"explain."
“You should be in the North or South this year, suffering from floods and hunger, yet you are doing well. That truly amazes me.” Lu Qing stroked her chin and pondered for a moment, then counted on her fingers: “Your first achievement should have come three years later, when you were twenty-one, when you would have attained your Star Official rank.” Not now.
Si Xitong is now eighteen years old, three years ahead of schedule.
Si Xitong didn't want to listen anymore; whether it was true or false, she didn't need to get involved.
Instead, Si Xitong pondered for a moment and said, "This matter must not be spread, and you must never mention it in front of me again."
"Starting tomorrow, you will stay at the Star-Picking Tower."
Lu Qing pointed to her face: "But I am a member of the Mo family, don't you need me?"
She had heard that in order to carry on the legacy of the late emperor, His Highness Feng Ning had spent a fortune to build five gates. Those five gates were well-funded and rich in materials, and the herbs grown there were a hundred times more potent and effective than those grown in the barbaric lands of the Hu and Xiongnu.
She came not only to convey her dying wish from twenty years ago, but also... because she was truly disregarded by the Xiongnu, which is why she fled to Tianjing hoping to make a comeback. Unexpectedly, her master didn't use her.
Lu Qing had no choice but to say, "Your Highness, you'd better think this through. Aren't you going to establish a biological system? This humble woman is skilled in all kinds of herbs, as well as plants and so on."
Although it is a relatively unpopular area within the Mohist school.
Lu Qing was not good at swordsmanship or military strategy, and she didn't like reading the great Mohist classics, so she always got a grade of D in the assessments.
Si Xitong had heard Lan Zhi mention bioengineering, stating that biology can be applied to all fields and is one of the most important sciences besides industry. Modern society places great emphasis on the development of biology.
She rubbed her forehead and said, "Let's talk about it another day."
“I almost forgot, you don’t believe me, but you’ll soon.” Lu Qing continued to reveal more: “Since you have so many unusual phenomena, I might as well calculate based on the timeline and foresee that you are about to experience a major event.”
In Lu Qing's view, Si Xitong was stubborn to the core.
"Get down."
Seeing that she wouldn't budge despite her gentle persuasion or threats, Lu Qing's attitude gradually turned cold, and she couldn't fathom her thoughts. However, there was a faint hint of murderous intent in her eyes—was it directed at her?
Lu Qing rubbed her eyes and looked again, but Si Xitong stood up and dismissed her with her hands behind her back, saying, "Take Zhang Ju to the Star-Picking Tower. From now on, she shall not enter without being summoned."
Zhang Ju came in, leading a reluctant little girl. Lu Qing had no choice but to pick up the child and follow Zhang Ju to the Star-Picking Tower.
Before leaving, she reminded him, "Your Highness, please don't be careless. I'm not joking."
The little girl looked at Si Xitong with starry eyes, pointing at her proud figure and saying, "Mom, so dazzling! My sister is so dazzling!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing immediately covered the child's mouth.
He took her out of the palace.
After leaving the hall, Lu Qing specifically reminded her daughter, "Qianqian, I know your eyes can see things that others can't, but you must never tell anyone, especially not that older sister just now, understand?"
Qianqian could only nod, somewhat bewildered, then couldn't help but say, "That older sister this morning, she was so strange too. She had..."
Lu Qing immediately covered her daughter again, shaking her head violently, and said in a panic, "You can't mention that person. Do you understand? Otherwise, we'll be kicked out of the palace and sleep on the streets! Do you think we won't even have anything to eat!"
Qianqian felt extremely wronged. The older sister from that morning was clearly stranger, but her mother wouldn't let her mention her.
After escorting Lu Qing into the Star-Picking Tower, Zhang Ju turned around and relayed today's news to Xie Lanzhi.
The Xie family's main camp, where 200,000 troops wound their way up the mountain, had military towers, watchtowers, beacon towers, and other structures, as well as the camps for their accompanying physicians.
Xie Lanzhi rode her horse at a rapid pace, inspecting the elite troops lined up in a long queue, with Xie Guang following behind.
A short while later, Xie Lanzhi dismounted and gave a few instructions: "Keep logistics in good order. Increase personnel and training volume by 30% compared to usual. Also, check the water source every day."
"Get a physical check-up every six months."
