Chapter 782: The Divine Mirror Arrives
Just as the couple reached this point in their conversation, a household servant burst in, shouting at the top of his lungs: “Your Highness, Prince’s Heir, Princess Consort! Dao Xuan Tian Zun has manifested in Xi'an City! Oh my heavens, he's manifested in Xi'an! He cast down a colossal Divine Mirror in the city's central marketplace, and now a huge crowd is gathering to witness it.”
“What? Manifested again?” Zhu Cunji shot to his feet. “Quick, quick, let's go see the spectacle! The Heavenly Lord's manifestations are always incredible to behold!”
The Princess Consort also sprang up, a sudden motion. “I, too, wish to witness it with my own eyes.”
The couple hurried out, their personal guards having already prepared their carriages and horses. They swept the pair towards the marketplace at a frantic pace, while Zhu Cunji's secondary consorts and concubines also streamed out, jostling to be among the first to witness the excitement.
Stepping out of the princely estate and onto the street, they found it teeming with people, countless heads surging towards the marketplace...
Xi'an was no small city! It was an ancient capital, host to countless dynasties, and its population was immense. The streets were packed solid, a veritable human tide, rendering the princely carriages immobile.
The personal guards ahead shouted loudly, clearing a path.
The common folk were, in truth, wary of the Prince of Qin’s estate and eager to move aside, but the street was so densely packed that yielding was simply impossible.
Zhu Cunji and his entourage moved agonizingly slowly, truly hopping with impatience.
Zhu Cunji burst into hearty laughter. “Even if I, this Prince’s Heir, don’t get to see the Heavenly Lord cast down the Divine Mirror, it’s no matter; I already saw him cast down a great bridge during the day. But Governor Lian? He saw nothing by day, and now he’ll see nothing by night! Hahahahaha!”
It was a classic case of finding joy in others' misfortune.
Stuck and jostled, stuck and jostled!
With considerable effort, Zhu Cunji and Lian Guoshi finally reached the marketplace.
The scene was a sea of heads, so packed that there was no longer any room to stand.
In a corner of the marketplace square ahead, a colossal rectangular object had been set up. Few among the crowd had ever seen such a thing; only Shi Kefa, Wu Shen, and a handful of others who had visited Gao Family Village recognized it. For most, it was their first encounter.
“Wow, it’s enormous!”
“What in the world is that for?”
“Just now, Censor-Inspector Wu told us not to be afraid,” someone exclaimed. “He said this is a Divine Mirror, capable of showing us things happening a thousand *li* away.”
“Is it really that powerful?”
“Master Wu is a man of great learning! He's incredibly impressive. If he says it is, then it must be.”
“Look, Master Shi, the Judicial Commissioner, is here too, and he’s saying the same thing.”
In one corner of the square, a large contingent of officials clustered around Wu Shen and Shi Kefa, including the Prefect of Xi'an and other dignitaries, all chattering excitedly and asking questions.
Wu Shen and Shi Kefa continuously explained, “Don’t be afraid, it’s nothing to worry about! It’s just a mirror.”
“As long as you haven’t done anything to weigh on your conscience, there’s no need to fear what the mirror might show.”
As the officials were discussing, Lian Guoshi and Zhu Cunji arrived, one after the other.
“Greetings, Governor!”
“Greetings, Your Highness, Prince’s Heir!”
The lesser officials hastily paid their respects to these two magnates.
After the greetings, a fresh round of explanations was unavoidable, with Wu Shen and Shi Kefa thoroughly extolling the marvels of the Divine Mirror.
Lian Guoshi listened quietly. “So, you’re saying this mirror can show things from the past, the future, and events a thousand *li* away?”
Shi Kefa nodded. “Indeed!”
Lian Guoshi remarked, “But it looks all dark and murky to me. It hardly seems capable of showing anything.”
Zhu Cunji chimed in, “Yes, yes, why is it all dark?”
Shi Kefa hesitated. “Well... I’ll go and have a look.”
As the person in the crowd who supposedly “understood the Divine Mirror best,” he now had to steel himself and step forward.
He circled the Divine Mirror, utterly baffled!
Shi Kefa began to fret.
Just then, someone parted the crowd and walked in. The lead figure was Wang Tang, the Deputy Director of the Gao Family Village Office in Xi'an, and Principal Wang's adopted son.
Wang Tang offered a sweeping bow to the onlookers and said with a smile, “Everyone, there’s no need to panic. I know how to operate this device, and I’ll open it for you now.”
He squeezed past Shi Kefa and went to the side of the Divine Mirror, where a very strange, large button was located.
He put his entire weight into a shove against the button.
“Thump!” The button successfully pressed in, then sprang back out.
Immediately, the Divine Mirror lit up with a brilliant glow.
The onlookers gasped, “Wow!”
“It’s lit up, it’s lit up!”
“Manager Wang is even more knowledgeable than Master Shi!”
Once the screen illuminated, a row of large icons appeared at the bottom, each one the size of a person. Wang Tang selected one of these icons and slapped his palm against it...
The screen flashed, and Gao Yiye appeared.
“Friends of Xi'an, greetings on our first meeting,” Gao Yiye said, her face composed in a dignified smile. It was a skill she had cultivated for years, making her appear more like a noblewoman than even a Crown Princess. Only the older generation of Gao Family Village knew she was, in truth, a playful child. “My name is Gao Yiye, and I am a news broadcast anchor, as well as the messenger for Dao Xuan Tian Zun...”
“Wow! Doesn't that mean... the Saintess!” The common folk nearly bowed before the mirror, but it was too crowded to perform a proper greeting. Kneeling might well get them trampled to death by those around them.
Gao Yiye smiled. “Since this is our first meeting, let’s skip the dull pleasantries and let everyone experience what the Divine Mirror is capable of showing.”
With that, the scene changed.
In an instant, it transformed into an aerial shot of Xi’an Prefecture. The view was like the eye of an immortal, looking down on Xi'an from high above. Then the camera plunged from high to low, swooping towards the ground, and in a flash, it swept into the streets of Xi'an Prefecture, soaring along a thoroughfare.
The common folk of Xi'an Prefecture erupted in excitement.
“Ah? That’s me! I saw myself! That’s me buying vegetables yesterday!”
“That’s me, it’s me!”
“My shop!”
“Wow, so this is how the immortals see us.”
The camera, seemingly passing through walls and rooms, swiftly flew into the Xi'an Prefectural Yamen. Shi Kefa was sitting in a grand hall, interrogating a prisoner. The lens then shifted, showing Lian Guoshi frowning over a pile of documents. It shifted again, revealing Zhu Cunji nestled in a small bamboo pavilion, embracing a dancing girl and drinking wine...
The Princess Consort gasped in shock.
The secondary consorts and concubines were equally stunned.
Zhu Cunji spluttered, “What? Has the sky fallen? Why are you all staring at *this* Prince’s Heir like that?”
Finally, the camera turned one last time, showing Wu Shen sprinting across the newly constructed Wei River Bridge, his expression utterly childish, like a complete simpleton.
Everyone: [Speechless.]
Wu Shen blurted, “Huh?”
He shot forward, rushing to the screen, arms outstretched as if to block the image. But with even a small icon on the Divine Mirror being the size of a person, how could he possibly cover it? The more he tried to block it, the more he became a laughingstock.
Shi Kefa clapped a hand over his face. “I knew this would happen. I told him not to run on that bridge; it would be utterly mortifying!”
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