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

Chapter 379 Wang Zhaojun has arrived! [Seeking monthly votes]

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was busy working at the construction site, while Wu Meiniang led Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui to the Jiuku Hall to offer incense to the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.

After today's offerings, Xue Guoqiang will be able to bring the statue of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun to the pharmacy to take up his post.

Just as Wu Zetian lit the incense, a figure suddenly appeared in the center of the hall, a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a Han Dynasty quju (a type of traditional Chinese robe) with a bewildered expression.

Zhao Rui reacted the fastest:
"Oh, a newcomer has arrived! Welcome, welcome! I am a guardian fairy under the command of Immortal Master Yiyuan of Hunyuan Palace. My secular name is Zhao Rui, and my Daoist name is... Daoist name is not important. What is your name?"

Upon hearing the name Zhao Rui, the visitor pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and read aloud:
"Sisters Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui, you came to Hunyuan Palace through the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor and Left General Chen Zigong... Do you know General Zigong of our Great Han?"

Zhao Yan's eyes lit up:
"Are you Sister Wang Qiang? That's wonderful! I'm so glad to finally see people from our world again."

Wang Qiang was overjoyed that the Hunyuan Palace had actually come.
"The Crown Prince often mentions you two sisters, and General Wei even wrote to His Majesty requesting that statues of you two be built in the Yiyuan Pavilion..."

After the three fellow villagers finished exchanging pleasantries, Wang Qiang looked at Wu Meiniang and then opened the small notebook in her hand:
"So elegant and graceful... You must be Sister Meiniang, the head steward of Hunyuan Palace? Your younger sister, Wang Qiang, greets you, elder sister!"

She gave a graceful and poised bow, which caught even the usually shrewd and calculating Wu Zetian off guard.
"Have you written down everyone here in your little notebook?"

Wang Qiang said:

"Before General Zigong left the capital this time, he explained to me all the pilgrims of Hunyuan Palace and the Immortal Master Yiyuan, and told me to prepare to come to Hunyuan Palace. I waited and waited but no immortal opportunity appeared, and I thought I would never be able to come. Unexpectedly, while I was having breakfast today, I suddenly had a feeling... Sister, do you know why?"

Wu Meiniang looked at Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, feeling that it was this deity who had intervened, but she was not sure.

To be on the safe side, it would be better to let Zhou Yi look at the black notebook first.

She said to Wang Qiang:

“I don’t know the answer to this either. I need to tell the Immortal Master to clear up the doubts… Yan’er, Rui’er, take your sister Wang Qiang to change her clothes. I’ll go to the construction site to call the Immortal Master over.”

After saying this, Wu Meiniang strode out of the Hall of Salvation from Suffering and went to inform Zhou Yi.

The Zhao sisters, Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui, led Wang Qiang toward the Sanqing Hall, introducing the modern items in the courtyard such as cars and streetlights as they walked.

Remembering Lady Xu's request, Wang Qiang inquired of the two sisters:

Do you have shower gel here?

Zhao Yan pointed in the direction of Cloud Mist Town and said:

“There are many in the supermarket in town, with rows and rows of them on the shelves. If you need them, Sister, we can ask the Immortal Master to drive down the mountain later, and we can go shopping together.”

Wang Qiang didn't know what a supermarket was, but judging from the sisters' expressions, she figured it wasn't anything particularly valuable, which put her mind at ease.

Upon arriving at the rear hall of the Sanqing Hall, Zhao Rui entered Wu Meiniang's room, opened the wardrobe, and selected a new Taoist robe of the same size as Gongsun Da Niang based on Wang Qiang's figure. Zhao Yan then took out several sets of unopened underwear from the drawer below the wardrobe and had Wang Qiang try them on, choosing whichever suited her best.

Ever since it was confirmed that forty-nine people would be coming, Wu Zetian kept unopened Taoist robes and underwear in her wardrobe so that the new women wouldn't have nothing to wear.

