I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Chapter 229: Observing the Stars and Seeing Something Strange, Entering the Palace for a Diagnosis

In the southern continent, in the Tang Dynasty’s Chang’an City, the Observatory of the Taishi Bureau.

Li Chunfeng looked up at the sky full of stars and frowned. The night wind was cold and blew Li Chunfeng's clothes, but he was unaware of it as he kept calculating the stars in his mind.

At this moment, two figures quietly climbed onto the observatory and came behind Li Chunfeng.

The man on the left is wearing a Taoist robe, about thirty years old, with a long beard hanging down to his chest, and looks like an immortal. The man on the right is wearing a light blue Taoist robe, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a natural look.

At this time, the Taoist on the left walked behind Li Chunfeng, stretched out his hand and pushed Li Chunfeng on the back.

The force of the push was neither too strong nor too weak, causing Li Chunfeng to stagger forward.

Li Chunfeng was startled and quickly steadied himself, then turned around and looked over.

When he saw the man who pushed him, Li Chunfeng immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Brother Yuan, you scared me too much."

"Hahaha." Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard and smiled, then asked Li Chunfeng, "What were you thinking about just now, Daoist friend? You were so engrossed that you didn't even notice that we were behind you?"

Li Chunfeng looked aside upon hearing this. When he saw the young Taoist priest beside Yuan Tiangang, he was shocked and said, "Brother Yuan, although I am not familiar with face reading, I can see that this Taoist priest has an extraordinary temperament."

At this point, Li Chunfeng bowed to the young Taoist and said, "May I ask your Taoist name?"

The young Taoist bowed in return and said with a smile: "I don't have a Taoist name, only a lay name, my surname is Zhuang and my given name is Yan."

"So it's Taoist Fellow Zhuang Yan." Li Chunfeng bowed his head again, then asked Yuan Tiangang, "Brother Yuan, who is this Taoist Fellow Zhuang Yan?"

Yuan Tiangang spread his hands and said, "I don't know. I just met him."

"Oh?" Li Chunfeng smiled and said, "Could this be a case of first sight?"

Yuan Tiangang smiled and said, "That's probably it."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "I am not some great and noble man. I am just an ordinary Taoist priest in the Lingtai Taoist Temple in the Fengwan Forest outside Chang'an City."

"Lingtai Dao Palace?" Li Chunfeng looked at Yuan Tiangang and then said, "I think I've heard of it?"

Yuan Tiangang smiled and said, "Daoyou, do you still remember the 'Wu Shier' I told you about?"

When Li Chunfeng heard this, he immediately reacted and said, "Is it the Wu girl you saw when you went to the Wu Mansion to have her fortune told, 'If she were a girl, she would be the ruler of the world'?"

"That's right." Yuan Tiangang said, "Now I know that she is really a woman."

"Oh, this." Li Chunfeng was shocked and said, "Doesn't that mean?" He didn't dare to say the rest.

Yuan Tiangang waved his hands and said with a smile: "Unfortunately, the fate of this woman has been changed. She has entered the Lingtai Taoist Palace of Taoist Fellow Zhuang and has become a nun to practice Taoism."

Li Chunfeng immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good."

At this point, Yuan Tiangang asked again: "I said, fellow Taoist, you haven't answered what you were watching just now? Why were you so fascinated?"

When Li Chunfeng heard this, his brows furrowed again. He raised his finger to the sky and said, "Look, fellow Taoists. I have observed the stars here for many years, but there is one strange thing that I can't figure out."

"Oh?" Yuan Tiangang asked, "What's so strange?"

Li Chunfeng pointed at the Zhou Tian constellation and said, "One of the twenty-eight constellations is missing."

"One of the twenty-eight constellations is missing." Yuan Tiangang said this and suddenly asked in surprise: "One of the twenty-eight constellations is missing?"

"Yes." Li Chunfeng said, "So I can't figure it out."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tiangang said, "I don't understand either." Then he turned to look at Zhuang Yan and said, "Do you understand, fellow Taoist?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "There is one less star, but there is no great turmoil between heaven and earth. There is only one reason for this."

"What's the reason?" Li Chunfeng asked hurriedly.

Zhuang Yan said: "This star god has probably come down to earth."

