Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

He had never known before that some people in the world lacked firewood, but now that he did, he remembered something.

He had seen this object on his journey and even wrote about it in his travelogue.

"Does the sir have any further instructions?"

"It's quite a coincidence, Your Majesty, do you still remember the Valley of a Hundred Flowers that I told you about?"

"Of course I remember." The emperor nodded, his face full of longing. "If I have the chance, I would also like to visit that tree spirit."

"Does Your Majesty still remember that there was a rule in Hundred Flowers Valley that forbade people in the valley from cutting down trees and deforestation?"

"What exactly is the gentleman trying to say?" The emperor seemed to have grasped something.

"The Valley of a Hundred Flowers was built by the Tree Fairy. The Tree Fairy cherishes the forests, so he forbids people from cutting down trees. He only allows the people in the valley to collect dead wood and grass for fuel. However, when we went into the valley, we found that they did not use firewood or charcoal. Even without firewood or charcoal, they could still light fires to cook and burn stoves for warmth."

Zhuang Xing recounted the story in detail.

"In that valley, there is something called coal, which is a kind of stone dug out of the mountains. It can also be burned, and it burns even more slowly than firewood."

"Coal? Stone can burn too?" The emperor frowned. "Sir...you must be joking."

"How could I dare to joke about this matter?" Zhuang Xing said. "This coal is not only found in Hundred Flowers Valley, but also all over the world. Your Majesty can find people in the capital to present coal. I believe that Your Majesty will be able to see the actual product soon. Some wandering sorcerers and blacksmiths should have seen coal before."

"Really?" the emperor asked suspiciously.

"It's authentic," Zhuang Xing said. "Once His Majesty has seen the coal, he will naturally know whether there are any burnable stones."

The emperor gazed into the Taoist's eyes and suddenly realized that the Taoist's eyes had been so clear ever since he met him, without any flattery or affectation.

The Taoist priest maintained this calm and ordinary attitude towards him throughout.

Looking into the Taoist's eyes, his drunkenness vanished instantly.

"Prepare the horses, return to the inner palace!" the emperor ordered.

When he gave the order, the authority he had long held in a high position finally came into play.

Eunuch Li lowered his head, burying it extremely low.

"promise."

The inner court is where the emperor handles state affairs. Eunuch Li knew that the emperor would not sleep tonight, and an imperial edict would soon be issued throughout the capital.

Even though it was already the dead of night.

Chapter 208 Entering the Palace

The emperor left, and the carriage drove towards the palace in the darkness, with black-armored guards on horseback running around the carriage.

Zhuang Xing watched from afar as the carriage sped across the bridge over the moat, finally entering the palace gates and disappearing into the area enclosed by black walls.

The servants and Eunuch Li had all left, leaving only the Taoist priest and his horse in the serene courtyard.

The horse had fallen asleep in the stable earlier.

The courtyard has bamboo and water, making it very cool even in summer, like having a natural air conditioner.

As the courtyard quieted down, Zhuang Xing felt drowsy.

After eating and drinking my fill, all I want to do is lie in bed and take a nap.

There were still uneaten pastries in the pavilion. These were all imperial pastries, and they tasted quite good. He didn't want to waste them, so he collected them all and put them inside the house, covering them with a bamboo basket.

When she entered the house, Yunling was still deep in thought. As she crossed the threshold, she looked up and glanced over.

“That coal… I think I’ve seen it before,” Yunling said. “Now that you mention it, I remember that the sword-forging hall in Shanshi City seems to use coal.”

"Coal burns hotter than charcoal, making it ideal for smelting ironware, so it's not surprising that some people use coal to smelt iron."

Zhuang Xing closed the door, and the oil lamp in his hand illuminated the room.

"But coal is still just a rock buried in the mountains. Mining coal is much harder than chopping wood, so very few people know how to use coal to cook. It's probably only blacksmiths and some itinerant alchemists who practice external alchemy."

“That’s true. I’ve only ever seen people using coal to cook in Hundred Flowers Valley.” Yunling nodded. “But… Zhuang Xing, you’re so smart. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have guessed that we’d seen coal on the way.”

“If many people use coal, the emperor won’t have to worry about firewood,” Zhuang Xing said. “Actually, even if I didn’t say it today, people would have known about coal very soon.”

Zhuang Xing didn't think he had done anything significant; he just happened to be the one delivering the coal.

As he said, coal would still be used even without him.

He knew that the reason the emperor had never seen coal was simply because coal was used in small quantities.

In the past, firewood was not scarce, and winters were not cold. Even if firewood was scarce, we could just endure it and it would pass.

But the world is different now. People have endured several years of harsh winters and will freeze to death if they can't find firewood. Naturally, they will find other things to replace it. Even cow dung and horse dung can be burned. If they knew that there was a kind of stone that could be burned, who wouldn't want to use it?

Just as Yunling saw, people had been using coal for a long time, but very few people knew what coal was.

Even if someone who doesn't know the coal has seen it before, they might not be able to tell that coal and charcoal are two different things.

Those who know what coal is and use it are mostly blacksmiths who smelt iron every day.

They themselves have no shortage of firewood, so they naturally assume that everyone in the world has no shortage of firewood.

Even if blacksmiths know that the world is short of firewood, they are at ease as long as they can keep their own homes burning. They are unlikely to have any other thoughts about promoting coal.

"I was just going with the flow," Zhuang Xing said.

People who never lack firewood can hardly imagine that someone would be trampled to death just to buy cheap charcoal.

Before the Emperor brought this up today, Zhuang Xing had no idea that people could die over a fight for charcoal.

