The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 153 The Most Beautiful Woman of All Time
Yang Taizhen, one of the Four Beauties of the Yellow Emperor, Yang Guifei?

Zhou Yan glanced at Yang Taizhen, then at Li Zhiwei who was hiding her head like a quail, and then back at Yang Taizhen. His mind raced instantly, and he immediately connected many things he had seen before.

Li Longji had already returned to the palace by now.

Li Zhiwei suddenly appeared, followed by Yang Yuhuan.

There is no doubt that Yang Taizhen's appearance is related to Li Longji's return to the palace.

Was it deliberate avoidance, or was it arranged by Li Sanlang?

Li Longji, you're such a persistent ghost!

Yang Yuhuan smiled, looked at Li Zhiwei, and said, "You can also call me Great-Grandma, Master Zhou."

Zhou Yan's mind went blank for a moment.

His first reaction was that he absolutely could not let Li Sanlang get the better of him.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Don't even think about it!
So he said, "Miss Yang, there's no need for that."

Li Zhiwei's eyes widened. She had thought of a very important point, so she was a little anxious. Yang Yuhuan was slightly taken aback, then laughed out loud. Her body swayed, and she swept over like a flowing cloud. When her sleeves rolled up, she looked like an immortal descending to earth.

She gently pinched Zhou Yan's cheek: "So cute, Daoist Master."

Zhou Yan's lips twitched slightly.

He felt his heart almost stop beating for a moment.

If there were an entity whose charm was elevated to the extreme, could this individual, in a world with gods and supernatural powers, purely rely on charm to induce beings to feel affection directly from a physiological perspective?

Xuanzang, Manjushri, lend me your power!
At this moment, the Buddha of Mahayana Buddhism is with me.

The four great Bodhisattvas of all Buddhism reside eternally in my heart.

The elder brother Li Bai and...

Wait, Big Brother, maybe you shouldn't come yet.

In short, I am not alone!

Zhou Yan took a deep breath and held his sword across the railing:

"Miss Yang, please don't lay a hand on me."

“I am a monk.”

Yang Taizhen smiled and said, "Really? Me too, a nun."

"That's great, we're the same."

She laughed.

Zhou Yan felt he was about to reach his limit.

Please stop unleashing your charm endlessly. Li Zhiwei, who was standing next to him, seemed a little anxious for some reason. She grabbed Zhou Yan and pulled him back, then spread her arms to block him. Frowning, she said angrily, "Great-Grandma!"

"He's about my age, what do you want to do?"

Zhou Yan snapped out of his daze and took a step back. He didn't know when it started, but he had become extremely concerned about his state of mind. Yang Yuhuan, a woman whose every smile and frown could captivate people's hearts, made him wary and vigilant.

Unexpectedly, Yang Taizhen did not die at Mawei Slope.

Indeed, this world is different from the world Zhou Yan is familiar with. It has all sorts of mysterious and magical places, supernatural powers, magic, and immortals. With the spirit of the Li Longji he knows, it wouldn't be difficult for him to protect Yang Taizhen's soul.

But why is this soul here with Li Zhiwei?
Li Zhiwei complained for a while, and Yang Taizhen smiled and said:

"Does Yun'er value this Taoist priest so much? Why?"

Li Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, then said, "If he calls Great-Grandma Miss Yang, wouldn't I be several generations younger than him in terms of seniority?"

Yang Taizhen chuckled: "You care about that?"

Li Zhiwei said, "This is very important, Great-Grandma! If the generational difference is too great, I always feel..." She frowned, feeling a strange feeling in her heart, and said, "I always feel like I've lost."

Yang Taizhen looked Li Zhiwei up and down and smiled: "How interesting."

Li Zhiwei said, "Huh?"

"It's nothing, but this doesn't seem like the place to exchange messages. Let me cast a spell."

Yang Taizhen casually avoided the topic, sweeping his whisk to cover up the surrounding noise. Zhou Yan was somewhat wary of Yang Taizhen's appearance, given his unknown methods and strength, but he trusted Li Zhiwei.

Li Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief and then recounted what had happened.

........................

Chang'an City, Guangping Prince's Mansion.

Consort Cui sat alone in her own courtyard in the Prince's mansion. It was winter, and the stove was burning, with the sound of fire flicking and burning filling the air. Otherwise, it was unusually quiet. In the past, Consort Cui would go to Li Zhiwei to tease and amuse herself.

But now that the child has been sent away, she has lost someone to amuse her and relieve her boredom.

She was born into the Cui family, and by all accounts, Yang Taizhen was her aunt. In fact, it could be said that she was able to marry the Prince of Guangping as his principal wife because of Yang Guifei's power. However, power is like fire; those who benefit from it will also suffer a backlash.

