Chapter 96: Qishan Fengchan 3: The Elixir of Immortality
The night was dark, and the wind was incessant. Li Xuanhe stood in the wilderness, feeling his heart shattered by the annoying wind.
He knew that he had done something wrong on the day he found Jiang Zheng's body and did not confess everything at the first time, but he still felt sad when he heard Xun Shu deny their past.
The explanation I had prepared long ago was piled up in my throat, but I could no longer find the opportunity to say it, nor did I have the desire to say it.
Li Xuanhe recalled the day nine days ago.
When he received the news that day and hurried to the dilapidated courtyard with the Dali Temple staff, he found the gates and doors wide open. The scene was exactly the same as when Xun Shu arrived. The only difference was that the courtyard was empty, not a single person in sight.
Qin Yuan came alone without any followers.
Caught off guard by the suddenness of the situation, he rushed into the room where Jiang Zheng's body lay, his mind a blur. Qin Yuan stood beside the body, his thoughts unclear, not even glancing at him as he entered. He collected his thoughts, walked around the room, and surprisingly, all the evidence he found pointed to Qin Yuan as the murderer.
He and Qin Yuan have known each other for many years, and he knows very well that Qin Yuan would not kill anyone, but with so much evidence in front of him, even he couldn't help but have some doubts.
He had asked Qin Yuan what had happened, but Qin Yuan's brows were furrowed, as if he hadn't heard his question, and he didn't answer. He assumed Qin Yuan was having trouble, so he put the matter aside for now, thinking he'd inquire more thoroughly after he'd finished investigating the scene and returned to the Dali Temple. But as soon as he reached the courtyard, before he could do anything, Xun Shu rushed in, heading straight for Jiang Zheng's body.
When Xun Shu asked him for an explanation, how could he answer? He didn't know what was going on! On one side was his respected master, and on the other was the girl he loved. He didn't want to rely on his trust in Qin Yuan to casually appease Xun Shu, nor could he use a hastily deduced answer to rashly point the finger at Qin Yuan.
He could only remain silent.
Qin Yuan later told him what happened that day and explained the situation. However, Xun Shu had already left the capital, and he was unable to follow her due to official duties, so he didn't have a chance to explain to her.
Now I finally have this opportunity...
Li Xuanhe stepped aside and said softly, "It's getting late, Ah Shu, go back and rest early."
The moonlight was cool and thin, falling on Li Xuanhe's head and body, and every trace of it was filled with loneliness. Xun Shu bit his lip lightly and did not move for a long time.
After saying this, Xun Shu felt that it was a bit harsh, but she did not regret it.
There were indeed many things she couldn't figure out.
She once believed everyone had secrets, and that they weren't that important to her and Li Xuanhe. But after that argument with Fang Yan, while she refuted his words outwardly, she gradually began to feel that if these issues weren't discussed openly, they would become a burning fire between them, poised to explode sooner or later.
Li Xuanhe's expression was quite desolate, and Xun Shu's heart clenched. She had never seen Li Xuanhe like this before, exhausted and drained of his soul. But even so, he remained silent.
A faint disappointment rose in Xun Shu's heart. After a moment of silence, she raised her head and looked at the road ahead. After passing Li Xuanhe, she left the osmanthus forest.
-
After a sleepless night, Xun Shu woke up the next morning feeling groggy and her breathing was a little rough, as if she had caught a cold. She shook her head and lingered in the quilt for a while before getting up.
It was chilly in the mountains, but Xun Shu was still dressed like a young man. After packing up, he left the inn. He shivered in the cool breeze and clutched the shoulder bag on his back tightly, hoping that the bag could keep him out of the cold.
Today, the Emperor will arrive in Anle Town. The streets are deserted, and shops that were bustling yesterday are now closed. Xun Shu suspects that the city's inhabitants are rushing to the Zhai Palace to see the excitement and catch a glimpse of the Emperor, even the shop owners are no exception. She rubbed her cold hands and was about to rush to the Zhai Palace when she heard someone calling her name from behind.