As for those officials who wanted to solve problems for the emperor, to put it bluntly, once they became officials, how could we expect them to go to places like blacksmith shops filled with smoke and fumes to conduct inspections?

Officials were all scholars, intellectuals. What scholars could do was, as the emperor said, to propose policies that would benefit firewood. As for finding coal, they could only wait for a chance encounter before they could present it to the emperor.

However, Zhuang Xing was happy that the people could suffer less from the cold, even if it was only for a year or two.

I slept well tonight.

The next morning, I saw Eunuch Li again at the door.

Eunuch Li said that the Emperor did not sleep all night and sent out orders throughout the city. Last night, the Imperial Guards searched all over the capital and found the stone that the immortal master had mentioned, the one that could be burned.

"His Majesty wishes to invite the Immortal Master to the palace to share his joy," said Eunuch Li. "His Majesty will probably wait until he has met the Immortal Master before going to his bedchamber to rest. Immortal Master, please do me a favor and come to the palace with me."

"Then please lead the way, Eunuch Li," Zhuang Xing said.

"Immortal Master, please follow me." Eunuch Li led the two into the carriage.

The carriage is spacious enough to comfortably seat three people.

The carriage moved forward slowly. The road to the palace was very smooth, and the carriage moved forward steadily.

Judging from his appearance, Eunuch Li hadn't slept all night either. He sat down and closed his eyes to rest.

Neither Zhuang Xing nor Yun Ling made a sound to disturb Eunuch Li. They sat quietly, and Zhuang Xing lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look outside.

Under the clear sunlight, the people of the capital strolled through the streets. Stalls were not allowed near the palace, but people were not forbidden to come and watch.

Outside the moat, people are allowed to play. Zhuangxing could see many smiling people chatting by the river, and he could often hear people calling to each other.

From their faces, you could not tell that the emperor had caused a ruckus throughout the city last night, nor could you tell that more than three hundred people had frozen to death last year and that there was a shortage of firewood everywhere.

Zhuang Xing increasingly felt that everyone's world consisted of only a small part, and the places outside of this world were unfamiliar to them, or even non-existent.

As the carriage crossed the moat, he looked at the shimmering surface of the river.

The sky was azure, with white clouds drifting by. The blue sky reflected on the river was washed away by the flowing water.

He wondered how he was any different from the common people outside the carriage.

Doesn't he also live in his own little world?

He looked up at the majestic imperial city, his gaze following the black walls to the dark dots of the Yu Imperial Guards on the city walls. And so, the carriage entered the palace through the huge main gate, and he arrived at a place that ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives.

The carriage traveled along the wide driveway. The palace was like a maze, with identical walls and tiles everywhere. Yunling pressed herself against the window on his side, and Zhuang Xing saw the sky cut off by the eaves in her eyes.

We drove on, turning countless corners, until a distant, turquoise lake came into view.

The carriage finally stopped. Further ahead, a high threshold blocked the way. The threshold was at least half a meter high, and one had to lift their foot forcefully to step over it.

"Eunuch Li, Eunuch Li, it's time to get off the carriage."

The calls from outside startled Eunuch Li awake. He groggily opened his eyes, and although listless, he walked ahead, speaking in his characteristic hoarse voice.

"Two immortal masters, please come down quickly. I will take you to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor."

Chapter 209 The Fellow Villager's Small Stove

"There's no morning court today; the Emperor is waiting in the Imperial Study," said Eunuch Li.

With his back hunched, Eunuch Li walked slowly along the bluestone path of the palace, and he crossed the threshold with some difficulty.

Willow trees are planted on both sides of the road, and there are also flowers along the way; this is the road to the Imperial Study.

Eunuch Li said that the inner court was where the emperor handled state affairs, and eunuchs often came and went, but the imperial study was different. The imperial study was the emperor's private place, and very few officials could go to the emperor's imperial study.

Zhuang Xing knew why; a study is a man's private space.

The bedroom was for sleeping, the inner court was for working, and only the study was a place to steal a moment of leisure from the busy schedule.

This is a man's most private place, a territory that belongs solely to him, and no one can disturb him in his study.

Here, you can place your favorite calligraphy and paintings on the table and admire them repeatedly; you can take out the forbidden books you've collected from the hidden compartments of the cabinet and read them two or three times with an appreciative heart; you can also keep a bird or a cat in the study.

Once you close the door, you can pick up the fluffy kitten, put it on your lap, and rub it vigorously, meowing like a cat.

If a man invites you to his home, makes you tea in his spacious living room, and chats with you, that's called being a guest. But if he invites you to his study and excitedly shares his treasured possessions and hard-earned study materials with you, it means he doesn't treat you as a guest, but as a close friend.

Zhuang Xing was surprised that the Emperor would be waiting for him in the Imperial Study. It seemed that the Emperor really enjoyed the story he told last night. In the palace, the Emperor probably really didn't have many people he could confide in.

This is the price of sitting in a high position. It's lonely at the top. A person in a high position understands this feeling best. No matter who it is, it's hard for them to open up to you, because you can cut off their head with a single word.

Therefore, emperors often referred to themselves as "寡人" (guǎrén) or "孤" (gū), and aside from the fact that these self-designations sounded cool, most of the time they really were just lonely people.

In such a place, which is sealed off by high walls, one must be wary of even one's own brothers and sisters.

After following Eunuch Li for a while and passing through numerous guards, Zhuang Xing finally arrived at the legendary Imperial Study.

Eunuch Li stopped outside the door and refused to go any further.

The eunuch cleared his throat, took a moment to gather his thoughts, and then called out loudly through the door, "Your Majesty, the Immortal Master has arrived!"