"Where... where is this appointnt coming from?!"
"It was approved by the Chief of Staff's private office. This ti, I'm notifying you in advance, so you can prepare yourself."
"From the palace… Through the Chief of Staff's private office… approved by the Empress Dowager herself?"
Before Cui Bu could ask for clarification, the eunuch who ca to inform him turned and left.
Cui Bu stood frozen outside the door for a mont.
If it was the Empress Dowager's decree, then unless there was an earth-shaking service rendered, it was already set in stone. And, having decided to sever ties completely with the Lin Party, there wouldn't be anyone lobbying on his behalf.
The Ministry of Personnel managed all appointnts, performance evaluations, and dismissals. All court officials relied on the Ministry's docunts for their positions, which is why its officers were often referred to as Heavenly Officials. As for the Ministry of Rites, it was responsible for overseeing sacrifices to Heaven, ancestors, and court ceremonial protocols. Its officials were often selected from the Hanlin Academy.
This ti, Cui Bu's transfer was truly a lateral move with substantial demotion.
He returned to the courtyard in a dazed, soul-crushed state, unable to believe it.
Why was this happening?
Despite racking his brain, Cui Bu couldn't understand. He hadn't achieved any monuntal feats recently, but neither had he committed any errors. He shouldn't have been moved to the Ministry of Rites like this.
He stepped into the house, and his wife, Mrs. Luo, approached to inquire, but he ignored her completely.
As if driven by so inexplicable force, Cui Bu moved deeper into the courtyard, raised his head, and saw a sowhat ramshackle yard and his younger sister in the sunlight, sewing embroidery.
Xiuhe was helping her thread the needle and pull the string, while Lin Wanxiao, dressed in plain mourning attire, still wore a white cap.
Suddenly, a realization hit Cui Bu like a thunderclap. Since last year, the Empress Dowager hadn't summoned Lin Wanxiao to the palace for nearly an entire year!
He quickly strode forward.
Lin Wanxiao looked up and saw her elder brother approaching. She was about to speak, but he interrupted with a grim expression and indifferently asked:
"You're still wearing mourning clothes?"
Lin Wanxiao, taken aback, replied, "Of course. My husband passed away, so naturally—"
"Foolishness!" Cui Bu erupted in anger. "How can you be so stubborn!"
"...It's a matter of propriety and righteousness..."
"Propriety? Propriety for what? Lin Wanxiao, so you want to be so paragon of virtue? Let tell you, if you keep wearing these mourning clothes, calamity will strike our Cui family! The Lin Family is gone, the Lin Party has collapsed, and you're still summoning spirits? Are you calling those vicious ghosts and restless souls to haunt this ho, dragging us down into hell? We've worked so hard to sever ties—do you think maintaining mourning will make no impact? Sure, building a chastity morial can bolster your reputation, but have you thought about how long it's been since the Empress Dowager last summoned you?"
Cui Bu's tone grew heavier and colder by the minute, his words cutting frostily by the end.
Mrs. Luo hurried to catch up, seeing Cui Bu scold her fiercely, and chid in with criticism, "Little sister, wearing mourning attire... is indeed quite inauspicious."
Lin Wanxiao remained silent for a mont.
Why the Empress Dowager had summoned her to the palace was no mystery to her. Did her family truly not understand? They all knew; it was all for that person.
Her expression turned somber, and she said nothing.
After Cui Bu and Mrs. Luo left, Xiuhe nervously approached, ready to offer comfort.
But near her ear ca a quiet murmur:
"If they don't wish for to wear it, then I won't wear it anymore."
.........
At the fifth watch of the night, Chen Yi opened his eyes.
Yin Tingxue was lying beside him, her lips slightly parted as she breathed. Just looking at her brought a sense of pleasant tranquility, making one irresistibly drowsy. Sotis, Chen Yi's watching her would lull him to sleep.
But this ti, though he had awakened, he couldn't fall back asleep, tossing and turning without the slightest hint of sleepiness.
It wasn't true insomnia; as a Martial Artist cultivating his physique and tempering his ridians, his soul and Primordial Spirit benefitted as well. He could sleep instantaneously if he wished, pillow or no pillow, and if he didn't want to sleep, even the silkiest of quilts wouldn't help.
Sleeping or not sleeping was entirely within his control.
Forcing himself to fall asleep felt like a way to kill so of the dull, idle ti.
Night weighed heavily. Moonlight rged into the waters, shimring faintly, casting a flickering brilliance. The surroundings were utterly still, with only the soft sound of water trickling in the distance—a perfect environnt for dozing off. Falling back asleep after waking was even simpler than beginning to sleep from scratch.
Only… why...
"Buzz..."
Chen Yi opened his eyes again. This ti, a faint, tingling pain crawled up from his waist like a strange pulse through his bones.
He squinted, his hairs standing slightly on end, a wave of intense apprehension and terror rushing over him—like his life hung precariously in the balance!
Fear!
He reached to touch his waist, finding that his bones were still firm and strong. Realizing he wasn't incapacitated brought him relief.
For a mont, he'd almost worried his strength had diminished—as though avoiding won these past days had made his body weak. Being sore after appeasing Dong Guifei and the little fox? If that were the case, how would his future play out? How could he continue teasing the little fox then?
And what about Yin Weiyin?
Chen Yi exhaled deeply, sinking into doubt.
So, what was the issue?
As uncertainty brewed, his waist ached again. Following the sensation, Chen Yi moved his hand to his side, finding sothing smooth and jade-like: Square Land.
The answer lay within this device?
Chen Yi's Divine Sense probed into it, tracing the feeling as he gently stroked its surface, encountering mysterious patterns. He retrieved it from Square Land.
With faint light, the No-Life Tripod slipped into his palm and grew warm. That vague tingling pain surged along his tendons.
Chen Yi studied the small tripod with intrigue. According to instructions from the Demon Bird, he had always been curious about the White Lotus Sect's Holy Artifact, wishing to examine it through his Heavenly Eye. But amidst his travels and distractions caused by the little fox's antics, he'd delayed scrutinizing it further.
The tripod's design was ancient and intricately detailed, its grooves lightly coated in dust. Upon closer inspection, it bore neither Taoist cloud engravings nor Buddhist scriptures like icons or lotus motifs. It clearly originated neither from the Taoist nor Buddhist sects—how odd indeed. Chen Yi knew full well that the White Lotus Sect was a chaotic amalgamation, blending both celestial and Buddhist elents.
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