Old Man Xu's craftsmanship was better than what Yu Shu had imagined. Because of Yu Shu's request, he had polished twenty round beads of the same size from each of the water essences. After the polishing, the water essences revealed their original luster.
The white was shiny, the pink was fresh and tender, the yellow was crystal clear, and the red was delicate and beautiful. It was not as flawless as the crystal products in her memory. Instead, it was natural. When she held it in her hand, it was like holding a glistening water light, especially cool and refreshing under the sun.
Yu Shu was very satisfied with Old Man Xu's craftsmanship and praised him generously. Old Man Xu, who had always been proud of his craftsmanship, couldn't help but feel proud. He gave her an idea, "Mr. Yu, if you want to string these water essence beads together, it will look clumsy if you use ordinary silk thread, and the color will show through the holes. Why don't you use gold and silver thread and let a skillful embroidery girl weave it before using it?"
Yu Shu expressed that she had learned a lot and left a hundred taels as a reward. She let Old Man Xu polish the rest of the water essence stones and collect them after a month.
After leaving Old Man Xu's small workshop, Yu Shu first went to Wangji Building. She scattered all the 80 water essence beads in her hand in the Fengshui Pond on the courtyard to raise them. She told Xiaoqing and Xiaodie to change the spring water every two days, and they would only be effective after seven days.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of departure. Yu Shu was woken up by Yun Dou before dawn. She cleaned up and was called by Zhao Hui to remind her of some things when she was outside. Finally, she was sent to the carriage by Yu Xiaoxiu to go to the Celestial Commissioner.
Early in the morning, the Celestial Commissioner's gate was full of people and carriages. Yu Shu saw many unfamiliar faces, most of them were men, and there were only a few women. They were all wearing the special official uniform of the Yi officials. The clothes were simple on the top and plump on the bottom. They were like famous officials walking out of the Wei and Jin Dynasty paintings, shining with style and bright clothes.
After everyone arrived, there was a person in charge who counted the name list. Then they boarded the carriage and went to the foot of the imperial city to meet the other people.
Outside the city walls, there was a sea of people, one supervisor, two stations, three temples, six departments, all sent people to accompany the emperor and see him off.
During the annual Ancestral Worship Ceremony, the high-ranking officials of the Celestial Commissioner's Office turned out in full force. Even the Great Headmaster of the Tong Xiang Marquis was present. This group of people formed a circle and paid their respects to each other. The Great Headmaster of the Tong Xiang Marquis was dressed in a purple robe and was surrounded by the crowd. He fully deserved his peerless talent. He was like a moon surrounded by stars. Every move he made attracted countless envious gazes.
When the Son of Heaven came out, the horn sounded. Someone took the lead and a wave of worshiping voices rang out. Yu Shu and the others followed suit and knelt down. They secretly raised their heads but could not see the Emperor's entourage clearly. They could only see a mass of bright yellow moving slowly in the crowd.
When she boarded the carriage again, it was already an hour later. Yu Shu's forehead was covered in sweat from the morning sun. She sat uncomfortably in the carriage arranged by the Celestial Commissioner. In the same carriage were the students chosen by the Taishi Library to attend the ceremony.
The carriage was very spacious. There were six people, three men and three women. They deliberately sat separately. When Yu Shu got on the carriage, she was a step late and sat at the door. No one let her sit. After all, after leaving the Taishi Library, she was indeed not as "precious" as a young lady from an aristocratic family.
Along the way, Yu Shu did not talk much with the five people. She had always been a person who ignored people if they did not get close to her. Moreover, she did not feel that there was any need to make friends with the second generation of the aristocratic families in the carriage. Except for Wen Shao 'an, she already knew him.
Like Yu Shu, Wen Shao 'an sat quietly by the window and played with an octagonal compass. The other four people were talking and laughing, vaguely forming a small group. It seemed that Zhan Xueyuan from the aristocratic family in Jiangxi was the center.
Speaking of Zhan Xueyuan, it reminded Yu Shu of the Tianyu Fengshui that Xin Liu told her.
The ancestors of the Zhan family lived in Anye in Jiangxi. It was said that the ancestor hundreds of years ago was the descendant of the founder of Taoism, Zhang Daoling, Celestial Master Zhang. Because he entered the secular world to cultivate, he could not bear the loneliness of the secular world, so he started his own family and changed the surname "Zhang" to "Zhan".
The Zhan family was different from the two aristocratic families "Wen Chenbei" and "Xia Jiangnan", which rose a hundred years ago because of the protection of Yi Zi. They were an old-fashioned family of Fengshui and had a very high reputation in the local area. It was said that they were a little afraid of the emperor, but the common people along the Yangtze River might not know who the current emperor was, but everyone knew the name of the Zhan family.
And this "Tianyu Fengshui" was a secret ancestral skill of the Zhan family. Any direct descendant of the Zhan family who was born at eight years old and had excellent talent would be passed a "Tianyu" to practice the secret skill. With this skill, they could predict good or bad luck and would always be successful.
And Zhan Xueyuan was such a direct descendant who had a "Tianyu", so she could stand out among the geniuses in the Taishi Library.
Yu Shu was a little interested in this "Tianyu" divination tool, but when she looked at Zhan Xueyuan, she did not find any special jade on her.
It was dozens of miles from the capital to Huazhen Garden. They set off in the morning and arrived in the evening.
Everyone got off their horses and alighted, and according to the order of the line, they entered the garden. Huazhen Garden was actually a summer mountain resort. It was next to mountains and rivers, and the scenery was beautiful.
Yu Shu and her group of six were arranged to stay in a summer courtyard in the west wing. There were two rows of north and south, and there were exactly six rooms. The three male students stayed in the front courtyard, and the three female students stayed in the back courtyard. No one was in the way of the others.
