Looking at Tai'an from the full moon

Xiao Zuochen and Chu Yao agreed to get up early every morning to practice Qinggong, and arrange the rest of the time on their own.

After settling Chu Yao, Xiao Zuochen went to take a bath and change clothes. After everything was settled, he took Yun Feng back to the palace and changed into court clothes that could enter the palace. When they actually arrived at the palace, it was already afternoon.

At this time, Eunuch Mu Yi was following Xiao Zuochen in quick steps, and behind them there were two rows of young eunuchs carrying a few boxes.

"Oh, my Lord, you are finally in the palace. The Emperor has been wanting to see you but can't, so he is getting anxious!"

"Isn't it that Father is angry about General Wang?"

Xiao Zuochen didn't turn his head or slow down.

"Ah, this matter must not be mentioned, Your Majesty."

"Why?"

"The day before yesterday, I asked the Third Prince to go and fetch General Wang back. However, because General Wang was injured, he could only drive a carriage back from Guanbei. This will take at least three to five days."

"Three to five days? It looks like the injury is pretty serious."

"The Emperor thinks so too. In order to protect General Wang's safety, he has sent a team of guards with Chen, the Imperial Physician from the Imperial Hospital, to welcome General Wang."

"That's good~"

Afterwards, the two chatted about the recent affairs of the court. Although Xiao Zuochen knew all the news through the spider web, when he was with Eunuch Mu Yi, he still had to pretend that he didn't know, after all, he was also a smart man.

The two chatted all the way and soon arrived at the door of the South Study.

"Lord Yun, we're here~ Let's go first..."

"Father misses me very much, there is no need to inform him."

"Your Majesty! Hey, Your Majesty~"

Eunuch Mu Yi took two quick steps and wanted to stand in front of Prince Yun to stop him, but Prince Yun didn't even wait for him to finish his words. He pushed him away and walked straight in.

Emperor Mingren was reviewing memorials at this time. Eunuch Mu Yi followed in, but he couldn't complain to the emperor in front of Prince Yun, so he could only stand aside obediently.

"Father! Your son greets you."

Prince Yun was about to bow to the emperor. When the emperor heard his good son's voice, he looked up and saw that it was Prince Yun. He immediately put down his pen and walked over.

"No need to be polite! No need to be polite! Didn't I tell you that when you see me, just talk to me nicely, and there's no need for all these empty formalities!"

"Yes, I know."

Xiao Zuochen smiled in front of the emperor and behaved very well. In the eyes of the emperor, although his son had a bunch of women with whom he had complicated relationships, he had never failed in anything he was asked to do.

"Let father take a good look at you. I haven't seen you for a long time. You seem to have grown taller~"

The emperor patted Xiao Zuochen on the shoulder and compared his height with his own.

But Xiao Zuochen laughed after hearing this.

"Father, I am already nineteen years old and I am not going to grow any taller."

"Really? But I see you seem taller than before."

Xiao Zuochen smiled and did not respond.

"I sent someone to your house to look for you two days ago, but they were stopped outside. Tell me, where did you go to play again?"

The emperor's men were stopped outside, but the emperor was not angry. Instead, he was curious about where the boy had gone to play. It can be seen that the emperor really dotes on this son.

Xiao Zuochen only spoke when he saw that the emperor had finally asked about the main matter.

"I will show you something first."

Xiao Zuochen clapped his hands, and Yun Feng led the two rows of eunuchs behind him into the South Study. Six eunuchs came in carrying three boxes of medium size.

The emperor took a look and felt a little curious.

"This box doesn't look big, but it takes two people to carry it. What priceless treasure is inside it?"

"Father will know once he sees it."

Xiao Zuochen clapped his hands again, and the eunuchs opened all three boxes. But after opening them, they found that they were filled with dark stones.

"This is?"

The emperor was puzzled. What kind of treasures were the three boxes of stones?

Xiao Zuochen bowed at this time.

"Can I borrow the Emperor's Sword from my father's study?"

The emperor did not hesitate at all. He just wanted to know what was in the stone.

"Muyi!"

"Yes ~ Your Majesty."

Eunuch Mu Yi turned around to take the Emperor's Sword hanging on the wall and handed it to Prince Yun.

The Emperor's Sword, as its name suggests, is a sword used by the Emperor. It is said to be the sword of the founding emperor Mingde. It can cut iron like mud. In those days, Mingde defeated thousands of troops with just the sword's energy. Therefore, all the emperors of later generations carried this sword, but they could not use its power.

Emperor Mingren had mediocre talent since childhood and was not good at martial arts, so this sword was always hung in his study.

Xiao Zuochen held the sword in his hand and examined it carefully. A golden dragon was hovering on the scabbard, stepping on auspicious clouds and rushing straight to the hilt. The hilt alone looked very heavy.

Yun Feng had already taken out a medium-sized stone and placed it on the table.

"Your Highness."

Yun Feng signaled to King Yun that he was ready.

"Your Majesty, please step back~"

Yun Feng reminded him, and the emperor turned around and went back behind his desk.

Xiao Zuochen glanced at the stone on the table, then suddenly drew out his sword and chopped it down.

