Chapter 117 Planting the Chinese parasol tree Jinming Lake. The banquet hosted by the third prince started on time at the beginning of the You hour (17:00). The Jinming Lake is so big, with a circumference of nine miles and thirty steps. It is impossible to clear out its entire area for the Third Prince's banquet. The actual place where the banquet was held was Baojin Tower. This building is located on the south bank of Jinming Lake. It has numerous palaces, magnificent buildings, exotic flowers and rocks, rare birds and beasts, docks, warships and dragon boats. It is connected to the Shuixin Temple through the Camel Rainbow, which is known as the "Fairy Bridge". The so-called Fairy Bridge has three rainbows on the bridge deck, vermilion-painted railings, and goose-shaped columns at the bottom. In the center is a prominent peak, called the Camel Peak, which looks like a flying rainbow. The Third Prince, Shi Guanzhong, Xie Ruoyu and the eleven talented geniuses who came to the banquet entered from the east gate, turned south, passed Qionglin Garden, and arrived at Linshui Palace. Then, we changed from land to water at this temple, took a boat to Shuixin Temple, and then walked along the Xianqiao Bridge to Baojin Tower.
This arrangement, from the time to the place to the method of climbing the stairs, was all made by Shi Guanzhong, the third prince's think tank and strategist. There is a very beautiful meaning in it. The Taoist "San Tong Qi" says: Zi and Wu are for extraction and addition, Mao and You are for bathing. This view is shared by all four schools of thought: Confucianism, Martial Arts, Buddhism and Witchcraft, but each has its own interpretation. No matter which one, no matter what the explanation. People who have been practicing for a long time will naturally make their body and mind pure and clear inside and out at the hour of You. This is unremitting practice. Entering from the east gate symbolizes the coming of purple air from the east and implies good luck. Qionglin refers to the fairyland, Buddhist kingdom, and peaceful world. It is often something that can be encountered but not sought after. However, it appears halfway and is mostly a delusion or hallucination. The Water Official relieves disasters. Combining the above points, the meaning is self-evident. It means that when everyone arrives at the Shuixin Palace, they have already overcome the tests through unremitting practice, resolved the cause and effect, and the calamity. Then, following the guidance and crossing the Immortal Bridge, they will arrive at the place where there is the way (jin) to obtain the fruit (treasure) of the Tao. How to obtain the fruit of Tao? Just go upstairs. In other words, go up the stairs with the third prince. In the arrangement of Shiguanzhong, Baojin Tower, located on the south bank of Jinming Lake, is the South Gate of Heaven to the upper world! Did the eleven talented geniuses who came to the banquet understand the profound meaning of the stone crown? Since they are all talented and outstanding people, they naturally understand it. As a result, both the host and the guests had a great time in Baojin Tower. The third prince truly listened to the words of his think tank Shi Guanzhong and treated the eleven geniuses who came to the banquet as warmly as spring breeze.
Be warm to everyone and treat everyone equally. What I said had nothing to do with recruiting. The topics brought up are either the famous scenic spots and beautiful scenery of various states in the Celestial Empire, or the humanities, geography, people's livelihood and economy. Don’t talk about love and romance, nor discuss where the “Tao” lies. I just want everyone to be happy and to have a like-minded person. How to ask? The third prince, intentionally or unintentionally, mentioned some of his own ideas in his speeches on famous places of interest, beautiful scenery, human geography, people's livelihood and economy, without much worldly talk. Or rather, ambition. Plant a paulownia tree and the phoenix will come. The conversation at tonight's banquet was about the paulownia wood seeds sown by the third prince. Shi Guanzhong stood on the rooftop of Baojin Tower, distracted by the conversation between the Third Prince and eleven talented geniuses, while admiring the night view of Jinming Lake. Inadvertently, Shi Guanzhong noticed that at the Shuixin Palace, the guest Xie Ruoyu was standing at the bow of the boat, looking lost. "Ok?" Seeing this scene, Shi Guanzhong couldn't help but feel confused. Didn’t he ask Xie Ruoyu to come up the stairs with him? Why was he still standing there motionless? He frowned slightly and a hint of gloom appeared in Shi Guan's eyes. It was Shi Guanzhong, not the third prince, who had asked Xie Ruoyu to go up to the Shuixin Palace, cross the Immortal Bridge, and climb the Baojin Tower with him. The third prince ruled his subordinates and exercised power and authority on his own. Without the Third Prince’s personal consent, Xie Ruoyu dared not act rashly! "This……" For a moment, Shi Guanzhong's heart was a little confused. Just like the water in Jinming Lake. Taibai Building. The fifth prince came without any followers and was dressed in military uniform, sitting on the top floor which he had paid three times the price for. The masculine warrior Shan Yi, the feminine warrior Lan Ling, and the remaining 23 warriors from various states out of the 108 talented geniuses gathered together, making it very lively. "I'm treating you tonight, so please give me some face and don't be polite to me." The fifth prince Li Jie held a chicken leg in his left hand and a bowl of wine in his right hand, and said loudly, "Eat meat with big mouthfuls, drink wine with big bowls, and don't stop until you are drunk." After saying that, Li Jie took a light bite, removed the bones from the silky-smooth chicken leg, and chewed it roughly. He swallowed the chewed chicken leg in his mouth, tilted his head back, and gulped down a bowl of wine. "eat!"
