Chapter 18 Section five

Pei Xuanjing asked: "Does Fourth Lady have anything to say?" "This is a paper-cut." Song Ruozhao said calmly, "It was cut out according to the drawing of the Thirty-Third Elephant." "Yes." Pei Xuanjing nodded, "Look, there is still a thread on it, so I judge that it was hung somewhere with a silk thread, maybe it was on the top relief of the septum. Such a small piece of paper, hanging It's easy to get up, and it's not easy to be found." Song Ruozhao asked: "Does Master Pei Lian think that this paper-cut is related to the vision we saw today?"

"Otherwise? Why did such a paper-cut appear on the ground of Lingyan Pavilion, and just when the vision happened?" "No." Song Ruozhao shook his head and said, "You and I have seen it with our own eyes, the two trees reflected on the window almost occupy the entire pane, and this paper-cut is only the size of a palm, how could it be the same thing?" "It's not the same thing, but it's another thing." Pei Xuanjing said calmly, "The mystery of this should be clear. However, if the case is to be fully revealed, there is at least one doubtful point that needs to be clarified."

"What doubt?" "Where does the light come from?" "Light?" "Si Niangzi told me that after the second development of Lingyan Pavilion, the Shence Army entered the pavilion to check and smelled incense. So I judged that something like a candle had been burned in Lingyan Pavilion before. " "This..." Song Ruozhao seemed to retort, but Pei Xuanjing didn't allow her to speak, so she continued, "But the situation is different tonight. When we rushed in, the air in the pavilion was stagnant, but there was no smell at all. Moreover, just as we entered the pavilion At the moment before, there was light and shadow on the window, if there is really a candle burning in the pavilion, it can only be extinguished in an instant, so it is impossible for us not to smell the smell." After a pause, she concluded, "That is to say , The light in Lingyan Pavilion tonight is definitely not from candles or oil lamps, I still can't think of an explanation."

After pondering for a moment, Song Ruozhao said: "As long as these three visions are regarded as the power of ghosts and gods, everything will be solved." "Not necessarily." Pei Xuanjing said, "The scene tonight reminds me that more than two years ago, there was a strange incident where an old palace servant was promoted to an immortal in the office downstairs of Xingqing Palace, which is quite similar to today. .It's just that I was a part of the play at that time, not just a bystander like today." She smiled softly, "At that time, there was Zuo Shence Army Lieutenant Tutu Chengcui as a witness, just like today's Liu Bi."

Song Ruozhao just smiled and said nothing. Needless to say - Tutu Chengcui, like Liu Mi, acted as the emperor's eyes. "However, even if Tutu Chengcui and Liu Bi's seeing is believing, it may not be able to convince the people behind them." Pei Xuanjing sighed softly, "My experience has proved that it is almost impossible to deceive that person." "Deceived? What Lianshi said is wrong. Didn't Pei Lianshi himself admit that the vision in Lingyan Pavilion cannot be explained by manpower." Pei Xuanjing shook her head: "No. The key is not the three visions of Lingyan Pavilion, but the "Tui Bei Tu" hidden in the Golden Chamber. Am I right, Fourth Lady?"

There was no light inside the carriage, only the oil lamps on both sides of the road, which came in from outside the curtain at intervals.The interior of the car goes from light to dark, and then from dark to light.Pei Xuanjing suddenly saw Song Ruozhao's bloodless face, and suddenly only saw two eyes shining with blazing light. After a long time, Song Ruozhao said: "Did the master find out? Today Liu Bi walked very fast. He failed in the eyes of everyone. It stands to reason that he should try to find a way to shirk responsibility, but he didn't even enter the door of Lingyan Pavilion. Just ran away."

"It must be... His Majesty ordered him not to enter Lingyan Pavilion without authorization." Pei Xuanjing said, "I also found out that the Shence Army only stood outside the door, and even Mr. Jing Zhaoyin and Guo dared not step into Lingyan Pavilion." One step in the pavilion. So I think, without the will of the Holy One, no one can enter the Lingyan Pavilion, right?" Song Ruozhao nodded. Pei Xuanjing couldn't help smiling: "But Si Niangzi didn't remind me in time, which made me commit a big taboo." "That's why Pei Lianshi must be prepared to deal with His Majesty's interrogation."

