Chapter 85 085 Then watch carefully, and don't blink.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yong Kingdom grew colder day by day.
The palace courtyard was filled with yellow leaves, the lotus flowers had withered, and the brownish-red lotus stems stretched out of the water, drooping and bent. Lu Yuanyuan's vitality, like these plants, was gradually fading away.
After the moon-viewing banquet, she began a long period of seclusion to recuperate. However, she still kept the matter of choosing a gift for Yue Hong in mind.
This was very likely the last gift she would give Yue Hong as his aunt. Lu Yuanyuan didn't want to use easily consumable items like gold, silver, jewelry, clothes, and shoes to appease him. After racking her brains and thinking it over, she finally came up with a good idea.
Recently, a large number of foreign merchants have flocked to the capital of Yong Kingdom. Among the goods transported from the distant borderlands are horses from the Western Regions. Yong Kingdom was founded on warfare, and the royal palace's horse farms are full of fine steeds capable of traveling a thousand miles a day. However, the horses from the Western Regions have a natural advantage in bloodline; they are much larger, and their speed and endurance surpass those of horses from the Central Plains, each worth a fortune.
Yue Hong is such an active person, wouldn't giving him a horse be exactly what he likes?
After making up her mind, Lu Yuanyuan handed the matter over to the head guard to arrange.
.
Time flies, and at the end of October, heavy snow fell in the north.
The past two months have been turbulent in Yong Kingdom, with a small-scale peasant uprising breaking out in the south. Local officials colluded with bandits, deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth from their subordinates, forcing the peasants to rise up. After several battles, the uncollected corpses piled up on the riverbank, stinking and causing a plague.
The news could no longer be kept secret and was sent to the imperial court in an urgent report. The emperor was furious and quickly dispatched military commanders to quell the rebellion.
When Lu Yuanyuan received the news in the palace, the unrest had already subsided, and a number of local officials had been killed. Fortunately, the early snowfall and cold weather this year effectively curbed the spread of disease, so the most troublesome plague was quickly brought under control.
Lu Yuanyuan carefully recalled her time as a princess of Yan, and realized she had never heard anyone mention this peasant uprising. It seemed that this event was merely a small ripple in the long river of history, and had not affected the prosperous fate of Yong Kingdom.
After the incident subsided, the emperor seemed to believe that the early snowfall this year was due to the blessings of the ancestors in heaven, so he decided to take his wife and children to the ancestral temple to worship the ancestors in early November.
Since mid-August, Lu Yuanyuan hadn't seen Yue Hong. She couldn't possibly miss this rare opportunity to leave the palace openly.
After all, the original owner's body was weakening faster than she had anticipated. Opportunities to meet Yue Hong were becoming increasingly rare, so she had to seize them.
The ancestral temple of the Yong Kingdom's royal family was located beside the Luo River, and was guarded by elite soldiers year-round, creating a solemn and tranquil atmosphere.
On the day of the ancestral worship ceremony, the group arrived at the ancestral temple without incident, escorted by soldiers.
Before the demon-slaying dungeon intervenes, the mortal realm is still quite safe.
The lengthy ancestral worship ceremony lasted from the end of the morning until noon before temporarily concluding. A vegetarian meal was prepared in the ancestral temple, and everyone could return to their respective meditation rooms to rest and await the afternoon's ceremony.
The meditation room where Lu Yuanyuan was located faced a snow-covered courtyard. As soon as she opened the door, she saw a dark figure hiding inside by the window.
Lu Yuanyuan coughed, signaling Jinzhong to quickly close the door.
The little monster had been with her in the palace for months, and she had finally been looking forward to a chance to leave. However, this time the situation was different; unlike a picnic, it would be difficult for her to leave the group and roam freely. Therefore, Lu Yuanyuan couldn't guarantee that she could find a suitable and safe opportunity to let the little monster go.
So she simply hid it quietly in her carriage and meditation room. If the opportunity arose, she would carry out her plan to release it back into the wild; if not, she would simply leave it be.
The meditation room was simply yet elegantly furnished, with several braziers burning for warmth. There were no chairs, only cushions and a low table on the clean floor. Lu Yuanyuan dragged the cushion and chose a spot where she could bask in the sunlight to sit down.
The golden sun shone through the windowpane, casting its light on the floor, and her body felt warm and cozy.
The palace servants brought in vegetarian food and fruit. Lu Yuanyuan had eaten too much for breakfast and wasn't hungry yet, so Eunuch Shen diligently peeled fruit for her.
The tedious rituals that lasted all morning left Lu Yuanyuan drowsy. With nothing to do in the meditation room, she caught a whim from the fresh scent of oranges and asked Eunuch Shen to search the storage cabinet. Sure enough, there was a sewing box. She sat cross-legged against the wall, rubbed thin hemp rope between her fingertips, and soon she had made a small orange lamp.
