Chapter 97 Qishan Fengchan 4 Master's Gate
The Zhai Palace at the foot of Mount Qishan, built centuries ago, retains the ancient style and aura of a bygone dynasty. Since its construction, it has served as the Zhai Palace for the imperial family to fast during the Fengshan (Emperor's Ceremony) at Mount Qishan. On weekdays, it is uninhabited, guarded only by elderly palace servants. Once the date for the Fengshan (Emperor's Ceremony) is set, the Ministry of Works dispatches personnel to oversee the palace's renovations.
This year's ceremony was hastily scheduled, leaving insufficient time for renovations to the Zhai Palace. Only a few rooms needed by the emperor were repaired. The rest were hastily cleaned, maintaining only a superficial appearance.
By the time Xun Shu and Wuweizi arrived at the Zhai Palace, the common people had already occupied the area within sight of the emperor's carriage. Xun Shu looked around and spotted a large tree. He climbed up with a few steps, leaving Wuweizi staring blankly at the tree's base.
Xun Shu perfunctorily tried to appease him: "You can get in anyway, so why does it matter whether you see it now or not?"
Wuweizi thought about it and it seemed to be true, so he said no more.
Xun Shu had barely settled into her seat when a sound came from the end of the road. She held onto the tree trunk, leaning forward, her gaze piercing through the layers of leaves to the end of the road.
Dust rose from the gravel road as the imperial procession slowly emerged. Cavalry led the way, followed closely by the armored infantry. Over a hundred musicians followed behind the infantry, wielding drums of varying sizes. The drumbeats resounded like thunder, a majestic spectacle that resounded through the heavens. Further behind them was a formation of flags, their streamers fluttering in the wind, rustling and rustling, heralding the arrival of the Holy Emperor and adding to his aura of grandeur.
The emperor's carriage sat in the center of the procession, its windows draped with gauze curtains, revealing only a vague silhouette. The carriage was surrounded by layers of imperial guards, and if Xun Shu hadn't been standing high up, he wouldn't have been able to see the emperor's true features, let alone the precious orb atop the hood.
The procession entered the palace gate one by one and disappeared from everyone's sight. The people were still chattering and savoring the moment, but Xun Shu refused to return to his senses. He carefully scanned everyone who had not yet entered the palace gate, hoping to see that familiar figure, but he found nothing.
Li Xuanhe was not in the team.
I saw him briefly yesterday and I don’t know if he had enough time to return to the team.
The palace gates slowly closed before Xun Shu's eyes. She had no reason to stay in the tree any longer, so she frantically climbed down. She wasn't as agile as when she'd climbed up, and she looked a bit embarrassed. Wuweizi, still waiting at the foot of the tree, yawned and said, "I thought you were going to stay the night in the tree."
Xun Shu was surprised that he hadn't left yet: "Aren't you going to the Zhai Palace?"
Wuweizi stretched and straightened his clothes. "The fasting palace is very busy right now. His Majesty still has many rituals to perform before fasting. It won't be too late to go in after the rituals are over after noon." He scratched his head, a bit of embarrassment on his face. "Actually, I didn't leave because I remembered I forgot to say thank you to you. I can't predict my own fate, so thank you for pointing out my disaster. If I can save you from danger, I will definitely treat you to a drink at the best restaurant tomorrow!"
Xun Shu didn't hesitate: "Then I will definitely order all the delicious dishes." She stared at his face, still worried, and warned, "No matter what, it's better to be careful. Fate is hard to defy, but there is always a way to survive. If all else fails, escape first, and we can deal with the rest later."
Wuweizi put away the playful smile on his face and nodded seriously: "I will remember it."
The walls of the Zhai Palace were no shorter than those of the Imperial Palace. Xun Shu could not even see the palace from afar. Guards stood at every gate, preventing even a flying insect from entering.
If only I could enter the Sai Palace in Wuweizi's place...
When Xun Shu had this thought in his mind, he was shocked. But in a moment, he rejected this idea.
The Princess accompanied the Emperor this time, and there were familiar faces from the Dali Temple in the group. It was impossible to convince so many people to conceal her identity. Furthermore, the bone structure of men and women is different. If the Lord of the Hall of Eternal Life could read bones, he would have recognized her as a woman at a glance, not Wuweizi.
