An hour later.
Pei Muwan finished her Breakthrough, a look of dreamy wonder still lingering on her exquisitely beautiful face.
She tightly clutched the piece of paper.
She read it again and again.
Especially the line, "The bright moon was there then, once shining upon the returning colored clouds."
A single poem, *immortal by the river*, allowed her to achieve a Breakthrough in two minor Realms, skyrocketing directly to the Third Layer of Grandmaster Realm.
Even with her martial Dao talent and the martial Dao resources of the Grand Tutors Residence, Cultivating step-by-step would still require half a year to achieve a Breakthrough in two minor Realms!
"This poem was written by Lu Zhenghai?"
How could that be? How could that vulgar man write such a stunning poem?
Did he copy it from somewhere? Impossible!
If such a stunning poem truly existed, it couldn't possibly remain unknown; it would have become famous long ago.
Moreover, she was Pei Muwan; she had read every poem and lyric of decent quality within the Great Yu Dynasty Imperial Dynasty.
"So, he really wrote it?"
Pei Muwan's emotions shifted from disbelief, excitement, and admiration... finally settling into complexity.
"I owe him a huge favor."
"He wants a pond full of fish from the Grand Tutors Residence?"
She was just about to call her Maidservant in and ask Lu Zhenghai to come and take the fish directly, realizing that he absolutely did not need to provide another poem; *immortal by the river* was more than enough!
But the words caught in her throat. Driven by a selfish desire, she strangely wanted to know what the "other poem of the same caliber" Lu Zhenghai mentioned actually was.
A poem of the caliber of *immortal by the river*—even a great scholar could die content if they managed to compose just one such piece in their lifetime.
How terrifying must Lu Zhenghai's literary talent be to dare claim he could write a second one?
But what if Lu Zhenghai really could do it?
Pei Muwan pushed the door open.
"Young Miss..." Bai Zhi and Zi Ling looked concerned and nervous.
"Good news, I had a Breakthrough," Pei Muwan said with a smile.
That smile dimmed the world; it was so beautiful that both Bai Zhi and Zi Ling were momentarily stunned.
"Young Miss, was it the poem Young Master Lu sent that caused your Breakthrough?" Zi Ling asked, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
"Yes."
"Is that poem very good?"
"Extremely good."
Compelled, Pei Muwan read *immortal by the river* aloud again in front of the two Maidservants.
Bai Zhi and Zi Ling also grasped a fraction of its profound meaning.
Bai Zhi asked curiously, "Young Miss, is this a love confession poem?"
After all, the word "lovesickness" was in the lyrics.
Pei Muwan shook her head. "It's not a confession. It expresses feelings of regret, melancholy, and the realization that things have changed. Perhaps the person he liked changed her heart, or perhaps she passed away or left."
This was her interpretation, and clearly, it wasn't written for her.
Rarely, a trace of jealousy arose in Pei Muwan; she wished this poem had been written about her.
"No wonder, despite my looks, he preferred fifty thousand taels of silver rather than letting me owe him a favor. He truly has no admiration for me; his heart belongs to someone else."
In that instant, Lu Zhenghai was no longer a vulgar man who only saw money in her eyes, but a deeply devoted person.
"Do we have any information on Lu Zhenghai?" Pei Muwan suddenly asked. She felt an inexplicable curiosity about him and wanted to know who the person in his heart was.
"I'll go check right away." Bai Zhi turned and left.
Given the power of the Grand Tutors Residence, investigating an Embroidered Uniform Guard Banner Commander was child's play.
Time flew by quickly.
Four or five hours later.
It was nearing evening.
Bai Zhi finally returned, holding a stack of documents.
Pei Muwan started reading the information without saying a word.
When she finished reading, she murmured to herself:
"He already has a wife, yet they have been married for a year and have not consummated the marriage. Still, he remains devoted to his wife. He hasn't taken a single concubine and has no intention of divorcing his wife."
"Perhaps his wife gave him beautiful memories before marrying him, but after marrying him, she inexplicably changed her heart, to the point that she refuses to consummate the marriage."
"*immortal by the river* is him reminiscing about the beautiful memories he once shared with his wife, and feeling melancholic about his inability to obtain her now."
...Pei Muwan was excellent at filling in the blanks, though her conclusions were quite messy.
"Young Miss, Chief Lu is too devoted!" Bai Zhi's beautiful eyes were red. "Madam Lu is too much of a bully!"
Zi Ling quietly asked, "Is Madam Lu pretty?"
Bai Zhi nodded. "Very beautiful. She's only slightly less stunning than Young Miss, a truly peerless beauty."
Zi Ling replied, "No wonder, then. But I still don't know why Young Master Lu would send the poem to Young Miss..."
If Lu Zhenghai heard the conversation between these three mistress and Maidservants, he would be dumbfounded.
Damn it!
Where did he and Jiang Chiyao ever have beautiful memories before they got married?
