Chapter 40: The Golden Jade Marriage Stone
The bright light was blinding, and Luo Qingling put her hands up to cover her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a strong wind that made her steps stagger.
"Master Yue, I heard there were several couples in Heaven this year. I wonder if you were the one who brought them together?"
The sound echoed around me, as if it was coming through clouds and fog, and it was not very clear.
"He's been playing with that precious marriage stone all day. How can he have time for real work?" Another voice sounded, seemingly far away. "Look..."
Luo Qingling lowered his hand from blocking his view and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw two celestial beings in rich attire sitting beneath a pavilion, each holding a piece, each seemingly undefeated. They tilted their heads toward the nearby Moon Tree. The elder in red was tossing a golden stone with one hand, as if playing with a rare treasure.
Could this be the "marriage stone" mentioned by the two immortals?
"This is no ordinary marriage stone," the immortal who had spoken earlier said again. Luo Qingling was surprised to find that they couldn't see him. He walked over to listen, only to see the immortal continue as if nothing had happened, "That is the Golden Jade Marriage Stone."
"Golden Jade Marriage Stone?"
Upon hearing this, the other immortal gasped, his face filled with shock. He glanced around, then covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, "That's the legendary magical stone. I heard that the Golden Jade Marriage Stone carries a calamity, but this is just a piece of stone. How can there be a calamity?"
Yes, can stones be destined to bring disaster like humans? Luo Qingling couldn't help but nod in agreement. Taking advantage of the immortals' inability to see him, he simply sat on the stone bench and listened to the two of them speak.
Unexpectedly, the two of them shut their mouths at the same time, put down the chess pieces in their hands and resumed the game. Luo Qingling was not interested in playing chess and was about to get up and leave when he heard a cry from under the Yue Lao tree.
"It's bad, it's bad!" Yue Lao shouted to the two immortals, "My golden jade marriage stone—"
Hearing the sound, the two immortals flashed to Yue Lao's side in the blink of an eye, and exchanged glances with him, both silent. Luo Qingling followed, confused as to what was happening.
There was something unusual beneath the tree. The entrance was small, and above it floated a riot of multicolored clouds. Yue Lao (the God of Harmony) crouched beside it, wailing. Luo Qingling, standing among the three, stretched his head to peer in, but couldn't make out anything.
"Just now, for some unknown reason, the marriage stone escaped my magic and slipped from my hand. It fell... fell..." Yue Lao stuttered nervously, "and fell into the human world!"
No one knows what will happen to the golden jade marriage stone when it comes to the human world.
A voice called out to her, and Luo Qingling suddenly felt dizzy. Consciousness gradually gathered in her head. Her eyelids were heavy, but she couldn't open them. She simply closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Suddenly, she recalled that before she met the immortal, she seemed to have broken the ice wall with Qin Yanheng, and then the two of them accidentally entered a secret passage and encountered a coffin with an evil aura.
How did I have this wonderful experience afterwards...
"Madam Luo...Madam Luo, wake up!" It was the voice of Taoist Master Bai Rushue.
In front of a stick of incense.
Due to the sudden increase of demonic energy in the Seven Star Pagoda, Bai Rushue and the other four Taoist priests decided to break through the wall and enter. The first person they saw was Luo Qingling and Qin Yanheng. They were lying on the ground unconscious. Luo Qingling had his head against Qin Yanheng's shoulder, with his clothes draped over him. The two had their eyes closed as if they were in a nightmare.
Seeing this, the black iron magic weapon swung and forcibly broke the demon formation that trapped the two people, and then tried to pull the people back from the dream. Fortunately, although there was a lot of demonic energy here, the magic power was not strong. The four Taoists joined forces to solve the demonic energy accumulated in the room - the coffin was still unmoved, lying quietly in the center of the house, like the heart of the demonic energy that was difficult to destroy.
"The Xun-breaking Curse... and the Summoning Curse," Chi Ruxue walked around the room, frowning as he analyzed, "The young prince must not have been paying close attention, and the two formations overlapped, causing him to fall into a coma."
"Your Highness can't be blamed. It's pitch black here, how could anyone see the incantation?" Qing Rudian couldn't help but defend Qin Yanheng. If the four of them hadn't forcibly broken through the red wall, allowing daylight to filter through the hole, they probably wouldn't be able to see what was going on inside.
"Stop yelling and save people quickly." Bai Ruxue pinched his fingers and cast a spell to dispel the evil spirit surrounding the two of them. He raised his hand and blew gently, and Qin Yanheng opened his eyes first.
“…”
Four big faces blocked his view, Bai Rushue and Hei Rutie were leaning against each other, staring at him straight.
Guessing what had happened, Qin Yanheng sighed inwardly, curled his lips, and then hurriedly stood up and walked towards the broken wall, saying as he walked, "There are people outside now. It's not good for me to go out at the same time as Madam Luo, as it will ruin her reputation. After I leave, I will immediately send someone to send Madam Luo back to the palace."
He had already walked outside the wall, but suddenly retreated: "The four of you, leave with me. You are not allowed to stay in the same room with her."
After saying this, Qin Yanheng fled as if in a panic, leaving behind a hasty back view to the four Taoists.