"What does Fourth Lady want me to say?" Song Ruozhao said apologetically: "I didn't expect to meet Master Pei Lian. If it was not a last resort, I would try my best to avoid implicating Master Pei Lian. But as long as I know that Master Pei Lian is there, I won't be completely desperate." Her tone was extremely sincere. Pei Xuanjing thought for a while, and asked, "How will Si Niangzi deal with the Holy Majesty's cross-examination?" "I will say that there is another vision in Lingyan Pavilion tonight, which proves that there are ghosts and spirits at work, and even Liu Guoshi's magic power can't do anything about it." Song Ruozhao paused, and said with emphasis, "Especially the vision tonight is different from "Tui Bei" The matching of the thirty-third image in "Figure" is more than sufficient to explain that the change of the two characters in the thirty-third image poem is indeed God's will."

"Is this conclusion important to Fourth Lady?" Just happened to come to a section of dark road without light, Song Ruozhao's eyes were shining brightly, and he was particularly focused in the dark carriage.She said softly: "Master Lian, do you remember? I said that I have no skills, only know how to hide, and only know how to protect myself. After the two sisters died, I thought I could take my little sister Ruo Lun and hide in the persimmon tree from then on." In the forest courtyard, I lived this life silently, that’s all. But I don’t know that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn’t stop, and I want to hide from right and wrong, but right and wrong always come to the door..." Her throat was choked, "Master Pei Lian, why are you alive? That difficult?"

Pei Xuanjing was speechless.It's not that it's difficult to live, but it's difficult to live in Daming Palace. Unfortunately, Song Ruozhao has no choice. After a while, Song Ruozhao calmed down a little, and asked, "Does the master have any opinions on the character change of the thirty-third image?" Pei Xuanjing replied honestly, "I have no clue." "Is there a time when Master Lian is at a loss?" Song Ruozhao showed a long-lost sly smile on his face, "I followed Elder Sister's idea of ​​unraveling the Ninth Elephant, and found some clues. Do you want to hear Master Pei Lian?"

