Shen Yu had just read the secret letter and knew a thing or two about it. Therefore, when Pei Wanning brought it up, he was not surprised.
"Elder brother, Miss Pei isn't lying to you. Father is indeed the marriage - seeking envoy sent by the Yong Dynasty this time."
Shen Jue slammed his fist down on the table so hard that the teacup bounced up and then fell back, splashing water everywhere.
"I've already written a letter back to the capital, making it crystal - clear that the Divine Lady descended to the mortal world and manifested her holiness. She is the only true god in this world, yet he doesn't believe me!" His voice was hoarse. "Now he's meddling in this kind of thing. He's really getting senile!"
Shen Yu lowered his eyelashes slightly and rubbed the corner of the secret letter with his fingertips. After a long while, he said calmly, "Elder brother, if you were Father and suddenly someone told you that there really was a divine lady descending to the mortal world and changing the world with a wave of her hand, would you believe it?"
Pei Wanning also said objectively, "General Shen, it's not that Marquis Ningyuan is stubborn. Matters concerning gods are beyond common sense and hard to convince someone just by a few words."
"As for the marriage - seeking mission, as far as I know, currently in the southern court, it's all up to the national teacher, Guo Rong. It's not necessarily that Marquis Ningyuan volunteered for this marriage - seeking envoy job."
Hearing what they said, Shen Jue's lips twitched a few times. His raging anger seemed to have its fuel taken away and gradually died down.
He remembered that when he first heard about the Divine Lady descending to the mortal world and distributing porridge, he didn't believe it either. He even thought that Shen Yu's fanaticism towards the Divine Lady was because he had been drugged and lost his mind.
Seeing Shen Jue's expression soften, Pei Wanning knew that he had taken in what they said. So she softened her tone and said, "General Shen, this is not the time to act recklessly. The Young Emperor of Yong has come to Zhenbei Prefecture in person, and the accompanying marriage - seeking envoy is your father. We both know what they're up to. They're counting on you and Second Young Master Shen being hesitant to take action!"
Shen Jue sneered, with a vicious look in his eyes. "He's gambling on whether I'll be soft - hearted with my father's life at stake!"
Shen Yu folded the secret letter and put it into his sleeve. Then he looked up at Shen Jue, his tone as calm as still water.
"So, elder brother, you can't lead the troops."
Hearing this, Shen Jue suddenly looked up.
Shen Yu met his gaze and said word by word, "If you lead the troops, the young emperor just needs to push Father to the front of the battle line. Will you attack or not? If you attack, it's patricide. If you don't, the morale of the troops will be low, just as those villains wish."
The hall fell into a dead silence.
Shen Jue was also at a loss for words for a moment.
The words "sacrificing one's kin for the sake of justice" were too heavy for him to utter. He could go through fire and water for the Divine Lady and die without regret, but he couldn't commit patricide.
After a moment of silence, he pursed his lips and said, "Even if I can't lead the troops to fight, there are still General Feng, General Zhou and other generals. We can't just sit here and wait for that young emperor to come here ostentatiously to propose marriage and defile the Divine Lady!"
Feng Chunya stood up and said solemnly, "This subordinate is willing to lead the troops south to recapture the seven southern states for the Divine Lady!"
Other military officers also stood up one after another, clasping their fists to request for a battle.
"This subordinate requests to go to war!"
However, Pei Wanning picked up the teapot and poured herself a cup of water. The sound of the water was especially clear in the quiet hall. "We're afraid we can't make this decision. We have to ask the Divine Lady for instructions."
"What does Miss Pei mean?"
Shen Yu looked at her sideways.
"The Young Emperor of Yong's attempt to marry the Divine Lady is an audacious act and truly hateful. But since this matter ultimately involves the Divine Lady, it's not for us believers to decide." Pei Wanning put down the teacup, her eyes calm but sharp.
"What Miss Pei said makes sense." Shen Yu said, "How about we go to the Divine Lady's Temple early tomorrow morning to report this matter?"
"What if the Divine Lady gets angry because of this?"
Shen Jue was worried.
"The wrath of a god is as powerful as thunder." Pei Wanning paused for a few seconds and then continued, "But the Divine Lady always acts fairly. If Marquis Ningyuan is just following the order of his sovereign and not deliberately defiling the Divine Lady, the Divine Lady may not vent her anger on him."
After that, the crowd discussed the details of asking the Divine Lady for instructions and then went back to their mansions with heavy hearts.
*
Early the next morning, when the sky was still on the verge of dawn and the streets were still shrouded in mist, there were already voices on the long street outside the Divine Lady's Temple.
The common people gathered in twos and threes at the stone steps in front of the temple, watching the situation inside the temple hall. No one dared to go in rashly.
The temple door was closed, but it wasn't dark inside.
Shen Yu and others were kneeling on the futons.
Pei Wanning reported in detail that the Young Emperor of Yong and the marriage - seeking envoy were about to arrive in Zhenbei Prefecture.
At the end, she kowtowed.
"Divine Lady, regarding the marriage - seeking matter, we believers dare not make our own decisions. Please give us your instructions."
The temple hall was quiet for a long time.
It was so long that Pei Wanning couldn't help but look up at the statue of the Divine Lady. She was startled to find that the eyes of the statue seemed a bit brighter than before.
Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat and she quickly lowered her eyes.
Before she could think it over, a gust of wind suddenly blew up from the ground, pushing the futons under everyone back half an inch.
Immediately afterwards, the flame of the long - burning lamp in front of the Divine Lady's statue suddenly shot up a foot high and then quickly shrank back, without a single drop of lamp oil splashing.
A voice sounded in the temple hall. It wasn't very loud, but it seemed to be pressing down from all directions at the same time.
"Marriage - seeking?"
"A mere mortal emperor dares to covet a god?"
The voice paused for a moment, and the temperature in the temple hall dropped sharply.
"What audacity."
Pei Wanning was lying on the ground, her back as straight as a board.
She could feel an invisible pressure like a tide surging over, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Shen Yu was still kneeling quite upright, but his forehead was completely pressed against the ground and his voice was trembling.
"Divine Lady, please calm your anger."
The people behind him woke up as if from a dream and quickly kowtowed, begging the Divine Lady to calm her anger in a hubbub.
Yun Shu was standing invisibly in front of the statue.
While changing into the fashionable clothes she had matched in advance, she asked the Little Fox who was busy typing on the keyboard, "Lil' Sys, are you done?"
The Little Fox wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Almost done!"
Since the preparations weren't finished yet, Yun Shu had to act mysterious and keep the kneeling crowd waiting.
Fine beads of sweat oozed from Shen Jue's forehead. One drop slid down his nose and landed on the blue brick, making a soft sound.
It wasn't the first time he had seen the Divine Lady angry, but never before had he felt so terrified as he did this time.
The gods must not be defiled!
At this moment, he deeply realized this.
Just when everyone was in a state of panic, a very faint fluorescent light suddenly appeared around the Divine Lady's statue.
At first, it was like the fragmented reflection of moonlight on the water, fragmented and hazy. Then the light became brighter and brighter.
It started from the statue's eyebrows and spread inch by inch along the texture of the clothes. Wherever it passed, the cold stone began to become as warm as jade and as soft as silk.
Then, the Divine Lady's statue came to life.
The stone fingers curled slightly, and the fingertips lifted gently, making the floating ribbons on the cuffs flutter across the offering table.
The Divine Lady stepped down from the divine seat.
The smoky purple skirt trailed silently over the blue bricks, and every step seemed to step on everyone's hearts.