As for clothing sizes, there are also different distinctions.

Wu Zetian was voluptuous and wore the largest size, while Xi Shi was the tallest and wore relatively longer clothes. Gongsun Da Niang was somewhere in between, not particularly voluptuous, and two centimeters shorter than Xi Shi. She combined the best features of both Wu Zetian and Xi Shi.

As for Li Zhaozhao, she is the kind of girl who is beautiful and graceful, but she is not thin and frail. On the contrary, she is the girl in ancient costume who best fits the image of a young girl in her prime.

Now, seventeen-year-old Wang Qiang has arrived. Her figure is similar to that of Gongsun Da Niang, and her height is about 1.68 meters, just like Wu Zetian. After she changed into the Taoist robe, Zhao Yan instantly became a fangirl:

Wow, sister is so pretty.

Little Fatty Zhao Rui's eyes darted around, and a mischievous idea popped into her head:
"Sister Wang Qiang, for the sake of the happiness of the people in our world, I need to tell you about the rules here. This way, the immortal can better help the people of the Great Han overcome their difficulties and avoid annihilation."

Wang Qiang, thinking of her sworn brother, Crown Prince Liu Ao, straightened her Taoist robe and said:
"I was just about to ask how to help the Crown Prince so that the people of my Great Han can live a prosperous life and no longer be troubled by food and clothing."

Several years ago, she was selected as a concubine. Starting from her hometown of Zigui, she first followed the Xiangxi River into the Yangtze River, then traveled down the river to Yiling, and then turned north by land, passing through Xiangyang and Wancheng, and finally entered Guanzhong through Hangu Pass. After three months, she arrived in Chang'an and became an inconspicuous little palace maid.

Along the way, she saw too many displaced people. Even in Wancheng and Guanzhong, which were known as prosperous places, there were refugees everywhere who were barely clothed.

Now, upon hearing that Zhao Rui was going to teach her the rules of Hunyuan Palace, Wang Qiang immediately became interested.

The chubby girl grinned mischievously and whispered in Wang Qiang's ear:

"When the Immortal Master arrives, you must kiss him immediately. This is the rule of Hunyuan Palace. Everyone who comes here must kiss the Immortal Master."

Wang Qiang looked at Zhao Rui with a mixture of belief and doubt:
"Really? Did General Zigong also get close to the immortal back then?"

The chubby little girl was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet:
"Men don't need it. Men can exchange military merits for the support of Hunyuan Palace. Women can't fight on the battlefield, so they can only get support by kissing the Immortal Master. Don't be shy. The women who come here belong to the Immortal Master, body and soul. Even a little girl like me has been kissed by the Immortal Master many times."

Wang Qiang didn't believe it at all. She looked at Zhao Yan and asked:

"Did the immortal also kiss you?"

Zhao Yan chose to tell the truth:

“I took the initiative to kiss the Immortal.” Based on Chen Tang and Liu Ao’s descriptions, Wang Qiang felt that the Immortal was not that kind of person… but for the sake of the Han Dynasty, she could give it a try.

Kissing each other upon first meeting sounds absurd, but Wang Qiang didn't want to miss the opportunity for the rise of the Han Dynasty, even if there was only a one percent chance.

At the construction site, Wu Meiniang found Zhou Yi and whispered in his ear:

"Immortal Master, Wang Qiang has just appeared from the Hall of Salvation from Suffering."

Zhou Yi was overjoyed:

“Great! I was just wondering what happened in Chang’an. Let’s go see her.”

Stepping out of the construction site, Wu Meiniang and Zhou Yi held hands, and she said with a smile:

"Three of the Four Beauties have arrived, you must be overjoyed!"

The four beauties of ancient China were Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, and Yang Yuhuan. It was only during the Ming Dynasty that Zhao Feiyan was replaced by the fictional character Diao Chan.

Now, apart from Yang Yuhuan, the remaining three have all come to Hunyuan Palace, making Zhou Yi feel like he's in a dream.

