Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

Otherwise, these girls would simply marry into honest and law-abiding families, or rely on their beauty to become concubines in official households.

As for a legal wife, that's not something someone of their background should even think about.

But there are always people who are not satisfied, and Tang Cai Ren understands this, but some people's acting skills are just too exaggerated.

Back when she was still a palace maid, Zhou Baolin, who lived with her, "accidentally" broke a cup while pouring water for the emperor in an attempt to attract his attention.

(Talented Lady, Imperial Concubine, and Lady of the Palace were all ranks of imperial concubines)

Although the Emperor didn't react much, the Empress flew into a rage, and then...

Tang Cainu never saw Zhou Baolin again after that.

Since then, people around her have noticed that Tang Cai Nu has become increasingly Buddhist, almost to the point of eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures every day.

Unexpectedly, this caught the eye of the Empress, who was known for her gentle nature and love of Buddhism, and she was promoted to the rank of Cai Ren within a few years.

However, no matter what, the Empress would not actively seek out women for her husband, so although Consort Tang's rank was promoted, she did not see the Emperor many times.

Perhaps this is how my life will be.

As Tang Cairen thought this, she picked up a broom and began sweeping the floor.

This wasn't her job, but her maid was sick today, and since she had nothing else to do, she decided to sweep the floor.

"...Are you a palace maid?"

However, a deep voice suddenly rang out, causing Tang Cairen to pause in her grip on the broom.

Then, the next second, she knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am a concubine, of the Tang family."

Although his face wasn't visible, at this time, there could only be one man who could move freely within the harem.

"A talented woman? A talented woman sweeping the floor? This is the first time I've ever seen that."

The Emperor shook his head.

"Isn't someone responsible for the clutter on your side?"

"Your Majesty, my maid is sick... I have nothing to do today, so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to do some cleaning."

It's indeed rare to see imperial concubines sweeping the floor.

Especially for the concubines who weren't banished to the cold palace, no matter what, these servants wouldn't dare let the concubines clean up on their own.

Even if a maid is sick, Consort Tang can simply tell the eunuch in charge, and someone will clean up.

"Yes, Guanyinbi said that although you come from a humble background, you are gentle and kind to your servants. I am very pleased to find that true."

The Emperor nodded.

"I've come to see you. Is your hometown not far from Mount Taixu?"

This is the Emperor's true purpose in coming here.

According to the rules of past dynasties, a prince should go to Mount Taixu to pay homage to the immortal. If he fails to see the immortal's face, the dynasty may collapse midway and the throne may change hands again.

Many people say that the reason why the Yang family dynasty perished so quickly was because neither of the two emperors went to Mount Taixu to pay homage, which was disrespectful to Heaven and led to its demise.

The emperor had never believed in such things, but the retired emperor was concerned about it and always wanted him to visit the immortals.

Unable to get enough of his pestering, the emperor began to inquire about Mount Taixu.

Unexpectedly, when discussing the matter with Empress Zhangsun, she suddenly mentioned that one of the concubines was from that area, and suggested that the Emperor inquire about it.

"Yes, Your Majesty wishes to inquire about...the matter of the True Man?"

Consort Tang wasn't stupid. Since the Emperor had already mentioned Mount Taixu, he probably didn't have anything else to ask her about.

"That's right, what do you know? Rumors are fine too, just tell me."

The Emperor nodded.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I..."

Tang Cairen hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"I was fortunate enough to have met an immortal once."

"Oh?"

The emperor immediately showed interest and waved to the eunuch behind him.

"Little Li, bring two stools. Tell me in detail."

"……Yes."

Consort Tang nodded, paused for a moment when she saw the chair that had been brought over, and then the Emperor sat down with a thud and beckoned her to sit as well.

Tang Cai Ren was extremely embarrassed, but she still sat down, though she only dared to put half of her buttocks on it and kept her back straight.

"Tell me, what do those legendary immortals look like?"

The Emperor asked.

"The immortal had long, gray-blue hair tied in a ponytail and looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He wore a long robe with a cape, and although he looked young, he appeared very dignified."

As Tang Cairen recalled, she said that it was not a difficult thing, after all, she could not forget such a thing even if she wanted to.

"Sixteen or seventeen years old..."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor couldn't help but marvel.

Beside the immortal was a young woman who called herself "the Book of Azure Mystery".

Tang Cairen continued.

"Young lady? Is she very young?"

The Emperor pressed for an answer.

"No, it's not...it's just..."

After thinking for a long time, Consort Tang said,

"A tiny woman floating in the air. She looked no bigger than a baby, but had long, flowing hair and was dressed appropriately."

"Floating in the air? Baby-sized?"

The Emperor was truly astonished. There had long been rumors that the immortal looked very young, but there was little record of this young woman named "Cangxuan Zhishu".

"Yes, I and my neighbors were also extremely shocked at the time. The immortal was taciturn, and many of the communications were actually handled by this Book of Azure Mystery."

Tang Cai Ren nodded.

"The Book of Cangxuan... Could it be related to Cangxuan, one of the Three Sovereigns?"

The Emperor said thoughtfully.

"I truly do not know this."

"Yes, it's alright. Can you tell me how you met the immortal?"

The Emperor then asked.

"Yes... that was when I was eight years old. Those winters were particularly cold. Because of the wars of earlier years, there were very few men in the village. The few remaining men and strong women chopped firewood and farmed, which was especially difficult."

Consort Tang didn't really want to recall those years, but since the Emperor asked, she naturally had to tell the truth.

"It just so happened that the immortal stayed in our village that winter because of the snowstorm..."

"Wait a minute, are you from the countryside?"

The Emperor said with some doubt, "When the palace selects candidates, they basically don't choose those from the countryside, so this doesn't make much sense."

"My parents were originally from the countryside, but later my father passed the imperial examination and moved to the city."

Tang Cairen explained.

"That makes sense."

The Emperor nodded, signaling her to continue.

"That winter, something happened in the village."

Consort Tang lowered her head and spoke after a while.

"Many people died."

………………

P.S. I've been reading a lot of historical fiction lately, so I'll write some Tang Dynasty side stories first, and then pick up where the main story left off (●°u°●)」

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Glorious Tang Dynasty (Part Two)

"...A dead person?"

The Emperor nodded, but did not ask why, and did not ask why such a thing was publicized.

In the early years since the court was established, there have been frequent wars. When Tang Cairen was eight years old, which was twelve years ago, it was not a big deal for some people to die.

"Yes, back then, someone in the village suddenly went mad..."

Tang Cairen hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth.

"It wasn't just that he went mad; he completely changed, becoming like a demon or monster... The scariest thing was that he started killing people... His strength became incredible; even all the men in the village combined couldn't subdue him."

"...Did he go mad from practicing qi cultivation?"

The emperor was not particularly surprised.

He was not a pampered prince raised in the palace. In fact, during his youth, his father was not the retired emperor, but a duke.

Later, he followed his father to pacify the country and made great military achievements. Then he launched a coup, killed his brothers, and seized the throne.

Three parts ruthlessness, three parts wisdom, and three parts compassion.

So-called emperors, especially emperors, are actually very contradictory people.

Sometimes the emperor would think of the man who was killed by the Li family. Perhaps he wasn't stupid, but this supreme position is not for just anyone.

"Yes...Your Majesty, you know?"

Tang Cairen was somewhat surprised. In fact, she didn't know this at first, but the immortal had mentioned it.