The four Taoists looked left and right before leaving the tower with the young prince. Shortly after, two female secret guards safely escorted Luo Qingling back to the Luo Mansion before everyone arrived, leaving behind the seven-story pagoda with holes in its walls and the empty icehouse.
*
At night.
"In reply to the Empress," the palace guards reported, "the person imprisoned in the ice storage room with the young prince today is General Luo's daughter, Luo Qingling, and the person who locked the door is none other than the second daughter of the Jiang family."
Downstairs, a maid was kneeling in the middle of the hall with her hands tied behind her back, her head bowed. She didn't dare to look up at the elegant nobleman in the hall, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.
"Chen Xiang," the Queen said, using the lid of her cup to lift the tea leaves floating on the water. She blew gently and took a sip of the tea. "I treat you well. Everyday, many people in the palace respectfully call you 'Sister Xiang'. What is there to be dissatisfied with? Why did you listen to the slanderous words of the second daughter of the Jiang family and harm the young prince in vain?"
The Queen's tone was calm, yet tinged with authority. She raised her hand to signal the guards to untie Chenxiang and bring her before her. The Queen turned sideways and carefully examined the maid who had been by her side for many years. After a moment, she closed her eyes and gently shook her head, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her brow with one hand, without saying a word.
"Empress, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family came to me a few days ago and said that you are interested in matching the young prince with the second daughter of the Jiang family. The second daughter of the Jiang family also has this intention, so she asked me to take the young prince to the backyard of the palace..." Chen Xiang knelt at the feet of the queen, pulling at the phoenix robe with both hands, and said with tears in her eyes.
"Forget it, considering that you have served me for many years, you can go to the Clothing Bureau after accepting the punishment." The queen waved her hand, then stood up and left.
Even though she had lived to this age, and even though she had been the only one in the emperor's harem for many years and had not experienced any intrigue in the past few decades, the empress could still guess what the Jiang family's second daughter was up to. The empress stopped, waved her hand for the guards to take Chenxiang away, and whispered to the maid beside her to return the portrait sent by the Jiang family.
"No, return all the portraits of noble ladies, including that Miss Luo." The Queen was not sure whether General Luo's daughter was also the one who set up the scheme.
Her youngest son has always hated scheming people, and it is impossible for a girl from the Jiang family to become his princess.
Under the corridor, the queen looked out of the bushes and recalled that twenty years ago, the Taoist immortal who descended from the sky had told her that her youngest son was a stubborn piece of gold and stone, and that only the jade stone in the world could tame him.
"What is jade?" the queen asked.
"Marriage is like gold and jade; happiness is fate, sorrow is also fate." The Taoist counted with his fingers, shook his head and left.
"This is fate. I cannot change it. The Taoist temple in the west of the city and this Golden Dragon Sword are what I left him. From now on, he will be my only disciple in the world. Fate has its own destiny, and the Golden Dragon Sword will tell him the answer."
"Marriage, fate..."
The voice echoed in the palace, but the person had disappeared, leaving behind a golden dragon sword lying quietly on the table.
Twenty years later, the Empress still couldn't understand the Taoist's words. How could a lifeless, speechless Golden Dragon Sword guide her youngest son to his destiny?
The queen shook her head and slowly walked away along the corridor.
Inside the palace, on the roof of a palace somewhere.
Qin Yanheng propped up one leg and lay on the roof, with his hands behind his head, ignoring the eunuchs shouting at him from below.
"Young Prince..." Eunuch Fang, the chief eunuch, raised his head and waved his hands, trying to attract the man's attention. He raised his voice and said, "Your Highness, please come down quickly. It's windy up there, it's dangerous..."
So noisy.
Qin Yanheng turned over and looked sideways to another place. The lights in front of him were bright, and the starlight shone on his face through the stained glass window. However, now was not the time to appreciate the night view.
He sighed, and a blush crept up his cheeks without him noticing - at this moment, his mind was filled with the scenes he saw in the seven-story pagoda of Xiangshan Temple during the day after he fainted.
"The Gold and Jade Marriage Stone was broken into two pieces in the mortal world. Now we know that the Gold and Jade Stone has fallen into the hands of the royal family and has become a young prince of a wealthy family. But where did the other half of the jade stone go?"
Qin Yanheng saw that inside a palace that looked different from the human world, his master, Daoxian, was standing before an immortal dressed in red, with white hair and a youthful face. He said solemnly, "This matter is of great importance. Master Yue, please don't worry. I will go down to the human world to investigate and will definitely protect the Golden Jade Marriage Stone. It is a treasure from the immortal world."
Perhaps it was because Qin Yanheng had Taoist skills, he saw many more scenes than Luo Qingling.
He saw the Golden Jade Marriage Stone break into two pieces, Jinshi and Jade. Jinshi was born in the palace and was respected by everyone as the Little Prince. He also saw Jade being given to a wealthy family. Just as he was about to see what Jade looked like, he saw a layer of white mist covering the woman's body, making it impossible to see her appearance.
What followed was his wedding night with Yu Shi... He was unconscious for just a short time, but half of his life had passed.
Qin Yanheng shuddered and sat up suddenly.
But he was clearly not married... let alone married, he didn't even have a favorite young lady, so how could he have a wedding night with someone? Could it be an illusion caused by the evil spirit entering his body? But if what he saw was not an illusion -
So who exactly is this jade girl?
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