"Oh, you child, just come by, what's with bringing so many worthless things?"
A plump woman warmly ushered Chen Qing in, but as she took the gifts, her eyes were full of disdain, prompting an embarrassed smile from Chen Qing. Lady Huang... she was still as straightforward as ever.
Although Master Huang's house was in a luxurious area of Lyuzhou, the estate was not large, and only a kitchen maid responsible for tending the fire worked there, truly befitting the modest abode of a scholarly family.
Under the woman's guidance, it only took a few steps for Chen Qing to arrive at the pavilion where the scholar painted. The backyard pavilion and a pond of koi fish could be considered the most presentable sights of the Huang residence. Those familiar with the scholar knew he liked to paint fish in his free time.
"Chen Qing has arrived?" Master Huang put away his brush upon seeing Chen Qing's greeting and hurriedly began to boil water for tea.
"Master, I can handle it!" Chen Qing quickly stepped forward to take the teapot, skillfully starting to heat the water on the charcoal stove beside him.
The other party nodded in acknowledgment and didn't refuse, sitting down with a chuckle, while his wife went to the kitchen, obviously preparing some snacks to serve as hospitality.
"You made the ranks? Which position?" Master Huang asked with a smile.
"I'm ashamed to say, the very last of the second class..." Chen Qing reported his results with embarrassment.
"Oh, you're quite lucky then..." Old Master Huang laughed, "I told you before your essays weren't steady enough and advised you to wait for another term. If you had waited another three years, with your talent, making it to the top of the first class wouldn't have been impossible. At the very least, you could have snagged a position in Hanlin. Why would you need to go to the cold north to serve as a county magistrate?"
"I did want to heed my teacher's advice..." Chen Qing also sighed.
That was easier said than done when conditions didn't allow it. Having funded his own education for many years, his family had sold all their ancestral lands. His eldest brother's son was now of age to begin his studies, and his younger sister's dowry was yet to be arranged. If he funded three more years of study, he feared even his sister-in-law would bring up divorce!
Serving as a county magistrate it is, then. Three years as a clean Magistrate, earning a hundred thousand taels of silver, surely as an official county magistrate, taking a bribe of ten or twenty thousand taels wouldn't be excessive?
"Ah..." Just as they were talking, Master Huang sighed, "You're quite fortunate, but Cui Yan has had bad luck."
Chen Qing was startled, he had been thinking about how to steer the conversation towards Cui Yan, but the scholar had brought him up first.
So he followed with a sigh, "Indeed, with Cui Yan's extraordinary talent and promising future, plus being favored by the Emperor for marriage, his prospects were excellent."
"Ha ha!" Master Huang immediately laughed, "That boy is quite handsome, much like I was in my youth. If I had a daughter, I probably couldn't resist taking him as a son-in-law, ha ha..."
"Master speaks true," Chen Qing laughed along, but his eyes held a trace of chill.
The Fox Demon could alter memories, but there were many things that couldn't be changed. Having pretended to be Master Huang's daughter for so many years, how could mere alterations in memory erase all traces? The bridal chamber prepared in the courtyard for the daughter, the dowry set aside, the clothes from childhood to adulthood—those things couldn't just be wiped away. Didn't Master Huang have any doubts at all?
With that thought, Chen Qing hesitated no longer and simply said, "Indeed, the fellow is good-looking. At the Narcissus Poetry Gathering, many daughters of notable families took a fancy to him. That boy also showed restraint and did not marry..."
Upon hearing this, Master Huang's face visibly stiffened for a moment. Chen Qing wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but he felt the temperature of the entire courtyard plummet.
The next instant, a sudden gust of supernatural wind arose in the yard, scattering the papers on the desk everywhere.
Chen Qing's eyes were blasted shut by the wind, but he also hurriedly stood up to help gather Master Huang's paintings. After the wind ceased, Master Huang, completely disregarding the ink-stained desk, was the first to take out a mirror from his sleeve and start tidying his beard.
Chen Qing was familiar with this scene. Master Huang was vain, always keeping his beard meticulously neat and would take out his little bronze mirror to check it if it was even slightly dishevelled, a practice that was amusing to many in the academy.
But this time, as Chen Qing was arranging the desk and the paintings, he couldn't help looking at the mirror.
He had previously thought of it merely as Master Huang's peculiar habit, but now, he was beginning to think differently. Because if his guess was right, that mirror could very well be something else...
Master Huang carefully tidied his beard and placed the mirror directly on the desk, and whether intentionally or not, the mirror faced Chen Qing.
"What poetry gathering did you mention just now?" Master Huang seemed puzzled, "I've never heard of it."
"Master hasn't heard of it?" Chen Qing feigned surprise, "That's strange, Haidao also said he hadn't heard of it. Could it really be that I remembered wrongly? That shouldn't be..."
