If Li Mu was really guilty, he was willing to accept the punishment of the Great Zhou law, rather than face this kind of scene every day.
The Empress's small building was occupied by Liu Hanyan. She slept on the Empress's bed and even picked the Empress's flowers. How was Li Mu going to explain this to the Empress?
In Changle Palace, Zhou Yi saw that Li Mu was still standing in the same place and said, "Still not opening the door?"
Li Mu let out a sigh. With a thought, he appeared in the cave.
The Empress's figure also appeared by his side.
Zhou Yi was just about to go to his own small building when he found that it was different from the last time he was here.
There were two more small buildings by the lake. One was unique and elegant, the other was grand and imposing.
The grand and imposing building looked like a smaller version of Changle Palace at first glance. It immediately attracted Zhou Yi's attention.
Although it was called a small building, it was actually more like a palace. Carved railings, painted rafters, and jade tiles flew. It was particularly conspicuous among the row of small buildings. There was a unique and luxurious air.
There were flower beds on both sides of the front of the palace, and a winding path led to a secluded place. In the left flower bed, there was a small pavilion. In the pavilion, there were stone chairs and stone tables. In the right flower bed, there was an ancient tree with a green shade. There was a swing hanging down. The swing was not a simple piece of wood, but an exquisite chair. The chair was carved with hollow patterns. At a glance, one could tell that a lot of effort had been put into it.
At first glance, Zhou Yi fell in love with this building.
Li Mu secretly glanced at the Empress's expression. He was slightly relieved. Striking while the iron was hot, he said, "Your Majesty, I built this for you."
Zhou Yi was surprised. "For me?"
Li Mu nodded. "Your Majesty's status is so noble. Only this small building can show Your Majesty's status. Your Majesty, please go inside and take a look..."
Zhou Yi's eyes revealed a satisfied expression. He nodded and said, "Then let's take a look..."
The two of them walked along the small path in the middle of the flowerbed, and entered this three-story building. Li Mu introduced everything to the Empress one by one.
"This room is His Majesty's bedchamber. The bedchamber doesn't need to be too big, otherwise, His Majesty won't be able to sleep well."
"This is a leisure area. In the future, Your Majesty can play chess or cards with Wanwan and Xiao Bai here …"
"This is the kitchen. The area next to it is the dining area."
After introducing the first floor, the two of them went to the second floor. The second floor was very spacious, with only a large hall. Li Mu continued, "Your Majesty can use this as a place for seclusion. There are soundproof talismans on all four walls, as well as the upper and lower walls. If you cultivate here, you definitely won't be disturbed."
Then, the two of them went up to the third floor. On the third floor, Li Mu had built a swimming pool. At the front of the pool was a balcony that led outside the room.
Li Mu said, "This is a place to take a bath. Before Your Majesty goes to bed at night, you can take a bath here. It will help you sleep. The balcony outside overlooks the lake. You can also lie there and watch the clouds..."
For this small building, Li Mu had put in a lot of effort. Standing on the balcony of the third floor, he looked at the Empress and asked, "Is Your Majesty satisfied with this place?"
Zhou Yi nodded and said, "Not bad. You are very considerate."
Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As long as Your Majesty likes it."
Zhou Yi continued, "Okay, now let's go to my small building and have a look."
Li Mu's expression froze, and he asked, "That, that small building, does Your Majesty still want it?"
Zhou Yi said, "That was built by me. Of course, I want it."
Li Mu wiped his forehead and said, "I, I thought that with this place, Your Majesty would not want that building, so I took the initiative to sleep there for one night. Please forgive me, Your Majesty..."
Zhou Yi rolled her eyes at him and asked, "You have your own place. Why did you sleep in my place?"
Li Mu explained, "Your Majesty, it is because I like Your Majesty's small building very much."
Zhou Yi waved her hand and said, "Forget it. Since you like it, I will give it to you. I will go and see my flowers."
Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please."
A moment later, in the flowerbed in front of the small building.
Zhou Yi frowned, pointed to a corner of the flowerbed, and asked, "There is a peony missing here. Who picked it?"
She also noticed that a peony was missing. Li Mu said nervously, "I was careless..."
Zhou Yi looked at Li Mu, her brows gradually relaxed, but in the end, she did not say anything.
She walked out of the flowerbed and said, "This small building and flowerbed, I will give them to you. Take good care of the flowerbed. There is a painting in the building that I want to take away. As for the rest, I will give them to you..."
She walked into the room and stretched out her hand. The painting on the wall floated down and automatically rolled up into her hand.
Although Liu Hanyan also liked this painting, but in the future when she asked, Li Mu could say that the Empress lent it to him. In order to make it more believable, he turned to ask the Empress, "Your Majesty, what is the mystery of this painting?"
Zhou Yi said, "This is the authentic work of the previous dynasty's master painter, DaoXuan Zhenren. He entered the Dao through painting. In this painting, there is his painting inheritance. Unfortunately, after the painting was cut off, no one could comprehend it."