But when it came to choosing rooms, they encountered some trouble.
Zhan Xueyuan and the other two girls had agreed to stay next door, and they were the first to choose two rooms with good lighting. Yu Shu had no intention of fighting with the two girls, so she carried her luggage into the remaining room in the west wing.
But after she checked the doors and windows, and made the bed to rest for a while, just as she laid down, someone knocked on the door.
"Dong, dong, dong."
"Yu Suanzi."
Yu Shu frowned. She waited for seven or eight calls from outside, each louder than the last, before she reluctantly got up to open the door. She saw Zhan Xueyuan and another female student standing outside.
"What is it?"
Zhan Xueyuan smiled apologetically at her, and said, "Let's change rooms. Why don't you go to the room in the east wing?"
"I won't change." Yu Shu was not so easy to talk to. Without asking, she was about to close the door — she had sat in the carriage for a day, and didn't eat much rations on the way. Her whole body was uncomfortable, and she was too lazy to even take a few steps. How would she want to move?
"Wait a moment," Zhan Xueyuan raised his hand to stop the door, and a trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He patiently discussed with Yu Shu, "Yun Yun's eight characters are of the fire element, and she is most afraid of the wind. The room in the east wing has too many windows, and it's not suitable for her to stay there. It's just changing rooms with you. Suanzi won't be so petty, right?"
The "Yun Yun" that Zhan Xueyuan spoke of was the other young miss who was traveling with them, from the Cui family of the twelve prefectures in the capital.
Hearing this, Yu Shu swept a glance at that Cui Yun, and asked Zhan Xueyuan in reply, "Since that's the case, why don't you just change rooms with Miss Cui? Could it be that your eight characters are also of the fire element?"
Zhan Xueyuan naturally wouldn't tell the truth that she didn't want to stay in the rooms at both ends, and said to Yu Shu, "That's not it. If I could change rooms with her, I wouldn't need to trouble Suanzi. However, I have Tianyu, and can only trouble Suanzi."
"Oh?" When Yu Shu heard "Tianyu", her interest was piqued, and she wasn't in a hurry to close the door and chase them away. She looked Zhan Xueyuan up and down, and said curiously, "I've heard that the Zhan family's' Tianyu 'is marvelous. I wonder if Miss Zhan can let me take a look?"
Looking at Yu Shu's expectant gaze, Zhan Xueyuan's face revealed some arrogance. Probably intending to show off, she hesitated for a moment, and then pulled out a piece of string from her collar, revealing the item hanging around her neck. She held it in her palm, and didn't have any intention of taking it off.
"This is the heirloom of the family."
What entered her eyes was an oval-shaped jade, with an eight-clawed golden handle on the back. Its surface was dark green, and at first glance, it didn't look any different from ordinary jadeite, except that the color was much more intense.
Yu Shu stared hard at it a few times, but couldn't find anything strange about it. Zhan Xueyuan then lovingly hid it back in front of her chest. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but at the moment she took it back, Yu Shu seemed to see a strange red light flash across the jade.
"Then I'll have to trouble Yu Suanzi to change rooms."
Zhan Xueyuan raised her chin lightly, with a delicate look that said, "You've seen my stone, so you should listen to me." Seeing this, Yu Shu secretly sneered. She felt that it was meaningless to argue with a little girl, so she nodded and agreed.
She was not sure about her horoscope, but there were not so many bullsh * t taboos. It was the same no matter where she slept. Besides, the Liuyao Divination last night reminded her to be careful of villains on this trip. Zhan Xueyuan was obviously a narrow-minded person. As long as she did not offend her, it was not worth it to give way.
Yu Shu turned around and went to get her luggage. The two girls stood outside the door. Cui Yun held Zhan Xueyuan's arm and said with a hint of flattery, "Xueyuan, you're so nice. Without you, I don't know what to do."
Then she whispered in her ear, "This female fortune-teller has always been arrogant, but she doesn't dare to go against you. You have a way."
Zhan Xueyuan proudly smiled and looked at the room with a trace of disdain. She thought to herself, "She's just a fortune-teller. How can she be compared with an aristocratic family with a deep foundation like theirs? At most, she will marry into an official family in the future. She won't even be able to enter the Celestial Commissioner's office. "
No one knew whether it was intentional or not, but Zhan Xueyuan ignored Yu Shu's identity as a fortune-teller. She was also the Hidewon of this year's Dayan Wonder Technique.
Because of the grand ancestral worship, half of the high-ranking officials and nobles in Anling City lived in Huazhen Garden, waiting for the ninth day of May. Therefore, a team of Yulin Royal Guards was sent to guard the garden. It looked calm inside and outside the garden, but in fact, it was heavily guarded.
The status of the few students from the Taishi Library was obviously not high enough. They were not qualified to bring maids and servants with them. They all traveled alone, so after they settled down, they drank tea and fetched water. There were only two maids in the courtyard to serve them.
It was time for dinner, but no one cared about them here. They couldn't walk outside the courtyard casually, so they could only wait for someone to deliver their food.
Zhao Hui prepared a box of pastries for Yu Shu, but Yu Shu was sick of eating them on the way. Her appetite had been trained to be picky in the Forgotten Opportunity Building, so every meal had soup, rice, and oil. Otherwise, she would not be able to swallow them at all. Looking at the dark sky outside, she stuffed two mouthfuls of pastries into her mouth. She was so hungry that her head hurt. At this moment, she was worried about whether Xue Rui who was accompanying the Emperor was also hungry.
Just when she was about to go out and ask when the food would be delivered, Cui Yun called her to eat in the teahouse.
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