Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 320 Xuanzang Meets Wang Xuance! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Wow, it really is Zhao Feiyan, whom you've been searching for so long!

Gan Yanshou breathed a sigh of relief, took out two individually wrapped mooncakes from his pocket, tore them open, and handed them to the Zhao sisters, Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui.
"These are sweet cookies, you two can have some to tide you over."

Upon hearing that it was food, Zhao Rui grabbed the mooncake and began to eat it in large bites, while Gan Yanshou was afraid that she would choke.

Zhao Yan broke the mooncake in half and gave half to Zhao Lin... Although her father treated her and her sister like commodities to be sold, the poor girl did not blame him.

Gan Yanshou waved to the city gatekeeper not far away, asking him to arrange a carriage.

Then, Lao Gan let the two little girls who were still eating mooncakes get into the car and headed to General Wei's mansion. Zhao Lin jogged after the car, waiting to get the money.

Upon hearing the city gatekeeper call out "General Gan Yanshou," he immediately demanded thirty strings of cash, double the price Gu Yong had paid the previous day.

The *min* was an ancient unit of currency, equivalent to the *guan*. Since Emperor Wu of Han stipulated that one thousand *wen* equaled one *min*, this financial system continued until the Five Dynasties period. By the Song Dynasty, one *min* had dropped to around seven hundred *wen*, and was no longer a specific number.

As Zhao Lin approached General Wei's residence, he saw the heavily armed soldiers in the market and suddenly felt a little scared, worried that Gan Yanshou might turn his back on him. So he took the initiative to lower the price.
"If the general is not generous, twenty-five strings of cash will suffice. My family only wants to survive and asks for nothing more."

Gan Yanshou glanced at him and said:
“I will give you one hundred strings of cash and ten gold coins. Your whole family will move to Jiujiang. I will write a letter to the prefect of Jiujiang. Once you arrive, the local government will allocate two hundred acres of fertile land to you. Cultivate it well and do not come back. Otherwise, you will die a very bad death.”

On the way back to Chang'an, Chen Tang once said that the Zhao Feiyan sisters would be sent to Hunyuan Palace as maids, which was a necessary step to save the Han Dynasty.

Although Lao Gan didn't understand how the two women were related to the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty, he still drove Zhao Lin's family far away to be on the safe side, so that they wouldn't come over from time to time and treat his daughter as a cash cow.

Zhao Lin was overjoyed, showing no trace of the grief of losing his daughter; his face was full of anticipation and longing for a new life.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Yan, inside the carriage, wiped away her tears, tightly embraced Zhao Rui, who was still licking her fingers, and sobbed softly.

Upon arriving at General Wei's residence, Old Gan arranged for the gatekeeper to handle the matter, then led the Zhao Feiyan sisters into the backyard and said to his wife:
"These two young ladies are the distinguished guests that you have been searching for. Take them to bathe and change into new clothes. Remember to use shampoo and soap."

When Gan Yanshou's wife saw Zhao Yan's emaciated appearance, she was heartbroken.

"So thin, how much hunger have they endured? Old man, won't you let them eat something first?"

Gan Yanshou said:
"I've already eaten mooncakes. Let's wait a bit. I've been hungry for so long, and my body can't handle eating too much all at once... Go ahead and get busy. I'll write a letter to Zigong and tell him about this."

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi ate the breakfast prepared by Xi Shi herself and felt that the number one beauty was trending towards becoming the number one chef. The breakfast was a good mix of meat and vegetables and quite plentiful.

After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to his room, opened the black notebook, and wanted to see if his merits had changed.

The first note, however, took him quite a surprise:
[Gan Yanshou bought Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui before Princess Yang's residence could, causing a significant shift in the fate of the Zhao Feiyan sisters. Merit +5]

The names Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui were somewhat unfamiliar to Zhou Yi, but he knew Zhao Feiyan's name very well.

The famous beauty described in the phrase "Yan Shou" (燕瘦, meaning slender and graceful) refers to Zhao Feiyan.

Before the Ming Dynasty, Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, and Yang Yuhuan were always listed as the Four Beauties. However, Zhao Feiyan was not well-regarded. Later, after the publication of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the fictional character Diao Chan replaced Zhao Feiyan and became one of the Four Beauties.

However, to be fair, almost all the negative information about Zhao Feiyan in history comes from the novel "The Unofficial Biography of Zhao Feiyan". The stories about her being promiscuous in the harem, keeping male lovers, and taking muscle-relaxing pills are all fictional. Even the names Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede are fake.

Historically, Zhao Feiyan offended Ban Biao's aunt, Ban Jieyu, so the Book of Han did not write her name, but instead referred to her by the slightly derogatory title of Feiyan.

In addition, the "Biography of Imperial Relatives" in the Book of Han also states that when Zhao Feiyan was born, her parents disliked her and left her in the wild for three days, but she did not die, so they took her home to raise her.

In the minds of ancient people, only demons are immortal. Ban Biao used this to imply that Zhao Feiyan was a born evil woman... But even if it is written this way, there is no record in the Book of Han of Zhao Feiyan keeping male lovers. As for her debauchery in the harem and her procreation everywhere, that is even more unfounded.

If there were even the slightest indication of Zhao Feiyan, Ban Gu would have written extensively about it in the Book of Han.

When Zhao Feiyan was favored by the emperor, Consort Xu was deposed as empress and demoted to Changding Palace. In order to return to the palace, Consort Xu secretly bribed the favored minister Chunyu Chang and also corresponded with him.

When Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao, learned of this, he immediately ordered the death of Consort Xu, and Chunyu Chang was exterminated along with his entire clan... He was executed for simply writing a letter, so how could Liu Ao tolerate Zhao Feiyan's promiscuous behavior?

