Qian hexagram, the most auspicious hexagram
Chapter 1 Qian Hexagram - The Tenth Year
In the first month of the eighth year of the Kaibao era, spring was cold in Bianliang.
Emperor Taizu of Song, with the attitude of "How can I tolerate others snoring under my bed?", ordered the cavalry and infantry of Shengzhou to cross the river and launch a strong attack on the Southern Tang. This led to a surge in demand for ships, and many poor people in Bianliang went out to work at night to build ships in exchange for high wages.
As a result, Dongmen Street was still crowded with people at midnight. Two wedding processions were waiting in front of the main gate of the Rong family, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, with the words "Runan" printed on the fluttering banners.
Many ordinary people stepped forward to say "Congratulations" and received a small red envelope in return.
The night rain drizzled down, while the wedding procession's drums and gongs resounded, and firecrackers stretched for miles, making a grand spectacle. Even in the dead of night, commoners flocked to the scene, eager to witness the marriage of the Rong family's illegitimate daughter.
This young concubine's daughter was also a closed-door disciple being fostered in a Taoist temple.
“This Vice Minister Rong played his cards well. He abandoned her in a Taoist temple for ten years and never cared about her. Now, because of this marriage to bring good luck, he’s selling his daughter for personal gain.”
"The Rong family is also blessed by their ancestors. Their eldest daughter married the second son of the Xie family three months ago and became his second wife. Now their concubine's daughter has also married into the Marquis's mansion. This is truly a case of the father gaining status through his son. Their future official career will surely be bright."
"What kind of good deed is this? This little illegitimate daughter is clearly marrying in place of her elder sister. Otherwise, why would the eldest daughter of the Rong family, who has always been so arrogant, rush to marry the second son of the Xie family as a second wife? She must have become a widow after marrying the eldest son, and that's why she's using this illegitimate daughter, who was born on the same day, to take her place."
"In any case, for Lord Rong, having two daughters marry into the Marquis of Runan's family is a stroke of good fortune from his ancestors."
Behind these gossipy women, amidst the bustling crowd, stood an elderly Taoist priest with white hair and beard, his two tufts of black hair particularly striking. He stood alone in a corner, his eyes fixed on the Rong family's gate with remarkable vigor, while a group of Taoist priests in robes stood about ten feet behind him.
"Daoist Gouxiang, we originally did not wish to come today for the wedding of your last disciple. After all, although your Zhengyi Sect and our Quanzhen Sect both seek the Dao, they are ultimately different. However, our master also said that since we are all Daoists who have come from the Dao, we should come to send her off on her wedding."
The Quanzhen School is the largest sect of Taoism. They strictly follow the teachings of their masters, and those who leave home grow beards and wear Taoist robes. They abstain from meat, which is different from the smaller Zhengyi School. Although they do not have the style of disdaining Taoist priests living in seclusion, they pursue alchemy, which is different from the Zhengyi School, which focuses on talismans and fasting.
If it weren't for the fact that the Marquis of Runan's family were major pilgrims to Lingyun Temple every year, they wouldn't need to give face to this Taoist priest's closed-door disciple.
The elderly Taoist priest named Gou Xiang, though a lay Taoist, was the abbot of Hebai Temple, and thus didn't bother with these young Taoists. He smiled and narrowed his eyes, offering no explanation, but repeatedly bowed to the Taoists in thanks.
A cold wind swept past the whispers of people on the street, then swept over the high walls, and a withered leaf twirled and landed on the window of the Rong family's main hall.
The driftwood window frames were polished to a shine, and red "double happiness" characters were pasted on the window panels.
Directly in front of the paper-cut window decoration, the elegantly dressed Madam Duan held a jade rosary and gently instructed, "Today is your sister's wedding. Remember not to act petty in front of others, and maintain a graceful demeanor in front of the people of the Marquis's mansion, understand?"
The eldest sister, Rong Shu, wore a bright orange and gold ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and the emerald green jacket made her face appear even whiter with makeup. Her heavily made-up face was full of sarcasm. "I am not as generous as Mother. I wonder how much dowry Mother has prepared for my younger sister?"
"Don't worry, her dowry is less than a tenth of what you had back then, it won't steal your spotlight."
Rong Shu knew that Duan Shi would not give Rong Yan a generous dowry, since her birth mother was a maid and had no dowry to leave her.
