Chapter 380
Nine Kowtowing
Chapter 380 Nine Kowtowing
Jingyang Palace.
The female champions stood before the high threshold, looking back with eyes full of reluctance.
Clear sky, white clouds, gentle breeze.
Good times are too short, like a fleeting spring dream.
Today, as they followed the procession, even the smell of cow dung scattered along the official road felt strangely familiar, while the incense and candle smell in Jingyang Palace was, for the first time, nauseating.
Du Miao stared blankly at the sky outside: "Will we have another chance to go out in the future?"
A female Taoist priest whispered, "Next time, they'll probably be carried out of the palace."
Upon hearing this, Du Miao pulled out the hairpin from her head, letting her gray hair fall down her back, and walked dejectedly towards the back hall.
As Zhu Lingyun walked inside, someone called out to her: "Xuanyun."
She turned to look.
Xuanzhen stood in the shadows of the side hall, his face obscured: "I heard that when you returned to the palace, you were left in the Bureau of Hats and Caps, where the palace maids stripped you naked and searched you three times. But your sister was taken directly to Kunning Palace by the Empress?"
Zhu Lingyun said coldly, "Don't even think about sowing discord between my sister and me from now on. I will never listen to you again. Now that my sister has the Empress's favor, she has nothing to fear from you anymore."
Xuanzhen chuckled softly from the shadows: "Do you think a trip to the First Silkworm Altar will cleanse you of your inner demons? Do you really think you're some kind of good person? You're just a spoiled little girl, pampered by your parents and sister. If you could truly hold onto your original intentions, how could I possibly sow discord between you? Let me ask you, did your sister take you with her when she went to Kunning Palace?"
Zhu Lingyun's expression froze.
Xuanzhen held his whisk, a hint of nostalgia in his voice: "You haven't been to Kunning Palace, have you? I went when I was young. In summer, they would place ice blocks in the four corners of the palace, making the main hall as cool as autumn; in winter, they would heat the floor with electric heating, and the ground would be warm when you walked barefoot on the lapis lazuli bricks offered by the Suzhou imperial kiln. There were endless fruits and vegetables there, and even in winter you could eat vegetables and fruits grown in the hot spring cave..."
Zhu Lingyun angrily said, "Why are you telling me all this? I don't care!"
Xuanzhen smiled and said, "Do you think she will forgive you after you burned Bai Li's memorial tablet?"
Zhu Lingyun stepped forward and said sternly, "Don't slander me. It was clearly you who burned it."
Xuanzhen burst into laughter: "Does she see any difference?"
She slowly stepped out of the shadows of the side hall, and only then did Zhu Lingyun see clearly that half of the other person's face was swollen and rotten, like a demon crawling out of the ground.
Yuan Jin's slap shattered half of Xuanzhen's face.
Zhu Lingyun was so frightened that she took a few steps back and staggered to the ground, saying, "Don't come any closer."
Xuanzhen stood before Zhu Lingyun, looking down at her: "You think that just because your sister has curried favor with the Empress, you can live a good life with her? No, only she herself will live a good life. In the future, you will see yourself drifting further and further away from her, until one day she will discard you like a pile of dog shit."
Zhu Lingyun cried out hoarsely, "No, my sister wouldn't do that!"
Xuanzhen bent down and brought his festering cheek close to Zhu Lingyun's face: "Then let's see if she will give you a good life after she comes back tonight. But you have another choice. Just now, a eunuch promised that as long as you and I tarnish her reputation, Consort Xue will give you and me a chance to leave the palace."
"Leave the palace?" Zhu Lingyun asked in surprise and doubt: "Consort Xue can let me leave the palace? I don't believe she can exonerate my father."
Xuanzhen's unharmed half of his face curled into a smile: "The living can't get out, but the dead can."
Zhu Lingyun shuddered: "I don't want to die."
Xuanzhen said slowly, "Consort Xue has a way to make us fake our deaths, and have the bribed eunuchs carry us away for burial. At that time, we will leave the palace and go our separate ways, taking the money given to us by Consort Xue and hiding our identities."
