Chapter 103 part2
Chapter 103: Formidable Use of Poison
Comments:
Erica–
Been without Wi-Fi for a few days, apologiesfor the delay
Notes:
[1]
Should the student be better than their teacher
Bai
Zhi
and
Zhao
Yue
were
briefly
taken
aback
.
Bai
Zhi
whispered
:“
Xiaojie
,
Jiu
Yiniang
is
locked
up
in
her
own
courtyard
,
Laoye
said
——”
“
Father
did
not
say
I
couldn
’
t
go
and
ask
questions
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
idly
said
.
Bai
Zhi
said
:“
But
the
weather
is
so
cold
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
didn’t
pay
any
mind
to
it
:“
It
doesn
’
t
matter
.
Let
’
s
go
.”
Zhao
Yue
had
been
solemn
and
silent
.
Hearing
this
,
she
nodded
:“
Yes
.”
There
was
no
trace
of
anyone
along
the
way
.
Perhaps
no
one
wanted
to
go
out
in
this
heavy
snowy
weather
.
Li
Wei
Yang
firmly
held
onto
her
cloak
and
walked
into
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
courtyard
but
did
not
run
into
the
caretakers
.
In
the
snow
not
far
away
,
there
was
a
silhouette
of
a figure
moving
strangely
.
That
person
’
s
long
hair
was
unkempt
,
falling
everywhere
and
seemed
to
be
dragging
her
feet
.
Her knees
stiff
,s
he
walked
as
if
he was
awkwardly
limping.
She
was
getting
closer
and
closer
to
Li
Wei
Yang
and
could
be
faintly
seen
only
wearing
thin
layer
of
clothes
…
In
this
weather
,
how
could
anyone
wear
something
so
spa.r.s.e
here
!
A
moment
later
,
Li
Wei
Yang
saw
everything
clearly
.
The
person
in
front
of
her
was
none
other
than
Jiu
Yiniang
!
She
was
not
wearing
thin
summer
clothes
but
a
white
nightgown
.
Li
Wei
Yang
frowned
,
how
could
Jiu
Yiniang
run
outside
of
the
house
alone
?!
Didn
’
t
Lao
Furen
order
to
have
more
servants
to guard her
and
keep
her
under
close
watch
…
How
could
she
run
outside
without
anyone
doing
anything
?
Why
did
she
run
out
in
this
kind
of
weather
?!
Zhao
Yue
instinctively
placed
a
hand
on
the
sword
by
her
waist
,
cautiously
eying
Jiu
Yiniang
.
Jiu
Yiniang
had
already
discovered
them
and
suddenly
stared
intensely
at
Li
Wei
Yang
,
clapping
her
hands
and
laughing
.
Li
Wei
Yang
noticed
her
voice
was
rather
abnormal
and
shuddered
.
She
looked
at
her
face
and
only
saw
a
pair
of
soulless
,
hollow
eyes
as
she
had
with
Li
Chang
Xi
!
“
Hahaha
,
so
it
’
s
you
!”
Jiu
Yiniang
twirled
a
pale
,
frozen
blue
finger
.
Her
hands
were
always
beautiful
and
untainted
by
even
a
little
bit
of
dust
,
but
now
they
were
covered
in
mud
,
dirt
and
blood
.
“
I
know
you
!
You
’
re
that
capable
San
Xiaojie
!
Ah
no
!
It
’
s
Li
Wei
Yang
!
That
bearer
of
misfortune
!”
Li
Wei
Yang
raised
her
eyebrows
.
Could
Jiu
Yiniang
have
truly
lost
her
mind
?
Zhao
Yue
wanted
to
stop
Jiu
Yiniang
from
coming
any
closer
,
but
Li
Wei
Yang
shook
her
head
.
Zhao
Yue
had
to
step
back
.
Jiu
Yiniang
giggled
ominously
and
came
closer
to
Li
Wei
Yang
.
The
strange
light
in
her
eyes
intensified
as
she
used
the
secretive
tone
of
voice
of
a
young
child
:“
Child
,
aren
’
t
you
really
capable
?!
Save
me
then
,
save
me
,
I
really
didn
’
t
harm
you
!
I
didn
’
t
hurt
anyone
!
They
are
harming
me
!
They
colluded
with
one
another
to
harm
me
!
