Chapter 574
The Grand Hall of Imperial Palace
As the sun set, its rays shone brightly on the glazed golden roof of Jingyang Palace.
The main hall was dimly lit. Bai Li knelt on a prayer mat, the setting sun shining on her thin back. Her back was straight, like a slender bamboo growing on a cliff. Her dark blue Taoist robe looked particularly empty.
The white carp had been kneeling here for a long time, so long that each breath it took seemed to rise and fall with the dust floating in the hall.
The hall was extremely quiet.
It wasn't just ordinary quiet, but a serene stillness that had been cleansed.
Bai Li's lips moved slightly, and a low chanting voice came from the main hall: "To forget emotions and attain impartiality, to gain emotions and then forget emotions. Those who gain emotions are burdened, and attachments become shackles; those who forget emotions are enlightened, and see the beginning of all things without hindrance. The Tao gives birth to all things, and emotions are the root; emotions give rise to all phenomena, and non-attachment is the truth..."
At this moment, footsteps came from the back hall, and Du Miao sat down next to Bai Li, holding a wooden box.
She leaned lazily against the table leg of the offering table, then reached out and took a slightly shriveled peach from the table, taking a bite: "Princess, I quite miss the time when you were in charge. Jingyang Palace finally had a bit of life again. People wrote poems during the day and chatted and laughed at night. It was much better than before."
The white carp remained unmoved, its eyes still closed, its hands placed on its abdomen in the Three Mountains Seal, softly reciting: "The Supreme Lord said: Misfortune and fortune have no gate, but are summoned by oneself. The retribution for good and evil follows like a shadow. Therefore, Heaven and Earth have gods who oversee transgressions. According to the severity of a person's offenses, they deduct from their lifespan..."
Du Miao glanced at her, then looked at the setting sun outside the palace and sighed, "I heard from the little eunuch that Viscount Wu Xiang is wreaking havoc outside the palace for you, dragging down an imperial inspector to death. He even gave up the promising future of the Chen family just to save you. No wonder you can stay true to yourself; it turns out you still have someone to care about outside. With roots in your heart, you won't easily get lost."
Du Miao changed her posture: "We are different. Before we even reached Jingyang Palace, no one outside the palace cared about us. We had no one to care about, so we lived like pigs and dogs, living as long as we could. We didn't dare to die on our own, afraid of the pain, but if we really died one day, then we would just die."
The white carp recited in a low voice: "Those who wish to become celestial immortals should perform 1,300 good deeds; those who wish to become earthly immortals should perform 300 good deeds; but if one acts unjustly or goes against reason..."
Du Miao smiled, not caring whether Bai Li was listening to her: "When you came here, everyone was actually very jealous. You are so young and kind, like a mirror reflecting how old and ugly we are."
At this point, she looked at Bai Li: "But we are not all wicked people, otherwise Princess Yongchun would not have lived for so long, right? Before you came, we were taking care of her, just not as carefully as you did."
Facing the setting sun, Du Miao smoothed her disheveled hair and tucked it behind her ear: "You should get out of here. The thought of you getting out alive drives us crazy with jealousy. If we weren't so weak against you, we might have tried to strangle you... Who knows?"
She lowered her head and opened the box in front of her. Inside were the hairpins that the nuns of Jingyang Palace had collected over the years, some with kingfisher feathers and some with white jade. They were all their most treasured possessions.
Du Miao picked and chose a white jade hairpin, then reached out and pulled out the wooden hairpin from Bai Li's hair bun. In an instant, her thick, black hair flowed down like a waterfall.
The white carp, like a clay sculpture, still chants sutras with its eyes closed.
Du Miao stood up and stood behind Bai Li, carefully retying Bai Li's hair and inserting the white jade hairpin: "Take all these hairpins with you... It's not that I want you to remember our kindness, nor do I expect you to be able to save us after you leave. It's just that when I used to ask the eunuch to buy these, I always thought I might have a chance to get out, but now, we don't need these here anymore."
She tied Bai Li's hair into a bun, and finally sighed softly, "I know you want to avenge the Empress, you think about it day and night, and you have to chant sutras here to keep yourself from going crazy. Yes, if someone were this good to me, I would also want to avenge her... But your enemy is not a person, but this damned world. Now that you have the chance to get out, stop thinking about things in the palace. Just pretend that you have died once, forget about us and the Empress, forget everything, good and bad."
