Chapter 10
As life in Ju'an Hall gradually improved, some people could no longer sit still.
The Observatory is located in the northeast of the imperial city, with a nine-story wooden tower in the center.
The wooden pagoda is surrounded by three palaces, which is the extreme number of thirty-nine.
The founder of the Astronomical Observatory was Zhang Shuchuan, a man who was proficient in counting stars and served under the founding emperor. Later, Zhang Shuchuan passed on the art of astronomy to his family members.
The department has a chief and a deputy chief, who have been succeeded by descendants of the Zhang family for generations. The remaining ten chiefs of the Astronomy Department are recruited from the public.
This is the only place where both men and women can enter, and as long as they have talent, they can be granted an official position.
The Astronomical Observatory has a special status in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If the emperor attaches importance to astrology, the Astronomical Observatory has a high status. If he does not, it is no different from an unknown person.
At this time, in the palace on the far left, Zhang Chansi, deputy director of the Astronomy Department, was sitting quietly at the table making tea. Her movements were smooth and the air was filled with the fragrance of tea.
She said in a faint voice: "Uncle is out?"
"Reporting to the deputy chief, not long ago an inconspicuous eunuch came to see the chief. Not long after, the chief left. Judging from the direction, it was the Ganji Palace."
Zhang Chansi took a sip of tea.
"My uncle has become more confused as he gets older. It seems he has completely forgotten the teachings of his ancestors."
The subordinate hesitated, "Deputy Director, if we go and stop them now, maybe we can still make it in time."
"I can stop it once, but I can't stop it the second time." Zhang Chansi shook her head, "Besides, I didn't stop it the first time. The cause and effect have already been concluded. Let nature take its course."
She sighed softly and looked out the window.
A thin layer of snow still remains on the stone tablet of the Astronomical Observatory, engraved with the ancestral motto of its founder, Zhang Shuchuan:
Stargazing is not about spying on ghosts, gods, monsters or Buddhas; fortune telling is only about fortune and misfortune.
If you harm people's hearts, disaster will eventually come.
-
Purple Palace.
Eunuch Yu came in and announced, "Your Majesty, the Director of the Astronomy Department wants to see you."
Emperor Chongzhao paused slightly.
In the dream, the place where the dark disaster star fell was the Astronomical Observatory. He did not mention this matter deliberately, nor did he summon the Astronomical Observatory to inquire about it. After all, it was just a dream. He did not expect that someone would come to him today.
His eyes darkened slightly, "Xuan."
The chief of the Astronomy Department is replaced slowly, and it was passed to the current chief, Zhang Fanming, who is the second generation.
The emperor of this generation was strict in ruling the country and did not believe in witchcraft, so naturally the Astronomy Department was also treated coldly. It was only after the death of Concubine Yun that the prophecy about the reincarnation of the evil fetus came true, and the Astronomy Department was treated much better.
Zhang Fanming knelt down and greeted him.
"Your Majesty, may you be well."
"What is it?"
Zhang Fanming raised his head with a serious face, "Your Majesty, this is about Concubine Yun."
As soon as the word "Empress Yun" came out, Eunuch Yu's eyelids twitched.
These two words are almost taboo!
There was silence in the Purple Palace for a long time, so long that Zhang Fanming broke out in a cold sweat, before he heard a voice: "Speak."
Zhang Fanming: "It is still half a year before the little prince's third birthday. This is the critical period for Concubine Yun to be safely reincarnated. I observed the stars at night and found that the little prince is carrying a lot of evil power from his previous life, which has subtly affected Concubine Yun's peace in the next life."
What Emperor Chongzhao remembered in his mind was the scene in which Yueqing asked him what his child looked like in his dream. He rubbed the emerald green ring on his thumb.
"What should I do to ensure that Concubine Yun can be reincarnated safely?"
"Although the Ju'an Palace where the little prince is now is far enough away from Your Majesty, the blood relationship is still there, and the evil power will inevitably absorb the dragon energy. There is no need for major actions, just keep the little prince away for the next six months."
Emperor Chongzhao: "Farther?"
Zhang Fanming: "Outside the imperial city, in the imperial palace."
There was silence again.
