Chapter 777
Stargazing
With the Lunar New Year approaching, there are many pedestrians on the streets, and many opportunities to make money.
Predicting one's future, marriage, and moving to a new house are just the basics. They can also predict auspicious days for various occasions, and the price is determined based on the guests' clothing and appearance.
This was a great spot, and neither Xu Cheng nor Yin Song wanted to move, so they simply sat together.
It was quite unusual to see two Taoist priests sitting side by side, each with their own stall. Someone passing by asked them, "Are you two together?"
They both shook their heads: "No."
"So who's better?"
Xu Cheng remained silent, but his face was full of arrogance as he stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word.
Yin Song was more gentle, but also confident, and said, "Guests choose according to their own feelings; we Taoists value fate."
Upon hearing this, the guest immediately chose Yin Song.
Perhaps the scene was too interesting, or perhaps the location was truly excellent, but business kept coming in. It wasn't until dusk, when stars twinkled in the sky and the streets were almost deserted, that the two leisurely packed up their things.
Coincidentally, their residences were not far apart, so they went back together.
Xu Cheng looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky and thought about the doubts he had been having recently. Judging from Yin Song's physiognomy and divination today, he was a capable person. Perhaps he could ask him.
Xu Cheng then coughed lightly, attracting Yin Song's attention. He stopped and pointed to the stars in the sky, asking, "Has Lord Yin been observing the stars lately?"
Yin Song: "It is winter now, and the Winter Official is on duty."
Xu Cheng smiled upon hearing this, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes: "You can see things clearly, but Lord Yin insists on seeing only a part of the whole picture. That's quite rare."
Yin Song smiled, unconcerned, and asked, "Does Lord Xu also have knowledge of stars?"
"I know a little," Xu Cheng said. "Doesn't Lord Yin think there have been changes in the celestial phenomena recently?"
Yin Song frowned and shook his head: "Has there been any change in the celestial phenomena recently? The Minister of Winter has not reported anything. What changes have occurred in the celestial phenomena recently?"
Xu Cheng did not speak, but said, "Your Excellency will know if you observe the stars at night."
When they reached the fork in the road, they parted ways.
Yin Song carried the banner on his shoulder and went back.
Yin Qingjun had already prepared the food and was keeping it warm on the stove. When he saw his master return, he immediately brought out the food and served the rice.
After washing his hands, Yin Song sat down and saw the three dishes and one soup. He said, "Starting tomorrow, just make two dishes and one soup."
Yin Qingjun: "The post office came to deliver a letter today. My senior brother sent us money, a full one hundred taels. I will take the draft to collect the money tomorrow."
Yin Song immediately said, "Let's have three dishes and a soup. It's almost Chinese New Year, we can't treat ourselves too badly. One meat dish will be fine."
Yin Qingjun: "Master, I just sorted through the wedding invitations I received. There are four weddings and two birthday celebrations before the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. Oh, by the way, Lord Peng has been promoted, so there should be a promotion banquet as well. You should go and congratulate him, right?"
The joy he felt when choosing auspicious dates for others is now matched by his current anguish. Yin Song: "Why does everyone rush to get married and celebrate their birthdays before the Lunar New Year?"
Yin Qingjun: "There's nothing we can do about celebrating birthdays. They were born at this time. As for getting married, there's a saying: 'Whether you're rich or poor, getting a wife makes the New Year easier,' right?"
Yin Song sighed, counted the gifts besides the wedding money, and said, "Forget it, let's just have two dishes and a soup."
Yin Qingjun nodded in agreement.
"If you have some free time these next few days, prepare a gift for Lord Peng. Choose something inexpensive, bulky, and practical, and wrap it in a red box and red cloth."
Yin Qingjun: "How much is the wedding gift?"
Yin Song looked pained, but finally decided to go with the flow: "Twenty taels."
Yin Qingjun felt it was too much: "Master, even if you give him a hundred taels, with a single order from Master Wang, he will still make things difficult for you."