I
only
felt
that
thing
was
beautiful
and
wanted
to
borrow
it
to
make
one
for
Jing
er
.
I
truly
didn
’
t
harm
you
!”
The
words
of
a
madwoman
were
not
necessarily
credible
,
but
Li
Wei
Yang
’
s
intuition
told
her
Jiu
Yiniang
was
telling
the
truth
.
She
frowned
and
suddenly
raised
her
voice
:“
Where
are
the
people
in
this
courtyard
?
Did
you
all
die
somewhere
?”
Her
voice
was
not
very
loud
amidst
the
wind
and
snow
,
but
seven
or
eight
people
appeared
from
inside
the
courtyard
,
four
Mamas
and
a
couple
yatous
.
They
all
had
a
fearful
look
on
their
faces
.
Li
Wei
Yang
coldly
said
:“
All
of
you
were
suppose
d
to
watch
over
Jiu
Yiniang
,
what
are
you
all
doing
?!”
The
four
Mamas
hastily
knelt
down
and
apologized
.
Whenever
it
was
this
cold
,
they
did
not
stand
guard
by
the
doors
and
sneaked
in
some
wine
to
drink
and
play
cards
.
They
just
realized
that
Li
Wei
Yang
had
arrived
but
did
not
dare
to
come
out
in
fear
of
being
punished
,
but
it
seemed like
it
was
unavoidable
.
A
Mama
quietly
said
:“
Xian Zhu
forgive
us
,
the
weather
is
too
cold
.
All
the
Nubi
’
s
hands
are
frozen
blue
.
We
thought
Jiu
Yiniang
was
mentally
unstable
and
would
not
run
out
,
so
then
——”
Li
Wei
Yang
coldly
stared
at
them
:“
Quickly
help
Yiniang
inside
!”
Huh
?
Didn
’
t
Jiu
Yiniang
harm
Si
Shaoye
?
Si
Shaoye
was
Xian Zhu
’
s
full
-
blooded
younger brother
.
Why
did
Xian Zhu
continue
to
treat
Jiu
Yiniang
this
well
?
The
Mamas
looked
at
one
another
.
They
did
not
dare
to
object
and
quickly
directed
people
to
seize
Jiu
Yiniang
,
but
the
strength
of
a
madwoman
always
surpa.s.sed
that
of
an
average
person
.
Jiu
Yiniang
began
to
laugh
,
her
voice
sharp
as
she
broke
free
from
the
crowd
,
swaying
as
she
ran
.
Everyone
rushed
to
seize
her
and
after
some
difficulty
,
they
managed
to
hold
her
down
on
the
snow
.
Jiu
Yiniang
was
barefoot
,
her
entire
body
curled
up
as
if
she
was
getting
sick
.
Li
Wei
Yang
looked
on
from
afar
and
had
an
ominous
premonition
.
She
whispered
:“
Have
your
older brother
watch
over
Jiu
Yiniang
.”
“
Yes
.”
Zhao
Yue
quietly
responded
.
Li
Wei
Yang
’
s
intuition
was
rather
accurate
.
One
day
later
,
Jiu
Yiniang
was
found
dead
in
her
room
.
“
The
physician
said
Jiu
Yiniang
committed
suicide
by
swallowing
gold
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
slowly
said
.
Zhao
Nan
shook
his
head
:“
No
,
Nucai
stood
guard
outside
the
entire
time
.
If
she
committed
suicide
by
swallowing
gold
,
Nucai
would
have
seen
it
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
sighed
and
said
:“
Of
course
she
didn
’
t
commit
suicide
,
she
was
murdered
.”
“
Xiaojie
,
when
yatou
brought
dinner
in
that
evening
,
Jiu
Yiniang
was
still
well
.
Nucai
had
also
tested
the
food
with
a
silver
needle
.
There
was
no
poison
,
but
after
six
hours
,
Jiu
Yiniang
stopped
breathing
.
At
first
Nucai
suspected
she
had
been
poisoned
,
so
Nucai
had
checked
all
the
furnis.h.i.+ngs
in
room
but
could
not
find
any
trace of
poison
anywhere
.
Then
,
Nucai
examined
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
corpse
and
found
that
she
looked
as
if
she
were
dreaming
,
as
if
it
had
been
painless
.
