Chapter 63 Zhoujiazhai

The prince has had no appetite these past few days. He looks at his rotting body and thinks of his former beauties. It would be a lie to say that he doesn't miss them, but if he really uses Master Fu Yu's method, he is afraid that he will even lose his life.

I wonder what happened to my eighteen concubines, the prince thought.

During this time, Eunuch Xue served the Crown Prince day and night. He had seen the Crown Prince suffer so much and felt deeply distressed, yet he didn't know how to comfort him. He had followed the Crown Prince since he was a child, and they had a deep bond of master and servant. Therefore, when the Imperial Preceptor later saved the Crown Prince's life and became his confidant, he was jealous.

But this time it’s different, only the imperial teacher can help the prince.

Eunuch Xue also knew the risks involved, but if he didn't take a chance, the prince's life would be like this.

Even if the prince can inherit the throne because the emperor is gone, he will eventually be replaced by those with ulterior motives because there is no successor.

If I had known this would happen, I should have advised the prince to have a child sooner, otherwise he wouldn’t have ended up like this. Eunuch Xue sighed, but he knew it was useless.

Eunuch Xue never thought that there would be a day when he and the Imperial Master would be able to work together.

These days, Eunuch Xue saw that the prince had no appetite and was becoming increasingly thin, so he began to advise him.

"Your Highness, I heard that the Crown Princess is still waiting for you to return to the East Palace." Eunuch Xue mentioned this casually while serving dinner one day.

"Is the Crown Princess still alive?" The Crown Prince widened his eyes, feeling a little surprised.

"Yes, I also heard the news from the palace. Didn't a carrier pigeon come a few days ago?"

It is true that a carrier pigeon came some time ago, and the Crown Princess was indeed rescued by the Gu family, but they did not say that the Crown Princess was still thinking about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"She... does she still miss me?" The prince lowered his head and looked at the dishes on the table, no longer having the arrogance of the past.

"Of course, of course. You and the Crown Princess are childhood sweethearts, and the Crown Princess must be thinking of you." Eunuch Xue responded quickly.

He knew that although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a bit absurd, what the Crown Prince cared about most was his childhood sweetheart - the daughter of the Marquis.

Seeing that the Crown Prince remained silent, Eunuch Xue continued, "Your Highness, the Eastern Palace has always been deserted, and the Crown Princess has always longed for a child to liven things up. Now that His Majesty has passed away, you should also consider the future of the country."

When the topic came up, the Crown Prince was clearly displeased: "Why are you bringing this up in this situation? Did the Imperial Master tell you anything?"

"Your Highness, please calm down!" Eunuch Xue immediately knelt down. "Your Highness, I have only seen the Crown Princess often cry over this matter, and I am feeling a little sad."

"Will she cry? Why do I always see her going back to her parents' home every now and then? She doesn't understand the rules of the palace at all. She hates not seeing me anymore."

"Your Highness, those villains have been eyeing the throne. Even if you can successfully ascend the throne, there is no guarantee that they will do something about the issue of offspring in the future. Please think twice, Your Highness." Seeing that the prince was difficult to persuade, Eunuch Xue finally expressed his true thoughts.

This sentence basically states that you will die anyway, just at a different time.

The prince understood what was said. He had been worried about this problem before, but no one had revealed the truth.

Sure enough, the next day, he found the imperial teacher and agreed to this absurd approach.

Li Yuanxi, who was imprisoned in the basement at this time, had no idea how cruel the torture he would face in the next few days.

*

After Li Yuanying and her group arrived at Heishui, Ling Yao returned to her home. Originally a deity of the Heishui area, she decided to continue taking Xiu Niang to find her immortal master.

Li Yuanying thought that since she was in Heishui and unfamiliar with the place, it would be helpful to have someone she could trust to look after her. So she approached the Zhou couple and told them that she was new to Heishui, but her husband didn't know where she was. She wanted to find a place to stay first and wondered if the Zhou couple would be comfortable.

The Zhou couple were very grateful to Li Yuanying for subduing Ling Yao, which allowed them to come back alive. So when Li Yuanying asked them for something, the Zhou couple readily agreed.

When he arrived at Zhou's house, Li Yuanying discovered that this village located at the foot of Buzhou Mountain was very majestic.

Zhoujiazhai.

Zhoujiazhai is a huge circular building, dozens of meters high, with densely packed doors. Every household lives in these doorways. In the middle of the village is a tall tower-shaped building. Li Yuanying guessed that there were statues of gods enshrined inside.

Li Yuanying and the embroiderer were warmly welcomed by Zhoujiazhai. The people here dressed differently from Li Yuanying. Their clothes were dark in color and embroidered with patterns that Li Yuanying rarely saw. Some looked like eagles, some like tigers, and very few had plants embroidered on them.

The Zhou couple took Li Yuanying to a room on the east side of the village and arranged for the three of them to stay there.

"In the Heishui area, only Zhoujiazhai is still preserved. The other places are inhabited by monsters. You must not act on your own." Master Zhou instructed.

"Is this kind of building in your village meant to prevent attacks from monsters?"

