After dinner, I dressed and went into the palace of the Monarch.

Outside the Ancestral Spirit Hall, a young general was leading the Praetorian Guards on patrol.

When he saw me coming to the front of the palace, the young general came forward and saluted me and said, 'The chief of the Praetorian Guard has come to see your son-in-law. ’

I raised my hand to excuse her, and then asked, 'How do you know me, little general, we have never met?'

The young general said: 'The last general has heard your grandmother tell you the legend since she was a child, and her grandmother also described your appearance and figure, and although you are not as young as your grandmother told us, your general appearance has not changed. Moreover, in the realm of drought and fish, except for the son-in-law, it is impossible to have a second man from the Wa royal family. So guess it must be you. ’

I said, 'The little general is really smart.' I don't know who Grandmother Ling is, she seems to be someone who knows me, right?"

The young general said, 'Not only does she know you, but she is also an old friend of you.' ’

I had already guessed a few points by this point.

The young general continued: "The former Shoufu Ran Tho is the grandmother of the family. ’

I was surprised: "It turns out that you are the granddaughter of Lord Shoufu! You just said that the former Shousuke, isn't the current Asami Zaisuke the Lord Tho?'

The young general said: "My grandmother is very old and has the heart to assist the king, but she is unable to do it, and she has left the dynasty five years ago, and she is at home." Now Zai Fu is his aunt and grandmother. ’

Seeing that this young rising star of the Drought Tribes spoke decently, behaved generously, and had the demeanor of his grandmother, I felt fond of it, and asked, 'I wonder if I can ask the name of the little general?'

When the young general heard this, he knelt down on one knee, arched his hands and said, "The last general was negligent and did not report his name in time, so please atone for his sins." The last will be called Burning Celery. ’

I hurriedly helped her up and said, "General Qin doesn't need to be polite, I am an old friend of Grandmother Ling, you can regard me as an old friend in the family, and you can avoid the false courtesy of the court." ’

Ran Xiangqin said 'yes' and stood aside.

"I was just about to go up the steps to the Ancestral Spirit Palace, and when I saw that the ten doors of the main hall were closed, I turned my head and asked Ran Xiangqin, 'Why is the door of the Ancestral Spirit Hall closed during the mourning period?'

Ran Xiangqin said, "This is the custom of the Drought Tribe. During the great mourning period in the clan, if the monarch's mother lives in mourning, she cannot perform the early dynasty, but in order not to miss the major events in the clan, the monarch's mother must summon the ministers to the ancestral spirit hall every evening to discuss the matter, which is called the pre-spiritual meeting. It was the time of the pre-spiritual deliberations, so the main hall was closed. ’

I said, 'Is it not appropriate for me to enter the temple at this time?'

Ran Xiangqin bowed her head and bowed to me without making a sound.

I said, 'Then I won't embarrass you.'" ’

After speaking, he turned around and walked out of the Junmu Palace, and as soon as he entered the gate of the mansion, an old man of the Drought Tribe, who was hunched over, walked towards him.

Although there is not much difference in appearance between the Drought Shark people, unlike the Wa royal family, the years can make a person's appearance change greatly, and the appearance of the Drought Devil people from birth to old age will not change much.

I recognized the old man at a glance as Ran Tho.

Ran Sheng Tho laughed first and said, "Oh, son-in-law, we haven't seen each other in forty years. I heard that you were here two days ago, and I wanted to come to see you, but recently I had a slight illness, and I have been sick in bed and can't walk. Are you alright? ’

I stepped forward and grabbed Ran Tho's hand and said, "Shousuke-sama, you need to pay more attention to your body." Over the years, you have worked hard for the drought people, and now you have left the court, just to enjoy a few more years of happiness. ’

With that, I took her into the living room and sat down with her.

I said, 'Lord Shousuke is older than me, so I should have visited first, but these days everyone has been busy with mourning, and I thought you were still in charge, so I didn't bother you.' Just now in the palace, when I saw Ling's granddaughter, I knew that the adult had retired. ’

When Ran Sheng Tho heard this, his face was full of smug expression, and he said: "So you have seen Qin'er?" Among all my children and grandchildren, I am the favorite of her, this child has been different since she was a child, and now she has just become an adult, and she originally wanted her to enter the palace to be a squire in front of the monarch's mother, and she has experienced experience, but the first monarch's mother doted on her and made her the chief of the guard. This kid is also angry, since he was ordered, all the affairs of the palace guards have been handled properly, and even the military affairs of the guards have been well organized. Mother Xianjun gave me a thumbs up several times. ’

I said, 'That's all taught by adults.' ’

She said, 'It's not that I teach, it's her mother.' ’

I said, 'That's also a family thing.' ’

When Ran Xiang heard this, he was overjoyed and laughed.

After the waiter served the tea, Ran Xiangtho took a sip of the teacup and said, "I haven't seen my son-in-law and my mother for many days, right?"

I said, 'I haven't seen her since I ascended the throne.' ’

Ran Shang Tho said: "My Drought Tribe's funeral rites have always been heavy, the past monarchs and mothers have passed away, and the new monarchs and mothers have to keep vigil day and night during the mourning period, and cannot leave the ancestral spirit hall. ’

After saying that, he looked at me, and then asked, 'When you entered the palace today, did you miss your mother?'