“
So
,
the
person
who
killed
her
must
have
used
a
poison
that
could
not
be
detected
or
acted
in
a
way
we
couldn
’
t
have
possibly
imagined
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
had
lived
in
the
palace
and
knew about
many types of
poison
that
could
not
be
detected
.
For
the
most
part
,
those
were
ingredients
that
contained
a.r.s.enic
,
so
it
was
not
surprising
that
Zhao
Nan
could
not
find
the
cause
of
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
death
.
“
It
seems
our
only
clue
has
been
lost
,”
Zhao
Nan
frowned
.
In
his
opinion
,
the
winding
troubles
in
this
grand
residence have
made
people’s
heads
hurt
.
Someone
peacefully
living
out
their
days
could
suddenly
die
in
front
of
everyone’s eyes
.
He
really
could
not
understand
it
;h
e
would
rather
go
to
the
battlefield
to
fight
and
kill
than
to
be
afraid
,
worrying
about
when
an
arrow
will
come
for
him
out
of
nowhere
.
“
Didn
’
t
any
of
you
think
that
Jiu
Yiniang
going
mad
is
strange
?”
Li
Wei
Yang
prompted
.
Zhao
Yue
nodded
:“
She
was
in
good
health
,
but
from
the
moment
she
left
He
Xiang
Courtyard
,
it
’
s
as
if
she
turned
into
a
different
person
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
nodded
and
said
:“
Li
Chang
Xi
lost
her
mind
because
of
the
trauma
I
caused
her
,
but
why
did
Jiu
Yiniang
go
mad
?”
“
Maybe
…
She
made
a
grave
mistake
and
was
afraid
of
being
punished
——”
Bai
Zhi
supposed
.
Li
Wei
Yang
shook
her
head
:“
If
she
was
daring
enough
to
do
it
,
she
certainly
knew
of
the
consequences
.
How
could
she
go
mad
so
easily
?”
Bai
Zhi
did
not
speak
anymore
.
She
also
felt
there
was
something
wrong
with
Jiu
Yiniang
suddenly
going
crazy
.
Perhaps
someone
had
a
hand
in
it
.
Only
Mo
Zhou
sighed
and
said
:“
Poor
Liu
Xiaojie
,
she
has
already
lost
her
mother
not
long
after
being
born
into
this
world
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
smiled
:“
This
is
actually
a
good
thing
for
her
.
Although
Jiu
Yiniang
was
beautiful
and
clever
,
she
did
not
grow
up
in
a
large
prestigious
household
.
She
is
easily
manipulated
by
others
.
With
a
mother
like
her
,
Liu
meimei
will
be
involved
in
many
troublesome
matters
.
Now
that
she
is
dead
,
Jiang
Yue
Lan
has
to
establish
her
image
of
a
gentle
,
good
mother
in
front
of
everyone
.
She
will
expectantly
treat
her
well
.”
Bai
Zhi
nodded
;“
Xiaojie
has
a
point
.”
Mo
Zhou
disagreed
:“
Who
knows
where
the
new
Furen
’
s
heart
is
.
What
if
she
also
disposes
of
Liu
Xiaojie
?”
Li
Wei
Yang
laughed
:“
Foolish
yatou
,
why
would
she
need
to
act
against
Liu
meimei
?
Liu
meimei
is
only
a
concubine
-
born
daughter
.
In
future
,
she
only
needs
to
give
her
a
bit
of
dowry
.
She
could
also
use
Liu
meimei
to
further
her
family
interests
.
Of
course
,
she
must
be
carefully
raised -
--
for
the
sake
of
Jiang
Yue
Lan
’
s
good
name
.
But
Min
Zhi
is
different
…”
First
of
all
,
suppressing
the
concubine
-
born
son
is
to
keep
the
inheritance
for
the
legitimate
son
.
Even
if
the
concubine
-
born
son
moved
out
,
he
will
always
have
a
share
.
If
he
doesn
’
t
move
out
,
you
would
have
to
put
money
towards
supporting
his
household
.
When
it
comes
to
a
narrow
-
minded
and
unfavored
main
branch
of
the
family
,
they
will
naturally
treat
money
as
their
flesh
and
blood
and
resent
not
being
able
to
remove
the
concubine
-
born
son
from
existence
.
