Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 351 The Empress Plays the Qin, Xi Shi Performs a Dance! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Early in the morning, Zhou Yi had just gotten up when he found Xi Shi busy in the kitchen. He went in and discovered that this beautiful woman was actually learning how to make dough by following a cooking tutorial video.

Upon seeing Zhou Yi enter, the beautiful woman became somewhat embarrassed:
Did I disturb your rest?

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"No, there's a process for making dough. First, you dissolve the yeast in warm water and add a little bit of sugar to speed up the reproduction of the yeast. Using this water to knead the dough will make it rise faster."

He went to wash up and returned to the kitchen. The flour had turned into dough. To speed up the rising process, she placed the bowl in warm water to heat it up.

The Book of Changes asks:

Why did you decide to make dough?

Xi Shi looked at the porridge cooking in the pot and said:

“Last night before bed, Rui’er saw sugar triangles in a video and wanted to eat them. I had never tried them before, so I decided to steam some to try and see what they tasted like.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi placed the wok on the stove, washed it, dried it, and then poured in the flour to stir-fry.

Xi Shi watched intently from the side:

Why fry the flour?

"When making brown sugar filling, adding some cooked flour can make the brown sugar thicker, with a better texture and a richer aroma... This is a little trick that Uncle Wu taught me. I learned a lot of my cooking skills from the villagers."

The flour should be taken out of the pan when it is slightly browned. After pouring it out, it should be spread out, otherwise the residual heat will make the flour taste burnt, which will not taste good.

Next, Zhou Yi helped Xi Shi prepare the brown sugar filling, cooked the rice porridge, chopped some minced meat, marinated it with ginger shreds, soy sauce and other seasonings, and poured it into the pot after the rice porridge was cooked. He then added some chopped green vegetables, and that was the vegetable and lean meat porridge.

At breakfast, Zhao Rui saw the sugar triangles on the table and hugged Xi Shi with a happy expression.
"Thank you so much, sister. It's really Rui'er's good fortune to have met you."

Wu Zetian said with a smile:

"He's such a sycophant at such a young age, no wonder he's so popular."

Zhao Rui took a small bite of the sugar triangle:

"I'm so happy! Sister Meiniang bought me new clothes, Sister Zhao'er taught me to read and write, Sister Xishi cooked delicious food for me, and Sister Gongsun introduced me to all kinds of gods..."

The Book of Changes says:

"When you go back to school, don't brag to the kids about knowing gods."

Zhao Rui asked earnestly:

"Then what can I brag about?"

"You can show off your... appetite."

After breakfast, Zhou Yi went to town and bought a large rooster from Han Lao Er's house. At noon, he slaughtered and stewed a chicken, and then went to Jin An Chao's restaurant to buy a freshly cooked roast chicken.

Jin Anchao used to boast that his roast chicken surpassed those of Daokou and Fuliji, claiming it to be the best roast chicken in Yiyang. However, after spending too much time on Douyin (TikTok), he discovered that the word "roast chicken" also had another meaning, so he stopped boasting and instead changed it to "purely handmade, traditionally deep-fried chicken" to avoid using the word "roast chicken."

After buying the roast chicken, Zhou Yi went to buy ribs, pork belly, chicken wings, prawns and other ingredients. Then he rode his motorcycle back up the mountain to start preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner.

The Zhao sisters, Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui, changed into new clothes. Today is a holiday, so they don't have to study and can have a great time all day.

Zhao Rui rode her bicycle around the Hunyuan Palace, having a blast, while Zhao Yan pestered Xi Shi to teach her to dance. The two beauties, one big and one small, huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

At noon, Zhou Yi prepared dishes such as braised pork ribs, shrimp in tomato sauce, cola chicken wings, and stewed rooster. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Wu Meiniang went back to the Zhenguan World to check on things. After confirming that the carriage was moving smoothly, she returned to Hunyuan Palace and suggested taking the two children to the city to visit amusement parks and broaden their horizons.

Zhou Yi readily agreed and drove the four beautiful women—two adults and two children—to the amusement park in Yiyang City, where he led them inside to enjoy the rides.

On the other side, in the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty.

Su Jian and Sima Qian arrived at Fukou Pass, one of the eight passes of Taihang, which is the mountain pass connecting Shexian County, Handan, to Shangdang. This place has been a strategic location fought over by military strategists since ancient times. From the Battle of Changping between the Qin and Zhao states to the Taihang Mountain base area during the War of Resistance against Japan, this pass has been ravaged by war time and again.

Since it was a strategic location that was fought over by military strategists, it was natural that there were also petty thieves who would try to rob and plunder along the way.

Sima Qian used drones to scout a nearby bandit stronghold and even used the neighing of horses to lure the bandits into a trap, wiping them out in one fell swoop.

Three thousand cavalrymen didn't need any tactics to deal with a group of bandits. One charge was enough to frighten these hundreds of outlaw "heroes" into kneeling and begging for mercy.

Sima Qian spat and said:
"If you were truly fine men, and you went to the border to bully the Xiongnu, I would respect you as men of honor. But now you only know how to hide in the shadows and bully your own brothers. Heaven has truly wasted your human skin!"

The leader of the bandits looked up and asked:
"General, may we also go to the border to kill the Xiongnu?"

Su Jian said loudly:

"We, the sons of Han, regardless of our origins, as long as we are willing to kill the Xiongnu and avenge the people on the border, His Majesty will forgive all past transgressions. Men, pat your chests, are you Han people?"

A few words ignited the fighting spirit of these bandits, who eagerly requested to kill the Xiongnu and plunder their grain and women from the grasslands. Su Jian said:

“I know there are other people like you in this mountain. Go and find them. If you can gather 10,000 people, I will take you to Chang'an to meet His Majesty.”

