The world of film and television starts from a young age.

Chapter 1422 The Empress and the Grand Master, Saint Haitang Duoduo

With Zhuang Mohan's consent, Zhou Chen and Zhan Pianpian naturally stayed in the mansion.

Zhou Chen first made arrangements for Zhan Pianpian, and then went to the restaurant to bring his horse over and placed it in Zhuang Mohan's house.

After everything was done, when I went to Zhan Pianpian's room, she had fallen asleep with the help of her maid after playing all day.

When Zhuang Mohan learned that Zhan Pianpian was the eldest princess, he specially arranged two maids to serve her. Apart from that, he did nothing else.

It was already late, but Zhuang Mohan did not go to sleep. Instead, he invited Zhou Chen to the study to discuss Taoism.

Although there seemed to be a big age gap between the two, Zhuang Mohan did not put on airs at all and discussed philosophy with Zhou Chen on an equal footing.

Zhou Chen never considered himself a literary man, but having lived for hundreds of years, he had indeed read countless books, more than many others had read in several lifetimes. So even when discussing academic matters with literary masters like Zhuang Mohan, he was not at a disadvantage at all.

Even Zhuang Mohan benefited a lot from the narration that always drew inferences from one instance, and Zhou Chen's understanding that transcended the feudal era also opened his eyes.

Of course, Zhou Chen only discussed academic matters with him and did not say anything else, otherwise Zhuang Mohan might not be able to accept it.

The two chatted until late at night, and Zhou Chen finally took the initiative to end the discussion. However, Zhuang Mohan invited Zhou Chen to continue the discussion tomorrow, and tried his best to keep Zhou Chen, wanting him to stay with him for a few more days.

Zhou Chen naturally agreed readily. The date he and Ku He had agreed to meet was August 15th. There was still half a month away from that day. Living here would certainly be much more convenient than staying in an inn.

It was late at night, and Zhou Chen and his companions slept soundly, but for several high-ranking officials of Northern Qi, they did not sleep so soundly tonight.

Shen Zhong and his men didn't dare to send people to follow too closely, but they didn't really give up surveillance completely, so when they saw Zhou Chen and Zhan Pianpian actually entered Zhuang Mohan's mansion.

Whether it was the young emperor of Northern Qi, the empress dowager, or Shen Zhong, they were all shocked. This great master also knew Zhuang Mohan?
But having learned from the previous experience, they did not go to Zhuang Mohan's mansion to investigate, but just sent people to keep an eye on it.

Ku He lived in seclusion in a river and waterfall not far from the capital city. Haitang Duoduo went there and came back at night. Ku He's answer made the little emperor and the empress dowager feel relieved, but not completely reassured.

The next day, after Zhou Chen had breakfast with Zhuang Mohan, he took Zhan Pianpian out. Zhuang Mohan looked at them leaving with a kind expression and a smile on his face.

He had only known Zhou Chen for one day, but he could tell the whole picture from just a little bit. He felt that a scholar with such literary talent like Zhou Chen must not be a person with a bad character, and Zhan Pianpian did not look like she was being held hostage at all, which was why he did not let anyone notify the court.

He was just a scholar who only wanted to study, and he didn't care about anything else.

The day passed quickly, at least for Zhan Pianpian. Today, she followed Zhou Chen to many interesting places and ate a lot of delicious snacks.

But there was one thing that made her unhappy, because when she was sightseeing, she saw several large and beautiful flower boats in the river, and many people were on them. She also wanted to go, but Zhou Chen was unwilling to take her, which made him very annoyed.

She thought at the time that if she had known earlier, she would have secretly taken some gold and silver with her when she came out, so that she would not be controlled by Zhou Chen everywhere.

I'm not really stupid, how could I not know what the flower boat is for? I've never seen it but I've heard of it, but I just know it, so I want to go and see what it is.

It’s a pity that I didn’t make it.

"Humph!"

"What are you humming again?"

"Nothing, why are you going home so early today?"

"I have guests coming to visit today, so I have to go back early."

"guest?"

Zhan Pianpian looked puzzled: "Aren't you from Nanqing? Is it possible that someone would visit you at Mr. Zhuang's house?"

Zhou Chen smiled slightly: "Who said no?"

There was indeed someone who came to visit Zhou Chen, and his identity was not simple. He was being entertained by Zhuang Mohan at the moment.

"So, Your Majesty came out of the palace to come to me for both the princess and Mr. Zhou?"

Zhuang Mohan asked calmly. When he first learned that His Majesty and the Saint were visiting, he thought it was for the eldest princess's matter, but from their tone, it seemed more like they were here for Zhou Chen, which made him confused.

