The bright moon at that time
Zhongli Wuyan sighed and said, "Yes, but new troubles have arisen. So it is said that life is a mixture of fortune and misfortune, joy and sorrow. It is just like the old man who lost his horse, who knows if it will bring him good or bad fortune."
Hearing her recount such a momentous event as the arrival of the Northern Qiang in the south in such a light and amusing way, A Qiu couldn't help but break into a smile and say, "Senior is truly magnanimous."
Zhongli Wuyan smiled bitterly: "After all, I have lived in the deep palace for decades, and I have seen several rounds of national subjugation, extinction, and dynastic change."
A Qiu noticed the topic had become heavy again and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Why haven't the four of you left the palace yet? Actually, you were originally the hidden guards of the Sima family, so it seems you don't need to continue to serve the current emperor."
Zhongli Wuyan suddenly turned her head, and her gaze under the heavy veil instantly became almost tangible, staring directly at A Qiu as if trying to see through her.
A Qiu couldn't understand why Zhongli Wuyan's gaze had become so sharp, and wondered if she had said something wrong.
Seeing her blank expression, Zhongli Wuyan sighed and muttered to herself, "Yes, why don't we leave the palace? It's probably because we've been away for forty years and have become accustomed to our current status, so no one has thought about leaving anymore."
Rong Yuexian's forty-year term in the palace had long passed, but she held a prominent position, serving as Grand Palace Supervisor in two dynasties, and clearly had no intention of leaving the palace. As for the other three, An Shihe was the Chenghua Ling of the Music Bureau, Zhongli Wuyan was practicing as Master Kongyue in seclusion at Baoyue Temple, and Chu Yuanyi, although mentally unstable, steadfastly guarded the abandoned Qiwu Palace without regret.
In fact, apart from Rong Yuexian, the other three could leave at any time, and Rong Yuexian had no intention of restricting them at all; she always did what she wanted to do.
But all these years have passed, and no one has ever thought that they could have left.
When the Former Huan dynasty was destroyed and the Sima family lost the throne, they were already free to leave.
But A-Qiu always felt that the reason was not just that.
A gust of autumn wind swept through the street, and A Qiu saw several withered yellow leaves falling to the ground. She interrupted, "I only knew that you, Senior Zhongli, were a senior in the Music Bureau, but I never imagined that you were actually a concubine of the previous dynasty, and now the only person in the palace who still practices Buddhism while keeping her hair."
Zhongli Wuyan remained silent for a moment, then replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, "So what do you think I am? A palace maid, or a guard?"
Ah Qiu said, "I thought it would be someone like a musician or instructor."
Zhongli Wuyan chuckled and said, "In the previous dynasty, it might have been possible, because the Music Bureau had tens of thousands of people, and I could have hidden among them without being discovered. However, the moment I realized that Senior Brother An was actually the newly arrived Envoy of the Immortal Music Academy, I made up my mind to immediately become a concubine of Emperor Xuanzong at that time, so as to leave the Music Bureau and avoid running into him."
A Qiu was hearing this for the first time and asked in surprise, "You're doing this to avoid Lord An..."
She couldn't continue.
So Zhongli Wuyan originally only used her connections at the Music Bureau to disguise herself as a musician and dancer and enter the palace, just like she had before, to complete her mission of infiltrating the palace. She never intended to become the emperor's concubine. However, because An Daoling was transferred to the Music Bureau, she hastily devised a plan and decided to leave the Music Bureau through this route.
Zhongli Wuyan's veil fluttered gently in the wind.
Her voice also became ethereal and uncertain.
"Many years ago, because of my youthful ignorance, I insisted on getting between Senior Sister and Senior Brother An, causing Senior Sister to suffer in silence. With her unparalleled talent and amazing skills, she ultimately chose to hide in the palace, unable to leave her name in history with her true face. Even if I didn't understand these things back then, after living for so many years, I should have figured them out by now."
A-Qiu was speechless, suddenly realizing that even if she wanted to offer comfort, she couldn't find a single word to say.
In the end, she could only awkwardly say, "Even without you, senior, there is still Aunt Yuan Yi. This is not your fault."
Zhongli Wuyan said faintly, "Yuan Yi has always been simple-minded. If I hadn't insisted on encouraging her to go to the palace with me and our senior sister and senior brother, she would have listened to the elders and stayed in the sect, living her life as the eldest daughter of the Chu family. I just didn't want to go alone."
She turned her head away, looked at A-Qiu with a smile, and said, "A-Qiu, you probably don't understand these young girl thoughts."
Yes. Ah Qiu thought to herself. She didn't understand. Because she had never had fellow disciples, nor had she ever experienced the feeling of liking the same person as her fellow disciples at the same time. She had never experienced the subtle feelings between girls.
Zhongli Wuyan and Chu Yuanyi were both in love with An Shihe, but they both knew that there was no hope for each other. However, they did not have the courage to break the deadlock on their own. Therefore, they followed each other into the palace with their own wishes, and then the long road of life passed by forty years.
Zhongli Wuyan concluded, "So, I've let down Senior Sister, I've let down Yuan Yi, and I have no face to see Senior Brother An. Do you understand?"
Ah Qiu could imagine that among the four constellations of Tianji in the past, Zhongli Wuyan must have been the most clever, intelligent, and witty.
She couldn't help but say, "Senior Zhongli, actually, I think... if you put your heart into it, there shouldn't be any man in the world that you can't win over." She just felt a tightness in her chest, and was really indignant. Zhongli Wuyan's self-evaluation didn't seem to be the sole cause of the tragedy of the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets.
