I come to see Bai Yujing today

Chapter 1: The Heavenly White Jade Capital, Twelve Towers and Five Cities

It's spring now, after the rain.

There was a big event happening in the Xu family in Lianzhou. Xintong, the head maid, hurried into the house, waded through the flowing water in the second entrance of the house, passed the spring flowers in the yard, and without looking at the morning dew, went straight to the master of the Xu family's room.

"Master, the ball that the young lady threw has an owner. When the ball was thrown, several knights started fighting, and several of the young master's servants got into a mess. During the fight, the ball was thrown up again and landed in the arms of a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old."

The maid Xintong was not very old, only about fifteen or sixteen years old, but her eyes were clear and she looked like a shrewd girl: "The young man was wearing gray clothes, but the clothes were not luxurious... but rough linen, and his face was a little thin, so he should not be the son of a rich family."

"Cough, cough, cough..." A few coughing sounds were heard from the bed covered by the screen. When the servant moved the screen away, he saw an old man with a haggard face and no energy sitting up with the help of a maid.

"It doesn't matter if you're not a rich young man. What can someone who comes to steal the embroidered ball expect? It's better to have an ordinary identity. Without the cover of brocade clothes, you can't hide any bad intentions."

The old man took four or five breaths after saying these few words and looked very weak.

Xin Tong pursed her lips and said with some concern: "But there are still some problems..."

The old man cast a probing look at her, and she continued, "The mansion sent someone to invite him, but the young man just said that he was passing by Xiqing Street and did not intend to grab the hydrangea. It was just that the hydrangea accidentally fell into his arms... He was unwilling to marry into the Xu family."

The old man coughed several times in succession. The slightly older maid beside him frowned and asked, "Who went to invite this person? Can you tell me where they came from?"

"It was Butler Zhao Er who went to invite the young man. He mentioned the name of our Xu family and the young lady's name. However, the young man seemed to be unaware of the Xu family's background and the young lady's reputation, and he just left..."

"But... Butler Zhao Er has already sent people to investigate. They should be back after noon."

Xintong said carefully.

The old man frowned and said nothing. The older maid beside him thought for a moment and comforted him, "He doesn't know the Xu family's background, nor the young lady's reputation. He must be a young servant who has never seen the world. Once we find out his background, we can send someone to tell him. If there are elders in the family, it will be even simpler. You don't need to worry."

The old man nodded slightly and said, "My Xu family has some reputation in Suwu Prefecture. Now we are throwing out a ball to recruit a husband with great fanfare. It would be good if a young servant took the ball. If this young servant took the ball and still rejected my Xu family, then my Xu family would inevitably become the laughing stock of other mansions."

The old man said this and then asked the maid Xintong: "What did the young lady say?"

Xin Tong said truthfully: "The lady said...it doesn't matter who it is, just get married as soon as possible."

The old man sighed and turned to look at the luxurious Xu Mansion.

He worked hard for decades to build this amazing family fortune, but he has no children and is now seriously ill. His huge family business is in trouble and he can only rely on his 20-year-old eldest daughter to manage it.

"It's just a pity for Xiyue. She can't find a good husband carefully, and can only be tied here for the rest of her life."

-

Xu Xiyue was wearing a emerald green Cuiyan shirt, her shoulders were cut into waistlines, her skin was as white as cream, her breath was as fragrant as orchids, and her waist was so thin that it could be held in one hand. She was so flawless and otherworldly.

If it weren't for the light veil on her head, she would have attracted a lot of attention.

But at this moment, she was standing on a cruise ship, looking at the shore from afar.

A pale-faced young man was squatting in front of a vegetable stall on the shore, bargaining for prices.

"You have to bargain like this just to buy a few pieces of ginger. Now that there is a good place like Xu's Mansion, you still refuse. I really don't know what this young man is thinking."

Xin Tong was standing behind Xu Xiyue, and exclaimed in amazement: "Look at his complexion and his weak voice. Could he be seriously ill?"

There was another middle-aged man beside Xintong who spoke at the right time, "I have sent someone to inquire about this young man. His name is Chen Zhian. He lives on Qihuang Street, just opposite the General Tiebi's Mansion. He has no mother at home and lives with his father alone.

His father was a private school teacher. He taught children with care and patience, and did not care if the neighbors were short of money, so he had a good reputation in this Qihuang Street... Because of this, the father and son lived a poor life, barely making ends meet."

"Speaking of which, there is another strange thing. Two years ago, this young man suddenly fell into the water. When he was fished out, his face was ashen and he was unconscious. The crowd watching was helpless. By chance, a Taoist priest in a black robe passed by and performed his immortal magic to save this man... Now that I think about it, this young man was also a man of great luck. He survived a fatal disaster and now he has won the young lady's embroidered ball and married into my Xu family. He will never have to worry about food and clothing in the future."

"So you're a scholar." Xintong opened his eyes wide, nodded and said, "I'm most afraid of meeting some rogues, or unrestrained knights. Scholars are more suitable..."

Butler Zhao Er shook his head and said, "This young man is not a scholar. He has never studied seriously and has never taken the examination for a student. Instead, he went to the government office half a year ago and became a small worker in the painting academy, painting portraits for the government."

Xintong wrinkled his nose: "His father is a private school teacher, but he doesn't study hard and instead works as a eunuch? He is too unmotivated."

Butler Zhao Er remained silent.

Xin Tong said with some regret: "It's OK that he's not a scholar, Miss, you learned the method of observing qi in Mount Qixia, do you think the boy has any serious illness?"

