Chapter 263: Clear Day Chapter 239: The Fengshan Ceremony Begins

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Heavenly Mechanism Master Jiang Fu and Lady Dai Hua Feng Zhu accompanied them into the mountain; both held special identities and were the Welcoming God Messengers for Taishan personally appointed by the Son of Heaven for this occasion, which suited Shaowei's wishes perfectly, allowing her to personally accompany and care for Jiang Fu and Mother.

The Imperial Guard went ahead to clear the path and lead the way, with the Heir Apparent among them; this was Liu Qi's own request, claiming that having the Heir Apparent lead the way into the mountain would better show sincerity in serving the gods, so he personally escorted them.

And thinking of having to be separated from the Young Master for at least seven days, Xiao Yu had not slept all night, her separation anxiety running rampant, so before dawn she proposed to follow them up the mountain to fast; her argument was even more outrageous, openly stating that her father Liu Gu had once followed the Fengshan ceremony, and she wished to summon her father's spirit to witness this grand event again, so she asked her Imperial Grandfather to allow her to follow into the mountain to guide the gods and ghosts.

With such an argument, the Emperor could only agree, so Xiao Yu could now skip and hop along behind Shaowei.

Walking along the mountain path, Shaowei seriously supported Mother, using her own strength to hold Mother up, not letting Mother add any more fatigue.

Feng Zhu looked at her daughter's cheeks and forehead glistening with a thin layer of sweat, feeling many emotions in her heart.

In the past she had been saved by her daughter and escaped from the greatest death-black mountain in her heart; now, once again supported and protected by her daughter, she was walking into the true greatest mountain, one with new meaning—Taishan was regarded as the beginning of light and life for all things in the East, and being early summer, it was full of vigorous vitality, inspiring hope at a glance.

Feng Zhu felt her mind and spirit both nourished by this great mountain, enjoying the scenery along the way, laughing and listening to Jiang Fu's panting complaints: "I've said it before, accompanying the Son of Heaven on the great sacrifice is truly a bitter assignment..."

Jiang Fu leaned on a green bamboo staff with his right hand, his left arm supported by a house slave holding an umbrella; the house slave, skilled in kung fu, imitated Shaowei's filial way of supporting her mother, reducing Jiang Fu's fatigue to the greatest extent.

And this unrestrained complaint from Jiang Fu caught the attention of the two beautiful Taoists behind.

Both came from Xian Tai Gong, once long accompanying the Baili National Preceptor at his side; now hearing this voice under the umbrella and seeing this lazy demeanor, the two exchanged glances, couldn't help but draw closer, trying to glimpse the Female Monarch's true face under the umbrella, but never got their wish.

Just as the two were itching with curiosity, they saw the fair hand holding the green bamboo staff gently raise, fingers lifting the umbrella edge a little, revealing a strand of snow-white hair, and a pair of carefree, smiling eyes.

The two Taoists immediately recognized the person; overjoyed, they almost blurted out "National Preceptor," but changed it at the last moment to "Female Monarch," desperately suppressing this sudden surprise.

For the next half of the journey, the two Taoists followed closely by the Female Monarch's side, discussing celestial phenomena with her, talking about scenery, speaking of Immortal Arts, to dispel her fatigue from climbing the mountain.

The taciturn house slave's heart was like still water, only regarding these two as passersby—though he was not as beautiful as them, he could still be kept by Jiang Fu's side as a house slave for a long time, making him a true eternal confidant in the world.

There was no imperial road on the back mountain, more primitive wildness; the group walked along winding mountain paths, seeing strange rocks and clear springs, white clouds and pine waves, occasionally cranes flying across the blue sky, finally approaching the two candle-shaped mountain peaks, one large and one small.

The group smoothly arrived at the Immortal Shrine; Liu Qi stayed to inspect until afternoon, and spoke alone with Shaowei under the pine trees, extending his arms to embrace her for a moment, but Shaowei pushed him away, and only then did he laugh and slowly go down the mountain.

Shaowei had been supporting Mother all along and could not move freely; now she climbed freely to the highest nearby rock, watching Liu Qi lead people down the mountain, and surveyed the surroundings.

Gazing afar, the surrounding high and low mountains stood facing the sky, mountain ridges undulating, valleys deep and secluded, rock caves mysterious; Shaowei felt this vast and primitive power of life's breath, and in her heart gradually arose an impulse to shout out loud, but she firmly restrained it, subconsciously worrying she might awaken some indescribable power.

