In the Changle Palace, Li Mu was painting seriously. These days, he gradually felt that it was not a bad thing that the painters in the palace were not willing to teach him.
The Empress's attainments in painting were extremely high, and when she taught him, she was gentle and responsible. In just two days, Li Mu had already forgotten all about being a court painter, and was wholeheartedly focused on learning from the Empress.
Zhou Yi stood beside Li Mu. As she looked, she said, "In painting, there is no need to stick to the appearance. You have to use the appearance to write the spirit. You have to search for the feeling between resemblance and non-resemblance …"
Li Mu carefully pondered her words. After a while, the Empress sat back on the dragon throne and said softly, "Later today, the imperial court will invite the ambassadors of the various countries to a banquet in the Chaoyang Hall. You will go with the officials of the Secretariat."
Great Zhou was the sovereign state. Every time they paid tribute, they would invite the ambassadors of the various countries. At that time, besides the important officials of the imperial court, the Empress would also attend.
After finishing this painting, Li Mu went to the Secretariat.
Today's banquet was only for officials of the fourth rank and above. In the Secretariat, only the head of the Secretariat and two assistant ministers were qualified. Li Mu had just returned to the duty room when Liu Yi walked in and asked, "Will Lord Li also attend today's banquet?"
Li Mu nodded and said, "Her Majesty has asked me to go with the officials of the Secretariat."
Although Li Mu's rank was not high enough, it was within Liu Yi's expectations that he would go. He smiled and said, "In that case, I will call Lord Li again later."
There was still some time before the banquet, so Li Mu had nothing to do. He stretched out his hand. With a flash of white light, the Art Saint's Brush appeared in his hand.
He gripped the brush, and attempted to draw a few strokes in the void, yet nothing was left behind. Li Mu had the Empress try before, and she was also unable to use the ultimate art of "creating something from nothing" of the painting path.
It was fine if Li Mu couldn't do it, but even the Empress couldn't. Li Mu had reason to suspect that this technique was the same as dao techniques and Mystical Powers. It should also require a chant or an incantation.
Unfortunately, the tomb of the Art Saint was very simple. Other than this brush and a few authentic works, there was nothing else.
On the Dao of Painting, Li Mu encountered the same predicament as Xiao Bai. They both lacked cultivation Dharmic formulations. Xiao Bai's predicament was easy to resolve. The White Fox race was still a large Fey race, but the Dao of Painting had not appeared for a long time.
At present, the only thing Li Mu could do was to learn painting from the Empress and wait for the right opportunity.
Half an hour later, Li Mu, Liu Yi, and the others walked towards the Chaoyang Hall. This hall was to the left of the Crepe Myrtle Hall. During the time of the previous Emperor, he often held banquets for officials and clans.
Walking into the Chaoyang Hall, Li Mu walked to his seat and sat down, looking across.
At this banquet, the officials of the Great Zhou sat on the left, and the ambassadors of the various countries sat on the right. Across from Li Mu were the ambassadors of the various countries.
There were more than ten small countries in the southeast and southwest of Zu Province. The combined area of these small countries was only half the size of Great Zhou.
In these hundred years, they were all vassals of Great Zhou. They paid tribute to Great Zhou, and Great Zhou provided them with protection. Other than this relationship, Great Zhou would not interfere with their internal affairs.
Among these countries, Liang, Yu, Jiang, Jing, Shen, and Yong were the most powerful.
Among the Six Daoist sects, other than the Fu-lu School and Xuanzong, which were located in Great Zhou, the other four sects were located in Liang, Yu, Jiang, and Jing. Relying on these four sects, these four countries had considerable influence in the south.
Although Shen did not have a Daoist sect, it was the birthplace of Buddhism. Among the various countries, it had the largest area and the largest population. Its strength could not be underestimated.
In the past, Shen was a formidable rival of Great Zhou. When Great Zhou was first established, Shen took advantage of the Great Zhou's instability to provoke Great Zhou. Taizu sent troops to attack Shen's capital. If it were not for Great Zhou's policy of peace, Shen would have long been erased from the Zu Continent.
Since then, Shen Guo had been completely well-behaved.
For a long time, Shen had the ambition to become the overlord of the Zu Continent. However, due to the existence of Great Zhou, they could only settle for second place. Even so, they never extinguished their desire to dominate.
Although Yong did not have any powerful sects, Yong's imperial family was extremely powerful. They had more than one expert of the Upper Realm, far surpassing the Great Zhou's Xiao clan.
What was even rarer was that as Great Zhou's emperors grew more and more muddle-headed with each generation, Yong produced five generations of wise emperors. They worked hard for a hundred years, sweeping away all obstacles within the country and completing the peaceful unification of the country. During these hundred years, Yong's national strength steadily increased. In Zu Zhou, it was the third most powerful country, second only to Great Zhou and Shen.
In the beginning, the other countries were very submissive to Great Zhou, practically kneeling and begging. They wanted to use their tributes in exchange for Great Zhou's protection. Without Great Zhou, they would have to face enemies from other continents.