My face was hot, and I explained, 'My wife and I have been husband and wife since we left the land of drought forty years ago, and now we are only old friends. ’

Ran Sheng Tho laughed again and said, "Old friends should be missed too." Just like me, I have missed you and your mother all the time for 40 years. ’

I said, 'I have entered the palace this time because I have something important to tell my mother.' ’

Ran Tho wondered, 'Oh?!'

I went on to say, 'Yesterday I was wandering to Tianyi Mountain, and I met the old lady of Pregnant Fruit, and she said that ten days ago, there was a tree in the Pregnant Fruit Palace that suddenly gave birth to dead leaves, and she felt that this happened strangely, and it might be a bad sign. She was going to report to the old lady, but the old lady was seriously ill before, and then the new mother succeeded to the throne, and in the filial piety period, she never had the opportunity to enter the palace to report the matter, so I asked me to tell the mother about it. ’

He pondered for a long time, then took a long breath and said, 'This has never happened, and we have to find out why.' Tomorrow, before the pre-spiritual meeting, I will go with you into the palace to clarify this matter, and also listen to the opinions of the other ministers. - By the way, how did you know the old lady of pregnancy?'

I told her about the events in front of the Tianyi Palace forty years ago.

Finally, he said, 'Yesterday the old lady specially advised me to participate in the sacrifice to the gods with my mother, and I wonder what this sacrifice to the gods has to say among the Drought Tribe?'

Ran Shang Tho said, "The ritual of sacrificing to the gods is the most solemn sacrifice of my Drought Tribe. Every time a new lord ascends the throne, he must go to the temple of the gods to bless the gods, and get the approval of the gods in order to become the true lord of the drought. In the past, the position of the monarch was conceded to the new monarch when the old monarch mother was alive, and the new monarch mother had to go to the temple of the gods to worship the next day after she succeeded to the throne. This time, the monarch's mother succeeded to the throne, and it was the mourning period of the old monarch's mother, and she could not go to the temples until the mourning period was over. ’

"I had heard of the temples many times, but I didn't know where they were, so I asked, 'Are the temples in the eighty-one mountains?'

Ran Shang Tho said: "The temple of the gods is not the exclusive sacrificial place of the Dry Devil tribe, but the common place of sacrifice of all the human races in the world. Therefore it is impossible to be in the territory of my drought. ’

I asked, 'Where are the temples and how far are they?'

Ran Xiang said: "This is more than 3,000 miles to the southwest, and in the secret world is the boundary between the dry and Qiang tribes, and in the manifest world is the northern edge of the snowy land. There is a mountain there, named Zushan, which is the remaining vein of Kunlun and the east pole of Kunlun Sacred Mountain. ’

"'The ancestral mountain is like an upside-down cup, from the outside, the mountain is gentle, but the inside is hollow, the hollow place, the inner wall is steep like a knife, forming a cylinder, there is water at the top, it becomes the lake on the top of the mountain, and in the belly of the underwater mountain, it is a hundred miles of wilderness, and in the middle is the temple of the gods. ’

I was astonished and asked, 'According to what you said, there is water on the belly of the mountain.' As the saying goes, if water flows low, how can it hang in the air?'

Ran Shang Tho said: 'The construction of the temple of the gods is a matter of antiquity, and why there is such a peculiar phenomenon, I am afraid that no one can say it clearly. ’

Then I asked, 'The temples are in the middle of the mountain, and there is a lake on top of them, how can people from outside get there?'

"The temples of the gods are a symbol of the unity of the human race, and the construction of the temples was the result of the joint decision and labor of all the tribes. At the time of construction, there were secret passages between the clans and the temples. Therefore, if there is a dispute between the various tribes, they usually go to the temple through the secret passage to negotiate. ’

At this point, Ran Xiang paused for a moment, and then said, "There is also a reason why the old lady of the pregnant fruit advised you to participate in the ceremony of sacrificing to the gods. ’

I looked at her and didn't speak.

He also said, "Historically, the people of the drought have gone to the temples to worship the gods, and they are all the mothers of the kings and their sons-in-law. In the sacrificial ceremony, the monarch's mother and son-in-law have their own responsibilities. If you don't go to the temple this year, the sacrifice will not be completed, which will be a great pity for the people of the drought and will be considered a great bad luck by the people. ’

I think of the old lady, she was already a monarch before she met He Lang, and when she ascended the throne, she should not have been accompanied by her son-in-law to worship the gods.

I asked, 'If the new lady is not married when she succeeds to the throne, how will the sacrifice be performed?'

Ran Shang Tho said: 'The unmarried mother of the monarch is called the young mother in our people, and the young mother has no right to sacrifice to the gods, and only after the marriage of the monarch and the mother can she go to the sacrifice. After the old monarch's mother succeeded to the throne that year, after ten years, she met her son-in-law, and after the two got married, they went to the temple to perform the sacrificial ceremony. ’

When I heard this, it dawned on me why the old lady would take the risk of being rude and persuade me to stay and participate in the sacrifice ceremony.

At this time, when the night was falling outside, a waiter came up to me and asked, 'My lord, can you arrange dinner?' ’

I said, 'Hurry up and have a feast, and serve good wine, and I'm going to get drunk with Lord Shousuke today.' ’

With that, he invited Ran Tho to the dining hall together.

Ran Shang Tho sat down and said with a smile: "Back then, when we were drunk, we were drunk for forty years. I don't want to get drunk today and then go on a separate page. ’

I also laughed and said, 'I'm afraid we don't have forty years to get drunk.' ’

With a smile, we raised our glasses together, just like that night forty years ago. ”