"Don't I know?" Yin Song said, "This money isn't for him, but for the other officials. Twenty taels is the usual amount. If I give too little, it won't look good for the other officials." After finishing his meal and settling his worldly affairs, Yin Song flew up to the roof and looked up at the stars in the sky.
Yin Qingjun also flew onto the roof and looked up to watch with his master.
As more and more stars appeared in the sky, Yin Qingjun said, "Master, the celestial phenomena seem to have changed recently. Look, that guest star appeared in June, and today is the 173rd day. It is getting brighter and brighter."
Yin Song remained silent.
Yin Qingjun turned to look at his master, his eyes shining: "Master, the guest star is bright. Does it mean the country has a great sage, or that an ominous star is invading the throne?"
Yin Song stared silently at the increasingly bright star in the sky. After a moment, he said, "Let's observe further. Don't jump to conclusions."
Yin Qingjun nodded: "That's true. Things in this world cannot be judged by a single star."
On the imperial palace's observatory, the Minister of Winter Affairs released the astronomical tube and slowly recorded the celestial phenomena he observed. After finishing, he couldn't help but look up at the sky again, staring intently at the bright star, and murmured, "We can't get any closer to the Imperial Star..."
Deep within the palace, Zhang Zijin, with his jade-like face and long beard, was also looking at the sky. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze expressionlessly.
This matter has nothing to do with him.
Xu Cheng was also stargazing in his courtyard. Seeing that the guest star had brightened slightly, he frowned and said, "A guest star is attacking the imperial star. Could it be a veiled attack on Wang Zhen? The imperial star is in danger!"
In Quanzhou, a city thousands of miles away from the capital, Pan Jun rarely had the leisure to stargaze, so he held his son Pan Xiaohei on the roof and counted the stars.
Miaozhen sat beside her, writing and drawing.
Miaohe got dizzy trying to identify the stars, so she finally decided to give up and just lie on the rooftop to look at the stars.
Watching them twinkle, and as night deepened and the Milky Way gradually appeared in the sky, she couldn't help but murmur, "So beautiful~~"
Then her eyelids slowly drooped down, as if she were half asleep.
Tao Yanbai: ...
He silently took out an outer robe from his spatial storage and covered her with it.
Looking at the records in her notebook, Miaozhen finally couldn't help but say, "Junior Uncle, this guest star is getting closer and closer to the Emperor Star. Since it appeared in June, it has become increasingly bright tonight, the 173rd day."
Tao Yanbai asked naively, "Does the guest star offend the emperor star, indicating the presence of treacherous officials? Could it be a veiled reference to Wang Zhen?"
Pan Yun affectionately patted his head and said, "The upright officials in the capital will surely be very happy to hear this."
Miao Zhen shook her head directly: "It may not be an ominous star, nor is it Wang Zhen. I think it's more like a celestial guest star, or a great sage of the country."
Pan Yun: "If you can't see clearly, then write it down again. After a few years, a dozen years, or several decades, look back and compare it with what happened, and you will know whether there was a great sage or a great villain."
Celestial phenomena are never simply a way to predict the future.
It needs to compare current events with historical events and then match them one by one. When the same or similar celestial phenomena occur again after a hundred or a thousand years, there will be a basis for comparison.
Besides this, what they did more was calculate the impact of these celestial changes on the Earth's climate and magnetic field, so as to predict the upcoming climate changes and enable the court to deal with possible natural disasters.
Of course, they wouldn't understand if I explained it in too sophisticated a way, so I could only round it off and tell them that unusual celestial phenomena meant impending disaster...
Pan Yun stared at the bright guest star in the sky, also very interested in what this new star was going to do, or whether it was just passing by and a natural phenomenon of a supernova explosion.
Pan Jun became excited and instructed Miao Zhen: "Be sure to record it clearly, so we can see later whether it is a natural phenomenon or caused by someone."
Miaozhen nodded vigorously; she was also very excited.
Those who observe the stars love to see this kind of change.
Oh, she was referring to stargazers who held no official position and didn't need to explain themselves to the emperor. (End of Chapter)