My enemies became my companions

Chapter 491: Miraculous (Two in One)

Southern Xinjiang, Annan Palace.

Although it was the Lantern Festival, the palace had been simple and plain since Qin Qingluo inherited the title, with little extravagance or waste. So, as usual, they asked people to hang up firecrackers, lit lanterns between the white walls and green tiles, gave New Year's money to the servants in the palace, and gave them half a day off. The most lively time of the year passed just like this.

The sound of firecrackers in the city drifted into the palace, and the smoke they brought up covered the distant sky with a layer of hazy mist. The sky and the clouds blended into one. The little girl in the greenhouse was so scared that she was shaking and screaming.

Qin Qingluo lowered his head, bent over, pushed the door open and walked in, very impatient.

In the blink of an eye, the princess was already more than half a year old, with a round and broad forehead, plump cheeks, and big eyes, exactly like the rich and noble girl described in the books.

Seeing how beautiful she was and how well she was taken care of, the female prince felt inexplicably upset. This evil creature shouldn't have such a good life.

He should be wrapped in a swaddling cloth, rolled up with a few taels of cut-up silver coins, and thrown into a poor family with bare walls, or in a dilapidated temple, sleeping in a pile of straw all day, staring at people without calling out, and only crying out when he is hungry, instead of lying so delicately on a soft couch made of white silk and red flowers, crying and making a fuss whether he is hungry or not, and living a fat life for nothing.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, my dear, we are chasing away the Nian monster."

As soon as Zhu E lit up the Xiangzhu satin lantern, he turned around hurriedly, picked up the child, and rocked and coaxed him. After a while of comforting him, Qin Yue slowly calmed down, his eyes darting around.

Qin Qingluo gathered her sleeves together, and she could feel the head resting on her chest.

When Qin Yue in his arms stopped making a fuss, Zhu E turned his head and said softly, "Your Highness, have you read the letter sent by the leader?"

"Of course I have."

The tall woman hesitated for a moment and then said:
"Aunt Zhu, are you going to Huguang with Master Gongsun?"

"Yes, the Holy Maiden of Wisdom will also accompany us. This trip is related to the inheritance of the Envoy of the World. If it falls into the hands of the evil White Lotus Sect, it will be of no benefit to the Holy Church and will only allow the Demon Lord to commit more crimes." Zhu E rocked the baby in his arms skillfully without raising his eyes. "Your Highness also knows that although our Holy Church cheers for the White Lotus Sect on the surface, this time we are also under the banner of helping, but the White Lotus Sect is ultimately just a parasite everywhere. The Mother of No Birth sent Sakyamuni and Maitreya Buddha to the world, and they can even say that. The mother in the painting is even dressed like the Queen Mother..."

There was no one else present, and Zhu'e did not hide her contempt for the White Lotus Sect. Because of her, Qin Qingluo had no good feelings towards the White Lotus Sect or even Taoism and Buddhism.

However, this does not mean that he is not aware of the disputes. On the contrary, in order to ease the complicated relationship between the chieftains and the Han people in Nanwei since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Qin Qingluo has a very clear understanding of the origins of various religions.

"I won't stop you from going. I know how important Envoy Chi Shiming is. But... I won't feel at ease if I don't go with you." Qin Qingluo said slowly.

In the scriptures of the Divine Religion, the Envoy of the World of Light carries the Ten Heavens in his hands, separates the two sects of light and darkness, suppresses the evil spirits in the world of darkness, and saves the bright nature of all living beings, and ascends to the world of light. If we use the way of the Divine Religion to preach to the Taoists, the Envoy of the World of Light separates the immortal world from the mortal world, allowing all the souls of all living beings to enter the immortal world, while the demons and ghosts remain in the mortal world.

Zhu E looked back at Qin Qingluo and said in a soft voice, "Your Highness cannot come with us this time. First, no matter how big the riot in Huguang is, it will not amount to anything and will not be able to invade the capital. If Your Highness shows up in Huguang at this time, it will definitely give you an excuse and make the scholars in the world feel taboo, which will damage your reputation in vain. Second, this is a matter within the Holy Church, so it is not good for Your Highness to interfere. In addition, the affairs of the palace after the New Year also need Your Highness to handle. Third, I can't rest assured that Yue'er is alone..."

At the end of his speech, Zhu E shook Qin Yue in his arms. Although his tone was a little teasing, his meaning was self-evident.

Qin Qingluo sneered when he heard this, "I won't look at her specifically either."

After responding to this sentence, she lowered her eyes and thought about Zhu'e's previous words, and nodded slightly. Based on the first two points, she really could not go with Zhu'e.

The female prince was always sensible and did not try to persuade her to stay. She just said, "I'll ask someone to prepare the luggage."

"I can do it myself. The servants don't know everything that needs to be prepared."

