Chapter 184
Seven days later.
Zhangjia Town, Yangzhou.
This is the Zhang family's ancestor's homeland, and it is also the place where the Zhang family's ancestor started his career when he followed Emperor Taizu to conquer the world.
The funeral procession was heading towards the clan's territory, but was stopped in the woods as it was about to enter Zhangjia Town.
Yi Twelve said, "I wonder if Lord Zhang is here? My Highness wants to see you."
"What do you mean 'your prince'? This is Zhangjia Town, where is the prince?" The person walking in front was so tired that he was about to reach his destination but was stopped. Naturally, he didn't have a good tone.
Zhang Chansi pushed aside the crowd behind her, walked up, and glanced about ten meters behind Yi Twelve.
A carriage was parked quietly there.
She turned back and asked the team to rest where they were. "Take me there."
Yi Twelve led her to the carriage. Qu Duan poured tea on the small table in the carriage. "Master Zhang, long time no see."
Zhang Chansi smiled and said, "This time I can truly call you Master Zhang."
The one who had been occupying this title is dead.
Qu Dubian: "The math teachers I hired in the Seventh Prince's Palace also came to Yangzhou with me and opened a special class. Many poor families sent their children here to learn a skill, so that they can become accountants in the future."
Zhang Chansi sighed, "Number calculation is still just a minor skill now, but it is great to be able to help the people."
Qu Watanabe: "I will support talented people and send them to you, so you can teach them."
Zhang Chansi chuckled, "It's hard to meet a student as smart and talented as you." She looked at Qu Dubian's eyes, which were covered with a white veil, "Do you think you can see a little bit?"
Qu Watanabe: "I can feel a little bit of light and shadow."
“That’s a good thing too.”
After finishing a cup of tea, Zhang Chan thought, "Why did His Highness call me here?"
Qu Watanabe: "You actually know."
He took out a small, old wooden sign from his pocket.
"You gave it to me that year."
The amulet wooden plaque has been there for many years. Ye Banban has stored old items very carefully and there is no damage to the wooden plaque.
According to Zhang Chansi's personality, she would not give things to others for no reason.
She should know that Zhang Fanming stepped on Yun Fei and her son to gain authority over the Astronomical Observatory.
Qu Watanabe: "I want to know if Zhang Fanming really died accidentally."
"You are doubting that someone had instructed him to do the Yun Fei incident. Now that he is dead, someone also wanted to kill him."
"Um."
Zhang Chansi: "Your Highness, do you know that if your guess is confirmed, the entire Zhang family will have only one end."
Zhang Chansi is a member of the Zhang family after all.
She gave him the wooden sign to show her sympathy, but it didn't mean that she could abandon her entire family because of this little bit of sympathy.
Qu Watanabe didn’t think that 42 points of favorability represented everything. After all, Yu Ruo’s favorability towards him was over 40, and he had never given up on killing him.
As long as it is found out that Zhang Fanming falsely accused Concubine Yun of having a child in her belly, the Zhang family will be finished.
Zhang Chansi was afraid that he would continue to commit suicide, so she schemed to sideline Zhang Fanming and imprison him. This was also another way to preserve the Zhang family.
Qu Duanbian: "This is Yangzhou, not the capital. If you know anything, you can tell me. According to my current status, as long as I speak, it is more than enough to save the Zhang family."
"It's okay if you don't tell me. I came here today mainly to see the body."
Zhang Chan thought: "What if I don't agree?"
Qu Dubian said: "As I said before, this is Yangzhou, not the capital."
He directly opened the curtain and gave an order outside: "Banban, let the funeral procession go to Zhangjia Town first, and leave the coffin behind."
There was a small commotion outside, and Ye Xiaoyuan invited them to dinner, using the excuse that the government was in charge of Mr. Zhang's coffin.
Yi Twelve brought people to open the coffin.
Inside the carriage.
Zhang Chansi did not stop anything from beginning to end.
About half an hour later, Yi Twelve came to report, "He was drowned, and no other traces were found."
Zhang Chan thought, "Back then, I didn't have much power in the Astronomy Department, so I didn't know what Zhang Fanming did. He had connections with the ladies in the harem, because when the ladies wanted to hold banquets or events, they would ask him for auspicious dates."
"Whether there is someone behind him, and if so, who it is, is impossible to find out."
Qu Dubian was silent for a moment: "I want to take Zhang Fanming's body away and bury him in peace. He doesn't deserve it."
Zhang Chansi: "Okay."
