If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Zhou Wu finally understood. The stir-fried dishes popular in the capital were taught to the Gu family restaurant by Zhou Wu. Although other restaurants had learned them by stealing, they were still far superior to the stewing, steaming, and roasting dishes in the palace. No wonder Li Xixue was upset.

Seeing Li Xixue's eating habits, Zhou Wu couldn't help but feel a little tempted.

The entire table was covered in food. When the waiter came to clear it away, his eyes widened in horror. The food had been eaten so cleanly. He had been hoping to secretly pack up a few barely touched dishes, but clearly, his wish had been dashed.

"Where are you going this time?"

After eating and drinking their fill, the two stood at the entrance of the restaurant, unsure of where to go next.

"You were the one who insisted on coming out."

Li Xixue was speechless; it was Zhou Wu who had said he wanted to come out.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"How about we visit the temple?"

"temple?"

Taoism was alright, but Zhou Wu wasn't very interested in temples. However, fearing that Li Xixue would get angry and unhappy again, he could only nod in agreement.

"Jinguang Temple is very famous. My father and the others have been there. It is very efficacious."

"Then I'll go call a car."

The temple was probably quite far away, so Zhou Wu went to the post station and called a horse-drawn carriage.

. . . . . .

royal palace.

"You mean Zhou Wu said his dream is for the people of Dalong to have access to early childhood education, schooling, employment, medical care, elderly care, housing, and support for the vulnerable?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhou Wu was unaware that his whereabouts over the past few days had been reported to Li Tiancheng in detail by his secret guards.

Li Tiancheng was extremely shocked. His expression and thoughts were exactly the same as Li Xixue's at that moment. These words are easy to say, but to actually do them are extremely difficult.

Li Tiancheng never expected that Zhou Wu would have such a noble dream; it turned out that he had always underestimated him.

"Where are they now?"

"Are they on their way to Jin Guang Temple?"

"Don't let it get discovered. Let's remove it after the princess returns to the palace."

It turns out that the secret guards were not arranged by the emperor to monitor Zhou Wu, but to protect Li Xixue. However, after unexpectedly learning about Zhou Wu's dream, Li Tiancheng looked at Zhou Wu in a higher regard.

. . . . . .

The Jin Guang Temple occupies an entire hillside on the outskirts of the city. Its towering red walls, golden hall, and gilded Buddha statues all highlight its status as an important Buddhist site.

The carriage stopped in front of Jin Guang Temple, and the young novice monks in front of the temple kept chanting Amitabha Buddha to the pilgrims coming and going.

"Amitabha Buddha, please come in to burn incense and make your wish, benefactor?"

The young novice monk was quite endearing, and standing at the door to greet and see off visitors, he was indeed rather pleasing.

"Do temples now offer welcoming services?"

"This is a sacred Buddhist site; you mustn't speak carelessly."

Li Xixue had no idea that Zhou Wu was so bold as to dare to joke around in such a sacred Buddhist place.

Why didn't he stop you?

Why are you stopping me?

"Isn't this a sacred Buddhist site where female benefactors are not allowed to enter?"

"What a joke! Nine out of ten people who come to this temple are women, otherwise how could this temple be so popular?"

Li Xixue was right. A quick glance revealed that the temple was almost entirely filled with women, with very few men, and even those who were there were only accompanying the women.

"It seems that no matter the era, women are the primary consumer force."

Zhou Wu muttered to himself, afraid that Li Xixue would hear him.

A beautiful figure appeared ahead of him, and Zhou Wu felt that she looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.

Just as I was about to sneak a peek out of curiosity, I was blocked by several sycophants surrounding that beautiful figure.

"Zhou Wu, over here."

Zhou Wu was still not giving up and was preparing to look for another opportunity when Li Xixue stopped him, her desires shifting to the other side.

The beautiful figure froze the moment she heard Li Xixue call out Zhou Wu's name, and turned to look at Zhou Wu.

Zhou Wu finally recognized the person as Li Shishi, one of the four beauties of the capital and the organizer of the poetry competition.

"Master Zhou!"

"Miss Li."

Although we weren't familiar with each other, we had to greet each other since we'd already met.

Li Shishi hadn't planned to come out today, but she was so bothered by her followers that she decided to come to Jin Guang Temple, hoping to find some peace and quiet there. Unexpectedly, she ran into Zhou Wu there.

After the last poetry competition, Li Shishi had already developed a good impression of Zhou Wu, especially given the current situation, where Zhou Wu's talent was immediately superior to that of the other second-generation rich kids around him.

"Greetings, Lord Zhou. I heard you were transferred to another province. I never expected to meet you here today."

Li Shishi walked quickly to Zhou Wu's side. Li Xixue was startled when she saw his stunningly beautiful face. She then quietly approached Zhou Wu as if to assert her dominance.

"I'll be returning to the capital in the next few days to report to His Majesty, and then I'll be leaving in a couple of days."

The other second-generation rich kids nearby were unhappy when they heard this. They took turns trying to flatter Shishi, but she didn't even smile. However, when Shishi saw them, she immediately took the initiative to go up and chat with them.

Moreover, they took Zhou Wu's words as boasting.

"I wonder what official position this Lord Zhou holds?"

One of the second-generation rich kids couldn't stand it anymore. When it comes to status, who among them doesn't have a prominent background? I just heard that this Zhou Wu is serving in another region and isn't even a government official in the capital. What's there to be proud of?

"What official position I hold is none of your business. Why should I tell you?"

Zhou Wu wasn't very familiar with Li Shishi to begin with, and the people around her looked like idle second-generation officials or rich kids. He guessed that she considered him a competitor.

"How dare you speak to me like that? My father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhengke Shuang!"

"You're the one who's got guts. You'd better go back and ask your father if he dares to talk to me like that."

The cold words from Zhou Wu sent a chill down Zheng Xiang's spine. He immediately panicked. How dare the other party speak like that, not even putting his own father in his eyes? Either this person was crazy, or he really had a powerful background that allowed him to disregard him.

After thinking it over, Zheng Xiang kept quiet. He was a second-generation rich kid, but he wasn't stupid.

Zhou Wu could meet the Emperor directly, which made him far more powerful than his father. As for local officials being inferior to those in the capital, that was merely regional discrimination by those below. In reality, officials in the capital weren't necessarily of higher rank than local officials. However, given Zhou Wu's age, it was hard not to suspect that he was just a minor official.

"Brother Zhou, who is this lady?"

Li Xixue's sudden change to gentleness and virtuousness made Zhou Wu feel a little uncomfortable, and he didn't know what was wrong with this little girl this time.

"This is Ms. Li Shishi, my friend."

"This is my sister."

Zhou Wu quickly introduced the two to each other. Since they weren't very familiar with each other, Zhou Wu didn't want to reveal Li Xixue's identity directly. However, Li Xixue didn't appreciate it and was very dissatisfied with the way Zhou Wu had positioned her.

"Who is your sister?"