In the dark night, a group of people was marching quickly at the foot of Guoshan Mountain. The leader was four well-dressed men in black riding hussars. They were looking from east to west, obviously not wanting to be seen. I saw more than 20 riders in front and back surrounding a chariot in the middle, fearing that someone would get close.
"Ju Zheng, how far away are you?" A tired voice vaguely came from the chariot.
Riding on the left side of the chariot was a hale old man in his fifties or sixties. At this time, he heard the questions coming from the chariot, rode his horse closer, bowed and replied, "Master, we are about four or five years away from the gate." We can reach the mountain in half an hour at most."
"Go faster, be sure to arrive before midnight!" came an urgent voice from the carriage.
After hearing this, the old man named Ju Zheng said "yes" and said to everyone, "If you move faster, you will reach the top of the mountain before Yin Shi!" The riders took the order and hurried off to catch up.
In the alchemy room of Zhenwu Temple, several Taoist priests were busy working around an alchemy furnace, throwing fine powder objects into it from time to time. There is a small square table about two feet away from the crowd. There is a pot of tea and two teacups on the table. Sitting at the head table is a young Taoist priest with deep eyes. Judging from his clothes, he looked more luxurious than everyone else, so he was obviously the one in charge. At this time, he didn't care about how busy everyone was, and just drank tea with his cup in hand, which was quite comfortable. After about half a stick of incense, the Taoist suddenly stopped what he was doing and listened to something. After taking a breath, he said, "Zhan Qing, we have a guest. Please fill up the tea." A man in his mid-twenties came out of the Taoist priests. The square-faced young man responded and came over to carry the teapot.
After a stick of incense, there was a sound of uniform footsteps outside the watch, gradually approaching the alchemy room. Several people by the fireside looked out, only to hear the tea drinker scold him, "What are you looking at! Don't get distracted!" As soon as the scolding stopped, they saw six people entering the alchemy room, five of them were Shicaishan At his feet were four well-dressed men in black and the lanky old man. Outside, there was an old man in rich clothes. He was approaching the Taoist quickly and asked with an anxious expression, "Qingxuan, are you out of time?"
The Taoist priest named "Qing Xuan" did not leave his seat. When the man asked, he responded harmoniously, "Your Majesty, please sit down. There is still a quarter of an hour. Let's have a drink of tea first." The old man who asked the question before was Dahua. The current emperor, Emperor Yonghua, stood beside him was Ni Juzheng, the leader of the internal officials.
Emperor Yonghua walked to his seat, but did not sit down. Instead, he looked straight at Taoist Qingxuan who was sitting opposite him. He flicked his fingers three or four times before he said, "We haven't seen each other for six or seven years, and now I am old." Come on, junior brother, you have finally returned to your old age." The admiration in his words could not be concealed, but his face showed a look of vicissitudes of life. After saying that, he slowly took his seat.
"As the leader of a country, you enjoy all the wealth and wealth in the world, which is the envy of millions. Aren't you satisfied?" Taoist Qingxuan teased. Emperor Yonghua was deeply fascinated by Taoism when he was still a prince. He came to this Zhenwu temple many times to practice, and the two became familiar with each other at that time. It was only later that Yonghua became the emperor of Great China and had no choice but to come to the temple less frequently. Especially in the past ten years, the state of Dahua has been declining, and Emperor Yonghua has no choice but to leave the palace. However, the two of them are not unfamiliar with each other, and they still treat each other as equals.
I don’t know if Emperor Yonghua listened to Taoist Qingxuan’s words, but he looked obsessed, sometimes sad, sometimes unbearable, his eyelids shook slightly, and there was a little bit of sadness in his eyes. He patted the tea seat and shouted loudly, "I shouldn't have done it at that time! I shouldn't have become such a useless emperor! I should have thought of this as soon as I ascended the throne without a body! Since I became the emperor, there are endless matters of family and country to discuss every day. The morning court had just ended, and those bullshit ministers were waiting outside the Qinzheng Hall, handing out documents and asking for political affairs. They really couldn't take a moment to spare! I really regret it! Father, I have to accept your last words. This is my lifelong wish! Father, you...you really misunderstood me!" After saying this, his face was filled with tears, his face was trembling, and his body was so hurt. Ni Juzheng and four guards on the side had already knelt on the ground and did not dare to say anything.