Li Chunfeng looked up immediately after hearing this, and then became even more puzzled, "The missing star is Kuimu Lang, what is he doing here?"

Yuan Tiangang said: "Yes, if they were to descend to the mortal world, they would be the two Star Gods, Wenqu and Wuqu. What would the Star God Kuimulang do when he descended to the mortal world?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Then I don't know."

At this point, Yuan Tiangang asked Li Chunfeng, "Did you discover this recently?"

Li Chunfeng shook his head and said, "No, I discovered it thirteen years ago, but I didn't pay much attention to it at that time."

"Thirteen years, if he was reincarnated as a human, he would be thirteen years old." Yuan Tiangang laughed and said, "Hey, no matter what the Star Lord does when he comes down to earth, how can we know what's going on in heaven? Since there is no disaster between heaven and earth, then it's no big deal."

Li Chunfeng nodded and said, "That's true."

After that, Li Chunfeng stopped thinking about Kuimulang and smiled at Yuan Tiangang and Zhuang Yan, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to Taipingfang for a drink. I know there's a restaurant there that makes excellent vegetarian banquets. I'll treat you."

"Hahaha." Yuan Tiangang laughed at Zhuang Yan and said, "Since this official is treating us, we should not be polite to him."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "I am not a polite person either."

"That's great. You're welcome." Li Chunfeng said with a smile. Then the three of them left the Taishi Bureau and walked along the wide and clean streets to Taipingfang.

Taipingfang is located outside the imperial city, at the feet of the true emperor. Every inch of land here is worth a lot of money. Many royal relatives, high-ranking officials, and noble families live here.

However, today's Emperor Li Shimin is a promising and wise ruler, and those aristocratic families from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties are no longer as glorious as they were in the past.

In recent years, Li Shimin has vigorously suppressed the aristocratic families and opened up the imperial examination system, which has initially broken the aristocratic families' monopoly on knowledge.

In addition, once the imperial examination system was introduced, a large number of poor scholars from the public entered the court to serve as officials, which added a lot of fresh blood to the Tang court. The entire country and society exuded a prosperous and positive state.

Taipingfang, Wanzhai Tower. Zhuang Yan, Yuan Tiangang, and Li Chunfeng sat in the pavilion, looking at the brightly lit streets outside and the tall gates and courtyards along the streets. Li Chunfeng said, "The aristocratic families are not as powerful as they used to be. They are just living off their old capital."

Yuan Tiangang smiled and said, "The emperor today is wise and brave, working hard to strengthen the country, opening up the imperial examination system, and making use of talents from humble backgrounds. The decline of these noble families is inevitable."

Li Chunfeng asked Zhuang Yan, "What do you think about this, fellow Taoist?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "I don't have any opinions. The power of the aristocratic families is that they monopolize the selection of officials and the way they become officials. Secondly, the aristocratic families hold power that is enough to threaten the royal family."

“But now the Tang Dynasty has millions of troops, all obeying the emperor’s orders, expanding territory and being victorious in everything they do. The country is stable, and there are wise men and brave warriors. What can the aristocratic families use to compete for power with the emperor? The nine clans?” Zhuang Yan said with a smile.

"Hahaha." Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng burst into laughter when they heard this.

But at the same time, another laugh came from the room next to it. Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng were stunned for a moment, then stopped laughing. Then Li Chunfeng said, "Let's not talk about these national affairs. Come, how about trying this vegetarian wine."

As he spoke, Li Chunfeng poured a glass of plain wine for each of Zhuang Yan and Yuan Tiangang. After taking a sip, Yuan Tiangang praised the wine endlessly, but Zhuang Yan didn't feel anything. What kind of wine did he drink? Could these earthly wines be compared? No.

However, seeing Li Chunfeng's eager eyes, Zhuang Yan still followed Yuan Tiangang in praising: "It really tastes extraordinary, good wine."

Li Chunfeng immediately laughed, and quickly poured another cup for the two of them, then sat down and asked Zhuang Yan, "Brother Zhuang, what are you doing in Chang'an this time?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. I was invited by Taoist Sun to come and treat the queen's illness."

"Fellow Daoist Sun? Treating the queen's illness? Could you be Master Sun Simiao?" Li Chunfeng asked.