Du Miaotou went to the back hall dejectedly.
The main hall fell silent again. Bai Li gently opened her eyes, looked up at the statue of the Three Pure Ones, and remained silent for a long time.
The golden statues of the Three Pure Ones sit high on the altar, their eyes lowered as if indifferent, yet also filled with compassion.
At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.
The light and shadow at the palace gate were blocked by several figures. Changxiu led the Jiefan Guards and stood at the door, holding a roll of bright yellow silk in her hands.
He didn't come in immediately, but paused for a moment outside the threshold, his gaze sweeping over the thin figure kneeling in front of the hall, and said with a smile, "Already kneeling? That saves you the trouble."
He unfolded the silk in his hand: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Bai Li, daughter of Prince Jing, is not of imperial blood. Her surname shall be stripped, and she shall be immediately sent to the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) and sold into slavery. So be it."
Changxiu closed the imperial edict and handed it to Jiefanwei. She then said to Baili, "Let's go, Miss Baili. There are still people waiting for you outside. Quickly have Viscount Wuxiang rescue you. He has caused a lot of trouble recently, making it impossible for His Majesty to cultivate in peace."
Bai Li slowly got up. She ignored the box left by Du Miao and walked alone out of Jingyang Palace without saying a word.
Changxiu walked beside her, saying with interest, "Miss Baili doesn't seem happy? Cheer up! In the past thirty-two years, three hundred and twelve people have entered Jingyang Palace, and you are the only one who has left alive."
Bai Li calmly said, "It doesn't necessarily mean they're alive."
Changxiu was somewhat surprised. He looked Baili up and down and said, "When the heart dies, the Dao is born. No wonder Miss Baili has a bit of the Daoist charm. But Miss Baili, the Great Dao is compassion, not heartlessness."
The white carp remained silent.
At this moment, a guard hurried over and whispered a few words to Changxiu.
Changxiu pondered for a moment, then said to Baili, "Miss Baili, something unexpected has happened. Lord Chen shouldn't be at the Jiaofangsi right now, but is almost at Renshou Palace. It sounds like a big problem, and we don't know when he'll be able to resolve it, so let's slow down and wait for Lord Chen."
Bai Li's expression finally brightened a bit, and she looked at Chang Xiu: "Are you his friend?"
Changxiu smiled and said, "Miss Baili, you misunderstand. Lord Chen and I are not yet friends."
The white carp asked, "Then why did you help me?"
Changxiu walked slowly along the palace path, her pace extremely deliberate: "Lord Chen and the Grand Chancellor made an agreement. He would help the Grand Chancellor eliminate two people, and in return, the Grand Chancellor would help him rescue you. Since the seventh year of the Jia Ning era, the Grand Chancellor has never broken a promise to anyone. I cannot allow the Grand Chancellor to become a man of broken word. The Grand Chancellor's reputation, and the reputation of Jie Fan Lou, are more important than my life, more important than the lives of many others."
Bai Li suddenly asked, "Could I go to Kunning Palace for one more look?"
Changxiu gently shook her head: "That would be impossible. I don't have that much power to act recklessly. Perhaps I will only dare to do so when I become the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial... Or perhaps Miss Baili could wait for me at Jingyang Palace for a few more years? Haha, I was just joking."
Bai Li turned around, trying to find the Kunning Palace among the rows of rooftops. Chang Xiu pointed in the direction of the Kunning Palace for her, and Bai Li immediately faced the palace, kneeling on the ground for a long time. Chang Xiu stood beside her without urging her, until Bai Li got up on her own.
Changxiu had delayed for a long time, but in the end she could not stay in the Forbidden City.
Once outside the Forbidden City, Bai Li once again smelled the familiar yet unfamiliar aroma of cooking. The smoky fragrance of scallions and the rich aroma of noodles fried in hot oil assaulted her senses, as if unexpectedly piercing through the thick cocoon on her body.
Seeing that she seemed dazed, Changxiu waved her sleeve and instructed Jie Fanwei, "Go and buy Bai Li a scallion pancake."
When Jie Fanwei brought the fried dough, Bai Li didn't take it, but just shook her head slightly. Chang Xiu smiled, took the fried dough herself, and ate it as she walked.
He led the Jie Fan Guard, protecting Bai Li in the middle, through the crowd outside the Jiaofangsi. The people watched her walk quietly among the Jie Fan Guard, neither pleased nor angry.