At the foot of Mawei Slope, the imperial concubine died.

However, Li Longji was a man of great ambition. He obtained the Penglai Jade Disc, which protected Yang Taizhen's three souls and seven spirits, transforming them into her primordial spirit. Li Longji knew that he was carrying this object and would sooner or later be discovered to be secretly meeting with Yang Taizhen's soul, which would inevitably lead to a greater conflict.

He then handed the jade disc to Consort Cui and let her and Prince Guangping leave.

However, Consort Cui witnessed firsthand how the king used the death of his beloved to quell public anger and how he sealed the soul into a jade disc. She had seen too much of the sage Sanlang's cold-bloodedness, ruthlessness, cruelty, and cunning.

She also inquired about Yang Yuhuan's spirit and learned that the latter did not wish to see Sanlang.

This served two purposes: entrusting the jade disc to Li Zhiwei.

Using the "Jinghe Dragon King's affair" as a pretext, she mobilized her family connections and persuaded the Prince of Guangping to send Li Zhiwei to Louguan Daoist temple for a period of quiet cultivation. Thus, just as Li Longji returned to Chang'an, Consort Cui did everything in her power to send away the two people she cared about most.

Get away from this vortex.

Consort Cui turned the pages of her book, looking out at the sky. Her own offspring were of the bloodline of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, born with an inescapable destiny. The sky over Chang'an today was a clear, azure blue with very light clouds, making it appear extremely high and distant.

She thought of the clever girl and her gentle and beautiful aunt.

Consort Cui's eyes held a gentle expression:
"Fly, fly, fly away quickly."

"Get away from this place, get away from the court, go do what you want to do, go where you want to go... cough cough..."

As she was thinking, she suddenly started coughing. The maid quickly added more firewood to the stove and brought up some precious medicine, saying, "Your Highness, please take some medicine. This is from Lord Cui, who said it was specially prepared for your family."

"The sage also sent this tonic, saying it's to help you maintain your health."

"let it go."

Consort Cui waved her hand, signaling them to step back, her expression languid.

She knew her own body well. She lazily got up, intending to get the so-called tonic, but then an imperial edict arrived. The Emperor Emeritus wanted to see her. Consort Cui paused, knowing in her heart that this was what had happened.

Thus, Li Longji learned that the thing he had entrusted to her had been lost.

The aging monarch finally erupted in genuine fury.

"What did you say? It's lost?!"

Li Longji looked down at Consort Cui, his face etched with wrinkles like dragon scales, his eyes blazing with fury. Consort Cui had always been terrified of the Emperor, for both his smile and his rage were like thunder. Thunder and rain, both were expressions of imperial favor.

But this time, she was no longer afraid.

Consort Cui gazed at Li Longji:
Yes, it's lost.

"Just like when Your Majesty abandoned your concubine, abandoned the Tang Dynasty, and abandoned Chang'an City, you lost everything."

She speaks politely and gently, but her voice is soft and gentle, yet it seems to have a thorn in it.

Her heart was pounding. As a subject who submitted to the sage, as a woman, and as a junior of Yang Yuhuan, the imperial sacrifice, she wanted to offer her aunt a perhaps insignificant counterattack against the invincible sage in her own way.

Li Longji asked, "Who did you give it to?!"

Consort Cui paused, then asked, "What are you saying?"

Li Longji slowly descended. He was already very old, but having regained his former vigor, he still walked with an undeniable air of authority, saying, "Li Shi."

Gao Lishi bowed and said, "Here."

Li Longji said calmly, "Investigate the Cui family and the Guangping Prince's Mansion, and those who have recently left Chang'an City."

Consort Cui was in a state of confusion.

Facing Li Longji, even her desperate and long-considered solution was crushed in an instant by her insignificant revenge. The two were on completely different levels in terms of judgment and insight.

If Li Longji hadn't just returned, everything Consort Cui did would have seemed as ridiculous as a child attacking a general.

Soon Gao Lishi returned and reported everything about Li Zhiwei. Li Longji looked down at Consort Cui, whose struggles and resistance were as blatant as a naked prisoner, with nowhere to hide. He said indifferently, "Li Zhiwei..."

Louguandao.

He thought of Zhou Yan and Li Zhiwei's relationship, but his longing for Yang Taizhen surpassed everything. He said, "Bring Li Zhiwei back."

This seemed to have touched a nerve with Consort Cui, who abruptly raised her head and said:
"Sage, you..."

Li Longji's gaze was fixed on her, and Consort Cui's heart trembled. She said, "You, you can't do this, you can't bring that child back too, if you do, it will..."

