Three feet of life
Seeing her coming, Wen Yici placed the wine glass in his hand on the railing by the bridge. Under the stars and the moon, he walked towards her with a faint aroma of plum wine. The breeze blew up the corners of his clothes, and a faint blush appeared on the cheeks of the young man in bright clothes and on the horse.
"I was so happy that I drank a few more cups. Please don't blame me, my lady."
Yuanli took his hand and interlocked their fingers, then walked to the stone bench. Just as Yuanli was about to sit down, Wen Yici pulled her back and shook his head. After he sat down, he blew the dust off the bench, lifted a corner of his coat and spread it on the stone bench, then tried to smooth it out before pulling her to sit down.
"Will the smell of my alcohol bother you?"
"Won't."
Wen Yici stared up at the stars in the night sky without blinking. With the help of moonlight and candlelight, Yuanli could clearly see his sad eyes and his Adam's apple moving as he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"Everyone says that gods are happy. My lady, if you had a choice, would you like to be a god in heaven?"
She didn't know that if she didn't become a god in heaven, she would never be able to come to this world and meet her Ah Ci in her entire life. But if she became a god in heaven, her three lives would be over, and her soul and Ah Ci's would have no afterlife.
"Mortals have their own worries, and gods have their own worries. It's hard to sort them out, and I can't figure it out. If I had a choice, I would only wish to be the most powerful god, powerful enough to allow Ah Ci to live longer, longer, until we are old and have children and grandchildren, so that we can grow old together."
Yuanli held his hand tightly, staring at him intently, every word she said was sincere, but he kept looking up at the starry sky and never spoke. Perhaps he also had a premonition that he would not be able to grow old with her.
Under the moonlight, two figures cuddled together, their silence eloquent. Each of them hid their thoughts in their hearts, unable to speak, unable to look at each other, afraid that if the other glanced back, tears would fall.
After sitting quietly for a long time, Yuanli gathered her thoughts and stood up. She stretched out her hand to him and said, "Aci, I'll take you home."
Wen Yici smiled at her lovingly with tender eyes, staring at those hands and the beloved he had been thinking about. He slowly extended his hand to her and held it tightly, his thousands of words condensed into one sentence: "Okay, my lady, take me home."
When they arrived at the banquet, Yuanli gave the prince her sincere blessings and said goodbye, sent someone to deliver the news to her bride, and then took Wen Yici out of the palace.
Outside the palace gate, in front of the carriage. Wen Yici, on a whim, carried her on his back, dismissed the accompanying carriages, and said he would carry her back to the mansion. They took the same route he had taken when she was drunk in the warm spring.
The candy vendor saw the two people in a secluded place from afar, and hurriedly picked up the only white phoenix on his stall and sent it to them. Before he could get close, plainclothes police stopped him and the vendor explained anxiously.
"Send him over."
The vendor ran towards them gratefully and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for allowing me to support my family and have a place to live. I have been keeping a white phoenix every day, and I wanted to give it to you as a token of my gratitude. I hope you will accept it."
"Thank you very much."
After Yuanli accepted the White Phoenix, Wen Yici nodded slightly to the vendor and continued walking forward. After he walked away, the plainclothes officer took out a silver ingot and forced it into the vendor's pocket.
Now the glory has passed, and Kyoto is no longer filled with white phoenixes, but the white phoenix still belongs to her.
Seeing her joy, Wen Yici joked, "My lady, you've heard in picture books that there's a god whose true form is also a white phoenix. It's a pity that the picture your husband bought for you can't depict that god."
"I dare not hope for the White Phoenix in heaven, but if the White Phoenix in the human world truly belongs to me, then three lifetimes will be enough."
Before he finished speaking, brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky. Golden sands blossomed, flames dyed the starry sky red, and sparse sparks shot out in all directions. They were gone in a flash, ending magnificently before being reborn.
The summer night was dotted with stars, insects chirped and frogs croaked, but the night was long and he could not sleep. His thoughts were entangled with the bright moon. Wen Yici turned sideways, his trembling hands floating in the air. From a slight distance, his fingers traced her face over and over again.
"This life is but a mere three feet long, how dare I covet the thought of growing old together with you."
“Aci…”
Wen Yici's heart skipped a beat, but the person in his arms stopped talking after he finished, and he slept soundly. Fortunately, it was just a dream talk...
The next morning, Wen Yici didn't have to attend the morning court, so he hugged her and slept in for a rare time. When he woke up, she dragged him to Tianyu Mountain.
It rained lightly last night, and the mountains were covered with dew. The smell of grass was strong, and the towering old bamboos were lush and green, blocking most of the scorching sun above. The sunlight was scattered on the long stone steps, which meandered through the mountains all the way to the top of the mountain.
However, even though it is such a daunting mountain, at this moment, it is crowded with devout pilgrims.
Yuanli looked at the mountains and did not retreat in fear. Instead, she lifted her skirt and started climbing with high morale. Halfway through, she was exhausted and out of breath. Wen Yici opened the kettle to give her water and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"You will be carried on my back as your husband."
"No, there are many temples on Tianyu Mountain, and there are many Bodhisattvas and gods enshrined there. You must climb up with piety, and only then will the Bodhisattvas and gods hear your wishes. My husband, please don't cheat for me."
Seeing Yuanli's righteous look, Wen Yici had no choice but to give up and slow down his pace to accompany her.
Just when Yuanli was about to fall down, a monk in coarse linen clothes was kneeling three times and prostrating nine times devoutly to worship the Buddha. He was not wearing monk's clothes, but the six burnt scars on his head when he took the precepts were clearly visible, and he must be a monk who had returned to secular life.
