The emperor's death was a major event in itself, and the civil and military officials who had fought with Yang Jian had deep feelings for him.
However, before I had time to feel sad and sigh, I saw His Majesty's soul chatting and laughing and greeting everyone, as if welcoming guests, telling them to come down and have tea with him later, and then left in the City God's ceremonial procession.
The civil and military officials were in no position to cry, nor to laugh, and all looked towards the figure with his hands behind his back under the palace eaves. The grief of Yang Guang and his mother Dugu Jialuo, who were standing nearby, was somewhat alleviated by this interruption.
"National Master, my father..."
Before Yang Guang could finish speaking, the empress tugged at the corner of her clothes and the woman walked to the front and bowed to Lu Liangsheng. Originally, it was impolite for the empress to bow to her subjects, but at this moment, the civil and military officials there rarely said anything and just watched the woman bow and thank her.
Apart from just letting the emperor see her one last time, their final separation was like going out for business, which made people feel less sad. It was a rare ending in the world.
Naturally, Lu Liangsheng would not let the mother of a country really bow down to him, so he held her up with both hands and used his magic power to help her stand up.
"You don't have to do that, Queen. Your Majesty's soul will be treated well by the City God when he leaves. Even if he goes to the underworld, he won't suffer any pain. Your Majesty came out of the slaughter, but he has benefited the people, which is also an immeasurable merit. It's said that your soul will be able to enjoy incense in the future."
In fact, these words were not only said to the Empress and Crown Prince Yang Guang, but also intended for the civil and military officials present. Some of them followed Yang Jian in starting the rebellion and participated in the pacification of Qi and the southern expedition to the Chen Dynasty, and had committed many killings. Now that the world is at peace, it is time for them to accumulate some good karma for the future.
Even if we don’t talk about what happens after death, when we are old and unable to move, when we are dying, we can proudly tell our relatives around us that we have done many good deeds and helped many people live a good life.
All the civil and military officials present were smart people. When they saw the emperor's soul being taken away by the underworld, they naturally had to believe the words of the imperial teacher in front of them.
Everyone looked at each other, raised their hands, bowed respectfully towards the coffin in the open bedroom, and said in unison:
"We, your subjects, will follow your majesty's example, treat the people well, and create lasting achievements!"
As the crown prince, Yang Guang was pushed to the front by his mother, who asked him to get acquainted with the ministers and discuss the future matters. Then he turned around and walked towards the imperial teacher beside him. Lu Liangsheng looked at the fluttering white banners, turned around to look at the dim and swaying candlelight in the hall, and the coffin lying there quietly.
"Empress, His Majesty has gone. I can't help you with the following matters. I will come back after the crown prince's coronation ceremony."
"Master, please walk slowly."
The woman's eyes were still a little red and swollen, but she wasn't as sad as before. After calling Lu Liangsheng, she looked at the people around her and asked in a low voice, "Master, will I be able to see His Majesty again in the future?"
"It's hard to say. It depends on whether Your Majesty wants to reincarnate. If not, you may stay for a while, or you may have other destinations because of your achievements in this world."
In fact, Lu Liangsheng was not very clear about the details of the reincarnation in the underworld, so he was not willing to say too much, so as not to mislead the woman into doing something stupid.
"Don't be sad, Queen. I have some friendship with the City God Ji Xin here, so I will ask him to take care of Your Majesty. The Queen is worried about you, so I can cast a spell and let Your Majesty appear in the Queen's dream so that they can meet."
"Dream? OK..."
Dugu Jialuo nodded repeatedly. She and Yang Jian had been married since childhood and had never been separated. There had never been any quarrels at home and they always respected each other like guests. They had walked all the way to this day. Now that one of them had passed away first, she couldn't help but feel sad.
"It is the best thing that I can still see my husband in my dreams."
Thinking of this, the queen's face became somewhat happy, and she bowed to the imperial teacher again. The latter stepped aside and cupped his hands, "Queen, it's late at night, please go back to the palace to rest, and let the prince take care of this. No matter how talented a fledgling is, he must grow his wings and fly high."
Over there, Yang Guang, who was talking to civil and military officials, turned his head.
"Master, are you calling me?"
"I bid farewell to the Crown Prince and all the ministers and will return to Wanshou Temple first."
Yang Guang roughly understood that Lu Liangsheng must have used magic to rush back. And since they were discussing the death of their father, he didn't need the help of the Imperial Master, so it was a good opportunity for him to try to handle it on his own.
"Well, Imperial Master, please go back to the temple first. If you have any questions, please go find the Imperial Master."
"Then I'll take my leave."
