Shocking News
Pei Yingguan and Liu Mingyin were also invited to another New Year's Eve palace banquet.
In previous years, the only person who could receive the Empress's special invitation was Linghu Yan, who had already reached the Transcendent Realm. Pei Yingguan and Liu Mingyin were able to receive such special treatment even though they had only reached the Entering Dao Realm. This shows how much the Empress loves Biyun Temple.
The palace banquet ended, and the four returned home. Looking at the lights in the capital, Liuyun thought of the gate of Biyun Temple.
"It has been five years since we left the mountain gate, right?" He held the Tu Su wine and drooped his eyelids.
"Yes," Xiao Wan'er replied from the side, "Come to think of it, Junior Brother has never been to the mountain gate."
Liu Yun raised his head and drank the Tusu wine in one gulp. After giving the still-young Liu Mingyin New Year's money, he instructed Xiao Wan'er, "After the New Year is over, take Mingyin back to the mountain gate sometime."
"Yes." Xiao Wan'er nodded in agreement.
But it's not easy to spare the time, and it wasn't until one month into autumn that Xiao Wan'er finally found the time.
The empress looked at the leave request submitted by Xiao Wan'er, and with a flick of her red pen, she happily agreed.
"My dear master and I haven't been home for five years. It's time to go back and visit. Unfortunately, my master holds an important position, and you brothers and sisters also have heavy responsibilities and cannot rest. Now that my dear master Pei still has a mission to perform, I can only let you take Liu Qing back home."
"I thank you, Your Majesty," Xiao Wan'er bowed and replied respectfully, "I will definitely bring my junior brother back to the Divine Capital as soon as possible."
The Queen smiled with satisfaction.
"My dear, don't worry. Since it's your holiday, just take a good rest."
"Junior brother, pack up and get ready to go!" Xiao Wan'er left Taichu Palace and quickly rushed home. Sensing that Liu Mingyin was also home, she pushed the door open and walked in. "His Majesty has approved my leave!"
The next day, as soon as the city gate opened, Xiao Wan'er took Liu Mingyin and left the capital.
The two hurried along, finally returning to the foot of the mountain where Biyun Temple stood. Compared to five years ago, the village at the foot of the mountain hadn't changed much, only a few elderly people had passed away and a few children had grown. Muramasa was still the same old man, just much older. He was overjoyed to see Xiao Wan'er.
"The little immortal has grown up now," he invited the two into the house. "I wonder who this young man is?"
"He is my junior fellow apprentice." Xiao Wan'er pulled Liu Mingyin to her side and introduced Muramasa to him.
That afternoon, Xiao Wan'er took Liu Mingyin to inspect the fields for the villagers just like they did when they were still in the mountains. They had dinner and stayed overnight at the village chief's house. After breakfast the next day, they went up the mountain with enough dry food for one meal.
"Is this my master's sect?" Liu Mingyin stared blankly at the small houses in front of him.
"Why, it's different from what I imagined?"
Liu Mingyin nodded. The Taoist temple only had a few small rooms, and after being vacant for five years, it looked even more dilapidated.
Xiao Wan'er walked into the main house. A thick layer of dust covered the interior. When Xiao Wan'er rubbed her finger against it, her finger's original color was no longer visible. She sighed.
"Mingyin," she called her fellow apprentice over, "let's clean these rooms together."
The two of them had such high cultivation that after a few cleansing spells, the main house was completely renewed. After that, they went to the other rooms and used a few cleansing spells on each one. Soon, the whole Taoist temple was spotless again.
But it’s not over yet.
"You stay here and repair the damage while I go to the forest to hunt some game."
"Okay." Liu Mingyin checked each house according to Xiao Wan'er's instructions. Xiao Wan'er walked towards the forest with a bow and arrow on her back.
After five years of not hunting, the animals in the mountains and forests had long forgotten these skilled hunters. Some of the dumber ones didn't even run away when they saw Xiao Wan'er. Xiao Wan'er was very satisfied with this. She drew her bow and shot arrows, and soon she had a good harvest.
After Liu Mingyin finished repairing the Taoist temple, Xiao Wan'er returned with a bounty of prey. Just like she had five years ago, she dug the soil, lined the pit with ice, and buried the prey after freezing it. That evening, the two sisters and brothers enjoyed chicken soup.
"Delicious!" Liu Mingyin, who had never eaten meat since he could remember, held the bowl and drank the soup to the bottom. Still not satisfied, he ran to the kitchen and filled another bowl. He put the bowl down reluctantly until he could not eat any more.
Xiao Wan'er, who was sitting opposite him, also burped. The chicken soup was so delicious.
The two of them lived a good life with meat for every meal until they had eaten all the prey that Xiao Wan'er had hunted, and then they set off to return to the capital.
When Liuyun saw the round faces of his two disciples, he knew that they had eaten a lot of good food, but it didn’t matter now.
"Master, senior brother, after I came back, I saw that the sky above the Divine Capital was pitch black, with a blood-red tint in the black, as if a great resentment was gathering. But what happened?" Even though a short period of time had passed, Xiao Wan'er still felt a chill when she mentioned the resentment gathering above the Divine Capital.
Pei Yingguan, who was also at home, turned around angrily when he heard this, but did not answer.
Liuyun sighed deeply, then slowly said, "Princess Yongtai has passed away."
"What?" Xiao Wan'er's eyes widened in shock. "I remember Princess Yongtai was pregnant before she left the Divine Capital. How could she die so suddenly? What happened to the child?"
"It was a difficult birth, one body, two lives lost," Liuyun said in a deep voice. "Don't ask about the rest, and don't ask anyone else. You just returned to the capital, so just pretend you don't know."