Just listen to Emperor Yonghua say quietly, "Junior brother, do you know how much pain I feel? In the first few years when I became emperor, the government was in turmoil, but I managed to stabilize the situation. I wanted to give up the throne to Muren, but I almost couldn't. After hearing this, a minister was so anxious that he guarded the palace gate day and night, saying that he wanted the government to be settled. Internal and external troubles were still unresolved. If I passed on the throne, everyone would die to remonstrate. I couldn't bear it for a while, so I had to give up. Now think about it. , I should have made up my mind at that time and killed them all with one brain!" At the end of the sentence, a ferocious look appeared on his face, and his fierce look was revealed. This face alone could not sustain a single breath, and Emperor Yonghua returned to a dejected look.
"A few years later, Mu Chao and Mu Yang also gradually matured, and some ministers encouraged them to compete for the throne. Alas, they are all my closest relatives, and they are all very good at governing the country. They have done such a great job. Emperor Hua, both must be far better than me, making it really difficult for me to choose. Mu Ren, a low-key, tough character, neither arrogant nor impetuous; Mu Chao, witty and profound, courageous and impartial; Mu Yang, my favorite Xi is this child!" When Emperor Yonghua spoke to this point, a rare warm smile appeared on his face, and he slowly said, "Muyang does things based on his likes and dislikes, he dares to act, he is rough and yet meticulous, he is brave and yet A few years ago, I wanted to pass the throne to him, but I knew how poisonous the throne was. I was afraid that once he became emperor, he would no longer be as free and easy as he is now, and would be fettered by the throne. lifelong."
Taoist Qingxuan, sitting aside, seemed to ignore all this, drinking tea leisurely and looking at the alchemy furnace from time to time. When Emperor Yonghua seemed to have no intention of saying anything more, he said in a serious voice, "Your soul is withered at the moment, your vitality is not strong, and you have less than two years left to live!"
Yonghua's expression froze when he heard the bad news. His two tears just stopped and burst into tears again. He shook his head and lamented, "Two years? What's the use of being an emperor? His ancestor Ruren was as heroic as he is now. Just a handful of loess. I have known the truth of this situation for a long time, and I only hate me. I hate that I am cowardly, cautious, careless, and waste my precious time. Qingxuan, you are outside the world and you are alone. You can use up all your energy to understand the Tao... ..." At this point, Emperor Yonghua seemed to suddenly remember something. He stood up suddenly and reached out to grab Taoist Qingxuan's sleeve. He ignored the teacup that had been knocked over on the table and said with an eager face, "You must have achieved Dharma success now. There must be a wonderful way to help me?" Taoist Qingxuan waved his sleeves and shook Emperor Yonghua to his seat, and covered the overturned cups. Emperor Yonghua's eyes gleamed, and he was hungry and thirsty.
Taoist Qingxuan stood up, walked towards the alchemy furnace, and said, "Bring the purple gold bowl and the purple gold spoon!" The square-faced monk named Zhan Qing from before went down and hurriedly brought two things, one of which had eight diameters. inch, and the body is more than a foot tall. It must be the purple gold bowl; the other one looks like a huge spoon, which is probably the thing called the purple gold spoon.
Emperor Yonghua followed Taoist Qingxuan to the side of the alchemy furnace. At this time, he heard Taoist Qingxuan say, "You and I have known each other for more than thirty years, so we should help you. A few days ago, Zhan Ming looked back and told me With your current condition, I predict that you must be suffering from a hidden illness and your situation is critical. I called you here today for this furnace of Yangsheng liquid. I have been researching the Yangsheng liquid for more than thirty years. It can eliminate hidden diseases and strengthen the soul. , Yin Shi is most effective and can extend your life for ten years."
Zhan Ming is a disciple of Qingxuan Taoist. Five years ago, at the invitation of Emperor Yonghua, he entered the palace to preach to the emperor. Although he did not have the title of national teacher, he still performed the duties of the national teacher. Last night at Xu's hour, Zhan Ming submitted a letter, which contained fourteen characters in Qingxuan's own handwriting: I will go to the alchemy room of Zhenwu Temple tomorrow at Yin Shi. This is a big event. Emperor Yonghua knew that what Taoist Qingxuan said was definitely true and did not dare to be wrong. After everything was arranged, he hurried over. When he heard that he only had two years left to live, all thoughts were gone. At this moment, he heard that After seeing the miraculous effect of this yangsheng liquid, I was so happy that I refused to say thank you for a moment. The corners of my eyes squeezed into a line, and two lines of tears of laughter overflowed.
