20demayo Chapter 67 Keep a Low Profile
Chapter 67 Keep a Low Profile
When Ning Xiaoxi and Ning Ziqing returned to the shop, night had already fallen. The city was under martial law, and apart from the patrolling soldiers, there was no one outside.
"Xiaoxi, Ziqing, are you both alright?" Ming Luoying held Ning Xiaoxi's hand, looked her up and down, left and right, and then turned to look at her son.
"Mother, we're alright." Ning Xiaoxi smiled proudly. "My brother and I both performed meritorious service this time, and the Vice Pavilion Master said we can apply for the pardon of Father, Mother, and Brother."
"Really?" Ming Shoucheng stepped forward and grabbed Ning Ziqing's arm.
“It’s true, Lord Zuo said it himself.” Ning Ziqing nodded with a smile.
"Haha, that's wonderful, wonderful!" Ming Shoucheng couldn't help but jump up. Ever since his sister's family was exiled, although the Ming family had supported them all the way, they had always felt uneasy. Even after Xiaoxi became a Celestial Master and was exonerated, and Ziqing also became a Celestial Master, he felt more confident. But ultimately, he couldn't fight city hall, and he still needed to keep a low profile. Now that even the Vice Pavilion Master of the Celestial Masters' Pavilion had been alerted, wouldn't their family finally be safe?
Ning Shi looked at his daughter and son with bright eyes. Was he proud? Of course he was. But he could also see the fatigue on their faces and the obvious dishevelment of their clothes. Just like when he was an official in the court, seemingly enjoying endless glory, but in reality, was it really that easy?
"Alright, Xiaoxi and Ziqing are tired after a long day. Come on, let's eat first!" Ning Shi patted Ming Luoying, who was also excitedly hugging her daughter.
"Oh, right, let's eat first." Ming Luoying wiped away her tears and quickly walked towards the kitchen.
"You two, go wash up first, then come out for dinner." Ning Shi nodded to her daughter and son.
"Okay, we'll be right out." Ning Xiaoxi happily took her brother's hand and went back to their room on the second floor to wash up and change.
After parting ways with her brother at the door, the first thing Ning Xiaoxi did upon returning to her room was to bolt the door.
Upon entering the cave, seeing the still-beating heart on the fountain, Ning Xiaoxi's tears fell again. "Strategist!"
Lingjingxin surrounded Xiaoxi, occasionally exhaling a breath of spiritual energy into the heart.
He retrieved the jade cabbage from the spiritual spring and said, "Lord Di An, I have found the strategist."
In a blur, the chubby smiling face of Lord Di An and the serious yet amiable face of the strategist appeared before Ning Xiaoxi's eyes, and she felt very happy.
After washing up and changing clothes, wearing the same cotton knee-length jacket, cotton trousers, and cotton shoes with multiple layers of soles, her hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, looking clean and refreshed.
[Xiao Xi, why don't you hand over the strategist's heart to the vice pavilion master?] Tuanzi suddenly appeared in front of the door bolt.
Ning Xiaoxi stared into Tuanzi's little black eyes and realized that Tuanzi didn't seem to know what had just happened in the cave. It seemed that as long as she didn't want Tuanzi to know, she could keep it from knowing.
"Tuanzi, the strategist is only a mid-level Celestial Master, so why did Yanwu Luosha take his heart alone? If we're talking about strength, isn't Tiandi An far more powerful than the strategist?" Ning Xiaoxi stared directly at Tuanzi. "Judging from yesterday's events, firstly, Yanwu Luosha and Youmeng Moji didn't act together. They separated after obtaining the strategist's heart. Youmeng Moji was bait, luring the Vice Pavilion Master and the Tiangang Lords away from Bingzhou, heading south. Yanwu Luosha, on the other hand, brought the strategist's heart here to break the Black Dragon's seal."