If you want to sneak into the Sai Palace, you still have to find another way.
Xun Shu felt complicated and depressed. He said goodbye to Wuweizi and walked slowly into the city.
Most of the people in Anle Town had returned to the city, and street vendors were gradually opening their doors to welcome customers. Xun Shu found a tea stall, ordered a bowl of hot tea, and sipped it slowly.
The broken tea leaves in the tea bowl swirled in the soup. Xun Shu stared down, wondering how she could sneak into the Zhai Palace. Just as she was thinking of a way to find a dog hole, a shadow fell over her head, as if someone had stopped in front of her. The person saw her and said happily, "Xiao Shu! I just saw you from afar and thought you looked familiar. I didn't expect it to be you!" The person waved a hand not far behind them. "Liang Qiu, Chu Miao, it's really Xiao Shu!"
Xun Shu raised his head and looked at the people in front of him, his eyes reddened in an instant: "Senior Brother, Senior Sister..."
Xun Shu had lived in the Sitian Pavilion for as long as she could remember. Back then, besides her master and a few elderly servants, there were six disciples. Two of them were older and soon left the mountain, leaving only the four of them, who had spent nearly a decade together, keeping each other company.
When she was eight, twenty-year-old Liang Qiu was the first to leave the mountain. When she was ten, twenty-one-year-old Chu Miao also left the mountain. When she was twelve, her youngest senior brother Yuan Zhou also left Si Tian Pavilion. From then on, she was the only disciple left in Si Tian Pavilion by her master.
She once thought that the world was so big that she might never meet them again, but she didn't expect to meet them again at this time, in her most confused and darkest moment.
Xun Shu's tears began to fall, and she burst into tears a moment later. Yuan Zhou looked at her and laughed so hard that he fell backwards. As he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes: "Xiao Shu, how come you've gone back so much in a few years? You're still like a child, crying all the time."
Xun Shu cried until she was out of breath. The depression accumulated in her heart turned into tears, which could not be stopped. She wiped her tears on her sleeves, sobbed, and stumbled, "I thought I would never see you again while I was alive..."
Chu Miao knocked Xun Shu's head as usual, and then rubbed it gently: "Your mouth really hasn't changed in all these years..."
The teahouse was in a busy part of town, and Xun Shu's wailing drew many curious glances. Liang Qiu, now approaching thirty, had become much more mature and steady than he had been. He glanced around and said firmly, "There are too many people here. Why don't we go to my house and discuss this?"
Liang Qiu has a house in Anle Town? Xun Shu was bewildered, and before he knew it, his tears had stopped. He dazedly followed Liang Qiu and the others out of the city and into the suburbs. When Liang Qiu stopped walking, Xun Shu stared at the scene before him, his eyes swollen like walnuts, and asked in shock, "Brother, have you changed your career to become a vegetable farmer?"
In front of me was a simple little courtyard, surrounded by a fence. A hundred steps east of the fence lay Qishan Mountain, its slopes gentle, ingeniously carved into a staircase-like shape. Each step was perfectly smooth, and in the fertile soil were planted various vegetables and grains. Some were still seedlings, others nearly mature.
"I guess so. I came here a few years ago and saw that this mountain forest and land were fertile, but because the terrain was uneven, no one was farming. So I settled here, growing vegetables and flowers on weekdays, waiting for the Fengshan ceremony to arrive."
Liang Qiu led a few people into the yard, where there were only two simple houses and a dozen chickens running around on the ground.
The other two had obviously been here before, but Xun Shu was quite curious. He walked and looked around until he followed everyone into the house and asked, "How many years ago? Senior Brother, how many years ago did you know that the Fengshan Ceremony would be held?"
Yuan Zhou quipped with a smile, "Liang Qiu has inherited the most from our master among us. What's so strange about him?" He interrupted Liang Qiu and chattered briefly about the events of the past few years. "A few years ago, Liang Qiu announced that he would hold a grand Fengshan ceremony this year, and that something would happen during the ceremony. If not handled properly, it would cause unrest, causing suffering for the people and making their lives miserable. Liang Qiu couldn't find a solution, so he came here to stay, thinking that with time, he would find a solution."
