On the way to Shangyang Palace with Mr. Mei to meet the Empress, Li Mu asked Mr. Mei, "Does Sister Mei have a grudge with Assistant Minister Cui?"
Mr. Mei looked back at him and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Li Mu said, "From the way you talk to him, you don't seem to like him very much."
Mr. Mei reminded him, "Cui Ming and Princess Yunyang are not good people. They are important figures in the old party. You should stay away from them."
Hearing this, Li Mu's impression of Mr. Mei improved.
Sure enough, as the commander of the Mei Guards and one of the Empress's most trusted subordinates, her taste was not comparable to that of those vulgar women.
In front of Shangyang Palace, Mr. Mei turned back and said, "Her Majesty should be in the back hall. Li Mu and I will wait in the hall. Xiao Bai, stay here. Don't run around."
Xiao Bai let go of Li Mu's hand and nodded obediently. Suddenly, a voice came from the hall.
"Come in."
With the Empress's permission, Mr. Mei said, "Then let's go in."
The three of them walked to the main hall, and the Empress walked out from the back of the hall. Little White used a curious gaze to size up this legendary woman in front of her. Lord Mei was beside her, and he reminded her softly, "Don't look directly at Her Majesty."
Xiao Bai immediately lowered her head.
The Empress did not mind Xiao Bai's unintentional offense. She asked Li Mu directly, "How's the discussion with the officials of the Secretariat about the imperial examination?"
Li Mu said, "There should be a result in a few days."
The Empress said, "We must make a perfect policy within a month. I have ordered the 36 counties to recommend local talents as soon as possible. Three months later, they will participate in the imperial examination with the students of the Academy."
Three months was a bit rushed from the formulation of the policy to the implementation. But if they were well prepared, it was not impossible.
On the contrary, it could show His Majesty's decisiveness and determination to change the old system.
The core of the imperial examination was just a few tests to select talents. Removing some cumbersome etiquette and simplifying the process, three months was more than enough.
Li Mu cupped his fists and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress then asked, "What business do you have with me?"
Li Mu asked, "I would like to ask Your Majesty, is there any shortcut to the art of invisibility?"
The difficulty of mastering the three middle realms was beyond Li Mu's imagination. Some cultivators who didn't belong to a sect could only slowly comprehend it on their own.
The Empress was also an important cultivation resource for Li Mu. Not only was she a powerhouse in the Upper Realm, but she was also very talented. She should be able to answer all of Li Mu's questions about cultivation.
The Empress glanced at Li Mu, and asked, "You came to see me just to ask this?"
Li Mu nodded.
After a moment of silence, the Empress slowly said, "The key to the art of invisibility lies in forgetting oneself. If you can comprehend the state of forgetting oneself, you will soon be able to learn this magical power."
"Forgetting oneself?"
When Li Mu was learning this technique, he had tried to use the Mind-clearing Formula to calm himself down. At this time, his mind was calm, his thoughts were clear, and he was not disturbed by external things. He used it to write talismans and break through barriers, which was successful in every endeavor.
But when learning invisibility, the Clear Heart Secret Art had no effect.
After the guidance of the Empress, Li Mu realized that he was going in the wrong direction from the beginning.
If the key to the art of invisibility was forgetting oneself, then the calmer he was, the clearer his mind was, the more difficult it would be to master this technique.
Li Mu closed his eyes, removed all distracting thoughts, and tried to empty himself. He changed his hand gestures instinctively. After a moment, his figure disappeared out of thin air.
After a few breaths, Li Mu's body appeared again.
But this time, it was him who canceled the invisibility.
He had been learning this technique for several days without making any progress, but the Empress's words enlightened him. It could be seen how important it was to have a good teacher during cultivation.
Li Mu bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your guidance."
The Empress asked, "Is there anything else?"
Li Mu said, "No."
Walking out of Shangyang Palace, Mr. Mei looked at Li Mu and asked, "You came to see Her Majesty just to ask about this?"
