Zhaozhao was gone, yet the villagers of Shangliu Village still could not come back to their senses for a long time. Everyone looked at the Sky Screen that remained hanging in the sky, and no one moved.
After a long while, someone finally could not help but speak in a low voice, “This divine miracle… why didn’t it leave together with Zhaozhao?”
Good question. They did not know either.
Thus, everyone looked at the village chief. The village chief looked at the only scholar in Shangliu Village, Scholar Guo. The latter secretly wiped away some sweat, “W-We, we’ll wait a little longer.”
He did not know either ah. This was also his first time seeing something like this, and his heart was still pounding hard right now, unable to stop at all.
Wait… then they would wait ba. Everyone silently kept their heads raised. When they got tired, they would lower their heads and look at the ground, then continue raising their heads to stare.
The villagers who had originally been at home also came out one after another, all walking toward this place. After learning the cause and effect of what had happened, every one of them was so shocked that their mouths could fit an egg.
Who could have thought that Zhaozhao, whom everyone had regarded as bad luck, actually had such a great background.
Those who had not interacted much with Zhaozhao were somewhat regretful, but were still relatively calm.
Those who had fallen out with Zhaozhao were extremely uneasy in their hearts, wishing they could turn back time.
Those who had been on good terms with Zhaozhao were all very happy. Although the Sky Screen was still there, they were in the mood to discuss this strange phenomenon.
No matter which group they belonged to, everyone unanimously kept far away from Hu Laifu and Madam Zheng. After all, they were the culprits. If they were to suffer retribution, they would definitely be the first to bear the brunt.
Of course, there were exceptions too, such as Third Brother Jiang.
Whenever he thought of the things he had done to Zhaozhao, he felt terribly frightened. Therefore, after learning that the fire back then had been started by Hu Baodun, he finally found an outlet for his anger. Without another word, he charged toward Hu Laifu, pinned him underneath himself, and viciously beat him.
Hu Laifu took two punches, and once he reacted, he immediately fought back. The two instantly grappled with each other in a brawl.
But no one broke up the fight. They felt that these two were simply dogs biting each other. Neither of them was any good.
By the time they had beaten each other until they had no strength left, the Sky Screen was still there.
Lin Lan was the first to make a move. She believed that Zhaozhao would not harm her, and the same went for this Sky Screen. Since the Sky Screen had no movement, then they would leave it alone for now. There was still a whole pile of matters in her family that had not been resolved.
For example, separating from the family!
She walked straight to the village chief, “Uncle Yue, it’s light out now, and everyone happens to be here. Let’s take care of our family separation first ba.”
The village chief’s mind was in a complete mess right now. How could he have the mind to deal with these trivial matters?
But the one speaking was Lin Lan, the Lin Lan whom Zhaozhao had treated specially. Moreover, before Zhaozhao left, she had happened to become involved in the Lin family’s affairs, saving the Lin family’s little daughter, and had accumulated merit because of it.
Since it was merit, then the thing she had done must naturally have been right.
Forget it. This was just right for him to find something to divert his attention.
Originally, he had still been thinking of persuading Father Lin to delay the matter of separating from the family. After all, bringing up family separation while one’s parents were still alive would invite people to point fingers and condemn them. What was more, Mei girl had already been found and nothing had happened to her.
But now, how could he still dare to persuade him?
Separate ba, separate ba. Not only should they separate, he also had to favor the Lin family’s eldest branch a little. They had suffered quite a fright after all, so it was only right for Old Man Lin to give them some compensation.
Thus, the village chief pulled over the scholar beside him. After taking one last look at the Sky Screen, he entered the Lin family’s courtyard, “Write the family separation contract.”
Old Man Lin naturally did not want to separate the family. Of everyone in the family, Lao Da was able to endure hardship, worked efficiently, and could even earn some money. Of the two remaining sons, one was lazy and the other was gluttonous, and they had also produced a whole pile of children. If they separated, they did not even know who would support whom.
But if this had been before the Sky Screen appeared, that would have been one thing. At most, he could rely on his age and seniority to stubbornly refuse, figuring that Lao Da would not be able to do anything to him.
However, now the Sky Screen was still hanging conspicuously in the sky, watching him. Zhaozhao’s words about evil deeds receiving evil retribution were still echoing in his mind, and the village chief and village elders clearly intended to stand up for Lao Da. He simply had no choice.
Therefore, this family separation, which Lin Lan had originally thought would be very difficult, was completed in less than half an hour.
Not only was it completed quickly, but their eldest branch received every bit of what they were supposed to receive.
Lin Lan was satisfied. Like a little squirrel, she carried the things belonging to her own family back into the house.
She was quite at ease, but after the family separation was finished, the village chief went outside and looked at the Sky Screen still hanging in the air, his brows drawing together even more tightly.
The villagers were still gathered together discussing this matter. Aside from those who had to leave because they truly had urgent matters to attend to, the others had even stopped doing the work in the fields.
The village chief had a headache and asked the scholar beside him, “What should we do now?”
After more than half a day to calm down, Scholar Guo had also settled down. He said in a low voice, “The most urgent matter is still to report this to the government office and seek the county magistrate’s opinion. I just heard that this Sky Screen can now be seen not only by our village, but also by the neighboring villages. It’s just that they saw it later. Judging by the time, it should have been after Zhaozhao disappeared. Clearly, this Sky Screen really is related to Zhaozhao. Zhaozhao has been in the village for two years, and she is closely connected to the village.”
It was just unknown whether, after this matter was reported, it would ultimately be a blessing or a disaster. But there was no way to hide it, so they might as well be more proactive.
The village chief nodded repeatedly, “That makes sense, that makes sense. Then, for this matter, could I trouble you to make the trip?”
