nyslfriends Chapter 27: The Mandate of Heaven
Chapter 27: The Mandate of Heaven
Several days later, when Zou Yun saw Ying Zheng again, it was in Xianyang Palace.
Seeing Ying Zheng's calm expression, one could tell that he had recovered from the previous barrage of information.
This summons was for no other reason than to find the natal item that only Zou Yun could find.
"Your subject Zou Yun pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Zou Yun stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
During this period, due to Ying Zheng's deliberate handling of the situation, the once bustling crowds at the Immortal Temple suddenly disappeared.
There was much discussion among the people, with many speculating that the Grand Master had offended His Majesty and thus incurred Ying Zheng's displeasure.
The shrewd old foxes at the top of the empire caught wind of this and reacted with varying degrees of reaction: some sneered, some lamented, and some were filled with suspicion...
But whatever their intentions, they all ultimately turned into invisible prohibitions, binding relatives and guests away from the Immortal Temple.
Even the other practitioners in the temple were constantly speculating about it in private.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
The once bustling Xianren Temple has suddenly become deserted again.
In particular, the courtyard where Master Zou Dafang lived was still frequently visited by a few people, including Master Shi and Master Liu.
The rest of the sycophants who had gone to great lengths to squeeze in now avoid this place like the plague.
It truly gave Zou Yun a few days of peace and quiet, and he also managed to come up with quite a few new things.
In addition, Feng and Zheng were the most affected.
Zheng Ze didn't care about this at all and was happy to have some peace and quiet.
Only Feng Zhixue, gazing at the deserted scene in front of his door, often sighed as he looked out over the courtyard, unable to resist reminiscing about the past glory.
But he was unaware that this seemingly disadvantaged situation was the result of Ying Zheng's clandestine machinations.
Things are made secret, and words are leaked.
Faced with the dubious claims of immortality offered by Lu Sheng, Xu Fu, and others, Ying Zheng spared no expense in buying horse bones and bestowing lavish rewards and publicity, all in an effort to attract more reclusive geniuses.
However, faced with the real and undeniable Great Dao in Zou Yun's hands...
He actually hoped to keep the matter hidden in the deepest shadows, with as few people knowing about it as possible.
That's why the phrase "I'm sorry to have wronged the great master" seems so meaningful.
Of course, in private, Ying Zheng made no secret of his attitude and treated Zou Yun with great affection.
"Great Master, please rise quickly."
Upon seeing Zou Yun enter the hall, Ying Zheng quickly stepped forward to help him up, then spoke directly, "The world is now vast, Master Zou, do you know where the object of destiny is located?"
And this is the most crucial concern.
Given the vast territory of the Qin Dynasty, if Zou Yun did not know the general location, even if he traveled to all the counties at top speed, it would still take him two or three years under the most ideal circumstances.
This does not even take into account the many unforeseen obstacles such as rest stops along the way, bad weather, sudden illnesses, and unexpected delays.
If they had to venture deep into remote, uninhabited mountains and forests, the time required would be so long that Ying Zheng dared not even think about it further.
Seven or eight years?
Even if he finds it by then, given his current physical condition, he feels he will not be able to enjoy it.
Therefore, Ying Zheng's first question was to confirm this matter with Zou Yun.
Zou Yun had already planned for this.
He immediately bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I have been observing the stars and contemplating the secrets of heaven these past few days, and have deduced several approximate locations."
"That destined object must be hidden somewhere within it."
"Oh?"
A hint of joy flashed across Ying Zheng's eyes.
With a general area identified, the search period can be significantly shortened!
He immediately shook his sleeves and proclaimed in a loud voice, "Guards, summon the Imperial Workshop and bring forth a map of the entire realm."
Zhao Gao, who was standing beside the throne, bowed silently upon hearing this, quickly withdrew from the hall, and ordered a eunuch to hurry to retrieve the map.
Before long, two officials from the Imperial Household Department, dressed in black robes, bowed and carefully entered the main hall.
The two men, one on each side, together held a vermilion lacquered wooden box.
The box is simple and unadorned, secured only by an exquisite copper clasp.