Ten years ago, Rong Yan was only six years old. Because the old lady said that although she was a concubine's daughter, she was intelligent and could be tutored by a maid in the courtyard along with her eldest sister Rong Shu①, Duan Shi used all sorts of tricks, drugged the old lady and the old master, and invited a sorcerer to the door, saying that she was born with evil and would bring bad luck to the Rong family.
To make the effect more realistic, Duan administered the medicine three times within a month, which damaged the health of the old lady and the old master. They passed away in less than half a year, and from then on, no one protected Rong Yan.
Rong Yan was born without a mother or a father, and even her only loving grandparents passed away because of her, making her even more taciturn.
Subsequently, his father, Vice Minister Rong, sent him to Hebai Temple to cultivate his mind and character without any mercy, under the guise of helping the deceased of the Rong family to be saved and praying for the living.
Ten years have passed, and I never imagined that I would need her help one day.
Although the eldest daughter married the second son, once the eldest son died, Xie Zhezhi would become the eldest son, and she would become the eldest daughter-in-law, which would not be a loss. Therefore, Duan Shi and Rong Guangmao did not object.
Even the Imperial Medical Bureau has said that even if the eldest son manages to wake up from his coma, he will only be barely clinging to life.
Rong Shu raised her fingertip, dabbed some rose petal cream on it, and moistened her fingertip. "It's a good thing for that illegitimate daughter, who gets the title of the eldest mistress for nothing."
“You will be the mistress of the house in the future, so you should have the magnanimity to tolerate others. She will only be called the mistress for a few days, but she will be a widow for life. Once the eldest son dies, all the glory will be yours. She is just a stepping stone for you to become the mistress of the Marquis’s mansion. She will only ever be worthy of stepping on you. Why bother about temporary gains and losses?”
Duan's words completely calmed Rong Shu down. She pouted and reluctantly replied, "Mother is right, Shaoqing will follow your teachings."
"Never go to extremes in your actions. Leaving a way out for others is also leaving a way out for yourself. Remember this."
"Yes, daughter will remember her mother's teachings."
"There is one more thing. You have never thought things through before acting, and you will suffer a great loss in the future. You must keep the fact that you were able to marry Erlang a secret from everyone, especially that concubine's daughter. In order to avoid causing trouble in the future, you should also cut off her thoughts of competing with you for the power of managing the household."
Footsteps approached from outside the hall, and red satin shoes stepped through the high door.
"Greetings to Mother."
The young girl had a face like a lotus flower, skin as white as ice and bones as white as jade. Her green wedding dress perfectly outlined her graceful figure. Two pale purple pearls were pasted on her forehead. Beneath her dark brown almond eyes, she had a high and straight nose and small lips. However, her face was a little pale, her face was thin, and there were some dark circles under her eyes.
Her features were indeed very beautiful, but she was too thin and lacked vitality.
Madam Duan smiled insincerely, "Your father will be waiting for you in the front hall later. Hmm, he looks much better than before. It wasn't for nothing that I begged Physician Zhang to prescribe the palace tonics for you every day. From now on, you two sisters must support each other and advance and retreat together in the Marquis's mansion, understand?"
Rong Shu watched with a cold expression as she obediently nodded, then turned her head away with satisfaction.
Suddenly, like a spring breeze, a few pine and cypress leaves were swept into the room. A withered leaf swirled and stuck to Rong Yan's sleeve. Her gaze was fixed on the leaf, and her eyes softened instantly.
In her past life, she was famous at home and abroad for her skill in divination and fortune telling. After working hard for thirty years, she told her mother's fortune at her birthday banquet. The divination indicated that her parents would face a life-or-death calamity. She decisively gave up everything and took her parents on a chartered plane trip around the world. However, the plane still crashed. She traveled through time and arrived in the third year of the Qiande era of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The original owner of this body was only six years old when she transmigrated here.
Her original name was Rong Yan, courtesy name Changyu, and she was an illegitimate daughter.
Born into an official family, her father was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and also Rong Shu's biological father. Rong Shu's mother was a noblewoman from a prestigious family, and she was pampered and spoiled by the entire household from a young age.
As for Rong Yan, her mother was a former servant who rose to power. From a young age, her family lived a humble life, eating the same food as servants and living in the most remote courtyard of the entire mansion.
The year she transmigrated, her mother died, her grandmother died, and her grandfather also died.
She was all alone, living a life of isolation in the unfavored mansion, serving as a contrast to the eldest sister, Rong Shu.
Rong Yan: ...I'm tired. As long as I have a roof over my head, that's enough. Fight? Struggle? Just give up.
Later, she was accused of having a hard fate and bringing misfortune to her relatives, and she was sent to Hebai Taoist Temple without any protest.
