Jiaohua

It was the hour of Xu (7-9 PM). In a corner of the backyard of the small teahouse, the ground was paved with square bricks, and the lanterns hanging from the eaves brought a little light to this corner.

Upon seeing Xia Zhaoyi, Wang Yitai immediately handed her a booklet, a set of keys, and a drawing that he had prepared in advance.

Xia Zhaoyi returned the heavy key to him, saying she didn't need it.

These are all simple door locks; she could easily fix them with a wire.

Even with the difficult locks on the locked room door, Wang Yitai couldn't get the key.

Wang Yitai took the bunch of keys and said in a low voice, "Just half an hour ago, I received a message that I haven't had time to write down yet, but Elder Nangong, who has been hiding in Yong'an, has made a move."

Xia Zhaoyi was flipping through the booklet when she looked up and asked, "Nangong Qiuming?"

"Yes, it's probably because of the message you asked me to release that it had an effect."

Wang Yitai was from the Ministry of Rites, and Xia Zhaoyi used him to spread a lot of information.

This news came from Xia Zhaoyi, who wrote to him in advance, instructing him to immediately spread the word after Yan Qinglin's death that Song Zhiyi would hold a state funeral for her and planned to use the gold foil silk mask he had previously obtained to cover Yan Qinglin's face, which would prevent her body from decaying.

This gold foil silk mask was also bait that Xia Zhaoyi had laid out long ago.

This matter dates back to when she was in Hengxiang, where she deliberately had Madam Qu and Zhao Ning help her stage a scene where they accidentally discovered the golden coffin.

At that time, there was a "female corpse" lying in the courtyard, and the "female corpse" was wearing this gold foil soft silk mask.

Along with the "female corpse," there was a long robe embroidered with gold thread, a long sword, an incense burner, and two helmets. One was a seven-star phoenix crown, and the other was a nine-dragon golden phoenix helmet.

These things are half real and half fake; the "female corpse" is a doll propped up by clothes and a mask.

The gold coffin was half platinum and half brass powder.

The clothes, masks, and helmets are treasures from the previous dynasty of Nianhuazhai.

The sword and incense burner were confiscated from the Chen family.

These things initially aroused Fan Zhuyi's great interest, and in the past two years, thanks to the subtle efforts of Zhao Ning and Madam Qu, they have subtly piqued the curiosity of several groups of people.

Later, Zhao Ning and Madam Qu orchestrated a series of coincidences, deliberately causing these items to go through twists and turns and fall into the hands of a local old marquis who desperately wanted to pledge allegiance to Song Zhiyi. Through his hands, they were presented to Yong'an in a dignified manner and entered Song Zhiyi's national treasury.

Those who were interested in these things were drawn by these rare treasures and, like a crowd chasing a deer, flocked to Yong'an.

Nangong Qiuming is one of them.

When Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie finally found the main hall of the Dream Tower where "those people" were located, in addition to the heads of the Fang, Chen, and Jin families, there were also several elders in charge, including their guards, whose names Xia Zhaoyi already knew.

Yang Guanxian and Wu Renhao even knew the exact date when Nangong Qiuming arrived in Yong'an.

The reason for not taking action against him for so long is that Nangong Qiuming is also a good bait, and he can be used to lure out Tang Xiangsi and Chongmen Heng.

And then there are Wei Xingchuan and Nie Long, who are hidden the deepest and have never been found.

Only Nie Long knew Wei Xingchuan's whereabouts.

Carrying the booklet and blueprints, Xia Zhaoyi left the Six Ministries and headed straight for the Star-Picking Tower.

The Jinping Palace in Hebei also has a Zhaixing Tower, but it cannot compare with the one in the Tiansheng Palace in Yong'an.

The Star-Picking Tower was half-lit at this time, and many officials from the Imperial Observatory were there.

These officials are nowhere near as good as the group of people led by Kong Zefeng back then.

This is also a lament of a chaotic world. Those outstanding talents of yesteryear are now scattered, dead, or living in seclusion.

The Star-Picking Tower no longer contains the treasures of yesteryear. Most of them were taken to Hejing by Li Ju, and the rest were looted by the rioters who broke into the palace years ago.

Xia Zhaoyi walked to the south corner of the Star-Picking Tower, where two female officials stood anxiously looking around.

Xia Zhaoyi didn't want to scare them, so she deliberately moved to be in their direct line of sight.

When the two saw someone coming, they first hid, and after seeing that it was her, they cautiously came out.

Xia Zhaoyi said directly, "I am Ali. Are you two aunts sent by Consort Cao?"

The two female officials trembled with fear upon hearing the name "Ali".

They dared not underestimate the slender, beautiful young woman before them. At this moment, she was the uncrowned ruler who held absolute power, influencing all forces in the world and controlling countless lives and deaths.

Moreover, if it weren't for her today, their Imperial Concubine would have died at Yan Qinglin's hands.