Throwing the chicken leg bone accurately onto the plate on the upper table that was used to store bones and scraps, Li Jie turned around and shouted loudly, "Drink!" "Eat! Drink!" Shan Yi, Lan Ling and the other twenty-three warriors shouted in response, and then really started to eat and drink. Talk and chat? Fill your stomach first. Martial artists never talk about fasting for health, they are just afraid that there won’t be enough food! How can you gain strength if you don’t eat enough? As for expressing their stance and taking sides, everyone said that they were attending the banquet hosted by martial artist Li Jie tonight, not the banquet hosted by Fifth Prince Li Jie! At the door, the guest Pan Ran was holding a small jar of wine and drinking it alone in a depressed mood. He still couldn't understand why the Fifth Prince asked him to use two faces and two sets of words to send out banquet invitations to 108 talented geniuses yesterday. Regarding the talented and gifted people who pursued martial arts, the Fifth Prince told them that the big-bellied martial artist Li Jie was rich and willful, and he hosted a banquet to entertain his guests, with plenty of magical rice, magical vegetables, magical meat, and magical wine. To put it bluntly, if a person is stupid and has a lot of money and doesn't take advantage of an opportunity, he would be a bastard. As for the talented people who choose the other four paths, the Fifth Prince's identity as a prince must be emphasized, and the attitude cannot be nice, but must be a little harsh. The result of such differential treatment is that although tonight is lively, it seems like a mess. Pan Ran really couldn't understand the Fifth Prince's mysterious actions. The other two princes who were aspiring to compete for the throne, the Fourth Prince and the Seventh Prince, did not take any action tonight. Both of them stayed quietly in their respective mansions. It’s not like the two of them really did this voluntarily. Instead, they each have an older sister, the second princess and the sixth princess. Since this morning, the Second Princess has been following the Fourth Prince, not leaving his side, fearing that the Fourth Prince would go against her will and do something behind her back. The Sixth Princess did the same. She stared at the Seventh Prince intently for the entire day. The Seventh Prince felt uneasy because of the stares he received, and nothing he did worked. Finally, after nightfall, thinking about how his third and fifth brothers were one step ahead, and he was unable to do anything, he could not help but complain: "Sister, sister, my dear sister, how long are you going to keep watching me? What's the reason that makes you keep watching me like this and dare not let me go out tonight? Fighting for the throne is not a joke. If you fall behind by one step, you will fall behind step by step!" The Sixth Princess did not answer, but waved her hand and asked the six palace maids who served her to block off the entire area from front to back, left to right, up to down. It's like you complain about me and I stare at you. This made the Seventh Prince very upset. The Fourth Prince's mood was not much better, or even worse. The Sixth Princess still gave face to the Seventh Prince by simply blocking the space and not giving him a chance to escape. The second princess put the sword directly on the fourth prince's neck.