"Brother Xun!"
Xun Shu turned and saw Wuweizi. He had dressed meticulously today, his robe smooth and wrinkle-free, and his hair, as if greased with oil, was perfectly smooth. She slowly greeted him, "Master Wuweizi."
Wuweizi stepped forward quickly: "But you want to go to the Zhai Palace? I happen to be going there too, so it's a good idea for us to go together."
Xun Shu was worried about not knowing the way, so he naturally agreed when he heard this.
The two of them set out a bit late, and after walking for a while, they saw scattered civilians, hurriedly walking. The walk had warmed Xun Shu's body considerably, and she finally felt like chatting. Looking at the excited people ahead, she couldn't help but ask, "Master, do you know how long this Fengshan ceremony at Qishan will last, and what it involves?"
Wuweizi happened to know the rules of the Fengshan ceremony and explained them to her in detail: "After the Holy Emperor arrives in Anle Town today, he will stay at the Zhai Palace at the foot of the mountain. There, His Majesty will bathe and change clothes, abstain from meat and fish, and wait until three days from now on an auspicious day and time. Then he will climb to the mountaintop shrine, worship the gods, and recite the prayer. The next day at an auspicious time, His Majesty will climb to the top of the mountain again, perform the burning wood ceremony at the Temple of Heaven, and seal the jade book containing the prayer. With this, His Majesty's part of the Fengshan ceremony at Qishan is complete. Afterwards, His Majesty will depart Qishan, and all subsequent matters will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Master."
Xun Shu was stunned: "So when we go to the Zhai Palace today, we will really only see the emperor getting off the carriage and entering the Zhai Palace?"
"Maybe you won't be able to see anything. This time, not only the imperial guards have come, but the Danlie troops stationed nearby have also been mobilized. These people will surround the Sai Palace with three layers inside and three layers outside, and you will probably only be able to see the golden hood of the imperial sedan chair." Wuweizi corrected.
Xun Shu had originally thought that if she could get closer to His Majesty and see his face and the faces of those around him clearly, she might make some new discoveries. But now it seemed that this path was not feasible. She walked a few steps dejectedly, then suddenly raised her head and looked at Wuweizi, who was dressed quite formally beside her. "Master, I'm afraid you are not here to join in the fun today, are you?"
Wuweizi raised his chin, quite proudly saying, "Of course not. I'm going to see the Imperial Master today and give him the magic pill, but before I go, I have to meet someone else." Wuweizi mysteriously took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it to Xun Shu, introducing it as if presenting a treasure, "This is the magic pill."
The porcelain bottle was about the size of a baby's fist, gourd-shaped, and had no lines on its surface. It was the most common bottle for holding medicine. The opening of the bottle was sealed with wax, so Xun Shu couldn't open it to look. He could only hold it to his ear and gently shake it a few times. He heard a small crunching sound inside, as if there were more than one pill.
Xun Shu understood: "The elixir of immortality made from snakehead fish?"
Wuweizi was surprised: "How did you know?"
Xun Shu squinted at him as if he were a fool.
"Isn't that all you have to do in Ningyuan Village? Watching that dead fish. Now that the Lord of the Hall of Longevity has summoned you here, you must have told him that the fish has been successfully cultivated, right? But I can't understand why the Lord didn't send anyone to Ningyuan Village to check on such an important matter? Instead, he left it to you to handle it alone. Refining the elixir and sending it here?"
"Miss Xun, you don't know." Wuweizi lowered his voice. "After raising this snake fish, you need to throw it into the alchemy furnace while it's still alive and refine it into elixirs. If you refine it after it dies, the medicinal effect will become increasingly weaker over time. I sent a message to the Palace Master, telling him that the snake fish had completely changed color, but not long after changing color, it died in the pond. When I sent the message, it was almost the Fengshan Ceremony, and the Palace Master was too busy to attend to it, so he could only send a pigeon to tell me the refining method and let me refine it myself." Wuweizi was beaming. "Of course, the snake fish was gone, so I went to the mountains to catch more than a dozen fish and threw them all into the alchemy furnace, and only then was I able to refine these two things."
