As the saying goes, "There are purple walls in the sky and purple palaces on the ground."
In order to study the stars, Daqi practitioners once divided the starry sky into three groups and twenty-eight constellations.
Ziweiyuan is one of the Three Yuans, which refers to the starry sky area in the center of the northern sky.
Among them, Ziwei Star is located in the center of Ziwei Yuan. It is the star of the emperor. Zuo Fu and You Bi are its assistants. Tian Xiang, Tian Ji, Wenchang and Wen Qu are their subordinates. Tian Kui and Tian Yue are their messengers. The sun and the moon are their subordinates. as its branch.
Zichen Palace was the royal palace of the Daqi Dynasty.
Ancient books say: "There is Ziwei Palace in the sky, which is the residence of the Emperor of Heaven. The king builds the palace and the elephants build it."
Therefore, it is named after "Zi Chen".
It is located on the central axis of Luojing City, facing north and south.
The Luoshui River passes through the city not far in front of it, symbolizing the Milky Way in the sky.
The street that runs from north to south and leads directly to the palace gate is called "Heaven Street", corresponding to the "Heaven Street" constellation in the sky.
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At dawn, Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcism Department, suddenly received an order from the emperor, asking him to enter the palace to have an audience.
He sat in a small sedan with green curtains carried by two people and walked along the spacious and open Tianjie towards Zichen Palace.
His sedan was not decorated with gold and silver brocade, and the chair back was only as high as the waist - considering Luo Chuan's status, it seemed quite shabby.
However, according to the rules of the Daqi Dynasty, riding in cars, sedan chairs, and flying with swords is prohibited within the imperial city. All officials who have an audience with the emperor must walk into the palace to show respect for the Tian family.
Luochuan was allowed to enter the Zichen Palace on a chariot as an exception, which was enough to show his extremely noble status and the emperor's extraordinary trust in him.
Soon, the green curtain sedan arrived at the gate of Zichen Palace - Yingtian Gate.
Yingtianmen has five city gate openings.
The main entrance is in the middle, with the east and west doors on both sides of the main entrance, and the left and right side doors on the far side.
Usually, the main entrance of Yingtianmen was only accessible to the emperor.
However, there are several special situations -
When the emperor gets married, the queen can enter the palace from the main entrance;
At the end of the palace examination, when the passing ceremony is held, the three candidates who have won the first prize, second place in the exam, and third place in the exam can leave the palace through the main entrance;
In the "Luoshui Conference" held every five years, the top three practitioners can also walk out of the palace through the main entrance.
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As a third-rank official or above, Luochuan was allowed to enter the palace from the east side door.
I saw the splendor and solemnity of Zichen Palace.
The high red walls and golden glazed tiles complement each other.
On both sides of the road, every few meters there was a soldier standing with a sword, his silver armor shining in the dim morning light.
However, after entering the inner court of the palace, the guards on both sides of the road were replaced by eunuchs wearing dark blue robes.
The small sedan with green curtains finally stopped in front of the "Qianyang Hall", the emperor's palace.
This hall is a verandah with double eaves and yellow glazed tiles. It is located on a three-story white marble platform. Each floor has nine steps - nine is the number of days, which is the extreme number, symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power.
On both sides of the palace door, there is a bronze turtle and a bronze crane respectively placed - their homophonic pronunciations are "together" and "togui", symbolizing "the great peace of the universe, the universal congratulations, and the common return of all people". There are also longevity symbols. meaning.
The two eunuchs came to the sedan, opened the curtain, and helped Luo Chuan get out of the sedan.
Afterwards, Luochuan, led by the eunuch, climbed the nine white marble steps and entered the gate of Qianyang Palace.
The hall is brightly lit with candles, filled with sandalwood incense, and is spacious and spacious.
The floor is paved with gold bricks.
The reason why it is called "gold brick" is not because it is made of gold, but because it is exquisitely made and extremely expensive. Its surface is light black, oily, bright, not astringent and not slippery, and can achieve "knocking" There is sound, but there is no hole in the cutting."
Luo Chuan noticed that the golden lacquered dragon throne on the nine steps was empty at the moment.
"Your Majesty should still be practicing behind the screen!" He secretly guessed.
He stood under the throne, cupped his hands and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, Luo Chuan, respectfully wishes His Majesty's blessing."