After Zhu E finished speaking, he put Qin Yue back on the couch. The sound of firecrackers gradually subsided. Her round eyes were still wide open, and she looked around while waving her hands meaninglessly, as if she was recalling the scary crackling sound.

No matter how Qin Qingluo looked at her, she felt that she was annoying, but Zhu E felt that she was pleasing. She didn't even look at the prince for a few seconds before returning her gaze to Qin Yue. She said, "But there is one thing that I am worried about."

"what?"

"What else could it be? It's about eating." Zhu E looked back at the tall woman this time and said slowly, "Auntie is afraid you won't pay attention to such a small child."

Qin Qingluo glanced at his daughter who had taken up half of the couch and said, "So small?"

"It weighs only about twenty pounds."

In Zhu'e's eyes, Qin Yue never eats enough.

In fact, this baby is a big eater, eating eight or nine times a day, more than any other baby. It takes three wet nurses to support her. Besides increasing her salary a lot, the palace has been eating rouge rice for the past few months. She also had a few new clothes made for the New Year... Qin Qingluo had counted these things several times and had seen them all.

"Don't worry, go ahead. With the wet nurse here, the palace won't be short of this evil offspring."

Zhu E heard her calling him a bastard, and thought that was what she was worried about. However, she still smiled softly and said slowly: "Although a wet nurse is convenient, such a tiny child has been born until now and has not even had any breast milk. It's too pitiful..."

The cold wind hits the doors and windows.

The tall woman's eyes suddenly became sharp and her aura was captivating.

Zhu E took a half step back and remained silent for a while.

The greenhouse was like falling into an ice cave. There was no sound at all, and Qin Yue did not cry at all. She curled up on the couch, not blinking.

Zhu E had said something similar once before, but Qin Qingluo didn't like it and reacted strongly, so Zhu E put it aside for the time being. But now she was leaving southern Xinjiang and didn't know when she would come back. She was not worried that Qin Yue wouldn't have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear, but she was worried that the child wouldn't regard Qin Qingluo as his mother.

You must know that before the age of one is always the best time for a child to recognize his parents.

After a while, Zhu E said softly:
"The child relies on milk to identify its mother. If that person finds out, he can just find a random woman to feed the child. Then the child will no longer be the prince's, right?"

"She's not my best."

Unexpectedly, Zhue pondered for a moment and said:
"…Okay, let's send him off then."

Qin Qingluo kept asking: "Where to send it?"

"Send it to Yinjian Mountain, and send it to Jianjia. He will definitely know about it. When he sees it, he will understand that the friendship is over and he will never come back to Southern Xinjiang again."

Even though he knew that these words were half true and half false, when Qin Qingluo heard them, he suddenly felt empty in his heart.
"...Aunt Zhu, are you willing to do that?"

"I'm reluctant to do so, but I have to feed her well. I'm counting on her to take care of me in my old age. By the way, who knows, when she grows up, she might disrespect her biological mother, recognize him but not you, and take your money and run to him..." Zhu E said in a faint voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Qingluo suddenly felt his chest swell up.

The beautiful woman was silent for a long time.
"I will make my own decision."

Hearing this reply, Zhu E nodded slightly, looked at Qin Yue reluctantly, and walked out of the warm room.

The Xiangzhu Susha lantern was still on, and as the light flickered, the usually proud female princess lowered her head slightly, as if she was looking down in deep thought, or as if she was standing there in a daze.

I do not know how long it has been,

Qin Yue couldn't bear the hunger and cried out twice. It was these two cries that made the queen raise her head slightly.

She let out a breath, turned around, opened the door, and asked the maid to find the wet nurse.

Soon the maid hurried back and reported: "My Lord, the maids have all gone back to visit their families. The princess said she would give them half a day off."

Qin Qingluo was stunned and realized that Zhu E did it on purpose.

She suddenly felt at a loss, and her chest swelled even more. After sending the maid away, Qin Qingluo squeezed into the greenhouse again and looked at the evil seed she had mentioned once again.

Disgust, hatred, glare, hostility, many bad feelings lingered in the snake's pupils, and there was also some... confusion. The daughter stared at her with her big eyes, her eyes fixed on her beautiful figure, not moving away at all, sucking her fingers greedily.

When Qin Qingluo came back to his senses, he was shocked to find his hand on his collar. He put his hand down and said coldly:

"Why are you looking at me? You're hungry."

Qin Yue couldn't stand the humiliation and burst into tears.

Crying very loudly.

The female prince let out a sigh of anger.

………………

………………

Chen Yi, who was thousands of miles away, suddenly felt a pain in his heart.

He stopped in his tracks, which made Yin Tingxue, who was following him, feel strange.

The little fox heard something immediately and asked in confusion: "Does your heart hurt?"

"Um…"

Chen Yi responded. He felt a sudden pain in his heart, like a dull pain from the inside out, which was hard to guard against.

