Chapter 204 Lantern Festival Dinner

"It's not important to Master, Chuchu. Master doesn't want you to regret it later." Master pulled Xu Chuchu to sit under the tree. "Not to mention that you might not be able to practice in the future and become an ordinary person, have you ever thought that after you change the fate of that young master, not only will his strange disease be cured, but he will also have a powerful dragon pattern. His future is limitless, and he may even inherit the throne... The gap between you and him will become wider and wider."

"Why do you want to compare the gap between me and him?" Xu Chuchu was still a little puzzled.

The master sighed, "I don't mean to doubt that young man's character, but once a person's status changes, their temperament inevitably expands. If you devote yourself to changing his fate and devote yourself to him, and then he no longer cherishes you as an ordinary person and falls in love with someone else, or even has three wives and four concubines, the master is afraid you won't be able to accept it."

"Oh." Xu Chuchu understood. It was cruel for a woman to exhaust everything to make a man successful, only to be abandoned by the man after he succeeded.

"So Master wants to ask you that question. If the medium wasn't that young man, would you still take the risk of changing your fate?"

"If you are doing this to stop the evil spirits from descending upon the world and to save all living beings, Master supports you!"

"If it's mainly for that young master..." The master held Xu Chuchu's hand tightly, "The master hopes you will stop here."

Xu Chuchu looked up in astonishment: "Oh? If it's the latter, I'll stop now, what will happen to the people?"

She wouldn't be surprised if anyone said this, but she found it incredible when her master said it. In her impression, her master had always been kind and selfless, even often doing things that...sacrificed themselves for the benefit of others. That was why her family had been so poor before.

She should be the one who supports Xu Chuchu the most in stopping the evil spirit from coming into the world.

However, Master said sternly, "Master has said that human life cannot be simply measured by numbers. Master does not support sacrificing that young man to save the world, and neither does he want you to sacrifice your own cultivation to save that young man. Sacrificing for the world and sacrificing for love may seem to have the same result, but for you, they are two completely different choices. Do you understand?"

To be honest, Xu Chuchu was a little confused.

But she still smiled and said, "Well, to be honest, I've also thought about this myself. If the medium wasn't him, but a complete stranger, asking me to change my fate, I might not make up my mind so quickly. I might even hesitate for a long time."

"But I've figured it out. Even if it wasn't him, I would still do it," she said firmly. "If I do it, I might lose my cultivation. But if I don't do it, if I run away, if I hide... I might live with regret for most of the rest of my life. Now that I understand this, I won't hesitate anymore."

"Really?" The master's face lit up with joy as he held her in his arms. "You are truly worthy of being my Chuchu. You have such a heart full of love. Master is proud of you!"

Xu Chuchu leaned on her master's shoulder and gently closed her eyes.

Yes, this is her master. He doesn't seem to be partial to her at all and would be happy that she dares to contribute to the world. If it were an ordinary family's parents, they would probably strongly oppose it.

But Xu Chuchu didn't feel that her master was mean to her at all. On the contrary, she felt relaxed and at peace with her master because of his approval.

She also didn't feel that her master didn't love her. She was very sure that if her master's cultivation was high enough and he could do this on his own, he would definitely not let her take the risk.

"But, I still hope that young master will be sincere to you in the future." The master continued to nag in her ear, "You two have been through so much, it would be best if you could live a peaceful and stable life in the future..."

Xu Chuchu listened silently, smiled and said nothing.

Why does everyone think that after this matter is over, she and Xiao Yu will still be together?

…

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the Imperial Palace.

A palace maid bowed and entered the hall, saluting to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is the list of court officials for tomorrow's Lantern Festival banquet sent by the Ministry of Rites. Would you like to review it again?"

"Don't bother me with such trivial matters. Go find the Queen and let her decide." The Emperor put down his teacup and waved his hand without raising his head.

The emperor had just celebrated his 50th birthday not long ago, but he was in good health and in good spirits. People would occasionally discuss in private that if the emperor shaved his long beard, he would look like a young man in his thirties.

He has always been rough in managing state affairs, focusing only on major issues and leaving the implementation of small details to others.

"Wait." He suddenly called out to the retreating palace servants, "Will Xiao Yu come up with another excuse to not attend tomorrow's dinner? Pass on my decree. If he doesn't come tomorrow, I'll send someone to abduct him! He's so careless every day. Do you still want to stay in the court?"

The palace maid bowed her head and said, "In reply to the emperor, the Ministry of Rites has notified the Xiao residence this time, and Master Xiao has agreed to attend the banquet on time."

No one knew what was wrong with Master Xiao Yu during this period. He took leave and went on strike all day long. Not to mention banquets, he even rarely went to the government office.

The court officials knew of his special status and did not dare to say anything, but the emperor was the only one who was extremely angry.

Unexpectedly, he agreed to cooperate this time.

"Agreed again?" The emperor glared. "What's this idiot doing all day? Sometimes he's well, sometimes he's sick again, sometimes he says he doesn't care, sometimes he disappears. The last time I personally visited him, I didn't see anyone, and his room was a mess like a doghouse."

The palace maid broke out in a cold sweat: "How about inviting the young master into the palace to meet the emperor first?"

"Forget it," the emperor said unhappily. "I'll ask him in person tomorrow when he comes. Go and do your business."

The palace maid bowed and left.

The Lantern Festival dinner was not the grandest among the dozens of banquets held in the palace every year, but as long as it was a banquet, officials from the Ministry of Rites would carefully check and arrange it repeatedly.

Be it the process, seating arrangement, singing and dancing performances, etc., there must be no mistakes.

For example, even though the banquet was supposed to start tomorrow night, the people in charge of the performances were already waiting at the palace gate.

They had to wait here all night and were not allowed to enter the palace until dawn. They rushed to take a look at the venue and rehearse several times to make sure everything went well.

After all, if you fail to behave in front of the emperor, you may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape the punishment of life imprisonment.

Xu Chuchu stole a set of performance costumes and mixed in with a group of girls who were performing masked dances. Today she was going to use this most plain and unadorned method, but without using any spiritual power, to sneak into the palace, so as to ensure that she would not attract the attention of the Grand Master.

…

There was a loud noise in the sky, and Daju made a brilliant appearance: "Dear beautiful ladies, I've asked Eryou to bring you a message. My arm hurts after the vaccination, so I'll miss one chapter today. I'll be back tomorrow. Please forgive me! I've taken out some of my own money today and will share it with you all.

Daju invites the ladies to eat dried fish