Now I really have to marry the princess.

After bidding farewell to Liu Zhong and A Wu and A Liu, Yang Zhengdao, accompanied by Jiang Cheng and Tan Feng, traveled lightly with six horses and three men. They exited through the Golden Light Gate and arrived at the Fengshui Bridge.

He was waiting here for His Highness the King of Shu, who was traveling with him.

The Prince of Shu was Li Ke, the third son of Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Er). The reason for his trip was to pray for the Emperor Emeritus.

Yesterday, Li Hui visited and told him two things: first, that he should go to Xianyou Temple in three days; and second, that Li Ke would accompany him.

This Li Ke was none other than Yang Zhengdao's cousin.

His birth mother, Consort Yang, was the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, and thus Yang Zhengdao's aunt.

Because of his sensitive status, Li Ke always kept a low profile in Chang'an.

For more than a year after Yang Zhengdao returned to Chang'an, the two deliberately kept their distance.

In terms of appearance, Li Ke was undoubtedly the one who resembled Li Er the most among all the children, but such resemblance was a sin for Li Ke.

The Guanzhong aristocracy and Shandong families, who now control the court, are extremely wary of a prince with blood ties to the previous dynasty.

In comparison, Yang Zhengdao, a mere remnant of the previous dynasty who posed no real threat, was hardly worth mentioning.

Yang Zhengdao didn't know whether this was Li Er's test or Changsun Wuji's underhanded trick.

Or, both.

However, their attempts or plans were destined to fail.

Even if Li Er and Changsun Wuji racked their brains, they would never have imagined that Yang Zhengdao would have such a system.

Yang Zhengdao was indeed using the guise of spiritual cultivation and prayer to go on a publicly funded outing, while also completing the system tasks.

Soon, Li Ke and his party arrived.

Li Ke was dressed in plain clothes, with a tall and elegant figure.

His eyes were strikingly handsome, yet they concealed a deep-seated resentment.

Yang Zhengdao greeted him with a smile: "Sanlang, it's been a long time!"

Li Ke returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Cousin, it's been a long time."

Yang Zhengdao was unconcerned about Li Ke's reserve and aloofness.

What concerned Yang Zhengdao was that among Li Ke's entourage, besides four well-equipped guards, there was also a eunuch, Eunuch Jian.

Isn't this eunuch Jian someone from Empress Zhangsun's side in the Lizheng Palace?

Yang Zhengdao had doubts, but it was inconvenient for him to ask.

Li Ke remained expressionless, like a poker card, and Yang Zhengdao didn't feel comfortable taking the initiative to warm up to him.

So the group of nine set off immediately.

Horse hooves trod across the bridge planks, passing under the Feng River. Morning mist floated like gauze on the water's surface, and several egrets were startled into flight from among the reeds on the bank.

Having traveled through time to the present day, Yang Zhengdao felt much more relaxed as he left Chang'an.

Heading west along the official road, one sees continuous stretches of winter wheat on both sides.

Their first stop was Huaili Temple in Shiping County.

As the sun rose higher, a series of high hills appeared in the distance.

On the high hill, there are rows of towering locust trees with crowns like dark clouds. Among these locust trees, the gray walls and black tiles of Huaili Temple can be vaguely seen.

Just then, a system message arrived.

[You have successfully checked in at Shiping County, Yongzhou]

[Reward: One random draw]

The moment Yang Zhengdao had a thought, he started the lottery.

You have acquired basic horse spear combat skills.

Countless techniques for using the horse spear were instantly imprinted in Yang Zhengdao's mind, and the muscle memory gained from hundreds of thousands of practice sessions was integrated into his limbs and bones.

this?!

Why not tea-making techniques?!

Indeed, Yang Zhengdao urgently needs tea-making techniques.

Because of Li Chengqian's deliberate disclosure, Li Hui had already told him the whole story of how his ten acres of fertile land had been switched with mountainous land.

However, there is a tea plantation at the foot of the ten acres of mountain land.

The tea garden is located next to Xianyou Temple and has always been managed by the monks of Xianyou Temple.