Xun Shu was increasingly puzzled. "That snakefish is even bigger than a human, yet it only produced two pills... Although refining pills wastes a lot of ingredients, and what goes in won't necessarily equal what comes out, only two pills is too few. I'm afraid the Palace Master won't believe it, right?"
Wuweizi sighed, a look of helplessness on his face: "There's nothing I can do. I'm just following orders. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked me to refine only two poisons, so I can only do as I'm told—"
Wuweizi's voice died in his throat, and as soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had said something he shouldn't have, and he was filled with regret. His eyes darted around, stealing glances at Xun Shu, trying to figure out if she had heard him clearly. But Xun Shu had her eyes downcast, so he couldn't tell her expression, let alone what she was thinking.
Wuweizi became increasingly uneasy.
Xun Shu naturally heard it, and not only heard it, he was also carefully pondering the relationship between them.
After the Ningyuan Village incident, the man behind Wuweizi went from being the head of the Changsheng Palace to Li Xuanhe, and now the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Li Xuanhe's relationship with the Eastern Palace was indeed quite close, far from being just a cousin. He was probably in the Crown Prince's camp, working for him, otherwise he wouldn't have introduced Wuweizi to him.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Wuweizi asked tentatively, "Miss Xun?"
"Yes, I heard. It was the East Palace who ordered you to do it." Xun Shu slowly repeated his words. Seeing Wuweizi's face change drastically and his beard trembling, she felt much better. She handed the medicine bottle back to him and said soothingly, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. But for the sake of our acquaintance, I will tell you one more thing: you are in great trouble."
Wuweizi had seen Xun Shu identify the formation before, so he was naturally convinced by her. He asked in panic, "What does this mean?"
"Your brow is dark, a sign of impending disaster, a fatal calamity. How this calamity will play out, you should be able to guess, right?"
Wuweizi's thoughts were spinning wildly, his eyes alert as he glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he whispered, "Donggong?"
"I think it's more likely the Palace Master of the Hall of Eternal Life." Xun Shu imitated him, lowering his voice and analyzing the situation carefully. "You just said that you were going to see someone before meeting the Palace Master. That person is probably the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, right? He must have something important to tell you to do if he saw you. Otherwise, he could have just sent a message. Why would he take time out of his busy schedule to see you? He knew you were going to give the fake elixir to the Palace Master and had a backup plan for this. How could he kill you before that? Wouldn't that be a waste of his planning?"
Wuweizi suddenly understood, his face filled with admiration as he muttered, "Miss Xun, what you said makes sense! In that case, the Crown Prince will definitely not kill me right away. After I meet His Highness, I will go see the Palace Master and give him this fake elixir of immortality. If the Palace Master doesn't want this secret to be known to others, he might kill me to silence me..." He gradually became flustered, no longer as cheerful as before. "Miss Xun, what should I do? Do you have any way to help me avoid this disaster?"
Xun Shu had pointed out his fatal danger with the intention of helping him resolve it. However, there were so many people here, and she couldn't find a quiet place. She could only rely on speculation to tell his fortune. She thought for a moment and said, "When you go to see the Palace Master, choose a place with many people around. Let them see you and the Imperial Master together, and he might not dare to take action.
Wuweizi had a mournful look on his face. "Girl, you're too naive. The Imperial Master's residence is full of his people. If he really wanted to kill me, not only would no one stop him, but they would even cover up for him. Besides, who would know if a small figure like me died? Or would they go against the Imperial Master to save me?"
Xun Shu was also a little worried: "What should I do..." She suddenly remembered what her brothers had said during the fight, and her eyes lit up, "There is a way! You should find the person who hates the Hall of Eternal Life and its master the most. If that person is as powerful as the Imperial Master, he might be able to save your life."
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