Preface
Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly, fluttering about like a butterfly. He thought he was happy and contented, and did not know that he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhuang Zhou. He did not know whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed that he was a butterfly or the butterfly dreamed that it was Zhuang Zhou. Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly must be different. This is called materialization.
—Zhuangzi: On the Equality of All Things
***************************************
"Beauty, beauty,
It captivates my mind.
You have seductive eyes,
I miss you.
Beauty, beauty,
It disturbs my mind.
Your lips are as sweet as honey.
My heart is fascinated.
Beauty, beauty,
Into my mind,
You have a beautiful body
My heart is pounding.
When will you let me taste your honey~~~and pick your~~heart~~"
When Ma Yun came back from Saixian Pavilion, he kept muttering these words.
The two servants were carrying their drunken young master with his clothes unbuttoned, reeking of alcohol and with red lip marks from the girl from Saixian Pavilion all over his face.
Ma Guanqun, the master of Ma, stood in the courtyard and shook his head repeatedly, thinking that he was the Minister of Revenue, and yet he had given birth to such a son who was addicted to alcohol and sex. But he only had one son, what could he do? He had to spoil him no matter how naughty he was.
"Hurry up and help the young master back to his room~~~" Madam Huang Yue'e looked at the drunken Ma Yun with concern and urged the servants and maids at home, "Hurry up and prepare a bath for the young master, why are you still standing here like an idiot?!"
The maids began to work hurriedly.
"Oh, why are you so drunk again~~" Huang Yue'e looked at him with heartache. Playing with girls will hurt the girls, but drinking will hurt your own body.
"Let him go!" Lord Ma turned away, angrily not looking back.
Madam Ma glanced at Lord Bai Ma. Was he different when he was young? Now that he was an official, he was afraid of affecting his reputation, so he went to those brothels less often. I wonder if he couldn't have a son or a daughter because he had been played with all the time when he was young.
"Beauty~~Beauty~~~"
When the maid was giving Ma Yun a bath, Ma Yun was still muttering in the bathtub.
"You want to kill me... You want to kill me..."
When the maid was dressing Ma Yun, Ma Yun hugged the maid and kissed her. The maid was so scared that she hurriedly helped him to the bed, let down the curtains, and ran away.
“Beauty… Wan’er… Wan’er… Hmm…” Ma Yun fell asleep murmuring in the bed.
At the hour of Yin, the maid got up early and quietly went into the house to change the toilet.
When she passed by Ma Yun's bed, she heard a strange rustling sound from inside the curtains, like a moth flapping its wings.
The maid reached out and gently lifted the curtain. She was stunned by the blue butterflies on the bed. The blue butterflies with fluttering wings formed the shape of a person, lying on the bed just like their young master.
It was already dawn at 3 a.m. in summer, and the curtain was lifted to let in the light, which immediately startled the blue butterflies, which flapped their wings and flew towards the maid like a gust of blue wind.
"Ah-ah--" the maid's scream pierced the dawn. She was so frightened that she tripped on her heels and fell to the ground.
In the quiet early morning, the maid's scream instantly startled all the maids and servants in the garden. Everyone ran over. Before they reached Ma Yun's yard, they saw countless blue butterflies flying in Ma Yun's yard. The blue butterflies gathered together and slowly rose into the sky like a blue cloud, flying away into the distance...
Ma Guanqun strode into his son's room and his face turned pale when he saw the empty bed.
Huang Yue'e had already fallen down crying beside the bed.
"What's going on?! What's going on!" Ma Guanqun shouted in the room.
The maid was also frightened by the blue butterfly. She turned pale, trembled, and burst into tears: "Reporting to the master, the young master has turned into a butterfly..."
“Transform into a butterfly? Transform into a butterfly!” Ma Guanqun was stunned in the room, waving his sleeves in anger, “What nonsense are you talking about transforming into a butterfly so early in the morning!”
"Master, you have to find Yun'er back, Master. Ah, Yun'er is our only son." Huang Yue'e cried beside Ma Yun's bed. "Oh my Yun'er, why did you turn into a butterfly? Come back soon! Come back soon! Go and ask the magician to bring the young master back."
The maids and servants at the door were also terrified for a moment. They had heard a lot of gossip such as there was evil spirit in the Zhang family and ghosts in the Li family, but they had never heard of someone turning into a butterfly!
And, the key point is that they all saw it! When the bunch of butterflies flew up, they really looked like a person.
"Eight doors!" Ma Guanqun suddenly shouted. In the whole room, only Ma Guanqun was still a little calm. He looked at everyone and said, "Help the lady out. No one is allowed to enter this room again!"
"Yes!" The old woman hurried in and helped Huang Yue'e up.
Ma Guanqun walked out in a huff.
“Master—Master!” Huang Yue’e chased him out crying and grabbed his sleeve, “Where are you going? We need to find a wizard right away!”
Ma Guanqun was furious: "What kind of wizard are you looking for? I will go to the court to find the Prime Minister and ask the Eight Sects to investigate this matter! Bring our son back!"
"Eight Gates?" Huang Yue'e wiped her tears and jumped in anxiety, "Is this something that the Eight Gates can investigate?! I don't care, I'm going to find a wizard! What if my son flies far away and there's no time to call him back?! Oh my Yun'er--" Huang Yue'e started crying again.
"Isn't there a ninth door?!" Ma Guanqun also became anxious and yelled at Huang Yue'e.
He did not see his son turning into a butterfly, but the maids, old women and servants in the entire courtyard saw it, and this blue butterfly must exist.
Huang Yue'e was stunned, and the maids and servants around her looked at each other in confusion. What was the ninth gate
"The ninth gate? What ninth gate?" Huang Yue'e looked at Ma Guanqun blankly.
"That's the royal wizard! Hey!" Ma Guanqun yelled and turned away.
Huang Yue'e stood there in a daze. The royal family... also has a royal mage? How come she had never heard of it? But if he was from the royal family, he must be the best mage in the Qian Dynasty! She had hope of finding her son!
The sun rose over the Drum Tower and the bells rang. All the civil and military officials in the court stood on both sides of the court, with civil officials on the east and military officials on the west.
Emperor Cheng of the Qian Dynasty was sitting on the dragon throne. The uncle looked majestic and murderous, with dragon eyes and tiger eyes.
On the left side of Emperor Cheng stood the left and right prime ministers. The right prime minister was Lin Jingzhi. Lin Jingzhi had gray hair and was nearly sixty years old. He was thin, but his eyes were still bright and he was full of righteousness.
Behind him was the left prime minister Fu Kun, who was over 40 years old. Although Fu Kun was an uncle, he was handsome, with a three-inch black beard, and looked much more capable than Lin Jingzhi.
Behind Fu Kun was a fat old man with a big belly. He stood in the queue, one person occupying two seats, with no one close to him in front or behind.
The old man always had a smile on his face, with two deep dimples at the corners of his mouth. His eyes were curved like a half moon, like a cute baby in his youth.
"Long live the Five Emperors--" All civil and military officials paid homage to Emperor Cheng.
"Stand up..." Emperor Cheng smiled and nodded. Seeing the civil and military officials in high spirits, he was also very happy. In recent years, with the help of these loyal ministers and generals, he has been safe and sound every day. I hope today will be peaceful as well. (To be continued)