A moment later, a plain voice came from behind the large gold-lacquered screen engraved with clouds and dragons: "You don't have to be polite when you return to the sea. Have you sent someone to deal with that haunted house in Qingzhou?"
"Guihai" is the Chinese character for Luochuan.
Not calling him by his first name, but calling him by his nickname, is enough to show the Emperor Da Qi's trust and respect for Luo Chuan.
Luochuan replied respectfully: "Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life."
"What's the name of the man you sent?" The emperor paused for a moment, then asked, "I'm very curious, what kind of ability does he have that can solve this case that many people can't solve?"
"His name is Gu Xu. He is from Yishui. He was born as a commoner. Both his parents are dead. He is currently working as an eighth-level employee in the Exorcism Department." Luo Chuan replied. "He has a talent for cultivation that is no less than that of Chu Fengge. He was promoted to During the assessment, he obtained the third-grade "Light of the Blazing Sun" qualification. In addition, he was smart and good at writing poems, so he was recognized by the "Jinghong Bi" and used the "Jinghong Bi" to eliminate the remaining resentful souls in the Lu Mansion. "
Luochuan knew that Gu Xu's becoming the new owner of the "Jinghong Pen" would soon be known to the whole country, and it would be impossible to hide it from the emperor.
Therefore, he deliberately emphasized Gu Xu's outstanding talent, innocent background, and humble origin in his words - proving that Gu Xu had no connection with the wealthy family.
In this way, the emperor will not have any grudge against Gu Xu because of "Jinghong Bi", but may promote him and reuse him.
"It seems that our Daqi is really full of talents!" the emperor said in a calm tone.
"The monarch is wise and the world is at peace. Of course God will send down talented people in any way." Luo Chuan complimented.
The emperor was silent for a moment, seeming to agree with Luo Chuan's words.
"Return to the sea?"
"I'm here."
"You have the ability to divine mysteries. You should know that my imperial envoy Tang Hui did not die fifteen years ago, but has been trapped in the Lu family's haunted house, right?"
"I do know."
"Last night, Tang Hui's life tablet in the palace was shattered," the emperor continued. "This obviously shows that he unfortunately died in the process of fighting against ghosts. I feel very sad about this."
"It is Tang Zhenfu's honor to be remembered by His Majesty like this - with such grace, he will die without regrets."
Two old foxes with advanced cultivation were speaking high-sounding words in this gorgeous and solemn palace. It seemed that the monarch and his ministers were in harmony and had a tacit understanding.
But in fact, only they themselves know how much of their words are true.
Luochuan knew that Tang Hui had an "imperial envoy token" carved by the emperor himself - if the emperor did not want him to die, it would be difficult for him to die.
"The Lu Mansion in Qingzhou is indeed one of the sources of worry for the Emperor," Luo Chuan thought silently in his mind, "But now, the Lu Mansion has disappeared, and Tang Hui, who did the dirty work for the Emperor, is also dead... The Emperor's My mood seems to be a lot more relaxed.”
After a brief conversation, Luochuan bowed and left.
Afterwards, he boarded the small sedan with green curtains and set off back to the headquarters of the Exorcism Department.
At this moment, an imperceptible smile appeared on his lips.
…………
at the same time.
Qingzhou Mansion, Lu family's haunted house, inside Suxueyuan.
Lu Shiyao and other grudges of the Lu family finally ended their revenge against Tang Hui and his subordinates.
Tang Hui has expired.
His body was lying on the floor. He had been cut into pieces by a thousand cuts, his flesh and blood were mutilated, and he had no human shape.
Gu Xu took a step forward, narrowed his eyes slightly, and his pupils turned into a deep, dull black.
He used the "solar eclipse" spell to completely annihilate Tang Hui's remaining soul, leaving him without even a chance to turn into a ghost.
Afterwards, Gu Xu activated the "Red Flame True Art" and condensed the scorching true energy in his palm, completely turning Tang Hui's body into ashes.
In the end, he recited the "Suffering Suffering Requiem Mantra" to eliminate all the evil thoughts left by Tang Hui in the world and avoid being involved in his obsession with cause and effect.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
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Note:
(1) "There is Ziwei Palace in the sky, which is the residence of God. The king builds the palace and makes the image of it." - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 48"