Wang Fu fell asleep unknowingly in the carriage. When she woke again, she found her parents and elder brother waiting to welcome her at the main gate of the Pingxi Marquis Estate.
“Father, Mother, why are you waiting for me here?”
She hurriedly stepped down from the carriage, ignoring the eager hand her husband extended beside her—not even sparing him a glance—and rushed toward the Marquis and Marchioness of Pingxi.
Behind her, Zheng Wen calmly withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, standing quietly with his hands clasped behind his back, his fingernails already digging into his flesh.
The powerful Marquis of Pingxi said gravely, “Let’s go inside first,” his eyes betraying a hidden excitement.
When the Marchioness saw her daughter, she felt both vindicated and proud. Among all the noble families and high-ranking officials in the capital, her daughter had caught the eye of the Princess of Qin!
“This time, you’ve truly shut the mouths of those gossiping lowlifes. They said you had no fortune—I think they just couldn’t bear your good fortune!”
Mother and daughter held hands, the Marchioness’s face full of satisfaction. Ever since her daughter had lost her husband and remarried, some people had never stopped gossiping.
Now, everything was fine! Her daughter was blessed with great fortune, personally praised by the Princess of Qin as having the best aptitude.
Once they entered the main hall, everyone took their seats.
Wang Fu did not mince words, recounting everything she had seen and heard in the underworld one by one, eliciting gasps of astonishment.
“This is a great opportunity. You are my daughter, already destined to be drawn into court affairs. I only ask you, what do you plan to do next?”
Wang Fu couldn’t help but look up, meeting her father’s calm, unreadable eyes from his seat of honor. She smiled faintly:
“I shall go forth as well.”
“Hahahahaha!” The Marquis of Pingxi suddenly clapped his hands and laughed heartily, startling everyone else.
“Excellent! Among all my children, you are most like me,” he said with emotion. He had often lamented this daughter’s fate while she was still at home.
She was not a son, yet she possessed the innate ambition and intelligence of one.
Originally, as a woman in this patriarchal society, Wang Fu’s life had been predetermined. But the arrival of the Ghost-Gods had given her the greatest capital.
To be “like one’s father” is the highest praise in Chinese culture for a child, representing the father’s recognition and affection.
Wang Fu was deeply moved at this moment, tears seeming to well up in her eyes, but she blinked them away until they disappeared without a trace.
The Marquis of Pingxi took his heir and daughter to the study to discuss matters further. Those left behind paid no mind, continuing their lively discussions.
Amidst the bustling room, Zheng Wen, though present, was ignored by everyone. Lacking the patience to endure such disrespect calmly, he soon stormed off in anger.
“What kind of man is he? Marrying a noble daughter of the Marquis Estate, yet daring to fill his house with concubines,” the heir’s wife said disdainfully, drawing murmurs of agreement.
The Marchioness took a sip of tea, feeling somewhat reflective. Previously, this daughter-in-law had not been so kind to her daughter…
This day was destined not to be peaceful. Over a dozen people had returned from the underworld, and the stories and experiences they brought swept through the entire capital.
The Mount Tai Goddess, the Mount Tai Prefectural Lord, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the River Lethe… Novel yet forming a coherent System.
After the Emperor held a secret meeting with his key ministers, this trend grew even stronger. The common people showed immense interest in the world after death.
Unknowingly, the belief spread that Great Jin had the Mount Tai Goddess, and the Goddess… her master possessed vast supernatural powers.
“We are fortunate—even in death, we have connections up above,” the simple-minded common people boasted smugly, thinking they had gained an advantage.
Feeling somewhat guilty, they became even more obedient to the government’s decrees.
For a time, officials across the land were surprised to find the people under their jurisdiction much more compliant, making their own tasks smoother to carry out.
The court officials understood even more, knowing about the collapse of the previous dynasty in the Underworld Dynasty.
Virtue accumulated in the afterlife! This phrase was deeply engraved in their minds. If they did not treat the people well and accumulate virtue during their lifetime, they would not be able to lord it over others for long after death.