Practice makes perfect. This time, the finished product actually looks more perfect and complete than the one I made haphazardly before.
Lu Yuanyuan rested her chin on her hand.
No matter how well this thing is made, it can't be preserved; it's just a one-time pastime to kill time and has no practical use. But, even though there's progress in something so boring, she's actually quite happy.
It seems she's also an easily satisfied but boring person.
Eunuch Shen bent down to examine the item closely, praising it highly: "Your Highness, your hands are truly skillful!"
His tone was so sincere, as if he were appreciating a masterpiece by Van Gogh.
Lu Yuanyuan smiled and placed the small orange lamp on the windowsill. Suddenly, she noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her.
The little monster sat in the shade, its knees drawn up to its chest, its golden-green eyes fixed on her, lost in thought. But before she could discern its intentions, it lowered its head, concealing its true feelings.
She had been raising it for almost half a year and hadn't skimped on its food, but the little monster hadn't grown any bigger or taller; when it curled up, it was still just a tiny little ball.
The distance between her and it has always remained the same, neither close nor far.
Lu Yuanyuan turned her head to look at it, seemingly lost in thought.
The air was quiet for a moment.
A dark shadow silently landed on the cushion between her and it.
The little monster raised its head, and the thin bones at the back of its neck seemed about to pierce through its skin and flesh.
The small orange lamp sat on the futon.
Lu Yuanyuan withdrew her hand and said with a smile, "Here, take it and play with it."
The little monster hugged its knees, its fingers twitching slightly, but it didn't make a sound and stared at the thing on the ground again.
At that moment, a figure appeared on the paper covering the door and windows of the meditation room. After two knocks, she heard the respectful voice of the Imperial Preceptor's disciple: "Your Highness, the Emperor has ordered that you come to the Imperial Preceptor's meditation room."
Lu Yuanyuan was puzzled. After thinking for a moment, she whispered a few words to Eunuch Shen and then went to the Imperial Preceptor's meditation room as instructed.
The Imperial Advisor was already waiting in the room. As soon as he saw her appear, he invited her to sit down and got straight to the point, explaining his purpose.
It turned out that because her health had been deteriorating over the past six months and she had encountered several accidents, the emperor specially instructed the imperial advisor to arrange a set of rituals to pray for her longevity during the rest period between ancestral worship ceremonies.
Lu Yuanyuan: "..." Is this considered giving me special treatment?
Previously, this imperial advisor had personally stated that he would alleviate the emperor's worries and pray for his longevity. However, in reality, the lifespan of mortals is predetermined, and there are almost no means to extend it later in life. Unless one gets incredibly lucky and becomes a member of the cultivation world.
The Imperial Preceptor comes from the world of cultivation, so he should know very well that all the so-called prayers for blessings and longevity are futile.
However, this guy is now working for the Emperor of Yongguo, and providing emotional value to his employers is part of his job. It wouldn't be convenient for him to spoil the Emperor's mood.
In the end, Lu Yuanyuan didn't say anything, pretending to be an ignorant mortal princess and cooperating with him.
This blessing ceremony was much simpler than the ancestral worship ceremony. The Grand Preceptor first used silver scissors to cut off a strand of her hair and had her recite a talisman. Then, he ordered his disciples to tie the hair with a red string and put it into a box along with talisman paper and a wooden plaque carved with Princess Manjushri's name and birth date.
Lu Yuanyuan stretched her neck, and her gaze inadvertently swept over the wooden sign, causing her to pause slightly in surprise.
This rather exquisite wooden plaque was actually made of poplar wood.
Poplar wood is considered the most ghostly of all woods.
In an instant, a series of images flashed through Lu Yuanyuan's mind—the array and poplar wood statue in the Princess Temple, the ashes in the imperial tomb that had scared away evil spirits...
Having accumulated so many doubts, Lu Yuanyuan suddenly spoke up: "I have a question, and I wonder if the Imperial Advisor could answer it for me?"
The Imperial Advisor raised an eyebrow, signaling his disciple to take the things and leave first, before respectfully bowing and saying, "Please speak, Princess."
"I want to know, why is that wooden plaque carved from poplar wood?" Lu Yuanyuan paused for a moment. "I read in a book that poplar wood is the most likely to attract ghosts. Won't it be unlucky to use it to pray for my well-being?"
The Princess Temple, the poplar statue, and the ashes in the imperial tomb all appeared after the original owner's death; she couldn't possibly have known the future and use them as examples. This wooden plaque was the perfect, readily available entry point.
The Imperial Advisor calmly said, "Princess, you are indeed very learned. Indeed, poplar wood is the finest of all woods, and in all the world, only this is most suitable for you."
What do you mean by that?
