Thinking about it in the twenty-six years the emperor hasbeen alive, he has never wasted a thought on women, firstly he was theempress’s first son, an esteemed status, secondly, he was handsome, even theeldest prince formerly admired by thousands could not deny it, the emperor’ssmall face was very good, if it wasn’t for him always pulling his face, withoutany patience for anyone, a ruthless temper, perhaps the most popular person inHanzhen would be him.
His honourable status, outstanding appearance, made theemperor successful in every endeavour, since young he was surrounded by flocksof women, at first it was those imperial concubines of the former emperor,seeing such a good-looking child of the emperor they always felt like pinchinghis cheeks, loving him dearly, later it was those women from influentialfamilies chosen into the palace by the empress as companions, like Guo Shi whoalmost became his sister-in-law, and had before held some affection for him,but people are like this, the more un.o.btainable a thing is, the more you keepthinking about it, conversely, the more a thing actively approaches you, themore you don’t see it as a rarity, Guo Shi is a smart woman, seeing the emperortreat her with the same coldness as others, she considered the advantages anddisadvantages, very quickly she changed her target to the gentle and cultured,generous eldest prince.
At that time the emperor was in the prime of his youth, whathe thought about was how to improve his martial arts, how to complete hisliterary works well, how to surpa.s.s his talents then make emperor father lookat him more, also how to…the eldest prince resolutely left him behind, allowinghim to be recognised as superior to him, make empress mother praise him a fewtimes, simply without effort, and did not have a desire to think about romance.
That’s why Zhao Jin Yu was considered very novel to him, hedid not want Zhao Jin Yu to be dead set on him, only he somewhat vaguelythought…he only wanted her to be happy right, not always crying, every time atear fell, that teardrop seemed to fall into his heart.
After the emperor ate, had a bath, he said to Zhao Jin Yu, “Let’sgo outside.”
Zhao Jin Yu stayed at the tavern, a brazier had been in theroom, warm and comfortable, right now she was lying under the quilt not wantingto move…, it had snowed again this afternoon, it was extremely cold outside,she shook her head saying, “What are we doing outside?”
“Admire the snow.” The emperor directly and efficientlysaid.
Seeing such forcefulness of the stone Zhao Jin Yu did nothave the strength, comforting herself she said, raising a dog also requires takingit for a walk, besides isn’t this a stone spirit? It nevertheless has to betaken outside to take in fresh air right? Grudgingly she said, “Fine, wait forme to get dressed.”
After a short while, one person and one stone left thetavern doors, because it was snowing no one was walking on the path, snowflakesdrifted restlessly in the air, similar to fairies scattering flowers,eye-catching, Zhao Jin Yu expelled a cold breath, but raised her head to watchthe snow filled sky, only thinking her mind was very calm, she asked, “Whereare we going? Do you have something you want to eat? Sugar-coated tangerinesticks?”
“Admire the snow.”
Zhao Jin Yu, “…”
After an hour, Zhao Jin Yu walked back and forth down a pathcountless of times, only because the stone liked to watch the snow, did she notcomplain.
The person and stone remained silent for a long time, practicallynot communicating at all, after a while, the stone suddenly said, “Snow likeplum blossoms, plum blossoms like snow…” The emperor glanced at Zhao Jin Yuafter he finished reciting the poem, she covered her face reddened by the cold,directly facing the haggis soup shop opposite and swallowing saliva from thesmell drifting over.
All of a sudden the emperor felt he had not thought itthrough, it would be better to give her bowl of haggis soup than recite a poemat a woman like this, in the end an eunuch is a eunuch…, what did Qin Hong alsosay, taking a stroll with a woman amongst the snowy scenery, recite a versefilled with affection, and they will bashfully throw themselves into your arms,it really was too much for him to believe in an eunuch.
Moreover the emperor had simply not thought, Qin Hongbasically did not know he had changed into a stone, Qin Hong’s method was verysimply and blunt, but was effective, because based solely on the emperor’sincomparable appearance, so long as he is a little amiable towards a woman, naturallythey would willingly accept him, only sadly…, what effect can a stone’sfriendliness do?
“Go drink soup.” The emperor decided not to treat hisstomach unfairly, aside from Zhao Jin Yu, even he restrained himself for awhile, who knew, the smell of haggis soup wafted even higher than snowflakes.
These words went straight into the middle of Zhao Jin Yu’sheart, happily she bounced over, loudly saying, “A bowl of haggis soup please,with a little bit more chilli.”
“Fine.” The shop owner quickly replied, in a mere moment hecarried a bowl of piping hot haggis soup over, Zhao Jin Yu glanced at it, itappeared there were two additional meat b.a.l.l.s in the bowl, she blinked withsome confusion, the shop owner was very nice, saying in a low voice, “I saw theyoung lady has been standing outside by our shop for almost an hour, my haggissoup, has ample ingredients, honest, without anything missing, that’s why theprice cannot be lower, otherwise this business cannot continue, but I added twoextra mutton meatb.a.l.l.s, if the young lady doesn’t mind eat more, root us on.”