This place was not the sunny side of Taishan; just past noon, a shadow like a huge pitch-black banner of heaven and earth slowly unfurled from the horizon, covering and pressing down like a city being conquered.

Shaowei stood alone on the rock, staring fixedly at the huge shadow; in the instant before it was about to engulf and approach, she turned and leapt down, her figure agile and light, like a civet quickly diving into the dense pine and cypress forest; after exiting the forest, she ran back to the Immortal Shrine, brushed off a few stray leaves from her head, and returned to human form.

Shamans and Taoists respectively occupied the left and right halls in the Immortal Shrine, each setting up offering tables, offering incense, and observing fasts.

Jiang Fu came from the Dao Sect, so he stayed in the Right Hall, observing fasts to welcome the gods together with the Taoists and children of Xian Tai Gong; regarding this she sighed and complained: going in circles, returning to the old post this time, truly an endless bitter assignment, endless cause and effect.

Zhao Qie'an, to integrate into the group, also put on a Daoist robe; anyway it was all gray, he felt there was not much difference from the past; but when he swept the quiet courtyard surrounded by pines and cypresses with a broom, Jiang Fu praised his transcendent and lofty temperament wearing the Daoist robe as very suitable for this mountain immortal shrine, pleasing to the eye.

Thus the house slave swept three times a day with a broom, becoming a fixed scenery visible daily.

Mo Li had secretly followed up the mountain on the first day to learn the way; afterwards, entrusted by Shaowei, he stayed at the Xing Palace at the foot of the mountain, serving as a messenger civet by Qingxiang Sister's side; if Sister had business, she could drive Mo Li to deliver messages.

In the Immortal Shrine, Feng Zhu stayed in the Left Hall; daily she merely served incense together with the shamans; when Shaowei was free, she would push Mother to enjoy the scenery and gaze into the distance.

Xiao Yu treated the Young Master's mother very filially, often running to massage Feng Zhu's shoulders and beat her back; Feng Zhu, seeing her childish face, always remembered Shaowei at such a young age, feeling many regrets, unconsciously treating Xiao Yu with more patience and gentle countenance, not rejecting this Imperial Family child's enthusiastic closeness.

Shaowei was busy during the day, and at night also had duties; she always secretly patrolled her territory once, then stepped on the roof ridge of the stone chamber, climbed the thick branches of pines and cypresses, and leapt into Jiang Fu's lodging; every time she had just pried open a narrow crack in the small window lattice, she could hear the house slave sitting cross-legged and keeping watch inside reporting: "Nothing."

"Nothing tonight either."

"Taiping, nothing."

Thus three days and three nights passed peacefully; Shaowei's patrol continued as usual; the Immortal Shrine was built on the mountain waist, and the nearby rock caves had almost all been thoroughly searched by Shaowei.

Regarding this, Jiang Fu couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: outsiders entering the mountain to welcome the gods needed to diligently offer incense and wine, accompanied by dance and music, to summon the mountain spirits; but her disciple was just short of digging holes to search and kicking doors to enter, lifting the bed covers to shake out all the gods, ghosts, and mountain spirits—how rude.

Shaowei patrolled for six nights like this, seeing no ominous signs; welcoming the gods was a major event, and the Immortal Shrine was already guarded by the Imperial Guard around it; moreover, at the beginning of the Emperor's decision to perform Fengshan, the court's troops had already first cleared Taishan and the Fengshui City area; all entering and exiting needed strict inspection, and soldiers patrolled every entrance.

Both up and down the mountain were preparing for the grand ceremony; Liu Qi, busy with many matters, sent people back and forth to the Immortal Shrine every day, reporting to Shaowei what he was busy with daily, and also always sent some items and food.

The Heir Apparent was busy with monarch affairs; among the Three Dukes, the only one accompanying, Yan Xiang, took on many major affairs, personally going up Taishan several times, leading people to inspect the imperial mountain road and the altar arrangement at Dai Summit.

Setting out from Dai Summit toward the northeast direction, there was a winding path that could reach the Immortal Shrine; this road took time and effort, requiring over an hour to walk; Yan Mian came and went three times, inquiring about welcoming god matters and celestial phenomena, and also "incidentally" came to see Feng Zhu.