The fourth prince didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Royal sister, I promised you that I would not go out tonight, and I definitely won't go out." The second princess replied without hesitation: "Men's words are lies. I don't believe your words. I only believe in the sword in my hand." The fourth prince was embarrassed: "This..." However, before he could finish his words, the deafening roar of thunder that resounded throughout the capital city stunned him. "Where is the City God of Dayong, the King of Chengtianjianguo, and the Minister of People Shengfu Mingling?" This gentle shout, like the sound of a huge bell, struck the Fourth Prince's heart. It also struck the hearts of the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and many more! Immediately, all members of the Li royal family of the Dayong Dynasty, whether from the main branch or the side branches, old or young, male or female, sensed the same information at the same time. The eldest princess of the dynasty took the initiative to use an iron certificate of Taizu! More than a thousand years ago, when the chaos ended and the Celestial Empire was founded, Taizu passed down nine iron certificates. In addition to one for the Li royal family, the other eight were given to eight dukes who shared the same fate with the country. The eldest princess' mother was from the Xu family of the Duke of Wei's mansion. For some unknown reason, the Duke of Wei of this generation, the eldest princess's maternal grandfather, passed on the Xu family's Taizu Iron Certificate, which had been passed down for a thousand years, to the eldest princess. There were disputes within the Xu family over this matter. The contemporary Duke of Wei just suppressed it with force. Many people therefore speculated whether the contemporary Duke of Wei was planning to break the convention of the Celestial Empire and allow the Duke of Wei's Mansion to participate in the fight for the crown prince, helping the princess to win the throne and then become the second empress of the Celestial Empire! It may not be without cause. The eldest princess has performed so well in all aspects that she is unique among the seven adult princes and princesses of the current emperor. Moreover, from the beginning to the end, he never made it clear that he would give up participating in the fight for the throne. With the eldest princess's ability and talent, plus the full support of the Duke of Wei's Mansion, if the eldest princess is really determined to participate in the fight for the throne, she will be ahead by a large margin. However, now, let alone taking the lead, it is still unclear whether the eldest princess can still participate in the fight for the throne. Who in the capital doesn't know that the eldest princess is going to visit Hua'e Tower tonight? Calculating the time, the eldest princess is now at the place where Taizu's iron certificate was used, so it must be there. What's more, what the princess took the initiative to do with Taizu's iron certificate was to summon Dayong City God, Chengtian Jianguo Simin Shengfu Mingling King! It is very clear what the eldest princess intends to do. She has been fed up with Hua'e Building and the chaos it represents for a long time, and she is going to overturn it tonight! And how could Hua'e Tower be so prosperous, famous, and open for such a long time in the capital, at the feet of the emperor, the best place in the country, with such evil means, without any background? The eldest princess overturned the Hua'e Tower, which made her feel good, but at the same time she offended a large number of people! The gain outweighs the loss! Huaye Building, third floor, ghost-themed suite. The body of the City God of Dayong, King Shengfu Mingling, the Simin of Chengtian Jianguo, appeared and bowed solemnly to the iron certificate of Taizu held in the eldest princess's hand. Then he looked at the eldest princess and asked, "What does your Excellency want me to do?" Holding the token with "As if I am here in person" on the front and "Li Desheng" on the back, the princess represents Taizu at this moment. Her every word and action represents Taizu's will, and any decision she makes is on behalf of Taizu's authority! The City God of Dayong City had no choice but to obey orders.
The princess said calmly but without giving way to refusal: "Seal off Hua'e Tower and the distorted and inverted order of yin and yang in Hua'e Tower. Send all the guilty people in Hua'e Tower to the Ministry of Justice, and expel all the idlers." "I will obey the orders of the envoy." The City God of Dayong accepted the task without hesitation. He took out a seal, opened and closed his lips, and spoke a few words. Although no sound was heard, all the righteous gods in the City God-Land Underworld system of the City God and the Underworld of the City God of Dayong Dynasty and other provinces, prefectures and counties received orders from the City God of Dayong Capital. Especially the four places of Guangling and Kuaiji in Yangzhou, Tai'an in Qingzhou, and Yunzhong in Jizhou. The city gods and underworld officials in various places began to rectify the chaos of forcibly buying the souls of women, which they had previously turned a blind eye to. In a flash, the entire Hua'e Tower was suddenly filled with strong winds and an eerie atmosphere. Team after team of City God's underworld officials showed up and forcefully sealed off the Hua'e Tower. The madam, pimp, and waiter were all captured by the underworld officials and sent to the Ministry of Justice. All guests were evicted. There are practitioners among the guests who come to Hua'e Tower for entertainment tonight. On the contrary, there are many of them. Moreover, many of them have extremely high cultivation levels and outstanding strength. If you really don't want to be driven out of Hua'e Tower by the underworld, there are plenty of ways to resist. But no one dared to do so. The City God's underworld officials sealed off Hua'e Tower on the orders of the City God of Dayong, and the City God of Dayong was following the will of Taizu! Are they jumping out to make trouble at this time because they think they and their relatives have had enough of the wealth and luxury and have lived enough? Didn’t you see that the owner of Hua’e Tower, who has connections everywhere, didn’t show up at this time? Outside the building, Tao Tie sat upright in the carriage, watching coldly. Soon, only the musicians, dancers and male prostitutes were left in Hua'e Tower. The princess held the Taizu's iron certificate and issued a second order: "Give them enough money to travel back to their hometowns and have them taken care of by the local city gods. The court will give them a plan to properly resettle them within ten days at most." "I will obey the orders of the envoy." The City God of Dayong City agreed again without hesitation and carried it out. When the eldest princess's second order was implemented, the City God of Dayong solemnly saluted Taizu's iron certificate and then led the underworld messenger back to the City God's underworld. The whole process was clean and neat, without any delay, as if it had been rehearsed many times. The eldest princess did not stop there. She took a deep breath, and veins bulged faintly on her right arm. It seemed as if she had to use all her strength to hold Taizu's iron certificate and continue to exercise power. Cold sweat continued to drip down his forehead, his breathing became uncontrollably rapid, the magic power in his body was almost disordered, and his consciousness was stretched to the limit, like a bamboo branch supporting a huge rock weighing thousands of pounds. Gnawing her teeth hard, blood oozing from the corners of her mouth, the princess shouted, "Where is the criminal Li Ju? Come to the court immediately for trial!" Boom! ! ! Thunder exploded above the nine heavens and beneath the nine earths. Everyone in the capital, whether they were princes and nobles or common people, heard this loud shout that resounded throughout the heavens and the earth. Anyone who knew the inside story was furious.