The Taoist temple was not large, and even quite dilapidated, but it was a place where she, her master, and her fellow disciples could find shelter.
Beside the Crane and Cypress Temple, there are also pine and cypress leaves like these. At this time, spring snow must be slowly falling on the pine branches. Where the wind blows, it will surely fall down in a rustling sound, landing in front of the dilapidated and old Taoist temple.
The senior brother would surely be standing in front of the mottled red-lacquered temple gate, sweeping the spring snow in front of the hall clean, while the junior brother would probably be using fire tongs to gather firewood.
Her master said that no one was allowed to come to see her off when she got married.
As an enlightened being, one must maintain a certain air of composure in front of others.
On the day she left the Taoist temple, her master said, "You are the most outstanding of all my disciples, but also the least competitive. Your senior brothers and sisters always complain that your alchemy and talisman cultivation are not good enough, and the money you donate to the temple is only enough to support yourself. Everyone says you are lazy, but I know you are not. You are too shrewd, you calculate everything just right, and you are wise in your foolishness. This is both your strength and your weakness."
“Master, you don’t understand. The so-called ‘those who follow the Tao will prevail’ is not lazy, but rather I am following the natural way. Success will come eventually, and if it doesn’t, it’s useless to do it.”
A long silence followed.
"Since you say that those who follow the right path will prevail, why not cast a divination for yourself? Will entering the Marquis's residence this time bring good fortune or misfortune?"
Upon hearing this, Rong Yan shook his head repeatedly, "With a powerful and influential family in front and a ruthless elder sister behind, I'm afraid it's a very bad omen."
She casually picked up a camellia branch that was leaning in through the window, broke off three leaves, threw them on the table six times, and glanced at the divination result.
Her senior sister wasn't good at divination; all that could be seen was that she cast the divination six times, and all three leaves she threw were heads.
"So, what kind of divination are you consulting?"
Rong Yan remained silent for a moment before saying, "All six lines are yang lines, which is the Qian hexagram."
"They are all extremely auspicious hexagrams."
"So what is the question in your heart?"
...
"Second Sister, Second Sister!"
Xia Xiang's slightly raised voice brought Rong Yan back to his senses.
"Second sister, it's time to set off."
Rong Yan looked up at the ancestral hall. Her father, Rong Guangmao, looked at her with a cold yet distant smile. "Changyu, we are waiting for you to return home."
Come back? Heh.
She has been here for ten years and has never held a grudge against this blood relative. But today, on her wedding day, she suddenly feels a surge of emotion.
“Father, Changyu is long dead. The name my master gave me is Jigui.”
Upon hearing this, the matron in the mansion immediately put on a stern face and said, "What do you mean by death? It's so unlucky to talk about that when someone gets married."
Rong Guangmao's face turned completely red. His usually obedient and docile illegitimate daughter only wished for him to look at her more, but he never expected her to talk back to him today, which made him both shocked and embarrassed.
Rong Yan raised his head high, ignoring the words behind him and seemingly oblivious to Rong Guangmao's embarrassed expression. He turned away decisively and strode off without a second thought.
Outside the mansion, a great commotion arose. Rong Yan held a silk fan to cover his face, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a striking silver hair in the crowd, and his gaze became somewhat dazed.
The old Taoist priest smiled at her, waved to her, and then turned and slowly squeezed out of the crowd.
He didn't even accept the small red envelope offered to him; this usually greedy old man actually refused to take it.
Rong Yan knew that the old Taoist priest had forbidden his senior brothers and sisters from attending the wedding because—
I will not accept the money from selling my daughter.
Even though Hebai Temple lacked the support of pilgrims and had no money for repairs, it still had its own principles at heart.
She smiled slightly, stunning everyone and causing a stir.
Rong Shu, inside the mansion, watched her sedan chair depart into the distance, her face filled with resentment.
She used every means at her disposal to marry into the Marquis of Runan's family.
She, a mere lowly concubine's daughter, did nothing, yet easily became the head wife.
All the glory she enjoys today is something she refused to be given. How dare she treat her father with such an attitude?!
No rush. Without her husband's protection, her remaining years are like a candle in the wind. Rong Yan's life is already predictable. As her mother said, temporary unhappiness is bearable.
After all, once the eldest son arrives, everything will be just around the corner.
Rong Yan looked at the lowered sedan curtain, his brows relaxed, and he sighed.
The divination she performed for Xie Chengzhi truly predicted that he would die young, with only three months left to live.
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