Knowing this road was tiring to walk; whenever Yan Xiang spoke with Mother, Shaowei would avoid it herself.

That day Shaowei calculated the time, estimating Yan Xiang should have left; so she returned from outside, stepped into the stone gate with one foot, but saw Yan Xiang and Mother still under the tree; so she temporarily hid behind the stone beast.

"The day after tomorrow is the Fengtian Grand Ceremony; you need not trouble yourself to come here anymore; looking at your complexion, it's so poor; I suppose you haven't had a moment of easy rest these days, aging you by over ten years."

"Yes, truly old, getting up in years..." Yan Mian warmly instructed Feng Zhu: "Zhu'er, take good care of yourself here."

"Rest assured; I'm just quietly waiting here every day; it's not tiring at all... As for the Fengtian Grand Ceremony, the height of Dai Summit is not something I can reach; His Majesty has already given orders; on that day I am still ordered to guard this shrine with the Female Monarch; only after the grand ceremony ends can we return down the mountain the next day."

"Then I'll come see you after the Fengtian Grand Ceremony ends."

"You just busy yourself with your affairs." Feng Zhu said: "By then Shaowei will naturally escort me down the mountain; this child worries a lot; truly the number one in the world..."

Shaowei kept her back straight, pressed against the stone beast, pricking up her ears to listen to this praise, but then heard Mother's voice turn, saying: "Truly the number one in the world at eavesdropping on people's words, a big-eared civet."

Shaowei seemed as if her ears had truly been grabbed; her face immediately turned red; she stepped out; just about to explain, but saw Mother and her uncle both laughing.

The mountain breeze was gentle; the setting sun had not faded; under the eaves, copper bells lightly rang; a pair of cranes flew over the roof.

Shaowei suddenly felt this moment was incomparably precious and warm; she stood quietly in place; from the top of her head to her cheeks, fur, and clothing outline, all were covered in the golden light of the setting sun, like a relaxed civet-tiger; every hair rose and fell peacefully with even breathing.

Yan Mian walked closer, also touched by the warmth of this moment; looking at this special child before him, he couldn't help but warmly say: "Just now I was talking with your Mother about old matters; good child, the world is impermanent and hearts are uncertain; in the past you suffered many hardships..."

Yan Mian couldn't help but raise his hand, wanting to lightly touch this child's head; but Shaowei instinctively stepped back.

Shaowei, who had inadvertently avoided it, felt a bit embarrassed; only feeling that before Mother's consort she had failed to be a proper and generous child; she had messed this up herself; so she mustered courage to step forward again, but ultimately missed the opportunity; Yan Mian also smiled somewhat awkwardly, but his expression became even gentler; Feng Zhu also smiled watching this scene.

Shaowei then quickly extended her right hand hidden behind her back, offering the object in her hand as compensation: "Uncle... eat apricot."

That mountain apricot was yellow with a hint of red, large and beautiful; it was rare to avoid birds and insects and remain intact; Shaowei had originally specially saved it for Mother.

Accompanied by the clear copper bell sound, Yan Mian slowly took that fresh and lovely yellow apricot, holding it in his palm full of lines.

Bell sounds passed through one stone gate after another, accompanying the golden evening light as it drifted down, transforming into the lights encircling the Xing Palace below the mountain.

The lights of the Xing Palace burned all night without extinguishing, until they merged with the light of the next day's dawn; when Heaven and Earth once again reclaimed the sunlight, and by the Zi hour of the night, a procession of men and horses slowly emerged from the east gate of the Xing Palace.

The Fengshan Ceremony was held during the day, and they had to set out after the Zi hour; the Imperial Guard carried torches to open the path, with princes, ministers, and Wu Guan accompanying the carriage, the procession grand and mighty, beginning from the southern face Fengshan Imperial Path to ascend the mountain.

The southern face of Taishan is Yang, representing the orthodox human path of the Yang realm, so the Emperor ascended the mountain via this Imperial Path.

The northern face is Yin, regarded as the dwelling place of ghosts and spirits, so the Immortal Shrine was built to welcome and serve ghosts, spirits, and the Mountain Spirit.

If one reached the Dai Summit, it was the place where Yin and Yang converged, regarded as the place where humans and gods communicated; when a monarch stood at this absolute peak to sacrifice to Heaven, it symbolized that the will of the Human World could reach the ears of Heaven.

