an expert can tell whether someone is good or bad just by their first word.

He genuinely likes these ancient cultural and refined things, but he's also a complete novice when it comes to them.

Li Qingzhao continued, "The time for peeling off the paper is a bit too short, Your Majesty. You should wait until the paper is half-dry before peeling it off vertically to reduce wrinkles and damage. Waiting too long is also not good. Only by seizing the right moment can the ink be light and transparent."

At that moment, she possessed a unique charm, radiating an extraordinary confidence.

Li Qingzhao hadn't talked about these things with anyone for a very long time; she and her husband used to discuss them often.

She turned around abruptly and was taken aback to see that it was Chen Shao, not Zhao Mingcheng, who was listening to her.

A hint of sadness flashed in her eyes as she suddenly remembered that her husband had been dead for a long time.

"The deceased is gone; please accept my deepest condolences."

Li Qingzhao looked at him in disbelief. Could this prince really see through people's hearts?
Actually, her thoughts weren't hard to guess, but at this point, most men didn't have the patience to guess what women were thinking.

Looking at Chen Shao in front of her, she thought to herself that he was indeed a very special person.

No wonder Maode and Sister Song are so devoted to him. (End of Chapter)