He grasped Her Majesty the Queen's hand and said:

"No matter how many people come, you will always be the chief steward of Hunyuan Palace, and that will never be shaken."

These words pleased Wu Zetian greatly.
"Thank you for your trust, Immortal Master."

Upon arriving at the Sanqing Hall, Zhou Yi first returned to his room, took out his black notebook, and carefully read the notes.

Soon, a note about Huhanye's death appeared:
Gan Yanshou led his army to kill two successive Chanyus of the Southern Xiongnu, Huhanye and Fuzhulei Ruodi, earning him +50 merit points.

[The Xiongnu Chanyu died prematurely, completely changing Wang Qiang's fate; Merit +10]

These two notes surprised Zhou Yi somewhat. Who would have thought that Old Gan, who was guarding the house in Chang'an, would actually earn more merits than Chen Tang?

After reading the notes, Zhou Yi flipped through the black notebook again and finally found Wang Qiang's page.

The page is quite simple, with no merit points, no Taoist arts, and the progress of exchanging household registration is at zero. However, given the situation at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Ms. Luoyan's merit points will soon increase dramatically.

Closing the notebook, Zhou Yi said:

"Gan Yanshou killed two Chanyus, and Wang Qiang came after her fate was completely reversed."

Wu Zetian analyzed:

"Sister Wang Qiang came from the Hall of Salvation from Suffering. Could it be that the Heavenly Venerable of Salvation from Suffering intervened to change her fate, which led her to the Hunyuan Palace?"

Even the Book of Changes is uncertain:

“Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun is a very low-key deity. Back then, when Shiliu and I purified the Land Rover and together we destroyed the altar of the Red Sun Apartment, it was all thanks to this deity’s silent efforts. Now that Wang Qiang is here, it may also be related to him… You should visit the Jiuku Temple more often in the future to increase the incense offerings.”

"Your concubine obeys!"

After finishing their conversation, the two left the room and went next door, where they met Wang Qiang, who was dressed in a Taoist robe.

She had delicate features and a friendly, approachable demeanor, making people feel closer to her without realizing it... However, after experiencing the contrast with Xi Shi, Zhou Yi no longer believed in first impressions.

"My lady Wang Qiang pays her respects to the immortal master!"

Wang Qiang bowed gracefully to Zhou Yi, her brows revealing a hint of sorrow that stirred Zhou Yi's heart, making him even more convinced that Mao Yanshou truly deserved to die.

He waved his hand and said:
"No need for formalities. What happened yesterday when Liu Ao killed the Xiongnu deputy envoy? Where did Gan Yanshou kill Huhanye and his son? Were there any other people present at the time? What is Liu Shi's opinion on this matter?"

This series of questions made Wang Qiang feel as if she were being questioned by her teacher in her hometown school.

It seems that the immortal master was not nearly tricked by the two little girls as Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui had said... Wang Qiang put aside her thoughts and answered them one by one.

Meanwhile, in the Spring and Autumn period, in a courtyard in the city of Diqiu, Confucius was discussing the details of establishing a school on Mount Yunwu with Zilu and others:

"If the cultivated food can be self-sufficient, that place will surely become the academic center of the entire world. May I ask, Lotus Fairy, if there is no water on the mountain, how should this be resolved?"

Xi Shi said:

"Two months ago, the Immortal Master obtained a magical artifact called the Scholar's Brush. The words written with this brush can all come to life. At that time, the Scholar's Brush can be used to dig a spring on the mountain... By the way, the Immortal Master once said that you should try to repair it. I will bring the Scholar's Brush to the old master for his inspection!"

After saying this, Xi Shi hurriedly returned to Hunyuan Palace to retrieve the scholar's writing brush.

Confucius stroked his beard and muttered to himself:
"The Confucian scholar's brush sounds like something from my Confucian school, but what is the purpose of its restoration?"

(End of this chapter)