The welcoming procession in the Immortal Shrine on the northern face had also set out, and together with the imperial procession ascending from the southern face, they were like two rivers respectively representing Yin and Yang, slowly spreading and flowing through the mountains, heading toward the same direction.

Emerging from the Immortal Shrine, the Imperial Guard led the way, with Tianji at the head, shamans carrying torches and wearing Ghost Masks chanting, Daoists carrying flags following along, and children scattering talismans for commanding ghosts and driving away spirits, praying for blessings and warding off calamities along the mountain path.

The mountain wind fluttered, robes and talismans danced wildly, shaman bells and conch shells sounded like weeping and singing; Xiao Yu followed within the procession, tainted by this atmosphere that was strange yet sacred, and unconsciously looked up, only to see the sky gray-purple, rising with fire smoke, the surrounding great mountains vast and boundless.

Rumors said that after death, souls would return to Taishan, and Xiao Yu at this moment firmly believed it without doubt.

Xiao Yu held back tears and also threw a handful of talismans with force, as if she had truly become the ghost child she once claimed to be, but not to block the road, rather to guide the way, to awaken and summon the scattered wronged souls and spirits of the dead to come witness this special Fengshan Ceremony.

The wind howled, circling and arriving, as if responding to the thoughts of a child.

When the sky was about to dawn, the imperial procession had already passed Zhongguan halfway up the mountain; at this point on the mountain journey, the path split into two coils, the place where the Imperial Path bent in the middle, where canopies had been set up in advance, and the procession rested here; the Emperor dismounted from his palanquin, and from here proceeded on foot.

The higher they went, the more treacherous and narrow the road became, those accompanying began to decrease, the Imperial Guard stationed along the way; when it was fully bright, in the distance one could see the black and red banners winding and fluttering among the mountains, like blood-stained dragon scales dropped by the Son of Heaven on his journey.

The Emperor's body could no longer support this eastern Fengshan Ceremony; it was because a breath not yet extinguished remained in his chest, and only after taking the medicine discussed with Jiang Fu did he manage to rekindle this last spark of life.

Even so, walking and resting, upon reaching the mountain path, the Emperor also found it difficult, sweat pouring down, and in exhaustion, his sight and mind fell into confusion several times.

This confusion caused by the exhaustion of bodily strength instead brought extreme clarity to the mind, the soul as if leaving the body to observe from the side, allowing the Emperor to clearly see that all his grandeur from climbing the mountain twelve years ago had turned to mountain ash, and now only a sorry body covered in wounds remained.

Yes, people will always grow old like this; growing old itself is not terrible or shameful, but if one could accept early on that one will eventually grow old and die, that there is nothing after, then even if now old and feeble, how could one not express boundless grandeur as openly as in those years?

What bent this spine may not be just old age; some faults weigh upon the body, and since I and the world and the history books all know them, I can no longer stand tall as in the past.

Sweat slid down from the brow bone endlessly, like tears flowing from somewhere other than the eyes; the Emperor trembled as he looked back, only to see behind him like an abyss of ten thousand zhang, the towering mountain rocks like countless white bones, piling up and paving this path to the highest peak.

A moment of dizziness, the Emperor suddenly grabbed the arm of the person beside him, staring blankly, but it was not the Imperial Guard from before, rather a handsome and extraordinary youth's face; the young, strong arm supported him, and he said to him: "My son Liu Qi, help Imperial Father complete this path."

"Good, good..." The Emperor looked up steadily, sweat sliding across his eyelashes, his trembling voice repeating: "My son helps me go, my son helps me and I can go."

The youngest son, absent from this Fengshan Ceremony twelve years ago, supported him to reach the Highest Position, allowing him to accept this supreme judgment between Heaven and Earth.

When the Son of Heaven's procession reached the Dai Summit, Tianji, responsible for welcoming the gods, was already waiting by the altar; the shaman god's wide and conspicuous Choose Yi Zhu Chang surged in the mountain wind and mist, holding a jade casket and standing motionless, like a true messenger of Heaven's Mandate, behind him stood a young princess whose features resembled the late Crown Prince Liu Gu.

?? Good evening everyone, good night everyone.

? (The Fengshan route used in the text follows the Eastern Han, and relevant records are scarce, so most are private settings after consulting some materials, not for reference.)