Chapter 37 Section VII

As soon as she stepped out of the Hall of Qingsi, Pei Xuanjing felt warm all over her body.Spring can always give people hope.But——she stopped and looked back, looking at the magnificent palace in front of her, she felt a bit of pity in her heart: what a pity, it can no longer accept spring. The emperor did not summon her to ask her a question.Because he knew better than anyone that Pei Xuanjing couldn't say anything now.He wanted her to come because he had something to say, and he would go crazy if he didn't say it.However, in the whole world, he could only say these words to her. Judging from the emperor's situation, the word change of the second image in "Tui Bei Tu" has really hit him.Moreover, the matter was top secret, and he had no way to find anyone to discuss this issue and relieve his fear, so he could only sink deeper and deeper into despair.

Pei Xuanjing didn't know the exact day when Song Ruozhao's body was found, but judging from the emperor's tone, it was at least ten days ago.So for more than ten days, the emperor has repeatedly chewed on the changed second image.Pei Xuanjing could completely imagine how he denied it over and over again, and confirmed over and over again—that he was about to become the king of subjugation. However, there is nothing in the current situation of Datang that can support this prediction.The feudal towns were wiped out one by one, and the whole Tang Dynasty believed that the current emperor was a rare and wise emperor.Even Pei Xuanjing had to admit that the emperor was the hope of Tang Zhongxing, how could he become a subjugated king?

In the whole world, no one will believe that the emperor will become the king of subjugation, even if this prophecy comes from "Tui Bei Tu".But the emperor himself believed it, why? Pei Xuanjing returned to the cell.After the door is closed, there is only a faint light in the room from the gap in the wooden window grille.Even so, she still felt that it was much warmer than in Qingsi Hall, and it would get warmer and warmer.Thinking of this, Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but smile. Why did the emperor believe in the second image after the character change in "Tui Bei Tu"?

Because of the three developments of Lingyan Pavilion and the change of the thirty-third image, it is confirmed one by one that all of this is God's will.When "Tui Bei Tu" was moved into Qingsi Palace, Lingyan Pavilion no longer appeared, and Song Ruozhao's corpse emerging from Taiye Pond became a sign of the second image changing. Song Ruozhao was dead, and Pei Xuanjing was already mentally prepared for this.She always thought that it was the emperor who killed Song Ruozhao.Now it seems that I have wrongly blamed the emperor.It was precisely Song Ruozhao's death that became a key part of using the second image of "Tui Bei Tu" to curse the emperor, implying that the emperor would be the king of subjugation, so how did she die?

Could it be suicide?No, based on Pei Xuanjing's understanding of Song Ruozhao's character, and her various behaviors of trying to protect herself, it shows that Song Ruozhao absolutely does not want to die.In fact, she struggled in every possible way and tried every means to get rid of the conspiracy of "Tui Bei Tu", but she still failed.In the end, Song Ruozhao was also firmly woven into this big net, and dealt the emperor the most fatal blow. The reason why the emperor believed in the changed second image of "Tui Bei Tu" was because of the foreshadowing of the thirty-third image change.The "father killing" that Pei Xuanjing blurted out is based on the change of characters in the thirty-third image in "Tui Bei Tu".Therefore, the second xiangchang character immediately after it should show the consequences of killing the father and the king, which is the retribution of the reincarnation of heaven!

The emperor believed it, which was tantamount to admitting the crime of "killing his father". Now, Pei Xuanjing can almost conclude who actually woven the net of "Tui Bei Tu"——Li Zhongyan. And she believed that Li Zhongyan must be dead. After amputating his tongue, he came to visit her and hinted at her fate. Li Zhongyan used his own death to lay out the last move of the tight chess game.Because of his death, even if the emperor had doubts about the character change of the thirty-third image in "Tui Bei Tu", he could not blame him for the change of the second image.

