The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 434 - 357, if you don’t see this flower, this flower and your heart will both fade into oblivion. When you see this flower, its color momentarily becomes clear.

A great scholar of his time, a future Confucian saint, had almost given up defense, instead repeatedly seeking guidance from a court minion, a martial official.

Unimaginable!

Yet after hearing Zhengyang's arguments, Lu and Song had a "matter of course" feeling, if they could put aside Zhao Douan's exceptionally young age and his surprisingly disheveled reputation.

Purely in terms of scholarly theory, reluctant as they were to admit it, he was indeed worthy of joining the ranks of the top scholars of their era.

"...Old Sir, in summary, if I were to make a conclusion, it would be this phrase, 'The nature of the heart is neither good nor evil; the movement of the mind is both. To know good and evil is conscience; to do good and avoid evil is to investigate things,'" Zhao Douan concluded with a smile, lightly adding, "The Heart Learning I've talked about, or it may be called the New Study, is largely about these points. Do you have any further questions?"

Mr. Zhengyang sat across from him at the stone table, seemingly deep in thought. An autumn breeze blew through, fluttering his gray beard and stirring the cloak around him.

After pondering for a long while, he finally raised his head and said slowly, "I have one last question."

"Please ask."

Mr. Zhengyang suddenly lifted his hand, pointing to a flowering tree rooted against the garden wall among the towering ancient trees not far from this courtyard.

The nameless flowering tree had already withered significantly, holding only a few leaves and the curled edges of some small flowers.

Zhengyang asked, "There is nothing in this world that is external to the heart. How is such a flowering tree, which blossoms and falls on its own within the deep courtyard, of any relevance to my heart?"

Zhao Douan slowly stood up, straightened his clothes, looked down at the serene Confucian scholar seated opposite him, and said evenly, "When you do not look at this flower, the flower and your heart both retreat into silence. When you come to look at this flower, its colors brighten up for a moment, and you realize this flower is not outside your heart."

Zhengyang paused, stunned.

Behind him, Lu and Song also looked at the flowering tree in the cracked wall, suddenly becoming spellbound.

By the time the teacher and his two disciples regained their senses, they realized that the Zhao siblings had already left.

They walked away as gently as they had arrived.

"Sir, is he gone just like that? Without agreeing to continue the debate tomorrow?" asked Scholar Song, unable to hold back.

His senior brother, Lu Cheng, who was somewhat older, glanced at his junior brother and said helplessly, "Tomorrow is the Mei Garden gathering; since our mentor has a scholarly debate with Dong Xuan, naturally he would not schedule another."

He turned to look at their mentor, still sitting on the stone bench, staring blankly at a pile of dead leaves on the table, and whispered, "Sir? It's getting late. We should head back. You mustn't stay up late again tonight; you need to rest well for tomorrow's event."

Mr. Zhengyang did not speak but remained seated, with Zhao Douan's words echoing in his mind.

His expressionless face gave no hint of his thoughts, but there was an unusual calm on his surface as if something extraordinary was underway.

"Let's go back," said Mr. Zhengyang after a long while, rising to his feet and speaking calmly.

Then he walked out.

The two disciples followed behind, exchanging glances, both sensing a significant change in their mentor's mood.

"Senior brother, what's happening to our teacher?" asked Scholar Song, his voice low with concern.

Lu Cheng, younger but with a sense of scholarship that was even more profound, paused for a moment, then shook his head with a complicated expression, whispering, "I only worry that our teacher's heart has been corrupted by that Zhao Douan. Anyway, let's wait until tomorrow; the truth should be revealed by then."

...

That night, Zhengyang returned to his lodgings at the inn, and the candles burned until late before he finally extinguished them and went to sleep.

Lu Cheng and Scholar Song, however, tossed and turned all night long, unable to sleep.

With their eyes wide open, they waited until the morning crow of a rooster announced the coming of dawn.

The day of scholarly debate had finally arrived.

...

At the Zhao family residence.

Zhao Douan had slept very well last night, very peacefully, and woke up early the next morning, full of energy.

After having breakfast with his aunt and sister, he did not wear his official robe but changed into a fine festive outfit and stepped out the door. He rode in the carriage provided by Little Wang to Mei Garden.

Zhao Pan had wanted to follow along to the gathering but was stopped by Zhao Douan:

"The Mei Garden scholarly event today is not an official function, but it's also not a place for casual leisure or feasting. It is not appropriate to bring family members."

The young girl reluctantly stayed at home.

Mei Garden, located by the Hun River, is a garden admired by literati and also the venue for the largest annual poetry meeting in the city.

Today, as Zhao Douan approached Mei Garden, he found many scholars already gathered outside, all there to create a buzz, the atmosphere extremely lively.

However, only those with status and prestige, who had managed to secure an "invitation," could enter Mei Garden, so despite the considerable interest among the city's people, they all had to wait for the outcome.

"Mr. Zhao, you're here too?"

When Zhao Douan alighted from the carriage, he saw the big ice block, who was crossing his arms and watching him scornfully.

"Ah, Mo Zhaorong has just arrived? We are indeed fated, having coincidentally met several times already, haven't we?" Zhao Douan joked with a laugh.

Mo Chou let out a cold laugh and said, "Who has fate with you? I'm here on purpose, waiting for you."

Zhao Douan was pleasantly surprised, "Is there a command from Your Majesty?"

Rolling her eyes, Mo Chou walked with him into the garden, saying, "There's no command from His Majesty. I just wanted to make sure you weren't up to any shenanigans in secret. Like plotting against Zhengyang or using some tactic to coerce or calculate against someone?"

Zhao Douan protested his innocence:

"Is that the image you have of me in your heart? If Zhengyang were a lesser figure, I might deal with him, but with his reputation, how could I carelessly act? Bringing troubles to His Majesty?"

"..." Mo Chou responded with a mocking laugh and said, "As long as you know."

They talked like this, but in her eyes, there was some disappointment.

——

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A five-thousand-word chapter, typos will be corrected after posting.