All I can say is that "The Legend of Fei Yan" is a novel written solely for the sake of criticizing, and has no historical reference value whatsoever.

As Zhou Yi was pondering, Xi Shi brought in a cup of hot tea:

"Why is the immortal frowning?"

Zhou Yi took the tea and said:

"Gan Yanshou bought the Zhao sisters, who are also the Zhao Feiyan sisters, who are historical figures who brought disaster to the country."

Upon hearing this, Xi Shi became interested:
"That's great! Let General Zigong and Hunyuan Palace attend to you. Even if we're not around, at least you'll have someone to serve you tea and water."

Zhou Yi gave a wry smile:
“I’m not at the point where I can’t take care of myself… Meiniang mentioned bringing Li Mingda before, but how can we get him here? I think at the next gathering, we can brainstorm and find a way to bring someone to Hunyuan Palace. That way, when you see the old master, you can bring him here, and then I’ll ask him to look at the Kong family’s surrender document.”

Xi Shi frequently consulted historical records and already knew what the "Confucius's Submission of the Emperor" was:
"The immortal is so mischievous, what if the old master gets so angry that he has a serious illness?"

Zhou Yi patted the black notebook and said, "Don't worry, I can use physical fitness techniques and life-extending techniques to prolong his life."

Xi Shi: "..."

It seems that Master Confucius is destined to face this challenge.

Zhou Yi took a sip of tea and then flipped through the black notebook. There were several merit notes below, such as Chen Tang eliminating several settlements of foreign tribes outside Xiaoguan Pass; Li Longji using a vow to trigger divine lightning to kill Cui Rizhi's family; and Guo Rong annihilating a Khitan cavalry force in the area north of Youzhou.

However, at the end, he noticed that Wu Meiniang had killed Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang... Zhou Yi didn't care whether those two were dead or alive, but the fact that they were rewarded with a whole tael of merit points made him curious.

What heinous crime did the Wu brothers commit to trigger the merit reward mechanism and force Her Majesty the Empress to take action?
It's worth noting that Mei Niang once said she wanted to sever ties with her past self and would never return once she had a registered household.

It's so frustrating to have something to eat but not be able to... Zhou Yi closed his notebook, just about to read for a while, when Xi Shi asked about the procedures for performing rituals. Zhou Yi handed her a copy of "The Complete Book of Taoist Ritual and Ceremony":

"The procedures are all pretty much the same, just look it up yourself... Suddenly learning this, you're not going to secretly perform rituals to summon gods in the Spring and Autumn period world, are you?"

Xi Shi lowered her head, clutching the hem of her dress, and whispered:
"I just think it's better to be prepared, so that I won't have to worry if I need to."

Just then, Li Qingzhao, carrying a package, excitedly entered Zhou Yi's room:

"Master, I have great news for you! Nitroglycerin has been successfully made!"

Zhou Yi was startled:
"You brought it to Hunyuan Palace?"

Li Qingzhao sprawled out on the bed beside her like an invertebrate:
"These are my change of clothes. Nitroglycerin is too dangerous. Could you please give me some talismans for protection? I'm worried that Zhao Ji might blow himself up one day, and the Song Dynasty will lose its chief scientific talent."

Zhou Yi felt this was indeed something to be wary of. He opened a drawer, took out a high-quality-looking purple talisman, and handed it to Li Qingzhao:
"This is a dormant talisman for all things, drawn by my grandfather himself. Within a three-zhang square area, all items will enter a dormant state, which can prevent accidents from happening."

Li Qingzhao was astonished by the power of this talisman:

"Could people within this area also enter a dormant state and never wake up?"

Zhou Yi added:
"Ineffective against people."

Li Qingzhao then put the bag away with relief and asked Xi Shi beside her:

"Is Sister Xi Shi no longer on her journey?"

"It's raining there, so we can't cycle for the time being. We'll just have to stay a few more days."

Zhou Yi, recalling the story of how Gongsun Da Niang named her, said to Li Qingzhao:
"Shiliu wants a more modern name. Could you help her think of one when you have time?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingzhao immediately sat up straight and said:

"How about calling her Gongsun Xiaomei?"

Zhou Yi picked up the whisk from the table and gently tapped her head:
"Have you been watching one-minute movie videos all the time lately? You can't even come up with a good name, you've ruined a great talent like you."

Li Qingzhao shrugged:

"I've been so happy lately that my mind is completely blank. That saying is true: happy people can't write sad poems... I think the name Gongsun Li is nice, as well as Gongsun Ran, Gongsun Haitang... By the way, will we have a Haitang Fairy?"

Even the Book of Changes is uncertain:

"It's hard to say for now; it's beyond our control."

For example, the appearance of Ban Chao was very unexpected and completely out of control. I wonder when the people from the Jin and Ming dynasties will arrive. I'm quite looking forward to it.

As for Zu Longzheng, that's even more unpredictable.

While the three were chatting, in the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, in Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha in India, Wang Xuance, the deputy envoy of the Tang Dynasty, was receiving worship from local officials when he suddenly saw a monk with Han Chinese features walk in.

He was greatly surprised:
"There are actually monks from our Great Tang Dynasty here?"

The visitor bowed to him:
"May I ask if it is Vice Envoy Wang in person?"

Hearing familiar accents in a foreign land made Wang Xuance very happy:
"That is indeed me. May I ask what brings you here, sir?"

"This humble monk, Xuanzang, has come to find you on orders."

Upon hearing the words "on orders," Wang Xuance was somewhat surprised:
"On whose orders?"

"Buddha!"

(End of this chapter)