Liang Qiu nodded and sighed, "But this game is too big for me to solve. I need the help of a noble person. But I have no idea who this noble person is or how to help. I can't even figure out their birth date or whether they are a boy or a girl."
Chu Miao stood leaning against the door frame, also with a worried look on her face. "This year, we've tried to meet many people in the power center, but we still haven't found that 'noble person'. Now, in three days, Mount Qi will be enshrined in the Heavenly Palace. Perhaps some situations are simply beyond our ability to break. If Master were still here—" Chu Miao smiled bitterly, shook her head, and sighed deeply. When she spoke again, she had changed the subject to something lighter. "Let's not talk about that. How have you been these past few years, Xiaoshu? Five years ago, after hearing about Master and the Sitian Pavilion, the three of us returned to Yundan Mountain without any prior arrangement, but we couldn't find any trace of you. Later, Liangqiu cast a divination and calculated that you were not in danger, but had met a noble person. There was a cause and effect behind it, so we were relieved. Later, when we calmed down, we realized that our worries were unnecessary. Master must have calculated everything and paved a way out for you. Otherwise, how could we leave with peace of mind? After all, you are his disciple who was raised by him."
Xun Shu had never known they had been back before, so he whispered, "Since you've returned... have you found out the truth about the fall of Sitian Pavilion and Master's death?"
The three of them looked at each other and were silent for a moment before Liang Qiu spoke: "We didn't check."
Xun Shu was puzzled: "Since you have been back, you naturally can't let it go, so why didn't you do anything?"
"Because we're not going back for Master, nor for Si Tian Pavilion, but for you." Liang Qiu's expression was quite serious, as if he was teaching a young child. "Many years ago, Master told us that no matter what happened to Si Tian Pavilion in the future, or what happened to him, as long as we left Si Tian Pavilion, we would be expelled from the sect. We would never again interfere in Si Tian Pavilion's affairs, nor would we seek revenge. I think Master knew this was coming."
Yuan Zhou poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xun Shu, nodding in agreement. "Si Tian Pavilion has existed for a thousand years, and its fate has long been exhausted. No matter how it ends, it is a result. We cannot create new causes and effects by refusing to accept this result. You are still too young to understand, but in a few years, you will definitely understand."
It's this sentence again.
Back in the mountains, Xun Shu hated it most when they treated her like a child, even though she was indeed a child back then. She hadn't expected that after a few years, she would still have to hear these words.
As usual, Xun Shu disagreed in her heart, but she wouldn't argue with her senior brothers and sisters over this matter, as it would only lead to more lectures. She stood aside with her lips pursed, eyes downcast, and said nothing.
Chu Miao looked at her unconvinced expression, sighed, and said with a smile: "Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about you. How have you been these years? I see that you have been very lucky, but have you met the young man you like? What's his name, where is he, and when can you bring him to us?"
Yuan Zhou raised an eyebrow, staring into Xun Shu's eyes and said, "Look at her swollen eyes, this relationship may not be the right one. It's a pity that I don't know your horoscope, otherwise I would personally calculate your right one. I can't do anything else these days, but I have been fortune-telling for others all day long. I am so accurate that I am known as the best matchmaker in Daliang."
Xun Shu had forgotten about this incident, but upon hearing this, tears welled up in her eyes, about to fall. She felt the sadness of the past two weeks surge into her heart, weighing her down. At this moment, the drifting ship finally found a shore where it could temporarily stop. Sobbing, she opened her mouth and told everyone what had happened over the years.
Everyone listened to her story quietly. At the end, Chu Miao wiped the tears from Xun Shu's face with a handkerchief and said with a gentle smile, "Xiao Shu has grown up and now knows how to work for the people of the world."
Xun Shu hung his head, dejected. "It's a pity that when I was kicked out of the Sitian Pavilion, I was too young to learn more of my master's skills. I only learned the basics of astrology and couldn't see much more. Brothers and sisters, have you made any more discoveries?"
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