Elegant Scholar
In contrast, An Daoling's reaction was even stranger.
His mouth was half-open, his expression a mixture of surprise—he recognized the other person, yet seemed not to.
There was also a bit of awkwardness.
A Qiu had known An Daoling for a long time. He was always calm, composed, and unrestrained. A Qiu had never seen him lose his composure like this before.
The scholar-like woman, seeing the three staring at each other, couldn't help but burst out laughing, no matter how calm and composed she was.
She immediately suppressed her smile and said seriously, "It's fine if Lord Si Le and Chief Shangguan don't recognize me, but do you, Junior Brother, not recognize me either?"
Ah Qiu finally had a sudden realization and understood.
But he couldn't utter a single word.
She already knew who it was. Not only did she know, but she had also interacted with her several times.
However, at that time, the other party was the top person in the inner palace, with white eyebrows and purple robes, elegant and aloof, and with a touch of mystery. He had served as the Grand Palace Eunuch of two dynasties and was known as Rong Yu.
This refers to Rong Yuexian, the eldest sister of the four famous and influential figures of Tianji, who were renowned throughout the martial arts world forty years ago. She was known as the "elegant scholar." Although she was a woman, she always dressed as a man.
Gu Yi had once taken A Qiu to the Star-Picking Tower to visit this Grand Palace Eunuch. However, A Qiu had never seen her daughter in person, so she did not recognize her at all upon seeing her.
What she didn't expect was that Rong Yuexian's original appearance was so young, looking at most like a beautiful woman in her thirties, not at all like an old woman in her seventies.
This demonstrates the profound and pure nature of her innate Daoist skills. Looking across the martial world, she is probably unmatched these days, which explains why she crept up behind the three of them without anyone noticing.
Extrapolating from this, it's likely that An Daoling's true appearance was not the drooping old eunuch we see before us.
An Daoling's old face flushed red on one side, and he stammered, "Senior Sister, it's been forty years since we last met, I... I hardly recognize you."
Rong Yuexian said with a half-smile, "Is it really been forty years since we last met?"
An Daoling was completely baffled and remained silent for a moment.
Rong Yuexian snorted and said, "If it really has been forty years since we last met, then where did A Qiu get her Heavenly Secret Token?"
An Daoling's face flushed red instantly, but he couldn't utter a single word of explanation.
Ah Qiu's Heavenly Secret Token was something he had stolen from Rong Yuexian during a roll call after he discovered her identity. He had only hoped that Rong Yuexian would realize he was responsible for losing something so important and come looking for him. But so many years had passed, and Rong Yuexian had acted as if nothing had happened, so he finally gave up on that idea.
He suspected that after that incident, Rong Yuexian never intended to see him again.
Upon thinking of this, he felt utterly despondent and had no other thoughts.
But he didn't know that Rong Yuexian was by nature extremely carefree and playful, and once she entered the deep palace, she almost completely forgot her past. If she hadn't later remembered that she wanted to give the Heavenly Secret Token to A Qiu, she would have completely forgotten that she even had a Heavenly Secret Token.
A Qiu had only ever seen An Daoling's composed and confident demeanor before; she had never seen him so utterly speechless and pathetic. For a moment, she almost forgot why she had come there, feeling both annoyed and amused.
She forgot, but Shangguan Yuqi did not. She coughed and said, "This must be An Gong's senior sister, Senior Yuexian."
The story of the Four Constellations is well-known in the martial arts world. Since An Daoling has already admitted to being one of the Four Constellations in front of Shangguan Yuqi, how could Shangguan Yuqi, with her keen insight, not guess that the person in front of her is the elegant scholar?
Shangguan Yuqi, who was never one for pleasantries, had no time to dwell on past grievances and went straight to the point: "Senior Yuexian just said that Senior Zhongli has already gone to keep his appointment with the Lord of Frostflower. Is this true? How did you get this information?"
