The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 7

The person's tone was relatively mild, and there was no aggressive tone.

"What is it? Please ask. I will answer anything you know."

"A strange thing happened a few days ago on New Year's Eve. Many people inside and outside the city saw lights flying in the sky. Does Mr. Wang know about this?" After saying this, the man stared at Wang Anping to see his reaction.

"Speaking of this matter, I do know a little, but it's just about lights. I don't know why you gentlemen have gone to such trouble?" Wang Anping said vaguely.

"Someone has already reported to the authorities today, claiming to have witnessed the light flying out of your house that night. Do you admit it?"

“I dare not lie before you, sir. The lights were indeed from my shop, but as I just said, it is a small matter. I don’t know why it has alarmed you officials.”

"Whether it's a small matter or not is not up to us to decide. The higher-ups said they want to take the relevant people to the prefectural capital for questioning. Since you've already admitted it, come with us immediately. Other relevant people, such as the maker of the lanterns, must also come along."

"Please wait a moment, sir." Xu Tian spoke at this moment.

"Who are you?"

“My name is Xu Tian, ​​and I am Anping’s sworn brother. No one here knows more about this matter of the lamps than I do, because I made them. Anping, on the other hand, doesn’t know much. So let me go with you alone.”

"Is what he said true?" the man asked Wang Anping to confirm.

As previously agreed, Wang Anping nodded.

"Alright then, you can come with us to the government office."

"Please wait a moment, I need to take care of a few things and grab some items, then I'll be leaving immediately."

The person didn't speak, which seemed to imply consent.

Xu Tian said to Wang Anping, "As I said before, this matter shouldn't be a big deal, so you don't need to worry too much. I'll go with them to explain things clearly. You can also tell Uncle Du later. If all goes well, I'll be back by the afternoon at the latest."

If you don't come back in time, don't worry. The store will open in a few days, so focus on running it well.

Wang Anping nodded, but his face showed worry.

Xu Tian continued, "I'll go get some more things; we might need them later."

No one stopped him. Xu Tian went to his room and took out the bamboo tube containing the bronze weapon. He might need it, but of course, he hoped he wouldn't.

"No one else in the shop should go out today. Be ready to be summoned at any time," the leader said to the others in the shop, and then went out first.

Xu Tian followed the government officials to the outside of the shop and saw a carriage parked there, with a young man as the driver and several horses.

"You may get on the carriage," said the leading man.

Xu Tianyi got into the carriage. Compared to Du Erlang's carriage, this carriage was extremely simple, plain and without any embellishment or decoration.

Without waiting long, the carriage started moving and headed into the city.

After entering the city, we made two more turns before slowing down, then it felt like we were entering another gate before finally stopping. The whole journey took about twenty minutes.

"We've arrived, you can get off now," said the young man driving the carriage.

Xu Tian didn't speak and got off the carriage. He glanced around; he was in a large courtyard, surrounded by houses on three sides, with the main gate in front being the entrance for the carriage. This was clearly a place he hadn't been to before; it must be a government compound.

"Give me the bamboo tube you are carrying and come with me," the same man in black said to him.

"Okay." Xu Tian had no choice but to hand him the bamboo tube.

The man gently shook the bamboo tube, but instead of opening it, he slung it over his back and led him through the gate directly in front of him.

Inside the main gate was a large hall, which was quite empty. There were a few seats on both sides, and directly opposite the gate was a desk with a main seat behind it. At this time, there were a few people in the hall: two servants and another person who, judging from his attire, was an ordinary citizen.

"Wait here for a moment," the young man said to him, then stepped forward and said to one of the two servants, "The person Sima is looking for has been brought. Please inform him."

The officer nodded, turned around, and left through a back door on one side.

Afterwards, the young man placed Xu Tian's bamboo tube on the ground against the wall, then returned to his original spot and stopped talking. Xu Tian also dared not move around. The commoner who had been there earlier also waited silently.

After waiting idly for more than ten minutes, I finally heard footsteps coming from the back door.

Three people entered in succession. They were all in their forties or fifties. Two of them were wearing scarlet official robes, while the other was dressed in ordinary clothes.

The young man who had brought Xu Tian in earlier immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting to the man in the middle, and said, "Commander Huang, I have brought the person who will set off lanterns into the sky on New Year's Eve."

He pointed to Xu Tian and said, "This man is named Xu Tian. He is the sworn brother of the owner of Huazilou Restaurant outside the South Gate of the city. He admitted that he was the one who made the flying lantern."

Xu Tian knew that the position of Sima was not insignificant, belonging to the level of a prefecture-level official, but he was not sure exactly how high it was.

The officials moved a little closer and sized him up.

The man in official robes spoke first: "Your name is Xu Tian? What is your place of origin?"

When asked about his background, he immediately made up a few things, since he couldn't possibly tell them that he had traveled from another time, and no one would believe him anyway.

"I am Xu Tian. I grew up in Wudang Mountain and have been studying Taoism since childhood. I am a successor of the Wudang Taoist school. I only came down from the mountain last year. My sworn brother, Wang Anping, opened a restaurant called Huazilou outside the south gate of the city, and I usually live there." Xu Tian said slowly and calmly.

"A Taoist successor?" The official hesitated briefly, glanced at the two men beside him, and then asked, "Can you make flying lanterns?"

"Yes, I learned to make lanterns when I was practicing Taoism in the mountains. These lanterns are called Kongming lanterns. It is said that they were created by Prime Minister Zhuge Kongming in ancient times. After being lit, they can fly into the sky."

"It was around the New Year, and I thought I'd make a couple of lanterns to make everyone happy, but I never expected it would attract the attention of the authorities," Xu Tian explained, invoking Zhuge Liang's name while implying his own innocence.

Sure enough, the expressions of the group became serious as soon as Xu Tian mentioned Zhuge Liang.

The middle official, Huang Sima, glanced around and pointed to the ordinary people sitting opposite Xu Tian, ​​saying, "You can leave now. Tell them not to tell anyone about what happened today."

Upon hearing this, the man quickly bowed and then followed the official out.

After they had gone some distance, Huang Sima continued, "Xu Tian, ​​if you were here, could you still make a Kongming lantern?"

"It should be possible, but we'll need some materials," Xu Tian replied. He felt much relieved; the government had only contacted him because they also wanted to make Kongming lanterns.