Qu Watanabe: "I want to take all the burial objects with me too."
Zhang Chansi: "The burial objects are all things I moved from his room. If you want them, just take them away."
Her only request was that someone help her fill the empty coffin with stones and nail it back together, as she wanted to take it back for burial.
Qu Dubian followed his advice and transported Zhang Fanming's body and burial objects back to his residence in Yangzhou.
He also left some people to serve as the coffin bearers.
When they parted, Qu Dubian said the last words: "Teacher, welcome to the Prince Yong's Mansion."
Zhang Chansi nodded.
She took the empty coffin back to the Zhang family's land and buried her.
There were also children of the Zhang family in the clan land, both boys and girls. They gathered around Zhang Chansi, holding tortoise shells and abacus in their hands, and some holding copper coins, chattering and asking for advice on how to observe the stars.
The one who learns the art of stargazing best can join the main branch of the Zhang family in the capital and compete for the next deputy chief.
If they want to stand out, this is the only way.
The Zhang family has been observing stars for generations, and they are not allowed to enter the government. This rule, which was established since the time of Emperor Taizu, has been passed down to future generations, which is really hopeless.
Zhang Chansi touched their heads one by one and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll tell you a fortune."
Children: “What’s that?”
Zhang Chansi: "Let's do the math, you guys."
She picked up three stones from the roadside and threw them on the ground.
[The Chaoqian Incident, the shackles were broken.]
Good omen.
Zhang Chansi was stunned.
Fortune telling does not always show the correct hexagram. Some things remain a mystery even after being told countless times.
She had calculated the future of the Zhang family countless times, but she could never see clearly. This time... ?
This was the first time she had calculated after Zhang Fanming's death. Could it be related to Zhang Fanming?
wrong.
The Zhang family has been observing the stars for generations, which was decided by Taizu. If there is any change, it can only be made by the emperor. But the current emperor has never shown such thoughts.
Zhang Chansi held her breath. She subconsciously looked in the direction of the capital. Her expression became serious and she quickly cast another divination.
When the stone falls to the ground, a new hexagram is formed.
[The wind in the swamp is strong, the dragon is trapped in the abyss, the mystery is revealed, and the golden sword weeps blood.]
A bad omen...
Zhang Chansi did not move for a long time. When she came to her senses, her fingertips were already cold.
She stretched out her hand to mess up the hexagrams. The children were still waiting for her to explain, "Auntie, why are you silent?"
Zhang Chansi: "I was thinking, you little guys can't even understand such a simple hexagram. I will stay in the tribe for a while and talk to you properly."
She had a premonition that there might be major changes in the capital, so it would be better not to go back for the time being.
-
The Imperial Palace.
East warm room.
Emperor Chongzhao was looking through the documents and files annotated by the Fourth Prince during this period.
The servants of Fu'an Palace came in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, Concubine Yi sent something over."
Concubine Yi, formerly known as Concubine Yi, has now been promoted to the position of Concubine.
Emperor Chongzhao: "What is it?"
A servant of Fu'an Palace said: "This is a calming sachet given to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on his seventh day."
Emperor Chongzhao simply raised his hand and let the Fourth Prince take it himself.
It was a small sachet the size of a child's palm. The Fourth Prince put it to his nose and sniffed it. It was the fragrance of the incense sticks in Concubine Yi's small Buddhist temple, faint and not obvious.
Concubine Yi started making it after he was named the crown prince. After it was finished, she placed it on the incense table in front of the Buddhist shrine and prayed for seven days. After the prayer, she sent a new one to the Fourth Prince to replace the old one, which helped to calm his mind.
The Fourth Prince: "I understand. Thank my mother for me."
He hung the sachet around his waist.
The palace maid bowed her head and retreated.
Emperor Chongzhao: "I and Concubine Yi both care about you, but you still don't know how to be diligent. The annotations on the documents are very poor. Compared with the previous period, there is almost no improvement."
He raised his eyes and said, "If this continues, how can I be assured of handing over the Great Zhou to you?"
The Fourth Prince: "You can also give it to someone else."
Emperor Chongzhao frowned, and just as he was about to open his mouth to reprimand, he coughed a series of times. He pointed at the Fourth Prince and said, "You——"
"Cough, cough, cough," he coughed until his face turned red. Finally, he leaned over and bent his waist deeply, "Cough, cough, cough, water, cough..."
Eunuch Yu hurriedly went to the table next to him to pour water. When he squatted down and handed it to Emperor Chongzhao, he heard a "puff" sound and a mouthful of blood spurted out of Emperor Chongzhao's mouth.
