Chapter Fifteen: Sugar Gourd and Qing Temple

  "Leaf light eyebrow?"

  Fan Xian was shocked beyond measure, and subconsciously whispered the name out loud. He could never have imagined that his mother's name would appear on the stone tablet in front of the Imperial Censorate.

  On the surface, he remained calm, but his heart was turbulent - why would his mother's name appear on the stone tablet in front of the Imperial Censorate? Although Miss Ye had been the richest woman in the world back then, it was impossible for her to have received such treatment that even emperors couldn't enjoy. Moreover, Old Madam's strange death must be related to these royal nobles of Qingguo. Although Wu Zhu Uncle had said that all of the Ye family's enemies had been killed in the upheaval ten years ago, who could guarantee that none of their relatives remained in the imperial court?

  Even now, Ye Qingmei is still a name with certain taboos, the Ye family's property has been confiscated and put into the imperial treasury, and the Ye family's business has become an imperial merchant.

  The Supervisory Board has put the three characters "Ye Qingmei" at the door so brazenly, although Wu Zhu Shu said that there are only a few people in the world who know that their mother is called Ye Qingmei. However, those who hold the power of the Imperial Family must know - Director Chen is too bold, doesn't he care about the face of the imperial family?

  But after seeing that short stone monument, Fan Xian finally understood the words of Wu Zhu Shu in Danzhou.

  "Not many people know that the young lady's name is Ye Qingmei, and those idle bystanders simply call her 'young lady', but the name Ye Qingmei... even now, it seems... is quite famous in Kyoto."

  Fan Xian rubbed his hands together, lowered his head and walked forward, thinking that the entrance of the Monitoring Court, which everyone in Kyoto feared, had such a sign, and Ye Qingmei's name was indeed difficult to come up with.

  All these mental activities only occurred in a very short time, he wiped the expression off his face, pulled up his sleeves, and walked eastward with an expressionless face, as if he hadn't seen this name at all.

  It was precisely because of this sign that Fan Xian couldn't help but think of the Prime Minister's daughter he was about to marry. According to his father, her mother, the Grand Princess, now controlled the assets that originally belonged to the Ye family. If there was anything in this world that he felt should rightfully belong to him, it would be these assets - a very subtle feeling.

  From Tōko Kyō's mouth, Fan Xian already knew where Miss Lin was now, but he understood the background and identity of that woman. Kyoto is a place where dragons and tigers hide, and he didn't dare to sneak around to peek at her secretly. He came to the Monitoring Institute to find Fei Jie teacher, wanting to use the institute's means to see the woman on the sickbed ahead of time, and also ask the teacher to help take a look at the girl's illness.

  Unexpectedly, Fei Jie was not in Kyoto, and Fan Xian was somewhat annoyed. Would he really have to wait until the wedding night to know what his partner looked like? No way, he warned himself, he had to find a way to sneak a peek, just in case something was off, so he could prepare to escape the marriage.

  As he walked, Fan Xian became increasingly irritated. He sadly discovered that when he first arrived in Kyoto, he was completely unfamiliar with these roads. After walking back and forth on the Tianhe Avenue twice, he couldn't find where his family's carriage was placed.

  He happened to see a child holding a string of sugar gourd, walking and chewing at the same time. As soon as he smelled that sweet smell, Fan Xian felt extremely familiar with his nose, rushed forward, snatched it over, took a bite, and confirmed by mouthfeel that this string came from the same stall as the one he had eaten before, only then did he ask where the store was located.

  The child was frightened and thought he had encountered a bandit, but was finally calmed down by Fan Xian's two copper coins and pointed in a direction.

  Fan Xian went in that direction for a long, long time and sadly discovered that the child was taking revenge on him. This place was clearly not where he should be going - it had actually reached the outskirts of Kyoto. Fan Xian didn't know this, otherwise he would have been very proud of his leg strength and sad about his intelligence.

  This place is desolate, with a temple.

  In the bustling Kyoto Castle, it's not easy to find such a desolate place. To say desolate may not be accurate, accurately speaking is exceptionally clean, on the temple's flying eaves and pillars, not even a speck of dust can be seen.

  He looked up at the black wooden structure in front of him, and couldn't help but think of the Temple of Heaven in his previous life in Beijing. The temple in front of him was much smaller, and seemed to have lost some of its mystical connection to heaven, replaced by a more worldly elegance.

  The front gate was painted a deep black color, looking very solemn. On the gate was a flat horizontal plaque with the words "Qing Temple" written on it.

  Fan Xian used his tongue to lick off the sugar residue stuck on his teeth, looking at the two yellow characters representing sacredness above his head, a surge of indescribable emotions welled up in his heart.

  This is Qing Miao, where legend has it that the only place in Qing Guo can communicate with the elusive Temple of God, the royal temple for worshiping heaven.

  When in Bianzhou, Fei Jie once said that the Temple of Heaven was outside the Imperial Palace in Kyoto at a place called "Outer Three Miles", but Fan Xian had always thought it meant three miles away from the palace and never imagined that "Outer Three Miles" was actually a place name.

  Fan Xian opened his mouth wide. Before he came to Kyoto, he had thought that since no one in this world could find the Temple of God, he would have to come to Qingmiao Tiandian to take a look, because the doubts that had been entwining his heart for sixteen years didn't know if they could be answered here.

  Why did I come into this world?

  When Xiang Shaolong first saw her, he had a reason. Later on, the people who crossed over also had reasons, but later on, they didn't need any more reasons.

  But Fan Xian was deeply puzzled himself, he needed a reason, a reason that could explain why he had clearly died and yet reborn into this world.

  He never expected that, being casually directed by the child, he would end up at Qingmiao Temple. This realization gave him a faintly dizzy feeling, perhaps - there was some mysterious connection between himself and the temple, a wonderful fate.

  He firmly believed in this and the fate brought by a single sugar gourd.

  He stepped forward, and all around was quiet. Fan Xian gently pushed open the heavy wooden door that seemed to have not been opened for many years.

  ……

  ……

  "Halt!"

  A stern shout came over.