The
second
reason
is
to
protect
the
eldest
,
legitimate
son
’
s
status
in
the
household
.
Among
the
officials
in
Da
Li
,
there
were
many
concubine
-
born
sons
that
have
surpa.s.sed
their
legitimate
counterparts
.
With
achievements
in
hand
,
not
only
could
they
wrestle
favor
from
the
legitimate
son
,
but
their
mother
gains
honor
as
her
son
’
s
position
rises
and
may
even
be
able
to
compete
with
the
official
wife’s
.
Like
the
current
prefect
of
Zhangzhou
,
Liu
Fang
,
who
was
originally
a
concubine
-
born
son
.
He
was
raised
by
the
legitimate
mother
Liu
s.h.i.+
from
a
young
age
.
When
he
returned
and
saw
that
his
birth
mother
,
Li
s.h.i.+
,
with
a
head
of
white
hair
,
still
had
to
abide
by
etiquette
towards
the
legitimate
mother
and
couldn
’
t
bear
it
.
He
purposely
asked
for
Bixia
’
s
edict
to
allow
him
to
bring
his
birth
mother
to
Zhangzhou
Prefecture
with
him
to
share
his
prosperity
.
The
Emperor
saw
that
Liu
Fang
had
endured
many
years
of
hard
work
and
hards.h.i.+ps
,
but
the
news
spread
,
and
his
legitimate
mother
Liu
s.h.i.+
felt
this
son
was
too
unruly
and
was
furious
.
She
ordered
the
servants
to
choke
Li
s.h.i.+
to
death
.
So,
it
seemed
like
she
raised
this
concubine
-
born
son
with
her
guard
raised
.
This
was
also
human
nature
.
This
was
the
main
reason
Li
Wei
Yang
did
not
want
to
leave
Min
Zhi
with
Jiang
Yue
Lan
.
If
she
didn
’
t
have
a
son
,
she
may
treat
Min
Zhi
well
,
but
what
if
she
had
her
own
son
?
The
problem
would become
rather
complicated
.
Li
Wei
Yang
thought
up
until
this
point
,
then
looked
at
the
branches
outside
the
window
that
were
swayed
by
the
wind
:“
This
is
the
last
snowfall
of
the
year
.”
Bai
Zhi
and
Mo
Zhou
looked
at
one
another
,
not
understanding
why
Li
Wei
Yang
suddenly
mentioned
this
.
The
person
who had
the
same
thoughts
as
Li
Wei
Yang
was
Li
Xiao
Ran
.
He
felt
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
madness
was
strange
and
suspected
someone
poisoned
her
.
As
he
pondered
over
it
,
she
suddenly
died
.
Perhaps
someone
murdered
her
.
At
first
,
he
wanted
to
thoroughly
investigate
.
Unfortunately
,
the
shop
owner
was
dead
and
with neither
a
witness
nor
a
testimony
,
the
only
clue
was
with
the
yatou
by
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
side
.
Her
words
became
the
only
doors
to
the
truth
.
No
matter
how
she
was
interrogated
,
the
yatou
only
repeated
that
:
Jiu
Yiniang
poisoned
Si
Shaoye
,
and
she
did
not
know
anything
else
.
Later
on
,
Li
Xiao
Ran
sent
for
an
expert
in
torture
,
but
that
yatou
still
did
not
change
her
confession
.
“
No
matter
what
it
is
,
it
has
no
effect
.
Either
the
yatou
is
telling
the
truth
or
she
believes
that
what
she
’
s
saying
is
the
truth
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
said
to
Zhao
Yue
.
Zhao
Yue
did
not
understand
:“
What
is
the
difference
?”
Li
Wei
Yang
smiled
:“
The
difference
is
that
she
really
did
see
Jiu
Yiniang
put
the
poison
inside
or
someone
else
made
her
mistakenly
think
that
Jiu
Yiniang
dealt
with
poison
.”
Zhao
Yue
suddenly
understood
:“
Then
,
is
there
a
way
to
investigate
it
?”
Li
Wei
Yang
coldly
said
:“
It
happened
once
,
so
there
will
inevitably
be
a
second
time
.
As
long
as
we
pretend
not
to
know
anything
for
the
time
being
,
the
other
party
will
continue
to
act
.”