Eunuch Yu's face was covered in blood and his mind was blank.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
Emperor Chongzhao raised his sleeve, wiped his mouth, stood up with the help of the table, looked around at the terrified palace servants, and felt dizzy.
His mind gradually became confused. He thought about finding Doctor Yang and took two steps towards the door. Then his eyes went dark and he completely lost consciousness.
The fourth prince took a step forward and caught him, "Father!"
Purple Palace.
Doctor Yang took the patient's pulse.
After a moment, his face looked bad, and he said, "The blood is rushing against your majesty's heart and energy are not good. Now it seems to be a stroke. I don't know what will happen when he wakes up."
Prince Ming: "Why is it so sudden?"
Eunuch Yu: "Your Majesty said a few words to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and then..."
Prince Ming understood.
Doctor Yang: "It's not necessarily because of anger that causes emotional fluctuations. Your Majesty, have you changed your diet recently? A sudden change in diet can also cause blood and qi to flow unsmoothly."
Eunuch Yu: "No, Your Majesty's diet remains the same as before."
Doctor Yang sniffed the air and walked to the incense burner next to Emperor Chongzhao. He pinched the ashes.
Eunuch Yu asked nervously, "Is there anything wrong with the new fragrance that Your Majesty made?"
Doctor Yang: "Your Majesty should have added tuberose to it. This substance warms the blood, so it is best to use it sparingly."
Eunuch Yu quickly wrote it down.
Doctor Yang added: "We should try our best to keep His Majesty in a peaceful state of mind."
This sentence was mainly said to the Fourth Prince.
The fourth prince pursed his lips: "Got it."
-
Emperor Chongzhao was unconscious for five days in a row, but fortunately he woke up on the sixth day.
Doctor Yang was very capable and did not let him suffer from the symptoms of a stroke such as crooked eyes, crooked mouth, and slurred speech. His mind was still clear.
It was this sudden illness that further weakened Emperor Chongzhao's health, and it was unknown how long he would have to stay in bed.
During the period when he was recuperating, the officials in the court were much more stable than before.
With Taifu Fang and three grand secretaries assisting in the administration and Prince Ming supervising the government, there was no need to worry about not having anyone to handle things. The crown prince had already been appointed, and the ministers were all confident about what to do.
Except for a little panic at the beginning, everything else was in order.
A country will be unstable without a crown prince, this is the reason for establishing a crown prince.
Moreover, the Fourth Prince, the crown prince, is very different. He is a young man and does not even have to worry about other princes attacking the crown prince or taking the opportunity to frame him during the emperor's illness.
The ministers continued to do what they were supposed to do, and at most they devoted some of their attention to the Purple Palace to pay attention to the situation of His Majesty.
The Fourth Prince was no longer pressured by Emperor Chongzhao to study, so he felt much more relaxed.
This should have been a good opportunity for him to rest and sleep, and the government affairs could be left to Uncle Ming and Tutor Fang and others to handle, but he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
This would have been absolutely impossible in the past.
The Fourth Prince lit the lamp, put on his clothes, opened the window, and placed the lit candlestick in his hand on the windowsill.
A cool breeze blew in from outside, and the candlelight flickered.
He wasn't sleepy in the first place, and now his mind was clearer.
I really want to go out.
I wish it were the same as before.
Although his mind was full of vague fantasies, the Fourth Prince's eyes were clear. He knew clearly that he would not be able to get out.
The Fourth Prince did not close the window. He took the lamp to the desk and found a stack of envelopes he had collected. He kept all the letters written by Xiao Qi.
He sat in the chair, opening the letters for who knows how many times, reading them slowly one by one.
The Fourth Prince took the sachet that he had placed on the desk and played with it in his hands. The faint fragrance and the soothing words in the envelope gradually calmed him down.
Suddenly, I felt a hard object in the sachet.
The fourth prince subconsciously exerted force, and there was a snap.
There was a slight sound coming from the sachet, as if something was cracking.
The Fourth Prince paused. After a while, the fragrance from the sachet changed. The originally pleasant aroma became mixed with a hint of bitterness.
The fourth prince frowned and leaned in to smell it. The next second, a heat spread from his heart to every part of his body.
He immediately took the sachet away, turned his head and breathed several times, and the feeling of blood flowing backwards gradually disappeared. When he recovered and looked at the sachet again, the look in his eyes had completely changed.
He stared at the sachet for a long time without moving.