"Fourth lady, please tell me." "The hexagram 'Fengze Daguo' of the thirty-third elephant is the upper hexagram in the Dui hexagram. There are four Yang lines in this hexagram, which herald a great transition. Therefore, this image should herald a major change in the country." Song Ruozhao stared at Pei Xuanjing, "The most important change in a country is the change of dynasty?" "Dynasty change?" Pei Xuanjing was also excited, "Although Tang Guozuo has had twists and turns in these years, it is not a change of dynasty. Well, change of dynasty, that is, from Xuanzong to Suzong, to Daizong, to Dezong, and then to Xianhuang And today's Holy One. Why is it called 'Fengze Daguo'?" "If three generations of emperors change in one year, does that count?" Pei Xuanjing blurted out: "Yongzhen!" She looked at the paper-cuts in her palm: one tree was flourishing and the other was withered, suddenly becoming vivid—— Is it possible that what the 33rd elephant predicted was the second change of the throne in the first year of Yongzhen? It is assumed that the dead tree refers to the first emperor Shunzong.When the first emperor ascended the throne, he was seriously ill, like a withered tree.In stark contrast, Maoshu, full of vitality, is the current sage who accepted the Zen throne of the former emperor in the first year of Yongzhen.He was only twenty-seven years old that year, and he was in the prime of life. He was at the time when he was the most energetic, determined and sharp in his life. Pei Xuanjing thought again: "Then what is the meaning of the seven-character poem? And why is there no prophecy for this image?" "Since the tenth image, "Tui Bei Tu" has only one painting and one poem, without prophecy. I don't know if it was lost, or Li Chunfeng didn't write it at that time." "Oh." Pei Xuanjing nodded, putting aside the prophecy, there must be a hidden mystery in the Thirty-Third Elephant's poem, otherwise there would be no red characters, and the emperor would not be so concerned. She asked bluntly: "Si Niangzi also has her own interpretation of this poem?" "I can't talk about the interpretation. I only have a little idea. The Tai Sui in the first sentence 'You need to know where Tai Sui is' means the Tai Sui Xingjun, which is the sixty-year-old Jiazi in the heavenly stems and earthly branches. That's why the second sentence has' Qinglong transforms into a white-headed rabbit', because Qinglong and white rabbit can refer to Renchen and Yimao respectively." "That's not right." Pei Xuanjing said, "The second line of the poem turns out to be 'A green dragon transforms into a white cow and a rabbit', which cannot be related to Renchen and Yimao..." "I have arrived." Pei Xuanjing's train of thought was interrupted.The carriage slowly stopped in front of a courtyard, under the light of the off-white lantern, the plaque of the Persimmon Forest Court could be seen dimly. It turned out that without knowing it, he had returned to Daming Palace.The Persimmon Garden is located on the west side of the Daming Palace. It comes from the Taiji Palace along the narrow road, enters the Daming Palace through the Youyintai Gate, and once passes the Imperial Academy, you will arrive at the Persimmon Garden.To go to Yuchen Guan, where Pei Xuanjing practiced Taoism, he had to continue walking northeast for a while. Song Ruozhao said softly: "Tomorrow, I will tell the holy majesty about the vision tonight, and insist that it is the work of ghosts and gods. Liu Guoshi can also prove it. If the holy majesty summons the alchemist to verify..." Pei Xuanjing said: "I only know that all visions follow the destiny, and all destiny follows human power. The human heart is greater than the sky." "Master." Song Ruozhao's voice trembled slightly. Pei Xuanjing took her hand, and the small paper-cut was between the two cold palms.Pei Xuanjing felt that Song Ruozhao squeezed her hand hard, pushed the piece of paper back, and whispered: "Master Pei Lian please keep it, so I can rest assured." Stepping on the steps in front of the persimmon forest courtyard, Song Ruozhao looked back and smiled.In a trance, Pei Xuanjing seemed to see Song Ruohua and Song Ruoyin standing beside Song Ruozhao, smiling at herself.Pei Xuanjing couldn't help clenching her fists.In the palm, it was her and Song Ruozhao, no, it was the little secret that she and the sisters of the Song family had just reached.But in the Daming Palace, is there a place for little secrets? Pei Xuanjing never expected that after she took action, she would run into the wonderful book "Tui Bei Tu" that implied the fate of the Tang Dynasty. The Wind Knife and Frost Sword from Daming Palace were blowing head-on, more fierce than before. The next day was fine.The long-lost sunlight sprinkled all over the Taiye Pool, and reflected from the crystal plate-like ice surface, a large area of ​​golden light shone dazzlingly, but it felt colder. Guo Nianyun was accompanied by a group of maids, and hurried towards Qingsi Hall.The cold wind blowing, carrying a clear human voice, suddenly floated over from the Taiye Pond. Chen Hongzhi?Guo Nianyun stopped. Not far ahead, there was a hole in the frozen ice.Several servants in yellow clothes were surrounding the ice cave, standing with bowed heads, listening to Chen Hongzhi's lecture. I saw him blushing so excitedly that his neck was thick, and with every yell, big balls of hot air came out of his mouth and turned into circular