The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

27

Photo above: Princess Duanyang & Consort Dowager

The Great Spiritual Pagoda, the Palace of Heaven.

The Xingshan Temple was a sprawling giant that arched up into the clouds. It seemed to cup the red rays of the sun in its cusp. White jade railings overlapped atop one another and the ocean of green glazed tiles beneath the shade of the ancient tree was an unbroken plain.

Consort Dowager's carriage paused in front of the temple and two palace maids in light red robes helped her alight from it.

The Consort Dowager was already forty years of age but she had maintained herself delicately. Her oval face was blessed with a charming pair of eyes, she had merely a few small wrinkles around the corners of her eyes, and her thin lips seemed to have a faint upward curvature to them: When she was younger, she had been an absolutely beautiful person.

This favored consort of the previous emperor was clad in royal purple supplemented by a fresh autumn yellow motif. Her noble aura deliberately held in it a youthful texture. She lowered her precious head ornament, her hair was done up with only a single hairpin, and looked out of the horse carriage as if she was pondering over something. She lowered her engraved golden nail guards1 and elegantly handed it over to the temple slave girl.

There was another carriage that followed closely behind hers. The palace maid Peiyun first jumped off of the carriage and then extended her hand into the carriage to support Princess Duanyang down.

Li Songmin was born with a face that closely resembled Dowager Consort Zhao's. Her eyes were both large and lustrous. But, born as a princess, she didn't need to care about what others thought and thus held more confidence in her aura. There was always a sense of arrogant indifference in her attitude.

Dowager Consort Zhao was waiting in place for her daughter to approach her. However, as soon as she saw her colourful clothes and unhurried appearance, her brows tightened: "Peiyun, how did you pick clothes for the princess?"

Peiyun was frightened and turned around to take a glance at Duanyang's expression.

The princess acted cute as she pulled on Dowager Consort Zhao's arm, "Consort Mother, I was the one who chose the outfit. Today's weather is so nice, it's a great day to come out and take a gander."

"Songmin, how many times have I repeated myself? In front of Buddha, you must humble yourself." She paused for a moment upon seeing Duanyang's rather languid and unwell countenance. She then rubbed her eyes and softly spoke in heartache: "Did you have a nightmare again?"

She turned around to search with her eyes and saw Liu Fuyi's figure standing at the foot of a mountain.

Her expression somewhat cleared up and she held Duanyang's hand as she lowered her voice: "Consort Mother has found a way to solve the issue. It's most likely that we were far too insincere before, and as such, garnered the wrath of the deities... this time, Consort Mother has donated 300 jin of incense money. I will personally kowtow and apologize. You will definitely no longer have nightmares."

Duanyang's face was full of disapproval and was about to start a dispute but in the end gave up in disappointment.

She followed her mother's faint gaze and saw, under the dark blue skies, the figure of a young man standing beneath the distant array of green mountains.

He stood extremely straight and upright. His sleeves and black hair danced along with the wind, seemingly exactly like an exiled immortal.

She wanted to give him a few more curious glances but before she knew it, they had already arrived at the entrance of the main hall. Dowager Consort pulled her into the hall and a wall of sandalwood fragrance hit her face.