Chapter 23 second quarter

The servant sent by the emperor to Yuchenguan held a pure gold key to Pei Xuanjing. "My lord ordered me to hand over the key to the golden cabinet to the alchemist." "Give me?" "The sage ordered that Bachelor Song's explanation of the Lingyan Pavilion's vision is still not credible, so he ordered Master Pei Lian to continue investigating." Pei Xuanjing was stunned. "Master Pei Lian?" "The concubine obeys the order." Pei Xuanjing knelt down on both knees, and took the heavy key from the servant's hand. "Master Pei, please get up." The servant said again, "The Holy Majesty has sent an order to the guards of Lingyan Pavilion that the masters can come in and out at any time. The carriage is already waiting outside, please go to Lingyan Pavilion to investigate the case immediately."

Pei Xuanjing hid the key to the Golden Chamber in her bosom and boarded the carriage. Why did the emperor let himself intervene in the Lingyan Pavilion case?Could it be Song Ruozhao's request?Or maybe it was because he had entered Lingyan Pavilion and was notified to the emperor by Liu Mi or the Shence Army, so the emperor wanted to use himself to verify Song Ruozhao's statement? Anyway, what did Song Ruozhao hide in the Lingyan Pavilion anomaly case, and whether it was related to "Tui Bei Tu"--these are what Pei Xuanjing is interested in.Pei Xuanjing has always believed in one thing: where it starts, it will end.This is true of all secrets.Since the emperor gave the opportunity, Pei Xuanjing will not let it go.After you have a plan in mind, think about what to do next.

Sure enough, the Shence Army had received the instruction, and after putting Pei Xuanjing into Lingyan Pavilion, they withdrew.Pei Xuanjing heard the sound of the door closing and locking - she was locked in Lingyan Pavilion. Pei Xuanjing went straight to the septum.It was mid-afternoon, and the thin sunlight cast a golden slash on the septum.She leaned forward, and without much effort, she found a small hole near the center of the septum. At first glance, it looks like a moth-eaten hole, but the edges are unnaturally neat.Coincidentally, the golden line drawn by the sun happened to pass through the hole, and fell straight on the pillar in front, turning into a fist-sized circle of light.Fine dust dances quietly in the aperture.Pei Xuanjing stared at the dust for a while, then circled around the pillar again.Before the circle was complete, her gaze was attracted by a small stain on the pillar.

Pei Xuanjing stretched out her finger to explore, it was a little sticky.She simply leaned forward and breathed on the stain.As expected, the viscosity increased when touched again. This is someone putting glue on the post.There is a lot of dust in Lingyan Pavilion, which sticks to the glue one after another, forming this smudge.After a few days, the glue dries up and the smudges are relatively light, so you can't find them easily. Small holes, glue traces, and small paper-cuts all prove that Lingyan Pavilion is full of human-made clues—it is not ghosts and gods that cause the vision, but humans.

Pei Xuanjing returned to the golden chamber, took out the small golden key, and opened the lock. The lid of the Golden Chamber was heavier than Pei Xuanjing had imagined. After opening it, the first thing you saw was the first image. The hexagram said: "Jiazi, work is the sky." The picture shows: a man is wearing jue leaves, holding the sun and the moon in his hands, sitting on a stone.On the bamboo reed on the other side of the screen, there is a woman standing.The prophecy said: "At the beginning of the catastrophe, the world has changed a thousand times, and the war is gone. When you meet the autumn orchid grass, it will be the time to come." The seven-character poem wrote: "Since Pangu divided Xiyi, tigers fighting dragons are sad. Who will rise and fall for all generations? Can remember, try to determine the rise and fall from the Tang Dynasty."

Song Ruozhao mentioned that the first image is the general outline of the entire "Tui Bei Tu".It can be seen from the hexagram of "Jiazi, do it for the sky".The diagram is also easy to understand: people are divided into men and women, and men hold the sun and the moon in their hands, which shows that yin and yang are distinct, and the universe is determined.As for prophecies and poems, they all talk about the succession of rise and fall, and the inheritance of destiny.Therefore, the first image of "Tui Bei Tu" does not need special explanation, because it is a generalization and generalization.