Ning Xiaoxi returned indoors, sat by the small stove at the table, and poured herself a cup of tea. [Why would they need the strategist's heart to break the seal? It's definitely not as simple as the Vice Pavilion Master said; it's not just that the family wants to reclaim the body and ensure its integrity. Therefore, to prevent the strategist from being used again, keeping him with me is the safest option.]
Ning Xiaoxi downed her tea in one gulp, ignoring the little dumpling with swirling eyes. "Alright, that's it. Now let's eat."
“Xiao Xi, look, if the Vice Pavilion Master helps to apply for the pardon of your parents and Zi Qing, then you won’t have to go to Youzhou, right?” Ming Shoucheng felt that this was the most comfortable time of his life.
Ning Xiaoxi glanced at Ning Ziqing, then lowered her head to drink her soup.
"Uncle, we still have to go to Youzhou."
"why?"
"Although the Vice Pavilion Master has made such a suggestion, the royal decree has not yet been issued, and we cannot leave the exile group without authorization. We are already grateful for the kindness shown to us by the lords in being able to reunite with our uncle in the city, and we cannot push our luck."
“Ziqing is right.” Ning Shi nodded and said, “Brother, just like Xiaoxi said before, we should shrink our business in the capital and start opening up trade routes in Youzhou. Our family is no longer following the imperial court’s path. We will change our allegiance and join the ranks of the Celestial Masters.”
"Ah, this..." Ming Shoucheng was still a little confused.
“Brother, the imperial court has a strict order that officials and Celestial Masters belong to two separate systems. One cannot be an official and thus cannot be a Celestial Master, meaning a family cannot have both officials and Celestial Masters. This is a prohibition second only to the demonic incident. Once discovered, one will be stripped of their official rank and their spiritual lineage sealed, without question.” Ning Shi understood his brother-in-law’s concerns. After all, merchants were ultimately of low status and had no right to know many things, so he explained clearly. “In addition, I would like to trouble you to send a letter to my family in Qingzhou, explaining that Xiao Xi and Zi Qing have entered the Celestial Master’s Pavilion. Once we receive the royal decree to be pardoned, they will also be pardoned, so they will know what to do next.”
Knowing his own status, Ming Shoucheng didn't say much and simply listened to his brother-in-law and nephews and nieces.
After dinner, the family gathered around the fireplace in the main hall, drinking tea, chatting, and reviewing the supplies prepared by their eldest uncle. Although they wanted to keep a low profile, Ning Xiaoxi was now an official under Lord Tianji, so they could afford to improve her living conditions a bit. For example, they got a carriage, a separate tent for the family, some warm clothing, and rearranged the pots and pans they usually used. They also prepared some daily necessities like rice, flour, and cooking oil. Ning Ziqing even asked his eldest uncle to prepare a separate tent and other daily necessities for his sister.
Discussing these mundane matters in the biting chill of an early spring night is quite pleasant.
"Father, if an official has the spiritual lineage of a Celestial Master, can he not cultivate? Or if a Celestial Master has outstanding talent for governing the world, can he not become an official?"
"Actually, in the early days of the dynasty, it wasn't taboo for Celestial Masters to hold official positions or for officials to become Celestial Masters. At that time, although the demon dynasty had already fallen, the remaining demon forces were still quite strong. The first king of Xia and Shang established the Celestial Master Pavilion to have a government office specifically for dealing with demons, so the Celestial Master was, in essence, an official." Ning Shi accepted the tea handed to him by Ming Luoying. "More than a hundred years passed like that. Demons gradually decreased, and the human race gradually grew stronger and gained a foothold on the continent. Various government offices began to fear the power of the Celestial Master Pavilion, and various obstacles began to appear in the subsequent actions of the Celestial Master Pavilion, causing signs of a demon resurgence. The fourth king at that time decided to begin separating the court and the Celestial Master Pavilion."
Ning Xiaoxi looked at her father, who was talking eloquently, and suddenly realized that her father was not a historian. Could these things be known by any fifth-rank official of the Ministry of Rites?