"So this is Princess Bai Li."
"No wonder Viscount Wu Xiang risked his life for her; I feel sorry for him."
Changxiu felt both angry and amused. He walked to the entrance of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) and looked back at the dark mass of people behind him: "People judge others by their appearance. So only good-looking people are worth saving, while those who are not good-looking are not? How foolish and pathetic."
He shook his head helplessly and walked into the Jiaofangsi. The Danbi Grand Music Hall was empty. There were so many people outside, but no one dared to come in.
Chen Ji was also unable to return in time, as he was still in the Forbidden City.
A minor official from the Danbi Grand Music Hall approached, scolding, "Why are you so late? It's the rule set by the Emperor that prisoners are sold at 3:45 PM. It's almost 5:00 PM now. What if the Emperor blames us..."
Fengluan was an official position under the Ministry of Rites who oversaw the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). Both the court's rites and music and the Jiaofangsi were under his jurisdiction.
Changxiu smiled and said, "What can we do? It's too late. Your Lord Fengluan can't very well kill me, can he?"
The clerk was taken aback: "What are you saying? Be careful, or my master will impeach you."
Changxiu said sincerely, "I think your family shouldn't impeach me. After all, I have no family left, but you do."
The clerk's expression changed drastically. Looking at the handsome young eunuch before him, he felt a chill run down his spine: "How... how dare you speak to me like that?"
Changxiu said sincerely, "That's how the eunuch faction talks."
The minor official was speechless.
Just then, Feng Luan from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) hurriedly entered the Danbi Dale Hall from outside: "It is past 3:45 PM. Immediately sell the criminal Bai Li."
Changxiu's eyes widened: "Are you out of your mind?"
Feng Luan frowned: "Who are you?"
Changxiu pointed to the Jiefan Guard beside her: "Can't you tell? This is Changxiu, the commander of the Jiefan Guard."
Feng Luan hesitated for a moment, but still frowned and said, "This is the Jiaofangsi under my jurisdiction. No matter how far the Jiefanwei's reach is, they shouldn't interfere in the affairs of my Jiaofangsi, right?"
Changxiu said "Oh," and replied, "Someone must have promised a bright future, a future worth risking one's life for, Lord Fengluan. But right now, no one is bidding for the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). How can we begin?"
Feng Luan said in a deep voice, "The person will arrive shortly."
Changxiu smiled and said, "It's already decided who will buy it. Let me guess, is it the young master of the Cui family from Qinghe?"
Feng Luan's expression changed: "Don't be unreasonable."
Changxiu had originally planned to leave after dropping off Baili, but now she found a corner to sit down and said, "Wait a little longer, Lord Fengluan. This is not something you can get involved in. The Qingliu faction is best at protecting themselves. If you listen to others today, who will save you tomorrow if Lord Chen goes mad?"
Feng Luan angrily waved his sleeve: "How dare the eunuch faction threaten me? I have acted in accordance with the rules of the Jiaofangsi. What can you do to me? Does the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs intend to rebel and usurp the throne?"
Changxiu squinted and remained silent. The rules in the capital were the strictest. Since the other party acted in accordance with the rules, there was really nothing she could do about it.
Just then, a lazy voice came from outside the door: "Oh, let me see who is spouting nonsense here, saying that the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is plotting a rebellion and usurping the throne?"
Everyone looked over and saw Jiao Tu walking towards them with a smile, looking at Feng Luan with a half-smile. Yun Yang followed behind her, his gaze as sharp as needles piercing Feng Luan's face.
However, the two did not stop after entering the brothel. Instead, they stepped aside to make way for each other, revealing the white-clad figure behind them.
Changxiu quickly stood up and respectfully bowed, saying, "Lord White Dragon."
Bailong approached Fengluan, staring intently into Fengluan's eyes through his dragon-patterned mask, which concealed his emotions: "Can you wait?"
Feng Luan's expression changed several times before he finally lowered his head and said, "Then we'll wait a little longer. But if we still can't wait past 5 PM, I'll have no choice but to start selling them. The Jiaofangsi has its own rules... Moreover, Viscount Wu Xiang is currently in dire straits himself, so I'm afraid you all won't be able to wait any longer."
……
There will be another update tonight, but it will be very late. Read it tomorrow morning. (End of this chapter)