Chapter 151 Imperial Capital
Shi Bingyun exclaimed, only half of what he said, and the rest was completely silent, even a bit narrow-minded.
Zhang Yuelu guessed that she was going to ask this, so he said calmly without any hesitation: "We are indeed closely related."
"We have a close relationship." Shi Bingyun clicked his tongue, "You are such a young girl, how come you don't look a little bit embarrassed? Normally, a little girl who experiences this kind of thing for the first time should have a slightly red face, look down at her shoes, and pinch them. Don’t you dare answer directly with your clothes on?”
Zhang Yuelu thought for a while and replied: "Because I am an alien?"
Shi Bingyun wanted to use this incident to tease this nephew, but he didn't expect that this nephew wouldn't give him any chance. He just felt bored and said: "You are indeed an anomaly. No normal person can do this before he is thirty years old." Third-grade Youyi Taoist priest, deputy hall master? In our generation, the position of Master Cihang is still somewhat suspenseful. With you, there is no more suspense. The girls who are your junior sisters will probably cry to death. "
Zhang Yuelu smiled without saying a word and walked to his seat.
As a third-grade Youyi Taoist priest, Zhang Yuelu, a promising young man, was placed very close to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest. Shi Bingyun happened to be relatively far behind among the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests. Zhang Yuelu was not far away, so he simply changed seats and sat next to Zhang Yuelu - who could refuse a small request from a beautiful female crown?
Shi Bingyun turned towards Zhang Yuelu: "What does that young man named Qi do? Where is he sitting?"
Zhang Yuelu answered truthfully: "He is studying in the upper palace of Wanxiang Taoist Palace and is the Taoist priest in charge of Ziweitang."
Shi Bingyun was a little surprised and said: "I thought it was a drama between a rich daughter and a poor boy, but I didn't expect that he was a well-matched young handsome man. This is boring. Li Changge and Yao Pei are just fourth-grade wine-provoking Taoist priests now. This young man is Qi Jiaozheng’s son?”
Zhang Yuelu shook his head and said: "It just happens that his surname is Qi and has nothing to do with the Qi family. He is from the lower palace of Wanxiang Dao Palace."
Shi Bingyun became interested again: "It's not unusual to be able to rise to a high position despite being born in the Wanxiang Taoist Palace, but it's very rare to do so at such a young age. His master has a strong background? Who is the Master of Shenzhi?"
Zhang Yuelu said: "It's not Master Shen Zhi, he's just a Taoist priest of the fourth level of sacrificial wine. He has been dead for many years."
Shi Bingyun was really surprised: "So, this young man has some abilities. I know Pei Xuanzhi. He has always set his sights higher than the top and cannot tolerate mediocrity in office. At such an age, he can stand in Ziweitang." To keep your feet firmly on the ground, even if you have support from noble people, you still have to be strong on your own.”
Zhang Yuelu's attitude toward Qi Xuansu in front of outsiders was quite subtle. When Qi Xuansu was still a low-grade Taoist priest, she had to take the initiative to praise Qi Xuansu and say nice things for him. Now that Qi Xuansu is a fourth-level wine-sacrifice Taoist, Zhang Yuelu no longer praises, but becomes humble and self-respecting. Therefore, Zhang Yuelu did not say anything more and just smiled and said nothing.
Shi Bingyun sighed: "In this way, I am worthy of you. After all, it is not good for a husband and wife to be too evenly matched, and it is easy to cause all kinds of troubles. If you want to find someone stronger than you, it is really difficult to find one. The only one It is somewhat possible that he is the younger ancestor of the Li family, but the relationship between the Zhang family and the Li family is here, so it is absolutely impossible. "
Zhang Yuelu sighed: "If my mother could have such thoughts as my uncle, I would be grateful to God."
"By the way, what did senior sister say?" Shi Bingyun didn't look like a real Taoist at all, but more like an ordinary nun who was naturally interested in things like getting married and having children.
Zhang Yuelu said: "Master once met him once. He didn't say anything. He just asked him to come back to Yujing after finishing his studies in the palace. She wanted to see him again."
Shi Bingyun clicked his tongue again: "This is the mother-in-law taking care of her son-in-law. Do you like it more and more the more you look at it? Or are you trying to beat the couple? But having said that, my senior sister has never experienced anything like this. What can she tell? Why don't you show me that your uncle has seen more men than you two combined."
Zhang Yuelu changed the topic: "Why did Uncle Master return to Yujing?"
The Imperial Palace has always been a very special palace, because the Imperial Palace is the core of the imperial court and the residence of the emperor. Therefore, for a long period of time, the Imperial Palace was just a decoration, somewhat similar to Qintian Prison, and even Not as good as Qin Tianjian. Because the imperial court has a special Qintian Supervisor to observe the astronomical phenomena, and the Imperial Palace is mainly responsible for praying, fasting, etc., so the Taoist sect usually sends some marginal and high-level figures to the Imperial Palace, such as Shi Bingyun.
However, in recent years, with the intensification of the struggle between the three Taoists, the imperial court seemed to be interested in intervening in Taoist affairs, and the status of the Imperial Palace Taoist Office suddenly became important. In the past, the Imperial Palace was controlled by Taiping Dao, which had the closest relationship with the royal family. However, in the past year, especially when the Heavenly Master and the Earth Master served as rotating masters, many people were deployed there, which was to mix sand.
