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

Chapter 352 First Kiss! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

As the music ended, Zhou Yi looked at the four beautiful women—two adults and two children—under the moonlight, and was filled with emotion:

"To be able to appreciate such exquisite beauty, wouldn't you say this is a royal experience?"

Wu Zetian walked over and said with a smile:
“Any county magistrate in the Tang Dynasty knows how to enjoy life better than you. As for the emperor… the dancers just now weren’t just one or two people, but a whole group. Did you like it, Immortal Master?”

Zhou Yi imagined that scene and shook his head:

"I'm just destined to be a busybody and can't enjoy that kind of happiness. I'm content just to have you all with me."

Just then, Zhao Rui ran over carrying a plastic axe, held the blade to Zhou Yi's neck, and said fiercely:

"Don't move!"

After saying that, the chubby little girl leaned in and kissed Zhou Yi on the left cheek, then waved to Zhao Yan, the little white rabbit, who was not far away:
"Sister, come and kiss me! I've subdued the immortal, he dares not resist."

Zhouyi: "..."

You're so immersed in the role of Wu Gang that you can't get out of it, are you?
Zhao Yan ran over, shyly kissed Zhou Yi on the right cheek, then covered her face and ran away.

Then, Zhao Rui shouted to Xi Shi:
"Sister Xi Shi, come and kiss me quickly, the immortal dares not resist."

Zhou Yi raised his hand and flicked the girl's forehead. He was about to say that his sister Xi Shi wasn't that childish when Xi Shi strode over, lowered her head and kissed Zhou Yi on the forehead, leaving a lipstick mark.

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Beautiful lady, explain yourself clearly: is this just playing around with the kids, or was it premeditated?

"Sister Meiniang, it's your turn! Hurry up, Ruier can't hold back the immortal's power any longer!"

To be honest, this chubby little girl is quite into her role.

Wu Meiniang sat down next to her and asked with a smile:
"Why does the immortal look so grief-stricken?"

Zhou Yi rubbed the little chubby girl's head and said:
"I was ambushed by this rude Wu Gang, and I was powerless to fight back. How could I not be filled with grief and indignation?"

Wu Zetian was surprised that Zhou Yi was actually quite cooperative, and said softly:
"Please forgive my rudeness."

After saying that, she raised her hand to cover Zhou Yi's eyes, and before Zhou Yi could react, she quickly gave him a light peck on the lips.

After the kiss, Her Majesty's cheeks turned red and hot, as if she had drunk half a jin of strong liquor; her cheeks were rosy and she looked quite beautiful.

Zhao Rui put away the plastic axe, sat down listlessly on a stool nearby, picked up a jujube paste mooncake, and took a big bite:

"I've exhausted all my strength and desperately need to replenish my energy... Ah, this jujube paste filling is so delicious, what kind of jujubes are they made of?"

Zhou Yi poured the girl a cup of buckwheat tea and said:

"These mooncakes with jujube paste filling usually do not contain jujubes."

Xi Shi, sitting opposite, asked in confusion:

"What is it made of?"

"Green-skinned winter melon is a common filling for mooncakes. It is made by blending green-skinned winter melon as the base ingredient, which makes it soft enough. As for the specific ingredients used, I don't know. It should be similar to a chemical experiment."

After finishing his sentence, Zhou Yi brought up a meme from the modern food industry:
"Sweet potato noodles contain no sweet potato, rich chicken soup contains no chicken, blood-nourishing jujube slices contain no jujubes, donkey-hide gelatin contains no donkey-hide, lotus root powder contains no lotus root, ready-to-eat bird's nest contains no bird's nest, crab sticks contain no crab meat, duck blood contains no duck blood... The main selling point is that the name has nothing to do with the actual product."

The ancient people were astonished, never expecting such a saying to apply to food.

Under the moonlight, everyone chatted and laughed until after ten o'clock before preparing to rest. When Zhou Yi returned to his room, Wu Meiniang took his hand, her voice full of tenderness:
Goodnight, Immortal Master!