Xie Guang wrote it down. Although these instructions amounted to a massive project of 200,000, the marshal had his reasons for giving them.
As Xie Guang thought about it, he couldn't help but sneeze: "Achoo!"
The sun was high in the sky; it was early summer, and there was still a cool breeze occasionally at midday.
Xie Guang didn't think much of it, assuming that the deep mountains and forests were just like that, shady and cool.
Xie Lanzhi touched her face; it was damp, but she was sure it wasn't sweat, just a thin layer of moisture.
She felt that this year's weather was a blur of spring and summer; the morning temperature was like spring, the midday temperature was like summer, and the afternoon temperature turned cool, like heating a pot on an iceberg. Ultimately, it was mostly cold.
"Have there been many cases of people catching colds in the military lately?"
Xie Guang nodded and said, "It's true that the Marshal often catches colds, but they're all minor ailments. The men are strong and healthy, so they're not afraid of such minor setbacks."
"Even the strongest body can't resist the cold. Let alone an epidemic." Xie Lanzhi said, based on her experience with seasonal flu every year. Every year, people get sick from the flu, but medical care is advanced enough that it doesn't cause fatal harm.
Ancient medicine was so backward that even a simple fever could take a person's life, so she had to be extra careful. After all, she didn't know the plot of the second half of the original novel and could only rely on the chaotic world described in the first half.
Epidemics, famine, and cannibalism are the standard forms of death in chaotic times.
Xie Lanzhi cracked her whip and ordered, "From this moment on, anyone with fever or chills shall be placed in a separate military camp to recuperate, and shall not be allowed to enter or leave public places until they are fully recovered."
"Also, prepare extra ginger soup every day. Keep the area clean when going in and out, and deal with excrement and urine frequently without fail!"
Xie Guang dared not doubt it. He immediately rode his horse back to the military camp and ordered his generals to mobilize.
It would be best if this could be finalized today.
After inspecting the Xie family's elite troops, Xie Lanzhi did not hesitate to lead a group of people and ride away from the main camp.
No sooner had she left than Xie Guang dragged a wounded soldier out of the military camp and took him to the doctor for examination. The doctor found that the soldier had contracted the plague.
Xie Guang was so frightened that he almost burned the wounded soldier.
Fortunately, the military camp had plenty of medicinal herbs. The wounded soldiers were in the early stages of the epidemic and their illness was not yet severe. The doctor prescribed ten days' worth of medicine for the wounded soldiers, which saved their lives.
Meanwhile, a momentous event occurred in the Shi Kingdom and the Northern Region.
It was early summer, the height of summer, yet the area was afflicted with an epidemic. Normally, epidemics would lie dormant in the cold winter months and break out, usually improving by summer. This is because the sun kills germs and provides warmth, reducing the burden on the sick, allowing them to rely on their own immune systems to survive.
This year's epidemic was an early summer outbreak that most doctors were helpless against. In order to save costs, the Shi Kingdom and the Northern Region gathered all the people infected with the epidemic in one place and then burned them to death.
The plague village was burned for three days before the epidemic was barely brought under control, while the Northern Region and Shi Kingdom were burned to death, killing three thousand people.
Fearing that the epidemic would scare Xie Lanzhi away, the Khan of the Northern Region, Beiluo, sent a special letter to explain that the epidemic had nothing to do with anything else and that it was happening in the capital of the Northern Region.
Upon receiving the letter, Xie Lanzhi washed her hands before returning to the palace. Her attendant, Zhang Ju, was constantly reporting on the mother and daughter at the Star-Picking Tower.
I've only reported half of the chapter's content.
Xie Lanzhi told him to stop, saying, "There's no need to report about the Star-Picking Tower anymore."
Zhang Ju was utterly astonished. Wasn't the Marshal most worried about His Highness's safety?
Little Phoenix seems to be in a bad mood lately. She's been too busy with official duties and hasn't been back to Lanzhang Palace for three days.
Going back now, I recall how Little Phoenix angrily drove Xie's personal guards and Zhang Ju out of the palace that day.
She guessed that the mother and daughter were indeed characters on the Empress's path, and their appearance would inevitably accelerate the process.
Little Phoenix wasn't provoked by Lu Qing, but rather...