Rong Yuexian waved her hand, revealing a yellowed letter to the three of them. The cover bore a line of small characters, written with vigorous and decisive strokes: "Lady Shuanghua pays respects to an old friend."
A Qiu only needed one glance to recognize whose handwriting it was.
Hulü Guang's calligraphy, which came from the Mo Yi family style and imitated the style of Empress Shangguan, was indeed very easy to recognize.
Seeing that An Daoling wanted to take it but dared not reach out for fear of offending Rong Yuexian, A Qiu had no choice but to take it from Rong Yuexian's hand and then pretend to present it to An Daoling, saying respectfully, "Please open it, Lord An. With you here, this disciple dares not act on my own."
Rong Yuexian glanced at A Qiu with a half-smile. An Daoling, as if waking from a deep dream, immediately took the envelope. The envelope was originally sealed with sealing wax, but since it had already been opened and read, it could be opened directly. Just as An Daoling was about to open it, he suddenly remembered and asked, "Who was the first person to open this letter?"
Rong Yuexian said calmly, "Very good. It's clear that Junior Brother's mind has finally returned to normal, which is why he would ask such a question."
Ah Qiu's mind raced. She knew that if a palace maid or eunuch found this letter, they would not dare to open it. Instead, they would pass it on to their master. If the master was not of high status, it would have to be passed up through the ranks until it reached a powerful person before it would be opened.
Therefore, An Daoling's question was quite significant, as he wanted to know which high-ranking and powerful person in the palace already knew about this matter.
When asked this question by his senior sister, An Daoling's face turned red again, and he was speechless.
Rong Yuexian casually recounted, "This letter was picked up by Su Jinlan, a palace maid in Baozhu Garden, and then presented to Master Kongyue of Baozhu Temple. After reading the letter, Master Kongyue immediately left the palace. I heard rumors about the letter in the afternoon, and then secretly ordered a thorough investigation of the entire palace. Only then did I learn that the source of the news was Baozhu Temple. When I went there in person, I found the room empty, with only the letter on the table that had not been cleaned up. I questioned the head palace maid Su Jinlan and learned the whole story."
A Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi exclaimed in unison, "Master Kongyue? Who is that?"
Not only was A Qiu surprised, but Shangguan Yuqi was also extremely astonished. This was because she was in charge of patrolling the palace, and it could be said that there was no place in Jianzhang Palace that she had not been to, and no palace garden that she had not memorized. But even she had never heard of such a master in the palace.
But judging from An Daoling's reaction, he clearly knew.
He smiled wryly and said, "I didn't know who Master Kongyue was before, but now I do."
Rong Yuexian then took out a scroll of literature from her sleeve and handed it directly to A Qiu.
A-Qiu accepted the document with both hands as before and then presented it to Andao Mausoleum.
Rong Yuexian said, "These are the records about Kong Yue that I retrieved from the inner palace. It seems that among the four of us, she is the one who has hidden the deepest and is the most secretive."
For some reason, there was a hint of regret in Rong Yuexian's tone.
After examining the document, An Daoling remained silent and handed it to A Qiu. A Qiu took it but froze, unsure whether to return it to Rong Yuexian.
Rong Yuexian softened her tone slightly and said, "A Qiu, you are not an outsider, you can watch. Chief Shangguan is the same."
A-Qiu unfolded it as instructed, and saw that it contained records of Kong Yue's life and life in the palace.
Ah Qiu's expression changed after reading only the first line.
"Ronghua Zhongli, whose ancestral home was Xinyang, entered the palace in the fifteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign. She was initially a musician in the music bureau, and her skills were superb. She was gentle, virtuous and quiet. In the sixteenth year, she gained the emperor's favor and was promoted to the rank of Cairen. After Emperor Xuanzong's death, she requested to become a nun. Emperor Dezong granted her request and converted her original residence, Baozhu Garden, into a temple. Her Dharma name was Kongyue."
A Qiu looked up, incredulous, and said, "Master Kongyue is Senior Zhongli!"