Good night, sweet dreams!

The next day, normally one would visit relatives, but Zhou Yi was all alone, so he skipped that step. With nothing to do, he led four beautiful women to start moving and clearing out the courtyard.

Everyone's wardrobes, beds, shoes, and so on had to be moved to the Sanqing Hall. Usable kitchenware also had to be moved away.

To make the transport easier, Zhou Yi went down the mountain and drove Da Tou Yang's extended electric tricycle, which was used for transporting goods, up the mountain. He loaded all kinds of furniture and appliances onto the tricycle and transported them to the entrance of the Sanqing Hall, where they were then slowly moved inside.

Starting tonight, I'll be staying at the Sanqing Hall. Fortunately, all the wiring here has already been connected, and the rooms have been simply renovated, so I can move in anytime.

I didn't realize it until we moved. I found out there was so much stuff in the yard. Some things that we won't need in the future, like the air conditioner, will be dismantled according to the procedure. I'll have Huo Qubing transport them to Emperor Wu's world so that Liu Che can experience the comfort of air conditioning.

There are four air conditioners in the courtyard. In addition to Liu Che, Li Longji, Zhao Xu, and Guo Rong each received one.

Wu Meiniang looked at the lush green vegetables in the garden and asked:
"Master, should we not keep these vegetables?"

Zhou Yi nodded: "We can't keep them. After we move the furniture, we'll clean up these vegetables, bundle them up, and take them with us when we deliver the car to Da Tou Yang this afternoon to give to the neighbors in town."

The vegetables aren't worth much; it's a token of goodwill. Every year, Hunyuan Palace shares some of its peaches and vegetables with the locals.

Around noon, Zhao Wei called:

"Xiao Yi, you want to build a house, right? I'll take care of all the excavator work. I'll drive the small excavator up first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll drive it away whenever the house is finished."

Wu Aimin also called, asking if he could help procure the electrical wires needed for the new house through his internal channels. He said they were high-quality, low-priced products, not those non-standard goods.

Then, Da Tou Yang, Jin Anchao, Wang Shuangqing, Wang Ge, and others all called to offer their help for the new house.

Wu Zetian was deeply moved:
"Although the Immortal has no relatives, everyone in Cloud Mist Town is closer than family... I really envy the Immortal for having a grandfather to pave the way for him."

As soon as Zhou Yi announced the house renovation project, before construction even began, people came in droves to offer their help.

When Wu Meiniang was ten years old, Wu Shihuo passed away. Her life as the apple of the Duke's eye suddenly plummeted, and even the most basic food and clothing became a problem.

Her elder brother, who was to inherit the title of Duke, wouldn't let her into the house, and her mother was always particular about everything, insisting on putting on airs of a duke's wife even when they had no money, causing Wu Meiniang to experience the hardships of life at a young age.

Now, seeing neighbors calling one after another to offer their help, she really envies Zhou Yi... He's so lucky to have such a meticulous grandfather.

After moving the furniture, Zhou Yi set up a simple shed behind the Sanqing Hall and cooked lunch using a makeshift gas stove... braised noodles with pork belly and celery, plus a soup with poached meatballs and green vegetables.

Time was tight, so there wasn't much time to prepare the dishes, but there was plenty of meat in the braised noodles, and the freshly poached meatballs were made to order, much better than those frozen ready-made meatball packets that had been frozen for years.

Zhao Rui, holding her cartoon bowl, sat down next to Zhou Yi and asked obediently:

"Master, if we don't have time to cook this afternoon, will we go hungry?"

Zhou Yi smiled and said:

"If you don't have time to cook, just go to town to eat. How could I let you go hungry? You and Yan'er are growing right now, so you can grow into someone with long legs like your Xi Shi sister."

Zhao Rui stretched out her short legs and compared them to Xi Shi's long legs, feeling somewhat discouraged:
"Is this really possible? I've been growing sideways lately, did God make my height wrong?"

Zhou Yi pointed to the Sanqing Hall next to him and said:

“If you have any ideas, you can learn from your sister Gongsun and go to the Three Pure Ones to complain.”