Pei Yingguan, who was standing by, snorted coldly when he heard this, and walked towards his room with his sleeves rolled up. Xiao Wan'er looked at Liuyun, then at Pei Yingguan, and agreed with a confused look on her face.
"Mingyin, you too, stop asking about this and just pretend nothing happened."
Liu Yun was still worried and gave Liu Mingyin another serious warning. Seeing his master's face full of fear, Liu Mingyin obediently agreed.
Only then did Liuyun feel relieved.
But just because Xiao Wan'er didn't ask didn't mean others wouldn't tell her. After returning from her leave for more than ten days, Shangguan Wan'er invited her to a small gathering at the West Market Tavern.
When Xiao Wan'er walked into the tavern, Shangguan Wan'er had been waiting for a long time. There was a large pot of wine in front of her. She lowered her head and drank as she poured the wine, and then fell down after drinking.
"Sister Shangguan, why is she drinking so much? Is she drinking, or is she just trying to calm down?"
Hearing Xiao Wan'er's words, Shangguan Wan'er raised her head, and her haggard face scared Xiao Wan'er.
"What happened to Sister Shangguan?"
She smiled sadly.
"You already know that Princess Yongtai has passed away, right?"
Xiao Wan'er nodded.
"Then do you know how she died?"
Shangguan Wan'er, drinking, recounted the events. The Empress had, in recent years, favored the brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, allowing them free rein in the palace and handing them control of state affairs. Li Chongrun, the son of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, resented this and joined Wu Yanji, the husband of Princess Yongtai, in cursing at them. Then, for unknown reasons, they engaged in another argument.
"It's just a quarrel between my uncle and brother-in-law, why is it so serious?" Xiao Wan'er was puzzled.
Shangguan Wan'er also sighed.
"Yes, if it weren't for the villain's mischief, how could it have come to this?"
The argument was overheard by Li Chongrun's half-brother, Li Chongfu, who reported it to the two Zhang brothers. Upon learning of this, the two Zhangs immediately reported it to the Empress. It's unknown how the Zhang brothers reported this to the Empress, but the Empress was furious and ordered Li Chongrun and Wu Yanji to be caned. The Crown Prince then had them strangled to death. The frightened and pregnant Princess Yongtai went into labor prematurely, resulting in her death in childbirth, leaving two victims dead.
Xiao Wan'er looked up and out the window. The resentment gathered above the capital did not dissipate with the passage of time, but instead became stronger.
"They are all descendants of His Majesty. Even if they anger His Majesty again, at most they will be imprisoned. Why would they risk their lives? Can cursing and arguing be as serious as conspiracy and rebellion? And no one is trying to persuade His Majesty?"
"Who dares to persuade him?" Shangguan Wan'er stroked the red plum blossom makeup on her face. "Your Majesty has always had this temper, and we, as his subjects, are afraid of death. Moreover, Your Majesty is now old and even more irritable than before. Your Highness would rather sacrifice the lives of two of his descendants to appease His Majesty's wrath."
Xiao Wan'er also picked up the wine jug, lowered her head and poured the wine without saying anything else.
But resentment continued to build. This winter in the Divine Capital was significantly colder than in previous years. Residents donned all their warm clothing, barely managing to stave off the biting chill.
"That's not normal." Liuyun shook his head and said no more.
Finally, a scream from the East Palace broke the terrified silence in the capital of gods.
"There's a ghost, Your Highness, there's a ghost!" The maid of Prince Ping'en Li Chongfu ran to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess who were about to rest, and knelt down with a thud. She even lost one of her shoes without knowing when.
"What the hell? Come, drag this maid away who is spreading rumors and misleading people!" When the prince heard that there was a ghost, he wanted to drag away the maid who came to report it without thinking, but the princess stopped him.
"Your Highness, don't be anxious. Let's first listen to what this maid has seen." She sneered in her heart, but her face was still gentle and considerate.
"I, I saw the princess... She was holding a swaddling baby, singing a lullaby as she walked..." The maid became more and more frightened as she recalled the past, and the prince's face turned pale as he listened.
The Crown Princess, on the other hand, was not afraid at all, "Take me to see it."
"No!" The prince stopped him in fear. "How can you go to such a dangerous place in person?"
"Your Highness, what are you talking about? I'm seeing my own daughter, how could there be any danger?" The Crown Princess shook off the Crown Prince and ordered the maid, "You come and lead the way for me. If I can't see Yongtai, you don't have to serve in the Eastern Palace anymore."
The poor maid was already frightened, and now she had to lead the way for the Crown Princess. She was almost unable to stand. The Crown Princess asked her personal maid to support her and let her show her the way.
When they arrived at the scene, they all heard Prince Ping'en's horrified cry.
"Don't look for me! This incident was caused by your brother and your husband. The complaint was filed by Er Zhang. The order was issued by His Majesty and His Highness. What are you looking for me for?"
Li Chongfu stepped back in horror. Princess Yongtai walked towards him step by step, holding the child. The Crown Princess' eyes were filled with tears as she watched this scene.
"Xianhui...my mother's Xianhui..."
Princess Yongtai seemed to sense something and looked towards the Crown Princess. She stopped chasing Li Chongfu and looked at the Crown Princess with tears of blood in her eyes. Then she stumbled away holding the swaddling clothes.
"Xianhui! Xianhui!" The Crown Princess called her daughter's name, but in the end her daughter didn't look back.
The next morning, the terrified Crown Prince brought the frightened Prince Ping'en into the palace. The Empress sent Yuan Kong to the Eastern Palace, and there were no more ghost stories there.
When the news left the palace, Xiao Wan'er was having a small gathering with Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Taiping. She looked up at the sky above the capital, and her resentment was indeed forcibly dispelled.
Princess Taiping dismissed the maid who had come to deliver the message and spat angrily, "This Prince Ping'en is truly blessed by the Emperor!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