The next day, the Fourth Prince left the palace on the pretext of returning to the Prince's Mansion to get something.
He found a pair of scissors in his bedroom, cut open the sachet, and poured the contents onto the brocade handkerchief.
Inside were all the raw powders that my mother used to make incense sticks, except for one.
The fourth prince picked it out with a bamboo stick.
It was a tiny round grain that was pinched in two, with an empty shell in the middle. He picked out the empty shell separately, placed it on another clean white handkerchief and wrapped it up.
Then he called his bodyguard Leng Yue and went out with him.
It was already evening when I returned to the east warm room of the Zichen Palace.
The fourth prince called the eunuch beside him, and after being in a daze for a long time, he said softly, "... Tell mother that I accidentally tore the sachet and all the contents spilled out. Please ask her to make another one."
"yes."
-
Yangzhou.
Prince Yong's Mansion.
Qu Dubian searched through all of Zhang Fanming's belongings three times.
They are basically useless things, and there are very few gold, silver and jewelry.
In addition to a small box that seemed to be a collection of precious papers used for writing, the edges of the papers were outlined with gold liquid to form the shapes of complex flowers, and there were many famous poems copied by Zhang Fanming on them.
Yi Twelve pushed the door open and came in, "Your Highness, there is news from the capital, His Majesty has woken up."
Qu Watanabe looked up from his desk and said, "Nothing serious, right?"
B12: "Eunuch Xiaochun said that he specifically asked Doctor Yang, and His Majesty is fine for now, but needs to rest."
Qu Watanabe sighed slightly.
"There is one more thing," Yi Twelve thought, "about ..."
“Your Highness!”
Ye Xiaoyuan shouted outside, "The porcelain vase you asked Master Liu for is now available. Master Liu is here to ask you what kind of pattern you want on the porcelain vase."
"Coming soon!"
Qu Watanabe: "Liuliu, are you in a hurry to tell me?"
B Twelve hesitated for a second and shook his head.
Only then did Qu Dubian go to see Master Liu.
This master was the one he had mentioned in the letter to his fourth brother. He was a craftsman from the previous dynasty who was good at firing porcelain and was also an expert at painting on porcelain.
Many people asked him to fire the kiln and paint. Even though Qu Watanabe used his money to jump the queue, it was not until today that it was his turn.
Today, Master Liu came to ask about his preferences for patterns.
He was over 70 years old, but his eyes were not cloudy at all. He was neither humble nor arrogant, and he bowed and said, "Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Yong."
Qu Watanabe: "You're welcome. I'm planning to give this porcelain vase to someone as a gift."
Master Liu: "Then you can tell me the pattern that the other person likes."
Qu Dubian wasn't really sure what kind of pattern Concubine Yi liked. After pondering for a moment, he and Ye Xiaoyuan went to the warehouse to find a small wooden box.
The wooden box was opened, revealing twelve pieces of exquisite paper with different seasonal flowers depicted on them, corresponding to the twelve months of the year.
The patterns on it cannot be seen from a cartoon perspective, but Qu Watanabe vaguely remembers that the paper inside was very beautiful.
It was the first gift that Concubine Yi gave him when he went to Fu'an Palace to sleep with his fourth brother as a child. After they arrived at Yangzhou Station, all the things originally in the warehouse of the Prince's Mansion were moved there.
All the gifts received over the years have been kept, including this set of notepaper.
What she draws should be similar to what she likes.
Qu Watanabe: "Master Liu, please follow the pattern on the paper. Anything similar will do."
Master Liu: "Okay."
He carefully observed the patterns on the paper, and after a moment, he exclaimed.
"How come there are hidden words in the patterns? Could it be that Your Highness knows other craftsmen from the past?" Master Liu wondered, "That's not right. It's been more than 60 years. Shouldn't this method have been lost long ago?"
Ye Xiaoyuan: "Hidden word?"
Master Liu nodded. "It is to change the shapes of flowers, birds, fish and insects, so that they are both paintings and words. Only those who understand can understand. It is a very advanced skill. This piece of paper is even more amazing. The hidden words are separated and hidden in the corners, making it a whole."
Ye Xiaoyuan: "But this is clearly..."
Qu Dubian interrupted, "Since it is a hidden word that is about to be lost, how did the master know it?"
Master Liu coughed lightly and said, "This is something that only high-level craftsmen who paint for the royal family can learn. When the previous dynasty fell, I was still a junior apprentice and had no chance to learn it. The reason I know about it is because my master secretly left notes in order to quickly learn the hidden character method. I only understood a little after reading the notes."