Zhao Rui's eyes lit up. She thought that instead of making herself suffer, she might as well bother the gods... All that hard work and exercise to lose weight was nothing compared to how easy it was to just act cute in front of the gods.

After the meal, the group began to clean the vegetable garden. Wu Meiniang went back to the Zhenguan World for a look, then quickly returned and began to check the clutter in the room one by one to see if there was anything she had missed.

Meanwhile, in the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, on the second day after the Tibetans harassed the border, the old general Xue Ne led an army of 30,000 to Longxi to begin a counterattack against the Tibetans.

Li Longji felt that one location was not enough, so he ordered Li Yi, the governor of Shu Prefecture, to launch a fierce attack on Tubo from Shu. He did not seek to conquer cities and territories, but only to kill as many Tubo people as possible. He also ordered that more than three 10,000-person Jingguan be built by the end of the year.

Li Yi was a member of the imperial family, the grandson of Prince Wu, Li Ke, and a rare all-rounder during the prosperous Tang Dynasty who achieved both civil and military success.

When he was in power, he was honest and upright, and he deeply hated corrupt officials, which made him beloved by the people. During his military campaigns, he won a great victory against the Tibetan Empire during the height of the Tang Dynasty – the Battle of Shibao City.

Shibao City was a city in the Qinghai River Valley region. It was also a thorn planted by the Tubo (Tibetan) forces in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Taking advantage of the city's geographical location, the Tubo people frequently harassed the border people of the Tang Dynasty.

During his tenure as Deputy Military Governor of Shuofang, Li Yi astutely seized the opportunity and launched a series of raids covering thousands of miles, capturing Shibao City at minimal cost.

This city served as a bridgehead for the Tibetans' attack on the Tang Dynasty. It contained countless supplies of grain and weapons. After its capture, he immediately ordered his men to defend the city on the spot, repelling wave after wave of Tibetan attacks.

After capturing Shibao City, the Qilian Mountain defense zone and the Longxi defense zone were connected, and the Tang Dynasty firmly drove the Tubo west of the mountains... The ability to keenly seize the opportunity and launch a surprise attack, as well as to plan the defensive battle after capturing the city, is what makes a great general!
Besides Shibao City, Li Yi also led the Tang Dynasty's war against the Khitan and other northeastern tribes, achieving great victories. He was one of the few generals in the Tang Dynasty who could establish merits in both the northeast and northwest.

It can be said that the wisdom and talent that Li Ke never had the chance to realize in his lifetime were fully displayed in his grandson.

Now that Li Yi has seized military power ahead of schedule, the Tibetans are in trouble.

In addition, Li Longji also ordered the prefectures surrounding the Qilian Mountains, such as Ganzhou, Suzhou, Hezhou, and Shanzhou, to launch attacks against the Tubo, and to build a Jingguan (a mound of ten thousand people) in each prefecture.

Meanwhile, the Anxi Protectorate, stationed in the Western Regions, was responsible for guarding the Little Bolu Pass, prohibiting Tibetans from trading with the Western Regions countries, and ordering that any Tibetans they encountered be killed without exception. They also planned to build three 10,000-person mounds of statues by the end of the year.

As the military orders were issued, the entire court was shocked. This was no counterattack; it was practically a plan to exterminate the entire clan!
Li Longji didn't explain much. Apart from casually killing two corrupt scholars who clamored for good neighborliness with foreign countries, everything else was calm, and all the tribes began to prepare for the attack on Tibet.

The Ministry of War formulated plans, the Ministry of Revenue allocated grain and fodder, the Ministry of Works provided weapons, the Ministry of Personnel dispatched officials, the Ministry of Justice strictly investigated embezzlement, and the Ministry of Rites wrote articles listing the crimes of the Tibetans... In short, everyone had their own division of labor.

Meanwhile, the people of Yiyuan Temple were seeing off Li Bai and the others westward, as they headed to the battlefield with the army...

(End of this chapter)