Li Mu remembered this reason. In the future when Liu Hanyan asked, he would say that the Empress lent it to him to comprehend the painting.
Like Daoism and Buddhism, the School of Painting was once a cultivation school. However, their lineage had been severed and they had completely disappeared. Until now, the successors of Legalism, the School of the Military, and Confucianism would occasionally appear, but there was no trace of the successor of the School of Painting.
Li Mu did not care about this. He had to take a closer look at this painting, so that when he explained it to Liu Hanyan in the future, it would be more believable.
Before the Empress put it away, Li Mu said, "Your Majesty, can you let me take a look at this painting?"
Zhou Yi asked, "This painting has been hanging here for so long, have you not seen it?"
Li Mu said, "I only gave it a few glances."
Zhou Yi did not say anything else. He stretched out his hand, and the painting automatically flew up and unfolded once again.
Li Mu looked at the painting scroll. This was the first time he looked at this painting carefully. This was actually an ink landscape painting. There were not many elements in the painting. Distant mountains, near water, a lone boat, and standing at the bow of the boat was an old man wearing a straw raincoat.
Li Mu did not know much about painting. He could only tell that although this painting was simple, it gave people an extremely spacious and distant feeling.
However, if he were to say that he comprehended anything from the painting, that was really not the slightest bit.
No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary and mediocre landscape painting.
Generally speaking, when his heart was the most peaceful, his comprehension was the strongest.
Li Mu habitually chanted the Clear Heart Incantation. When he looked at the painting again, he could not help but be shocked.
Usually, when he was upset, he would chant the Clear Heart Incantation to calm his heart and Qi. However, this time, after he chanted the Clear Heart Incantation, the painting in his eyes became distorted. With just a casual glance, Li Mu felt dazzled. Accompanying this was a wave of dizziness.
The more he chanted the Clear Heart Incantation, the more distorted the painting became. In the end, he could only see balls of swirling ink. Li Mu felt that his soul was also swirling. In the next instant, he appeared in a boundless world.
Green mountains, clear water, and a lone boat. He stood at the stern of the boat. An old man wearing a straw raincoat stood at the bow of the boat with his back facing him.
The old man held a paintbrush in his hand. When Li Mu looked over, the paintbrush moved.
The old man held the paintbrush and his wrist moved quickly. It seemed that he was painting in the void.
A ball of ink appeared in the air. It seemed to be a swimming fish.
The old man's last stroke touched the fish's eye. The fish shook its tail and jumped into the water.
The old man's paintbrush continued to move. After a while, a crane twisted its neck and let out a crisp cry. It flapped its wings and flew into the sky.
The old man drew a mountain peak with a few strokes. The mountain peak flew into the distance and became a huge mountain peak. The huge mountain peak fell into the water and set off huge waves. It was as if it was going to capsize the small boat.
The old man at the bow of the boat continued to draw. He drew a pair of wings. These wings appeared behind him. With two flaps, the old man's body left the boat and flew into the sky.
Pa!
A huge wave came and capsized the small boat. Li Mu fell into the water.
In the next moment, he appeared in the Empress's small house again. The painting floated quietly in the air. In the painting, there was still a mountain far away, near the water, a lone boat, and an old man.
Recalling the scene in the illusion, Li Mu was dumbfounded. With just a brush, he could create something out of nothing. Was this the power of a painter?
While Li Mu was shocked, Zhou Yi had already walked to the bedside.
She turned around and asked Li Mu, "Have you slept here before?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "Yes."
Zhou Yi bent down and sniffed lightly. Her eyes narrowed and she said, "You are lying to me. This is not your smell."
Li Mu opened his mouth and explained, "This …"
Zhou Yi said coldly, "Think carefully before you speak. You should know what the punishment is for the crime of deceiving the Empress."
Li Mu said helplessly, "In addition to me, my wife has also slept here."
Zhou Yi sniffed again and indeed smelled the scents of two people. One was Liu Hanyan's, and the other was Li Mu's. The two scents were mixed together. In other words, the two of them had occupied her house and slept in her bed. Perhaps Li Mu had even picked a flower from her garden and put it on another woman's head …
Zhou Qiong found it hard to imagine what they had done on this bed.
She closed her eyes and said, "You can go. I want to be alone for a while."
Li Mu sighed. What should come, finally came.
He wanted to explain, but he did not know what to say.
In the end, he could only cup his hands and say, "I will take my leave."
As his voice fell, his figure disappeared in an instant.
Zhou Yi walked out of the small building, walked to the lakeside, and sat down with her hands on her knees.
By the lakeside, a few fish swam around carefreely. When two of the fish swam in front of her, they suddenly stopped and then began to peck each other.
Zhou Yi was inexplicably angry. She picked up a stone and threw it into the water.
Splash.
The stone fell into the water and splashed. The two fish were startled and separated, swimming in different directions.
Zhou Yi coldly snorted, "Who asked you to kiss again …"
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