The Lotus Pavilion means "to pity life". When Duan Xu stepped onto the stone steps with his black boots, he saw a pool of white lotuses, and the whole courtyard was filled with fragrance. Across the pool stood an 18-step wooden platform, on which stood a pavilion with bamboo curtains hanging on all four sides, and someone was vaguely sitting in the pavilion. Clear water from somewhere began to flow down from the top of the pavilion along the tiles of the pavilion roof, and fell into the pond in front of the pavilion in an arc from the eaves, forming a water curtain, like a miracle.
The common people who entered from the red gate could not approach the pavilion because of the pond between them, so they could only stand on the white stone platform beside the pond and look at the pavilion and pray for blessings.
Duan Xu took a look at the figure behind him through the water curtain and bamboo curtain, then called the little boy next to him, handed him the umbrella and said, "Please return this umbrella to the state teacher and tell him that Duan Shunxi has been here."
After saying this, he turned around and wanted to leave, but the little boy grabbed the corner of his clothes. The little boy looked up and said in a muffled voice: "The Red Lotus Umbrella of the destined person must be returned to the master in person."
After that, the little boy took Duan Xu's sleeve and led him through the crowd to the lotus pond. The little boy performed a standard bow across the water and bamboo curtains and said loudly: "Master, the destined person has arrived."
As soon as he finished speaking, with the sound of a bell, a white bridge emerged from the bottom of the lotus pond, from Duan Xu's feet to the steps of the pavilion. The little boy stretched out his hand and said, "Please come if you are destined to come."
Duan Xu held the red lotus umbrella in his hand, turned around twice, and finally stepped onto the white bridge. When he passed through the water curtain that descended from the eaves of the pavilion, he held up the red lotus umbrella, and the umbrella broke through the water curtain to block him from falling into the water. Duan Xu then passed through the water curtain to face the pavilion, and looked up at He Jia Fengyi behind the bamboo curtain.
Through the gaps in the green and yellow bamboo curtains, He Jia Fengyi was vaguely visible, wearing gorgeous clothes interwoven with gold and white. He was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, with a birch cane placed across his knees, and the bell rang without wind.
The red lotus on the umbrella faded and turned into white lotus when passing through the water curtain. Duan Xu closed the umbrella to drain the water and said with a smile: "The Lotus Pavilion is really magnificent. Do I have to go through so many levels to see the state master?"
He Jia Feng Yi spoke leisurely from behind the bamboo curtain, saying: "If people want to face their inner selves calmly, they must put aside their worries. Each of these worries must be washed away as a lie. The pond in front of the Lotus Pavilion is white lotus, and the invisible inner pond is red lotus. My Heart-Questioning Pavilion is the boundary, just like the inside and outside of a person's heart. With a pure thought, the flames become a pond."
Duan Xu clapped his hands with his umbrella from time to time. He did not respond to He Jia Fengyi's words and looked at the figure behind the bamboo curtain calmly.
He Jia Feng Yi sighed, propped up his chin and said, "I heard that General Duan never believed in gods and Buddhas. It's really unfair for you to come to my Liansheng Pavilion today. Zi Ji, please get a cushion for General Duan to sit on. People outside the water curtain can't hear what we say, so General Duan doesn't have to worry."
As soon as he said this, his attitude was completely different from the mysterious one just now. He suddenly changed from a national teacher to a restaurant owner greeting customers, and his posture became lazy. Zi Ji brought a cushion over, and Duan Xu sat down happily. He heard He Jia Fengyi continue to say: "But since she gave you the umbrella and you came here, why don't you ask me what you want to ask. For example, the relationship between me and He Simu? For example, your recent fortune?"
This was the first time that the Imperial Master condescended to sell questions to the right person.
This? The destined person was not too ungrateful, and still smiled and continued the conversation: "Since the Grand Master has already known and made preparations, then let's talk."
He Jia Fengyi wondered who was the national teacher between the two of them. Why did he feel that this guy was asking for help? Moreover, this guy seemed to be hostile to him. God knows, it is so difficult to do a good thing in this day and age.
"You should know that He Simu had four close relatives - her parents and aunts and uncles. I am the 20th generation great-grandson of her aunts and uncles. Privately, I call her ancestor. My parents died early, and she took care of me for a while when I was young. She was considered an elder who watched me grow up."
Duan Xu seemed a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows and smiled sincerely: "Is that so?"
He Jia Fengyi felt that Duan Xu's hostility had retreated by 70% or 80%, and he understood where this hostility came from. He secretly spat in his heart, but said calmly: "In fact, I asked you to come here today because I prepared a wedding gift for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zi Ji handed a brocade bag to Duan Xu. Duan Xu took the brocade bag and opened it, only to see a note inside. He glanced at the content on the note, showing a little surprise, and then turned his eyes to the vague figure behind the bamboo curtain.
"I heard that General Duan has a photographic memory. I guess he doesn't need to look at it again." He Jia Fengyi snapped his fingers, and the piece of paper in Duan Xu's hand instantly burned to ashes.
Duan Xu pursed his lips, bowed and said with a smile: "Thank you for your help, Master Imperial Master. Is this gift from you or..."
"The ancestors don't care about the political situation in the world. I prepared this gift."
"I have never had any contact with you, why are you helping me?"
The figure behind the bamboo curtain was silent for a while. Duan Xu heard a slight laugh. The Imperial Master said, "I'm not helping you."