As it turns out Zhao Jin Yu admiring snow with the stone,was actually the person and stone walking around the haggis soup shop for anhour, two gluttons, they really are incorrigible, =.=
Zhao Jin Yu thanked the shop owner, while it was hot she atehalf a bowl, again using her back, facing the corner, not allowing people tosee, she dropped the stone into the bowl…
The woman and stone ate their fill before coming out, ZhaoJin Yu’s face was bright red, looking like a ripened apple amongst the snow,extremely charming, looking at her it made people want to take a bite…, theemperor pushed down his thoughts, closing his eyes he thought, he must belonging to eat an apple.
What the two people did not know was, at the mouth of analleyway far away, a person was hidden in the shadows, looking over here with asomewhat complex expression.
In the evening they returned to where they were staying,Chen Rong had also returned earlier, informing Zhao Jin Yu that the ship SuQing Chen is on had already left, this made Zhao Jin Yu relax, seeing this ChenRong couldn’t help laugh, asking, “If Su Qing Chen’s intentions haven’t faded,and secretly ordered someone to follow you?”
Zhao Jin Yu blinked at Chen Rong, saying, “Having anEmbroidered Uniform Guard protect you, isn’t this something people would wishfor?”
Chen Rong finally couldn’t held laugh heartily, saying,“You…I still thought you couldn’t let it go, it seems that I was overthinking,you are right, even though he is an Embroidered Uniform Guard, in an importantposition, but after all he is an official, some things cannot be forced, if hewants someone to follow us then fine, anyway we are doing nothing wrong, andnot afraid of people following.”
Zhao Jin Yu understood the meaning behind Chen Rong’s words,in other words even though Su Qing Chen is not happy they left without sayinggoodbye, but he was still someone who needed to save face, in every case itwasn’t good to unreasonably follow after her, granted that if he wanted tofollow her he could only secretly do so.
After repeatedly warning Zhao Jin Yu to close her window’s properlywhen she went to bed Chen Rong then returned to her own room, she again bookedanother ship, it was a ship for the day after tomorrow, tomorrow the two peoplehad another day to spend, Zhao Jin Yu had heard there was a temple nearby thatwas very effective and wanted to pay a visit, pray for blessings for heradoptive father, before she naturally did not believe in these things, besidesthe fact that her soul had travelled through time, and had come across a stonethat can talk, then later she felt a lot of things cannot be certain.
The stone was even more excited hearing they were going toplay at the temple, he asked a very crucial question, “Is the food given toBuddhist monks nice?”
Zhao Jin Yu, “…”
Later the journey went smoothly, this time there wasn’t a SuQing Chen Embroidered Uniform Guard meddling, the stops the ship made were veryregular, and what’s more because it was close to the end of the year, wantingto reach their destination sooner, the route this ship took was a lot quickerthan before.
When Zhao Jin Yu started her journey it was already theeleventh month (Chinese lunar calendar), travelling by ship it usually requiredforty-five days, almost straddling the end of the year, the closer they got totheir destination, the more people seemed to be unable to sit or stand still, alot of the people on this ship conducted business away from home, going home tocelebrate New Year, or to visit their parents, in any case not many were likeZhao Jin Yu…, still going away over the New Year.
However Zhao Jin Yu did not feel dejected, on the contrarybecause the letter will almost be delivered and felt a sort of joy ataccomplishing an aspiration, adoptive father was like a second parent to her,she had never really done anything for him, this time it could at least beconsidered her doing something within her filial duty.
That evening, the ship arrived at Haicang only five or sixdays journey from Hangzhou, but they were held up unable to continue, Haicanghad a huge river called River Cang which crossed with a ca.n.a.l, many ships linedup in a row on River Cang, also blocking up the ca.n.a.l, after asking around ChenRong then found out the Tiangui sect was holding their yearly sacred lotus festival,worshippers from all regions came pouring over, in a few days it had turnedHaicang into a blaze.
Although Zhao Jin Yu had heard of this Tiangui sect, thiswas still the first time she had personally seen it, she was extremely curious,Chen Rong said, “Since you haven’t seen it before, go take a look tomorrow,maybe you will receive the Xianjun’s blessing.”
“What is the Xianjun?”
“It is said it is a person chosen from heaven and earth to conveythe Heaven’s will.”
Early next morning, Zhao Jin Yu saw in the town believers dressedin red clothing, or clothing with a large embroidered red lotus flower, evenchildren would have a ribbon on their head embroidered with a red lotus.
It was nevertheless the first time Zhao Jin Yu partic.i.p.atedin such a grand activity, she was also somewhat excited, joining in the fun andwatching the ceremony…, the highlight was actually in the evening, the boat atthe river bank adorned with a huge lotus flower would open up to reveal the Xianjun,throwing fortune papers representing blessings to the believers on the sh.o.r.e.
At noon it was already impossible for people to get onto thesh.o.r.e, luckily Zhao Jin Yu’s ship was docked near the sh.o.r.e, at night, standingon the deck she could watch it.
