Chapter 115: Plain Clothes

After Qi Xuansu settled down, he found a map of the Upper Palace hanging in the study. Zhang Yuelu used this map to introduce the structure of the entire Upper Palace to Qi Xuansu.

The Mingtang of Wanxiang Taoist Palace was built by Empress Mingkong, while the Lower Palace retained the layout of the Wanxiang Academy built by the Confucian School. After the Taoist School changed the Wanxiang Academy into the Wanxiang Taoist Palace, it built the Upper Palace above the Lower Palace with reference to the Zhenjing Courtyard of the Taiping Dao, which was directly connected to the second floor of the Mingtang.

Zhenjing Courtyard is also known as the Eight Scenery Courtyard. Looking down from above, it looks like a Bagua shape, with eight courtyards, eight gates and eight scenes, hence the name.

The Upper Palace of Wanxiang Taoist Palace is also divided into seven gardens, one gate and eight areas, named Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Gen, Xun and Dui. Among them, Zhen Garden is located in the east, with the four characters "Emperor comes from Zhen" written on it. It is the residence of the fourth-grade priests and is connected to the east gate of the second floor of Mingtang. The opposite Dui Garden is located in the west, with the four characters "Shuo Yan Hu Dui" written on it. It is the residence of the teachers of the academy and is connected to the west gate of the second floor of Mingtang.

Because the architectural pattern is facing south and back to the north, the south gate is the main gate, corresponding to "Xiang Jian Hu Li", so this gate is also called Li Gate, connecting the long bridge that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu took when they came.

The north gate corresponds to "Lao Hu Kan", connecting to Kan Garden, which is the main teaching area.

In addition to Li Gate, the seven gardens are independent and connected, so they can travel to each other without going through Mingtang.

In the northeast is the Gen Garden of "Cheng Yan Hu Gen", which is connected to Zhen Garden and Kan Garden. It is the place where the books of Shang Palace are stored. Although it cannot be compared with the Daozangsi of Yujing, it is also known as a place with a million books, which is one of the few places in the world.

In the southeast is the Xun Garden of "Qi Hu Xun", which is only connected to Zhen Garden. Originally, this place was a place similar to a training ground and the only place in Shang Palace where people could take action, but now it has been opened up as the residence of the alternate and preparatory priests. The alternate and reserve priests do not have the treatment of living alone in their own courtyards. They have to share a courtyard with several people. Although they have separate rooms, they do not have separate study rooms and living rooms. However, it is much better than the lower palace where several people live in one room.

In the northwest is the Qian Garden of "Zhan Hu Qian", which is connected to Kan Garden and Dui Garden respectively. In addition to having an extremely open white jade square, there is also a huge auditorium for holding various ceremonies.

Finally, the Kun Garden of "Zhi Yi Hu Kun" in the southwest is only connected to Dui Garden, and is separated from Xun Garden by the gate. This is where the great master of the palace and the high-level officials of the Taoist Palace live.

As for how the upper palace and the lower palace are connected, it is through the Mingtang. The upper palace is connected to the second floor of the Mingtang, and from the second floor to the first floor, and then out of the door is the lower palace. If you want to go to Xingye Lake and the Observatory, you have to go through the lower palace. However, the celestial being is an exception and can fly directly over.

After listening to Zhang Yuelu's introduction, Qi Xuansu sighed: "So this is what the Upper Palace looks like."

Zhang Yuelu asked: "Haven't you come up through the Mingtang?"

Qi Xuansu shook his head and said: "There are many restricted areas in the Lower Palace, and the Mingtang is in the restricted area. We can't get close to the Mingtang."

"Then how do you find a teacher?" Zhang Yuelu asked again.

Qi Xuansu said: "The teachers in charge of the Lower Palace are all low-grade Taoists. They also live in the Lower Palace, but they can enter and exit various restricted areas at will."

Zhang Yuelu nodded and didn't say much. Although she was from a small branch of the Zhang family, she was only despised within the Zhang family. She would never have such restricted treatment outside, so it was difficult for her to empathize with the complex mentality of people from the Wanxiang Taoist Palace looking up to the Upper Palace, and naturally she would not sigh "So this is what the Upper Palace looks like."

After Qi Xuansu sighed, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Qingxiao, where did you live when you came to the palace last time?"

Zhang Yuelu also wanted to revisit the old place, so she took Qi Xuansu to her former residence.

Unexpectedly, there was already an owner here. When the two came to the gate of the courtyard, they saw a young woman standing in the courtyard with her hands behind her back, staring at a clump of water bamboo in the courtyard.

Hearing the voice, the woman turned and looked at the two.

In terms of age, the woman and Zhang Yuelu are similar, and neither of them is stunningly beautiful, but their temperaments are extremely unforgettable, but the difference between their temperaments is huge.

Zhang Yuelu acts vigorously and decisively, with a lot of majesty and a bit of scheming, and with the increase of age and experience, this majesty is still increasing. It can be imagined that when Zhang Yuelu reaches the age of Jiazi, she must be happy and angry without showing her face, and she is majestic without anger. Many younger disciples are afraid to breathe in front of her.

