The Ninth Section: The Evil White Jade Capital

  Li Jing, who had always been as stable as Mount Tai, suddenly fell to the ground and wailed loudly. Li Er was bewildered, and so were the other officials. Seeing that Li Jing's grief was not feigned, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse from crying, he repeatedly begged His Majesty for a long leave of absence, saying he wanted to go find his brother to alleviate the pain of years of longing.

  The aura of love is everywhere! Yun Ye rubbed his butt and sighed secretly, just a small test and it caused such a big commotion. The great general had to abandon his thousands of troops and horses, the beautiful wife and concubine ran to find a legendary black-haired man, the emotions between the two had long surpassed friendship, turning into a huge mountain of love. Could it be that he and Qiu Mao Ke were a couple, and Hong Zhu Nu was the strange third person?

  "Yun Ye, you come and tell Li Ai the whereabouts of that whiskered guest. Don't hide it." Li Er was fed up with being bothered and roared at Yun Ye.

  "I report to Your Majesty, the bearded guest has gone to White Jade City and probably won't come back. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial power was deeply rooted in people's minds, and this world is full of unknown places. Mount Kunlun has the Queen Mother, the East Sea has the Dragon King, the sky has all kinds of heavenly gods and Buddhas, and the underground has Yan Wang. Anyway, everywhere is filled with immortals, even if you're squatting in a toilet, there might be a lewd immortal peeking at you. What's wrong with adding one more White Jade City? Besides, the name I came up with makes people want to take a look. Yun Ye's heart was filled with malicious intentions."

  "Nonsense! Bai Yu Jing is another name for the moon, who can climb up to the moon?" Li Jing didn't disappoint as a versatile talent, his first reaction was that Yun Ye was talking nonsense.

  "General Li has such great official power, just now he kicked the Marquis and now he's accusing him of nonsense. Who says there's no one on the moon? There's Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit, maybe that whiskered guest is infatuated with Chang'e's beauty and can find a way to run to the moon to see the beauty." Cheng Yaojin's protective temper flared up, he had long considered Yun Yan as his own son, it was fine for him to kick him around, but if others came to kick him, he wouldn't be happy.

  General Li's military achievements were too great, and he had long been disliked by the other officials. They rarely got a chance to mock Li Jing, so they all burst out laughing in the hall.

  Emperor Li's face turned green, and he coughed twice. The grand hall immediately fell silent. He glared at Yun Ye with a fierce gaze and asked: "What's going on with Bai Yu Jing? Tell the truth, if you're talking nonsense, I'll send you to Bai Yu Jing." A very brutal threat.

  "I, a humble servant, dare not speak nonsense in this grand hall. I also asked my master, White Jade Capital, where is it? The answer was a severe scolding, the first time my master hit me, my butt had no feeling, so his words are still very clear in my mind.

  My master said: All people want to live forever, from emperors to ordinary people, they all consider prolonging life as their deepest dream, but they don't know that immortality itself is the biggest joke. Buddhism requires nirvana, Taoism requires non-action, Confucianism explores the middle way, and in the end, it's all about turning people into stones.

  Turtles live long because they are slow, trees live long because they don't move, only stones can last forever. To extinguish human desires, to cut off human relationships, to stop the five senses, is this still a person? Not knowing cold or heat, not distinguishing good from bad, no sense of country or family, no joy or sorrow, what's the difference between this and a withered wood?

  What makes humans different from beasts is that we have thinking, understand etiquette, know love, can work, create, transform heaven and earth, and make all things in the world serve us. This is our true nature.

  To transcend one's abilities to pursue the illusion of immortality, without knowing that heaven has already made arrangements, if you want to live forever, you have to become a stone. How ridiculous it is for people to be like moths flying into flames, crying and rushing to become stones! My master was about to step into White Jade Capital but pulled back, not wanting to become a stone in the world.

  I want to experience great joy, great sorrow, great grief, and great pain, just don't want to become a stone. My master asked me: Do you want to be a person for a hundred years or a stone for ten thousand years? I replied that I naturally want to be human, even if it's for a million years as a stone.

  My master was very pleased, patted my head and recited a poem:

  In the sky, White Jade Capital,

  Nine palaces, twelve cities,

  Immortals stroke my topknot,

  Granting me long life.

  I heard this poem and had nightmares for several days, always feeling that an immortal like a stone wanted me to become like him. My master hugged me and slept with me for two days before I got rid of the nightmare. This is what I know about White Jade Capital."