Li Chengqian instructed Li Hui to inform Yang Zhengdao of the news in advance, so that he could go to Xianyou Temple and find the Ministry of Revenue official in charge of demarcation.

After all, the ten acres of mountain land only had a vague location on the documents.

If the Ministry of Revenue official in charge of demarcation extends the boundary a little further up the mountain, then Yang Zhengdao will be excluded from this tea garden.

With the Qingming Festival approaching, it's the perfect time to pick spring tea.

Therefore, the technology that Yang Zhengdao most wanted to obtain was tea-making technology.

Aside from the fact that the tea-making techniques of the Tang Dynasty were really not impressive, I believe that the tea-making techniques of later generations could have made a fortune in this era.

As for his horse spear fighting skills, they were not bad either.

Since you've set your sights on traversing thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, how can you not have some martial arts skills to rely on?

Yang Zhengdao glanced sideways at the lance that Tan Feng had slung across his horse's back, feeling an itch to show off his skills.

After paying homage to the Buddha in the main hall, the group moved into a meditation room in the backyard.

After resting for a while, Yang Zhengdao knocked on the door of the guard's room next to him.

Tan Feng opened the door, and Jiang Cheng hurriedly got up from beside the desk. Clearly, the two of them were recording Yang Zhengdao's words and actions that day.

Yang Zhengdao pretended not to know anything. Over the past year, he and his two guards had been in tacit agreement.

"Guard Tan, I'm free, can I borrow your lance to practice?"

"Huh?!" Tan Feng exclaimed in surprise, his mouth agape. "When did Da Lang learn the horse spear?"

Jiang Cheng stepped forward and tugged at Tan Feng, saying respectfully, "Please wait a moment, young master, I'll go get it right away."

As a guard, one should absolutely not question one's master.

Tan Feng immediately realized his rudeness and quickly bowed to apologize.

As college students, they naturally wouldn't have any concept of hierarchy.

Yang Zhengdao patted Tan Feng on the shoulder and took the lance that Jiang Cheng handed over.

"Both of you are valiant warriors of the Left Guard. Could you perhaps offer me some guidance?"

The two men naturally had to be modest, but they still followed Yang Zhengdao to the backyard.

The backyard of Huaili Temple is quite spacious, with some dry firewood piled up in the corner and a flat open space in the middle, which is just right for practicing.

Yang Zhengdao grasped the long handle of the lance; it felt slightly cool to the touch and had a heavy weight.

The moves of the horse lance came to mind, and the body's familiarity with the horse lance was immediately awakened.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his hand, and held the lance horizontally in front of his chest.

A standard starting stance.

Tan Feng and Jiang Cheng stood to the side, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Yang Zhengdao focused intently on the horse spear in his hand.

He slowly rotated his wrist, and the tip of the lance traced an arc, creating a slight whistling sound.

Immediately afterwards, he stepped out with his left foot, slightly turned his body, and swept his spear horizontally.

"call!"

The wind was louder than before, and the movements were smoother.

The spear fighting techniques produced by the system are not complicated in terms of moves.

Pick, stab, sweep, chop – these four basic movements are repeated in a cycle.

Yang Zhengdao practiced repeatedly, and his muscle memory seemed to be constantly strengthened.

Tan Feng and Jiang Cheng's expressions changed from curiosity to surprise.

They initially thought Yang Zhengdao was just acting on a whim, but they never expected him to actually wield the horse spear so skillfully.

The two suddenly felt a chill down their backs.

The two of them had been following Yang Zhengdao for over a year, yet they had never discovered that this young boy actually knew martial arts.

Half an hour later, Yang Zhengdao stopped what he was doing, leaned his lance on the ground, and gasped for breath.

The college student, experiencing for the first time the grandeur of war and the exhilarating feeling of sweeping through an army, was filled with boundless pride.

In the heat of the moment, without thinking, a poem slipped out.

Long clouds over Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, while a lonely city gazes afar at the Jade Gate Pass.