Zhu Lingyun, her neck stiff, asked, "Why did Consort Xue do this? She's targeting the Empress, why is she targeting my sister?"
Xuanzhen smiled and said, "Everyone thinks your sister was blessed by heaven to help the Empress escape danger. But what if your sister wasn't blessed by heaven, but used witchcraft to cast the Yin-Yang spell nine times? Then the nine Yin-Yang spells cast today would not count."
Zhu Lingyun glanced at the statues of the Three Pure Ones in horror: "Aren't you afraid of incurring the wrath of the Three Pure Ones for doing this?"
“The Three Pure Ones?” Xuanzhen suddenly turned around, staring intently at the statues of the Three Pure Ones: “Have they ever cared about this mortal world? If they could truly distinguish right from wrong, how could they see me being innocently trapped here? What wrong have I done? I carefully served this person and flattered that person in the harem, but now that the late emperor has passed away, I have to be buried with him. Why?”
Xuanzhen lowered his head, glaring menacingly at Zhu Lingyun: "Do you want to end up like me, banished to this swamp at eighteen, where death is a certainty from which you can see the future? At first, I thought that as long as I devoted myself to cultivation and behaved myself, I could get out. But later I realized that no one cared about my good or bad deeds, and no one cared whether I could get out. Xuanyun, do you also want to end up like me, staying here, growing white hair and wrinkles, counting down the days until you die?"
Zhu Lingyun was so frightened by Xuanzhen that she couldn't speak.
Xuanzhen turned and walked deeper into the side hall: "I won't force you. You can choose for yourself tonight. If it works out, we'll leave the palace. If not, you'll stay here with me and rot."
Zhu Lingyun suddenly asked, "Then what about my sister?"
Xuanzhen laughed and turned around to say, "She has the Empress looking after her here, so naturally she'll be fine. But do you have the Empress looking after you? Remember, this is your only chance tonight."
……
……
It was the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) at night.
Two palace maids, carrying bright lanterns, led the white carp back to Jingyang Palace.
Bai Li, carrying a basket, gave a curtsy to the two maids: "Thank you, sisters."
The maid quickly helped her up: "You're too kind... We also need to inform you that you should no longer eat the vegetarian meals in Jingyang Palace. Her Majesty specifically instructed that from tomorrow onwards, your meals will be delivered separately by us. Firstly, these vegetarian meals are not nourishing, and secondly, we are also taking precautions against any malicious people plotting against you. The people in the inner palace are wicked, so please be careful."
Bai Li nodded and said, "Thank you for reminding me, sisters."
She carried the basket into Jingyang Palace. The nuns were awakened by the fragrance in the basket and sat up from their bunks.
Bai Li placed the basket on the communal bed and lifted it, revealing a roast goose inside.
She tore off two goose legs: "You can divide the rest among yourselves."
As soon as the words were spoken, Du Miao and Liu Pin'e rushed forward, each tearing off a large piece of roast goose meat, and retreated to their own bunk to eat it carefully.
This Jingyang Palace hasn't seen any meat for decades.
As the female nuns scrambled for the goose leg, Bai Li approached Zhu Lingyun and Princess Yongchun, offering them each a leg and saying softly, "Eat up. Her Majesty the Empress said we don't have much oil in our stomachs, so we can't eat too much meat the first time. Eat less this time, and there will be more later."
Princess Yongchun chuckled, "Bodhisattva, you truly are a Bodhisattva."
Zhu Lingyun looked down at the goose leg in her hand, blinking rapidly, tears welling up in her eyes: "Sister, have you forgiven me?"
Bai Li said softly, "No one is perfect. As I said before, what Xuanzhen wants is for us sisters to drift apart. We shouldn't let her have her way."
Zhu Lingyun gave a heavy "hmm" and wolfed down the goose leg in a few bites.
Bai Li used a handkerchief to wipe the grease from her mouth: "Eat slowly."
Zhu Lingyun sighed, "It's been so long since I've had any meat."
