The feng shui master glanced at the layout of Lingyun Cave and nodded, saying, "Water flows to the earth, the dragon vein comes from the north, the Kun direction faces the Qian mountain position, the ant-like locust tree position rises in the Qian palace, the water flows to the Yi position, the Kun dragon faces the direction of fortune and wealth, the Xin dragon faces the Ren water and flows to the Xun position. If you, sir, can borrow the dragon energy in the Forbidden City and seal it together with the auspicious purple clouds in this 'fortune' character stele, your wish for lasting wealth and honor will surely be fulfilled!"
Heshen bowed respectfully to him and said, "After this matter is accomplished, I will definitely donate a temple to my master so that he can enjoy the incense offerings of devout men and women!"
As the two were talking, Liu Quan came running breathlessly to report to Heshen, "Your Excellency, Li Zixi, the Deputy Director of the Imperial Observatory, is outside requesting an audience!" Heshen's joy deepened, and he strode towards the main hall in the front courtyard. Li Zixi paced back and forth in the hall as if he were walking on hot coals. Upon seeing Heshen enter, he immediately knelt down and bowed, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency! I was careless and miscalculated the date when the auspicious purple clouds would approach the Forbidden City. It wasn't three days later, but today!" Beads of sweat appeared on Li Zixi's bald head as he trembled as he finished speaking.
Heshen had originally promised him that if he could secretly calculate the date when the auspicious purple light would shine into the Forbidden City, he would replace Nan Mide as the Director of the Imperial Household Department. Now that he had miscalculated the date of the auspicious purple light, he would be fortunate to keep even his position as Deputy Director, let alone Director. This auspicious purple light was of paramount importance to Heshen; if Heshen were to become enraged, his life and fortune would be in grave danger.
Before Heshen could even sit down in the main seat, upon hearing Li Zixi's words, he smashed the covered bowl on the table. His face contorted with anger, he demanded, "What time is it today?" Li Zixi immediately stopped kowtowing and replied, "Chen Shi (7-9 AM)! It's the perfect time for dragons to bring rain, which will surely bring auspicious purple light into the Forbidden City!"
As the sun began to set outside, Heshen glanced at the sky and realized that half an incense stick's time had passed. He slammed the covered bowl that had fallen on the table at Li Zixi and roared, "Do you know that the hour of Chen is almost over?" Li Zixi hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly until blood seeped from his forehead.
Liu Quan jogged into the hall and bumped into Heshen, who was about to leave. He immediately whispered in Heshen's ear, "The Tenth Princess's imperial carriage has arrived at the gate. The Fifteenth Prince is accompanying the Tenth Princess!" Heshen's face instantly turned pale. This "Fu" character stele was one he had secretly copied from the palace using jade from the Kunlun Mountains and had been enshrined in the White Pagoda Temple for nine years. More than ten years ago, he had already missed the auspicious purple glow once; if he missed it again today, he didn't know when he would have to wait another year.
He instructed Liu Quan to have Liu Hutu and Liu Ying accompany Jiwen to oversee the installation of the "Fu" character stele into Lingyun Cave, and ordered Fengshen Yinde to come and greet the Tenth Princess. He gave Li Zixi a cold look, and Li Zixi immediately bowed and followed a servant out of the mansion through the back gate. Heshen waited for a while, ignoring the servants' reports that Yongyan and the Tenth Princess were already urging him to come and greet the emperor outside the mansion. Only after he estimated that the "Fu" character stele had been moved into Jincui Garden did he go to the mansion gate with Fengshen Yinde, who had rushed from the back courtyard, to greet the Tenth Princess.
Disliking the ostentatious presence of palace servants, the Tenth Princess only brought two personal maids, two eunuchs, and a nanny who had been with her since childhood. Yongyan protected her on either side, also accompanied by only one personal attendant and two imperial guards. The Tenth Princess and Yunwan sat in the phoenix carriage, seeing through the light gauze curtains the people kneeling on the ground outside the gate of the Hedi Mansion.
As soon as the imperial carriage came to a stop, Yunwan dismounted and skipped to the side of Heshen, who was kneeling before the gate to greet the Tenth Princess. She sweetly called out, "Uncle Heshen, Brother Fengshen Yinde!" When she was young, Fu Chang'an occasionally took her and Dexuan to ride and hunt with Fengshen Yinde, so she had become acquainted with the father and son. Fengshen Yinde, three years her senior, looked up and smiled at her, his handsome features softening at her sweet smile. Heshen, kneeling, looked up and frowned, signaling her to follow the rules. Yunwan pouted and bent her crimson body to kneel beside him.
After dismounting from the imperial carriage, the Tenth Princess walked side by side with Yongyan, who had also dismounted. Yongyan approached Heshen, looked down at him for a moment, and waved his hand, "Lord He, please rise!" Heshen and Fengshen Yinde rose, just as the "Fu" (福, meaning good fortune) stele was being invited into Lingyun Cave. Her jade-like body was enveloped in a purple auspicious light, turning entirely purple. Just as Yunwan was about to rise, she felt weak and unable to stand, and fainted.
Heshen picked up the fallen Yunwan and noticed that the jade pendant around her neck was similar in quality to the jade "Fu" character stele in his own residence, now gleaming with a purplish light. Suddenly, several leaden clouds drifted in, obscuring the golden sun, the dense clouds blocking out all sunlight. A loud clap of thunder startled everyone. In the flash of lightning, Yunwan in Heshen's arms radiated a pale blue light, clearly visible to those nearby. Her face, weakening, gradually turned pale. In a moment of panic, Heshen ripped the jade pendant from Yunwan's neck and threw it far away. A moment later, the leaden clouds dispersed, and some sparse sunlight pierced through.
The Tenth Princess witnessed Yunwan emitting an unusual light, and she shrank back into Yongyan's arms in shock. Yongyan was also stunned. He had heard of Yan Ning emitting an unusual light, but having never seen it with his own eyes, he had only assumed it was a fabrication by others out of jealousy of her stunning beauty. But seeing Yunwan like this today, and knowing that Yunwan was Yan Ning's daughter, he realized that the rumors circulating in the capital more than ten years ago that Yan Ning was a demon were indeed true.
After calming himself, Yongyan gazed thoughtfully at Heshen and Yunwan in his arms. He helped the Tenth Princess turn to return to the palace, but Heshen, holding Yunwan behind him, said gravely, "The mastermind behind the Wanxiang Pavilion is the Eleventh Prince. He holds leverage over most officials in the court, and these things are currently in Li Shiyao's hands. I, on the other hand, have evidence of Li Shiyao's embezzlement! Which is more important? I urge Your Highness to reconsider!"
Yongyan turned around, his gaze fixed on Heshen. "Do you know that you are protecting Fukang'an? Do you know that as soon as he returned to the capital, Agui invited him to his residence to discuss how to bring you down?"
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