In front of outsiders, Zhang Yuelu never showed any weakness. She was calm and generous, and had a bit of heroism, like a yang thunder.

However, in normal times, especially in front of people close to her, she would show her feminine side as a woman, including her dressing, which was all female habits, without any male style, so people would not think she was a tomboy, and she had a sense of both hardness and softness.

As for the woman in front of her, just her clothes were very different from Zhang Yuelu. In some occasions, Zhang Yuelu would wear men's clothes for convenience or disguise, but usually, she would dress like a woman. But this woman was dressed in simple men's clothes, without any extra decorations on her body, only a jade pendant hanging around her waist, which should be a proof of identity, and her hair was tied up with an ebony hairpin.

There is no trace of majesty in his demeanor, he seems easy-going, but also reveals a bit of alienation and indifference, as if nothing in the world can make him worry or care, and his attitude has even reached the point of indifference. If Zhang Yuelu is said to be... Zhenlei belongs to Yang wood, so this woman is Xunfeng, which belongs to Yin wood.

In fact, the huge difference in gas state is nothing. The key is that this woman did not fall behind in the face of Zhang Yuelu, and she seemed to be evenly matched. This is very rare. You must know that Zhang Yuelu is now a heavenly being and holds a high position. Even if she doesn't deliberately show off her momentum, not just anyone can compete with her.

The two of them are yin and yang, one is as indifferent as the wind, and the other is as majestic as thunder. Just by standing here, you can see that they are not the same people. It even makes Qi Xuansu have an inexplicable idea that these two people may never be sisters in their lives. , even if it is difficult to be a friend, it is lucky not to be an enemy.

The woman didn't pay much attention to Qi Xuansu, she just looked at Zhang Yuelu, and then took the initiative to say: "Is it Deputy Hall Master Zhang of Tiangang Hall?"

Zhang Yuelu was also sizing up the woman. Hearing this, he said, "Nice to meet you. It's Zhang Yuelu of Tiangang Hall. I didn't ask for advice."

The woman said softly: "I have admired you for a long time, and it is indeed Zhang Qingxiao. I am Yao Pei, who has no position for the time being, and is officially in the Wanshou Chongyang Palace."

Qi Xuansu was shocked.

No wonder this little girl with such a great aura didn't take him seriously at all. It turned out to be Yao Pei of the Quanzhen Dao who was ranked equally with Zhang Yuelu.

Speaking of which, this woman has the same surname as Qiniang, and considering the special relationship between the Qingping Society and Quanzhen Taoism, she must be the same clan as Qiniang, right?

Zhang Yuelu seemed to have expected it, and was not too shocked. He just said: "It turns out to be fellow Taoist Yao, whose name I have admired for a long time. Fellow Taoist?"

Yao Pei cupped his hands and said, "Bearly named Su Yi."

In addition to the meaning of surname, "Pei" also means long clothes and appearance in "Shuowen". "Yili" says: "Long clothes are also pure cloth clothes." Suyi means white clothes, which also refers to purity and conduct. Therefore, the word "suyi" expresses his ambition to be pure and self-restrained and not to be tainted.

Zhang Yuelu said: "Did fellow Taoist Suyi also come to Shanggong to study?"

Yao Pei said: "I'm ashamed. I heard a few years ago that fellow Taoist Qingxiao came to the Wanxiang Taoist Palace for further study and became the youngest Taoist priest of the fourth grade of wine worship. When I became a Taoist priest of the fourth grade of wine sacrifice, Fellow Taoist Qingxiao He is already a third-grade Taoist priest."

"I don't dare to take it seriously." Zhang Yuelu said seriously, "Speaking of it, it's a coincidence. When I first came to Wanxiang Taoist Palace, I lived here. I didn't expect that Taoist friend Suyi would also live here today. It's fate between you and me."

Yao Pei said: "It's not all fate. As far as I know, this courtyard has the best scenery, the best location, the most quiet place, and is closest to the Gen Garden where the books are stored. The Wanxiang Taoist Palace will only arrange for the most outstanding disciples to stay. If all He is a mediocre person, so he would rather leave it empty. Speaking of which, Master Cihang, Master Donghua, and Master Qingwei all lived here."

"I didn't know there was such a saying." Zhang Yuelu was startled.

Yao Pei turned his attention to Qi Xuansu: "You are Qi Tianyuan who risked his life to save Qingxiao?"

Qi Xuansu finally said: "There is no talk of rescue. Even without me, Qingxiao will not be in danger of life. He has not sacrificed his life. After all, I am still alive and well."

From beginning to end, there was no obvious expression on Yao Pei's face. She was not arrogant, easy-going, cold, or springy. It was just "indifferent". It was difficult for people to judge what she was thinking through her expression. She just listened. She said: "Fellow Taoist Tianyuan is a wonderful person. No wonder he can gain the Dharma vision of Master Donghua."