Funeral services for ancient royal families
Jiang Jingyuan allowed the palace servants to manipulate her like a puppet. Jiang Jingjian fed her a bowl of ginger soup and then asked her to rest.
She lay flat on her back, the lingering taste of ginger in her mouth making her blink in dissatisfaction.
Jiang Jingjian, who had eleven years of experience interpreting Jiang Jingyuan's behavior, immediately saw through her emotions. While wiping the ginger soup that had accidentally stained his fingertips with a handkerchief, he casually said, "Just don't pay attention to your mouth. Close your eyes and you'll fall asleep soon."
That's right... I had just been on a thrilling escape from the moment I came here, so I was really tired. Jiang Jingyuan closed his eyes and soon fell into a drowsy sleep.
After carefully confirming that she was indeed asleep, Jiang Jingjian nodded with satisfaction and walked out lightly and silently.
…………
A dreamless sleep.
When Jiang Jingyuan was awakened by the dryness in his throat, he opened his eyes to see darkness.
She sat up with difficulty and opened her mouth to speak, but her throat felt sore and itchy. She started coughing, one cough after another, so heart-wrenching that it alarmed the palace servants.
The dim candlelight lit up, and Jiang Jingyuan was startled. She didn't even notice that there was anyone in the palace!
Jiang Jingyuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a half-human-high palace lantern shaped like a kneeling lady quietly placed in the corner, the bright candlelight dancing casually.
Jiang Jingyuan's gaze paused.
Can--
But where are the palace maids?
The living kind.
Jiang Jingyuan was a little confused. How did the light come on without a palace servant?
rustle……
Having just woken up, her mind was in a state of confusion. Before she could react, she saw the head of the palace lantern lady strangely and slowly turn towards her. In her critical eyes, the lady's features, though crudely crafted, were dull, but the corners of her mouth were strangely raised, smiling at her.
“???!!!”
Jiang Jingyuan's eyes suddenly widened, cold sweat broke out on her back, and a huge panic hit everything in her - the faint doubt in her heart was washed away at an extremely fast speed.
She fell off the bed trembling, her hands frantically groping in the dim light, and when she touched something, she picked it up and threw it at someone. The crisp sound of porcelain breaking suddenly exploded in the dim light, and the porcelain bowl hit the lady's head, causing her to turn back.
The candlelight suddenly went out, thick darkness engulfed her sight, and unprecedented fear engulfed her reason -
Her heart pounding like a drum, she staggered towards the palace gate in the darkness.
This road seemed to have no end. When she walked barefoot on the ground, the "thump thump" sound of footsteps seemed to come from another existence following her, like a shadow, and she could not get rid of it or escape it.
It seemed as if countless eyeballs were hidden in the darkness, gurgling and turning as she stumbled forward, locking onto her tightly.
Her throat seemed to be stuck by the darkness!
She wanted to scream but no sound came out. She knocked over tables and chairs along the way, and the crisp sound of porcelain falling to the ground and breaking was endless, beating at her heart like a death warrant.
Her mind was blank, and she didn't even feel the pain from bumping into the edge of the table and chair. She could only see darkness.
When she came to her senses, she realized that she had bumped into a ghostly figure in white.
She looked panicked, pushed the figure away and stepped back repeatedly, her pupils trembling.
call--
The candlelight flickered.
Jiang Jingjian, who had just stepped into the palace, was knocked back half a step. He hurriedly stood up and moved the candlestick in his hand away from Jiang Jingyuan who was rushing towards him recklessly.
Anger flashed across the face of the young man in white. "Are you crazy? Can't you see there's a candlelight here?!"
Jiang Jingyuan was trembling all over, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the familiar voice.
Her hands unconsciously clutched his clothes tightly, her face hunched in pain, she gasped for breath, beads of cold sweat dripping from her forehead, and she didn't respond for a long time...
"Hmm? Jiang Jingyuan?"
Jiang Jingjian realized that something was wrong and immediately forgot his words of advice. He grabbed her arm with one hand to prevent her from falling due to exhaustion. He bent down slightly to look at her face and asked tentatively, "What's wrong with you? You shouldn't be so scared after falling into the water, right?"
Her heart was pounding so violently that it seemed like it was going to jump out of her aching throat. She squeezed her eyes shut with all her might. Upon hearing this, Jiang Jingyuan felt the same doubt.
Was it because she fell into the water? Was she frightened by the strangeness at the bottom of the lake?
But a voice in her heart shouted, "Don't fall into the water, don't fall into the water."
Jiang Jingyuan's eyes were dazed.
Yes, it’s the palace lantern just now!
No, that's not right. It's not a palace lantern. Could a palace lantern be scarier than those ghosts under the pool?
Why is that?
