Groups of people clad in black and white emerged from either side of the Dragon King Temple, converging at the front. Jin Zijin and Yue Rujing were dressed in white garments, and so were the people behind them; those clothes must be the uniform of the Dao Family’s Tianzong.
On the other side, an elderly man with white hair and beard led the group. He wore a black Taoist robe embroidered with a huge Dao Family’s Yin-Yang symbol in the middle, a traditional eight-trigram Taoist robe, finally allowing Gu Youyou to identify them as Taoists.
The rest dressed much more casually in black, not resembling what she recalled Taoist robes to be.
Without guessing, it was clear to her that the legendary State Preceptor was none other than the white-haired man in the black Taoist robe.
What was his name again? She heard Yue Rujing mention it before, something like Yu Jizi. Heh, to think she would encounter her nemesis under such circumstances.
Gu Youyou had blended in among the ladies and young misses of various families, her eyes poisoned as she glared at him.
The disgusting old creep.
The people from Dao Family’s Tianzong and Xuanzong factions orderly came forth, positioning themselves at the very front of everyone else. Gu Youyou had thought that Beijing’s Sanqing Temple was Xuanzong’s territory, but to her surprise, Tianzong’s disciples were no fewer than Xuanzong’s. Looking closely, she noticed their formation resembled a Tai Chi diagram of intertwined black and white.
That meant the numbers on both sides were equal.
Yu Jizi was loudly chanting the lengthy sacrificial words. Standing amidst the crowd, Gu Youyou imitated the others, kneeling and bowing occasionally, sometimes lifting out rice wine from the basket, holding it high, and uttering prayers for good weather and plentiful harvests. Then, holding up a Dou of rice, she followed along with the chant: "Fragrant flowers placed on fragrant rice, gold and silver treasures laid on four sides; A house full of gold and silver treasure, never worrying about what to wear or what to eat ..."
They went through all this trouble for four hours, and only when the sun began to lean towards the west did the ritual finally conclude.
The cold northern weather left no warmth even under the blazing sun, and despite wearing plenty, she still felt her entire body stiffen with cold.
Next, they were to hold a stick of incense to worship before the Dragon Mother, then place it into the large incense burner before her, and that would conclude the ceremony.
Moving was better than standing still; thankfully, they could finally move. Otherwise, she really might have frozen into an illness.
Lin Qianqing noticed Gu Youyou’s discomfort and quickly asked, "Cousin, are you alright?"
Gu Youyou turned stiffly, smiling at her, and said, "It’s alright, just a bit too cold."
Lin Qianqing touched her hand and exclaimed in shock, "My goodness, cousin, why are your hands so cold?"
Gu Youyou simply replied, "It’s an old condition, it’s nothing serious."
Lin Qianqing fell silent, then said, "That’s right, cousin, you’ve always been frail. It was our oversight; we shouldn’t have let you come out in the cold. Let’s hurry up then, after the worship, we can return to the carriage."
"Mm!" Gu Youyou nodded and followed the queue ahead.
After the emperor and his family had finished their worship, it was time for the ministers and their families to begin theirs.
Coincidentally, the man beside Gu Youyou happened to be Xiao Jinyan.
This man was one of Jin Zijin’s, but whenever he looked at Gu Youyou, there was always a chill in his gaze.
Jin Zijin’s people were all oddly peculiar. When she was by Jin Zijin’s side, Yue Rujing was displeased and almost underhandedly bled her dry.
This man had a secretive relationship with Jin Zijin and likewise regarded her with animosity. Given the chance, he would probably not hesitate to strike her down.
His dagger-like stares seemed ready to cut her to pieces.
Cursing her bad luck internally, Gu Youyou still managed to laugh softly, "Young Master Xiao, what a coincidence. The more you detest me, the more fate seems to bring us together."