Xu Xiyue shook her head slowly and told Butler Zhao Er, "Don't bother them too much. Let the master make the arrangements."

Xintong noticed the indifference and helplessness in Xu Xiyue's tone. She suddenly felt that there was nothing good about being the daughter of the Xu family. The huge burden of the Xu family was all on her shoulders.

Nowadays, even when getting married, I can only find such an ordinary boy.

So Xin Tong couldn't help but comfort her and said, "Miss...why don't you wait a little longer?"

"What are you waiting for?" Xu Xiyue turned her head, her eyes full of calmness.

Xintong was speechless for a moment.

Butler Zhao Er suddenly said, "Things in the world are like flowing water, and they are gone once they are gone... Miss, don't take it too seriously. Even if you are looking for an ordinary man, you are much better than those rich girls in the boudoir."

Xu Xiyue flicked her sleeves and said, "General Li will soon arrive in Sunan Prefecture. The most urgent thing is to prepare those medicinal herbs. If we can't continue this deal... I'm afraid the Xu family's medicinal herbs business will really be swallowed up by the Zhou family."

-

Chen Zhian didn't know that he would be watched just because he went to the street to buy vegetables. At this moment, all his attention was on a piece of ginger on the stall of the vegetable seller in front of him.

The piece of ginger was covered in dirt and looked inconspicuous among the several pieces of ginger on the stall.

But in Chen Zhian's eyes, this piece of ginger is naturally different from other gingers.

He looked carefully and saw a completely different aura emanating from the piece of ginger. The aura slowly rose up and turned into mist on the surface of the ginger, which made Chen Zhian a little dazed.

At the same time, he vaguely sensed that in the painting in his mind that was awakening with his memory, a scene had quietly lit up.

Next to the painting, there were a few lines of poetry that shone brightly, making Chen Zhian's mind clear.

——[In the White Jade Palace in the sky, there are twelve towers and five cities. The immortal touches my head and I am blessed with eternal life.]

These four lines of poetry seemed to contain an ineffable mystery, illuminating a spot in the painting, one of the five cities in the twelve floors.

[Kunlun Lake].

——"There is a city named Kunlun Lake, which covers the heaven and earth. One can see its spirit and smell its spirit. Its spirit nourishes the mist, and the mist gives rise to its spirit."

A few lines of words slowly emerged on the painting.

These few short lines made Chen Zhian take a deep breath.

"Why is the picture in my mind so strange?"

Chen Zhian took a deep breath.

He picked the rare piece of ginger from the stall, paid the old lady three copper coins, and then got up and returned to Qihuang Street.

Qihuang Street got its name from a traveling doctor in the early years. At that time, there was a plague and the people in southern Jiangsu were in mourning. The doctor set up a stall on this street and cooked medicine with Qihuang's skills, saving countless lives.

When relief from the imperial court arrived and the plague subsided, Doctor You Guo packed his bags and quietly left Southern Jiangsu Prefecture under the cover of night.

The people whose lives were saved by him vaguely remembered... that they were saved by this doctor, but they didn't know the doctor's name. They only vaguely remembered that the word "Qihuang" was written on the flag in the doctor's hand. So they named this street Qihuang Street to commemorate this man.

Chen Zhian has lived on Qihuang Street for more than ten years.

Since he fell into the water two years ago, many more memories have appeared in his mind.

As if the memories of his past life were awakening, he often recalled scenes that seemed to belong to his life, the steel jungle, the flying birds, an entire detailed life, and his grandfather who loved Tai Chi and depended on him in his past life.

It is just like what Buddhists call [pre-natal wisdom].

Over the past two years, he has gradually integrated these memories.
He hurried back to his home courtyard, where he could hear the tender and clear sound of reading.

Many children are reading and writing with their heads shaking.

His thin father was sitting on the high hall, listening to the children reading with his eyes closed.

Chen Zhian had long been accustomed to this scene, so he did not bother them and went straight into the side room.

The furnishings in the room were quite simple, with only a bed, a desk, a wooden chair and some books.

Chen Zhian put down his bag and took out the piece of ginger from his arms.

When he looked at Sheng Jiang carefully, the [Yujing Map] that he had dreamed of countless times emerged in his mind, and [Kunlun Lake], one of the [Twelve Towers and Five Cities] in the map, lit up in the Yujing Map.

After his memory regained consciousness, there were many new things in his memory, which gradually merged with his consciousness.

The only thing that remained clear in his mind was the [Map of Jade Capital in Heaven] left by his grandfather. The only difference was that this map was always hazy and the image on the painting was very dim.

Chen Zhian never knew why the [Map of Jade Capital in Heaven] kept appearing in his memory.

But I never thought that it was not until today that this [Map of the Heavenly Jade Capital] revealed some mysterious clues.

"What is this ginger that echoes the Jade Capital map in the sky and is wrapped in a unique aura?"

Chen Zhian's mind suddenly started to wander, and the piece of ginger in his hand suddenly disappeared.

"Haunted?"

Chen Zhian stood up suddenly and looked around, and the ginger really disappeared out of thin air.

He was surprised, and in a moment, that strange picture unfolded in his mind again.

The picture continued to enlarge and turned into the huge Kunlun Lake, with clouds rising from the lake and mist everywhere.

Chen Zhian looked carefully and saw a place where clouds gathered in Kunlun Lake. The unique piece of ginger was wrapped in the clouds.

The white scent emanating from the ginger gradually changed color, with some red emerging from the pure white, but the scent became increasingly heavier.

“It’s planted in the painting?”

Chen Zhian was stunned.

(End of this chapter)