mist circles. "How dare you come here to fetch ice! It made a 'bang bang' noise and disturbed the holy car, can you afford it?" Someone made an excuse: "Please calm down, Eunuch Chen. This year, Taiye Pond is extremely frozen, and it is not easy to get ice. We finally found out that the ice surface in this area is relatively thin, so..." "So you're lazy?" Chen Hongzhi opened his eyes wide, "Don't you know that His Majesty wants to be pure?" "I know. But Eunuch Chen, the Hall of Qingsi is still far away. The sound of our smashing ice cannot be heard..." "Fart! The Taiye Pond is frozen into a flat river, and the wind is so strong that any sound can be heard far away!" Chen Hongzhi gritted his teeth and scolded, "I'll tell you, in case the Holy Majesty listens What the hell, I planned to say a few good words for you, if you are so ignorant, I don't care. When the time comes, the Holy One will get angry, and you will know what the result will be!" How dare the servant in charge of the ice cellar be an enemy of Chen Hongzhi? Seeing his threats, he hurriedly knelt down on the biting ice and begged for mercy: "Eunuch Li, please forgive me. I was deceived by the lard. With Eunuch Chen’s advice, I know I’m wrong!” "Get out!" The servants packed up their shovels, picked up a wooden bucket full of ice, and were about to flee.Chen Hongzhi said again: "I almost forgot about the business! The two of you will follow me and send this bucket of ice to Qingsi Palace." The servants agreed to follow Chen Hongzhi, and as soon as they reached the bank, Guo Guifei said leisurely from above: "Eunuch Chen is busy." Chen Hongzhi was startled, and quickly changed his expression, flatteringly said: "Imperial Concubine, aren't you cold standing over there?" "Is Eunuch Chen not cold?" "Ah, no, I dare not." Guo Nianyun beckoned to Chen Hongzhi, he didn't dare to neglect, and ran over in three steps at a time. "What orders does the imperial concubine have?" Guo Nianyun put away his smile and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?" "I saw them digging ice here, and I was afraid that the noise would be too loud, so..." Guo Nianyun interrupted him: "I'm asking why you sent Bing to Qingsi Hall?" "This..." Chen Hongzhi rolled his eyes, and said with a sneer, "The imperial concubine will not forget, there is a Khotan white jade plate in the Qingsi Palace, which is specially used to hold ice cubes..." "Nonsense!" Guo Nianyun scolded, "That thing is only taken out during the hot summer season to prevent heatstroke and cool down. Now it's the middle of winter, and it's too late to warm up. How can you use that?" Chen Hongzhi bowed his head and remained silent. Guo Nianyun looked at him: "Could it be..." She couldn't help but gasped. Chen Hongzhi raised his head again, and asked in a strange tone: "How long has it been since the imperial concubine saw the Holy One?" Guo Nianyun was poked at the sore spot, his expression changed again, he sneered and said, "I haven't seen the Holy One for a while. But I remember, it seems that Eunuch Chen hasn't come to the Longevity Institute for a while?" "Yes, I've been too busy recently, and the Holy Majesty can't leave for a while..." "Really? I thought Eunuch Chen had other plans." "How could it be?" Chen Hongzhi smiled apologetically, "I haven't eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's guts again." Guo Nianyun's face sank like water. Chen Hongzhi leaned forward, and said in a very low voice: "I'm so scared, so I dare not speak." "Say." "The elixir that the Holy Majesty takes every day has been increased from one to three." "Three grains?" Guo Nianyun stared at Chen Hongzhi firmly. "Exactly. That's why the Holy Majesty feels hot and dry in his abdomen all day long, and when he can't bear it, he needs to use ice cubes to relieve it." Guo Nianyun looked at the two servants waiting beside the Taiye Pond.Even from a distance, they could still be seen shivering beside the ice bucket. "In such a severe cold weather, ice cubes are placed in the hall, how can he bear it..." Her voice choked, and then she recovered her haughty demeanor, and nodded to Chen Hongzhi, "Eunuch Chen is really difficult, thank you for your hard work." .” Chen Hongzhi replied humbly: "The imperial concubine is serious, the servants are just doing their duty." After a pause, he asked carefully, "If the imperial concubine has nothing else to do, I have to ask them to carry the ice away quickly." Qingsi Hall." Guo Nianyun nodded silently. Before Chen Hongzhi could turn around, Guo Nianyun said again: "However, I still want to remind Eunuch Chen to take time to visit the Longevity Court. Although Eunuch Chen has no other plans, seeing the current situation of the Holy One, I am a little worried for Eunuch Chen Woolen cloth." Chen Hongzhi shuddered all over, not daring to raise his head to look at Guo Nianyun, he vaguely agreed: "Yes." Chen Hongzhi led two servants, lifted the ice bucket and headed towards Qingsi Hall. It wasn't until their backs disappeared on the imperial steps in front of Qingsi Hall that Guo Nianyun said to the maid next to him, "Go back." "Go back?" the maid asked, "Your Majesty, are we not going to Qingsi Hall?" "No, I can't stand the cold." Guo Nianyun turned his head and left, and said after a few steps, "Go to the Sanqing Hall and ask Liu Guoshi to come to the Longevity Court this afternoon and tell me that I have something important to do. he."