"You, lad... your grasp of poetry is pitiable. Are you still fixated on some unheard-of poetry gathering?" Master Huang scoffed, "You're not ashamed?"
"Cough cough..." Chen Qing coughed softly, lowering his head while feeling even colder inside.
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Does the poetry gathering also pretend not to know?
The Shuixian poetry gathering couldn't possibly be completely erased; although the fox demon could wipe all memories of the attending members, it could not wipe the memories of those on the periphery. Such a grand gathering, with many who had heard of it even if they hadn't attended, could easily be uncovered with a little investigation.
In nearly a year since I and Cui Yan came to the capital, many new students had arrived at the academy. Along with previous students who were unable to attend, wasn't there anyone who mentioned it? Could it be that the teacher responsible for instruction had not heard even a whisper about it?
It seems... it's probably as Wang Ye guessed...
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After making polite conversation for nearly half an hour and staying for lunch, Chen Qing finally took his leave. After he left, Old Master Huang went directly back to his study, placed the copper mirror he had earlier on the desk, and in the next instant, something eerie happened—the copper mirror grew a grotesque mouth and started to speak.
"That youngster remembers!"
"Hmm..." Master Huang nodded: "It seems that Ali has been exposed because of this Chen Qing. Are you sure he doesn't have the slightest trace of the bloodline?"
"I looked carefully. He's just a mortal with not so great destiny. If nothing unexpected happens, he should reach the peak of his career as a Fifth Rank county prefect and then retire. He won't have much of a future."
Master Huang nodded; he had verified many times the Mirror Master's ability to see a person's fate and it had never been wrong. This was also why they were betting on Cui Yan.
Ali's cultivation was too shallow; through normal progress, she wouldn't be able to keep up with the Crown Prince's selection of his consort. The Imperial Siao Family carried the Golden Crow Bloodline, and Siao Yan had become the Crown Prince precisely because his bloodline was pure and unmatched. With Ali's previous level of cultivation, she would have been discovered as a demon before she could even get close!
The Thousand-Faced Fox clan had the ability to seize a person's destiny through union, and Cui Yan had the talent of a high official, with a fate particularly strong. The mirror had once foretold that his future would be no less than the currently popular Judicial Court junior minister, Wang Ye.
So, the original plan was for Ali to seize his essence after Cui Yan had placed as a top scholar, which would allow her to make a breakthrough in her own cultivation, barely qualifying to participate in the selection of the Crown Prince's consort without being discovered.
The host who had his essence completely seized would naturally die. To avoid detection, Ali had cautiously opened Cui Yan's stomach, eaten his liver and kidneys, and directed the Imperial Family's investigation elsewhere. It's just that they hadn't expected that this small scholar, who came with Cui Yan, could remember everything!
"No matter what, this person is a threat and must be eliminated," the mirror's voice was sinister.
Was it an illusion or not, that youngster had been observing it, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as if... he had seen through something...
Old Master Huang looked at the mirror, furrowed his brow, and it wasn't that he was reluctant to part with a student, but rather he felt that the sudden mentioning of the Shuixian poetry gathering by the other party did not quite fit the youngster's usual cautious character.
Could it be that he was deliberately probing me?
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There's no mistake, it must be the Mirror Demon!
As Chen Qing walked out of Master Huang's residence, his face involuntarily showed excitement.
After confirming the entanglement between the Thousand-Faced Fox and Master Huang, he began to suspect, what was it that this person relied on to dare to cooperate with such a terrifying creature?
The Thousand-Faced Fox was among the most dangerous in the monsters he had designed, capable of not only confusing memories but also seizing the essence of others through union.
The more it joined with those who had a strong destiny, the faster it evolved. This was why such monsters always tried to infiltrate the Imperial Family—what greater destiny could there be than that of the Emperor's?
With more unions with the Emperor, the Thousand-Faced Fox could have the chance to evolve into the ultimate form of Nine-tails, where nothing could confuse her, and no bloodline could hinder her memory manipulation. Not to mention becoming the Empress, even becoming the Empress herself wouldn't meet opposition!
Conspiring with such a monster was even less reliable than making deals with a tiger regarding its skin!
But with the Mirror Demon, it was different.
It was one of the few existences that could restrain the Thousand-Faced Fox, impervious to any illusion in the world, able to remind its master at any time, and also able to identify anyone's trace. Once shined upon by the Mirror Demon, the person's destiny, track, and bloodline would all be recognized.
It was the most functional among the seventy-six Artifact Demons he had designed!
With the thought of obtaining it, Chen Qing's heart surged with an intense desire to possess it. With such a tool, his safety would greatly increase in the future. Even if a monster approached, he'd be able to know its details in advance and take precautions!
The original agreement with Wang Ye was that he would help probe the depths of Master Huang, and in return, Wang Ye would dispatch Royal Guards to escort him to his northern assignment. Now it seems... I need to change my plans...
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