Chapter 66

【These words piqued the curiosity of the few people present.】

【How could there possibly be a note inside a fish's belly?】

【The chubby scholar seemed quite satisfied with the effect he had caused. He continued, "During the heavy rain the night before last, a flash flood washed away the western foothills of Mount Ming. Surprisingly, a stone tablet was washed out. Guess what was written on it?"】

【"A stone tablet? A stele!" The crowd was even more astonished.】

【The chubby scholar smiled triumphantly and said, "You definitely wouldn't guess it. What was written on it concerns that Lu Chen, the Junior Guardian living in seclusion on Mount Zhongnan."】

【"Concerns that Junior Guardian living in seclusion on Mount Zhongnan?"】

【As soon as these words were spoken, the woman in white also lifted her eyes to look.】

【The beautiful matron on the long bench also looked over.】

【Seeing this, the chubby scholar felt a bit carried away and couldn't help but clear his throat.】

【The man with the saber standing at the doorway was also somewhat curious about what could be related to Junior Guardian Lu Chen.】

【The old man stroked his beard and urged with a smile, "Young friend, stop keeping us in suspense, won't you?"】

【From the two of them playing chess earlier and the group's idle chatter, they already knew the two scholars were licentiates from the neighboring prefecture. This time, they were heading to the capital for the imperial examinations. It was late summer and early autumn, so they wanted to sightsee while traveling to the capital, and there was still plenty of time.】

【This old man's surname was Zou. He had once served as an official in the capital but had resigned and lived in seclusion for many years. His return to the capital this time was because the current Emperor wished to compile the outline of the Daqing National History, and as a great Confucian scholar of his generation, he had received a warm invitation from the imperial court.】

【You were also somewhat curious about what matter concerned you!】

【The chubby scholar stated steadily, "It is said that the matter of the stone tablet has already alarmed the Censorate, and it was hauled to the capital overnight, but the news has been sealed off."】

【"However, the wind still blew the news out."】

【The woman in white recalled that on the Yuetang River today, there were many people riding horses, and among them were not a few wearing the fish-dragon robes.】

【The Censorate wears fish-dragon robes and has the authority to inspect all officials.】

【Could this matter be related to the stone tablet?】

【The woman in the green dress curiously asked the chubby scholar, "How did you come to know this news?"】

【The identities of the two women were not ordinary, especially in this Yuetang River territory.】

【The thin scholar tore down his facade: "This brother of mine has been indulging in the 'gentle village' ever since he arrived here. That place is where the worlds of the martial arts and the imperial court intersect, so it is a place where news flows freely."】

【The chubby scholar felt embarrassed; the "gentle village" naturally refers to a place of "flowers and willows" (a brothel).】

【The group shared a knowing smile, and the burly man with the saber was no exception.】

【The chubby scholar smiled awkwardly, trying to change the subject.】

【He looked around and, seeing that the group was listening intently, said solemnly, word by word:】

【"The note written on it had six characters."】

【"Lu Chen is King, the Four Seas are One."】

【Once these words were spoken, the temple fell into silence.】

【You were slightly startled after hearing this.】

【Lu Yu, however, began to smile at the corners of his mouth.】

【After hearing this, the woman in white furrowed her delicate brows tightly.】

【The beautiful matron repeated softly, "Lu Chen is King, the Four Seas are One."】

【The woman in the green dress chuckled and joked, "This wouldn't be implying that Junior Guardian Lu has designs on the world, would it?"】

【Although her words were light, everyone present understood that this was not mere nonsense.】

【The founding Emperor of Daqing had a legend: "Slaying the three-headed snake to establish the world."】

【Such prophetic symbols are often regarded as signs of Heaven's will.】

【In folk gossip, when three people claim a tiger exists, it becomes terrifyingly real.】

【The old man had originally been quite interested in the affairs of Junior Guardian Lu, but after hearing this news, he shook his head silently.】

【He understood that these six characters on the note clearly intended to point to Junior Guardian Lu becoming King and unifying the Four Seas. This was undoubtedly an intent to rebel, and if it spread among the people, the impact would be extremely severe.】

【If such prophecies and rumors were utilized by those with ulterior motives and reached the ears of the current Emperor, the consequences would be unimaginable.】