Li Zhongyan cleverly used Song Ruozhao and Pei Xuanjing to cast the cruelest curse on the emperor—the regicide will be killed in return, and the throne usurped by the emperor will be crushed in his own hands.Even though this prophecy seemed quite absurd against the background of reality, for the emperor who had a ghost in his heart, it was enough to make him collapse. However, how did Li Zhongyan grasp the top-secret content of "Tui Bei Tu" and design such a chain of conspiracy?Pei Xuanjing remembered that Song Ruohua had once hinted to herself that the "Zhen Lan Ting Xian" acrostic poem came from Fengling, which meant that Song Ruohua had long been wary of Li Zhongyan, maybe she was coerced by Li Zhongyan?Of course, there is still a possibility that all of this is simply the conspiracy of the two of them.The thirty-third image of changing characters in the Golden Chamber was put by Song Ruohua before his death.

Now that both Song and Li have passed away, the truth will never be known and is no longer important. Pei Xuanjing figured out why Li Zhongyan came to see her for the last time.If he wanted to come to Taiji Palace from Fengling, he had to get the approval of the emperor.In other words, he came with the determination to die.When he came to see Pei Xuanjing, he not only apologized and thanked her for everything she had suffered in his setup, but most importantly, he came to strengthen her determination. A simple "you are right" made Pei Xuanjing willingly become his accomplice. The emperor's intuition was not wrong.At the moment when he was about to be overwhelmed by "Tui Bei Tu", he found Pei Xuanjing.Because she had the best chance to expose the conspiracy of "Tui Bei Tu", but Li Zhongyan's last side in exchange for his death successfully blocked her mouth.

So Pei Xuanjing could only disappoint the emperor.Perhaps, thinking that he was sinking into the bottomless abyss, she even had a little bit of revenge. He can casually take other people's lives, and he can casually smash other people's hopes. Now, let him have a taste of this. Pei Xuanjing decided not to think about the emperor anymore.She has one more interesting thing to do. She took out a small stone from her sleeve, which she picked up quietly from the ground when she tripped under the eaves on purpose when she came back just now.With the faint light, Pei Xuanjing found the spot on the wall, and gently rubbed the corners of the stone against the wall.She rubbed very carefully, yet confidently.

When it was almost evening, it was too dark to see anything in the house.Pei Xuanjing no longer rubbed against the wall, but closed her eyes and rested her mind, patiently waiting for the moment when everything fell asleep. It's three o'clock. Someone knocked on the watch far away, and the place is too open, so the sound of the watch is still very clear when it comes.Pei Xuanjing stood up, and covered the window slit with a skirt she had put on the couch.She knew that someone was watching her all the time, but it was late at night, and those people would relax their vigilance to some extent. As long as there was no obvious movement in this cabin, the watcher would be happy to squint for a while.