Emperor Mingren stared at the stone, but the stone did not react at all.

"Ouch! This..."

At this time, Mu Yigong suddenly called out, and he was holding a strand of hair in his hand. It turned out that the hair on his temples was cut off by the sword.

Emperor Mingren had never used the Emperor's Sword, nor had he seen the previous emperor use it, so he definitely didn't know the power of the sword. But this time he knew.

"Quick, look at the stone!"

The emperor urged Mu Yi, and Mu Yi had no choice but to carefully put his strand of hair into his arms and then went to check the stone. But as soon as he touched it, the stone split in two, revealing the blue-green substance in the middle. This surprised Mu Yi.

"Bring it here for me to see!"

Eunuch Mu Yi held half a stone and presented it to the emperor.

"This is?"

The emperor looked up at Prince Yun, somewhat puzzled, as this thing did not look like jade or agate.

"Father, this is green pine, produced in Beiguan. When I was there, I met a doctor who was wearing an ornament made of this green pine. At that time, I had never seen this thing before, and I just thought it was a bit novel. After asking, I learned that wearing this thing can prolong life. It can be used as medicine to remove dampness and blood stasis, clear away heat and detoxify."

"Is it really such a miraculous effect?"

"Yes. I was fortunate enough to see this doctor use this substance to make powder and cure a poisoned person. The effect was truly miraculous."

"Okay! In that case, these stones will be sent to the Imperial Hospital for the imperial doctors to study carefully. Haha, you are indeed my good son. You can always bring me good news when you go out to play."

The emperor finished speaking and prepared to sit back in his seat.

"Father, you haven't looked at the second box yet~"

Xiao Zuochen spoke slowly, and the emperor, who was about to land, paused.

"And? Isn't it the same?"

"You will know when you see it."

Similarly, after the second stone was placed, Xiao Zuochen still chopped it down with a sword.

"Your Majesty!"

Another strand of Eunuch Mu Yi's hair was also chopped off, and he was heartbroken.

"Well, it's symmetrical this time~"

When the emperor saw him like this, he was in a good mood.

Eunuch Mu Yi was a little upset and presented the second stone to the emperor with a reluctant expression.

"You old fellow!"

The emperor looked at his aggrieved expression and joked.

The stone presented this time is also green inside, but the difference is that it looks more like jade and is somewhat translucent.

“Is this emerald?”

"Father, this is called Dushan Jade. It does look a bit like jadeite. But Dushan Jade is fine and dense, and is more delicate and smooth than jadeite, with a mottled color. I have seen green and purple ones, but I heard from the residents of Beiguan that there are also blue, yellow, red and white ones. I'm sure it will be very beautiful when made into handicrafts."

"Good! Beautiful! Really beautiful! I will definitely make several sets of colorful jewelry and give them to your mother! What about the third box?"

This time the emperor knew it, this must be one type per box!

"This third box is Hetian jade, produced in the west of Wangyan City. Compared with jade produced in other places, it has more white jade and green jade, and the quality is better. This jade is precious, so I will not split it."

Xiao Zuochen sheathed the Emperor's Sword and handed it to Eunuch Mu Yi, who took it obediently and wanted to help the Emperor hang it back on the wall of the study.

"Muyi, no need to hang up."

This time the emperor finally sat down and looked at the stone holding the treasure on the table.

"Since the Emperor's Sword can play a better role in the hands of King Yun, let's give it to King Yun~"

Indeed, no matter whether this son can make the Emperor's Sword exert its former power, to him, the Emperor's Sword is equivalent to scrap iron, so it is better to give it away early.

Eunuch Mu Yi was shocked when he heard this. This sword of the emperor can only be worn and used by the emperors of all generations. Prince Yun can use it today because the emperor loves him. But he was given to him before he ascended the throne. Does it mean that the emperor has already decided on the candidate for the crown prince? It's over, it's over. I'm afraid there will be another open and secret struggle in this palace.

Not only was Eunuch Mu Yi shocked, Xiao Zuochen was also frightened. Originally, he was planning to use the sword that Yun Feng had unloaded outside. But just now, he accidentally saw the Emperor's Sword and wanted to borrow it for fun, but he didn't expect his father to give it to him directly. If he accepted this, would the Third Prince be so angry that he died?

Yun Feng was very excited at this time, his eyes shining as he looked at the sword in Mu Yigong's hand, and then looked at his master. Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, he couldn't help but whisper a reminder.

"Your Highness!"

After pondering for a while, Xiao Zuochen bowed.

"Thank you, Father!"

Xiao Zuochen took the sword with both hands, then raised it with one hand to look at it. Everyone in the world recognized the emperor based on who the emperor's sword belonged to, but he felt that it didn't matter whether he was the emperor or not. His own destiny and his own preferences must be controlled by himself!

"Father."

"Ok?"

Emperor Mingren thought that his beloved son wanted to thank him, but who knew that what he said next almost made him say thank you.

"In fact, I came here today just to give you a surprise."

"Father knows. Father has felt your filial piety~"

"No, Father, I haven't finished yet. In fact, I want to say that these three boxes are just samples. I have already found these three mineral veins~"