Li Longji strode out, sunlight bathing him, radiating an immeasurable power. Gao Lishi comforted Consort Cui, saying, "You should quickly return to the Prince of Guangping's residence to rest..." Consort Cui gritted her teeth, her body trembling, and suddenly said:

"The Supreme Emperor, the Sage."

"Don't you want to know why I was able to hand over the jade disc?"

"because……"

Consort Cui gritted her teeth, past events flashing before her eyes. Sweat beaded on her beautiful face—from tension, fear, and terror. The court, the powerful families, the hierarchy—layers of shackles bound her. Finally, she closed her eyes and suddenly laughed:

"She doesn't want to see you again!"

"Understand?!"

Li Longji abruptly stopped. The retired emperor's sleeves fluttered, and Consort Cui, who was being forced to kneel on the ground, looked up at the incomparable, powerful, and prosperous sage. The sorrow, resentment, and pain in her heart at the powerful Tang Dynasty being reduced to its current state transformed into the most magnificent curse of her life.

"Li Longji".

"you this……"

“Abandoning his people to seize his daughter-in-law.”

"brute!!!"

The guards around her pressed down hard on Consort Cui, her head hitting the ground. Suddenly, she laughed. Finally, she exhaled the pent-up frustration in her heart, having no more strength left. She could only think…

Run away, run away.

Yunxiu'er.

The clouds drift aimlessly from the mountain peaks.

But can you be heartless?
Consort Cui's heartache was finally resolved, and she breathed a sigh of relief. After returning to the palace, her health began to decline not long after. A maidservant presented her with health-preserving and life-protecting items sent by her family and the Emperor: "These were personally bestowed by the Emperor, Your Highness, please try them."

Consort Cui looked at the cup of spiritual medicine, and with a forced smile, said:

What is this thing?

The maid smiled and said, "These are health-preserving items that the sage used daily. Don't be fooled by their unattractive appearance; they are actually very effective. They were a famous product of a great temple, but now that temple has collapsed, these items have disappeared, so they are still quite valuable."

She held it with both hands and carefully presented it to Consort Cui, as if offering a treasure amidst the majestic city of Chang'an and the residence of the Prince of Guangping:

"These are the treasures that Wat Pho has presented to the saints in recent years."

"His name is—"

"【Golden Cicada and Jade Dew】".

It is the starting point of the story, the Chen family tycoon's quest for immortality, and the wonderful divine method told to him by the high monk of the Wofo Temple.

Consort Cui looked at the bowl of Golden Cicada Jade Dew, the Buddhist chants emanating from the temples in Chang'an. What was the connection between the palaces of Chang'an, the ghosts of the Chen family, the calamity of the Reclining Buddha Temple, the collapsed cliffs, and this health-preserving substance consumed by the pure saint?

Only when the white porcelain spoon touched the cup did it make a crisp, clinking sound.

When news of the Reclining Buddha Temple arrived, the Sage only said one thing: "What a pity."

It's a pity that the mountain collapsed and the temple crumbled; it's a pity that the common people were reduced to mere physical bodies.

Unfortunately, my father returned.

What a pity, what a pity——

"It's a pity that there will never be such a miraculous medicine again."

[The Reclining Buddha Chapter - Conclusion]

........................

Zhou Yan learned from Li Zhiwei and Yang Taizhen why they came here. It was a small act of resistance by Consort Cui under Li Longji's powerful personal control. However, Zhou Yan could guess that it was Li Sanlang's rage and desire for control.

So, even if it's just to annoy that old man Li Longji.

Zhou Yan also wanted to keep Li Zhiwei by his side.

So what if she's a princess of the royal family?
She followed me, just to annoy you. I took her everywhere I went, and I also took Yang Guifei with me.

Old man, you definitely couldn't have predicted this!
Before heading to Louguandao, Zhou Yan summoned the Kitchen God to prepare a delicious meal and let Pei Xuanniao do a thorough cleaning of the dishes. However, this young master from a prominent family was quite bold; he said he would do the cleaning himself and refused to let anyone help him.

"I am Pei Xuan Niao of the Pei family!"

"It's just washing dishes, nothing serious!"

"Ahhhhh!!! My ancestor Pei Xingjian's divine skill, Golden Jade Arm, Hunyuan Gong, is so powerful that washing dishes is nothing to him!"

The laughter and chatter of the crowd softened the feeling of parting. Lian Niang and Yin Zichuan nestled together, both wearing satisfied and happy smiles.

The next day, Lianniang was completely terminally ill.

Three days later.

Lianniang has passed away.

(End of this chapter)