She straightened up, grabbed Jiang Jingjian's clothes, and looked back. Moonlight streamed into the hall. The brass palace lanterns of the ladies were silent, and there was no trace of a smile...
Smile!
It was the smiling woman in white that I saw in the water!
She had no evidence, but she was certain that it was that ghost thing, whether it was a living person or something else, that was causing trouble, and she was panicking because of that guy.
Recalling that smile, she felt the fear in her heart being pulled and magnified, and her whole body was shaking like a sieve.
Something is wrong, something is wrong...
She took a deep breath, looked at the cautious expression on Jiang Jingjian's face, and her heart calmed down a little.
She tried to calm herself down, but her voice still trembled a little when she spoke: "Palace lantern, move it."
Jiang Jingjian heard this, looked into the hall, and nodded in understanding: "Okay, move out now."
As he spoke, he helped her up and walked out of the palace. In the moonlight, she watched the palace servants carry the palace lantern, with a hint of suspicion in her heart - when did such a palace lantern appear in Jiang Jingyuan's palace?
No wonder Jiang Jingyuan was so scared.
The bright white moon hangs high in the sky, and the warm yellow candlelight burning inside and outside the hall competes with the moon for brilliance.
There was a cool breeze tonight, which made her shiver, but also calmed her down completely.
Jiang Jingjian looked at the bright palace, then at Jiang Jingyuan, with a hesitant look. Jiang Jingyuan noticed and tugged at his clothes, signaling him to go into the palace.
call--
The hot tea creates white mist, blurring the beautiful face of the river. The light fragrance of tea makes people relax their body and mind unconsciously.
Crash——
When the tea became warm, Jiang Jingjian brewed a cup of tea and pushed it to the girl in front of him who had regained her composure. He then took the box from the palace servant, brought out a bowl of noodle soup and placed it on the table.
"Eat a little." Jiang Jingjian poured himself a cup of tea and said.
Jiang Jingyuan nodded.
"I'll stay here with you tonight. Light some candles. You won't be able to rest well in the dark."
Jiang Jingyuan paused holding the chopsticks. Just as she was about to refuse, she heard him say solemnly, "It's my fault this time. I shouldn't have let you go alone. From now on, you must stay with me."
Jiang Jingyuan was stunned for a moment and searched his memory.
This morning, Jiang Jingyuan followed Jiang Jingjian to the martial arts training ground as usual and waited by the sidelines. Jiang Jingyuan himself had no talent for cultivation and was so frail and sickly that he couldn't even practice martial arts, so he just moved a stool under a tree and watched.
But I don’t know when it started, but the other students on the scene have some complaints about her, but today they said it openly and secretly.
Jiang Jingyuan didn't even glance at them, as if he didn't hear anything, which made his study partners even more annoyed.
Jiang Jingjian saw that the situation was not good, and thought it would not be a good idea to let her continue to sit on the sidelines under the rumors, so he let her go back by herself.
later……
later……
Later, she could not remember what happened before she fell into the water, only a few fragmented images flashed through her mind.
Jiang Jingyuan lowered his eyes. It was not an accident, but a deliberate guidance.
"You better be careful next time. Don't get close to the pond in the forest garden. That area in the center is off-limits!"
Jiang Jingyuan perked up when he heard that. "Why?"
Jiang Jingjian looked at her with an expression that said, "You're such a fool!" "Of course I'm worried someone might fall into the water."
He paused, noticing the disappointment in Jiang Jingyuan's eyes, and continued, "This was a ban issued by Emperor Huan hundreds of years ago. Legend has it that this pond was called 'Tianshui Pond' back then, and within a single month, more than a dozen palace maids fell into the water. Even those who were rescued went crazy and jumped back into the pond themselves, which is why the ban was issued."
"It's all just a legend. Don't take it too seriously. You see, nothing is wrong with you now." Jiang Jingjian comforted.
Jiang Jingyuan: "..."
No, something's wrong.
Jiang Jingyuan picked up some noodles and put them in her mouth. She had originally thought that the person who could hide the magic weapon in the palace was most likely the emperor - otherwise the palace guardians would not let it go unnoticed.
What does the death of a few palace maids or the emperor's heir mean to a magical instrument? After all, someone who can easily die can't be a valuable genius. If he's not a genius, how can those in power pay attention to him?
The emperor's ban was mostly to avoid being discovered.
But after hearing what Jiang Jingjian said... Given the order issued by Emperor Huan hundreds of years ago, this person would have been dead long ago no matter how high his cultivation was.
Jiang Jingyuan used chopsticks to pick up the noodles in the bowl with an expressionless face, then lifted the bowl and slurped the soup.
She drank half a bowl of soup, put the bowl down, and glanced around casually with her dark eyes.
“Pah…”
"Bang!"
The scarlet chopsticks fell from her hand, and she stood up suddenly, causing the chair behind her to fall to the ground.