Pei Xuanjing took out the first elephant and put it aside, followed by the second elephant. The hexagram said: "Yichou, Tianfeng is good." Many carp are drawn on the picture.Pei Xuanjing counted, exactly eighteen.In the center of the picture stands a sword.There was a carp swimming in front of the sword, two carp were pierced by the sword, and their bodies were still painted with mottled blood.The rest of the carp swim behind the sword.The prophecy poem is written like this: "The branches and leaves take root, and the east wind rises and turns again. If you don't sharpen your sword, the eighteen sons will be honored."

"Eighteen sons honored?" Pei Xuan said silently, doubts arose in his heart. According to Song Ruozhao, except for the first image and the sixtieth image at the beginning and the end of the Tuibei map, which are used as an introduction to the beginning and a summary at the end, the remaining 58 pictures are prophecies.The third, fourth, and fifth phenomena have already had more precise explanations.Song Ruohua interpreted the Ninth Elephant as the rebellion in the feudal town and the assassination of Wu Yuanheng.But why didn't Song Ruozhao mention the second image? Even ordinary people can tell at a glance that Shibazi is the word "Li".Carp is even a homonym of "Li", so eating carp is forbidden in this dynasty. People who catch carp in the river must release them. Anyone who dares to sell carp will be punished with sixty punishments if caught.

Therefore, the second phenomenon is obviously a prediction of Li Tang Guozuo.In particular, the seven-character poem reads: "The three or six sons of the carp in the river are born from many sources. There are two or nine descendants, and one generation is missing in three hundred years." Among them, the carp and the three or six sons still represent the Li family. The phrase "the source of many sources comes from the source" must mean that Li Tang's country originated from the great ancestor Li Yuan.But the last two sentences "Twenty-nine children and grandchildren, less than one generation in three hundred years." It was so straightforward that Pei Xuanjing was a little scared.

"Twenty-nine people from descendants and grandchildren" seems to refer to the number of Li and Tang generations, but whether "Twenty-nine people" refers to twenty-nine emperors or eighteen emperors, or can it be interpreted as other numbers is still unknown. Can't tell.As for the sentence "less than one period in three hundred years", it almost clearly indicates that Li Tang's country will last for nearly three hundred years. It is impossible to judge how many years "one less period" refers to. Song Ruozhao didn't mention the second phenomenon, could it be because the second phenomenon predicts Li Tang Jiangshan's energy and lifeline, which is too important to explain it?

