Zi Mo's importance to the Eastern Lands is comparable to that of the Empress in the Central Plains. With her fainting, the Emperor conveniently remained at the altar, refusing to return. The Eastern Lands' rituals for returning the Emperor's favor have many requirements: auspicious celestial phenomena, the Emperor's reign, and a diviner's prayers to the gods—all are essential. Now, at this crucial moment, Zi Mo has abandoned the Emperor alone at the altar, feigning unconsciousness, and falsely claimed it's a demon swallowing the sun, summoning a powerful sorcerer to perform a ritual.
When it happened, my master wasn't far from me. A group of palace servants surrounded him, making it impossible for him to get through. I was just about to roll up my sleeves to snatch him back when Zi Mo moved slightly. She opened her eyes and looked at my master. I couldn't see her expression, but I could see that under her wide black sleeves, her slender fingers grasped my master's hand tightly, their fingers intertwined.
I thought for a moment, then lowered my sleeves and asked Lou Xiyue, "There are so many people there, even if we go over, Master won't be able to get anything, right?"
Lou Xiyue glanced at me and said, "Yes, you can think of it that way."
I said, "Then forget it. Let's wait until there are fewer people before we make a move, so as not to hurt innocent people."
As dusk fell, after much weeping and chanting, the monks finally began the final step of the ritual, offering gold, jade, pearls, rice porridge, and a lamb as sacrifices. They chanted and wept once more, then packed up and went home, planning to return the next day.
I looked at the lamb. "When you're well-fed and clothed, you think about lust. If you can't solve the latter, let's solve the problem of food first. Shall we go down and get something to eat?"
Lou Xiyue said, "This is for sacrificial purposes."
I said, "Even a tooth-offering meal is a kind of offering."
We jumped down, and I grabbed a pot of wine and a stack of pastries from the altar. Lou Xiyue stood at a distance, looking at the eaves, as if she didn't recognize me.
Suddenly I heard footsteps. I quickly withdrew my hand and turned to leave, only to bump into a group of palace maids. One of them stuffed a golden goblet and an oil lamp into my hands, saying in an Eastern accent, "Take these to Lord Zi Mo's room."
I took it without hesitation, nodded silently, and glanced back to see Lou Xiyue's clothes behind a pillar. Reassured, I followed them forward.
I think that the fact that the palace maids in the Eastern Palace covered their faces with veils made it very convenient for assassins to carry out their infiltration work.
Zi Mo's house was in a secluded hall in the corner of the garden. Upon entering, the snow-white orchids bloomed in a magnificent display, surpassing even the beauty of peach blossoms. Pushing open the door, Zi Mo lay reclining on a couch, the purple gauze curtains above the couch rolled up. Her long hair was like splashed ink, her eyes were closed, and her skin was pale.
The master sat down beside her and took her pulse.
He listened intently to the pulse, without looking up, and simply said, "Put the things on the table."
The head palace maid asked, "Young Master Xia, is there anything else you require?"
The master got up, took a small knife with a bamboo handle from the medicine box, and cut a gash in Zi Mo's wrist, then collected the blood in a golden goblet.
He said, "One of you should stay and bandage her up."
I couldn't help but take a step forward, grab the gauze from the side, and walk over to Zi Mo to bandage her wound. I wanted to stay here, even just to catch a glimpse of my master. I wondered if, if I waited too long, I wouldn't even have the chance to see him anymore.
A bewitching smile bloomed on Zi Mo's lips. She didn't open her eyes, her voice ethereal, "You feel sorry for me, don't you?"
The master dipped his fingertip in her blood, touched it to his lips, and slowly said, "You've taken Qingyou juice?"
Zi Mo weakly moved her wrist and instructed me, "You can go out now."
As I got up to leave, I heard Zi Mo sigh softly, "An Chen, I think I really can't forget you."
I paused, wondering how my master would answer her.
After waiting for a long time, no one answered from inside the house.
Someone held my shoulder and turned me around. My master frowned slightly. "Xiao Xiang, what are you doing here?"
I never expected to recognize my master under such circumstances. I said awkwardly, "Master, what a coincidence! I came to the East to gather herbs. I ran out of money, so I came to the palace to earn some."
My master looked at me calmly, pursed his lips, and said gently, "You came to the palace to earn money?"
I said, "Hmm..."
The master chuckled softly, "You're alone?"
I said, "No, I brought my disciple, my disciple brought his maid, and Dafeng, to make money together."
"Who are you?" Zi Mo looked up and glanced at me.
I thought for a moment, "I am my master's only female disciple."
The key words here are "unique" and "woman." It would have been even better if she had understood "female disciple" as "woman."
Zi Mo lowered her eyes. "You are his only disciple, so what am I?"
She tilted her head slightly, the three fiery lines between her brows furrowing tightly. "An Chen, you taught me divination."
A lock of her dark hair slid down and landed on her fair neck.
The master took out a silver needle pouch, held three five-inch silver needles over the oil lamp, and then inserted them into Zi Mo's wrist.
Someone knocked on the door and said from outside, "Lord Zi Mo, the Emperor is worried about your safety and has sent someone to ask Young Master Xia questions."
The master stood up and said to me, "Xiao Xiang, take out the silver needles in half an hour." He brushed off his robes and stepped out.
Zi Mo called out to him, "An Chen, if the Emperor asks, don't say that I took Qing You."
As the sky grew quieter, incense burned in Zi Mo's room, its wisps of purple smoke rising and enveloping the room, casting a mysterious glow that evoked the image of an alluring young woman veiled behind a thin gauze.
The evening breeze stirred the gauze curtains and extinguished the candlelight.
I got up to light the lamp, but heard Zi Mo say softly, "Don't light it, I like the night."
I casually asked, "You knew my master?"
She said, "It's more than just knowing each other."
The fragrance of flowers drifted into the house on the breeze, growing stronger, carrying with it a few petals of cloud orchid.
Zi Mo said: I was sixteen when I met An Chen.
Snow fell on the mountains at dusk, and the west wind howled. The State of Xue was utterly defeated, and the battlefield was a blood-red expanse.