If it were any other emperor, Sima Qian and Su Jian wouldn't have dared to make such a guarantee.

But Liu Che was no ordinary emperor. As long as he was willing to fight the Xiongnu, he would really pardon the bandits for their past mistakes and even reward them handsomely... Of course, if things went wrong, then don't blame the Liu family for being heartless and ungrateful.

Upon hearing that they could meet His Majesty and be pardoned, the bandits immediately expressed their intention to win over other bandits, hoping that the two generals would give them a chance.

Su Jian raised his wrist to check the time and said to them:
"At this time tomorrow, I will be waiting for you here. You can choose to be heroes admired by thousands or bandits despised by everyone."

After the bandits left, several captains asked, puzzled:

"General, why did you let them escape? What should we do if they don't return tomorrow?"

Sima Qian took a bite of the wheat cake and said with a smile:

“Then let’s bring them back. We have plenty of time… The General should not have set off for Chang’an yet. If we go back too soon, the people will ask all sorts of questions, and the situation will be very awkward. The court officials will also suspect our motives for detouring through Hebei… Rather than going back and being picked on, it’s better to stay here and kill time.”

Suppressing bandits was just one excuse; the main reason was to return to Chang'an later than Wei Qing, which would be in line with the style of keeping a low profile.

Meanwhile, a Han army from Shuofang, which had toiled for months in vain, was on its way back to Chang'an, completely unaware of the storms that awaited them...

On the northern grasslands of Dingxiang, Wei Qing met the Xiongnu people who had come to seek refuge in the "free world." He first offered a few words of encouragement, and then took out the prepared oath, asking the group to swear to join the Han Dynasty.

Almost all the Xiongnu people in the southern Gobi Desert knew about this event. When they heard that they had to swear an oath, they not only did not resist, but even felt a kind of ecstatic joy, as if they had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Zhao Ponu stood to the side, arms crossed, and said:
“If the people of the Han Dynasty were to defect to other ethnic groups, I would lead my troops to shoot them into pincushions. But it’s much more pleasing to the eye to see foreign tribes lining up to join the Han Dynasty.”

Zhang Qian laughed and said:

"This is just the beginning. In the future, we will raise the bar for joining the Han Dynasty. It is not enough to just not have the blood of Han people on your hands. You must also work hard and serve the Han Dynasty in order to obtain Han citizenship."

Zhao Ponu looked at Zhang Qian and asked:

"Lord Ziwen, you will surely be ennobled upon your return this time. What will you do then?"

Zhang Qian raised his finger and pointed to the southwest:
“When I was in Yuezhi, I heard that the Han Chinese goods they used were transported from the southwest to India, and then sold to the Yuezhi by the people of India. I am going to find this route.”

Although the map provided by the Book of Changes clearly marked the various places in the south, Zhang Qian still wanted to go and see them, to find a way out. If he could go around from the southwest to India and then from India to the Yuezhi, he would surely gain something.

After the initiation ceremony, some of the liars were struck by lightning and killed, while the remaining Huns became proud subjects of the Han Dynasty. Their first task was to go to various prisoner-of-war camps to manage the Hun prisoners of war who were building roads.

As night fell, Zhao Ponu's men quietly left the camp, launched drones to check the campfires on the grassland... At this time of year, campfires on the grassland meant there were people, and it was time to raid them.

Although the withdrawal is imminent, no one complains about their military achievements; they still need to work hard.

At the same time, inside the Hunyuan Palace.

Zhou Yi sat in the courtyard, with mooncakes, fruits, fried cakes and other items on the table, chatting with Wu Meiniang while admiring the moon.

After Xi Shi finished bathing, she returned to her room and didn't come out. Zhou Yi was just about to ask Zhao Yan to call her when Zhao Rui ran over, put her arm around Zhou Yi's shoulder, and said:

"Master... Immortal Master, we have prepared a little surprise for you. Can you close your eyes?"

Zhou Yi nodded and closed his eyes, but the chubby little girl didn't believe him. She raised her chubby little hands and covered Zhou Yi's eyes, then called out with a smile:
"Alright, let's begin!"

Soon, the sound of a door opening was heard, and then Wu Meiniang got up.

The image of Chu Yunfei's meme flashed through Zhou Yi's mind, but before he could say it, the chubby little hand covering his eyes let go, and then, a thud sounded from a guqin in the courtyard.

When Zhou Yi opened his eyes, he saw Xi Shi dressed in a gorgeous women's dress from the Spring and Autumn Period, with various ornaments on her head, striking a graceful pose under the moonlight.

Zhao Yan, standing to the side, was dressed in a fluffy white outfit and wore rabbit ears on her head, looking like a little white rabbit.

Wu Meiniang was sitting in front of the guqin, playing a piece of music... The music just now was played by her.

Wow, what a surprise! What a wonderful surprise!

Zhou Yi sat up straight, watching Xi Shi dance gracefully under the moon to the music of Meiniang. Zhao Yan moved around her, neither stealing the spotlight nor diminishing the charm of Xi Shi's dance.

If Zhou Yi wasn't mistaken, the two were playing Chang'e and the Moon Rabbit. It must be said that Xi Shi's perfect dance moves truly brought out Chang'e's sorrow to the fullest, while Wu Zetian's zither music added a touch of mournful melodies.

The scene was so beautiful it defied description, especially the charm of Xi Shi's every gesture, which truly embodied the Chinese character for "beauty".

Just then, Zhao Rui excitedly ran to the center of the dance floor, carrying the plastic axe she had bought that afternoon, and started wildly swinging it around... Goodness, isn't this Wu Gang a little too cute?
At this moment, Zhou Yi truly wished time could stand still, so that this beautiful moment could last forever...

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Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a joyous family reunion!
(End of this chapter)