The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 283 The Dragon Vein Shifts Eastward (3k)

"Jiayou?"

The old imperial uncle was troubled and pondered the two words repeatedly. Just as he was about to ask why the country's name was changed to Jiayou,

But then he saw the sky and earth suddenly change color, and the surrounding plains were rapidly melting away. The old imperial uncle's heart tightened; without needing to say more, he knew that the founding emperor was about to leave.

He hurriedly caught up and asked:
"Grand Ancestor, why Jiayou in particular? Is there any significance to this?"

The patriarch of the Pharmacist family raised his hand and pointed into the distance, whereupon a picture of ten thousand people slowly unfolded. The surroundings were shrouded in gloom, and the fields on all sides were still dying, but this picture of ten thousand people remained shining brightly, completely undamaged.

He said in a deep voice:

“In the past, I seized power under the banner of ‘pacifying the people.’ The ‘Tianbao’ you use now, though it has the connotation of ‘heaven-sent imperial fortune,’ is far removed from the concept of ‘people’s livelihood.’ Now we are in a period of revival, but also in a time of great change. This is the most important thing to avoid. The people’s hearts, the people’s hearts—since ancient times, only those who win the hearts of the people can win the world.”

"Therefore, you must change your country's name to Jiayou. Only in this way can you gain a glimmer of hope. Remember, Jiayou, Jiayou. 'Jia' means to benefit all people, and 'You' means to protect and protect life. Changing the country's name is just about seizing an opportunity. Whether you succeed or not depends on this!"

"If you can remember this, then the name of the country is no longer important; if you can't remember it, then all is lost."

As soon as he finished speaking, the picture of ten thousand people vanished. The great ancestor of the Pharmacist family let out a long sigh of relief, then turned around to take a good look at his last child still alive.

The pharmacist wished they were his descendants, but they were, after all, his offspring whom he had never met, and thus lacked a deep connection with them.

But just as he was about to turn around, he abruptly stopped. He was a dead man, a dead man who had given up everything and was worthless.

Perhaps it should be called "聻"?
If that's the case, why bother letting the last child see something they shouldn't see just because of a fleeting thought?

Therefore, he simply stood there and said calmly:
“Good child, you have guarded this ancestral temple for too long. If you find the person I saw holding the sword, leave the ancestral temple and enjoy your old age in peace. If you don’t find him, remember to leave the capital as soon as possible and live in anonymity. That way, you might be lucky enough to survive.”

Before the old imperial uncle could recover, the great ancestor of the pharmacist family had vanished before his eyes.

With the old imperial uncle's sudden exclamation of "Grand Ancestor?!", he abruptly sat up on the bed.

The exclamation startled those outside, and a group of attendants and imperial guards rushed in, asking anxiously:

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

"Lord Zongzheng, didn't you just go to sleep?"

He was the son of the third son of the founding emperor. Although he was originally a second-ranking prince, after moving into the ancestral temple, he was elevated to a first-ranking prince, but with the same fiefdom and official position. Thus, he was still a prince.

The Zongzheng refers to his position of guarding the ancestral temple.

Looking at the familiar imperial guards and scenery around him, the old imperial uncle was stunned for a moment. Then, ignoring the obstruction of others, he hurriedly threw off the covers and got out of bed. He pushed aside the servants who surrounded him and staggered towards the ancestral temple.

Upon entering the ancestral temple, he saw that the more than a thousand ever-burning lamps were still burning brightly, without extinguishing even a fraction of them. Only then did his heart, which had been hanging in suspense the whole way, finally settle down, and he breathed a long sigh of relief.

The scene I saw in my dream, and the words spoken by the founding emperor, were truly terrifying.
But just as he caught his breath, he suddenly awoke with a start and urgently gave the order:

"Quickly! Bring me my court robes; I must see His Majesty immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the sacrificial official from the ancestral temple, who had followed him in at a brisk pace, quickly stepped forward to dissuade him:
"Your Highness, it is already past midnight. As the head of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, it is against etiquette for you to enter the palace to request an audience at this time!"

"I have something extremely urgent! Don't say any more, prepare immediately!"

The old imperial uncle's tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

Just kidding, the country is on the verge of collapse, who cares about these things?

The worshipper still didn't understand and patiently pressed for an explanation:

"Your Highness, please at least tell me what exactly happened, so that I may have a better understanding of the situation."

He was really puzzled. He had only taken a nap, so why was the prince suddenly in a hurry to see His Majesty, saying that he had encountered an urgent matter?

The old imperial uncle didn't want to say much, but then he remembered what the founding emperor had said: that the person who held the sword had long since turned to dust and disappeared into obscurity.

A thought struck him, and he turned to look at the seventh-rank official in charge of sacrifices in the ancestral temple, asking:
Do you often travel among the people in your daily life?

Feng Si shook his head with a wry smile:

"Your Highness is too kind. My official rank may seem high, but in reality, I am no different from an ordinary commoner. I usually spend my days among the people."

That's true. The seventh-rank officials in the Sacrificial Affairs Office were nominally in charge of the arrangement of sacrificial procedures and the supervision of the quality of sacrificial offerings, but in reality, these tasks were nothing more than running errands.

The one who truly made the decisions was always the old imperial uncle.

His position offered no lucrative opportunities, was far removed from the center of power, and was insignificant even in the capital.