Zhao
Yue
nodded
:“
Nubi
certainly
will
carefully
watch
over
Si
Shaoye
.”
At
that
moment
,
Zhao
Nan
quickly
came
in
and
knelt
down
to
say
:“
Xiaojie
,
following
Xiaojie
’
s
instructions
,
Nucai
searched
through
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
food
in
the
recent
days
…”
He
handed
over
a
stack
of
papers
.
Li
Wei
Yang
looked
at
it
for
a
while
but
still
could
not
see
anything
out
of
the
ordinary
.
She
lowered
her
voice
:“
There
is
nothing
strange
with
food
preparation
.
What
is
going
on
here
?”
A
while
later
,
she
frowned
:“
Go
find
a
physician
.”
Zhao
Nan
responded
and
quickly
disappeared
.
Li
Wei
Yang
solemnly
looked
at
his
retreating
figure
.
Two
hours
later
,
Zhao
Nan
brought
back
an
old
,
white
-
haired
and
bearded
physician
.
Li
Wei
Yang
looked
at
Zhao
,
and
he
immediately
said
:“
Nucai
told
the
guards
at
the
gate
that
a
yatou
in
Xiaojie
’
s
courtyard
was
ill
,
so
the
Li
family
physician
would
not
be
summoned
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
nodded
and
said
:“
Please
take
a
look
,
is
there
something
wrong
with
these
foods
?
Or
would
consuming
too
much
of
any
of
these be
harmful
?”
The
old
physician
was
trembling
and
still
did
not
know
what
happened
,
but
he
saw
the
luxurious
furnis.h.i.+ngs
in
the
room
and
Li
Wei
Yang
’
s
manner
of
dress
and
understood
.
He
lowered
his
head
,
not
daring
to
look
at
Li
Wei
Yang
.
He
accepted
the
papers
and
scanned
through
each
one
.
These
papers
recorded
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
daily
meals
in
the
past
month
.
The
old
physician
examined
them
and
pointed
at
a
dish
that
was
prepared
for
every
meal
:“
This
steamed
ca.s.sava
——”
Li
Wei
Yang
said
:“
Ca.s.sava
is
unique
to
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
hometown
and
something
she
loves
to
eat
.
Fuqin
always
dotes
on
her
and
sends
for
it
to
be
delivered
from
her
hometown
.
She
did
not
touch
it
when
she
was
pregnant
.
It
’
s
nothing
new
.
Why
,
is
there
a
problem
with
it
?
The
old
physician
looked
a
little
hesitant
:“
The
leaves
,
stems
,
and
roots
of
ca.s.savas
are
toxic
,
and
fresh
roots
are
the
most
toxic
.
If
raw
or
undercooked
ca.s.sava
is
eaten
,
even
through
a
sip
of
soup
,
it
may
still
contain
toxins
.
Consuming
too
much
of
it
will
lead
to
death
.
Therefore
,
most
people
don
’
t
like
eating
it
.”
Li
Wei
Yang
frowned
and
then
said
:“
This
is
unlikely
.
The
kitchen
staff
would
not
serve
up
poorly
prepared
food
.”
The
old
physician
did
not
dare
to
say
more
and
pointed
at
another
dish
:“
This
Enoki
mushroom
and
daylily
dish
…
Ah
…
The
mushrooms
contain
a
type
of
colchicine
.
If
it
’
s
not
carefully
cooked
and
consumed
in
large
amounts
,
it
can
easily
lead
to
toxins
disrupting
the
digestive
system
.
Ordinary
people
can
still
digest
it
,
but
if
someone
weak
and
frail
was
to
eat
it
…”
Frail
?
Jiu
Yiniang
gave
birth
a
few
months
ago
.
Her
health
naturally
could
not
be
at
its
best
,
but
daylily
was
often
used
in
cooking
.
Li
Wei
Yang
never
heard
of
it
being
toxic
,
so
she
made
an
expression
of
disbelief
.
The
old
physician
explained
:“
This
old
man
has
seen
with
his
own
eyes
a
patient
with
gastrointestinal
bleeding
for
seven
days
who
seemed
perfectly
normal
but
suffocated
to
death
in
the
end
…”
Bai
Zhi
made
a
face
of
disgust
.