"I was very rebellious when I was young. I liked to get to the bottom of everything and pursue it relentlessly until I got the answer. When my ancestor was taking care of me, I was also curious about her. One day, I secretly found a notebook she kept."
"The original handwriting of the record was not hers, but belonged to the former Ghost King and his wife - her parents. The first half of the book recorded her birth, learning to speak, and various interesting things during her growth. In the middle, the handwriting changed, and the tone became that of the ancestor herself. I think the former Ghost King gave this record to her and she continued writing it herself."
"The ancestor recorded in the transcript is completely different from the one we know. The girl named He Simu is afraid of many things, proud and squeamish, and very good at being naughty and coquettish. On her birthday, she pestered her living mother to pick out clothes for her. Her mother said that red was the most suitable color for her, so she made more than a dozen red qu hem dresses in a row. She said she liked the color even though she couldn't tell the color at all."
"The notes are very thick, recording the daily details, including relatives, friends, and lovers. Until one page says - father died and returned to the underworld. The rest is blank."
Behind the bamboo curtain, He Jia Fengyi's voice paused, the bell was still ringing slowly, like some uneasy and helpless mood. Duan Xu clasped his hands, and then separated them.
"I have always felt that my ancestor was very strange, but I couldn't put my finger on what was so strange about her. After reading the transcript, I suddenly realized that her time had stopped, forever stopped at the moment her father died three hundred years ago. She wore her favorite clothes and did what her parents and elders taught her and hoped she would do. Even when she talked to me, she would say - why don't you look like my uncle and aunt at all? How strange! She had clearly seen my father and mother, but she had to trace back to ancestors twenty generations ago to compare with me."
"She felt vaguely unfamiliar, angry and helpless with this ongoing world. Just like the record that came to an abrupt end, from the moment the last line was written, she no longer needed to be understood, but only to be feared. She left the precious people in the past sealed in the record, and no one has come after them in the past three hundred years."
Duan Xu sat upright in the bright sunshine of summer, with the water curtain flowing behind him in an irregular manner, reflecting the sparkling light. The brightness fell into He Jia Fengyi's eyes through the gaps in the bamboo curtain, allowing him to see Duan Xu clearly.
The boy, who was nearly ten years younger than him, had a focused look in his eyes, as if he had an unshakable certainty, and listened to him carefully.
He Jia Feng Yi smiled, he extended his cane and lifted the bamboo curtain to meet Duan Xu's eyes. At this time, he was no longer the spokesperson of the unseen God, but just an ordinary mortal who was open and honest.
"General Duan, whether as a curse-maker or something else, I hope you can make the stagnant time in her body flow again. This is why I am helping you."
Duan Xu looked at He Jia Feng Yi, stood up and bowed deeply, and said in the most sincere and peaceful tone since he entered the Lotus Pavilion: "Thank you, Master State Master. In this case, Shun Xi does have one more thing to ask of you."
"What's up??"
"Her Majesty the Ghost King has a pearl. I exchanged my five senses with her using the pearl as a medium. Do you understand this, Master Imperial Master?"
Hejia Fengyi laughed and said, "You know it very well? Ah."
"I would like to ask the Imperial Master to write a spell for me." Duan Xu said.
When Duan Xu walked out of the Lotus Pavilion with the talisman, Hejia Fengyi stretched himself and thought to himself that it was good to be young. Duan Xu's boldness and determination to never turn back until he hit the wall were very similar to his youth. As he was thinking, he saw Zi Ji walk over and take the futon away and stack it neatly, and then asked the boys to wipe the water stains left by the umbrellas, as if she would not tolerate any mess.
He Jia Feng Yi couldn't help but sigh, and when Zi Ji came up the steps to bring him his daily medicine, he took the medicine bowl, shook it, and looked up at Zi Ji.
"Actually, you don't have to do these things, Zi Ji," he said.
Zi Ji didn't say anything. The beauty sat in front of him with her eyes lowered. Her skin was whiter than snow, her hair was black as silk, but she looked like a wooden man. He Jia Feng Yi had long been accustomed to Zi Ji's silence. He just smiled to himself: "I was young and rebellious, and I hated the world. Now I have let it go, and you should go back to where you should go. What's the point of you staying? You know I won't live long."
Zi Ji finally raised her head and looked at He Jia Feng Yi. Her eyes were deep and dark, like the unreachable night sky. She said calmly, "I know what I am doing."
After a pause, she said briefly: "Take medicine."
He Jia Fengyi smiled bitterly and drank the medicine in one gulp.
At this time, Duan Xu left Liansheng Pavilion and headed straight for Yuzao Tower. The news given by Hejia Fengyi was like timely help to them, bringing hope to their future.
The words on the note read: Spring ends in May and the peony flowers fall.
The most favored concubine of the current emperor, Empress Yu, is in love with peonies. The emperor once collected the most precious peonies in the world and planted them in her garden. She is also known as the "Peony Beauty". Her son, the Fifth Prince, is also very popular with the emperor because of his mother's status. He is a strong candidate for the crown prince in the court.
May and Peony refer to the Fifth Prince and Concubine Yu. They are afraid that they are going to be in trouble. This is a great joy because Concubine Yu is the daughter of Sun Zi'an, the Minister of War. Sun Zi'an is the mastermind of Ma Zheng's corruption case. If Concubine Yu falls, he will be implicated, and the investigation and evidence collection of Ma Zheng's corruption case will be much easier.