Xin Liu had been apprenticed to two academicians. One was Academician Dou Lang of the Department of Fengshui, and the other was Academician Sima Kui of the Department of Astrology. Both of them were extremely knowledgeable and had held important positions in the Imperial Astronomer in the early years. Due to their advanced age, they had to resign from the study.
In comparison, Lu Youling, who was only 30 years old, was transferred to Taishi Library to teach. It was indeed a little unfair. No wonder many people felt it was unfair for her.
Yu Shu came to the girls' room in the evening. Xin Liu was already waiting for her. At this time, the night was still dark and the stars were not clear. The best time to observe the stars should be after midnight. They went back to their rooms to rest and slept until midnight.
At midnight, there was a knock in the study. Yu Shu got up with sleepy eyes and put on her clothes. She fumbled for the candlestick at the head of the bed and took a wooden comb to temporarily tie her hair into a ponytail. As soon as she finished combing, she heard Xin Liu knock on the door and whispered to her, "Lotus Room, are you up?"
"Well, wait a minute."
Yu Shu hung up the cloth bag containing the charcoal and paper, and took a lantern out of the room. When she opened the door, she saw Xin Liu standing outside the door with a bulging leather bag in his arms. He was wearing a light-colored cloak to keep out the wind, and he was holding a bright tiger lantern in his hand.
"What are you holding?" Yu Shu whispered to her while locking the door.
Xin Liu patted the leather bag in his arms and said, "It's a pole scale and a ruler for measuring angles. You haven't seen it before, right? I'll teach you how to use it later."
Yu Shu had seen Huai Xian Zhenren's Chaotic Sky Divination Record. She knew that ancient people often used a lot of tools to observe celestial bodies. It was not surprising.
"Well, let's go."
Taishi Library was very quiet at night. It was spring and the grass was deep. Yu Shu and Xin Liu walked at night by candlelight. When they passed by the garden pond, they could hear insects and the swaying shadows of trees. Xin Liu was timid. He stayed close to Yu Shu and did not dare to go far. Suddenly, there was a cat's meow. She was so startled that she grabbed onto Yu Shu's sleeve and refused to let go.
Yu Shu saw that she was about to hang onto her and helplessly said, "Since you're afraid of the dark, why bother asking for this job? Can't you let someone else do it? "
Xin Liu felt wronged and said, "Do you think I like it? It's all because many of the students this year have become disciples of the Daoist. There are only two new students at Fellow Sima's place, and the other one is a man. The academician assigned me two errands. One was to observe the stars, and the other was to go to the Dianhan Building to set up a bookshelf. It was both dirty and tiring. I had no choice but to pick this one. You have to know that only by doing a good job and making the academicians satisfied will I be able to get the opportunity to personally guide them. How could I not do it? "
This was also a tradition of the Taishi Library. Even if one followed an academician, it did not mean that one would receive the other party's teachings. The academicians would arrange things from time to time. Only by doing a good job would they be satisfied and learn some skills.
"Didn't you say during the day that Miss Qin and Ji Xingxuan were also assigned by the Daoist to observe the stars? Will we meet them tonight?" Yu Shu asked.
"No, I've already told Yue Rou to come again tomorrow night." When she mentioned Ji Xingxuan, Xin Liu couldn't help but complain, "This year, the Astrology Department released an empty list. It's all because of the Ji family that many hardworking traders have been delayed. That Ji girl really has the nerve to continue to stay in the Taishi Library. There are still some unreasonable people surrounding her all day, as if she will become the Celestial Commissioner soon. "
There were many people who knew why the Ji family declined and why Ji Huaishan was removed from his position and investigated. However, the cause of this matter was revealed by Yu Shu, but not many people knew. At least Xin Liu didn't know that the collapse of the Ji family had much to do with Yu Shu.
Yu Shu smiled and didn't agree with her. The two went around a row of screen walls and passed by the Weeping Flower Door. The scenery in front of them suddenly changed, and their vision widened.
Ten zhang away, a tall stone building rose from the flat ground, standing upright in the night. A wide and long stone path was paved on the flat grass, leading straight to the foot of the stone building.
The surrounding air was fresh and the trees were far away. Looking up, one could see the entire galaxy. It was endless and made one feel small.
"That's the observatory?" It was the first time Yu Shu stepped into this place.
"Yes, my grandfather said that when the Taishi Library was first built, they first hired skilled craftsmen to build this building. It has been two hundred years now. I don't know how many seniors have watched the stars and the moon on that platform." Xin Liu's expression was reverent.
"Let's go, let's light the lamp first, then I will show you the objects here."
Xin Liu excitedly pulled Yu Shu and went straight to the foot of the Stargazing Tower. From the north, Yu Shu held the tiger lantern in one hand and was able to see the stone tower clearly. It turned out that the wall ladder was built on the outside and spiraled upwards on the left and right sides. In the hole in the wall, there was a square light hole. Xin Liu held a match and lit it one by one.
The stairs were high and steep. After climbing more than fifty steps, the two stepped onto the platform at the top. It was about three or four zhang square, surrounded by low parapet walls. On the north side, there were two small houses, separated by bamboo curtains. They didn't know what was inside.