"Having fought a hundred battles in the yellow sands, clad in golden armor, I will not return until Loulan is conquered."

"What a beautiful poem!"

Yang Zhengdao turned around and saw that it was Li Ke.

Li Ke had just stepped out of the room when he happened to hear Yang Zhengdao reciting the poem.

He knew his situation from a young age, and he never thought about that position, but what young man doesn't have the ambition to make a name for himself?

So when he heard the phrase "I will not return until Loulan is conquered," his passion was ignited.

For a moment, he completely forgot about the awkward relationship between him and his cousin that was prone to suspicion.

By the time Li Ke realized this, the cheers had already been uttered, and he was immediately startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

Yang Zhengdao was naturally unaware of Li Ke's inner thoughts.

Seeing Li Ke's smile freeze and his helpless expression, he suddenly felt sorry for his eleven or twelve-year-old cousin.

He should have been a carefree and unrestrained young man, but he was born into an imperial family.

Glancing again at Tan Feng and Jiang Cheng beside him, Yang Zhengdao could only cough dryly and reluctantly pledge his loyalty.

"Sanlang, you flatter me. I am just speaking from the heart. If the Emperor were to personally lead an expedition to the Western Regions one day, I would certainly serve as his henchman and lackey."

Li Ke's lips twitched. If his father heard these words, he would surely be overjoyed.

But if it were him, he would never utter the words "lackey".

There's no way around it; when it comes to self-deprecation and self-mockery, college students are absolutely unmatched.

At that moment, a person was hiding in a corner of the backyard.

It was the eunuch Jian who had come with Li Ke.

He held a lead strip in his hand, having already memorized Yang Zhengdao's "masterpiece" and "lackey's words".

No sooner had Yang Zhengdao left Chang'an than something unexpected was happening in the city.

Yesterday, Li Hui used the threat of helping Yang Zhengdao deliver a letter to obtain a quatrain from Yang Zhengdao.

Unexpectedly, that very night, this fellow took the poem to Pingkangfang.

As luck would have it, several prominent young men also wanted Lady Rumeng to accompany them for drinks.

Young and impetuous Li Hui could not tolerate it, so he took out the poem.

Hibiscus is not as good as beauty makeup, and the water palace wind comes with pearl and green fragrance.

Who can see the tears welling up behind the autumn fan, while the bright moon hangs in the empty sky, awaiting her beloved Li Lang?

A single poem stunned everyone, making Ru Meng Niangzi famous overnight.

Li Hui then spent a hundred strings of cash and spent the night at Ru Meng Niangzi's place, where he styled her hair.

However, Li Hui's commotion was so great that it alerted his father, Li Xiaogong, the Prince of Hejian.

So, early in the morning, Li Hui was dragged back from Pingkang Ward by his servants and put into solitary confinement.

As a member of the imperial clan, if Li Hui secretly went to Pingkang Ward, it was considered a refined hobby and a form of social interaction.

But since he so openly competed with others for the affections of the head of the group, he was naturally disciplined.

But this matter is not over yet.

Because the poem was sent to the palace that afternoon and placed on the desk in the Lizheng Hall.

As the mother of the nation, Empress Zhangsun had the authority to discipline young men like Li Hui who were not yet of age.

As luck would have it, Li Lizhi was also at the Lizheng Hall at that time.

After the eunuch finished reporting the whole story, Li Lizhi felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

So it turns out he wasn't just good at writing poems for me...

Upon seeing the poem again, with its ornate language and more explicit writing, Li Lizhi's face turned bright red with anger.

Empress Zhangsun put down the poem in her hand and sighed, "The poem is indeed good, but these Yang Zhengdao and Li Hui..."

"What a refined taste!" Li Lizhi retorted resentfully.

Empress Zhangsun was startled, realizing something was wrong.

She originally intended to say that Yang Zhengdao and Li Hui were both under twenty years old, and that their actions were rather frivolous.

But seeing his daughter's reaction, he completely lost the will to discipline other people's children.

Could it be because of those two poems that Ah Zhi took a liking to that boy?