Li Ju, the deposed crown prince, is the elder brother of the current emperor. Hua'e Tower was originally named Hua'e Xianghui Tower. It was built by the Ministry of Works under the order of the emperor after he ascended the throne. It was built for the deposed crown prince to live in, to show the friendship between the two families. But the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju never lived there for a single day. After he got it, he removed the word "Xianghui" and changed it to a place of prostitution that ranked first among the four brothels and was a den of filth and dirt. The reason why Hua'e Tower could recruit women from all over the world, force them into prostitution, and even spare the souls of the dead was because of its owner, the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju. No one expected that after the eldest princess overturned the Hua'e Tower, she would actually punish the higher-ups! It is okay to seal off Hua'e Tower; the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju himself will not resist. But punishment is not an option, even if it were possible... Can it be cured? A figure with disheveled hair and cloth clothes came out from the basement of Hua'e Tower, quietly came to the princess, and replied lightly: "Li Ju is here." As soon as he finished speaking, Taizu's Iron Certificate seemed to be extremely disturbed and wanted to fly away early. The eldest princess narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue hard. puff! A large amount of blood spurted out from the tip of his tongue and landed on Taizu's iron certificate, barely stabilizing it. Not daring to waste any more time, the princess let out a rage from her dantian and shouted fiercely: "Since the criminal Li Ju is here, I respectfully ask God to punish him!" The disheveled figure raised his head and looked at Tianqiong, who did not respond after the eldest princess's shout, and the corners of his mouth curled up. "Tenchu?" Mumbling, the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju lowered his head again, glanced at the eldest princess, and said calmly, "You look a lot like your father, but your temperament is like mine. Let go, unless I am willing, this heaven cannot punish me." After saying this, without caring what the eldest princess did, the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju had an idea and walked away. The princess could no longer hold on and loosened her right hand slightly. The token that had represented Taizu's authority four times immediately turned into a meteor and flew towards the sky. The princess' body swayed, and her magic power, spiritual awareness, and physical strength were almost exhausted. She finally couldn't stand still and fell forward. Tao Tie appeared in time and caught the eldest princess. He returned to the carriage as quickly as possible, carefully put the eldest princess down, and let her lie on the couch. Tao Tie had a blank expression on his face, but with a huge wave of emotion in his heart, he took a deep look at the unconscious princess, turned around and jumped off the carriage. The maid who served the eldest princess immediately got into the carriage and took good care of her. The carriage then set off and drove back to the Princess's Mansion. Standing in the shadows, Tao Tie watched the carriage leave, then looked towards the Hua'e Building which had been sealed off. Everything that happened tonight was unexpected. Especially when the eldest princess acted on behalf of Taizu and requested heavenly punishment, she was unable to do anything to the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju. I don't know what's so special about the deposed Crown Prince Li Ju.
Tao Tie's [Knowing Everything] actually triggered two pieces of information fragments. But it's a bit disjointed and it's hard to tell what it means. [Information fragment 1: To bear the disgrace of the country is to be the master of the country; to bear the misfortune of the country is to be the king of the world.] [Information fragment 2: Some people are alive, but they are already dead.] Tao Tie, who couldn't figure out the reason, simply gave up and left quietly, returning to the Cangyunzhou Guild Hall. When the time comes to figure it out, you will naturally figure it out. However, Tao Tie has already figured out one thing. If the two events of selecting talents and the princes' competition for the throne are really mixed up, and the eldest princess also wants to compete for the throne, then choose her. Not everyone can sacrifice his or her future to do something right but unprofitable to himself or herself. Not wanting, not daring, and not willing to offend others has become the norm! This is the tragedy of idealists. It's so hard to find like-minded people. Now that we have found it, let’s join hands. Don't miss out. (End of this chapter)