No wonder Zhongli Wuyan has always taken good care of the people in their music bureau and has long protected the music temple. She herself rose from a musician in the music bureau to a concubine in the palace, and she knows the hardships of life in the music bureau. Therefore, she has more compassion for the singers and dancers there.
An Daoling sighed to himself, "No wonder that over the years, only her identity has remained undiscovered by us. Her victory lies in her low profile."
A Qiu suddenly understood why Zhongli Wuyan was able to hide her identity without being discovered by the others in the Four Mansions of Heavenly Secrets.
Rong Yuexian was exceptionally talented. Even as a eunuch, she rose to the position of Grand Palace Supervisor within two reigns, becoming the most prominent person before the Emperor. In her position, every move she made was under the watchful eyes of the public, making it difficult for her to go unnoticed.
Although An Daoling was also a eunuch, he was recruited into the Xianshao Academy due to his exceptional flute skills and profound musical knowledge, becoming the abbot representing the emperor in charge of the academy. Although his position was not as prestigious as Rong Yuexian's, he was still second only to the emperor in the music bureau.
In contrast, Zhongli Wuyan, though she entered the palace as a musician in the Music Bureau, had nearly ten thousand musicians, craftsmen, and performers in previous generations. She cleverly gained Emperor Xuanzong's favor and escaped the life of a musician who was old and faded and was bullied. She was promoted to the rank of concubine. During Emperor Xuanzong's reign, she remained low-ranking and unassuming among his hundreds of concubines. After Emperor Xuanzong's death, she requested to become a nun. This allowed her to avoid the ancestral rule that concubines of the previous dynasty had to leave the palace after the new emperor ascended the throne and after the replacement of Emperor Huan by Emperor Da Yan. She was able to remain in the palace in peace.
In other words, every step Zhongli Wuyan took to advance herself and secure her position was a precise grasp of the essence of "moderation".
She avoided being too high-profile and attracting attention by occupying a high position, while also avoiding being ignored, marginalized, or even forced to leave the palace due to being too humble.
In fact, the four constellations of Tianji are all martial arts masters, each with their own integrity. Once they enter the corrupt and chaotic palace of the previous dynasty, it is almost certain that although they are called "secluded", very few of them can and are willing to endure the bad habits and bossy attitudes of the filthy and wicked palace servants and eunuchs for a long time.
Therefore, regardless of whether it is out of selfishness or simply for a better living environment, people will try to seek a higher status so that they can "hide" themselves and not be driven and enslaved by servants every day.
Even Chu Yuanyi was the head maid of Qiwu Palace during Emperor Wu's reign. Among the six palaces, the Empress's palace was the most prestigious, so Chu Yuanyi was equivalent to the most esteemed maid.
However, Rong Yuexian and An Daoling will eventually meet at the "peak" as their status rises higher and higher, because there is only one peak, which is the power center built around the emperor.
They were all deeply favored by the emperor, and would eventually meet many times while serving him.
Chu Yuanyi, however, was loyal to his former master and did not change his choices according to the power dynamics of his senior brothers and sisters. He became a pawn of Qiwu Palace and only managed to have a place in the palace thanks to the compassion of the later mistress, Consort Chen.
Zhongli Wuyan alone deeply understood the subtle essence of "concealment," remaining neither too close nor too distant, moving freely among the lower levels of the palace. Although she did not hold a high position or great power like Rong Yuexian, she was free and at ease.
If she hadn't taken the initiative to go to Shuanghua's invitation today, her identity wouldn't have been discovered by Rong Yuexian.
Rong Yuexian said calmly, "But the reason she made this choice was not to win; there must be another reason."
She continued, "What's the point of her winning like this?"
An Daoling was speechless again, his expression becoming extremely awkward.
Rong Yuexian continued speaking to herself, "She made the choice to become the emperor's concubine in order to be ruthless to herself and to completely let go of you, Junior Brother. From the day she entered the palace, she never intended to see you and me again, but she still couldn't let go of Yuan Yi."
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