Upon reaching the foot of the steps in the palace, the two bowed in unison, presented the box with both hands, and whispered, "A map of the empire, respectfully presented to Your Majesty."
After Ying Zheng nodded slightly, the official held his breath and carefully unfastened the copper clasp.
The box was lined with dark brocade, and inside lay a silk map, over ten feet long, with a thin bamboo scroll as its axis.
Zhao Gao stepped forward and gently took out the silk map, slowly unfolding it on the large imperial desk.
With ink lines outlining mountains and rivers and vermilion dots coloring the borders, the magnificent grandeur of the vast land unfolded before Ying Zheng and Zou Yun's eyes in an instant.
Once everything was in place, Ying Zheng, without taking his eyes off the map, simply said to the two officials of the Imperial Workshop, "Leave."
"only!"
The two men, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, remained bowed and walked backward out of the hall.
The hall fell silent again, with only Ying Zheng, Zou Yun, and Zhao Gao standing like shadows.
"Is this a map from the Qin Dynasty...?"
Zou Yun stared intently down at the scene.
The entire silk scroll before me is painted with thick ink, and the borders of the prefectures and kingdoms are precisely outlined with vermilion brushstrokes, with north at the top and south at the bottom, in accordance with the order of heaven and earth.
Xianyang stands majestically at the heart of the empire, like the very soul of the nation.
The Yangtze River meanders like a vein, the mountains take shape with continuous curves, and the forty-eight prefectures are each enclosed by a square frame.
The old capital city and the border passes are all clearly marked in small seal script.
The crisscrossing ink lines are the roads that connect the world, and the crimson line that winds like a ribbon in the north is the Great Wall.
From the South China Sea in the south to Lintao in the west, and from Liaodong in the east, the entire territory of the four seas is contained on a single piece of silk.
Although it lacks the precise scale of later generations, the key points of the landscape and the clear distinctions of the road distances are still admirable.
At a glance, one can see the entire Qin Dynasty.
"This is the world of the Great Qin."
Ying Zheng stared at the map, filled with boundless pride.
After unifying the six kingdoms, he was not satisfied with that. Instead, he carved out a large territory on the map.
This was also one of the important achievements he considered to be superior to the Three Sovereigns and virtuous enough to the Five Emperors.
"Bring the jade cong."
Ying Zheng's gaze remained fixed on the map, and without raising his head, he gave instructions to Zhao Gao.
Immediately, his intense gaze turned to Zou Yun, and he asked urgently, "Where exactly is the location predicted by Master Zou? Can you point it out to me on a map?"
"There is nothing wrong with that."
Zou Yun nodded in response.
During the conversation, Zhao Gao had already brought a black lacquered box inlaid with copper to the two of them.
The lacquer box was square, with thin copper covering the edges and corners, and a bronze button with an animal face at the closure.
The box is divided into several small compartments by thin wood, each covered with dark silk brocade, where small jade cong of different sizes are placed in different categories.
Ying Zheng casually took one out and placed it in Zou Yun's palm.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zou Yun moved his fingertips slightly, and the jade cong landed steadily on a certain spot on the map.
Seeing this, Ying Zheng immediately handed over another one, and Zou Yun placed it again...
After this was repeated four times, when Ying Zheng was about to hand over the fifth one, Zou Yun gently pushed away the emperor's hand.
"Your Majesty, these four places are where the objects of destiny reside."
Zou Yun pointed to the four bright white dots on the map, his voice calm and even.
Ying Zheng put down the jade cong in his hand and leaned over to examine it closely.
Four pieces of white jade were arranged precisely in a cross pattern with Xianyang as the center. Ying Zheng recognized at a glance that this pattern was the standard arrangement of the Five Elements.
"Dongjun, Yingchuan, Longxi, Yunzhong..."
Ying Zheng murmured the place name, a strange light flashing in his eyes, "Such a... coincidence?"
This "coincidence" was, of course, something Zou Yun had planned in advance.
In any case, he decides where the destined item is located.
"That's certainly true."
Zou Yun remained unfazed and casually remarked, "This location was deduced from the mysteries of the Taiyi Star Chart's operation."