“Of course, I cannot shirk this responsibility. I’ll set out for the county seat right now. Just wait for my news.”
The village chief let out a breath, only to hear the scholar say again, “But there is one thing Uncle Yue still needs to pay attention to.” As he spoke, he glanced in the direction of the Hu family’s home. After the Hu couple fought with Third Brother Jiang, they had already gone back. According to the other villagers, as soon as they returned, they tightly shut the doors and refused to come out. Occasionally, they could even hear Hu Baodun crying and making a fuss.
“Their whole family, find someone to keep watch over them for now. Don’t let them run away.” The scholar felt that this was highly likely.
The village chief nodded, “Good, I understand.”
The scholar then gathered his things and hurried toward the county seat.
At the same time, in the capital, thousands of li[1]千里 (qiān lǐ) – literally “a thousand li,” an old Chinese expression for a very great distance. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3336434_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3336434_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); away.
The young emperor sat upon the imperial throne, listening to the civil and military officials below fiercely debating the matter of reopening the maritime ban. His brows were deeply furrowed, and he knew that they were probably going to fail to reach a result again today.
Just as he was preparing to dismiss the court, noisy clamoring suddenly came from outside the hall. Emperor Jingxuan’s expression darkened, and he heard someone outside cry out in alarm, “Your Majesty, the sky, the sky has suddenly shown a strange phenomenon.”
A strange phenomenon from the heavens?
Emperor Jingxuan stood up with a ‘swish’ and strode toward the outside. The civil and military officials inside the hall looked at one another, then quickly followed him out of the main hall.
When they raised their heads, they saw a huge Sky Screen appearing in the sky. The scenery within the Sky Screen was not unfamiliar. It looked like the foot of some mountain.
The problem was, why were these scenes appearing in the sky, as though they were… scenes from the heavenly realm.
Could this be the immortal realm?
Just as everyone was speculating, an official suddenly knelt on the ground and shouted toward Emperor Jingxuan, “Your Majesty, this is punishment from Heaven. Your Majesty insists on reopening the maritime ban, violating the ancestral teachings. Heaven is displeased and will certainly bring disaster upon Great Qi. I humbly ask Your Majesty to withdraw the decree and issue an edict of self-reproach[2]罪己诏 (zuì jǐ zhào) – an imperial edict in which an emperor publicly acknowledges and takes responsibility for his own faults. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3336434_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3336434_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The Sky Screen will surely disappear.”
The officials, “…” You’re really brave, daring to say something like that.
Emperor Jingxuan had come out in such a hurry that he still held a memorial in his hand. Upon hearing these words, his face immediately darkened. He directly threw the memorial at him, “Spreading demonic words to confuse the masses. Utter nonsense. Guards, take him to the prison.”
That official abruptly raised his head. The guards who heard the order had already stepped forward, lifted him up, and walked away with him.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, every word I speak comes from the bottom of my heart. I have nothing but a loyal heart, all for Great Qi ah. Your Majesty, please see clearly, Your Majesty…”
The man was taken away, and Emperor Jingxuan did not even look at him. The chief eunuch beside him, Cao Qing, stepped forward in small steps, carefully picked up the memorial that had been thrown onto the ground, and returned to stand behind the emperor.
Emperor Jingxuan slightly raised his eyes and swept his gaze over all the officials standing behind him one by one, “Do you all think the same? You want Zhen[3]朕 (zhèn) – the first-person pronoun used by emperors in ancient China, meaning “I” or “me.” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3336434_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3336434_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); to issue an edict of self-reproach?”
There was a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips, but his gaze was extremely cold. Regardless of what the officials thought in their hearts, at this moment, none of them dared to court trouble. They hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted, “This subject would not dare.”
Emperor Jingxuan did not tell them to rise either. He merely ordered Cao Qing, “Summon the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.”
“Yes.”
The Chief Official of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau soon arrived. Emperor Jingxuan asked, “Do you know what this strange celestial phenomenon is about?”
The Chief Official wiped away a handful of sweat and knelt down to plead guilty, “This subject is terrified. This celestial phenomenon has never been seen before, and there is truly no way to observe or measure it. But the Sky Screen is not something that can only be seen within the palace. It should be present throughout the entire Great Qi.”
Emperor Jingxuan frowned and looked at the civil and military officials who had already risen, “What are your thoughts?”
The officials had already discussed it once just now without result, and at this moment, they still shook their heads.
Only the Grand Tutor spoke in a low voice, “Your Majesty, although we do not know what kind of phenomenon the Sky Screen is, since everyone under Heaven can see it, the common people have likely already begun discussing it among themselves. This subject fears that someone may use this opportunity to cause trouble.”
An official echoed him, “Yes, Your Majesty. Right now, the Sky Screen is merely hanging in the air and has not made any movement, but those hidden demons and monsters[4]魑魅魍魉 (chī mèi wǎng liǎng) – literally, various legendary demons and monsters. Here, it refers figuratively to evil or troublesome people hiding in the shadows. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3336434_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3336434_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); may already be unable to wait to jump out.”
Emperor Jingxuan nodded. Indeed, that was the case. Even among the officials, there was a dumbass telling him to issue an edict of self-reproach. Those who were afraid that the world would not be chaotic enough would surely be even more likely to use this opportunity to cause trouble, “I’ll entrust this matter to the Grand Tutor. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War will cooperate. Come up with a reasonable explanation. Then issue an imperial decree ordering all provinces and prefectures to stabilize the people’s hearts.”
“Yes.”
Just as the Grand Tutor agreed, an official behind them suddenly pointed at the Sky Screen and spoke, “It moved. The Sky Screen moved. There’s someone inside.”
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