Pei Xuanjing thought to herself that there might be another reason: if the explanation of "Tui Bei Tu" can only be a verification of the facts that have already happened, then only when the Tang Dynasty collapsed, can the second image be given a clear answer. "One period is missing in three hundred years?" Pei Xuanjing thought to herself, this year is the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, and it has been exactly two hundred and one years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.Three hundred years seems like a very distant future.Whether "one century less" refers to one year less or ten years less, it is impossible for people living today to witness it with their own eyes, so it is not that important. Thinking of this, she felt more relieved again. Looking down, there are the third, fourth, fifth and ninth elephants in sequence.Pei Xuanjing stared at Ninth Elephant in a daze. The past of Wu Yuanheng's assassination brought back many memories, all of which came to mind. After a long time, Pei Xuanjing woke up.Looking up, the sunlight cast on the septum is more deflected.The sun sets early in winter, so she has to hurry up. Scrolling down, it is the thirty-third elephant.Facing the two words that turned red, Pei Xuanjing thought for a long time, but she still had no inspiration. "Master Pei Lian, it's getting dark." Shence Army knocked on the door outside, "Should I go?" Pei Xuanjing agreed: "Understood. It will be ready soon." Just now, she was so engrossed in "Tui Bei Tu", she never noticed that the windows were completely black.She subconsciously glanced at the candlestick standing next to the Golden Chamber, which matched the other furnishings in Lingyan Pavilion. The lower part of the candlestick was made of bronze, while the upper part was made of celadon, both of which were covered with blue and white colored glaze, without any luxury such as gold or silver. The decoration is simple and dignified.There was an unlit red candle in the candlestick. Suddenly, Pei Xuanjing turned her head in shock—it was already dark in Lingyan Pavilion, why could she keep watching "Tui Bei Tu" without hindrance? But in the golden chamber, there is a gloomy light shining from the bottom of "Tui Bei Tu". Pei Xuanjing's heart was about to jump out, and she quickly took out all the "Tui Bei Tu" from the golden chamber.Immediately, a round piece of jade appeared, as if it had been randomly discarded in the golden chamber, and it was it that was quietly emitting a soft glow. Pei Xuanjing carefully picked it out, it was so light and thin, it was clearly a piece of jade.When she took it out of the Golden Chamber, its luster had visibly dimmed.Pei Xuanjing put it back again, it became brighter, took it out, and it became dark again. She got it!This piece of jade has the same effect as the pearl of the night.It glows in the dark, but dims in the bright. Who put it in the golden chamber?Is it for illuminating when studying "Tui Bei Tu"? impossible.Song Ruozhao said that the study of "Tui Bei Tu" is done during the day, and there is no need for extra light at all.Moreover, candlesticks are erected all around the pavilion, and there are also on the left and right sides of the Golden Chamber. If lighting is needed, there is no need to use such a strange method. She rubbed the jade piece lightly, and her fingertips inadvertently touched some unevenness, as if something was stuck to the surface. Pei Xuanjing suddenly realized! She put "Tui Bei Tu" back into the Golden Chamber as it was and locked it up.Hiding the jade piece in his bosom, he thought about it, but he was still not at ease, so he lit the candles on both sides of the golden chamber, and then greeted the Shence army guarding outside the door. When Shence Army opened the door, the room was brightly lit. In the dusk, Pei Xuanjing returned to the Yuchen Temple under the escort of the Shence Army. It was not until the dead of night that Pei Xuanjing quietly took out the jade piece under the cover of candlelight.Although it is not obvious enough, you can still see a smoky shimmer around the jade piece. Someone glued it to the pillar facing the septum and golden chamber.When glued on during the day, it is completely unnoticeable.But when it was dark in the back pavilion at night, the light from the jade piece was enough to show the image on the window. Above the small hole in the middle, Pei Xuanjing also found a torn silk thread.This silk thread should have been tied with the small paper-cuts of the two trees. The thirty-third image on the window of Lingyan Pavilion, now the truth is revealed—— The jade piece shines in the dark, and the light falls on the septum.A paper-cut hangs in front of the small hole in the middle, with a dead tree and a flourishing tree on it. The shape is projected on the window through the small hole, and magnified several times, it becomes the scene they saw outside. When everyone opened the door, the torches lit up the lanterns, and the light of the jade pieces disappeared immediately.Song Ruozhao took off the jade piece in time and hid it on his body. Later, when he opened the golden chamber to explain "Tui Bei Tu" to Pei Xuanjing, he waited for an opportunity to throw it in.But after all, she only had two hands, and she was in full view, so she only had time to tear off the paper-cut and threw it on the ground.According to her estimates, a palm-sized piece of thin paper on the ground would have been ignored, but Pei Xuanjing still found it. In fact, when Pei Xuanjing discovered the paper-cut and the small hole in the septum, she already had a preliminary guess in her mind that what was missing was only a light source.Now, everything is clear. The appearance of the thirty-third image on the window of Lingyan Pavilion was arranged by Song Ruozhao with great effort.She only needs to secretly bring four things into Lingyan Pavilion: luminous jade pieces, paper-cuts, silk thread and isinglass.These few things are not big and are easy to hide on the body. The magical characteristic of luminous jade pieces that can only glow in the dark is the key to the success of this strategy.Pei Xuanjing remembered that at that time Song Ruozhao asked the Shence Army closest to Lingyan Pavilion to extinguish the torch, so that the thirty-third elephant was perfectly displayed on the window of Lingyan Pavilion. Pei Xuanjing held the luminous jade piece in the palm of her hand, such a rare treasure, I am afraid that only the palace can find it.Judging from the favors Ruohua, Ruoyin and Ruozhao have received from the emperor, it is possible for any one of the three to be bestowed with this object—perhaps Song Ruohua is the most likely. As for this exquisite and delicate paper-cut? Pei Xuanjing guessed that it was probably the work of the ingenious Song Ruoyin.Song Ruoyin died three years ago, so she should have made this paper-cut a long time ago.It seems that Song Ruozhao is still lying.Song Ruohua was ordered to interpret "Tui Bei Tu", but did not keep it a secret from the sisters in the Persimmon Forest Court.She must have silently written some of the paintings and shared them with her younger sisters. As long as she does not leave the Daming Palace, it is not considered a violation of the emperor's orders.And Song Ruoyin made them into paper-cut patterns, which is also in line with her always unconventional personality. By analogy, could the Ninth Elephant's "Ape Playing Fireball" image be created by Song Ruozhao in the same way? The servant came again to pass the decree, and the emperor summoned Pei Xuanjing to go to Qingsi Hall immediately. It's past midnight.