Xie Lanzhi stopped a short distance from the Gongyue Bridge. Looking up, she saw the Lanzhang Palace plaque right in front of her, only a hundred paces away.
Instead, it's the little phoenix who's about to undergo a transformation.
She longed to spread her wings and soar freely in the vast blue sky, circling and circling.
She didn't go in.
Xiao Xiu from Lanzhang Palace happily reported to Si Xitong that Xie Lanzhi was returning to the palace.
A small bamboo dragonfly lay diagonally in Si Xitong's palm. She held it in one hand and held the thin rope tied to the string with the other.
Once the thin string was pulled, it spun in the air like a top, while the other string was controlled by her, and the bamboo dragonfly hovered in the air for a whole cup of tea's time without stopping.
"Truly..." Her eyes gradually deepened, "It's a pleasant surprise to me."
Chapter 82 The Possession of a Ghost
The bamboo dragonfly from my childhood is now vividly before my eyes.
Si Xitong used her fingertips to loop the thin rope that had been swung away, and the bamboo dragonfly slowed its rotation, falling slowly onto the table like a maple leaf.
Xiao Xiu looked puzzled: "Master, the Marshal will be back soon."
"Lanzhi." Si Xitong stood up abruptly, her fingers unconsciously loosening their grip, the thin rope dangling from the edge of the table.
She had just stepped out the door when she bumped into someone. The person put their arms around her waist and nervously pulled her into their embrace.
"I rarely see you so reckless." Xie Lanzhi blurted out in her anxiety, afraid that she would fall.
The two of them were stunned at the same time.
"I was indeed a bit rash," Si Xitong said, pushing her hand away from her chest. Xie Lanzhi's arms were suddenly empty, and she covered her hands, clenching them into fists.
Xiao Xiu sensed that the atmosphere between the two masters was not quite right, so she quietly withdrew.
Xie Lanzhi voluntarily removed her armor, and Si Xitong took the white armor from her waist. Almost habitually, Xie Lanzhi also habitually handed her the belt to take off. When she raised her arms, she would remove the wrist armor, and when she lowered her arms, she would remove the shoulder armor.
The two changed clothes in tacit agreement. The jade Guanyin pendant was hanging on her lapel, which was seen by Si Xitong. On a whim, she picked up the jade pendant with her fingertips. The jade body still had her body heat, which warmed the cold jade.
"I heard there was an outbreak of epidemic in the military camp; it was only because you discovered it early that you were spared from suffering."
Xie Lanzhi grabbed her hand, tucked the jade pendant back into her collar, and led her back to the chaise lounge where they usually chatted. The tea tray had been replaced by a chessboard.
She knows a little about Go, but only at the third dan level.
The chessboard is set up in a killing situation.
Xie Lanzhi silently glanced over the chessboard, avoiding disturbing the black and white pieces in their positions.
"Little Phoenix".
"Hmm." As Si Xitong was making tea, a few drops of water fell onto the chessboard, wetting a white piece and making it shine even brighter.
Xie Lanzhi held the bottom of the teapot, looking at Xiao Fenghuang's slender, fair hands, one hand on the top of the pot and the other on the handle. Water was seeping out from the top of the pot, making it seem too full.
She would never have made such a small mistake before. Xie Lanzhi's eyelashes drooped, and a thought flashed through her mind: Little Phoenix has something on her mind.
She took the teapot from her hand and noticed faint traces of binding on her fingertips. Her gaze paused, then lingered on those marks: "A new product brought to you by the Ministry of Works?"
Si Xitong realized what was happening. She got up and placed the bamboo dragonfly in front of her at the tea table to the side. She shook it, like a little girl showing off her handicrafts to her parents, unintentionally revealing her pride: "It's strange, the bamboo dragonfly I assigned has been a problem for the Ministry of Works. Even Wei Gong was helpless with this little thing. But today, one of my disciples stayed up all night and improved the bamboo dragonfly."
"Just like what I saw in my childhood, it is indeed a Mo family craft. And that disciple is not a Mo family member, but he had seen it when he was a neighbor of a Mo family member."
Si Xitong wound the line, then pulled it like a spinning top. The bamboo dragonfly, about two palm lengths long, spun around. The lower end of the line was like a kite string to control the direction, keeping the bamboo dragonfly firmly in control in mid-air.