Chapter 7： explore

"I want to walk alone, don't follow me."

"But...Your Majesty..."

Li Zichou glanced over: "Don't understand?"

"Follow the order!"

How dare they forget that this is a female tyrant who will kill if she gets angry!

After confirming that everyone was gone, Li Zifu raised his eyebrows: It's tiring to pretend to be fierce, but it's so cool!

Turning around and wandering slowly in the palace road, should it be said that it is the place where the emperor lives? There are towering city walls along the way. Unless you have wings at this height, you won't be able to get out at all...

With his hands behind his back and his head up, Li Zichou turned into a different courtyard unknowingly.

Is there such a place in the palace?

A few soldiers guarding the door saw the queen coming, and bowed their heads respectfully to her: "Your Majesty will see you."

"Pingshen, who lives here?"

Several soldiers guarding looked at each other, and one of them asked cautiously: "Your Majesty forgot? The one living here is His Majesty's young lady."

"Little official?" Li Zichou obviously didn't react.

What kind of official can actually live in the palace, the privilege given by the original owner?

Seeing the original owner's reaction, the soldier was also puzzled. His Majesty the Emperor hadn't been to this other courtyard much after he had a queen, and he had never summoned those people again. Could it be that he forgot?

So he asked tentatively: "Didn't Your Majesty come to call someone to serve you?" He pointed to the other courtyard as he spoke.

Li Zishou: "..."

It's all said here, what else does she not understand, it's Xiaowan...

For the first time, she felt that the original owner was so shameless and played more openly than modern people.

But why should Li Zichou embarrass me for what Li Zichou did?

"Send him out of the palace." Li Zichou supported his forehead and said.

The soldiers looked surprised, and someone asked, "Your Majesty, which one do you say?"

"..." She opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say, she was silent for a while and said, "...all of them."

"All, all of them?" The soldier asked in disbelief, "The ones in the other yards too?"

"..."

Destroy it, quickly.

Several soldiers have already gone in to chase people away, and there are two remaining here to talk to the emperor.

Li Zichou: "It's enough to keep only one queen in this harem, and the rest will leave."

The two soldiers looked at each other and said, "I obey the order." Then they immediately went to notify the other yards to clear the scene.

There was the sound of packing things in the other courtyard, and after a while, various handsome men came out with luggage and packages on their backs.

The types are also colorful and not repetitive: what kind of weak scholar type, vigorous and lively type, cold and iceberg type, all of them are adolescent boys aged 16, 17 or 18. If they are not all wearing ancient costumes, they are just like high school students. Like after school.

Some of them thanked the emperor very gratefully, some seemed unwilling to stay for a second at all, and left without looking back after paying perfunctory salute to Li Zi, and some still looked at Li Zichao reluctantly.

Li Zishou still maintained that steady look, but her eyes were dead.

There are not many male pets living here, so it will be cleaned up soon. Li Zichou rubbed his temples, and asked the guards to go out to see them off, and went into the yard by himself.

The courtyard is very empty, there are no maids and servants, and no one even sweeps the fallen leaves in the courtyard, it feels bleak and bankrupt.

Did the original owner let these teenagers live here?

Passing through the other courtyard, we came to the periphery of the building. The palace road here is much narrower, and it seems that people don't come here very often.

There is a corner at the end, which is filled with various stones and timbers against the wall.

"The people in the Ministry of Industry don't recycle these building materials. The wood is rotten." Li Zichou said to himself.

She glanced at the height of the pile of stone slabs, climbed up, and stood on the highest layer of stone slabs, looking at the top of the wall.

"No, it's too high, at least one more Yang Dejin is needed." Looking at the high wall, Li Zichou stroked the wall with his hands. After decades of wind and rain, the gaps between bricks are clearly visible.

"The paint is all peeling off..." Li Zichou hummed suspiciously, thinking of something, and pushed with some strength.

An hour ago, Bai Qingyang had just activated this stone wall, and it was inevitable that some new traces would be left behind.

A small wall that only allows one person to pass opens and closes slightly. Li Zichou lifted his spirits, stretched out his hands and continued to push, Li Zichou felt that the wall was just stuck at an angle, and it was more than enough for a person to go in and out.

Li Zichou looked out, and there was a small bamboo forest outside, and he didn't know where it led.

I didn't expect to find a secret door in such a remote corner, what a surprise...

Li Zifu returned and restored the wall to its original state.

Standing at this corner, Li Zichou looked back at the way he came. This is a dead end, almost no one would pass by here, and the pavilions and pavilions in the palace could not be seen here.

Li Zishou walked back while secretly noting the position and distance.

This place... seems to be quite close to Yuheng Palace.

Returning to the other courtyard, he looked at the courtyard again. Once again lamenting the original owner's licentiousness, with so many male favorites, he is not afraid of getting sick.

Thinking of this, Li Zishou's face froze suddenly. Subconsciously touched his body.

Damn no...

"Your Majesty, so you are here." A soldier came back and saluted Li Zichou.

Li Zichou looked at him and asked with difficulty: "I... I ask you, among those... male favourites, which ones have I favored?"

The soldier was taken aback, wondering why the empress asked such a question, but still answered honestly: "Return to your majesty, didn't your majesty say that those men are all from humble backgrounds, and touching those people will tarnish your noble status?"

It seemed that the original owner would say something, and Yang Dejin didn't seem to mention who the original owner had **** with, at most it was an attempt to force the heroine. Li Zichou felt a little relieved.

