Taichu Palace, Zichen Hall.

The scent of sandalwood fills the air.

Wu Zetian revered Buddhist teachings, and although under Gu Jing’s restrictions, she hadn’t embarked on a large-scale establishment of temples as in the original history.

Yet, within this Taichu Palace, her personal mark of faith still tenaciously exists.

Gu Jing followed the palace maid and slowly walked into the hall.

As Fang Fu entered, before Gu Jing had time to act, a gentle voice hidden behind the plain curtains instantly sounded: "Grand Tutor, no need for formalities."

"Please be seated."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jing merely nodded slightly as a gesture, without declining.

Once the palace maid placed a purple sandalwood stool covered with brocade near the throne, he sat down calmly, his posture dignified, and his eyes peacefully directed towards the curtain.

Behind the curtain, Wu Zetian seemed to take a deep breath before slowly speaking, "I summoned the Grand Tutor today for national affairs."

"I... as the Grand Empress Dowager, retired to the deep palace, should be enjoying my twilight years, uninvolved in external matters."

"However..."

She sighed deeply: "National affairs are entangled, family matters are difficult to resolve, and the cries for help from the royal kin are unceasing... After much tossing and turning, I have come to realize that this is not a situation I can avoid by simply closing my eyes and ears."

"Today, I can only hand this troublesome issue over to the Grand Tutor for his wise judgment."

With that, a nearby palace maid immediately took out the letter Wu Zetian had prepared long in advance and respectfully handed it to Gu Jing.

Gu Jing did not speak much, opening it immediately for a look.

It was Wu Sansi appealing with the bloodline of the royal kin, tearfully pleading for the Grand Empress Dowager’s intervention.

As for the other letters, they were not much different.

Clearly, Gu Jing’s sudden mobilization of troops this time had placed great pressure on them.

Gu Yi also watched this scene with great interest, not surprised at Wu Zetian’s actions.

This is Wu Zetian.

She obviously realized how resolute Gu Jing’s determination was this time.

Even her identity as the Grand Empress Dowager might not protect her.

She certainly would not care about the so-called royal clan.

Gu Jing slowly picked up the letters, saying nothing from start to finish, only bowing to Wu Zetian once more before turning to walk out of the hall.

Watching Gu Jing’s somewhat hunched back, Wu Zetian’s expression was extremely complex, but she ultimately only sighed softly.

Luoyang Palace.

"Grand Tutor! You have finally arrived!" Li Longji’s voice carried a young person’s unique excitement, yet he tried hard to maintain an emperor’s demeanor, "All ministers have submitted the proposed new era names for review, please peruse them, and ultimately make the final decision for Us!"

As he spoke, he eagerly handed over the memorial filled with candidate names to Gu Jing.

The change of era name signifies the Emperor’s official assumption of power, marking the symbolic moment of a new era.

Li Longji had reached this age.

With a serene expression, Gu Jing accepted the memorial, his gaze slowly sweeping over the ink-drenched candidates: "Jingyun," "Taiji," "Yanhe," "Xiankeng"... each word brimming with auspiciousness and expectations leapt off the page.

In the end, his gaze steadfastly rested on two characters—

Kaiyuan. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Your Majesty," Gu Jing said softly, with his fingertip lightly touching those two characters in ink, "perhaps these two characters could be chosen as the era name."

He did not elaborate on the reason, as it was already detailed in the memorial.

Upon hearing this, Li Longji hastily took back the memorial, eagerly finding the explanatory note below "Kaiyuan," reading it intently, and softly chanting:

"’Kai’ means to begin, to create, to open....’Yuan’ means the origin, it is great, it is fundamental...."

His voice gradually sank into the canonical meaning: "The Book of Changes states: ’How great is the Qian Yuan, where all things begin, it encompasses the sky’...."

Within the hall, there was a moment of silence, with only the focused murmurs of the young Emperor echoing.

He repeatedly savored the majestic imagery contained within "Kaiyuan"—opening a new origin, founding the imperial extreme, commanding all nations!

This was in complete harmony with the ambitions still brimming within his youthful spirit!

After a while, Li Longji slowly raised his head, his eyes sparkling with excitement and determination, he looked towards Gu Jing, nodded heavily, and declared loudly:

"Good!"....

....

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