Li Mu said, "This question has been bothering me for a long time."
Mr. Mei said, "You can ask me about cultivation. You are really bold to disturb Her Majesty for this kind of thing …"
Li Mu was determined to be the Empress's personal assistant. Naturally, he would use every opportunity to get close to the Empress and cultivate their relationship. As long as they met enough times, they would be familiar with each other.
Moreover, the Empress's cultivation level was two whole levels higher than Lord Mei's. Between these two levels, there was even a gap of a whole major level. If one had to choose between the two of them to ask about cultivation, one would know who to choose even without using his brain.
Mr. Mei sensed something and asked, "Brat, do you think my cultivation is far below Her Majesty's and I can't teach you?"
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "No, no, absolutely not …"
Mr. Mei said, "Do you dare to swear?"
Li Mu looked up and quickly took Xiao Bai's hand. He said, "It's getting late. Let's go back. The food in the market won't be fresh if we stay any longer …"
After running a few steps with Xiao Bai, Li Mu turned around and said, "Sister Mei, if you have time, come to my house for dinner …"
In Shen Du, there were not many people Li Mu could trust. Mr. Mei was one of them.
She escorted Li Mu from the North County to Shen Du and took care of him. Li Mu had nothing to repay her, so he could only treat her to a simple meal to express his sincerity.
This meant that he truly approved of her.
Although Li Mu had promised Liu Hanyan that he wouldn't fool around after coming to Shen Du, Liu Hanyan wasn't on the list of flowers that she was wary of.
It was still early when they left the palace.
Li Mu and Xiao Bai went to the East Market first and bought some flower seeds. Li Mu had two gardens at home, but he hadn't taken care of them. Since Xiao Bai liked them, he might as well plant flowers in them and wait for Liu Hanyan and Wanwan to come back. It could also add some decorations to the house.
"Li Mu, you're shopping too?"
A familiar voice came from behind. Li Mu turned around and saw Zhang Chun at the entrance of a flower shop not far behind him.
There were two people beside him. They were both women. One was a woman in her thirties, and the other was a thin woman. Li Mu was familiar with both of them.
He could meet familiar faces while shopping with Xiao Bai. Li Mu held Xiao Bai's hand and walked forward. He smiled and said, "Lord Zhang, Madam Zhang, Miss Yiyi, what a coincidence."
The woman smiled and said, "So it's Constable Li. Is this Madam Li? She's so beautiful …"
Zhang Chun's heart skipped a beat. He glared at the woman and said, "She's not Madam Li. Don't talk nonsense."
Seeing Li Mu, the owner of the flower shop walked out and took a bag of flower seeds from the side. He said, "So you're Constable Li's friends. You should have said so earlier. I'll give you this bag of flower seeds …"
Zhang Chun was holding the precious flower seeds that he couldn't bear to buy just now. He was the Shen Du magistrate, and in his jurisdiction, he had to rely on his subordinate constable to take advantage of him. He felt a little jealous …
Xiao Bai, Madam Zhang, and her daughter went into the shop to pick out the flower seeds. Li Mu and Zhang Chun waited outside.
Li Mu thought of Cui Ming and asked Zhang Chun, "Old Zhang, if someone, in order to climb up the social ladder, killed his wife and threw her body in the wilderness. He also framed his wife's family and caused more than ten people in her family to die in vain, what should we do?"
"Such an animal is worse than meat. Of course we should …" Zhang Chun said angrily. Before he finished, he suddenly woke up and looked at Li Mu. He asked cautiously, "Who are you talking about?"
Li Mu said, "Cui Ming."
"Who's Cui Ming?" Zhang Chun looked confused and asked, "Could it be the Cui family of the Nine Families?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "No."
"That's good." Zhang Chun puffed out his chest and said, "As long as it's not the Cui family of the Nine Families, I don't care if he's a disciple of the Academy or an official in the court. Whoever dares to do such an animal will be punished by me!"