"Then, what are you doing when you come back? You have something to do with me?"

"Oh, back to Your Majesty. The officer is here to ask if the one in prison should be released?"

"Which one?"

"It's that poor scholar who refused to comply with the edict and contradicted His Majesty, called... Zhou Huaijin." The soldier recalled, "Your Majesty was the one who saved the wild words in the palace examination back then."

It's because he looks good.

"Oh? Why are you uttering wild words?"

"Uh..." The soldier was a little hard to say, "That's...he satirized the court, insulted the late emperor...in short, he spoke impolitely." He said it implicitly, but Li Zifu understood it all at once.

She immediately became interested, wondering what kind of person this Zhou Huaijin is, if she has good working ability, wouldn't it be great if she can use her?

"Come on, show me the way, I'm going to see him."

"Follow the order."

prison.

Li Zichou frowned: It's fine that this prison is dark and damp, but the musty smell floating in the air and the smell of something spoiled is really...

Although it is a place of confinement, it is also a kind of torture for those who visit the prison and those who are on duty.

Li Zichou decided that the first thing he would do after taking office is to reform the prison...

Let's talk about it later.

"Your Majesty, this is the place."

Li Zichou looked into a cell in the dim light, and there was a young man with loose hair sitting inside.

He sat against the wall, closed his eyes and wondered if he was awake, although he was unkempt, he still looked peaceful.

Xu Shi heard the sound, Zhou Huaijin slowly opened his eyes, and looked up at Li Zichou.

Li Zishou met his gaze and couldn't help but his eyes lit up. Although he is unkempt and unshaven, he has good eyesight, is firm, calm and arrogant, not at all like the kind of nerd who studies hard.

"Empress." Zhou Huaijin said, "I won't be your interviewer, please go back."

"You sour scholar who doesn't know good and bad, you..." The prison officer who opened the door at the side wanted to say something, but was stopped by Li Zichou.

Li Zichou walked in and looked down at him: "I just came to chat with you for a while, you all step back first." The second half of the sentence was addressed to the prison officers and soldiers outside the door.

When there was no one around, Li Zichou lifted his robe and sat cross-legged on the ground covered with straw.

Seeing her sitting on the floor regardless of the filth in the prison, Zhou Huaijin immediately lost the desire to fall asleep. He straightened his upper body and asked vigilantly, "Your Majesty, what do you want to do?"

Li Zishou replied as a matter of course: "I want to chat with you."

"Stop joking."

"No kidding, I want to know why you said those words in the late emperor's palace examination."

"Heh." Zhou Huaijin sneered, "Aren't I right?"

Zhou Huaijin: "I admit that the first emperor was good at literature and martial arts. But he didn't know how to employ people, and half of the court was corrupt officials. He had neither the ability nor the intention to punish those treacherous villains, because the existence of those people could make his throne Sit tighter."

"He did implement a lot of policies to benefit the people, but basically they were just scratching the surface.

Now that the imperial examinations are in full swing, why are the selected talents always kept out of the imperial court? I can only be an insignificant county magistrate and take a job.

Since the great prosperity of agriculture and mulberry, why oppress farmers, make them bear heavy taxes, and throw them into the battlefield during the war? "

"Because a scholar utters a single truth, he will be accused by the guilty people, and even executed. Is this the attitude of the Dasheng court towards sages? This country is hypocritical from the emperor to all the officials!"

Zhou Huaijin said a lot in one breath. He has been imprisoned for two years, but he still looks bitter.

Li Zichou: "...you didn't just point at the late Emperor's nose and said these words, did you?"

Zhou Huaijin glanced at her: "Yeah, what's wrong?"

Li Zishou: ...Then I think the original body still has a little bit of kindness, which can be preserved...

Li Zichou: "Then, in your opinion, how to solve the problems you mentioned?"

Zhou Huaijin listened to her asking herself this question, and didn't care about her previous prejudices, and began to describe her life ideals and political blueprint endlessly.

He babbled on, and Li Zichou listened patiently, and sometimes asked a few questions. During this period of time, both of them seemed to temporarily ignore the difference in status when communicating with each other.

Li Zichou kept refreshing her views on Zhou Huaijin in her heart.

He has a good sense of politics, and many of the solutions he proposes are bold and avant-garde.

Although many ideas seem naive and unrealistic to Li Zishou as a modern person, he is still a rare talent right now.

It seems that he has the confidence to claim that he is a virtuous person, and he is indeed qualified to be proud of his talents.

"Then do you want to turn your ideas into reality?" Li Zichou asked.

Zhou Huaijin was taken aback when he heard the words, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Hey, this world is said to be my world, but I have nothing to do with those traitors in the court. I also want to get rid of the notoriety of this 'female tyrant', and I want to be like my ancestors, who can calm the people with literature and defeat the enemy with martial arts. But I have more than enough heart but not enough strength.”

"Could it be that... Your Majesty wants to follow the example of King Zhuang: If you don't sing, you will be a blockbuster. If you don't fly, you will fly to the sky?" Zhou Huaijin asked tentatively.

"Well, I think you are a talent. The late emperor didn't need you, so I will use you." Li Zichou stood up and stretched out his hand, "Zhou Huaijin, do you want to be the chancellor of Dasheng? Stand up if you want to."

Zhou Huaijin had never felt that the woman in front of him had such inconceivable strength, he just stretched out his hand hesitantly, still worrying whether it would offend her, so she was pulled up from the ground at once.

The author has something to say:

The head of Li Zishou's think tank is here.