Chapter 124: Saint of Southern Border
Ye Lanzhou held the dowry booklet for Princess Mingyi that Xie Chengyan had given her. She glanced at the first page and noticed something wrong. She placed the booklet in front of Xie Chengyan again, pointed at a line of words, and said, "Thirty-six pieces of brocade with eight treasures patterns from the Central Plains, but the tortoise shell pattern is considered a curse in southern Xinjiang."
Xie Chengyan picked up the ink brush, licked a stroke of ink on the inkstone, and said, "Then how do you say we should revise it? I don't think it will work if we just delete it. I'm afraid there won't be anything left after deleting it."
Ye Lanzhou pondered for a moment, "Then let's use a snake-scale patterned ramie cloth instead. Snakes are regarded as protective gods in southern Xinjiang, and their meaning is similar to that of the Qilin here."
Xie Chengyan used a pen to mark a section on the original booklet, changing the original tortoise shell to snake scales. Ye Lanzhou stood aside and took the opportunity to look back while he was writing. Then he said, "The mandarin duck quilt won't work. Mandarin ducks are considered unlucky birds in southern Xinjiang. Let's change it to a two-headed snake."
As soon as Xie Chengyan finished marking the previous one, Ye Lanzhou ordered him to change to the next one. She had been writing slowly, thinking that it would be convenient for the people from the Ministry of Rites to copy it later, but Ye Lanzhou obviously didn't care about that. She read and spoke quickly, but it was a pity for Xie Chengyan's pen, which seemed to be flying across the booklet.
The snow didn't seem to be stopping. It had been falling for two days straight. The people sweeping the floor outside swept in waves, but the snow didn't get any lighter. Ye Lanzhou had lived in the south since he was a child and had never seen such a heavy snowstorm.
Fortunately, there was a charcoal fire burning in the stove in the house, so it wasn't too cold.
By the time the booklet turned to the last page and Xie Chengyan had finished his revisions, Ye Lanzhou realized belatedly that the booklet was so thick. However, it made sense. After all, it was a marriage between two places, so she brought more dowry to avoid giving people a handle in the future.
Looking at the thick volume, she didn't understand state affairs, but she knew Mingyi chose the marriage for the sake of peace in Yin State. She had experienced war and knew the difficulties faced by the common people. Ye Lanzhou couldn't help but sigh, "Princess Mingyi is such a good person. Southern Xinjiang is far away, and I guess it will be difficult for her to return after she leaves."
Xie Chengyan paused. Ye Lanzhou's words reminded him of the plan Xie Zhaochu had mentioned before. If she could use her own strength to exchange for a hundred years of peace in Dayin, that would naturally be the best. But if Southern Xinjiang still sent troops, Xie Zhaohe could use this as an excuse to force Pei Yuanzhong to step down.
Xie Zhaochu's marriage will benefit almost everyone around her, except herself.
Thinking of this, Xie Chengyan sighed and said, "When Mingyi was young, he was almost scared to tears by the witchcraft in Southern Xinjiang. Now he is willing to go to Southern Xinjiang. It's really rare..."
Xie Chengyan's words were unintentional, but Ye Lanzhou took them to heart. She was puzzled, "Aren't there very few people in the Central Plains who know Gu magic? Princess Mingyi... has ever left the palace?"
Xie Chengyan shook his head. "When the capital was still in Nanyang, the high priest of the Moon Worship Cult in Southern Xinjiang came to the palace looking for someone. He said that the Saint of the Moon Worship Cult had escaped and entered the palace as a maid after coming to the Central Plains. Coincidentally, she happened to be Mingyi's maid. The high priest killed the Saint in front of everyone in the palace. At the time, no one expected him to act so suddenly. After that, the authorities took great pains to keep the matter secret."
The more Ye Lanzhou listened, the more familiar it sounded, her thoughts gradually connecting with the words of the old Nanyang temple priest. She was lost in thought, only to be brought back to reality by a small crackle of the charcoal fire in the stove.
"That saint girl, is her name Shen Ying?"
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