Young Master Zhou nodded. "Yes. Our village worships the Jade Sky God, who is in charge of purifying all filth between heaven and earth. After the Yuanming Realm was established in Chang'an, we knew we were abandoned, so we established the Zhou Family Village here in Heishui. Worshiping the Jade Sky God is also to strengthen our faith."

"Isn't Heishui the closest to Buzhou Mountain? There should be more monsters there. Why don't you build a village near Chang'an?" Li Yuanying was puzzled.

Young Master Zhou laughed: "Miss Li, if I'm not mistaken, you must be Li Yuanying, the eldest daughter of the demon-catching family."

Li Yuanying was guessed by Mr. Zhou, so she couldn't pretend anymore and nodded.

"My surname is Zhou, and my given name is Bucai. I'm much older than you, so you can just call me Brother Bucai. This is my wife, Hua Xiao."

"Brother Bucai, hello, Sister Hua Xiao."

Mrs. Zhou also nodded.

"Miss Li is probably always receiving missions from the imperial court, either coming to Heishui to strangle the Fuxi clan, or going to Chang'an to exorcise demons and monsters, right?"

"Indeed."

"Buzhou Mountain is indeed the territory of the Fuxi Clan, but the Fuxi Clan has a demon king. It can be said that there are neither soldiers from Chang'an nor demons seeking death here. The most dangerous place has become the safest place. Although demons occasionally appear in the Black Water, it is much safer than the area near Chang'an. You know, after the establishment of the Yuanming Realm, it became a sitting duck, a place coveted by thousands of demons. Naturally, its surroundings are extremely unsuitable for human habitation."

After hearing Zhou Bucai's explanation, Li Yuanying felt it made a lot of sense.

"So what do you do for a living?"

"We live by the mountains and by the water. We are close to the Black Water, where there are always some strange and rare things. We make a living by buying and selling these things."

At this point, Hua Xiao said, "It's all because the people in Chang'an are greedy. Some want immortality, some want beauty. Those strange things in the Black Water can always satisfy one or two of their needs. We can barter and get some supplies for the village."

Li Yuanying remembered that after Zhou Bucai and Hua Xiao got off the ship, they did unload a lot of cargo from the ship.

"But you came at a really bad time." Hua Xiao sighed.

Zhou Bucai waved his hand: "You are a foreigner, don't worry."

"Is something wrong?"

"In fact, the fact that our Zhoujiazhai has been able to thrive in Heishui for a hundred years is also due to the blessing of the Fuxi Clan. The rule left by our ancestors is that every ten years, a noble woman must be sent to the Fuxi Clan to be the emperor's concubine. This year happens to be the eleventh year..."

"Is there such a rule?" Li Yuanying was shocked.

Zhou Bucai felt a little ashamed: "If it weren't for these, Zhoujiazhai wouldn't have the peaceful life it has today."

Li Yuanying was somewhat bewildered. Just now they had been hoping the Jade Sky God would grant them strength to resist the demonic invasion, and now they were saying they would send a noblewoman to the Fuxi tribe every ten years. It turned out that they relied on either superstitious faith in illusory gods or sacrificed their own people for protection.

"Who is the noble lady you are going to send this year?" Li Yuanying asked.

"Tomorrow night, we will dress all the women of Zhoujia Village who have reached marriageable age as brides, close the doors, and wait for the Fuxi Clan's envoys to come and personally select them."

"Can I join?"

Zhou Bucai was stunned for a moment: "You want to participate too?"

"But haven't you been pregnant for more than three months and came to Heishui to find your husband?" Zhou Bucai looked at Hua Xiao helplessly.

Li Yuanying looked at the soles of her feet hesitantly, then looked at Zhou Bucai, pretending to be unable to speak.

"The husband you are talking about, couldn't it be..." Hua Xiao covered her mouth.

Li Yuanying quickly made a gesture to silence them. "Don't say anything. Please help me find a wedding dress. I'll sneak into the selection procession that day, and when the messenger arrives, I'll definitely be the one chosen."

Zhou Bucai was dumbfounded at first, then looked at Hua Xiao, and the two of them agreed to the request with difficulty.

The embroiderer did not stop Li Yuanying from following the Zhou couple because the direction of pursuit was the direction of Zhoujiazhai.

"This is it."

When Li Yuanying finished talking with the Zhou couple and returned to the room, the embroiderer said to Li Yuanying, "The person I'm looking for is right here."

"That's perfect. I'm going to the Fuxi Palace tomorrow night. You can fulfill your wish here, but don't cause any loss of life." Li Yuanying instructed.

"I can't guarantee that." The embroiderer said with a smile.

Li Yuanying didn't want to pay attention to her, she knew that the embroiderer was not the kind of person who would listen to advice.

Now she only hoped to hurry to the next day. She wanted to enter the Fuxi Palace as soon as possible to get the demon pill of the previous demon king.

Qilang would never have thought that she would sneak in in this way.

As expected, Zhou Bucai and his wife prepared wedding dresses for Li Yuanying the next day. On the second evening, after Li Yuanying was dressed, Zhou Bucai led her to a group of more than a dozen women in wedding dresses.

"Miss Li, I can only help you up to this point. I wish you good luck."