In the world of bone china, everyone knew that Sang wanted to place an altar in the palace at night.
For a time, everyone was talking about it.
After all, this was the first time that the imperial master and national master had to use such methods in front of others.
In the courtyard, the eunuch who got along day and night couldn't help but ask:
"Sir, do you really want to place the altar before your eyes?"
After receiving Sang's affirmative reply, the little eunuch breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good!"
"My lord, you don't know. These days, everyone is very frightened at night."
There was a hint of doubt in Sang's eyes.
"How to say?"
The little eunuch quickly explained:
"It's also something outside the palace."
"It is said...that during this period, demon foxes often appear at night."
"Some children from ordinary families turn into skeletons overnight."
"And... among the dead were two female officials who took leave of absence from the palace."
"It can be said...it is quite miserable."
Sang frowned.
Demon fox comes out at night?
When he went out to kill many monsters and ghosts today, he didn't encounter any foxes either.
Immediately, Sang Ping retreated from the eunuch and the maid, and communicated with Qingran in the sea of consciousness.
After learning about Sang's problem, Qingran also looked confused:
"Demon fox?"
"I really don't know."
"But...are there still demon foxes appearing these days?"
"Since the Tang Dynasty, when the Qingqiu tribesmen transformed themselves into Yang Yuhuan for revenge, and finally disappeared mysteriously, there has been no such thing as a demonic fox."
"As for the fox spirits of the shamanic and witchcraft lineage, they don't walk around here either."
Qingran's confusion is also Sang's problem.
At this moment, a eunuch came to announce:
"My lord, there is a Taoist named Li Zilong who would like to meet you."
Sang was a little surprised:
"Taoist Li Zilong?"
"Who is that?"
"Forget it, let him in."
With that said, Sang put away the copper coins that he was going to take out for divination.
Immediately afterwards, a man wearing plain robes strode in.
He raised his head and saw that the man in front of him was a handsome man, but...if he looked at it from a Taoist perspective, his eyebrows...seemed to be too earthly.
Obviously, we haven’t finished cultivating our mind yet.
For a moment, Sang lost interest, but still stood up politely.
"I wonder where this Taoist brother comes from?"
Li Zilong seemed polite, but the pride between his eyebrows was almost beyond words:
"The poor Taoist teacher picked the flower building from the Flower God Palace, and the family teacher picked the flower building."
Sang thought about the famous hermits among the three mountains and five mountains he had visited. It seemed that... there was no such person?
Immediately, Sang waved his hand:
"Disrespectful."
"Brother Taoist, come here, what do you mean?"
Li Zilong smiled and said:
"Thanks to Your Majesty, I am able to enter the palace."
"Now, I am responsible for astrology for His Majesty."
As soon as these words came out, Sang couldn't help but frown.
Zhu Jianshen... actually found an astrologer without telling himself?
But Li Zilong continued:
"Nowadays, fox demons appear both inside and outside the imperial city."
"I used my master's method to gather flowers for divination, and I already have a way to get rid of evil spirits."
"Oh?" Sang became interested when he saw this: "In that case... Brother Dao, I wonder if you can practice your flower divination method to open my eyes?"
Li Zilong's smile suddenly became even more proud.
Obviously, this is also the purpose of his coming here.
I saw Li Zilong sitting on the ground and taking out some flowers he had just picked from his luggage.
The flowers turned into little pieces in his hands, and then fell on the table.
After seeing the root cause clearly, Sang couldn't help but smile.
He thought it was really some new way.
In fact, it is just the copper coins used for divination turned into flower petals.
This method is naturally no problem for people with advanced principles. After all, whether it is copper coins or flower petals, it is just a medium.
but……
When he saw Li Zilong still placing the scattered petals, Sang had already seen the result of his divination.
What the other party divined was about the appearance of the demon fox at night.
Although he didn't know the details, Sang had already seen the general result.
Full of loopholes!
To put it bluntly, it’s just half a bucket of water!
Immediately, Sang shook his head subconsciously.
He has always had little patience with strangers, and he doesn't even bother to pretend.
While Li Zilong was doing divination, he was also observing Sang's expression.
Seeing the other party's arrogance, he couldn't help but show a hint of anger:
"Why, Brother Dao, do you think that...my methods are not acceptable to you?"
Sang tilted his head slightly:
"I practice Taoism and Buddhism, and I don't want to make any more false remarks to you."
"Brother Dao, your skills are not good enough. It would be enough for you to do fortune calculations for ordinary people in the market."
"It's just... this is the imperial palace, and His Majesty believes in Taoism. Once the divination goes wrong, it won't be a problem that affects one person."
Li Zilong suddenly became angry.
"Brother Dao, this is an insult to my Huashen Palace and my master, the Huashen Pavilion!"
Sang frowned, and there was a hint of displeasure on his face:
"Brother Taoist, why are you so rude?"
"You came to the door unexpectedly today, which is already beyond reason."
"Everything I said just now is true. How come it has become an insult to Huashen Palace when it comes to your mouth?"
While the two sides were arguing, Wang Zhi's voice suddenly came.
"Father, I'm back."
With that said, Wang Zhi put all the materials Sang asked on the table.
Li Zilong snorted coldly:
"It is said that the Imperial Master is your Majesty's teacher."
"But when I saw it today, it turned out to be nothing more than this. I was really disappointed!"
With that said, Li Zilong was about to walk away.
Sang didn't bother to argue with him.
However:
"Wait!"
Wang Zhi's voice had a hint of coldness.
Sang was slightly startled.
He subconsciously looked at Wang Zhi, and it was the first time he had seen the other person's murderous eyes.
Li Zilong looked at Wang Zhi displeasedly:
"Why, a eunuch wants to point fingers at me?"