Zhan Doudou heard this and said softly, "So his last name is Zhou, Mr. Zhuang, I am here for him today. Are you familiar with him?"

Zhuang Mohan shook his head. "I'm not familiar with him. I just got to know him after he came to my house yesterday. Mr. Zhou is very talented and well-versed in history and modern times. Even I have benefited a lot from his knowledge."

Zhan Doudou was stunned: "He is very talented?"

"Yes, although we only talked for a few hours yesterday, I feel that his knowledge is not inferior to mine. In the future, he will definitely surpass me and become a great writer."

Zhuang Mohan's tone was full of praise and love for Zhou Chen. At his age, seeing such a young and talented scholar, the joy he felt was no less than his own achievements.

Hearing Zhuang Mohan's praise, Zhan Doudou became even more confused, and Haitang Duoduo also stared with wide eyes, full of confusion.

"Isn't he a grandmaster? How can his talent be compared with yours, Mr. Zhuang? It's impossible, right?"

Now it was Zhuang Mohan's turn to be confused.

"Grandmaster, are you saying that Master Zhou is the Grandmaster, the Grandmaster that I understand?"

He is a leader in the literary world and a man of letters, but he is also skilled in martial arts, he just pays more attention to literature. He knows the classification of martial arts in the world and what a grandmaster means.

When Zhan Doudou saw that Haitang Duoduo had spoken out, she no longer concealed it and told Zhuang Mohan about Zhou Chen.

After listening to this, Zhuang Mohan was silent for a long time.

"I was really blind. It turns out that Master Zhou is a man of both civil and military talents. At such a young age, he has achieved such success in both civil and military affairs. He is the only one in the world."

Some people are martial arts geniuses, some are literary geniuses, but there are very few people who are both talented in literature and martial arts, let alone those who can reach the pinnacle of both.

As soon as Zhou Chen and Zhan Pianpian came back, Zhuang Mohan went over to greet Zhou Chen happily, his face full of smiles and kindness.

"They are waiting for you in the other courtyard, go ahead."

Zhou Chen thanked him and went to the villa where he was staying temporarily. Then he saw two figures standing under a tree in the villa.

Hearing the footsteps, Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo in the villa also turned around and saw Zhou Chen coming towards them, with surprise in their eyes.

Although they had heard from the Queen Mother that Zhou Chen was very young, they were still shocked by his youth when they actually saw him.

Not only is she young, but her appearance is also very outstanding. No wonder the eldest princess was willing to follow him away. This appearance is probably part of the reason.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of Daqi, Saint Lady."

"You know us? Mr. Zhuang told you?" Zhan Doudou asked puzzledly.

Zhou Chen said: "Mr. Zhuang, you don't need to tell me. You two should not be able to find anyone similar to you in Qi."

Zhan Doudou looked at Zhou Chen, whose expression was calm, and said slowly: "When the young master arrived in Qi, he gave us a big gift."

"Your Majesty, please do not be offended. People who practice martial arts are bound to be competitive. I have heard of Senior Ku He's great name a long time ago. I am a rookie, so I came to pay my respects to him."

"Miss Duoduo, you are also a martial artist, so you should understand what I mean."

Zhou Chen looked at Haitang Duoduo, and Haitang Duoduo said, "I don't have the ability to break into the palace and challenge the Grand Master."

"It seems that Senior Ku He has accepted my challenge."

"Yes, my master agreed, but he asked me to ask if we can fight somewhere else, to where he is practicing in seclusion. That place is big enough for you to use your skills. The palace is too small and can't withstand your attack."

Zhou Chen did not agree.

"A battle between Grandmasters must naturally have a battlefield worthy of it, and there is no place more suitable than the Forbidden City Peak."

Zhan Doudou said in a cold tone: "The palace represents the face of the royal family. Are you trying to use the Grandmaster's battle to trample on the face of the Great Qi royal family?"

"Your Majesty's tone is exactly the same as the princess's. You are indeed my sister."

Zhan Doudou and Haitang Duoduo's faces changed drastically. Seeing this, Zhou Chen just smiled slightly.

"Your Majesty, do you think that your concealment skills can deceive the Grand Master?"

Zhan Doudou's face was gloomy: "You want to use this to threaten me?"

"That's not the case, and your majesty has misunderstood. I just think that the Forbidden City is suitable for me to fight Ku He, and I have no intention of trampling on the reputation of your Daqi royal family. But when you put it that way, it seems that I am bullying you by taking advantage of my power."