Bai Li comforted her, "Don't worry, there will be more in the future."
Zhu Lingyun knelt on the communal bed, looking up at the white carp beside the bed: "Sister, will you be able to freely enter and leave Jingyang Palace from now on?"
Bai Li shook her head: "No, we need an imperial edict from the Empress to summon us, and a maid must lead the way with the Kunning Palace waist token."
"Her Majesty the Empress will definitely summon you often," Zhu Lingyun hurriedly asked, "Sister, next time you go to Kunning Palace, can you take me with you?"
Bai Li patted her head: "Lingyun, this matter is not up to me."
Zhu Lingyun tugged at her arm and shook it: "Sister, why don't you talk to the Empress and ask her to take me with you?"
Bai Li's tone was gentle but unwavering: "Ling Yun, this matter is not up to me."
Zhu Lingyun stood frozen in place like a statue.
For some reason, the female Taoist priests in the back hall started crying as they ate. Today seemed to be the last glimmer of their lives, and their final glow ended on this day.
Bai Li blew out the candlestick and lay down on the communal bed, his face and Zhu Lingyun's both shrouded in darkness.
She tucked Princess Yongchun in, when she suddenly heard the nun whisper, "Thank you, Princess."
One woman started it, and other nuns chimed in, "Thank you, Princess."
Bai Li was silent for a moment: "No need to thank me. From now on, let's support each other in this Jingyang Palace and stop attacking each other."
Everyone drifted off to sleep amidst the aroma of roast goose, tears still clinging to their eyes as they slept.
……
……
child time.
Suddenly, a commotion of footsteps came from outside Jingyang Palace. Someone was startled awake and saw a flurry of figures and flickering flames outside the rear hall: "Get up quickly, someone's coming!"
Before they could get up, the back hall door was suddenly pushed open, and the cold spring night wind rushed into the room.
The white carp stared intently.
A dozen or so eunuchs stood outside the door carrying lanterns. The Director of the Divine Palace stood behind them with his hands behind his back and said coldly, "I received a secret report that someone is secretly hiding witchcraft artifacts in the palace. Search them!" The nuns, dressed in white undergarments, were forced off the communal sleeping area and huddled together in a corner.
When she was kicked off the bed, Zhu Lingyun put her hand into her sleeve, staring at the white carp pillow, hesitating and struggling with whether or not to stuff the things in her sleeve into the white carp pillow.
In the end, she withdrew her hand, hid the item tightly in her sleeve, got out of bed, and hid behind Bai Li.
Inside the rear hall, a group of eunuchs turned the nuns' beds upside down, throwing the bedding onto the floor.
The next moment, a young eunuch stood beside the white carp stall, raising his hands high: "Found it."
Everyone stared intently, and in the eunuch's left hand was a voodoo doll sewn from scraps of cloth, while in his right hand he held a voodoo artifact made from a human finger bone.
The female Taoist priests' expressions changed; if the witchcraft scandal were to occur in the palace, it would surely unleash a bloody storm.
Zhu Lingyun's pupils contracted. She touched the thing in her sleeve, but she clearly didn't have it... It was stuffed in by the eunuch during the search. The mastermind behind it had already made a complete plan.
The Imperial Palace Supervisor entered the room and asked coldly, "Whose is this?"
The female priests turned their heads away, not daring to speak.
The Imperial Palace Supervisor sneered, "What? You think I can't find out just because you won't tell me? Summon True Immortal Xuanzhen!"
Xuanzhen entered the room carrying a whisk, looking at the witchcraft artifact in the little eunuch's hand: "Where did you find it?"
The little eunuch pointed to the white carp's pillow: "Here it is."
Xuanzhen said "Oh," and then said, "That's Zhu Baili's stall."
The Imperial Palace Supervisor looked at the white carp with a sinister gaze: "Is it yours?"
Bai Li calmly replied, "No, I have never seen these two things before."
The Imperial Palace Commander sneered, "You said it wasn't yours, found on your bunk?"