However, following the decline of Great Zhou, their thoughts naturally changed.
They began to look forward to Great Zhou's destruction and its replacement as the new overlord of the Zu Continent. However, the previous emperor's muddle-headedness had caused Great Zhou to sink into a quagmire. Coincidentally, the Great Zhou had rebelled and seized power, causing Great Zhou to become even more chaotic. The other countries' thoughts were bound to become even more active. This tribute had to intimidate these people enough. Otherwise, Great Zhou would lose its right to speak on the Zu Continent and its prestige as a great country.
While Li Mu was observing the various countries' envoys, a man seated across from him, wearing clothes different from those of Great Zhou, called over the eunuch behind him and asked in a low voice, "Who is Lord Li Mu of your esteemed country?"
The eunuch looked across, his gaze searching. "Replying to the envoy, starting from the table directly across from you, the third person on the left is Lord Li Mu."
The man, as well as the several people at the two tables beside him, looked over at the same time, their hearts trembling.
"He's that Li Mu?"
"He's so young!"
"Great Zhou has changed too much in the past few years. This person is so young, but his methods are so powerful …"
…
Everyone had been in Luoyang for several days and was no stranger to Li Mu's name. On the first day they arrived in Luoyang, they had heard of his name in the ears of the common people.
At first, they were curious, but after some investigation, they were only left with shock.
Abolishing the Criminal Substitution Law, reforming the recruitment of officials, cleaning up the Academy's court, attacking the old and new parties, and taking back power to the Empress of Great Zhou. Everything he did was earth-shattering.
Who didn't know about the Criminal Substitution Law of Great Zhou?
This law separated the common people from the nobles. Although it was convenient for the nobles and officials, it was a nightmare for the poor common people. Ever since this law was promulgated, the faith of the people of Great Zhou decreased year by year.
The various countries saw this and were happy in their hearts.
The Emperor of Great Zhou was so muddle-headed, and the court was so decadent. It would be best if the various counties of Great Zhou rose up in revolt and rebelled against the court. This would also give them an opportunity to take advantage of and divide up Great Zhou. From then on, they would no longer have to submit to others.
However, in the past five years, this law had been abolished. Li Mu had also used a few cases to trick the previous Emperor into giving away the death exemption golden medallion. From then on, the nobles who broke the law would be punished the same as the common people …
After these things, the people of Great Zhou began to unite again.
In addition, Li Mu had also proposed the imperial examination, breaking the Academy's dictatorship. He had recruited talents from the local areas and once again united the people's hearts.
This was far from enough. In the past few years, the court of Great Zhou had been firmly controlled by the old and new parties. It had been in a state of internal friction. However, in the past two years, it had been attacked by Li Mu at the same time, greatly strengthening the centralization of power of the Empress of Great Zhou.
In the past five years, earth-shattering things had happened in Great Zhou. Outsiders had seized power, and the country had changed owners. The various countries thought that the opportunity they had been waiting for for a hundred years had come. They were about to take advantage of this tribute to renegotiate terms with the Great Zhou. However, after arriving at Luoyang, everything here made them dumbfounded.
There were no common people living in the abyss of suffering, nor was there an imperial court that was about to collapse. Great Zhou was still the powerful Great Zhou. They cleaned up the Great Zhou internally and reformed the evil laws. They were also extremely strong externally. Even the powerful Demon Path had suffered a lot at their hands. They were silent for a while, and this completely disrupted their plans.
And all of this was because of the man opposite them.
He had saved a building from collapse. He was deeply trusted by the people of Great Zhou. He was the most favored official of the Empress of Great Zhou. He was Li Mu of the Secretariat.
In the eyes of the crowd, there was pity, admiration, and resentment.
They regretted that they had lost the opportunity they had waited so long for.
They admired Li Mu's actions. Putting aside their standpoints, what he had done was worthy of everyone's admiration.
It was normal for them to feel resentment. Because of this person's existence, their many years of anticipation had gone up in smoke. How could they not hate him?
Soon, the expressions of the two envoys from the Shen Nation, who had hidden resentment in their eyes, changed. Their emotions and strength were actually being sucked away by someone through the air …
The two of them immediately guarded their hearts and minds, and only then did they manage to guard the power of their emotions.
In the great hall, several gazes swept over Li Mu. The calm Secretary of the Secretariat revealed a meaningful smile on his face.
Li Mu tilted his head slightly and asked Liu Yi, who was beside him, "Lord Liu, which country are the two people wearing hats opposite us from?"
Liu Yi looked up and said, "They are the envoys from the Shen Nation."
Li Mu understood and said, "As expected, they are from the Shen Nation …"
Among the countries in the Zu Continent, the Shen Nation was the one that refused to accept the Great Zhou the most. For a long time, the Shen Nation regarded itself as the overlord of the Zu Continent. Their self-confidence was extremely inflated. They wanted to bully the Great Zhou that had just been established and its foundation was not very stable. Instead, they were attacked by the Great Zhou near their capital and were almost destroyed. Only then did they become well-behaved and pay tribute every year to show their allegiance.