"Your Excellency is indeed noble!" Li Mu saluted him and said, "This is the Left Assistant Minister of the Secretariat, Cui Ming, the Prince Consort of Princess Yunyang. More than 20 years ago …"
Zhang Chun was stunned. He picked his ear and said to Madam Zhang in the shop, "Madam, are you done? It's getting late. We should go home …"
Li Mu was stunned and said, "Old Zhang, you …"
"I knew it!" Zhang Chun pointed at Li Mu and said angrily, "As long as you open your mouth, nothing good will come out of it. That's the Left Assistant Minister of the Secretariat, a fourth-rank official, and a relative of the Emperor. He won't even have to pay with his life for killing someone. Aren't you overestimating me? No matter if it's the Luoyang yamen, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, or the Supreme Court, none of them are qualified to try such a case …"
Li Mu said helplessly, "I know the Luoyang yamen can't do anything to him. That's why I want you to help me."
Zhang Chun shook his head quickly and said, "I can't, I really can't …"
This time, Li Mu did not try to persuade Zhang Chun again.
Cui Ming's case was different from all the previous cases.
In the past, they only interrogated the sons of officials and the students of the academy. They did not have official positions. Once they had official positions, the Luoyang yamen was no longer qualified to try them. Officials above fourth-rank, as well as relatives of the Emperor, even the Ministry of Justice and other yamens were not qualified to try them. These people were the ones who truly enjoyed privileges in Great Zhou.
Li Mu did not say anything else. Zhang Chun's expression kept changing as if he was conflicted.
He glanced at his wife and daughter, who were bargaining with the shopkeeper in the flower shop. In the end, he sighed and his expression returned to normal.
At this moment, there was a commotion on the street.
"It's Lord Cui …"
"The Emperor's son-in-law is here …"
"Let me see, let me see!"
"If I can marry a man like the Emperor's son-in-law, no, as long as I can have a night with him, I'll die without regrets …"
"Look at yourself. How dare you say something like that? Don't insult our Emperor's son-in-law …"
…
Li Mu turned his head and looked at the source of the commotion. He saw a figure he had seen in the Secretariat.
Cui Ming did not take a carriage or a sedan. He walked on the street with countless people crowding around him.
The younger women on the street behaved well. However, the women in their twenties and thirties looked at him with fanaticism. It reminded Li Mu of the fanatical fans in his previous life.
Li Mu could sometimes cause such a commotion when he walked on the street. However, most of the people crowding around him were men.
That was when he was escorting criminals to the Luoyang yamen or the Ministry of Justice.
Zhang Chun's expression was one of disdain. He said bitterly, "A bunch of foolish women who judge a book by its cover. I didn't expect the women of Luoyang to be so indecent …"
Li Mu said, "That's Cui Ming."
"Ptui!" Zhang Chun spat and said, "I knew it. I could tell at a glance that he's a beast!"
Madam Zhang walked out of the flower shop. Her face was still red. She mumbled, "Who was that person who just walked past …"
Zhang Chun said, "Madam, you saw it too, right? That person …"
Madam Zhang's face was still red. She said, "I wonder which woman got lucky enough to marry him …"
Zhang Chun was stunned when he saw his wife's red face.
Madam Zhang looked in the direction of Cui Ming until his figure disappeared. She looked at Zhang Chun and sighed. "You should trim your beard. You're already so old, yet you're still so unkempt …"
The three women continued to shop in the next shop. Zhang Chun's beard trembled. He said angrily, "Why? That Cui Ming has a beard too!"
Li Mu patted his shoulder and said, "But he looks better with a beard than you …"
Zhang Chun's face darkened. He said sternly, "That's too much!"
With their relationship, it was indeed too much to say that. Li Mu immediately said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"I wasn't talking about you!" Zhang Chun's face was solemn. "Scum like him who killed his wife and framed his wife's family. He's worse than a beast. It won't be enough even if he dies a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times. As the magistrate of Luoyang, how can I let scum like him roam free in Luoyang? I swear I'm not human if I don't bring him to justice!"
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