The Idle Man of Zhenguan Intercepts Wu Zetian at the Start

Changsun Dan put down his pen, and as soon as Chun Chan opened the door, Liu Tiezhu rushed in, enveloped in the cold wind.

Tie Zhu's expression was somewhat grave as he handed the IOU to Changsun Dan:

"Sir, I've also inquired about this at the casino in private. This Cui family money exchange... seems to have a very good reputation. They've never... never had any such dual contracts."

"This is the IOU my wife borrowed. She borrowed one string of cash, and the principal and interest for six months was one string of cash and three hundred cash... Moreover, there was no collateral. She just copied a copy of my family's household registration."

This result surprised Changsun Dan somewhat. Tie Zhu's investigation was quite detailed, and the casino was indeed the place where the most money was borrowed.

If everyone agrees that the Cui family's money shop has a very good reputation, then the Fu Bo incident may indeed be an isolated case.

Uncle Fu was just a servant in the Changsun household, and the Cui family had no reason to want to kill him.

Unless… Thinking of this, Changsun Dan broke out in a cold sweat.

He was, after all, a descendant of the Changsun family, so why did they have to be so eager to get rid of him? Even Fu Bo, who was innocently implicated, was driven to the point of having his family destroyed.

Changsun Dan remained indifferent, offering a faint smile:

"Thank you for your hard work. Have some baked flatbread first. In the future, when you have free time, wander around Chang'an more often and make a record of all the businesses and shops that the Cui family and the Changsun family are involved in."

Liu Tiezhu cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, and handed the string of copper coins in his pocket to Chun Chan:

"The county magistrate is kind to his servants, but I cannot accept this money. Please put it in the account, Miss Chun Chan."

Liu Tiezhu also picked up a piece of baked flatbread and walked away in a silly, simple-minded manner.

Changsun smiled faintly:

"Let him be."

This was the first time Wang Susu had ever seen such a master-servant relationship, but she could see that the master treated the servant sincerely, and the servant treated the master with genuine affection. This young man from the county was so good at winning people's hearts. Changsun Wuji had probably made a huge mistake, but it might also have been the most correct move.

Changsun Dan sat at his desk, seemingly unaffected by the little incident.

Wang Susu stepped forward, picked up the ink stick, and gently ground it:

"Now that the Cui family's money shop has left no trace, what should the county magistrate do next?"

Changsun Dan put down his pen:

"Naturally, we should go to the Wannian County government office to file a complaint against him."

Wang Susu was taken aback, but she didn't dare to press the matter further. She was afraid that even appealing to the emperor wouldn't win the case, so how could Wannian County dare to investigate, or even begin to investigate?

Changsun Dan wrote with ease, but his paintings consisted of combinations of lines of roughly the same length, either straight or curved. He marked the joints between the lines—all the nodes were bound with cotton thread, coated with tung oil to harden and fix them, and even the lengths of the main thick lines were marked.

Wang Susu simply ground the ink while carefully observing the process.

Before long, the shape of the dragon head was already emerging, a dragon head with veins like bamboo weaving. Although it lacked skin details and color, it was still lifelike.

This was the first time Wang Susu had ever seen someone paint in this way, and her curiosity was piqued. Just how many strange and wonderful things did this little county boy have in his head?

Seeing Su Su's changing expression, Changsun Dan smiled and said:

"This is modeling. Such a huge dragon and phoenix, we need to reduce its weight while maintaining its agility, so I need to cut it into many pieces and then use rope buckles to assemble them."

"These lines are the skeleton that the bamboo strips will form. After they are covered with white silk, the painter will paint the dragon's appearance. The joints of each section of the dragon's body will be covered with silk cut into the shape of dragon scales and painted."

"In this way, each part of the body will be like a separate Kongming lantern. I will then use the difference in the amount of firepower in each part to create the scene of the dragon soaring. With the addition of flexible rudders on both sides of the body, the different lift and wind forces of the Kongming lanterns will affect the dragon's flanks. Whether the dragon sways left and right or rises up and down, it will not be affected. I wonder what Susu thinks."

Wang Susu was completely captivated by Changsun Dan's ingenious ideas, and she even had a vision in her mind of dragons and phoenixes roaming the night sky of Chang'an during the Lantern Festival.

I originally thought that only a miracle could accomplish this.

But he sketched it out lightly with ink and brush.

A complex mix of emotions welled up inside me; what I saw was merely what he was forced to show.

His body was thin, and his face still bore a hint of childishness, but his eyes were like a vast ocean, unfathomable and unreachable…

Suddenly, he felt immense regret. Once this young man's talent was exposed, he would be courted by all sides, while he himself would be the weakest party and would ultimately be forced to stand on the opposite side of him.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a little upset. Looking at Changsun Dan, I saw ink spilling onto the inkstone without him even realizing it.