In these years, although the Shen Nation had not developed much, the Great Zhou had been declining. If one were to say who in the Zu Continent wanted the Great Zhou to collapse and disappear, it would undoubtedly be the Shen Nation.
Liu Yi's mouth twitched and said, "The Shen Nation has always wanted to see us make a fool of ourselves. This time, I'm afraid they will be disappointed."
The Shen Nation's envoy had suffered a hidden loss at the hands of Li Mu, but he did not dare to act up. After glaring angrily at Li Mu, he looked away.
As the banquet began, the gazes on Li Mu gradually decreased. However, Li Mu noticed that a gaze diagonally to his left was always on him.
Li Mu followed the gaze and saw a young man hurriedly look away.
Li Mu casually asked Liu Yi, "Which country is that young man from?"
Liu Yi looked and said, "He should be from the Yong Kingdom."
The Yong Kingdom was not large, but its strength was not weak. This was especially true for the Yong Royal Family, which was the most powerful in the Zu Continent. In terms of the number of experts in the Upper Realm, the Yong Kingdom was comparable to the Six Schools and Four Sects. The Yong Kingdom had produced five wise rulers in succession and could be considered a legend in the Zu Continent.
Li Mu's gaze swept past the young man and looked at the middle-aged man beside him.
The man's aura was concealed and not a trace was leaked. He looked like a mortal who had never cultivated. However, the Yong Kingdom would not send a mortal. Even if his cultivation had not reached the Seventh Realm, it should be very close.
Li Mu's gaze quickly returned to the young man.
It was not because he was handsome, but because although he was no longer looking at Li Mu, he had begun to steal glances at the Empress. From time to time, his gaze would glance at the curtains in front of him. When he noticed that Li Mu was looking at him, he immediately lowered his head and focused on the food on the table in front of him.
The young man discovered that every time he tried to steal a glance at the legendary figure of the Zu Continent behind the curtains, a gaze would fall on him. After a few times, he no longer dared to steal another glance.
The atmosphere at the banquet was exceptionally harmonious.
None of the envoys from the various countries proposed to leave the Great Zhou and stop paying tribute. They had already reached an agreement on this matter. However, what they had seen and heard in the Great Zhou over the past few days forced them to be cautious.
When the banquet was about to end, Mr. Mei walked in from outside and hurried behind the curtains. He seemed to have something urgent to attend to.
Li Mu noticed that an envoy from the Shen Kingdom sitting opposite him seemed to have received some kind of message. His expression slowly darkened.
He left his seat and walked to the center of the hall. In a deep voice, he said, "Your Majesty, I have just learned that a citizen of my country has been killed in your country. You must give us a satisfactory explanation for this matter. Otherwise, the Shen Kingdom will no longer pay tribute to the Great Zhou Empire!"
When the courtiers in the hall heard this, they were immediately in an uproar.
Even if it was an ordinary case of murder, they could not afford to be careless. At a critical juncture when the various countries were paying tribute, a citizen of another country had been killed in the Great Zhou. The impact would be even worse. If they were not careful, it would incite conflict between countries. This was especially so when the Shen Kingdom was already disloyal. They could use this as an excuse.
Mr. Mei walked out from behind the curtains and said, "Your Majesty, please move to the Ziwei Palace and order the Ministry of Justice to immediately bring the people involved in this case to the palace …"
Assistant Minister Yang of the Ministry of Justice stood out and said respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty."
After that, he strode out of the hall and quickly walked out of the palace.
Ministry of Justice.
A group of people gathered outside the Ministry of Justice and discussed animatedly.
"That citizen of the Shen Kingdom clearly fell on his own and hit the stone steps. He can't blame anyone else …"
"But if that young man didn't chase after him, he wouldn't have fallen …"
"Nonsense. If he didn't steal, would others chase after him?"
"But he's dead in the end, and he's from another country. I'm afraid that young man will have to pay with his life …"
…
Within the Ministry of Justice, Assistant Minister Yang looked at Wei Peng and sighed. He said, "The envoy of the Shen Kingdom is using this opportunity to make a statement. If this matter isn't handled well, I'm afraid that something big will happen. Where's that criminal? I have to bring him to the palace …"
Wei Peng nodded and said, "He's in the prison. I'll go get him."
He walked into the prison of the Ministry of Justice and opened a cell door. He said to a pale-faced young man, "Let's go. I'm afraid this is your only chance to enter the palace in your life."
The young man's face was filled with despair. He said in a trembling voice, "Sir, I, I don't want to die yet …"
Wei Peng glanced at him and asked, "Why do you want to die?"
The young man's body trembled. He said with infinite regret, "If I didn't chase after him, he wouldn't have died …"
Wei Peng asked in return, "You were just in a hurry. When did you chase after him?"
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