Sang was so angry that he laughed back and was about to get angry when he saw Wang Zhi suddenly pull out the two swords from his waist.
Hands up and swords down!
Immediately afterwards, there was a miserable wailing sound.
Sang's pupils shrank and he looked at the left hand that was chopped off by Wang Zhi in a pool of blood.
The bloody blade was directly pressed against Li Zilong's throat:
"Who do you think you are!"
"You dare to point fingers at my father?"
"My father is an immortal who has been assisting the Ming Dynasty since the Battle of Jingnan. How can you be judged by a scoundrel like you who is just trying to make a fool of himself!"
"You say I'm a eunuch, it doesn't matter to me."
"But if you dare to say anything wrong about my father, I won't let you go today!"
With that said, Wang Zhi raised the butcher knife again.
"Wait a minute." Sang stepped forward to stop Wang Zhi and shook his head: "After all, he is your majesty's guest. If he dies in your hands like this, it will be very difficult for your majesty."
Wang Zhi was murderous: "Father, it's just an official position. How could I let you suffer for no reason for such glory and wealth?"
"He...must die!"
"Be obedient!" Sang's tone was a little serious: "You don't understand the pros and cons of this, so don't do it for the moment."
With that said, Sang turned to look at Li Zilong and said coldly:
"You insulted my son, and this hand will be treated as if I cut it off. It will also be considered as a lesson to you, do you understand?"
Wang Zhi suddenly became anxious:
"Father!"
Sang raised his hand to signal Wang Zhi not to speak.
Li Zilong still didn't understand that he was not allowed to complain to Zhu Jianshen.
Even if Zhu Jianshen asked, he could only say that it was Sang who cut it, not Wang Zhi.
After suffering such a big loss, Li Zilong's eyes were full of resentment.
But he didn't dare to have an attack, so he could only pick up his severed hand and leave in despair.
Seeing the blood on the ground, the eunuch and maid immediately came in to clean it up.
Sang held his forehead with a headache:
"Wang Zhi, don't act so recklessly next time!"
Wang Zhi said:
"Father, I can tolerate everything, but not this matter!"
Sang looked helpless and said earnestly:
"I'm very touched that you stood up for me."
"But, after all, Li Zilong was invited by His Majesty. You have no official position now. What you do have is some gratitude from Concubine Wan Gui and His Majesty."
"But to put it bluntly, this kind of gratitude is like rootless duckweed."
"Before you have high authority, in order to consolidate these, you cannot act erratically. Do you understand?"
"I don't blame you."
"I was negligent. You are still young now, so it is inevitable that you will act impulsively."
Saying that, Sang patted Wang Zhi's head gently.
Wang Zhi still seemed a little aggrieved, but not as angry as Sang.
Sang smiled helplessly, shook his head, and took out a box from the drawer next to him.
"I picked some plum blossoms in the yard and made plum blossom cakes."
"You like sweets, please try them?"
Wang Zhi's eyes suddenly lit up, and the slight haze in his eyes disappeared. He happily took the cake and ate it happily.
"Ahem!"
Inadvertently, Wang Zhi choked.
Sang looked helpless:
"Okay, no one will rob you."
"Slower."
With that said, he poured Wang Zhi a glass of water.
Wang Zhi ate happily.
Sang smiled dumbly and forgot about Wang Zhi's cruelty. In Sang's view, Wang Zhi was just a child, and this was just an exception.
"Okay, you eat first. I want to go to the palace to find a geomantic treasure place to build an altar."
Wang Zhi followed without request and nodded.
After Sang left with the materials, the eunuchs and maids stood there a little timidly.
In fact, in the entire courtyard, only Sang still regarded Wang Zhi as a child.
Others... have already seen Wang Zhi's methods without knowing it!
Wang Zhi's smile disappeared immediately as Sang left.
His face was as gloomy as ink, and the murderous aura in his eyes almost burst out.
"Here comes someone."
As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch who had just reported to Wang Zhi at the courtyard door hurried in.
Wang looked at him straight and said:
"You understand what you have to do."
The eunuch was also a wise man and immediately said:
"Report to your lord."
"My servant has already learned some details about Li Zilong."
"He is a very famous person among the heretics today. He is said to be a Taoist priest, but in fact he is just a warlock."
"Where is the Flower God Palace? I haven't found out."
"But... in the past few days, Li Zilong's movements have been a bit unstable."
"Oh?" Wang Zhi put down the plum blossom cake and dusted off the residue on his hands: "Go on."
The eunuch said quickly:
"Then Li Zilong...last night, he secretly went to the inner palace and had an affair with the maids in Queen Wu's palace."
"And...have been to Long Live Mountain..."
Wang Zhi immediately laughed.
However, that smile made everyone present feel terrified.
"It's interesting..."
"Isn't this an excuse?"
"You know how to do it."
"If you handle this matter well, I will never forget your contribution and the contribution of you and those who assist you..."
[Author's digression]: Little popular science:
Historically, Li Zilong did exist, and he was a representative figure of the leftists at that time.
And, three things happened at that time.
The first is the sudden appearance of Hei Yi (sheng, three sounds) in the palace, which can be understood as the water turning black, which is ominous.
Second, a demon fox suddenly appeared in the city at night, causing the people to be in panic all day long.
Third, it was Li Zilong who secretly entered the inner palace and climbed up Long Live Mountain. Although he was caught immediately, historical assessment showed that his purpose was to assassinate the emperor.
These three events are all recorded in "History of the Ming Dynasty".
It was also after the third incident occurred that Zhu Jianshen felt that his grasp of the people was far from enough, so he began to send Wang, who was the Royal Horse Supervisor, to collect information from the people.
It was also through this opportunity that the follow-up Xichang Changgong came into being.