"Why do I suddenly feel pain in my chest?"

"I guess we have a tacit understanding." Chen Yi responded casually.

Less than halfway through the words, he said them unintentionally, but now he listened to them with intent, and for no reason he thought of his daughter who had just been born.

After wandering around for a long time, he would think of Qin Qingluo and Zhu E from time to time, and even more so of the child he had never met. Every time he thought of them, he couldn't help but worry.

Chen Yi found herself a little afraid that Qin Qingluo would treat her badly.

If the Queen can’t cure herself, can’t she cure her own daughter?
The complicated and messy thoughts fell into Yin Tingxue's ears. The little fox lowered his head and didn't say a word.

"Hey, why don't the two Taoist priests leave?"

Li Chengxing had walked some distance and turned back to shout.

"It's okay, I'll follow right away."

After saying that, Chen Yi pulled Yin Tingxue and hurried over.

Back to the morning, he helped the Li family to reincarnate into the soul and concluded a ghostly marriage. Naturally, he became acquainted with Li Chengxing, the eldest son of the Li family who was leading the wedding. As the saying goes, good connections will bring good results, not to mention that he is a Taoist with magical powers. Li Chengxing therefore warmly invited the two of them to the town to welcome them, and Chen Yi did not refuse and accepted.

"Master Long, where were you just now? Oh, speaking of this marriage, it was arranged by my father..."

"Yes, how is your father?"

"My father passed away three years ago. I came back to mourn for him. I will take up the position next year if there is a vacancy." Li Chengxing led the way. "It is also because I have just finished mourning for a short time, otherwise I would not be able to make up for my father's regret."

Chen Yi nodded slightly. Dayu has always ruled the world with filial piety, so he naturally understood all these intricacies.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Who is this ghost matchmaker who arranges ghost marriages?"

In the mortal world, if there is no matchmaker, private engagement is not allowed. The emphasis is on "marrying in a formal way". Even ghost marriages require a ghost matchmaker, usually a priest from the City God Temple. Chen Yi asked this casually because he wanted Li Chengxing to introduce him to Yin Tingxue so that she could gain some experience.

As expected, Li Chengxing said, "Of course it's the town's Lu Temple Priest."

"Can you introduce me to him?"

"It's not a difficult task, but Lv Miaozhu may not be able to rest. She has been very busy these past few days." Li Chengxing paused and added, "The talisman has not been very effective recently."

After listening to this, Chen Yi raised his eyebrows slightly.
"So... it was effective before?"

All over the world, in all corners of the world, it is easy to see ineffective gods, but it is hard to find effective gods.

Li Chengxing gave a positive answer, "That's right. I didn't know how effective it was before. My father prayed for a Jinshi degree and he really passed the exam as a 'Tong Jinshi Yuansheng'. I didn't believe it at first, but then I prayed before the exam and he also passed the exam as a Juren degree. It didn't bring disgrace to our family."

Chen Yi raised his brows again.

Alas,
interesting.

.........

As the sun sets, the dim red glow illuminates the town, and the red shreds of paper from burnt firecrackers on the ground reflect the festive atmosphere of the Lantern Festival.

When the Lantern Festival arrives, even when it is getting dark, the town is always bustling with people.

A wanted poster was posted at the entrance of the town. It was issued by the county not long ago and was posted as soon as the Lantern Festival arrived.

The person in the painting looks ugly, followed by his name and many evil deeds.

"Is this the Captain Chen Yi?"

Li Chengxing walked without stopping, and looked sideways.
"I didn't expect he looked so rubbish."

"Yes!"

Chen Yi raised his voice a little, sounding indignant.

He turned his head to look at the appearance in the painting, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. This father-in-law was too personal.

Yin Tingxue glanced at him sideways, then replied, "He really doesn't look that good."

Chen Yi looked at her and pinched her little hand. The little fox shrank back but didn't cry out in pain. He thought she was jealous, so he didn't argue with her.

After passing the town, Chen Yi looked around and soon stopped again.

On the left stood a dilapidated City God Temple, with its door half-broken and weeds growing in the cracks between the stone slabs. Although there were crowds of people coming and going, few of them took a look at it, and the incense sticks burning inside were only a few in twos and threes.

It’s Chinese New Year, why is the City God Temple so neglected?
Chen Yi frowned. Most people are the type to pray to gods and worship Buddhas. No matter whether the one sitting on the stage is Buddha, Bodhisattva or immortals, one more or one less will not make much. Many pilgrims in temples cannot tell who is which of the three Buddhas in the main hall, but they still burn incense diligently.

During the New Year, even the wild gods on the roadside can receive a few sticks of incense, let alone the City God? But here, no one even worships the City God.

Is it that the City God is detached from worldly affairs?

Or maybe... this talisman is too effective...

Is it enough to just worship him?
(End of this chapter)