Emperor Chongzhao looked at Zhang Fanming's head with an official hat on, and the scene of the black disaster star falling into the Astronomical Observatory in his dream became clearer.
He didn't agree or refuse, but just waved his hand and said, "Go away. I understand."
Zhang Fanming came out of the Purple Palace and realized belatedly that he was sweating in this cold weather.
Ju'an Palace was far enough away. The little prince hadn't seen His Majesty for more than two years. How could he have a father-son relationship? He was neither the eldest nor the legitimate heir, and he was not even considered to be established. He could not threaten the status of other princes at all.
I don't know why that person suddenly came to him and asked him to move Yun Fei's child away.
Zhang Fanming rubbed his twitching eyelids and looked up at the slightly gray sky. Since the moment he made the choice more than two years ago, he had no room for retreat.
The tea in Emperor Chongzhao's hand became even colder.
When Eunuch Yu was about to change his cup, Emperor Chongzhao picked it up and took two sips.
"It's deep winter now, the palace must be very cold."
Eunuch Yu said carefully, "The palace is desolate, with little food and clothing. It must be cold."
Emperor Chongzhao turned the teacup with his fingers and said, "Change the tea set. This cup is too bright for winter."
Eunuch Yu: “Yes.”
The director of the Astronomy Department is really brave. He dares to mention Concubine Yun in front of His Majesty.
He wondered what His Majesty meant by this. He only asked if the palace was cold, but the future of the little prince depended entirely on His Majesty's decision.
After the chief of the Astronomical Observatory left, Emperor Chongzhao sat in the hall until late at night, turning his finger ring in silence.
Eunuch Yu bent down and changed the lamp for him.
"Tell me, do I really want to send that child to the palace?"
"I don't know what he looks like yet."
Eunuch Yu was not surprised. He sighed at the influence of Concubine Yun on His Majesty and said softly, "I dare not comment."
Emperor Chongzhao's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.
It was obvious that the child should be sent away. There was only half a year left in the three-year period, and only the last critical period remained. But the dream that he thought of from time to time made Emperor Chongzhao hesitate in a rare moment.
He leaned back, and the chair he was sitting on made a slight creaking sound and the dim candlelight swayed slightly. This sound brought him back to his senses.
"You get out."
Eunuch Yu responded, waved to the young eunuchs standing in the hall, and left together.
Emperor Chongzhao tapped the table with his fingers, one long, two short and one long.
A shadow appeared in the darkness, knelt on one knee, silent.
Emperor Chongzhao said, "Pick one from the Yiwei Guard, a more meticulous one, and send him to Ju'an Palace."
Go and see what the child looks like and what he does every day.
If he had a dream again in the future, he would not be unable to answer Yueqing's question.
The light flickered and the shadow disappeared again. There was no sound from beginning to end, as if it was just an illusion.
-
Night enveloped the entire imperial city.
The emperor's shadow guards are named after the twelve heavenly stems. Each of the twelve heavenly stems has its own strengths. There are twelve shadow guards for each heavenly stem, and the strongest one is the branch shadow guard chief.
Among them, the Yiwei assigned by Emperor Chongzhao were good at tracking, memorizing and imitating.
If His Majesty or the leader does not specifically name anyone, the Shadow Guards will have a duel, and the loser will be made to work overtime as a scapegoat.
Yi Twelve, with a bruised face and nose, dressed in black, with an expressionless face and paper and pen in his arms, was thrown by Captain Yi to Ju'an Hall to see the little prince.
He landed on the bare elm tree in the courtyard and took in the entire scene outside the palace.
In the entire palace, only the main hall and bedroom had dim lights, and the side halls were empty with no one.
There were two clotheslines under the elm tree, one for the eunuchs' blue clothes, and the other for children's clothes, which should have belonged to the little prince.
He approached the bedroom silently and got close to the window that was shining with light.
There were faint sounds of laughter coming from inside.
“…The paintings we three drew are so ugly. Really so ugly, hahahaha!”
Qu Dubian displayed the paintings that the three of them had drawn.
The paintings he drew with his right hand were ugly enough, but he didn't expect that Ye Banban and Xiaochun's were even uglier.