【"This is not good!" the thin scholar playing chess sighed.】

【At this moment, the handsome youth picked up a chess piece, placed it gently on the board, then looked at the thin scholar and said indifferently, "Brother, you are about to lose."】

【The thin scholar's expression was somewhat ugly; clearly, he felt unwilling to accept the loss of the game. He was still trying to find possible variables, attempting to turn the tide. The handsome youth, however, appeared at ease; his chess skill was clearly a cut above.】

【The old man glanced at the chessboard and sighed, "It's hard to save now."】

【The handsome youth looked up and asked, "What was on the stone tablet?"】

【The old man surnamed Zou interrupted sternly, "Zongxian, don't ask about things you shouldn't."】

【Hearing this, the handsome youth remembered that this uncle of his admired the Junior Guardian the most, so he stopped asking.】

【He pushed over the chessboard, preparing to play another round, only to find that the woman in white seemed to be lost in thought and hadn't noticed his "great victory" just now, which left him feeling somewhat disappointed.】

【The woman in the green dress smiled at the old man and said, "Old sir, we aren't discussing state affairs, we're just curious."】

【"Besides, there is no one else in this temple."】

【At this moment, the woman in the green dress seemed to look at you an extra time.】

【The chubby scholar spread his hands and continued, "Old sir, even I know this news; it has likely already spread far and wide, and before long, the entire Yuetang River City will know."】

【The old man surnamed Zou sighed and said no more.】

【Seeing this, the chubby scholar continued vividly:】

【"It is said that several villagers of Mount Ming, at the third watch of the night, heard a sound in the sky like tearing silk, sharp and piercing. Thunder rumbled, and a fireball fell from the sky, landing in the south."】

【"The villagers braved the heavy rain to investigate and discovered a stone tablet over two zhang tall. It seemed to have fallen from the sky, or perhaps it had been washed up by the flood. Both the front and side of the tablet were inscribed with characters, tadpole-like scripts of dragon seals and phoenix seals. These characters were obscure and difficult to understand; no one could decipher them."】

【"The next day, a wandering Daoist priest happened to pass by. After carefully observing the tablet, he declared it a sign of auspiciousness."】

【According to him, the front of the tablet had twelve lines of heavenly script, and the back had sixteen lines, totaling twenty-eight, corresponding to the twenty-eight constellations in the sky."】

【"The twenty-eight constellations descending to the mortal world is a great auspicious omen."】

【"When the villagers heard it was an auspicious omen, they happily sent it to the Yuetang River Prefecture government to claim a reward. But guess what happened?" The chubby scholar deliberately kept them in suspense, whetting everyone's appetite.】

【The woman in the green dress was already impatient: "You are truly detestable; if you were telling stories in the marketplace, you'd be beaten to death."】

【"Speak quickly, speak quickly."】

【The others were also curious, and the burly man with the saber looked over as well.】

【The chubby scholar smiled happily and continued: "After it was sent to the prefecture government, our Yuetang Prefect was naturally overjoyed and rewarded those villagers heavily."】

【"And this year happens to be the joyous year when the Empress gave birth to a dragon son. When autumn begins, there will be a general amnesty for the world, and auspicious omens from all over are being reported one after another, with rewards flowing continuously."】

【"If one could please the Empress, that would be even more extraordinary."】

【"Our Prefect, seeing such an auspicious omen delivered to his doorstep, was naturally beaming with joy and wrote a letter overnight, hauling this strange object to the capital."】

【"Unexpectedly!"】

【"The next day, the Censorate and the Astronomical Bureau all arrived, and even the Supreme Court came; the Prefect was directly arrested by the Censorate."】

【Everyone was curious: it was an auspicious offering, how could it end up like this!】

【The chubby scholar said leisurely: "It is said that the heavenly officials of the Astronomical Bureau examined the inscription, and it was all written in ancient Daoist seal script; ordinary people couldn't understand it at all."】

【"The first sentence translated from the stone tablet was."】

【"The Emperor Star sways, Mars is high."】

It's a bit late, thank you everyone, I'll try harder tomorrow!

Good night, gentlemen!



(End of chapter)