Changsun Dan remained immersed in his own world. The lantern parade has become a significant intangible cultural heritage in later generations. Fortunately, he didn't need to do the manual part himself, otherwise it would have been a waste. At least he didn't have the skill for that in the short term.

With the dragon head drawn, each subsequent body section became much simpler. Except for the four dragon claws, which required some effort, the overall framework design of the dragon was completed in just an hour or two.

Knowing that the invited craftsmen would be staying at the Plum Garden, Changsun Dan had already arranged for the two maids, Chun Dong, to arrange their lodging and meals, and had Da Niu accompany them to buy essential materials such as tung oil, dye, bamboo, and wood.

Wang Susu stood beside Changsun Dan for a full hour.

Changsun Dan put down his pen. The phoenix's approach was the same in different ways, only the tail feathers required more ingenuity.

"I'm not drawing anymore, I'm taking a break."

Changsun Dan got up and stretched, his left hand suddenly touching something soft and squishy. He then remembered that there was someone next to him. His face turned red, and he exclaimed "Damn it!" He wanted to apologize, but he stammered and didn't know what to say.

Wang Susu blushed, but showed no anger. She tried to move her feet, but her legs went numb, and she fell to the ground.

Changsun Dan reacted quickly and reached out to pull her, but he was too weak and stumbled as he was pulled. He could only reach out his right hand to hug her body.

With Xiang Yu in his arms, and Wang Susu being such a stunning beauty, Changsun Dan felt an overwhelming fragrance. The soft, warm skin he touched made him feel incredibly hot. If he didn't let go, he was afraid he would have a nosebleed and embarrass himself on the spot.

Changsun Dan quickly let go, hurriedly took two steps back, his face already as red as a monkey's bottom.

Wang Susu plopped down on the ground, head down, hugging her legs, seemingly lost in thought. For a moment, time seemed to stand still, and the atmosphere became exceptionally awkward.

After a long while, Wang Susu finally raised her head, her face flushed with shyness, and stretched out her slender hand:

"May I go for a walk with you, County Girl?"

Changsun Dan coughed, but dared not take her hand again. He simply supported her arm and helped her stand up slowly.

"Perfect...perfect timing, I'd like to go out for a stroll too."

Although Wang Susu worked in a brothel, ordinary people generally had no chance to get close to her, but she understood the psychology of those men.

This man from Wannian County may not be particular about details on the surface, but he truly has a childlike heart etched into his bones.

She smiled and gently adjusted her hair.

"I only hope that I haven't caused the county magistrate too much trouble."

Changsun Dan was somewhat at a loss: "No trouble at all."

The composed demeanor he had displayed at Yuxian Tower was completely gone; it was the first time Wang Susu had ever felt that a little boy was adorable.

After leaving the South Courtyard, Wang Susu picked another white plum blossom and tucked it into her hair.

"Su Su is dressed in pure white. Perhaps she would look even better if she were adorned with red plum blossoms."

Changsun Dan simply lacked experience with men and women, but he wasn't entirely a naive virgin. After all, in his time, it wasn't difficult to learn any kind of technique.

After regaining his composure, he started joking again.

Wang Susu was in a great mood and said softly:

"If the county magistrate likes it, he can help me insert it."

Men are most afraid of being lewd and the other person taking the bait. Changsun Dan was no exception. He chuckled foolishly a few times and the two left the plum garden.

To the left of the plum garden is the path we came from; Wang Susu pointed to the right:

"Where shall we go and take a look?"

Changsun Dan nodded. Dunhuafang was only about 300 mu. Even near the plum garden, there were many farmhouses, mostly mud-brick and tile houses with courtyard walls made of yellow mud and straw. From time to time, one could hear the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs, and wisps of smoke rose from the ground, creating a peaceful scene.

Along the way, they would occasionally encounter farmers returning home or women washing clothes and vegetables. When they saw Changsun Dan and his companion, they would either take a detour or lower their heads, not daring to look directly at them.

The fear of officials, or the fear of the powerful, has existed since ancient times. Although Changsun Dan tried to smile at them, it made no difference. Some of the children playing stood there and looked at them curiously.

"Once I'm done with this busy period, the first thing I want to do is build a school in Dunhuafang. Once they learn to read, they can read books. The world is in books, and so are the principles of life."

Wang Susu's heart skipped a beat: "Does the county magistrate sympathize with them?"

Changsun Dan gave a self-deprecating smile:

"I pity myself. Life is full of disappointments, and no one is an exception. But as long as we live, we must do something."

Wang Susu always felt that the closer she got to this small county, the more it seemed like a mystery. As the Book of Rites says: "When the Great Way prevails, the world is for all."

What ambition this is! And how could a small county possibly accomplish such a feat?

Changsun Dan suddenly stopped and pointed to a blue-brick mansion in front of him:

"Susu, you are very knowledgeable. Do you know whose residence this Yunlu is?"