Chapter 7 007 Can't a keepsake like a little rabbit?
"It's all...it's all nonsense from petty people..."
The old man tried to refuse, but Zhiwei grabbed his wrist and half-dragged him up from the ground.
"Sir, please think carefully before you answer."
Zhiwei met the old man's gaze, her peach blossom eyes curving into a slight smile.
The old man was startled when he was thrown back to the ground. He was so frightened that his teeth chattered and he didn't dare to lift his eyes, as if he had been scared out of his wits by something.
"My abilities are limited. Although I can barely see that this young lady is entangled in karma, I cannot fathom the mystery. However... if the young lady is willing, I can perform a divination for you to see if we can find some room for maneuver."
Yun Tianjiao hadn't expected the old man to completely solve his problem; he just wanted to try his luck and asked him a few questions since the old man seemed to be able to see something.
"Alright, then please cast a divination for me. Don't worry, just tell me whatever the divination reveals, there's no need to hold back."
"yes."
The fortune teller got up from the ground, took out three copper coins, and let Yun Tianjiao toss them a few times. Then he counted on his fingers, stroked his beard, and rolled his eyes.
"What, did you figure something out?" Yun Tianjiao grew impatient as he watched him remain silent for a long time.
"Hmm... this divination refers to a person."
"Alone? Who?"
"Hmm...this person...is both far away and right before my eyes."
Yun Tianjiao turned to look at Zhiwei beside him. The fortune teller also took the opportunity to secretly glance at Zhiwei, carefully observing his expression, as if asking: Is this... acceptable to you?
Zhiwei didn't even look at him.
When Yun Tianjiao looked back, the old man quickly looked away again, pretending to be profound as he continued to stroke his beard with his eyes closed.
"You mean him? My destiny's turning point lies with him?" Yun Tianjiao asked suspiciously.
The fortune teller coughed, "Hmm... this is what the divination shows..."
Yun Tianjiao said to Zhiwei, "Didn't you say you're good at fortune telling? Why don't you tell my fortune too? I want to see if you're the one who can change my luck?"
Unexpectedly, Zhiwei refused.
“Miss, a diviner should not divine for himself. Now that I am involved, I am afraid I can no longer divine about this matter.”
The fortune teller quickly chimed in, "That's right!"
Yun Tianjiao frowned slightly.
Zhiwei immediately added, "However, it's better to believe it than not. Since the divination has shown this, you might as well keep me by your side for a long time, just in case."
Yun Tianjiao: "..."
It felt like the old man and Zhiwei were in cahoots, but the goddess's face was so sincere and innocent that it made her seem petty.
Yun Tianjiao knew that he wouldn't get any more information by pressing the old man, so he let him go and even tossed him a silver ingot before leaving with Zhiwei.
Watching the two walk out of the Gongxin Temple, the old man finally breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest, and muttered to himself, "My goodness, no wonder when I looked at those four people earlier, I could only sense the fates of three of them. I thought I was seeing things. It turns out, it turns out we actually encountered that person..."
What incredible luck! Thank goodness my ancestors protected me, I'm still alive today!
The old man shuddered with fear, threw the silver ingot he had just received into his mouth, and instantly transformed into a large, grayish-brown rat. He quickly scurried into the mud hole under the statue of Gongxin and disappeared.
...
Three days later, the opening ceremony of the Ascension to Immortality Conference will take place. To show the importance the royal family attaches to it, Yun Tianjiao and Yun Tianqi personally led all the civil and military officials to the incense-lighting platform to watch the ceremony.
The sky was still pitch black when Yun Tianjiao was woken up to get up, wash, and dress.
Zhiwei had already prepared a basin of water and towels for her to wash her face, and the gold-threaded shoes she was wearing had been preheated, making them soft, warm, and just right.
Even the princess, who is usually grumpy when she wakes up, was so soothed that she couldn't get angry.
After Yun Tianjiao washed her face, she intended to take the towel and dry it herself, but Zhiwei had already rolled up her sleeves and gently wiped her face for her.
Chunxi led the other young palace maids of Chang Le Palace to stand at a distance, and the youngest of them couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
"This deity is truly skilled at serving people; he's even more attentive than the most attentive eunuchs in the palace."
"That's right, ever since he came, we haven't been able to get involved."
"Is he really a god? He's so humble; none of the previous gods could compare to him..."
"How can we not lower our expectations? He's a god on the verge of extinction, and we're hoping that His Highness will burn a few more sticks of incense for him."
When Chunxi saw that what the group was saying was getting more and more outrageous, she turned around and glared at them before they shut up.
The palace maids stood far away and kept their voices very low, thinking that no one but themselves could hear them. Little did they know that with the ears of a god, every word could be heard clearly.
Zhiwei's expression remained completely unchanged, and the gentle smile on her lips was as warm as a spring breeze.
"Knowing the subtle."
Yun Tianjiao closed his eyes, feeling the brocade lightly brush against his cheek, and suddenly called out.
"Your Highness, I am here."
Yun Tianjiao opened his eyes and fell into the dark and deep gaze of the Heavenly God.
"You don't actually have to go to such lengths."
Zhiwei raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
She gestured for Zhiwei to put down what she was holding and come to her.
Zhiwei was very obedient. At this time, Yun Tianjiao was only wearing undergarments and had her long hair loose as she sat by the phoenix couch. Zhiwei then knelt down at her feet.
He would never treat her as an equal; he always had to show the hierarchy of master and servant.