He clasped his hands together with a pious and determined look. He stared at the top of the mountain, completely ignoring the gazes of others, as if he and the Bodhisattvas and gods were the only ones left in Tianyu Mountain.
The man's piety inspired Yuanli, and she instantly became full of energy and her pace became much faster.
Arriving at the open space not far from Xiangyun Temple on the mountainside, Yuanli looked at the dilapidated house with satisfaction. This piece of land was just enough for her to build a temple for worship.
"Aren't you here to burn incense and pray to Buddha? Madam, why are you looking at this empty space on Tianyu Mountain?"
"I want to donate money to build a temple and worship a god." As he said that, Yuanli looked for the people around him. Fortunately, he saw a monk sweeping the floor on the stone steps in the distance.
Yuanli pulled Wen Yici towards him and asked quickly, "Excuse me for bothering you, young master, but do you know who owns that house? I'd like to build a temple there."
"Oh, Amitabha, I don't know. That house has been in disrepair for a long time and is in great disrepair. It's better to stay away from it to avoid getting hurt. I wonder which Bodhisattva or deity you would like to enshrine? Tianyu Mountain is full of temples, so perhaps there is one you would like to enshrine."
Yuanli felt a little disappointed. She had been saving money for a long time just to build a temple for herself and accumulate some incense. She had her eyes on a piece of land, but she couldn't find anyone to buy it.
She is the God of Broom Stars. People in the world dislike Broom Stars because they think they represent bad luck and are in charge of wealth, poverty and disasters. Therefore, no one worships her, let alone accumulate incense for her.
However, all the stars in the vast starry sky are controlled by a god, the most famous of which are the Big Dipper. Although the Broom Star God is called that, he is actually a real god who is in charge of a certain constellation.
Ever since the death of the Broom Star God, no one wanted to take on the role. Over time, people mistakenly believed that the Broom Star God was a deity of bad luck. Yuanli felt deeply distressed. How could a deity be so destitute as she was, having to rely on herself to save money to build a temple and gather incense?
"Thank you, Master, but I want to worship the Broom Star God. I'm afraid there is no temple in Tianyu Mountain."
"Yes, it was repaired with money donated by a pilgrim. The female donor reached the top of the mountain and saw a lush peach tree. Beneath the tree was a temple dedicated to the God of Broom Stars."
Yuanli was a little surprised. She had never thought such a temple existed in the human world. She quickly thanked him and said goodbye, rushing to the top of the mountain. There really was such a temple. Beneath the sturdy peach tree, the huge temple was still a little deserted, but fortunately there were a few pilgrims.
As soon as I stepped into the temple, I heard a young monk say, "That's not the case! The Broom Star Lord is a local deity, the Lord of the Stars, and he sits atop the Three Mountains and Five Peaks. Like the Seven Star Lords of the Big Dipper, he controls a region's constellations. It's a very high position."
"I see. Then what does this Star Lord control? Marriage? Wealth? Children?"
Yuanli hung her head in frustration. She had ascended to immortality by being imbued with the Emperor's celestial energy, and with luck, she had been blessed with the celestial energy of a celestial being. By filling in the gaps, she had become the Celestial Broom Star Lord. As soon as she became a celestial being, she was sent down to the mortal realm. As for her role in charge, she herself was unaware of it.
"If your heart is sincere, the Broom Star God will hear your wishes. If your heart is not sincere, even if you pray with all your heart, it will be useless."
Everyone turned around and one of the pilgrims recognized Wen Yici's identity and quickly knelt down to pay his respects.
"No need to bow. I am just one of the pilgrims gathered at Tianyu Mountain today. I don't want to reveal my identity. I hope you will keep it secret to prevent the people from recognizing me and delaying their burning of incense, as well as my wife and I from burning incense and worshipping Buddha."
After saying that, Wen Yici pulled her into the temple and lit three incense sticks. Wen Yici knelt down and kowtowed devoutly, clasping his hands together and silently reciting his wishes to the Broom Star God.
Yuanli looked around. The temple had everything she needed. The altar was filled to the brim with fruit, snacks, and incense, and there was not a speck of dust on the table. The stone statue was so lifelike, and its features bore a striking resemblance to her.
When the pilgrims saw that the two of them were worshipping the Broom Star God, they spontaneously picked up incense and knelt down to worship, and the haze in Yuanli's heart was swept away.
Before leaving, she asked the young monk who was the person who built the temple, but the young monk's unfathomable words made her confused. She only knew that the person who built the temple left a sentence: When everyone asked, he just said that he was the most devout believer of the Broom Star God.
In the days that followed, Yuanli saved money to build a temple. Whenever she found a place she liked, that believer had already built one first, and his financial resources were far greater than hers.
Time is fleeting, like a white horse passing by in the blink of an eye. The four seasons come and go in the blink of an eye. Six days in the demon world in heaven is equivalent to six years on earth.
In the court, Wen Yici, who had always been as steady as an old dog, was so panicked that the tablet in his hand slipped. He immediately asked for leave from his father and rushed back to the palace. He did not use the carriage along the way. After unloading the carriage, Wen Yici jumped on his horse and galloped back. The horse's hooves kicked up dust and raised light smoke, and he was eager to return home.
Yuanli was holding the spittoon and retching, while Heqi and Tianshu were staring at her with resentment.
"Is the child his?"
He Qi responded by pushing Tian Shu, gnashing his teeth with displeasure and saying, "Hua Xuandu, if you can't speak, don't speak. A'li is not that kind of woman!"
Yuanli nodded and said, "Yes."
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