Lu Liangsheng bowed towards the coffin in the hall and said goodbye to all the civil and military officials. Only then did he gather his thoughts and walk alone along the path in the square where funeral banners were hung. Looking at the deep and dark palace road, eunuchs and palace maids passed by with their heads bowed from time to time. When they saw the imperial teacher coming, they did not dare to hesitate and bowed to him.
He walked out of the palace and the imperial city and arrived outside Anshang Gate. He greeted the soldier who was helping to guard the old donkey and led the old donkey that was left under the wall.
"National...National Master..."
The soldier at the side spoke hesitantly, but his eyes were glancing towards the edge of the street. There was a Taoist with his back to the Taoist, squatting on the ground stealthily, with his hands in front of him, doing something unknown, as if he was rubbing them constantly.
"What's wrong with him?"
Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly, and seeing that the soldier couldn't say anything after gesturing for a long time, he walked over and patted Sun Yingxian on the shoulder. The latter turned his head away. The Taoist closed his eyes, rubbed his face with his hands, hummed with enjoyment, and had a long moustache on his mouth.
"Kiss me... kiss me again..."
"National Master, actually it seems that a puff of purple smoke floated out of the National Master's bookshelf, and the Taoist accidentally smelled it, and it turned into this state."
Floating out of the bookshelf
After hearing the explanation from another soldier, Lu Liangsheng immediately understood what was going on. Old Sun had thrown a toad to his master before, and his master must have retaliated against him, causing him to fall into an illusion.
He waved away his robe sleeves and cast a spell to clear his mind, dispelling the slight aura that was still on the Taoist's body. He pulled over the old donkey that seemed to be mocking him, thanked the soldiers guarding the city gate, and headed towards the East Market.
The night was deep, and the number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased. A scholar walking in the middle of the street turned back and smiled at the bookshelf:
"Master, you don't have to tease me in front of so many people."
Through the crack in the door, Toad Taoist was holding a small handkerchief, wiping the purple gold gourd leaning against the innermost part. He heard his disciple's voice and looked at the night stall passing through the crack in the small door.
"How can there be pleasure in revenge if it's not in front of so many people?"
Behind the man and the donkey, the Taoist priest, with a red face, quickly caught up with them, holding up the hem of his robe. He raised his hand and slapped the bookshelf shaking on the donkey's back twice.
"Old Toad, you..."
The small door creaked as it opened a crack, and the Toad Taoist poked out half of his face, narrowing his eyes and emitting a cold light.
"Why, do you still want to experience the power of my phantom energy?"
"no… "
Sun Yingxian looked around, raised her hand to her mouth, and whispered: "How about we go back to the Taoist temple and do it again?" As she spoke, she gestured in the air with her other hand.
"That's it. Let me take a closer look at it later."
Over there, the toad that had half of its face sticking out was stunned for a moment, the veins on its head jumped, and it glared at the Taoist and spit: "Shameless, get out!"
The frog pulled its webbed feet and slammed the small door shut.
"Hey hey... don't close the door!"
"Old Toad, I am serious!"
"Hurry up and open the door. I have something to tell you... It's serious! Do you want to eat frogs..."
hehe.
Lu Liangsheng looked back at the Taoist priest walking around the bookshelf and talking to the small door. He shook his head and chuckled. The slight sadness he had felt in the palace also disappeared. He pulled the old donkey, listened to the chatter of the man and the toad, and walked straight to the Hibiscus Pond in the light of the swaying lanterns on both sides.
Back at the temple, except for the soldiers on duty outside, Yan Chixia, Zuo Zhengyang, Li Sui'an and others had gone out and had not returned, making it seem a bit deserted.
There was only one room with the light on. I went up to the attic and quietly opened the door. In the dim light, Qiyou was squatting on the edge of the bed, with a book rolled up in his hands, leaning against the headboard. I don't know how long he had slept.
Lu Liangsheng gently placed the bookshelf in the corner, carefully took the book from Qiyou's hand, laid her flat on the couch, and tucked in the quilt.
"So you can read, too."
I picked up the book "Tianyuan Guangji" that Qiyou had read before, which contained many interesting short stories about the countryside.
The night breeze was slightly cool and squeezed in through the window lattice. Since he was not feeling sleepy at the moment, the scholar took off his shirt, made a cup of tea, sat down at the desk, and slowly flipped through the pages in the flickering candlelight, savoring the story in the book.
The room became quiet. Toad was hugging a quilt, lying on the edge of the bed with one webbed foot hanging outside, sleeping soundly on the quilt in exhaustion. The candlelight was swaying slightly, and the dim light was shining on the scholar who was gently turning the pages of the book in front of the window. Outside the slightly opened window, the night clouds quietly revealed a clear moon.