What I am afraid of is the light, and I can't do it at all, so I have to block all the window slits. You can't see your fingers in the room now.Pei Xuanjing untied her belt by feeling, and dug out a small and thin piece of jade from the innermost layer.Immediately, the brilliance bloomed, shining on the wall that Pei Xuanjing had polished all day. The plaster and dirt on the surface were removed, and the small pictures on the wall were exposed.At first, Pei Xuanjing just accidentally discovered that there were a few places where the mud had fallen off the wall, exposing the paintings behind.She further deduced that there should be a complete picture on the wall, so she tried to peel it off with her hands, and it was as expected.But Pei Xuanjing did not continue to act.One, having tools can do more with less; two, she doesn't want the watchers to find out.Because from the small part of the screen that was revealed, Pei Xuanjing had already seen a flood dragon churning in the sea. The light from the jade piece was bright and soft, illuminating the mottled wall.Now, Pei Xuanjing could clearly see the series of paintings: the surging wind and clouds on the sea; The content in the picture should be exactly the same as the murals in Jinxianguan Catacombs.Although Pei Xuanjing had never personally visited the Jinxianguan Catacombs, from the descriptions of Duan Chengshi and others, she knew that the murals in the Catacombs were huge in size, bright in color, vivid in brushstrokes, and natural in spirit, which fascinated people.However, the murals that Pei Xuanjing found on the cell wall were small and scribbled, with no coloring, just sketched with azurite paint, just like the sketches made by the painter in advance. Yes, it's a sketch. The author of the murals in the Jinxianguan Catacombs must have lived in this hut, and painted on the wall the original idea of ​​the story of "the shark descending the dragon". Who is he?How did he come up with these magnificent and romantic imaginations, and why did he paint them underground, a place that will never see the light of day?He has created such a wonderful picture scroll and completed a rare masterpiece, but he doesn't seem to want the appreciation of the world? Pei Xuanjing was a little worried about being discovered, and was about to hide the jade piece again, when suddenly, she found some ink marks on the edge of the sketch. This time it is not a painting, but a word. The teeny lowercase script was mixed with the remaining stains after Pei Xuanjing wiped it, so it was almost ignored. Pei Xuanjing almost pressed her face to the wall before she could barely recognize it—— The leftmost column reads: "The year of Renzi, the first year of Jiao Nu, the sketch is completed." The second column: "The year of Kuichou, the record of Jiaonu's two years old, sea boat." The third column: "The year of Jiayin, the record of Jiaonu's three years old, Jiaolong." The fourth column: "In the year of Yimao, the four-year-old story of Jiao Nu, the mermaid subdued the dragon." The fifth column: "In the year of Bingchen, the record of Jiaonu's five years old, weeping blood into pearls." Pei Xuanjing pressed her hands on her chest, otherwise her heart would jump out.what did she seeThis is clearly the chronicle written by the mysterious painter, which records the whole process of painting the underground murals of Jinxianguan for five years from the year of Renzi to the year of Bingchen. This person not only has a peerless painting skill, but also has superb calligraphy, and the small letters written with a few numbers are elegant and graceful. However, from the sixth column onwards, the font has changed, crooked and almost out of shape.It reads: "In the year of Ding Si, Jiao Nu is six years old." Jiao slave?Pei Xuanjing guessed that it should be a child's baby name.In the baby names given to children at that time, there was often a word for slave, such as Hua Nu and Feng Nu.Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi's childhood name was Pheasant Nu.But the word "Jiao" is not used on girls, so this Jiao slave should be a boy. Pei Xuanjing thought pleasantly, yes, at the age of six, this boy named Jiao Nu learned to write his own baby name. She couldn't help stretching out her fingers, and gently touched the immature handwriting. In the year of Ding Si, that should be the twelfth year of Emperor Daizong's Dali - exactly forty-two years ago. How wonderful that she met a boy from forty years ago here.Perhaps to commemorate his birth and growth, the child's father drew an amazing and majestic picture scroll underground. Well, it must have been painted by my father.There are too few women who have the opportunity to learn painting, and the physical strength required to complete the huge murals in the Jinxianguan Catacombs is not something a woman can afford. The painter father, while painting underground, raised his children in this hut. Jiao Nu is very smart, because in the seventh column immediately after, his handwriting is much more correct: "In the Wuwu year, Jiao Nu was seven years old, and my father left." Daddy left?Pei Xuanjing's heart skipped a beat.What do you mean by gone?The child is only seven years old, why should the father leave?Is it because, once the painting is completed, it cannot be left behind? There is the last line of characters on the right side, which is a more mature handwriting: "Ji Wei is young, Jiao Nu is eight years old. His Royal Highness gave the name: Luo Lingze." Pei Xuanjing hid the jade piece back in her belt. Opening her eyes wide in the boundless darkness, she saw— The real person Luo Gongyuan, who studied under Emperor Xuanzong, had a disciple named Luo Yitang.Luo Yitang was once appointed as the national teacher by Emperor Daizong, and made alchemy for Emperor Daizong in the Sanqing Hall in Taiji Palace.In the fifth year of Dali, a lightning strike caused fire from the sky, and the Sanqing Palace was burned down. Luo Yitang also disappeared in the sea of ​​flames. Legend has it that he had been dissolved into a fairy. It seems that Luo Yitang did not become a fairy, but hid in the dungeon under the altar.Whenever the night was quiet, he quietly returned to the hut where the lowly servants lived to visit his son. I don't know if it was because of the magnificent picture scroll of "Merman Conquering the Dragon" painted in the Jinxianguan Catacombs that the child was given the nickname "Jiao Nu" or because of this child that the mural was painted on purpose. When Jiaonu was seven years old, Luo Yitang left, the reason is unknown.The first emperor took Jiao Nu to raise him and named him Luo Lingze. At the end of the first year of Yongzhen, Luo Ling was executed by the current emperor for the crime of coercing imperial edicts and treason. It turns out that Luo Lingze, the mountain man, is the son of the Taoist priest who was raised by the former emperor according to Princess Yong'an.