PFC Chapter 337 It’s really him
Chapter 337 It’s really him
Not long after the emperor left, a young eunuch walked respectfully to Mr. Qiu, whispered a few words to him, and then led Mr. Qiu out of the library.
As their figures gradually disappeared at the door, the huge library seemed to have returned to its former appearance and fell into silence again.
Li Zhi raised his eyes and looked around. At this time, the library was already a little dim because it was getting dark. The dim light coming in from the window could only barely illuminate a small area. It was really difficult to continue reading.
Thinking of this, Li Zhi walked towards the direction of Manager Fu. When he came to Manager Fu, he bowed slightly and then said softly, "Manager Fu, it's night now. The library is a little dim. If I want to continue reading, it's not very convenient. Do you have an oil lamp here that I can use?"
When Manager Fu heard what Li Zhi said, he raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at him, and thought to himself, this Li Zhi was the one the emperor had just allowed to stay here and read. Since the emperor had agreed, and now he came to him to ask for a lamp, if he refused, it would be bad if the emperor heard about it.
Thinking of this, Manager Fu slowly stood up, his movements neither hurried nor slow, revealing the calmness that he had developed over the years in the palace. He then walked straight to a cabinet nearby, opened the door, took out an oil lamp from inside, and handed it to Li Zhi.
Manager Fu still had a serious look on his face. The sharp voice unique to eunuchs rang out in the silent library, and he said with a hint of warning: "You have to be careful. The books stored in this library are extremely precious, and open flames are strictly prohibited. You must not let anything go wrong because of negligence. If there is a mistake, the consequences will not be something you can afford."
Li Zhi nodded vigorously and said sincerely, "I understand. Thank you for your reminder, Manager Fu. I will be extremely careful and will never bring any trouble to you, Manager Fu. You can rest assured."
Manager Fu looked at Li Zhi's sincere attitude and his expression eased a little.
After Li Zhi took the oil lamp, he carefully took out a tinder from his arms and blew it gently. The faint spark ignited. He hurriedly moved closer to the oil lamp and lit the wick.
In an instant, the dim light illuminated a small area around, dispelling some of the darkness.
Li Zhi held the oil lamp and walked towards the place where he used to read. The light swayed slightly with his footsteps, casting flickering shadows on the ground.
At this time, there was silence around the library. Without any interference from others, the quiet atmosphere seemed to have an invisible magic that made Li Zhi quickly immersed in the world of books again.
He sat directly on the floor, and in the dim light, he turned the pages of the book with full concentration, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes nodding slightly, and had forgotten everything around him, as if the whole world was left with only him and the books before him.
…
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
The flickering candlelight in the imperial study casts mottled light and shadows on the room with its carved beams and painted buildings.
After leaving the library, the emperor returned to the imperial study. He sat on the dragon throne behind the desk, holding several books from the library in his hands.
The emperor slowly opened one of the books and took a look at it. His eyes lingered on the pages for a moment, as if he was thinking about something. Then he gently closed the book and placed it on the table beside him.
He turned his head to the eunuch standing beside him and said, "Da Ban, have these books sent to the East Palace and read to the Crown Prince."
"promise!"
Eunuch Wang Ling hurriedly responded respectfully, stepped forward and carefully picked up the books. When he was about to turn around and arrange for someone to send them to the East Palace, the emperor seemed to suddenly remember something and raised his hand to signal Wang Ling to stop.
Wang Ling hurriedly stopped, bowed slightly, looked at the emperor with a puzzled look, and asked softly: "Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"
The emperor frowned slightly, tapping his fingers on the table. After thinking for a while, he asked, "My dear, do you remember the name He Zhai mentioned when he presented the elixir four years ago?"
Being able to serve Emperor Zhao Qi for such a long time, Wang Ling must have his strengths, and the most outstanding of them is his extraordinary memory.
As long as it was something that he had heard, no matter how big or small, no matter how long it had been, he could always quickly retrieve it when needed.
At this moment, Wang Ling just heard the emperor casually mention the matter of the elixir, and in just a blink of an eye, he clearly recalled the scene at that time in his mind.
He hurriedly bowed slightly and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I remember what Minister He said at that time, that the elixir was made by Master Liu of Xiaoyao Mountain and his disciple Li Zhi..."
"Li Zhi..."
When the emperor heard the name, he slowly closed his eyes.
Wang Ling, who was standing nearby, was stunned at first, then suddenly realized something, his eyes widened, his face full of astonishment, he muttered unconsciously: "Could it be that... this Li Zhi is the one I saw in the library just now?"
Although the voice was small, it was particularly clear in the quiet imperial study.
The emperor slowly opened his eyes, his mouth slightly raised, revealing a meaningful smile, and said with certainty: "It should be him."
After that, the emperor turned to the dimly lit shadow of the imperial study and said, "Go check..."
The voice was not loud, but it revealed an unquestionable majesty.
As soon as the words fell, the originally silent shadows began to ripple slightly, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake. But soon, it returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.
At this moment, Wang Ling, who was standing by, lowered his head quickly, staring at the ground beneath his feet, his body trembling slightly unconsciously, as if he was afraid of accidentally seeing something he shouldn't see.
After a long while, the shadow seemed to be stirred again by an invisible hand, and some waves began to ripple out.
Then, without any warning, a letter appeared out of nowhere on the emperor's desk, and just lay there quietly, as if it was supposed to be there.
However, the emperor did not show the slightest sign of surprise, as if he was already accustomed to this. He just naturally reached out his hand, picked up the letter, and then slowly opened it. His eyes fell on the letter and began to read it carefully.
Suddenly, the emperor smiled softly and said, "It is indeed him! It is really a coincidence!"
When Wang Ling heard the emperor say this, he became curious, but he was standing far away from the emperor and couldn't see the contents of the letter in the emperor's hand. But he still pretended to stretch his neck to peek.
The emperor couldn't help laughing when he saw his funny look, and said with a helpless yet doting tone: "If you want to see it, take it and have a look..."
When Wang Ling heard this, his face was filled with a flattering smile. He hurried over and bowed respectfully first. Then he stretched out his hands, carefully took the letter handed to him by the emperor, and began to read it eagerly.
Wang Ling was shocked when he saw this. The letter contained detailed information about Li Zhi, from the specific circumstances of him following Master Liu to make elixirs in the He Mansion to the rumor that Li Zhi killed his master for unknown reasons and was subsequently wanted. All were recorded one by one.
After reading it, Wang Ling was shocked and thought to himself that Li Zhi's resume was not very glorious. If seen by others, it would be a big taboo.
Thinking of this, he glanced at the emperor cautiously, hesitated for a moment, and said with a stiff upper lip: "Your Majesty, this Li Zhike is a man who killed his teacher and was rebellious..."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor tilted his head slightly and asked, "Did anyone see him kill his master? I heard that his master died of old age?"
When Wang Ling heard this, his mind shook violently, and in an instant, he understood what the emperor meant.
He deliberately showed an awkward smile on his face, then reached out his hand and gently patted his mouth, saying with a look of regret: "Alas, it was me who believed some rumors, and I really deserve to be beaten. Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling, not knowing what he was thinking...