Word Number：410 Author：闲穿径竹 Translator： Release Time：2025-06-26

　　Realizing his misstep, Gao Lishi hurriedly fell to his knees, striking his forehead against the floor. “Your Majesty, I spoke in reckless folly, my words born of madness. I deserve death for my transgression!”　　Though displeased, Xuanzong could not overlook Gao Lishi’s unwavering loyalty. Choosing leniency over wrath, he instead arranged a banquet in the palace in his honour. The gathered eunuchs, sensing the Emperor’s favour, raised their voices in unison, chanting, “Long live His Majesty!”　　From that day forth, Gao Lishi no longer dared to speak of the empire’s affairs in earnest.　　As the first month of the fourth year of the Tianbao era (A.D. 745) arrived, Emperor Xuanzong spoke to his ministers with great fervour.　　“In the palace, I erected an altar to pray for the well-being of my people. As I placed a simple yellow silk scroll upon the altar, it suddenly ascended into the heavens. From above, a voice echoed, saying, ‘The sacred longevity shall endure.’ Again, when I refined an elixir atop Mount Song, I left it upon the altar. At night, as my attendants moved to retrieve it, another voice resounded from the sky: ‘The medicine need not be taken away—it shall guard itself.’ Only at dawn did they dare collect it.”　　The Crown Prince, the imperial princes, and the ministers all submitted formal memorials of congratulation. By this time, the Crown Prince had already taken the name Li Heng.　　Since arriving in the Turkic lands last year, Liu Chengyuan had found himself in a realm of ceaseless warfare. This year, Huairen Qaghan of the Uyghurs launched yet another campaign, crushing the remnants of the defeated Baimei Qaghan and taking his head.　　A troubling thought crossed Liu Chengyuan’s mind: I only hope Qian Yu isn’t a Turkic princess. If she is, then with the Turks now utterly defeated, her fate would be grim indeed. But she looks Han in appearance…　　With his mother’s tomb duly honoured, he made up his mind. There’s little reason to linger. I should return home to Sanyuan County. Along the way, I can continue searching for any trace of Qian Yu.　　Leaving aside Liu Chengyuan’s journey southward, let us turn to Yang Yuhuan.　　Ever since she began to see traces of Huang Mengliang in Emperor Xuanzong, her heart had gradually softened. Affection bloomed where mere reverence once stood, and before long, she was utterly devoted to him—tender, attentive, y