Bai Li turned to look at him and said calmly, "Aren't you the ones crying 'stop thief'? The witchcraft artifact was clearly stuffed into the pillow by this little eunuch just now."
The Imperial Palace Supervisor angrily rebuked, "Still dare to deny it!"
Bai Li showed neither fear nor hatred, but calmly said, "I have heard that the Dream Rooster of the Secret Service has the ability to interrogate people in dreams. We can summon him and interrogate all of us one by one. The truth will be revealed in one interrogation."
The Imperial Palace Supervisor's expression changed, then became even more gloomy: "Do you think you can summon Meng Ji at will? He's in Kaifeng Prefecture and can't come to the capital."
Bai Li pushed through the crowd and walked up to the Imperial Palace Supervisor: "Have you considered that if a witchcraft scandal were to occur within the palace, the Empress would intervene, and His Majesty would intervene as well? You'll have to torture me into confessing to save your life. If you don't, you'll be the one who dies. Can you guarantee that you can torture me into confessing before the Empress comes to my rescue?"
The Imperial Palace Supervisor's pupils contracted slightly, and her body trembled slightly: "How dare you, a mere nun, utter such arrogant words? You..."
Xuanzhen whispered from the side, "Admiral, don't listen to her bluff."
The Imperial Palace Supervisor shouted sternly, "Guards, seize Zhu Baili and take her to the Ancient Mirror Hall for interrogation until she confesses. No one is allowed to leave Jingyang Palace until the matter is resolved."
Several eunuchs surrounded Bai Li. One of them was about to grab Bai Li's arm when Bai Li slapped him across the face. The slap was so powerful that it sent the eunuch staggering backward.
Seeing this, the other eunuchs immediately surrounded them, but in just a few breaths, all the eunuchs were knocked to the ground by the white carp.
Xuanzhen frowned: "When did you become an official? Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you've become an official?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she lightly swept her whisk, sending the white carp flying. It crashed hard against the wall and fell onto the dormitory bed.
Bai Li's hair was disheveled as she leaned against the wall and vomited blood. But she only wiped her mouth, showing no fear: "This matter is baseless. If it really reaches the Emperor, we'll all just die together."
Xuanzhen carefully held the whisk back in his arms and said slowly, "Who says there's no evidence? This thing is hidden in the back hall, so someone must have seen it. Xuanyun, what do you say?"
All the nuns in Jingyang Palace subconsciously looked at Zhu Lingyun, then at Bai Li, their gazes shifting between the two.
Xuanzhen continued, "Xuanyun, you are Zhu Baili's sister and you sleep next to her. If you also say you haven't seen her, then the Admiral will have no choice but to thoroughly search this entire back hall to find new evidence. Whoever is found to have clues will be the owner of this witchcraft artifact."
Zhu Lingyun suddenly gripped her sleeve tightly.
The witchcraft artifact was in her sleeve, the very thing she hadn't had the heart to slip into Bai Li's pillow. But if it were found on her now, it wouldn't be Bai Li who died, but her.
Xuanzhen urged, "Xuanyun, why aren't you saying anything?"
Zhu Lingyun's eyelids trembled slightly, and she whispered, "The witchcraft artifact belongs to Bai Li."
Bai Li suddenly looked at Zhu Lingyun's profile. Zhu Lingyun noticed the gaze but dared not meet it, and could only turn her head away guiltily.
Beside her, the plump Xuan Su stared at Zhu Lingyun with both her blind and intact eyes: "Have you thought this through? If you testify to this, your sister will die here today."
Xuanzhen flicked his whisk at her face, knocking her to the ground: "Who gives you the right to speak here?"
Bai Li stared blankly at Zhu Lingyun: "Lingyun, say it again."
Zhu Lingyun lowered her head: "The witchcraft artifact belongs to Bai Li."
Xuanzhen laughed loudly: "Good, good, you are her own sister, you certainly wouldn't lie!"