The paintings of the master and servant were all ugly in all kinds of ways. Qu Du looked at them and couldn't help laughing out loud: "I just want mine to be ugly and look good."
Ye Xiaoyuan smiled, and the quiet Wen Xiaochun also raised the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, Your Highness draws the best."
In fact, they were not willing to waste the paper for drawing, but His Highness said that drawing would help them control the pen in the future, and it would be more interesting for them to draw with him.
They couldn't say no and had to paint along with them.
Qu Dubian yawned. This was the way it was for a small body. Moreover, the original owner had been starving to the point of malnutrition. He felt a little deficient inside and lacked blood. He was still laughing just now, but he started to feel sleepy the next second.
Ye Xiaoyuan picked him up from the table neatly: "Your Highness, it's time to go to bed."
Qu Dubian struggled for a while, then gave up the idea of leaving.
Ye Banban is always very stubborn at times, for example, he is worried that if he climbs onto the bed by himself, he will bump into himself or fall down and get hurt, so he always refuses to let him climb onto the bed by himself.
Qu Dubian took off his clothes and got into bed quickly. It was not cold inside, and with a hot water bottle in the bed, it was quite warm.
Since Ye Xiaoyuan and Wen Xiaochun did not leave, His Highness would not allow them to sleep in the cold side hall, but asked them to sleep with their quilts beside his bed.
Ye Xiaoyuan and Wen Xiaochun disagreed at first. How could a servant sleep in the master's house except for keeping watch at night?
However, the young prince had red eyes and said aggrievedly, "I don't want you to get sick from the cold. What should I do if no one is with me in the future?" and told them to surrender.
Naturally, there was no obvious change in Wen Xiaochun's facial expression.
But Ye Xiaoyuan clearly saw that when he was sweeping the floor the next day, he swept even harder, as if he wanted to sweep away any stone that could trip the little prince.
"Your Highness, do you still want to hear a story?" Qu Dubian was half-embraced by Ye Xiaoyuan, his face was flushed from the hot water bottle, and his hands and feet were warm.
"think."
"Okay, then your highness, close your eyes."
Wen Xiaochun was spreading the bedding beside the bed. After tidying it up, he sat on it with his knees hugged, his chin resting on them, leaning against the charcoal basin next to him, listening to Ye Xiaoyuan telling stories.
Today we are talking about Ye Xiaoyuan’s battle with Eunuch Fu.
Ye Xiaoyuan always wanted to get more good things from the steward in the big kitchen who was fired and had used thirty-six strategies and seventy-two methods to achieve this.
In his mouth, Eunuch Fu became a villain in a storybook, and he was the warrior who defeated the villain and got food. Eunuch Fu's sarcastic face was made vivid and interesting by his description, and the little prince liked it very much.
However, Wen Xiaochun knew that it was difficult to get food under the difficulties set by the kitchen, and it was not as easy and fun as Ye Xiaoyuan said.
It’s just that now the hardships of the past are over, and looking back I can laugh it off and tell it as a story.
But it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter.
Wen Xiaochun fled all the way to Kyoto and was sold into the palace to be a eunuch. He was used to the days of humiliation and wandering. At this moment, looking at the darkness outside the window, his empty heart suddenly felt like he had found a home.
The hall was safe and warm, and it seemed even quieter with the gentle sound of storytelling.
Wen Xiaochun thought.
Anything, no matter how unrealistic the situation is, can be turned into an interesting story in a storybook as long as it can make His Highness happy.
After finishing the story, Qu Dubian's breathing became even. Ye Xiaoyuan waited for a while before laying him down. He then tiptoed down and landed on the quilt next to Wen Xiaochun.
"Go to sleep."
"Um."
After a while of rustling, the two soon became silent and remained in a state of light sleep.
Qu Watanabe actually hadn't fallen asleep yet. He just kept the original owner's habit of listening to stories before going to sleep, but he himself was not used to someone being around to coax him to sleep.
After thinking for several minutes, he held the little cotton tiger that Ye Banban had sewn in the quilt, and his consciousness gradually fell into darkness.
Yi Twelve climbed in through the window and landed silently.
Next second.
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A cold reminder sound rang in Qu Dubian's mind, and Qu Dubian's sleepiness disappeared in an instant.
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