Judging from the current situation, as a partner, Rong Yuexian is indeed exceptionally talented, but she does have an arrogant personality, which is also a weakness. Zhongli Wuyan, on the other hand, is tactful, clever, insightful, and adept at maneuvering. As for A Qiu, speaking from her own perspective, if she were a man, she would find it difficult not to be swayed by Zhongli Wuyan's charming smile and cunning schemes.
After all, even a villain like Hulü Guang was mesmerized by her beauty, and this was before he had even seen the true face of Zhongli Wuyan in her youth.
This also explains why Zhongli Wuyan was able to leave the Music Bureau so easily when she wanted to. It should be noted that becoming an imperial concubine was no easy feat for a Music Bureau entertainer; it wasn't something anyone could do with their eyes closed.
Zhongli Wuyan was stunned for a long time after hearing her words, and then smiled and said, "Yes. But if you have to rack your brains to get something done, then it's not very interesting."
She still had half a sentence left unsaid.
If we do this, how can we face Rong Yuexian, who is upright and kind-hearted?
Gaining someone doesn't mean you can simply hold them in your hands and call it a day.
A Qiu suddenly thought of something and said, "So, between you two, it was you, senior, who recognized An Gong's identity first?"
Zhongli Wuyan was taken aback, then smiled bitterly and said, "He probably never intended to hide his identity from us."
As A Qiu was still in a daze, Zhongli Wuyan continued, "Since he entered the palace, on the tenth of every month, he would go boating on Banyue Lake and play a tune on his flute. Banyue Lake is located behind the Zhaixing Tower where Senior Sister lives. No one dares to go there normally."
Zhongli Wuyan added, "The tune he played was 'Bright Moon Night,' which he often played back in our sect. With a little attention, it's easy to find out his current identity."
Upon hearing her words, A-Qiu suddenly fell into a daze.
For no other reason than that she suddenly remembered that her mistress, Sun, had said the same thing to her.
At that time, in order to obtain the music of "Shao" and "Wu", she went with Lady Sun to the Temple of Music to find Zhongli Wuyan. After lighting incense and candles, Zhongli Wuyan did not appear as expected. Lady Sun then remembered that Zhongli Wuyan had said that she would not be there on the tenth of each month, and that night happened to be the tenth.
Then, Lady Sun led them to look for Master An, but to their surprise, he was not at the Music Bureau residence either. Lady Sun then said that if Master An was not at the residence, he should be on Banyue Lake. She added that she had heard her old teacher say when she was young that Master An always had the pleasure of taking a night cruise on the lake, and that he would play the flute or xiao on Banyue Lake one or two nights a month.
When they went to Banyue Lake, they indeed met An Gong.
At that time, A-Qiu had not thought about the matter in detail, but now he suddenly realized it.
Forty years after entering the palace, every month on the tenth night of the month, Duke An would wander on the lake and play the flute, in order to subtly express his feelings to his old friends in the palace.
Rong Yuexian remained unmoved, but she never made a move to drive him away.
A Qiu couldn't help but think that while An Daoling played the flute on Banyue Lake on the tenth of every month, what about Zhongli Wuyan herself?
Sun Neiren had already said that Zhongli Wuyan would not be at the Siyue Temple on the tenth of each month, so it is very likely that she also secretly came to the vicinity of Banyue Lake, but concealed her whereabouts.
Thinking of this, A Qiu couldn't help but ask, "Since Master An has long enjoyed playing the flute on the lake, does my Aunt Yuan Yi know about it?"
Given Chu Yuanyi's guileless nature, if he had known that An Daoling was An Shihe, he should have gone to find him long ago.
Why then did he end up sitting alone in the Empress's palace, looking at the Han Dynasty stone relief album with rubbings of An Daoling's handwritten calligraphy, reminiscing about the past?
Zhongli Wuyan smiled bitterly: "Yuan Yi is the most honest and listens to Senior Sister the most. I'm afraid she has firmly remembered the agreement to never see each other again. Even if she clearly knows where Senior Brother An is, she doesn't dare to cross the line and can only stare blankly."
Ah Qiu thought to herself, "Just as Zhongli Wuyan predicted." She couldn't help but feel a deep sense of melancholy.
Then she remembered and said, "Senior Rong once said that the four of you weren't truly strangers. She said that you had met once since you entered the palace. Wasn't there an opportunity to resolve your differences during that meeting?"
Upon hearing this, Zhongli Wuyan's gaze sharpened as she looked at her, then she said with a wry smile, "Senior Sister only told you that we had met up, but didn't she tell you under what circumstances we met up?"
A-Qiu shook his head blankly.
Zhongli Wuyan sighed and said, "Why don't you think about the circumstances under which the four of us from the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets would gather together? It's definitely not just for dinner, drinks, or a drinking game."
A Qiu, originally an assassin, instantly realized what was happening and his eyes lit up. He exclaimed in surprise, "You all entered the palace to protect the Emperor's safety. Therefore, the gathering of the four of you can only mean one thing: someone intends to assassinate the Emperor!"
Zhongli Wuyan's voice turned solemn as she said, "That is indeed the case. That was the most perilous situation we had faced in forty years. And the reason we owed Madam Huachi a favor was precisely because of that incident."
A Qiu suddenly recalled something and decisively shook his head, saying, "Impossible."
Zhongli Wuyan asked, "What's impossible?"
At this moment, A Qiu had completely forgotten his origins, and slowly shook his head and said, "The names and deeds of all assassins, whether or not they come from Lanling Hall, will be recorded in the Divine Weapon Hall register. But the assassination that happened in Qianhuan, as you mentioned, is not only not recorded in the Divine Weapon Hall register, but also not recorded in the history books of Qianhuan, and there is no record in the martial arts world of the four seniors taking action."
Zhongli Wuyan sighed and said with a bitter smile, "Because this was an assassination that no one present wanted to mention, and they would rather it be erased from history."
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