Chapter 193: Legend of Chang’e
Chapter 193: Legend of Chang’e
Legend had it that Chang’e was a beautiful and kind woman, and her husband Hou Yi was a brilliant archer.
During a time, thousands of years ago, when there were ten suns, the Mortal Realm could not endure the smoldering heat. To save the realm, Lord Archer Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving behind just one.
Hou Yi was respected as the Mortal Realm’s hero and received an elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the west as a reward for saving the Realm and its people.
However, the elixir was only enough for one person, and Hou Yi didn’t want to gain immortality without his beloved wife. So, he did not consume it straight away, but let Chang’e keep it with her.
But one day, one of Hou Yi’s students, named Pang Meng, tried to steal the elixir when Hou Yi wasn’t home. In order to protect the elixir from the evil person, Chang’e drank the elixir of immortality. Then she flew to the moon and became the Moon Goddess, leaving her husband behind.
Hou Yi was heartbroken when he was told what had happened to Chang’e. He shouted to the sky and surprisingly discovered the moon was extremely bright that night. He caught sight of a swaying figure that was exactly like Chang’e. Then he displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang’e enjoyed to convey to her that he missed her.
Moved by their tour love, the Queen Mother allowed Chang’e to reunite with Hou Yi every year on the full moon of the eighth lunar month.
Since then, on the day of full moon of the eighth lunar month every year, people looked forward to their reunion.
Xiang Ling let out a deep sigh as she shook her head while listening to the story that the storyteller was currently reciting for everyone who had gathered around to listen the history behind the celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Why are you giving that look?" Li Xian asked when he noticed the look on Xiang Ling’s face. His question brought her the attention of the rest of her three husbands who were seated around her while they all listened to the story.
Xiang Ling contemplated what she must say for a moment or two before she finally replied, "I’m just recalling the other version of this story that I heard while visiting a temple some years ago."
While her words picked Wei Guang and Li Xian’s interest, both Zhe Yuan and Zhang Xuan looked at her with arched eyebrows.
"There’s another story behind this legend?" A young girl, who was sitting in front of Xiang Ling, asked curiously when she overheard Xiang Ling’s words. "Young Lady, please share the story you heard about the great Chang’e and Hou Yi."
The girl’s voice was loud enough to catch attention of the nearby people and soon enough, everyone was looking at Xiang Ling as they all waited for her to tell her version of the Legend of Chang’e.
Because of how differently Xiang Ling dressed compared to Cheng Xiang Ling, and the minimal makeup she used unlike the heavy makeup Cheng Xiang Ling used to put on, Xiang Ling looked really different from her past self. In addition to her changed appearance, her behavior also made her so much different from Chen Xiang Ling. That was why it was almost impossible for the people of Dongzhi City to recognize her at first glance.
As for the Young Masters surrounding her, barely anyone had seen how Chen Xiang Ling’s husbands looked as these Young Masters never really appeared among general public, and even when they did, no one knew that they were Chen Xiang Ling’s husbands. That’s why despite Xiang Ling sitting in front of them, no one realized that it was the same infamous daughter of their County Magistrate. They just thought she was some young miss/lady of a noble family.
Xiang Ling let out another soft sigh before she delved into her version of the story. "Chang’e was actually none other than the Moon Goddess herself. Everyone must have heard about how the Gods and Godesses loved to visit the Mortal Realm time to time. It was actually Moon Goddess going through her life tribulation in the Mortal Realm when she was born as Chang’e. She lived here as a mortal and went through the happiness and sufferings of a mortal’s life. She married a mortal, lived a beautiful life and finally returned to the God Realm once she finished her life tribulation. The Legend of Chang’e that we all just heard is indeed the true story but what most people don’t know is that Chang’e was actually the Moon Goddess herself."
The crowd erupted in murmurs as everyone was surprised to know about such a great secret behind the legendary story. Most people considered Xiang Ling’s part of the story somewhat true because there indeed used to be a time when the Gods used to appear in the Mortal Realm, it was the time long before the fall of the powerful God Realm.
"Young Lady, do you know anything more about this story?" A young woman asked who seemed to be really loving the part of Chang’e being the Moon Goddess.
Xiang Ling quickly nodded her head before she spoke, "It is said that during her life tribulation, the Moon Goddess find a treasure that she cherished more than her own life. According to the Goddess’ words, it was a treasure like none other."
The curiosity of the crowd was once again picked as they all asked about what sort of treasure the Goddess found. They all were curious to know what could have made even a Goddess cherish it like no other.
With a satisfied smile on her lips, Xiang Ling answered, "The treasure that the Moon Goddess found here in the Mortal Realm and took with her to the God Realm... was her cherished Jade Rabbit - a loyal companion like no other, and the Goddess’ true love."