Aoyama

Chapter 372 Cup Yan
The nuns recited Taoist scriptures until a young eunuch from the Inner Court's Bell and Drum Department struck the slow drum at the third watch.

The female Taoist priests then got up and walked towards the back hall like zombies, never glancing at the Three Pure Ones again.

Bai Li followed behind the female Taoist priests without saying a word, like a seashell trying its best to bury itself in the sand.

Back in the rear hall, just as the nuns were about to climb onto the communal sleeping platform, Zhu Lingyun pointed at one of the nuns and said, "Go, boil some water for me to wash my feet."

The female Taoist priest was slightly taken aback.

Zhu Lingyun then pointed at Xuan Su, who was blind in one eye: "You, go fetch water for my sister to wash her feet, or you'll be standing outside until dawn tonight and won't be allowed to sleep."

Xuan Su readily agreed, "Yes, this servant will go right away."

She was blinded in one eye by a white carp and her right hand was broken by a bright rabbit. Now her hand hasn't healed yet, and it's only barely held together with two pieces of firewood, making her look as wretched as an old dog.

Bai Li grabbed Zhu Lingyun's arm: "Lingyun, it's late, don't make them do anything."

Zhu Lingyun asked in confusion, "Sister, have you forgotten how they treated us before? Now the tables have turned, it's time for them to pay their dues."

Bai Li shook her head and said softly, "Ling Yun, when will this cycle of revenge end? Everyone has their downfall."

Zhu Lingyun said, "But sister, even if we treat them well now, they might not show us any mercy once they regain their power."

Xuan Su quickly said, "No! No!"

Bai Li patiently said, "We've all fallen to this state because of our misfortunes, let's just let it go."

Zhu Lingyun sneered at Xuan Su: "Consider yourselves lucky to have met a kind-hearted sister like me. Go to sleep."

Xuan Su hurriedly thanked Bai Li, saying, "Thank you, Princess Bai Li! Thank you, Princess Bai Li!"

“I am no longer a princess,” Bai Li turned and went to the innermost communal bed in the back hall to help Zhu Lingyun set up her bed.

They no longer had to sleep next to the chamber pot. Bai Li arranged for Princess Yongchun to be on the innermost side, while she and Zhu Lingyun were next to Princess Yongchun.

After Bai Li made the bed, Zhu Lingyun took off her clothes, put on a white undergarment, and crawled into the quilt.

In the darkness, she nuzzled closer to Bai Li, their noses almost touching: "Sister, you can't always be so kind-hearted."

Bai Li reached out from under the covers and tidied Zhu Lingyun's hair: "Lingyun, I'm not kind-hearted anymore, and I don't have the ability to swallow my pride. Of course I hate them, but I'm more worried that one day you'll end up like Xuan Su."

Zhu Lingyun didn't take it to heart: "How could I be like that stupid woman, Xuan Su?"

She changed the subject: "By the way, sister, I heard them say that some people have been in here for twenty or thirty years and have never had a chance to leave. We are so lucky to have the chance to leave so soon... When we were little and still in the capital, Father took us to the Altar of the Silkworm Goddess, do you remember?"

Bai Li said in a low voice, "I remember. The silkworm farm raised many silkworms, and the various halls and altars housed statues of gods."

Zhu Lingyun was a little downcast: "When I was little, I went to the Silkworm Altar and found it boring and was in a hurry to leave, but now I can't wait to go. Sister, you said they haven't been out for decades, but we were allowed to leave the palace as soon as we arrived. Could it be related to us? Could it be that Father's friends are trying to rescue us?"

Suddenly, a thin figure flashed through Bai Li's mind, the person holding the reins and leading her through the heavy snow outside Luhun Manor.

Zhu Lingyun was still fantasizing: "Sister, what if, on our way to the Altar of the First Silkworm, many of Father's old subordinates suddenly appear and rescue us?"

As she spoke, Zhu Lingyun yawned.

Bai Li comforted her, "Go to sleep first. By the way, Lingyun, Xuanzhen didn't put you in charge out of kindness, but rather to sow discord between us. You need to be clear about that."

Zhu Lingyun nuzzled closer to Bai Li and said, "Don't worry, sister, I won't let her sow discord between us."

Bai Li tucked the blanket around her and said softly, "Okay, go to sleep."

Like a mother, Bai Li gently patted Zhu Lingyun's back until she let out a soft snore.

At that moment, someone poked her in the back.

Bai Li turned around and saw that Princess Yongchun had woken up at some point and was looking at her with her big eyes.

She asked curiously, "Is something the matter? Are you hungry? I saved some steamed buns for you."

Princess Yongchun stretched her hands out from under the covers and clenched her fists: "Guess which hand is hiding the hair?"

The white carp was extremely sleepy, but it still cooperated and said, "Left hand."

Princess Yongchun spread out her left hand: "No."

Bai Li smiled and said, "You win. Go to sleep now."

Princess Yongchun suddenly said with a grin, "If you can't even bet on this, how can you bet on people's hearts?"

Before Bai Li could react, Princess Yongchun had already turned over and continued to sleep, leaving Bai Li alone with her eyes open, staring blankly at the roof beam.

……

……

early morning.

The sound of the bells from the Bell and Drum Towers echoed from afar.

Princess Yongchun sat on the bed in a daze, letting Bai Li help her put on her Taoist robe and gather her hair, occasionally letting out a silly laugh: "Bodhisattva, you are a Bodhisattva."

Everyone dressed in their Taoist robes and headed to the main hall, while Bai Li was still being held back in the back hall by Princess Yongchun. Zhu Lingyun stood by the bed, frantically tying her hair up, complaining, "Sister, why are you still bothering with her? Nobody cares if her hair is neat or not, she doesn't even care herself."