This
old
physician
dared
to
say
‘
suffocate
to
death
’
in
front
of
Xiaojie
--
he
was
truly
out
of
line
!
Li
Wei
Yang
shook
her
head
.
This
could
not
explain
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
death
.
To
say
she
died
because
of
the
toxins
in
mushrooms
or
daylilies
was
absurd
.
Everyone
eats
these
things
,
and
no
one
has
ever
died from this
.
The
old
physician
was
speaking
of
a
special
case
that
would
only
happen
under
certain
circ.u.mstances
.
No
,
wait
a
moment
,
what
if
someone
deliberately
undercooked
the
ca.s.sava
or
intentionally
let
the
frail
Jiu
Yiniang
consume
a
large
amount
of
ca.s.sava
?
The
old
physician
continued
:“
Xiaojie
is
young
and
it’s normal that
you
have
never
seen
this
.
When
I
was
young
,
I
used
to
examine
corpses
for
the
Imperial
Court
.
I
saw
with
my
own
eyes
all
the
strange
,
primitive
ways
people
kill
one
another
!
Take
this
roast
pork
and
potato
dish
.
The
blossoms
,
leaves
,
and
roots
of
these
potatoes
contain
a
lot
of
toxins
,
especially
in
the
shoots
.
Young
green
potatoes
or
dark
spots
due
to
improper
storage
contain
extremely
high
levels
of
toxicity
.
As
long
as
one
makes
good
use
of
it
,
they
can
easily
put
someone
to
death
.
Of
course
,
to
grasp
this
,
one
must
need
to
experiment
with
it
many
times
and
have
direct
access
to
the
victim
’
s
food
…”
Li
Wei
Yang
understood
everything
.
She
waved
a
hand
.
Bai
Zhi
immediately
placed
a
large
silver
bag
in
the
old
physician
’
s
hand
.
The
o
ld
physician
panicked
:“
This
…
I
did
not
examine
anyone
yet
,
I
cannot
accept
so
much
money
…”
Li
Wei
Yang
smiled
:“
Thank
you
for
clarifying
my
suspicions
.”
The
old
physician
was
rewarded
but
frightened
.
He
intended
to
say
more
,
but
Zhao
Nan
had
showed
him
out
.
Bai
Zhi
softly
said
:“
This
old
man
scares
people
with
what
he
says
!
We
eat
those
things
every day
and
have
yet
to
see
anyone
die
!”
Li
Wei
Yang
shook
her
head
:“
Indeed
,
if
you
want
to
use
it
properly
,
you
must
know
Jiu
Yiniang
’
s
health
very
well
and
use
this
chance
to
kill
her
.
This
is
not
something
the
average
person
is
capable
of
.
I
’
m
afraid
a
poisons
expert
has
appeared
in
this
household
.”
“
Xiaojie
is
saying
it
’
s
——”
Zhao
Yue
was
stunned
.
A
chilling
light
crossed
Li
Wei
Yang
’
s
eyes
:“
To
put
her
to
death
like
that
,
I
know
why
this
person
would
want
to
step
foot
into
the
Li
family
!”
In
a
different
residence
in
the
Capital
…
Zhou
Tian
Shou
worriedly
walked
in
through
the
doors
and
greeted
the
young
man
in
ceremonial
garments
standing
in
the
hall
.
The
young
man
turned
back
with
a
smile
:“
No
need
to
stand
on
ceremony
,
Taoist
leader
.”
Zhou
Tian
Shou
originally
lived
in
mountains
,
but
for
some
reason
,
he
was
invited
to
this
place
a
month
ago
.
He
met
the
young
man
here
,
who
arranged
this
residence
for
him
.
Zhou
Tian
Shou
led
a
modest
lifestyle
and
had
never
received
such
a
courtesy
.
He
could
not
help
but
walk
around
the
courtyard
and
glanced
around
.
The
tables
and
bed
were
made
from
precious
rosewood
,
the
four
-
paneled
screen
divider
was
inlaid
with
gold
,
the
curtains
embroidered
with
silk
,
the
bedding
,
and
even
the
sleepwear
were
made
of
silk
.
Everything
in
the
house
,
even
the
chamber pot
,
was
lacquered
with
gold
.