“Your Highness, your birth chart shows an imbalance of Yin and Yang, and a lack of fire in your Five Elements. In terms of destiny, it is like a goddess from the underworld descending to earth. Only Yin Wood can support such a unique constitution and destiny, and only Yin Wood can nourish your soul.”
Lu Yuanyuan was stunned.
In other words, all the strange phenomena surrounding the original owner were related to the original owner's constitution.
The mysterious concept of "physical constitution and destiny" is a trope that has been overused in cultivation novels. It seems that "The Enchanting Immortal's Fate" is no exception.
As someone who has read many cultivation novels, Lu Yuanyuan was not surprised by the explanation given by the Imperial Preceptor.
In the setting of "The Enchanting Fairy Tale," there is indeed a concept of Yin and Yang destinies. Those with an extremely Yin destiny are particularly susceptible to the allure of evil spirits, commonly known as having a constitution prone to encountering evil—of course, this is a very rare constitution. The biases of most people in this world are not extreme; like pH levels, a certain deviation within a reasonable range is normal and will not affect their normal lives.
What puzzled Lu Yuanyuan was that the original owner's situation seemed to be very special.
According to the imperial advisor, the original owner of this body had a constitution where yin was dominant and yang was weak, making her most susceptible to evil spirits. However, after her death, people spontaneously went to the princess's temple to worship her, praying for protection from evil. Even her ashes could frighten away fierce and malevolent monsters…
Could it be that the cunning was so excessive that it resulted in a counter-attack with poison?
So, is that why Princess Manjushri's body was so frail and her lifespan so short?
This imperial advisor actually knows so much about these things... Sure enough, before he was eliminated and sent to the mortal realm, he was probably a shady character.
Lu Yuanyuan frowned, her mind racing.
Princess Yan's birth date and time are not similar to Yue Fengzhu's. So why, in the dungeon [Eating Infants], when she was possessing Princess Yan, could her blood burn the BOSS's throat and face?
No, that's not right.
On the surface, both the blood of the Yan Kingdom princess and the ashes of Princess Manjushri appeared to have repelled evil spirits. However, their power was far inferior.
At that moment, the monster bit her throat, drank her blood, and even touched her face with her blood-stained hand, but she recovered quickly and immediately chased after it aggressively.
Its reaction to Princess Manjushri's ashes was quite different. In particular, even though most of the ashes were scattered on Lu Yuanyuan's head and did not directly touch it, it was still terrified and disappeared for a long time before returning.
If I had to use an analogy, the difference in power between the two is like the difference between artificial waves in a water park and ocean waves.
Why is that?
What is the connection between these two characters?
Lu Yuanyuan's fingers gripped the fabric of her dress tightly around her knees. Suddenly, amidst the tangled mess, she found a thread.
She remembered!
At the beginning of her rebirth, she nearly lost her soul several times, only managing to keep it locked inside her body by touching the potential male lead of this world. The system warned her then that, in essence, she had possessed the body of the Yan Kingdom princess, much like an evil spirit possessing a living person. This resulted in an excess of yin energy in this body, an unstable soul, and made her easily targeted by evil spirits.
Later, when she went to Mount Shu, she formed a golden elixir, and was no longer constantly treated as food on a plate.
However, her physical constitution will not change because of her cultivation of immortality. Cultivation merely adds a layer of protection to this body, allowing her soul to remain peacefully within, and preventing evil spirits from daring to invade her at will.
But in essence, her later physical condition and that of Princess Manjushri at this moment should be similar to that of the same kind of person.
Lu Yuanyuan took a deep breath, dipped her finger in some tea, and wrote a line of birth date and time on the ground. She stared intently at the Imperial Advisor: "Imperial Advisor, take a look at this birth date and time. Can you tell anything from it?"
The Imperial Advisor shook his head: "Your Highness, the concept of destiny requires considering many factors; it cannot be determined solely by looking at the birth chart. When I initially assessed Your Highness's constitution, didn't I spend a considerable amount of time using spiritual energy to explore the location of Your Highness's dantian before finally confirming it?"
Lu Yuanyuan bit her lower lip slightly, rubbing her fingertips together to dry the tea. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, "Imperial Preceptor, I've heard that mortals become much healthier after cultivating immortality. With a constitution like mine, if I encounter a predestined opportunity to cultivate immortality, can I do it?"
The Imperial Advisor stared at her for a long time before shaking his head and saying solemnly, "Your Highness, extreme evil prevents one from cultivating immortality."
Just as I expected.
Princess Manjushri's constitution destined her to be forever barred from the path of immortality.
However, the fact that she could later join the Shu Mountain cultivation sect using the body of a princess from the Yan Kingdom proves that even though her later body was also of the Yin nature, it was not as extreme as Princess Manjushri's. Therefore, when faced with attacks from evil spirits and the need to fight poison with poison, she could only hold out for a short time.
At this moment, Eunuch Shen appeared outside the meditation room, and their conversation came to a halt.