  Yun Yan sincerely hopes that Li Er can listen and not dream of longevity again. Many wise emperors have fallen into the pit of seeking immortality, leaving behind a laughing stock for eternity.

  Li Jing fell silent, his face unreadable as to whether he was joyful or worried. Yun Yun stepped forward with cupped hands: "I don't know if your master has mentioned how my brother, the whiskered guest, is doing? Just now Li certain was impolite, I hope Lord Cloud will tell me the truth."

  "Uncle Li, I'll tell you the truth, please don't get angry," he said, bowing again to the civil and military officials in the hall: "I'll repeat what my master said, please don't blame me, Your Majesty. If not, each of you will kick me once, and I'll become a meat paste."

  Li Er's face sank as he said: "You just tell me the truth and I will make the decision."

  "It's settled then, no blaming," Yun Ye hastily tapped his foot.

  The hall was filled with laughter, and all the officials were very curious about what his master had said. Was he going to put everyone in this great hall into it?

  The master said: "This kind of talented fool, the more that enter, the better. Now that the world is starting to be at peace again, I wish all these troubles in the world would turn into stone, so the world can have a few more years of peace." The whiskered guest probably still couldn't enter, having attachments and worries that he couldn't let go of. Even if he arrived at the White Jade Capital, he wouldn't die but would lose a layer of skin. As soon as Yun Yan finished speaking, he ran to hide behind a pillar, determined not to come out again.

  Li Jing's anger filled his chest, thinking of Qiu Rui Ke's life and death being unknown, Yun Ye Shifu was lucky to catch Yun Ye and vent his anger, seeing him hiding behind the pillar, it was not easy to capture, so he just made a "hiss" sound and stopped speaking.

  The Duke of Fang laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I think this is a crude but reasonable idea. Those who stir up the winds and clouds in the world are all extraordinary talents. If they were to be put into the White Jade Capital, I would be willing to follow them with a thick face."

  For a time, the entire court was eager to go to the White Jade Capital, and there were those who raised their own value, such as Wei Chi Old Fool, you damn well were originally just a block of stone, what's the point of competing.

  Li Er's court had turned into a vegetable market, noisy and chaotic. Li Er frowned, coughing for half the day to stop the officials' nonsense. He saw Yun Ye hiding behind a pillar, sticking his head out to look around, and ordered the palace attendant to drag him out.

  "Hmph! The imperial court has been turned into a marketplace, what dignity is left? Since Minister Li has finished questioning, that whiskered guest will reap his own fortune or misfortune, don't be too hard on him. Although the potato seeds were obtained by him, it was Yun Yan who presented them to me. I said before, to reward extraordinary merit with a marquis title and to compensate for their hardships with ten thousand gold coins, I won't go back on my word. Come, bring forth the coronet and robes." Two eunuchs brought forward a purple gold coronet and crimson robes.

  Lao Cheng smiled and said to Li Er: "My son is very compatible with Yun Yan, why not let me be the matchmaker for them?"

  Li Er smiled and agreed.

  The elegant music played on both sides of the throne, and Wang Ke, the Minister of Rites, read out the imperial edict in a sonorous voice. The four palace maids walked slowly forward to help Yun Yan remove his outer garment, take off his golden hairpin, comb his hair with a comb, and tie it into a bun. They then helped him put on a crimson robe, tied a jade belt around his waist, bowed, and retreated. Old Cheng came over, took the purple gold crown, and placed it on Yun Yan's head, securing it with a jade pin and tying the crown band under his forehead. He loudly exhorted Yun Yan to be loyal to the country and repay the emperor's kindness. The music stopped, and the exhortation ended. Fang Xuanling personally tied a purple gold fish bag around Yun Yan's waist, and led him in three bows and nine kowtows to thank the emperor for his grace. Li Shimin encouraged him with a few words, and the ceremony was complete. The eunuch announced the end of the court session, and Li Shimin sat on the imperial palanquin and left first.

  All the officials came up and congratulated him with clasped hands, making Yun Yan so flustered that he didn't know what to do, his hands and feet were busy.

  Niu Jin Da laughed and said: "You have become a real marquis, when will the grand banquet in the mansion be held?"

  Lao Cheng took over: "This kid is quite mouthy, the food he made still makes me salivate to this day. If it's not lively enough, it won't do. I'll have your aunt take care of it later, your family can't even get their hands on it."