It was especially cold that night, the wet cold wind waslike a knife, sc.r.a.ping at the body like it was carving flesh, Zhao Jin Yuwrapped herself up generously, only revealing a pair of eyes, like a cicadapupa, Chen Rong stood behind her, standing to the side were many people whofound an excuse to board in order to see the Xianjun.
There were two young girls wearing the red lotus believer’soutfit standing beside her, one of them said with excitement, “Lord Xianjun isthe handsomest man I’ve seen.”
The other girl added, “You’re utterly without shame, nowonder you wore so little today, so you want the Xianjun to see, and not scaredof freezing to death.”
“We are believers of Tiangui, it is a gargantuan privilegewanting to serve the Xianjun, how can it be so shameless as you say?” The girlpouted not resigning.
“Humph, what is Lord Xianjun’s existence? How can mereordinary dust like people like you and me pollute him?”
That girl lost her will from what the girl beside her said,somewhat crestfallen she lowered her head, saying, “What you said is true, supposedlythe previous Lord Xianjun had over tens of maids to solely serve him, but thisXianjun has actually never taken in anyone.”
Hearing this Zhao Jin Yu who stood to the side basicallyunderstood, apart from this so-called affectionate Xianjun is a man, he canalso use believers as maids to use?
What sect is this? How is it the more she heard about it themore it seemed like an evil sect?
Zhao Jin Yu couldn’t help mutter in her mind, what does thatXianjun priest look like, is he really that handsome? It ought to be amagnificent oddity that the believers blindly worship right?
Maybe this Xianjun truly is protected a little by theheavens, after the sky darkened it began to snow, the snow filled sky made thebelievers who surrounded the sh.o.r.e even more frantic, together they shouted thesky and earth are one, my sect thrives.
The young girls beside her were so moved their eyes hadreddened, facing the lotus flower vessel they kneeled, emotionally saying, “LordXianjun, you really are an envoy a.s.signed by the heavens from the G.o.ds,otherwise why would it snow now?”
Zhao Jin Yu, = . =
The believers shouts became louder and louder, shakingheaven and earth, rushing over in waves, finally the lotus flower vessel litup, against the dark green water it appeared to be a lotus flower floating overfrom the edge of the world, picturesque, dreamlike, nothing more beautiful canbe imagined.
Zhao Jin Yu was also moved, stroking the stone around herneck, quietly saying, “Little thing, don’t sleep, there’s something good tosee.” If the two people beside her were extremely moved from being able to seethe Xianjun, Zhao Jin Yu’s reason was because at last there was somethinglively worth seeing!
The emperor did not say anything, in the dim light of night,he watched those extremely crazy believers, the lotus flower which represented magnificentpurity…, a mood rolled about in his gaze which people could not see clearly,that sort of ice-coldness, antisocial, chilliness.
Zhao Jin Yu saw the stone did not reply, thinking the stonehad yet to awaken, or she had spoken too quietly for him to hear, outside shewas always very careful afraid that people would find something out, as aresult even though he did not reply she also did not mind, rather she placedall her attention on that pretty lotus flower shaped vessel.
As people looked forward to it, the lotus petals made ofcotton suddenly blossomed, at the same time, the firecrackers at sh.o.r.e sounded,a large amount of fireworks brightened up the entire sky, contrasting againstthe man dressed in red sitting in the middle of the lotus like an immortal, pureand holy with divinity.
When Zhao Jin Yu saw that Xianjun’s appearance it was likeshe was struck by lightning, she paled, the crowd’s cheering seemed to threatento split the earth open from the vibrations, directly rushing into the skies,in this enthusiastic atmosphere, the lotus flower vessel slowly drew up againstthe sh.o.r.e, beginning to throw and spread good fortune slips of papers, most ofthe good fortune slips of papers were thrown to the sh.o.r.e, but there was asmall portion which fell into the river water.
A man holding a red-purple good fortune paper happilyscreeched, yelling, “Lord Xianjun, I got a personal good fortune paper, I gotit!”
At the side there was someone who used a small boat todeliver that man to the Xianjun, the man immediately fell to his knees, theXianjun lightly placed his hand on that man’s forehead…, so it turns out if youget a red-purple good fortune paper you can get the Xianjun’s blessings!
Zhao Jin Yu suddenly saw a red-purple good fortune paperfloating on the water, she was like a possessed woman, she simply could notcontrol herself…, undoing her cloak, throwing away her gloves, with a splash,she jumped into the water, swimming with all her might towards that goodfortune paper.
The emperor shouted, “Do you want to die?”
Zhao Jin Yu felt the penetrating coldness of the water, itwas like a bone sc.r.a.pping, heart wrenching, lung tearing pain, the cold waterrushed into her eyes, both cold and numb she almost was unable to open them…,tears actually flowing extremely violently, not knowing whether it was becauseof the cold or the heartache.
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T/N: Cliffhanger! What is ZJY doing!? And why is the emperor so cute >_