Lu Yuanyuan nodded, indicating that Eunuch Shen could come in.
Eunuch Shen walked slowly to her side and whispered in her ear, "Princess, I have brought His Highness the Third Prince as you instructed."
Seeing this, the Imperial Preceptor politely bowed slightly and said, "Respectfully seeing off Your Highness the Princess."
Two palace maids draped a maroon fur cloak over Lu Yuanyuan's shoulders. As soon as she stepped out of the meditation room, a biting cold wind swept over her.
Eunuch Shen helped her down the steps, saying, "Princess, the snow is very slippery, you must be careful."
Just now, Lu Yuanyuan asked Eunuch Shen to call Yue Hong out and invite him to the hillside behind the ancestral temple.
Passing through the back gate and palace walls, one enters a vast world draped in silver. In the distance, Lu Yuanyuan sees a small figure standing on the snow, waiting for her.
Hearing footsteps, Yue Hong turned around.
He saw his aunt wave at him. She was smiling, her face paler than frost and snow, as if she might turn into a snowflake melting in the sunlight at any moment.
Yue Hong pursed his lips, his mood inexplicably heavy, and ran towards her: "Auntie, what do you want to see me about?"
Lu Yuanyuan pinched his cheek and smiled, "Of course I have something important to tell you. Do you remember what I promised you last time?"
A thin mist lingered around Yue Hong's lips: "Of course I remember."
"Then watch carefully, and don't blink."
Lu Yuanyuan touched her lips with two fingers and whistled a clear, crisp sound. From the grove at the edge of their line of sight, Jinzhong emerged, leading a tall, strong chestnut horse. Beside the chestnut horse followed a small foal.
The foal wasn't on a leash, and it was lively and playful. It easily leaped over the fence, its four hooves flaring out as it ran over. It was pure black, its coat gleaming, its gait agile and nimble, and its size larger than that of most foals.
Yue Hong was stunned. Realizing that this was a gift for him, his eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly went to greet him.
Lu Yuanyuan was stunned after she saw what the foal looked like.
Initially, she hadn't considered giving the foal to Yue Hong. However, when choosing a horse, she immediately took a liking to this chestnut mare. Its coat was glossy and smooth, its eyes were bright, it was agile and spirited, and it was carrying a foal that was due to give birth soon.
Would it be more suitable for Yue Hong at his current age, and would it also be more meaningful to give him the foal as a companion?
With this in mind, Lu Yuanyuan made the decision to buy the chestnut horse. Coincidentally, the chestnut horse gave birth just a few days ago. Today is also the first time she has seen the foal.
It didn't resemble its mother's color at all; its fur was pure black.
Lu Yuanyuan: "..."
Years later, when she was reborn, she saw Yue Hong for the first time. Wasn't he the one who rode a black horse and took her back to camp?
Could it be that the black horse that young Yue Hong was riding is the little pony she is now giving him?
What a coincidence!
Meanwhile, Yue Hong had already run up to the foal. He was panting and extremely excited. He hugged the foal's head and gently stroked its mane twice.
As if it were sentient, the little pony stuck out its warm tongue and licked his palm.
Lu Yuanyuan snapped out of her daze. Seeing how happy the boy was, she was also pleased. She stepped forward and asked, "So, do you like it?"
"I love it, thank you, Auntie!" Yue Hong touched it again and again, his eyes reluctant to leave the pony. After a while, he reluctantly withdrew his hand and asked somewhat shyly, "Auntie, I'd like to go see that chestnut horse over there."
Lu Yuanyuan said with a smile, "Go ahead, both horses are yours."
Yue Hong jumped up and down with joy.
Lu Yuanyuan stood still, watching Yue Hong run into the woods. Jin Zhong, who was some distance away, noticed her intention, and walked over with a smile on his face, leading his horse and saying something.
Just then, Lu Yuanyuan suddenly had a very strange feeling. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately opened the system panel and found that the Reincarnation Flower was emitting an unprecedentedly brilliant white light, as if it were being gently washed in water, and the blue petals were slowly fading!
Lu Yuanyuan: "...!!!"
The Reincarnation Flower has changed color!
This means her mission is entering its final countdown, and she will soon be leaving Princess Manjushri's body!
As originally planned, she was supposed to stay in this body until she was almost dead before returning. But now, everything has ended so abruptly, and it seems Princess Manjushri's body can still hold on for a while longer.
Does this mean that once her soul leaves, the real Manjushri Princess will return?
When Princess Manjushri, who loves to whip people, returns, that little monster will probably not be able to escape her clutches.
This is terrible! This is truly her last chance. She must release that little monster as soon as she can still control this body!
There was no time to say goodbye to Yue Hong, so Lu Yuanyuan hurriedly grabbed Eunuch Shen: "Quick, let's go back right away!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com