The Imperial Palace Supervisor proclaimed loudly, "Bai Li has been using witchcraft and poison to wreak havoc on the harem. Today, he has again used witchcraft and poison to cast divination blocks at the Altar of the Silkworm God, deceiving Heaven! Guards, drag Bai Li out and beat him to death!"
But at that moment, everyone heard someone from the female priestess whisper, "Wait a moment."
The female Taoist priests turned around and were surprised to see Princess Yongchun, who was cowering in the corner, speaking.
Xuanzhen was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Princess Yongchun slowly walked out of the crowd, to the side of the shared bed, and reached out to help Baili tidy up her disheveled hair. Baili's wooden hairpin had fallen somewhere, so Princess Yongchun took out her own hairpin and gently inserted it into Baili's hair bun.
Bai Li looked up, her gaze passing through the other person's messy hair, and saw their gentle eyes.
Princess Yongchun lowered her head and said softly, "Every time I see you, it's like seeing my former self. They imprisoned me here. The immortals wanted to teach me the Supreme Forgetfulness of Emotions, but the price was to completely let go of Zhou Zhuoyuan. But he's the person in my dreams. How can I let go? What's the use of immortality if there's no lover? So I don't cultivate."
The white carp murmured, "You're not crazy."
Princess Yongchun turned to Xuanzhen: "Those witchcraft artifacts are..."
"No!" Bai Li grabbed Princess Yongchun's hands, tears streaming down her face.
Princess Ke Yongchun gently wiped away her tears and whispered, "Silly child, sometimes I regret things too. I've been trapped in Jingyang Palace for decades, and I sometimes wonder, if I had cultivated the Supreme Ruthlessness, would things have been different? I know you've chosen a different path from mine. You've already severed your desires—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire. Today, I'll help you sever your hatred. Go and see another ending for me."
She looked at Xuanzhen again: "Those witchcraft artifacts are mine."
After saying that, Princess Yongchun left Bai Li, straightened her hunched body, and walked out of the palace: "Come on, don't you like killing people? Kill me."
Xuanzhen said in a deep voice behind her, "You abandoned the dignity of the imperial family and eloped with the Imperial Guards, and have been living a life of ignominy in Jingyang Palace for decades. You should have died long ago."
Princess Yongchun entered the courtyard, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and laughed loudly: "Zhou Zhuoyuan and I are mutually in love, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with that!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she knelt on the ground: "Yongchun has returned his life to the Zhu family today."
Xuanzhen and the Imperial Palace Supervisor exchanged a glance.
The Imperial Palace Supervisor hesitated, "What should we do?"
Xuanzhen said urgently, "She can't die. Killing her would confirm that she was the one who hid the witchcraft artifacts, which is not the result the Imperial Concubine wants!"
As the two were talking, Xuan Su whispered to the nuns, "Do you still want that demon Xuan Zhen to continue in charge? If she continues, we can see the end of our lives before us. If it were Princess Bai Li, we would still have hope. The princess cannot be harmed. If the princess doesn't die today, then Xuan Zhen will!"
Just as Xuanzhen was about to capture Princess Yongchun, he saw female Taoist priests blocking the doorway and obstructing his way.
Xuanzhen roared, "Get out of my way!"
The female priests remained silent.
In the courtyard, Princess Yongchun kowtowed repeatedly, her head bleeding from the impact on the blue bricks, reciting a phrase with each kowtow:
"The red gates of the Confucius Temple are bustling with horses, while the withered bones of the Chastity Archway are still warm
As the pages of the sages' books are turned, the teachings of etiquette crawl out from between the lines, and maids huddle among the pages!
Why not chop this scripture up and use it as firewood to forge nine pounds of iron and make three arrows!
A bullet pierced through the glazed tiles of the Golden Palace.
Let some light shine into the cold cave and the broken bowl!
A plaque commemorating chastity nailed to the door.
Release the wronged souls from the threshold of the ancestral hall!
The last one, dipped in blood, was stuck into the city gate as a warning.
"Let's wait for the wildfire to start!"
Nine sentences, nine kowtows, Princess Yongchun knelt on the blue bricks, and then fell silent.
(End of this chapter)