He said embarrassedly: "Of course, I only know it, but I don't know how to use it, so I have never made it public. I am embarrassed to use this as a stepping stone to my fame."
Qu Watanabe: "Apart from the master, is there anyone else in this world who can paint with hidden words?"
Master Liu: "I thought there was none before. After all, all the senior craftsmen of the previous dynasty were killed in the fire. The palace was in chaos and no one was left alive. But now that I have seen this set of paper, I feel that I am shallow. The tradition of painting with hidden words in the previous dynasty is still there."
Previous dynasty.
Hidden words to paint.
Ye Xiaoyuan felt a little cold sweat on his palms and subconsciously looked towards Qu Duanbian.
Qu Duanbian smiled slightly, "Indeed, I wonder if the master can decipher the words hidden in this set of paper. It can be considered fate."
Master Liu said cheerfully, "That's exactly what I meant, but I have to go home to get the notes my master left behind. Your Highness, please wait a moment."
Qu Duanbian called Yi Twelve to go with him to get it.
After the two left, the smile on Qu Dubian's face gradually disappeared.
Ye Xiaoyuan stood beside him, and gently pressed his palm on his shoulder, "Your Highness, perhaps things are not that bad."
Qu Watanabe said nothing.
Master Liu came back soon. The notebook was tattered and wrapped in sheepskin. It was quite old and seemed that it had not been read for a long time.
As he compared, he took out the hidden characters and put them back together.
It was not until dark that Master Liu successfully put together a line of words.
[The wicked fetus was born, the mother died and the child was young. He laughed at his enemies and kept his distance from them out of pity. This is recorded as one.]
He looked at the spelled word and stammered, "This, this doesn't seem right." Wasn't it a gift? How could the word he solved be so unlucky?
Ye Xiaoyuan was very perceptive and smiled as he invited Master Liu out. "Master, you must be tired. Go and have some food and wine first. Stay here today. I will give you the tricks that Your Highness wants tomorrow morning."
Qu Dubian slowly stood up and walked to the table.
This line of words was clearly imprinted in his mind.
"Smile at your enemies, and stay away from them with pity..."
These words hit his heart, and he was unable to describe his feelings for a moment, but in the end he actually smiled.
Yi Twelve clenched his fingers, "Your Highness."
Qu Dubian leaned on the edge of the table with both hands, and it took him a while to find his voice.
"Liuliu, what news do you want to report to me at noon?"
B12: "Although Tang Yisu is dead, His Highness did not stop. The dark web is still tracking his information and has just found some scattered supplementary information. His clan's place is not the place he filled in on his household registration, but a small town in Zhennan Pass."
He paused, "This is also the town where Concubine Yi and Your Majesty met."
Officials' household registration changes and clan land changes were not unheard of, and were not a big deal in the past. But now, this piece of news has become particularly important.
Survivors of the previous dynasty.
It could even be a royal family from the previous dynasty.
Qu Dubian: "I remember there was also a box of paper among Zhang Fanming's burial objects."
He put away the line of words deciphered by Master Liu and the paper, and went into the study alone.
-
The Imperial Palace.
evening.
Fu'an Palace.
The fourth prince was invited into the small shrine.
He stopped at the door of the small ancestral hall.
Concubine Yi inside had already heard the footsteps and said, "Come in."
The fourth prince stepped in.
Concubine Yi was sitting in the study room of the small ancestral hall, kneeling on the floor making paper notes. "The new sachet you want is on the table, take it yourself."
The Fourth Prince sat in front of her, looking at the sachet on the table.
"Mother, is there anything else added to this sachet?"
Concubine Yi stopped moving, raised her head, and said calmly, "You went to the Renyi Hall when you left the palace that day. What did you get checked?"
The Fourth Prince: "When I left the palace, no one knew where I went, but my mother knew." He paused for a few seconds, "Leng Yue... is my mother's man."
Concubine Yi put down the half-drawn piece of paper in her hand.
"You could have lived your whole life in ignorance, knowing nothing. Why do you have to explore and add to your suffering?"
Her helpless tone completely shattered the last bit of hope left in the Fourth Prince's heart.
He sat in this familiar small ancestral hall, looking at his indifferent mother who he thought he was very familiar with and who raised him, but she became extremely unfamiliar to him.
The fourth prince sat here like a stone statue.
He felt as if he was in the depths of the dark ocean, with heavy rocks all over his body, and he could not float to the surface.
The suffocating sea water gradually submerged his mouth and nose.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
