Chapter 169 A God Descends to Earth
In Weizhou, just as dawn broke, the air outside was still chilly, but the streets and alleys were already packed with people.
I heard that Princess Chang was about to return to the capital, and almost the entire city's residents spontaneously came to see her off.
The lanes were packed with people, making it impossible to move.
The elderly, leaning on their canes, moved forward shakily; the men, carrying children, stood on tiptoe to look around; and the women shouted, "Take care, Princess!"
Everyone's face was filled with genuine gratitude, and their eyes were glistening with tears.
It was this eldest princess who saved the lives of an entire city when Weizhou was struck by disaster and starving to death; everyone knows that.
Shi Zhu, along with all the officials of Weizhou City, stood at the city gate to see the princess off.
Li Yuanzhao, dressed in red, rode at the very front of the procession on a pure white steed.
Behind her followed closely Shen Churong, clad in silver armor, and a majestic army.
Chen Yanqing walked towards the back of the group, his gaze passing over the throng of people and fixed firmly on the red figure in front of him.
After his breakdown that day, he didn't reveal a thing to Li Yuanzhao.
He was horrified to discover that he didn't even have the courage to ask.
He was terrified.
He was afraid of hearing her admit that he was nothing more than a substitute, afraid that she wouldn't even give him this false warmth, afraid that once the truth was revealed, she would discard him without a second thought.
He couldn't accept it; he couldn't live without her.
Just as fish cannot live without water, moths cannot live without light.
Even knowing that what he was doing was like drinking poison to quench his thirst, he still did it willingly.
So what if it's a stand-in?
At least for now, he could still greedily absorb her occasional, albeit condescending, glances as a servant.
So... he's willing to be a stand-in even if it means being a substitute.
He would continue to deceive himself like this, suppressing all those heart-wrenching doubts and the truths that were stuck in his throat, and trying his best to be a gentle, considerate, and meticulous servant by her side.
Just as the procession left the city gate, the crowd seeing them off suddenly erupted in cheers.
"Snow! It's snowing!"
Everyone looked up and saw that fine snowflakes were indeed falling from the gray sky.
At first, there were only a few scattered spots, but in an instant, they became more and more dense, like countless tiny scraps of paper, swirling and falling into people's hair and shoulders.
It should be noted that Weizhou has not seen a single drop of rain or snow for a whole year.
But on the very day the princess set off to return to the capital, it snowed.
There was initial silence in the crowd, followed by an even louder uproar.
Some reached out to catch this rare rain, some wept bitterly, and others danced with joy.
"Oh my god! It's really snowing!"
"It's timely rain! This is timely rain sent down by God!"
"Auspicious omen! This is absolutely an auspicious omen! Weizhou is saved!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, their initial reluctance replaced by sudden ecstasy.
An elderly man at the front of the line said tremblingly, "It's all because of the Eldest Princess! The Eldest Princess must have been sent by Heaven to save us! She must be a living Bodhisattva!"
After saying this, he knelt down on both knees and kowtowed heavily to the red-clad figure on horseback: "Thank you, Princess, for saving my life!"
Immediately afterwards, the crowd of people seeing them off knelt down one after another, their dense figures stretching from the city gate all the way to the end of the street.
Snowflakes fell on their backs, quickly accumulating into a thin layer of white, but no one rose. Instead, they all bowed in unison towards the front of the procession, their shouts echoing through the heavens and earth: "Thank you, Princess, for saving our lives!!"
Li Yuanzhao gazed at the swirling snowflakes and slowly stretched out his hand.
A snowflake fell into her palm, and in an instant, it melted into a crystal droplet from her body heat, gently sliding down her fingers.
The world was a vast expanse of white, except for her fiery red dress, which stood out brightly against the white snow.
The north wind swirled snowflakes, lifting the strands of hair at her temples and fluttering the hem of her dress.
Shen Churong stood behind her, watching the breathtaking scene unfold before him.
At that moment, he suddenly thought she was so beautiful.
It's not the kind of stunning beauty that comes from physical appearance, but a kind of beauty that is captivating and makes people willingly bow down.
She stood there amidst the wind and snow, like a goddess descending to earth.
Behind him stood a disciplined army, and beside him were people kneeling in worship.
His eyes and brows exuded an air of confidence, as if "all things are in his eyes and mountains and rivers are in his palm," silently accepting the worship of the people.
Chen Yanqing felt as if he were a rat in a gutter, looking at her.
She is the princess of millions, but not only his princess...
After seeing the princess off, Shizhu returned to the government office. He had just sat down and taken a sip of hot tea when a subordinate rushed in to report: "Sir, someone outside is requesting an audience."
Shi Zhu rubbed his temples; his voice was hoarse from days of hard work: "Who is it?"
“I don’t recognize him; he’s a stranger. I asked his name and background, but he only said that you’ll know when you see him, and refused to say more.”
Shi Zhu waved her hand. "Please let him in."
A short while later, a figure slowly stepped into the hall.
The man wore a wide-sleeved, bluish-gray Taoist robe, his dark hair loosely tied up with a single ebony hairpin, exuding an air of otherworldly refinement.
Shi Zhu glanced around; the hall was dimly lit, and he could only make out a blurry outline. He assumed it was some wandering Taoist priest.
But just as that person faced the light and slowly raised their head...
"Clang—!"
Shi Zhu slammed the teacup in her hand to the ground, splashing tea and broken porcelain shards all over the floor.
He was completely unaware of what was happening. He suddenly stood up from the chair, his pupils contracted sharply, and he even stopped breathing for a moment.
His eyes were filled with utter shock and disbelief, and his throat felt as if something was stuck in it. It took him a long time to squeeze out a few words with a trembling tone.
"Young Master?!"
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