Jiang Jingyuan stared at the back of Jiang Jingjian without blinking, his expression froze instantly.
Accustomed to Jiang Jingyuan's expressionless face and her moody mood, Jiang Jingjian was startled by her sudden act of seeing a ghost. He leaned back and almost fell backward with the stool.
"What are you going to do?!!"
Jiang Jingyuan did not answer him, but just stared at the palace maid behind him, whose face was sallow, pupils shrunk to the size of rice grains, but with a smile on her lips.
Seeing this, Jiang Jingjian didn't dare to say anything. He gathered strength in his hands and turned around suddenly.
However, when he turned around, Jiang Jingyuan clearly saw the palace maid close her eyes and then open them again. Her eyes returned to normal but with a hint of confusion in them, and the corners of her mouth slowly dropped.
"Jiang Jingyuan, are you really crazy?!"
Jiang Jingjian looked at the scene behind him, which seemed normal, but turned back and looked at her with fear.
"...It's okay." Jiang Jingyuan could only say.
"Are you really okay?"
"fine."
"real?"
"without."
Jiang Jingjian didn't believe it and looked at her suspiciously, "No, I'll go talk to my mother tomorrow."
Jiang Jingyuan subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when he looked up, he saw the hidden worry in the boy's eyes. He hesitated for a moment and did not refuse.
In the peaceful night.
The faint warm candlelight in the magnificent palace cast a warm orange hue on the boy's sleepy profile and neat white clothes.
The young man was flipping through the book in his hand out of boredom. He turned the pages very quickly but without making any sound.
Jiang Jingjian would occasionally turn his head to look at the sleeping face of a girl lying flat on her back with her hands folded on her belly not far away. After a careful inspection, he found that the thick quilt still completely wrapped the girl, with a piece of the quilt lying quietly under her chin. Jiang Jingyuan had protested when she was a child, saying that her neck always felt itchy when she covered herself with the quilt like this, but in the end, she got used to being stared at by Jiang Jingjian for many years.
What she didn't know was that Jiang Jingjian didn't expect her to just give in after being rejected just once.
Jiang Jingjian thought with a guilty conscience.
There was only the sound of dripping candles in the silence. Jiang Jingjian hesitated for a moment, but finally sat quietly at the table - even though it was almost dawn, he still continued to guard obediently.
After repeated shocks, Jiang Jingyuan was still tired even though he had just rested. He fell asleep immediately and slept soundly until dawn.
The sun is very strong today, but it is not hot inside the temple, it is even a little cool.
After Jiang Jingyuan had eaten some cakes and snacks at noon, he saw Jiang Jingjian and the maidservants beside Queen Rong follow two people into the hall, followed by two teams of palace maids.
One of them, a man wearing a bright red official robe and with a familiar face, stepped forward and bowed. His brows were gentle and he smiled as he said, "Your servant, Rong Yejin, has been ordered by the Empress Dowager to come with the Imperial Preceptor to see Your Highness."
ah?
Rong's surname?
And the national teacher?
How serious...
It's over. I hope they won't really see anything... Jiang Jingyuan's heart tightened, but his face remained calm as he nodded, "Thank you."
Jiang Jingyuan sat down on the couch, feeling the soft brocade under her hands. It was cool, just like her heart.
Her eyes moved slowly, following the movement of the tall figure in white.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Jingjian looking at her firmly. Jiang Jingyuan didn't have the energy to respond. She just watched the white-robed national master put something into the incense burner with his back to her, then turned around and nodded at her coldly.
Rong Yejin, who was standing beside him, smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. The strength of the Imperial Master is well known to everyone."
Jiang Jingyuan just looked at him expressionlessly.
Peace of mind.
How can you not feel at ease?
Of course she felt relieved. Her heart was now more at peace than that of a dead person.
Jiang Jingyuan felt disheartened.
It wasn't until the white smoke slowly began to burn that she helplessly muttered to herself, "What a bully! The Jiang family, using only the scattered techniques passed down by their ancestors, are going up against the most respected masters of this era. Who will come out on top?"
"...Yes, even if the soul replacement is not noticed, there is still a 'Teng Snake' mark."
Jiang Jingyuan felt sad and couldn't help but wonder why he had traveled all the way here.
To die in a different environment? Or to experience the funeral services of ancient royalty?
A faint woody scent lingered at the tip of his nose, and Jiang Jingyuan's thoughts became stagnant.
Her last thought flashed through her mind: "Jiang Yunshu will not have funeral services, but Jiang Jingyuan may have a cenotaph..."
Half awake, she clearly felt that she could no longer muster the slightest worry or panic. An endless void enveloped her - she didn't even have the thought of moving.
She looked at the person in front of her, and the person in front of her was also looking at her with a smile.
Staring at each other for a long time...
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