The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 297 Extra: Zhao Yun Returns: All Beings Have Forms

When Zhao Yungui was five years old, his master took him back to the Imperial Observatory.

The master said that he has the potential for enlightenment, and if he diligently cultivates, he may be able to attain enlightenment.

At the age of six, he learned all the Taoist arts; at the age of eight, he could answer his master's questions fluently; and at the age of ten, people from the Imperial Observatory would bow to him and respectfully call him "Little Master."

That's too easy.

These things were all too easy for Zhao Yungui.

Master said, "The Tao has no bounds."

But from the moment he first saw the Daoist teachings, he could also see the boundless distance beyond.

The Daoist teachings say that all sentient beings are without form.

Among the myriad beings, he saw them as no different from grass and trees.

He said, "Master, I have seen all living beings, and they are all as usual."

"You've seen them all?"

"I've seen them all."

The master's eyes were gentle, but he said, "But there are millions of living beings; how could you possibly have seen them all?"

Zhao Yun replied, "They are all plants and trees; whether you see them or not makes no difference."

Master smiled and said, "Yun Gui, would you show favoritism or bias?"

At that time, Zhao Yungui, who was only twelve years old, shook his head indifferently: "No."

That year, the peach blossoms in Chang'an were exceptionally beautiful.

That same year, he met the princess who was known among the people of Chang'an as a wicked and universally disliked figure.

She climbed the peach tree and picked a handful of peach blossoms.

She smiled and looked down at him: "Oh, there's a child!"

—Actually, she was a little younger than him.

Peach blossoms covered his lapel, disturbing his brows and eyes.

He still remembers the first words he said to her.

"It will hurt if you fall."

In fact, Zhao Yungui later recalled—

That could probably be considered favoritism.

—After all, he wouldn't care if it were just grass or trees falling from a tree.

That's how he and she met.

She wasn't as bad as others made her out to be.

More often than not, it's like a wagging cat, its menacing appearance only fooling a few blind fools.

But Chang'an is full of fools.

Sometimes Zhao Yungui thought that even if he took just one more step closer to her, he would never say such vicious and despicable things to her.

The master asked, "Yun Gui, is Your Highness considered one of the sentient beings?"

Zhao Yun frowned.

She was far more foolish than the rest of the population.

Everyone knows the principle of seeking advantage and avoiding harm, and seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune.

She insisted on being a sinner, becoming the dark side of the one sitting high in the hall.

He didn't answer.

The master smiled and handed him a light veil.

“Yun Gui, if one day you see that all living beings are equal, and all are just ordinary people, then take off this veil.”

He thought that day would come.

That day will come eventually.

One year, a severe drought struck various regions, and countless refugees flocked to the capital, leaving corpses of the starving everywhere.

Zhao Yungui did what he could and did not interfere too much.

He consulted the oracle, and it was predicted that heavy rain would fall in half a month, relieving the drought and bringing a good season with favorable weather.

But on that day, as he was riding in the Imperial Observatory's carriage out of the city, she stopped his carriage.

She asked, "Grand Preceptor, do you want a child?" There were no peach blossoms at that time of year.

But when she lifted the carriage curtain and looked over, her clothes were filled with the fragrance of flowers.

The finger bones in the sleeve twitched slightly.

Master said that all living beings are equal, and all are plants and trees.

The master said that if one's mind is free from attachments, one may attain enlightenment.

Master said that Yun Gui has the potential for wisdom.

Suddenly, he remembered the question his master had asked him: "Have you seen them all?"

No.

She is not a plant.

She is not one of the ordinary beings.

"Yun Gui, would you show favoritism or bias?"

meeting.

"Stay, for you have a karmic connection."

Later, she knelt outside the Golden Palace and pleaded for the Prince Ruiyang, who was accused of treason.

Zhao Yun returned to the Imperial Observatory and spent three days divining the divination results.

No solution.

Later, she was demoted to Baiyujing, where she stayed for three years.

Before his master passed away, he lovingly asked him, "Yun Gui, do as you please."

On that day, Pei Du, who had risen to the position of Grand Secretary, came to the Imperial Observatory to see him and said he needed a word from him.

That year, in the height of spring in Chang'an, Princess Zhaoming's entourage returned to the capital in a grand procession.

Three years of wind and snow did not diminish her arrogance.

She flipped through his copper coins and said that Heaven's will was not what it seemed.

She asked him, "Zhao Yungui, why are you always blindfolded?"

The sheer fabric blurred her features.

There's no need to deliberately depict her; her image appears right before my eyes.

Her life was a dead end.

He took her place countless times, without exception.

But on that day, Pei Du appeared before him, his tone cold and calm: "I'll help her find a way to survive."

With his reputation, all the people of Chang'an and the supreme imperial power became his bargaining chips.

He asked Pei Du, "And what about you? What do you want?"

He replied, "I want her to be more famous and honored than anyone else."

That was a gamble.

Pei Du won.

Later, after holding a wedding ceremony in Baiyujing, the two returned to the capital and held another one.

Emperor Jiang Biechen personally attended the ceremony, and all the civil and military officials came to offer their congratulations.

He met Pei Du when he went to the banquet.

Perhaps with a hint of malice in her heart, Pei Du took her hand and nodded to her with a smile.

He also saw Jiang Jinshuang.

Her eyes widened in shock: "Grand Preceptor, why have you removed your blindfold?"

Perhaps she had thought of something, she smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Could it be that the Grand Preceptor has achieved something and has already attained immortality?"

Zhao Yungui just smiled and said, "Zhengze is crying, go and comfort him."

He has not attained enlightenment.

In his small world, there were no plants or trees, only peach blossoms covering the mountains.

So, that's it.

Let me start by writing a side story about the Imperial Advisor to whet your appetite!