If the imperial court ever defaults on his salary, he will have to tighten his belt to make ends meet, and his plight will be no different from that of ordinary people.

Fortunately, none of these messy things happened during the Tianbao era.

Upon hearing that Fengsi often traveled among the common people, the old imperial uncle's eyes lit up, and he quickly grasped his hand, his tone urgent:

"In that case, when you return, you must keep an eye out for any rumors about the 'Sword Bearer'?"

"Huh?" Feng Si was stunned, and quickly said, "Your Highness, arresting those who violate the law is not the job of the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

"Don't worry about that, just keep an eye out! If you find any clues or hear anything, no matter how small, tell me immediately!"

The old imperial uncle naturally wouldn't rely solely on him, but now that things had come to this, the more people who paid attention, the greater the hope; he had no choice but to cast a wide net. Having said this, the old imperial uncle hurriedly followed his attendants to change into his court robes, and then went straight to the palace. He didn't return until dawn.

When the sound of the morning drum came from outside, Fengsi could only suppress his doubts, hand over his shift and leave the Imperial Ancestral Temple, intending to go home and catch up on the sleepiness from his night watch.

But just as he reached the entrance of his alley, he saw his neighbor, Old Liu, carrying a cloth bundle, hurrying past him. Feng Si quickly called out to him:
"Old Liu! I remember you just went out to do business a while ago, and you've only been back for a short time. Why are you in such a hurry to go out again?"

"Spend more time with your wife!"

Old Liu, who had been called, paused, but didn't dare to stop for long. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting, his voice and body sounding somewhat weak.
"My lord, I... I have urgent business to attend to and need to go to the teahouse outside the city."

"What are you going to the teahouse for?" Fengsi pressed.

What's the rush about going to the teahouse?

"I need to find a gentleman. I've recently encountered some strange things, and only that gentleman can resolve them."

Old Liu uttered those words hastily, and before he could finish speaking, he grabbed the seemingly heavy cloth bag and hurried away without looking back.

Only Feng Si was left standing there, completely bewildered.

After that, I went home, washed up, and went to sleep.

He was woken up by his wife for lunch at noon.

He had just arrived at the dinner table when he heard his wife say with a worried expression:

"Honey, you don't know, I heard something really shocking from Old Liu's wife this morning."

While eating his steamed buns and pickled vegetables, Feng Si asked without looking up:

"What could possibly happen? We're right under the emperor's nose."

But his wife said something completely unexpected:
"Old Liu, he's encountered something unclean. He said he got several bloody scratches on his chest!"

Only then did the officiant raise his head and say:
"You haven't just heard some nonsense from someone, have you?"

"How could that be? Old Liu's wife said it herself. She also said that before the incident, a gentleman holding a sword had advised him, but Old Liu didn't listen. He only realized his mistake after the incident."

"When you turn around, go to the temple and ask for some protective amulets. Oh, right, aren't you at the Imperial Ancestral Temple? Is there anything you can easily bring back for protection and peace? The palace's things are definitely good!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Si immediately scolded his wife for being ridiculous: "The things in the Imperial Ancestral Temple are one thing, but these things you're talking about are for the exclusive use of the royal family. If you dare to touch these, do you want our whole family to lose our heads?"

But as he was talking, he suddenly paused and said:

"Wait, what did you say?"

The wife lowered her head and said:

"How would I, a mere woman, know these things? Why are you being so fierce?"

"No, I'm asking you, what were we talking about before? Old Liu saw a gentleman holding a sword?"

His wife paused for a moment, then recalled and said:

"That's right, that's what Lao Liu's wife told me. She said he's a very remarkable gentleman."

After hearing this, Feng Si hesitated slightly, but then gave up the idea of ​​going there himself. He only planned to mention it to the old imperial uncle when he went to the ancestral temple.

After all, as a minor figure who had no interest in climbing the ranks, he was content with simply fulfilling his assigned duties in matters of the royal family.

Too much of it isn't necessarily a good thing.
-
After leaving the teahouse, Du Yuan slowly walked towards the East Gate of Kyoto.

This area is specifically reserved for ordinary people to enter and exit; unless it is too conspicuous, no one will pay any attention to it.

The trade route next to it was the area that the government focused its attention on.

Du Yuan had only reached the city gate when she was stopped by the guards.

In other cities, the local government was responsible for the city gates. However, the capital was different. As the capital was under the emperor's rule, the defense of the capital was entirely entrusted to the emperor's nine guards.

Therefore, it was not the gatekeeper of the yamen who stopped Du Yuan, but the city gate captain.

"Which family are you from? Do you have any permission? No matter which family you are from, just tell me."

The city gate captain, leading two or three armored soldiers, stopped Du Yuan, pointing to the old sword he was leaning on.

The imperial court has issued an order prohibiting the possession of weapons. In other places, a broadsword might be used to get by, but in the capital, even getting by is strictly forbidden.

Just as he stopped Du Yuan, the city gate captain waved his hand with a smile and said:
"Forget it, forget it, you can go now, just don't bring out an iron bar next time."

At first he thought it was a sword, but when he got closer he realized it was just a rusty iron bar that was barely even worth mentioning.

He was afraid that if he stopped and handed this over, he would be laughed at for being so desperate for a promotion.

Upon seeing this, Du Yuan smiled, cupped her hands in greeting, and then officially stepped into Kyoto.

With a single step, the dragon vein shifted eastward, startling the emperor.

(End of this chapter)