"You may have heard that I personally promoted Qingyuan Immortal Venerable. I built many temples for him and helped him achieve his current status."
Zhiwei listened quietly without responding.
Yun Tianjiao continued, "You probably think that if you stay by my side and try your best to please me, perhaps I will treat you the way I treated Qingyuan..."
"Won't you?"
Zhiwei suddenly spoke up and looked up at the eldest princess sitting in the high seat.
The two of them, positioned at such an angle, resembled worshippers in a temple, looking up at their deities.
Yun Tianjiao couldn't stand Zhiwei looking at her like that. Those peach blossom eyes were moist and dark, too alluring and seductive, stirring her heart.
But she couldn't let herself fall for someone who clearly had ulterior motives towards her.
“Of course not.” She looked away, her voice cold. “I worshipped Qingyuan because I wanted him to do something for me. The rumors that I admired him are not true. Now that he can no longer do things for me, I will no longer worship him.”
Yun Tianjiao shifted his gaze back and saw that Zhiwei was still looking at him, and even more so than before, there was a hint of unfathomable darkness in her eyes.
"So do you understand now? I make offerings to the gods only for their usefulness, not because of personal preference."
"Zhiwei, don't waste your energy on me."
She spoke in an almost threatening tone, her words cold and unsympathetic.
Zhiwei's robes fluttered past as she rose and helped her up from the phoenix couch, leading her to the dressing mirror.
"...What are you doing?"
"Your Highness, if we don't hurry, we might miss the time to go to the incense altar." Zhiwei picked up a hair comb and began to comb her hair.
Yun Tianjiao grabbed Zhiwei's hand as she combed her hair, turned around, and asked, "Don't you understand what I mean?"
"clear."
"What do you understand?"
"Strive to be a god who is useful to Her Highness the Princess."
"..."
...
In the Kingdom of Yunchi, almost every main city has an incense-lighting platform, which, as the name suggests, is specifically used to light incense and make offerings to the gods.
Unlike ordinary temples, the incense-lighting altar is dedicated to all the gods, and gods of the rank of Immortal Venerable or above can have their spirit tablets erected on the incense-lighting altar.
The incense-lighting platform inside the imperial city is the largest, attracting pilgrims every day. The air is filled with incense smoke, and the strong smell of incense can be smelled from ten miles away.
Considering fire prevention, incense-burning altars were generally built in the distant suburbs outside the main city. Thus, the royal convoy left the imperial city before dawn, followed by civil and military officials and their families, a grand and spectacular procession.
"Sister Tianjiao! Sister Tianjiao!"
Yun Tianjiao was woken up by Shen Qiongzhi. She lifted the carriage curtain and found that they had arrived at their destination. The procession began to organize, and the families of officials of all ranks got off the carriages one after another.
Not far from her carriage, a group of noble girls were gathered together. Among them were some familiar faces to Yun Tianjiao, as well as unfamiliar ones. She didn't know which family's daughter they were.
Shen Qiongzhi wore a small red cape today, with the hood pulled up over her head, looking flamboyant and passionate.
A girl with irises in her hair followed behind Shen Qiongzhi, looking timidly at Yun Tianjiao.
Yun Tianjiao yawned, noticed the iris in the girl's hair, and said knowingly, "Are you a visitor of the Divine Venerable Mo Bei?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the girl said shyly.
Every deity has their own favorite token, regardless of the type. Mo Bei, the God of War, has a purple iris as his token, while Zhu Jing, the Immortal Lord whom Shen Qiongzhi longs for, has a rabbit as his token.
Shen Qiongzhi then took off her hood, revealing a pair of fluffy rabbit ears on her head.
The young girl seemed to have just met Shen Qiongzhi and didn't know each other's backgrounds yet. Seeing the ornaments on Shen Qiongzhi's head, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah!" "Miss Shen, are you a pilgrim of Immortal Zhu Jing?"
Shen Qiongzhi suddenly became wary. "What, are you a traitor to Immortal Lord Zhu Jing?"
A traitor is someone who openly opposes or despises a god. Some extreme traitors will even go so far as to destroy the incense and temples of gods they dislike.
"No, no!" The girl immediately revealed her identity, turning around to reveal the rabbit tail ornament hanging from her waist. "I worship the two gods! I also worship Immortal Lord Zhujing!"
As Yun Tianjiao watched the group of girls happily displaying the divine tokens they possessed, a thought suddenly occurred to him—
Zhiwei...it seems there's no token yet.
What will he use as his token of love?
At that moment, she noticed that the chattering noble girls had quieted down and were all looking behind her. At the same time, she felt a slight weight on her shoulder as someone draped a cloak over her from behind.
"Your Highness, the morning dew is heavy; be careful not to catch a cold."
Yun Tianjiao turned around and saw Zhi smiling gently as she looked down at her.
As dawn broke, golden rays shone through the gaps in the leaves of the roadside trees, dazzling him.
"Ah, Your Highness, is this... a celestial being?"
"What is this deity's title, and where is his temple located?"
"My daughter wishes to enshrine a shrine to the deity at home and pray day and night. May I ask for a piece of handwritten blessing paper?"
The noble ladies were clearly bewitched by this enchanting god, and fell for him in an instant.
Yun Tianjiao watched coldly, inwardly scoffing: "Using the opportunity of delivering the cloak to show off in front of these noble ladies."
Zhiwei, you're so cunning!
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