Bai Li ignored it and breathed a slight sigh of relief after she had finished tying up Princess Yongchun's hair: "All done."

Upon hearing this, Princess Yongchun immediately jumped out of bed, shuffling her shoes as she ran outside, calling out, "Brother Zhuoyuan!"

Bai Li followed behind, and as she was leaving, someone called out to her: "Princess Bai Li."

Bai Li turned her head and saw that Xuan Su was waiting for her outside the door.

She calmly said, "Master Xuansu, as I have said, I am no longer a princess. If the supervisor of the Divine Palace hears this, he will surely blame us for not knowing the rules."

Xuan Su quickly changed her tune: "Miss Bai Li, I was wrong before. I was jealous of your youth and beauty, and I was also jealous that you could depend on each other in Jingyang Palace. Thank you for being so forgiving."

Bai Li said calmly, "I blinded one of your eyes. I'm afraid this grudge won't be so easy to forget. Daoist Xuan Su, let's just keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other. There's no need to turn enemies into friends."

Seeing that she kept everyone at arm's length, Xuan Su didn't press the matter. She simply left with a sentence: "Xuan Zhen is a master at manipulating people's hearts. She always claims that others are possessed by external demons, but in reality, she is the true demon in this Jingyang Palace. You must be careful. Right now, she has Zhu Lingyun in charge, which is definitely not for good reasons."

Bai Li quietly entered the main hall and sat cross-legged on the futon, reciting scriptures.

She occasionally opened her eyes to look at Xuanzhen opposite her. He closed his eyes and chanted scriptures, his expression compassionate, as if he had already put the previous matter behind him and there was no longer any grudge between them.

Bai Li closed his eyes again and whispered a scripture different from the others.

The instant Bai Li closed her eyes, Xuan Zhen opened them at the same time, staring intently at her clean and flawless face.

After the morning classes ended, Xuanzhen stood up and instructed, "Dismissed. Lingyun, come with me, I have something to tell you."

After saying that, she walked towards the side hall. Zhu Lingyun looked back at Bai Li, who nodded slightly. Only then did Zhu Lingyun follow Xuanzhen into the side hall.

The female Taoist priests returned to the inner palace and each took out a small box they had hidden under their beds. Inside the boxes were rouge, face powder, a silver mirror, and hairpins.

Someone took out a gold hairpin and put it on their head, asking others, "What do you think of this hairpin I wore when I went to the Silkworm Goddess Temple? Does it look pretty?"

A butterfly is attached to the golden hairpin, and the butterfly's wings are decorated with enamel.

The female Taoist priest standing nearby scoffed, "Are you looking for death? We are female Taoist priests. If you actually wear this out, the Director of the Divine Palace will be furious. You'll be lucky to escape with your life."

"Exactly. You can wear this kind of hairpin secretly in the back hall and admire yourself in the mirror. Don't wear it out and risk getting yourself killed."

The female Taoist priest put the gold hairpin back into her box, then took out another hairpin: "What about this kingfisher feather hairpin? It matches the color of our Taoist robes very well."

"No, no, even though kingfisher feather inlay is blue, it's too bright."

The female Taoist priest said angrily, "I think you're just jealous that my hairpin is prettier than yours."

Bai Li watched silently from the side; she had neither a box nor any cosmetics.

She only had a wooden hairpin in her hair, which Bai Long had bought for her casually by the roadside on the way to the capital when the secret service was escorting her there, so that she wouldn't always have her hair disheveled.

Just then, a female Taoist priest asked in confusion, "Strange, why did the palace grant us permission to go out for some fresh air this time? I entered the palace in the thirteenth year of the Jia Ning era, and it's been nineteen years. Every year we've offered sacrifices to the Silkworm Goddess. When did it become our turn to perform the Three Offerings Ceremony?"

"Perhaps it was the Empress Dowager's decision?"

"No. I heard from a passing eunuch that after the Liu family fell from power, the Empress Dowager was also placed under house arrest by His Majesty. Moreover, the Director of the Imperial Palace Administration made it clear that it was the decision of the Grand Chancellor."

"So that means the corrupt official has finally had a change of heart?"

"Could it be that the real person and some high-ranking eunuch became lovers, and then that high-ranking eunuch pleaded with the Grand Chancellor on their behalf..."

"Shut up! You're asking for it!"

The female Taoist priests were making wild guesses, but when they reached a taboo topic, everyone fell silent in fear. Some glanced cautiously at Bai Li, afraid she would go out and tell on them.

Bai Li silently lowered her head and went out, taking a broom to sweep the floor of the main hall.

She suddenly looked up and found that Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, who was to the left of the statue of the Three Pure Ones, seemed to be looking down at her.

In the blink of an eye, the statue of the Dao Ancestor was restored to its original state.

She hesitated for a moment, leaned the broom against the offering table, took the wooden divination blocks from the table with both hands, and knelt on the prayer mat: "The believer Bai Li has a question today, please enlighten me, Heavenly Venerable..."

"Was it Chen Ji who allowed the believer to leave Jingyang Palace this time?"

The white carp threw the divination blocks in its hand onto the blue bricks of the main hall. The blocks, one yin and one yang, signified that the Heavenly Venerable had given a sermon: Yes.

She then tossed the divination blocks onto the blue bricks three times in a row, each time revealing a yin and a yang result.

At one point, she wondered if it was just a coincidence.

The white carp then threw the divination blocks onto the blue bricks, repeating this six times, each time resulting in a yin and a yang.

It really is a relic of the past.

Bai Li took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and bowed his head: "Thank you for your guidance, Heavenly Venerable. This disciple will definitely cultivate diligently and pray that the Dao Qi will endure and the Dao Court will prosper forever."

(End of this chapter)