It was quiet upstairs and downstairs, and the sound of the wind was sparse. Except for the two of them, there was no one else. No wonder Xin Liu didn't dare to come alone.
"Come with me." Xin Liu casually put the leather bag in his hand on the ground and pulled Yu Shu to the open space between the two small houses. It was just big enough for the two of them. There was no wall in the middle, and they could see downstairs when they looked down. It was where they had just come up.
"Look," Xin Liu pointed down and showed Yu Shu a long vertical stone path on the ground. He said, "That is the Sky Measuring Ruler. There is a sink on it, and when it is filled with clear water, it can reflect the bright spots of the stars in the sky. At different seasons, the positions of the stars in the sky are different, and you can see the length of the stars from the Sky Measuring Ruler."
Yu Shu had only seen some introductions in books before, so she didn't know as much as Xin Liu in this area. The Celestial Divination relied on the Big Astrolabe to measure, so these instruments couldn't be used, but it didn't stop her from being interested in learning a thing or two.
"What's that over there?" Yu Shu pointed to a few heavy instruments at the southeast corner of the platform and asked.
"Oh, that's the Yang Instrument, that's the Fangzheng Case, and there's also the Shen Gong Overflow. Haven't you seen the illustrated book?"
Yu Shu nodded, "Then what do we do now? Do we go down and pour water into the Sky Measuring Ruler? "
"Yes, Fellow Sima wants me to record the positions of the stars tonight." Xin Liu said shyly, "Why don't you go down with me?"
"Yes." Yu Shu didn't mind walking a few more steps in order to gain knowledge. She held the lantern and led the way. When the two of them were halfway down the stairs, Xin Liu suddenly smacked his head and called out to her, "I forgot to bring the water ladle. I didn't see it when I was down there, so someone must have left it in the dark room. I'll go up and get it. Wait for me here."
The wall ladder was not easy to climb. Xin Liu didn't want to ask Yu Shu to accompany her up, so he took the lantern from her and went back alone.
Yu Shu stood on the stairs waiting for Xin Liu. She looked up at the nebulous sky and was staring at the North Star in a daze. Suddenly, she heard a scream coming from upstairs.
"Ah!"
Yu Shu's expression changed instantly. She turned around and ran upstairs while shouting Xin Liu's name, "Feifei!"
She climbed up the stairs as fast as she could. As soon as she stood on the platform, she looked around and saw Xin Liu sitting outside a stone house. She was crawling out with her hands and feet. The tiger lantern fell to the side and was burning with a dazzling flame.
Yu Shu quickly ran up to help her, "What happened?"
Xin Liu grabbed Yu Shu's arm and looked at her in horror. Her expression was almost distorted. She pointed at the stone house with a trembling hand and cried in a different tone, "Inside."
Yu Shu frowned and looked at the direction she was pointing. But there was a bamboo curtain outside the stone house. It was dark inside and she couldn't see anything.
Yu Shu was brave. She patted Xin Liu's back and motioned her to let go of her. She stood up and walked forward. She pushed the bamboo curtain aside. The fallen lantern at the door was still burning. She squinted her eyes to adapt to the darkness in the house. Suddenly, she saw a pair of embroidered shoes hanging in the air!
When she looked up, she saw a pale and stiff face — a dead person!
Yu Shu was shocked and then took two steps back. The bamboo curtain in her hand fell with a clatter, covering the creepy picture. She instantly got goosebumps. Then she heard Xin Liu's intermittent cry, "Lotus room … What, what should I do? She, she, that, seems to be Cao Youling."
Yu Shu sucked in a breath of cold air and forced herself to calm down. After all, she had escaped from a pile of corpses. Although she was scared, she wasn't scared to death by the scene just now.
Cao Youling? Wasn't that the lady who quarreled with Xin Liu on the first day they registered at Taishi Shuyuan?
Yu Shu swallowed her surprise and reached out to pull Xin Liu, "Someone is dead. Let's go and call someone. Is there a guard nearby? Get up, let's go. "
Xin Liu's legs were weak and trembling. She was forcibly pulled up from the ground by Yu Shu. Although she had no strength, she was more afraid to stay here. She struggled to move her legs and staggered to the stairs. She was so scared that she held Yu Shu's arm tightly and refused to let go. She almost stepped on the stairs several times, but was pulled back by Yu Shu.
They ran downstairs. Xin Liu no longer had the strength to walk and sat down on the ground. Yu Shu was anxious, but she couldn't drag her, so she had to shout at the top of her voice, "Help, help!"
As soon as the shout started, it soon resounded through the quiet night sky. No one knew how many people would wake up from their dreams tonight.
.....
Yu Shu's shout attracted two guards who were on duty nearby. They hurried over and listened to Yu Shu's description. They ran upstairs to check and confirmed that a female student was strangled. They immediately left one to take care of them and the other ran to call for help.
Not long after, people were woken up in the middle of the night and came to the observatory after hearing the news.
Around three o 'clock in the morning, the government got the news. The constables rushed to the place and asked about the situation. They dispersed the nearby onlookers, leaving Yu Shu and Xin Liu, who found the body first, and the two guards who ran first.
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