Before his past life memories were Awakened, he was an idiot, completely blinded by Jiang Chiyao's looks. He barely interacted with her or understood her, impulsively rushing into marriage. What beautiful memories could they possibly have?
As for now, why would he feel that Jiang Chiyao was unattainable? He dreamed of divorcing that scamming bitch, alright?
He simply thought *immortal by the river* was well-written and copied it to show off and use as bait, alright? His eyes were only filled with the desire for the seven-hundred-year-old spirit fish!
Furthermore, although *immortal by the river* indeed expresses the inability to attain "past beauty" and a sense of obsession, leading to regret and melancholy.
But this "past beauty," while most likely referring to lost love, could it perhaps refer to lost youth, good times, or similar concepts?
A thousand readers have a thousand interpretations.
Regardless, because of *immortal by the river*, Pei Muwan now viewed Lu Zhenghai as a first-rate devoted man, and she even had a filter for him.
"Bring me paper," Pei Muwan said after thinking for a moment.
Pei Muwan carefully copied *immortal by the river* onto the paper, then signed the name [Lu Zhenghai ].
She handed the paper to Bai Zhi. "Take this and deliver it to Jiang Chiyao."
"Young Miss, I feel that Jiang Chiyao doesn't deserve this poem at all. She is too much of a bully."
"Young Master Lu is suffering too much. I want to help him," Pei Muwan said, her beautiful face filled with seriousness.
"Alright." Bai Zhi turned and left.
"Zi Ling, go deliver an invitation to Young Master Lu," Pei Muwan instructed, then turned to personally write the invitation herself.
"Ah?" Zi Ling was shocked.
One must know that their Young Miss was incredibly cold and proud.
As far as anyone could remember, she had only ever given an invitation to Princess Mingzhu.
No one else could expect this treatment, let alone a man.
"Invite him for a drink. The location will be the Luoshui Tower on the banks of the Luoshui River!" Pei Muwan said.
Luoshui Tower was the most high-end restaurant in the entire Imperial City, only catering to the children of high officials. People of common status couldn't even book a private room there.
Pei Muwan thought, *The "other poem of the same caliber" he mentioned—it won't disappoint me, will it?*
It didn't even need to be the same caliber; even if it was slightly worse than *immortal by the river*, she would be immensely surprised.
By then, let alone a pond full of fish from the Grand Tutors Residence, Lu Zhenghai could take anything he wanted from the entire Grand Tutors Residence... Jinyiwei Garrison.
Lu Zhenghai had no idea how incredible his poem was, not only completely changing his image in Pei Muwan's heart but also helping Pei Muwan achieve a Breakthrough in two minor Realms.
Lu Zhenghai hadn't been idle all day in the Garrison office; instead, he was researching information about Buddhism and Leiming Temple.
He was truly coveting the *Six Paths Reincarnation Fist*.
"heaven grade, high rank"—it was practically invincible.
Although he certainly couldn't obtain it yet, he could prepare in advance.
"The influence of Buddhism in the Great Yu Dynasty Imperial Dynasty is truly terrifying. Since ancient times, it has always been extremely powerful, yet very low-key, never showing its hand."
"Over the past tens of thousands of years, it has survived seven or eight Imperial Dynasties, three of which attempted to suppress Buddhism. Yet, each time, Buddhism was like wild grass—it couldn't be burned away and slowly recovered its vitality."
"Imperial Dynasties have changed seven or eight times over tens of thousands of years, but Buddhism has always persisted."
Then, through his research, Lu Zhenghai understood one thing clearly: the current Your Majesty fundamentally disliked Buddhism.
There were two points to prove this.
First, after ascending the throne, the current Your Majesty personally visited the Longyuan Sect.
The Longyuan Sect was one of the Six Great Daoist Sects.
It was said that the two characters "Dragon Abyss" were related to an ancient true Dragon, so there was a certain logic and justification for the Emperor visiting the Longyuan Sect.
But ultimately, the Longyuan Sect belonged to the Dao.
If the Emperor leaned more toward Buddhism, even with the presence of the "Dragon Abyss" name, he probably wouldn't have gone. The mere act of going indicated he favored the Dao.
Second, there were relatively few temples within the Imperial City.
Lu Zhenghai thought that to get the *Six Paths Reincarnation Fist*, he might have to rely on the Emperor's power. He was, after all, an Embroidered Uniform Guard, a claw and tooth of the Emperor, and this identity shouldn't go unused.
Not to mention, this current era was the Peak period of the Great Yu Dynasty Imperial Dynasty. Imperial authority was extremely strong. No matter how formidable Buddhism's foundation was, they truly dared not openly confront Imperial authority.
Just as Lu Zhenghai was deep in thought.
Suddenly.
"Chief Lu..."
A voice came from the doorway.
Lu Zhenghai looked at the person, narrowing his eyes. He knew the man; his name was Lü Tianyang.
This Lü Tianyang was a staunch supporter of Centurion Wang.
Heh, is this a weasel paying respects to a chicken?