Officials temporarily set aside their petty schemes and joined the great cause of contributing to the prosperity of Great Jin.
For a time, the dynasty flourished.
………………
White Horse Temple.
In the final years of the previous dynasty, it established a foothold in the capital and began spreading Buddhist teachings from the grassroots level. To this day, even noblewomen from the upper echelons seek blessings from Buddha.
The abbot, an old monk, was peacefully reciting scriptures when he was summoned to the palace.
“Venerable Monk, does the Buddhist canon include the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha?”
The old monk’s eyes were half-open and half-closed. “Naturally, he exists,” he replied, then began to explain. “There is the ‘Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva,’ but few monks study it.”
Li Yue was not surprised by this answer, as he had never doubted its authenticity.
“What powers does he possess?”
“I do not know,” the old monk said, as if about to fall asleep.
“Venerable Monk, you do not know?” Li Yue grew somewhat angry. How could you not know about something from your own tradition? Are you treating me like a fool?
The old monk spoke slowly. “Buddhism was transmitted from the West, and many scriptures have been lost. Only this little information remains about this Bodhisattva.”
Li Yue promised to rebuild White Horse Temple, personally visit the temple to pay respects, and offered various other conditions, but the old monk still insisted he did not know.
In the end, Li Yue grew frustrated and gave up.
Returning to the temple, the old monk sat on a meditation cushion, slowly turning his prayer beads.
In the stillness of the night, inside the quiet room, the old monk slowly smiled. The opportunity for Buddhism had arrived!
He sighed, feeling deeply regretful, as he truly knew very little about Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.
Why had the Emperor summoned him to ask about this Bodhisattva? The old monk naturally connected it to the widely discussed underworld.
He surmised that Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha must be an important figure in the underworld, and the Emperor had likely heard of or even seen this Bodhisattva there!
Once he realized this, if not for years of meditation practice, he would have lost his composure right in front of the Emperor…
For so many years, from a young monk to an old one, as abbot, he had recited scriptures for decades and devoutly worshipped Buddha, yet he had never witnessed the Buddha manifesting.
Over time, a blasphemous thought had taken root in his mind: there was no Buddha, no gods, only deluded mortals.
But years of faith prevented him from fully embracing this idea.
Now, the old monk felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration. The Buddha truly existed—it was just that they were not worthy of seeing him.
“Now, the most important thing is to establish good relations with the Mount Tai Goddess,” the old monk murmured to himself.
Meanwhile, what was Ling Xiao, who had stirred up a wave of spring waters, doing? Opening rewards!
“Spring Song set, not bad.”
“Energy Potion, Misfortune Talisman, Disfigurement set—tsk tsk, I like these.”
“Child-Bearing Pill, Child-Bearing Pill, a bottle of cola, Youth Elixir, Child-Bearing Pill…”
The more she drew, the heavier Ling Xiao’s resentment grew. “Why are they all Child-Bearing Pills? Is the God-Lord running an infertility clinic?”
18888 justified it confidently. “Aren’t we in a palace drama setting? What’s most important for Concubines isn’t beauty—it’s having children!
In this context, Child-Bearing Pills are practically nuclear-level items. It’s not that your luck is bad, Host—it’s that your luck is too good!”
Though somewhat placated by this explanation, Ling Xiao still gritted her teeth in frustration.
When she was unhappy, she needed to vent.
Li Yue seemed to sense the danger and busied himself diligently with state affairs every day, avoiding the rear palace altogether.
Empress Wen, with her standard, dignified, and virtuous demeanor, was no fun to bully either!
She took a group of palace attendants for daily strolls in the rear palace, hoping to catch someone to bully.
At this time, General Su Lie, who had crushed the southern barbarians, was leading his army back to the imperial capital…
This great general, who had achieved fame at a young age and was endowed with extraordinary talent, wore a grave expression on his strikingly handsome yet sharp face.
Holding one intelligence report after another, his expression grew increasingly peculiar. “Has Your Majesty reached the age where he fears death…”