Zhou Chen pondered for a while and said, "I have bullied others many times before, but there were reasons for that. I am a fair person. Since I am borrowing the palace of your Daqi royal family, I will use other things to make up for it."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden box from his arms and threw it over.

Haitang Duoduo caught it: "What is this?"

"I just said that, Your Majesty, you can take a look at the compensation. I think you should be satisfied."

Zhan Doudou hesitated for a moment before opening the box. There was only a piece of paper in the box. She opened it and looked at it carefully for a while.

In just a moment, her face changed drastically, her breathing became rapid, and she asked Zhou Chen anxiously.

"Is what is written here true?"

"Of course, Your Majesty should understand what the content above represents. It is not just a huge fortune, but also..."

Zhou Chen didn't say anything else, but Zhan Doudou understood what Zhou Chen meant.

The above content is indeed scary. If it is true, it would be an unimaginable fortune.

"It should be enough for Ku He and I to fight at the top of the Forbidden City, right?"

Zhan Doudou's expression kept changing. If Zhou Chen was not a grandmaster, she would have wanted to kill Zhou Chen right now and take the things in the wooden box for herself.

But obviously, she didn't have that ability. Since there was no other way, she could only compromise in the face of such temptation.

"It is very precious. I can ignore the reputation of the Great Qi royal family, but the Grand Master has great means. If you fight, I am afraid that such a huge palace will not be enough for you to destroy, right? I don't want to rebuild a palace city again."

"I can't guarantee that. I can only say that I will try my best to avoid destroying the palace. As for Ku He, I can't guarantee that."

Zhan Doudou's expression kept changing, and she was obviously weighing the pros and cons in her mind, but when she met Zhou Chen's gaze, she was startled.

Suddenly she realized that even if she disagreed, if Zhou Chen insisted on fighting in the palace, they would not be able to stop him. If they annoyed Zhou Chen and made him lose control and cause trouble in the capital, even if Ku He was there, she might not be able to stop him.

But if Zhou Chen wants to fight Ku He to the death, the consequences will be unimaginable.

The biggest reason why Qi State can now compete with Qing State is Ku He. If Qi State lost their grandmaster, it would be a disaster for them. What's more, Dongyi City also has a crazy Si Gu Jian.

Without Ku He, who could frighten Si Gu Jian? The world's order would also collapse.

As an emperor, he has to consider more than just the current situation; he has to look further and deeper.

In fact, when they learned that Zhou Chen was a grandmaster, they had no other choice, unless they could mobilize the entire army in the capital to encircle and suppress Zhou Chen, but the losses that would result from this would be unbearable for them.

So after much thought, it seems that the best option is to let Zhou Chen and Ku He fight.

"Okay, I can agree to your request, but I hope you won't spread the news."

"Of course, I challenged Ku He to a duel just to prove my martial arts skills, not to become famous."

The fight with the four great masters was more for the mission. Even though he was a grandmaster now, he had never fought with them before, so he was not sure he could win.

"I hope Mr. will keep his word."

Zhan Doudou is also a flexible person. Moreover, facing a great master, it is not shameful for her, an emperor with no real power, to compromise.

Haitang Duoduo didn't say anything the whole time. She only spoke after Zhan Doudou finished talking to Zhou Chen.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou, right? I want to ask, how old are you?"

"Well, I'll be crowned in a few months."

"Not even twenty yet?"

Haitang Duoduo opened her eyes wide with a look of disbelief. Zhan Doudou was the same, both were frightened by Zhou Chen's age.

"A Grandmaster before the age of twenty? No, you have been practicing martial arts since your mother's womb, otherwise how could you become a Grandmaster at such a young age?"

Zhou Chen smiled mischievously: "Want to know?"

"think."

Haitang Duoduo nodded without thinking. She was considered to be extremely talented, at least that was what her master said. However, she had been practicing martial arts since she was a child, and she was only at the ninth level so far. However, Zhou Chen, who was about the same age as her, was already a grandmaster.

Is it true that my talent is much worse than Zhou Chen's?

Zhou Chen took out a book from his pocket and threw it to Haitang Duoduo, who took it and took a look.

"Ruyi Jin Heart Technique, is this yours?"

"Yes, I tailored the secret manual for myself. I personally think that it should be no worse than your master's Tianyi Dao Mentality. It contains the method I used to break through to the Grandmaster level. However, my physique is quite special, so you probably can't learn from it."

Haitang Duoduo stared at the secret book in her hand in a daze, and then her face showed suspicion and vigilance.

"You gave me your own secret method like this? I wonder if there is any manipulation from above?"