At
meals
,
the
table
would
be
full
of
seemingly
simple
vegetarian
dishes
with
mushrooms
,
winter
bamboo
shoots
,
fungus
,
chestnuts
,
cauliflower
and
vegetables
.
However
,
he
knew
that
while
meat
was
hard
to
come
by
in
these seas
,
fresh
vegetables
were
even
more
rare
than
abalone
and
ginseng
.
He
was
blinded
by
such
extravagance
and
could
not
believe
what
fortune
he
stumbled
upon
.
However
,
something
made
him
uneasy
,
not
knowing
what
the
other
party
wanted
him
to
do
.
Now
,
the
young
man
appeared
before
him
a
second
time
.
Zhou
Tian
Shou
knew
that
this
time
,
it
would
be
to
give
him
a
task
.
“
I
invited
Taoist
leader
here
to
ask
that
you
leave
this
place
.”
The
young
man
smiled
as
he
said
this
.
Zhou
Tian
Shou
was
shocked
.
How
could
he
leave
such
a
wonderful
place
behind
?
His
face
revealed
his
reluctance
,
but
the
young
man
continued
,
without
waiting
for
him
to
speak
:“
Don
’
t
misunderstand
.
I
have
no
other
intentions
.
Someone
will
come
and
invite
Taoist
leader
into
the
palace
.”
“
Into
the
palace
?!”
Zhou
Tian
Shou
was
even
more
astonished
:“
Invite
me
?”
The
young
man
smiled
and
said
:“
Indeed
.”
Zhou
Tian
Shou
felt
rather
strange
.
He
couldn
’
t
help
but
look
at
the
young
man
’
s
appearance
,
feeling
he
had
a
n.o.ble
and
handsome
appearance
.
His
eyebrows
were
like
mountains
,
his
eyes
like
a
pond
in
autumn
,
and
everything
from
his
nose
to
his
mouth
was perfectly sculpted
,
but
most
importantly
was his fate
…
Zhou
Tian
Shou
had
an
idea
of
this
young
man
’
s
ident.i.ty
.
He
was
good
at
looking
at
faces
,
but
there
were
many
things
one
can
see
but
cannot
say
for
sure
.
“
You
should
return
to
your
original
residence
,
Taoist
leader
.
In
three
days
,
Qi
Huangzi
Dianxia
will
invite
Taoist
leader
into
the
palace
.”
The
young
man
said
.
Zhou
Tian
Shou
fearfully
said
:“
Into
the
palace
…
My
master
…”
His
master
said
matters
in
the
palace
were
complicated
and
told
him
not
to
be
involved
with
questionable
people
,
but
he
knew
that
his
master
was
afraid
he
would
steal
his
bowl
of
rice
[1]
.
The
young
man
’
s
smile
seemed
even
more
charming
:“
Everything
will
be
taken
care
of
once
you
are
in
the
palace
.
However
,
if
you
want
to
surpa.s.s
your
master
in
Bixia
’
s
eyes
,
you
need
to
bring
Bixia
a
unique
gift
.”
Zhou
Tian
Shou
looked
him
,
puzzled
:“
I
am
only
a
poor
Taoist
,
what
gift
could
I
send
?”
The
young
man
only
smiled
and
said
:“
Ah
,
a
gift
.
I
have
already
prepared
one
for
you
.”
Zhou
Tian
Shou
followed
the
young
man
’
s
gaze
out
the
window
.
He
suddenly
stopped
,
his
eyes
immediately
fixated
on
a
young
woman
.
He
had
never
looked
closely
at
beautiful
women
and
kept
himself
pure
,
but
at
this
moment
,
he
stared
unblinkingly
.
The
beauty
in
front
of
him
had
soft
hands
,
a
fair
complexion
,
sharp
phoenix
eyes
,
beautiful
eyebrows
,
and
a
clever
,
charming
smile
that
made
one
’
s
heart
quiver
.
After
all
,
he
was
a
religious
pract.i.tioner
and
immediately
recollected
himself
:“
This
is
——”
The
young
man
had
a
slight
smile
:“
The emperor
is
missing
a
flawless
beauty
by
his
side
,
right
?”
-----------------------*****------------------------
Translator: Chau
Editor: Erica
Previous:
Next: Chapter 104 Part 1
-----------------------*****------------------------