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang were both in awe. Yuan Tiangang said, "I have heard of the name of Sun Simiao. I heard that he has a book called 'Medicine King Ratna Sutra'. Is it true or not?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Daoyou Sun does have such a true scripture. It is said that it was taught by Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun in a dream."

"I see." Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang nodded, and then Li Chunfeng said, "I have also admired this Master Sun for a long time, and I would like to make friends with him this time."

Yuan Tiangang also smiled and said, "I will go with fellow Taoist to make friends."

After that, Yuan Tiangang asked Zhuang Yan, "When will Fellow Daoist Zhuang go to treat the queen?"

Zhuang Yan said, "We will enter the palace at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. Brother Sun will meet us outside the palace."

The two nodded, and Li Chunfeng said, "The Queen is a woman of unrivaled literary talent, a benevolent mother to all living beings, and a model for the whole nation. Although there has been no one comparable to her in the past three generations, if Fellow Daoist Zhuang can cure the Queen's illness, it will surely be a great deed."

Yuan Tiangang said, "Even Master Sun has the Medicine King Sutra, but he is powerless to treat this. We need to ask Taoist Zhuang to come and treat her. I'm afraid the Queen's illness is not an ordinary one."

As soon as Yuan Tiangang said this, the room next door, which was originally filled with laughter, suddenly became quiet.

Li Chunfeng said, "Since Master Sun has invited Taoist Zhuang to come and treat the patient, I believe Taoist Zhuang is confident, right?"

After saying that, the two of them looked towards Zhuang Yan together. For a moment, both this room and the room next to it became extremely quiet.

Zhuang Yan smiled, picked up the wine cup and drank a glass of plain wine, saying: "We will know after we see it tomorrow."

Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang nodded when they heard this, and then stopped talking about the matter and started chatting and drinking.

As for next door, there was no more laughter or joy coming from the beginning until the end of the banquet held by Zhuang Yan and the other two.

About an hour later, Zhuang Yan and the other two had their fill of food and drink, so Li Chunfeng said goodbye to them and left. Zhuang Yan and Yuan Tiangang returned to live in the "Xuan Du Temple" in Chang'an City.

Early the next morning, a carriage with the seal of the Eastern Palace stopped outside Xuandu Temple, escorted by a team of armored imperial guards.

The abbot of Xuandu Temple was shocked when he heard the report. He had never heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would come to the temple to burn incense today.

Despite this, the temple master still came out to greet him immediately.

However, he did not see the Crown Prince Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty, but the captain of the East Palace attendant. The captain came forward, bowed to the master of the temple and said, "We are here to welcome Taoist Zhuang on the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Master Zhuang?" The temple master was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, "Is it Master Zhuang Yan?"

The captain said, "That's right."

The abbot nodded and said, "Okay, General, please wait a moment. I will go and invite Master Zhuang right away."

After saying this, the abbot immediately turned around and went back to Xuandu Temple and came to the cloud room where Zhuang Yan lived.

As soon as the temple master came over, he saw Zhuang Yan had already walked out of the cloud room. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Master Zhuang, you are up."

"Well, is someone here to pick me up?" Zhuang Yan asked with a smile.

The master of the temple said quickly: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has sent someone to pick you up."

"Okay." Zhuang Yan was not surprised and nodded slightly, saying, "Then I'll go first."

The abbot nodded, and then escorted Zhuang Yan out of Xuandu Temple, and said to the captain, "General, this is Master Zhuang."

The captain was stunned for a moment when he saw Zhuang Yan was so young, but he quickly reacted and bowed to greet him, saying, "I am here on the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to welcome you to the palace. Please get in the car, Master."

"Okay." Zhuang Yan nodded, turned around and said to the temple master: "You go back first."

The master of the temple bowed and said, "Yes, True Man."

Afterwards, Zhuang Yan boarded the carriage, and the captain general jumped on the horse and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go."

So, under the escort of the East Palace Guards, Zhuang Yan's carriage arrived all the way to Chengtian Gate, where Sun Simiao and a group of imperial palace officials were waiting outside Chengtian Gate.

Of course, there was also a handsome, tall, and imposing young man wearing a bright yellow robe with four-clawed golden dragons. He was none other than the Crown Prince Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)