Naturally, Taiping Dao also fought back. After the three parties compromised and pulled each other, the candidates for the real person in charge and the nine deputy palace owners have been decided. Unless there is another big case, there will not be any big changes in a short time. . Shi Bingyun ranks among the nine deputy palace masters, and ranks high, serving as the second deputy palace master.
That's why Zhang Yuelu wondered why Shi Bingyun appeared in Yujing. According to the rules, a real person of this level would not return to Yujing rashly without urgent matters, legitimate reasons, and without being summoned by Jinque.
Shi Bingyun said: "Of course it's official business, I'm here to see Pei Xuanzhi."
"Master Donghua?" Zhang Yuelu was startled.
Shi Bingyun said as a matter of course: "This head of Ziwei Hall holds the power of personnel. I still have many vacancies under my name. Who else can I find if not him?"
This is reasonable. In the past, the Imperial Capital Daofu has not been valued and promotion is difficult. Ambitious and capable Taoists are unwilling to go to the Imperial Capital Daofu. Those who go there are those who have no hope of promotion or those who are greedy for the prosperity of the Imperial Capital. This time, the three Taoists made a big fuss in the Imperial Capital Daofu, and many people were cleared out, which inevitably caused vacancies.
Zhang Yuelu fell into deep thought.
At this time, the carriage of the rotating great immortal had arrived in front of the Yuxu Palace.
The carriage that the rotating great immortal rode was called "Seven Fragrance Carriage". The Poet Demon had a poem saying: "When the grass on the roadside flourished, I was once hit by the Seven Fragrance Carriage." The Poet Buddha also had a poem saying: "The curtain sent the Seven Fragrance Carriage, and the treasure fan welcomed me back to the Jiuhua tent." This car was popular in the Great Qi Dynasty. It was a luxurious carriage made of various fragrant woods.
The Taoist Seven Incense Carriage has been remodeled. In addition to being larger in size, it has removed all unnecessary decorations and is very simple. It is pulled by four dragon horses of different species, with eight second-grade spiritual officials leading the way in front and a group of assistants in the back.
When it arrived at the palace gate, the rotating great immortal got off the carriage. He was an old man with white hair and white beard, with a fairy-like appearance and a Taoist spirit, which best fits the world's imagination of immortals. He was not the national master, but the heavenly master.
In the 41st year of Jiushi, the first half of the year, from the first day of the new year to the 30th day of the sixth lunar month, the heavenly master acted as the great master of religion, and the second half of the year, from the first day of the seventh lunar month to the 30th day of the new year, the earth master acted as the great master of religion. In the next 42nd year of Jiushi, from the first day of the first lunar month to the first day of the seventh lunar month, the national master became the rotating great immortal and exercised the authority of the great master of religion. Now it is the Ghost Festival on July 15, and naturally the heavenly master will replace the national master as the rotating great immortal and preside over the Ghost Festival celebration.
The crowd in the square separated a road to welcome the rotating great immortal and a group of assistants into the hall.
Everyone in the hall stood up.
Zhang Yuelu looked up and saw the grandfather-like old man coming out of the door. On his left were Cihang Zhenren and Donghua Zhenren, and on his right were Qingwei Zhenren and Pingzhang Da Zhenren.
This is also a very interesting point. The Taoist sect has a grand master and three deputy grand masters. When standing, they have to highlight the grand master's central supremacy. The deputy masters are lined up on both sides of the grand master, which is inevitably asymmetrical. Generally speaking, the grand master's companion will make up for it, that is, two deputy masters stand on the left of the grand master, and the grand master's Taoist companion and another deputy master stand on the right. The grand master's Taoist companion must be next to the grand master's right hand. As for who is next to the grand master's left hand, it generally depends on the grand master's origin. For example, if the grand master comes from Zhengyi, then Tianshi stands on the left hand of the grand master.
The rotating great masters had similar ideas. The three most prominent masters followed behind him, leaving a vacant position. Because the Heavenly Master had never married, the Great Master of the Wanxiang Dao Palace filled the position.
The Dao sect did not practice kneeling, so everyone just stood up and saluted, and there was no scene of a large crowd kneeling.
The Heavenly Master walked straight to the main seat of the Yuxu Palace, but when he passed in front of Zhang Yuelu, his steps paused slightly. Zhang Yuelu felt that this great-grandfather seemed to look at her, but it seemed to be her illusion, which made her feel dazed for a moment. When she came to her senses, the Heavenly Master had already walked away.
The Cihang Master, who was one step behind the Heavenly Master on his left, did not pay attention to his beloved disciple. After all, the master and disciple had just separated for less than half an hour, but looked deeply at his junior sister Shi Bingyun.
Shi Bingyun's eyes wandered, and she did not look at her senior sister.
Donghua Zhenren also saw Shi Bingyun. They were all of the same age, so they knew each other. He could probably guess Shi Bingyun's purpose and remained calm.
Then there were the guests from all walks of life, including Confucianists, Buddhists, and the court.
When the Confucian master passed by Zhang Yuelu, he glanced at her. Although he didn't get angry, he didn't hide the disgust in his eyes. A Confucian master is naturally not a person who shows his worries on his face. He just did it on purpose to show his attitude.
Zhang Yuelu didn't care about it at all. He just thought about the affairs of the Imperial Capital Daofu.
After the Heavenly Master, the other Zhenren and the guests took their seats, the Heavenly Master looked around and waved his sleeves. A slightly illusory figure of the Heavenly Master flew out of the hall, climbed up the thirty-three-story lantern tower, and lit the golden lamp.