Inside the Imperial Observatory, two men in long robes were observing the stars at the observatory. A few days prior, Emperor Kangxi had summoned Ji Changming, the director of the Imperial Observatory, to inquire about the recent fortunes of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Ji Changming had ordered them to monitor the stars day and night.
"Senior brother, look! It looks like a Wenqu star is rising in the southeast!" Dongfang Bufan said excitedly. He was Ji Changming's most prized disciple. Although he arrived late, he was extremely talented and was greatly favored by Ji Changming.
"Let me see!" The eldest disciple was Ji Changming's most senior disciple and was highly regarded by him.
“Master has been having us observe for so long, it must be this star we’ve been waiting for!” Jin Shikang said.
"Master has been unable to eat or sleep lately, all because of the drought outside. If it doesn't rain, the Emperor will hold our Imperial Observatory accountable!" Dongfang Bufan said somewhat discontentedly.
"Be careful, the walls have ears! Our Imperial Observatory is here to observe nebulae for the Emperor, who else should we ask?" Jin Shikang glared at Dongfang Bufan. His junior brother was quite talented, but his mind wasn't very mature, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"But this Wenqu Star doesn't seem to have anything to do with drought!" Dongfang Bufan quickly said, suppressing his dissatisfaction. Besides his master, the person he feared most was his eldest brother.
"Let's take another look!" Jin Shikang tilted his head back, standing in the best spot in the Imperial Observatory for observing nebulae, watching the stars in the sky. The black night sky was dotted with countless stars. Normally, weather like this wouldn't bring rain.
"Hey? Look, why is there a small star next to that Wenqu Star, and it looks rather dim and unclear?" Jin Shikang said to Dongfang Bufan.
"Where, where, let me see!" Dongfang Bufan immediately looked up in the direction Jin Shikang was pointing.
They stared at the Wenquxing (a star in Chinese astrology) that appeared in the southeast for a long time, and sure enough, they found a small star next to it. It wasn't very obvious, but it was indeed following the movement of the Wenquxing closely.
"Not good!" Dongfang Bufan exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Jin Shikang immediately asked.
"This is a double blessing of literary and martial prowess! That smaller one should be the Martial Star. If it were as bright as the Literary Star, it would be auspicious, but now it's dim and indistinct, yet it keeps following the Literary Star. This is an ominous sign; these two stars have become mortal enemies. Once they descend to earth, they will be lifelong adversaries, locked in a fight to the death!" Dongfang Bufan said. "This is a once-in-a-century event. I once read about such a celestial phenomenon in a book my master gave me. My master once said that such a double blessing of literary and martial prowess hasn't appeared for a long time, and when it does, it will surely cause chaos and unrest throughout the world."
"Go quickly and invite the master here!" Jin Shikang said hurriedly.
After they invited Ji Changming to the Observatory, he looked up at the stars in the sky under the guidance of his two disciples, and gazed at them for a long time. Ji Changming's expression changed drastically, and he said to his two disciples, "You must not mention today's celestial phenomenon to anyone, understand? I will go and report to the Emperor right away. I'm afraid the Emperor will not want anyone to know about such a celestial phenomenon. You two must shut your mouths and not say a word."
Seeing their master's seriousness, Jin Shikang and Dongfang Bufan dared not say anything more and quickly assured him that they would never tell anyone.
Ji Changming dared not delay and hurriedly left the Imperial Observatory, heading directly towards Kangxi's Qianqing Palace. The Imperial Observatory was located in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City. He walked hurriedly along the palace path, ignoring any familiar faces he encountered in the palace.
When he arrived at the Qianqing Palace, it was already past midnight. He saw two large palace lanterns hanging at the main gate of the Qianqing Palace, and several imperial guards standing guard below.
“Commander Qin, I need to see the Emperor! Please inform him!” Ji Changming walked down the steps of the Qianqing Palace and looked up at Qin Gang. Normally, Qin Gang was already a commander, and he didn’t need to guard the gate of the Qianqing Palace anymore, but he insisted on personally standing guard for one day every ten days.
"Lord Ji, why are you here to see the Emperor so late?" Qin Gang asked.
"I have important matters to report to His Majesty, Commander Qin. Please inform him for me. I assure you, His Majesty will not reprimand you. What I have to say is very important." Ji Changming was a close advisor to Emperor Kangxi and was quite familiar with Qin Gang.
"Alright, Lord Ji, please wait a moment. I'll go in and inform them." Qin Gang glanced at Ji Changming a few times and said.
Inside the palace, Emperor Kangxi was indeed still awake, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't sleep. At that moment, Consort Shu had been brought over in a sedan chair and was accompanying him.
"Lord Qin, you said that Lord Ji has something important to report to the Emperor?" Liang Jiugong asked.
"Yes. He said it was very important. That's why I came in to report to you, sir. Judging from his appearance, it must be something very important," Qin Gang said to Liang Jiugong.
Liang Jiugong looked at Qin Gang with a troubled expression, then glanced towards the emperor's bedroom, where the light flickered, indicating that the person inside was not yet asleep.
"Alright, I'll have to go and ask." Liang Jiugong was also quite familiar with Ji Changming, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to inform him at this time.
Liang Jiugong walked to the door, bowed to the inside, and said, "Your Majesty, Ji Changming of the Imperial Observatory says he has important matters to discuss with me."
After saying this, he stood respectfully at the door, waiting for Kangxi's reply.
After a moment, a voice was heard from inside, followed by Kangxi's voice: "Come in and change your clothes!"
Liang Jiugong nodded and immediately waved to the two eunuchs behind him, signaling them to go in and help the emperor change his clothes.
With the help of eunuchs, Kangxi got up from the dragon bed. Inside, Consort Shu, her bare shoulders slightly exposed, huddled under the covers, not daring to speak.
After changing his clothes, Kangxi came out and went into the room on the left. That was where Kangxi met with his officials.
After Ji Changming followed Liang Jiugong inside, he immediately bowed deeply to Emperor Kangxi.
"What is it, my dear minister, so late?" Kangxi raised his hand and looked at Ji Changming.
"Your Majesty, I have discovered something important and must report it to you immediately." Ji Changming shrank his neck, knowing that he had disturbed the Emperor's good time and that he might be punished by Kangxi if things went wrong.
"Speak, what is it?" Kangxi asked.
"Your Majesty," Ji Tianming said, bowing his head, "I observed the stars tonight, focusing on the southeast, hoping to see some rain to alleviate this severe drought. But to my surprise, I discovered a celestial phenomenon in the southeast where both the Wenqu and Wuqu stars are descending to earth. Moreover, the Wuqu star is constantly orbiting the Wenqu star, and it is dim and without light. This celestial phenomenon is unpredictable, a sign of both fortune and misfortune. I feel that this drought may be related to these two constellations."
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