Because of her appearance, a few words turned the tide and directly sent away the powerful Lady Yan of the Daping Dynasty.

“Yes,” a female official bowed respectfully. “Miss Ali, the Imperial Concubine ordered me to wait for you here and guide you. And this, please take it.”

The female official handed over several bottles of medicinal powder.

These medicinal powders are precious and beneficial to Pei Huirao's wounds. Currently, only the Imperial Palace has them; even Qingque Pavilion cannot obtain them immediately. Xia Zhaoyi thanked her after receiving them and then asked, "Does Song Zhiyi blame Consort Cao? How is she now?"

“Ignoring it and not asking about it,” the lady-in-waiting said, “is actually quite at ease for Her Majesty.”

Xia Zhaoyi nodded: "Okay, lead the way for me."

The two female officials had made all the arrangements in advance. Xia Zhaoyi followed behind them. Apart from two eunuchs and a minor official from the Imperial Observatory, they hardly encountered anyone on the way.

The two eunuchs and the minor official were also Cao Yuxiang's people.

Soon, Xia Zhaoyi arrived at the Xunji Hall.

The two female officials quickly lit all the lamps in the available locations.

Xia Zhaoyi also lit a lamp. She held the lamp and stood in the center of the star chart. The light and shadow cast by the bronze lamp trees around her flowed among the thousands of dark symbols, as if a galaxy were pouring down.

The two female officials retreated to the doorway and stood with the two eunuchs and the minor official.

The five people looked expectantly at the girl standing in the middle of the celestial map.

Especially that minor official.

Back then, only two people in the world could completely determine the location of nebulae using this celestial map: Miss Xia and Supervisor Kong. However, both of them are no longer alive.

For a long time, no one has been able to truly operate the pivot of this Hall of Seeking Opportunities. Even the scholars of the Imperial Observatory, despite their best efforts, can only deduce about 30% of the star orbits at most.

Moreover, the astrological chart is already messed up.

Each of those hidden compartments and mechanisms requires meticulous deduction; a single mistake can throw the whole thing into chaos, and a single missing sign can destroy the secrets of heaven.

Over the years, many people have sneaked in and rummaged through the hidden compartments, trying to glimpse the heavens. As a result, the star charts have been completely misaligned, and we have to start all over again. But no one knows how to reset the "start".

The Hall of Seeking Opportunities fell silent, its secret symbols gathering dust, its mechanisms becoming clumsy and inefficient, turning it into a magnificent decoration.

Xia Zhaoyi held up the lantern and looked around the entire Xunji Palace.

It's really too chaotic—

After a moment's thought, she had an idea. She squatted down, inserted her five fingers into an inconspicuous groove in the ground, and gently rotated it.

The mechanism clicked softly, and the groove she turned reversed its direction.

Accompanied by the low hum of the mechanism, a small, white jade pillar with its edges polished smooth slowly rose up.

The raised star patterns on the pillar also lit up one by one, shimmering with a warm moonlight glow under the surrounding firelight.

The two female officials, the eunuch, and the minor official all widened their eyes.

The minor official stared in astonishment at the stone pillar rising from the ground. It was likely that the entire Bureau of Astronomy was unaware that there was such a small mechanism in the Hall of Seeking Opportunities!

The small stone pillar rose to about half the height of the young woman, revealing the gilded black tortoise base at its base, before finally stopping.

Then the girl triggered some mechanism above, and the top of the stone pillar opened.

The minor official and others craned their necks, trying to see what was inside.

Xia Zhaoyi looked down at the small wooden box hidden inside the stone pillar.

Inside, twelve lustrous, jade-like star stones are neatly arranged. Each stone is polished into a three-inch-long cylinder, with different constellation patterns inlaid on the top.

Xia Zhaoyi suddenly felt as if she had been transported to another world.

She arranged all these star stones, and no one has touched them all these years.

Xia Zhaoyi picked up a starstone, weighed it in her hand, and suddenly raised her hand—

The stone spun in the air, and then with a "clang," it accurately struck the lower left corner of a hidden compartment.

The mechanism inside the hidden compartment emitted a clear, resonant sound and began to turn.

Xia Zhaoyi picked up another starstone and continued to strike the other hidden compartments, saying, "Come and pick them up."

There were only twelve star stones in total, and there were 1,124 hidden compartments around her. Of course, she couldn't attack every single one, but it was still far from enough.

The minor official was the first to run over, followed by two eunuchs.

The female officials dared not make any rash moves and had to stay here to guard the place.

As Xia Zhaoyi threw more and more stones, the minor official and the two eunuchs ran back and forth, becoming exhausted.

Fortunately, Xia Zhaoyi didn't let them suffer for too long. After firing about a hundred shots, she finally stopped.

"It's all settled," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, looking at the clerk. "Come here, I have something to tell you." (End of Chapter)