Chapter 90 Seeking Zen: The Future is Long

Lin Yin mustered all his strength and charged toward the half-open wooden door with overwhelming momentum. In an instant, Chen Liangyu grabbed Xie Wenjun's back and pulled her onto the inside of the daybed, hiding her under the covers, completely covering her up.

The door was not forced open, and Lin Yin was not even heard banging on the door.

Bu Ping'er stood in front of the door, blocking Lin Yin, "How could the General be so easily assassinated?"

Lin Yin said, "Why not? Zhai Jike is still in Yongdu."

Bu Ping'er said, "Then shouldn't you be worried about Zhai Ji's life first?"

Lin Yin said, "What's there to worry about if he's dead? His death means we'll have to fight less. Why are you stopping me? Break down the door! If he's still breathing, we can still save him."

Bu Ping'er said, "I didn't hear any fighting sounds."

"Yes."

There was no sound of fighting coming from inside the house. If it were an assassination attempt, it would have to be a single, fatal blow. But what kind of assassin could kill Chen Liangyu so silently and without leaving a trace, leaving her no time to retaliate?

That's probably not the case.

Moreover, the temple was guarded by the personal guards who had followed Chen Liangyu back to Yongdu from the northern border. Rong Jun led the Changning Guard to surround the Yongning Hall, where the spirit tablet of Empress Huixian was enshrined, in layers upon layers, making it unlikely that an assassin could sneak in.

Lin Yin said, "Then let's at least go in and take a look, just in case..."

He said he was going to push the door open.

Bu Ping'er shifted her body and blocked the person again, "Don't do anything 'what if'. If you break the door, where will the General stay tonight? Go to Yongning Palace first and see if the General and the Princess are there."

Lin Yin thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll go to Yongning Palace to ask. You stay here and keep watch, don't leave yet." With that, he ran off like the wind.

Bu Ping'er turned around, bowed her head to face the dormitory door, paused for a moment, and then bowed, "General, if there are no further instructions, this humble general will take her leave."

There was a moment of silence inside the door.

"You may leave."

Bu Ping'er straightened up: "Yes."

The thick black shadow on the door disappeared silently, leaving only the clear moonlight to shine down without obstruction.

Chen Liangyu pulled the person buried under the quilt out, haphazardly gathered her disheveled robes, tied the sash loosely, and left the only brocade quilt wrapped around Xie Wenjun. "You're incredibly bold. Aren't you afraid they'll really break down the door?"

Xie Wenjun said, "So what?"

Chen Liangyu got out of bed, blew on a tinderbox to light two candles, and the room became bright. She picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, stacked them in a few folds and put them on the bedside table, then turned around to look for the clothes she needed to wear. The outer robe she was wearing was missing a button at the collar, so she needed to change.

"So what?"

That's a good question; Chen Liangyu doesn't know how he'll answer it.

She pulled a crimson robe embroidered with a flying eagle from her bundle, turned her back to the daybed, and took off the robe herself.

Xie Wenjun walked to the towel rack next to the door, where a copper basin filled halfway with water was placed. She splashed water to wash her hands. "Don't you trust your own people?"

As she spoke, Chen Liangyu had already changed her clothes and fastened the top silver button on her collar. "I naturally trust A-Yin and Ping'er. Even if they see something with their own eyes, they won't go out and talk nonsense. But this kind of thing is not good to show in front of others."

We need to hurry to the Zen platform, otherwise the flaws will become too great if we are any later.

Upon closer reflection, there's no need to worry about any flaws or not; it's already beyond repair. Of the people in the temple today, only Lin Yin, that silly girl with only one side of her brain, hasn't fully figured it out yet. The rest—Bu Ping'er, Yuan Rong, Dai Qing, and even Rong Jun—although they keep their mouths shut, they all tacitly share a common secret.

Who else are we trying to hide it from?

Chen Liangyu turned around and saw Xie Wenjun wash her hands, take a white cloth from the towel rack to dry the water droplets, stand in front of a pile of clothes at the head of the bed, turn them over and over, stir them for a while, and then put down all the clothes she was holding, one by one.

Chen Liangyu asked, "Are there any clothes that Your Highness would like?"

These skirts, robes, and shirts were all prepared by Yuan Rong, so there shouldn't be any mistakes.

Xie Wenjun said, "When I change my clothes, I need someone to serve me."

Chen Liangyu had no choice but to go over, shake out a thin gauze petticoat, and quickly put it on Xie Wenjun. Inadvertently, she made Xie Wenjun's hair fly wildly. After tidying up her hair and messing up her undergarments, she finally managed to smooth things over after a while. Next came the upper garment. When she was putting on the last piece, a slightly thicker brocade long skirt, Xie Wenjun led her to the door of the dormitory. Before Chen Liangyu could understand what was happening, she felt a heavy force on her back and was suddenly pushed out.

"Your Highness?"

Chen Liangyu leaned her face closer to the door, and with a bang, the two doors slammed shut in front of her. "Don't you want to be served again?"

To kick someone out at the slightest disagreement—what a bad habit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Liangyu caught sight of a swaying low figure not far away. Upon closer inspection, he saw Bu Ping'er squatting nearby, half of her body hidden by a clump of bushes. Seeing Chen Liangyu looking over, she quickly explained, "This humble general is afraid someone might pass by here, or perhaps A Yin will be back soon."

Chen Liangyu gave a calm "hmm," her expression unreadable. She glanced at the lit room, wondering how long Xie Wenjun would take to change her clothes, and then walked to the other side of the bushes to squat down with Bu Ping'er.

Soon after, Lin Yin returned in a flurry of activity. He stopped abruptly as he passed a clump of bushes and asked Bu Ping'er, "What are you doing squatting here? I've already asked at Yongning Palace, but the General and... the Princess are nowhere to be seen."

She seemed to finally see a rosy-cheeked figure on the other side of the bushes. "General? Where have you been? Where is the Princess? I called her from outside for a long time, but no one was in your room. Why are you with Ping'er now?"

Lin Yin asked a series of questions, and even if I wanted to answer them, I didn't know where to start.

Admittedly, Chen Liangyu didn't intend to pay her any attention.

Lin Yin's eyes were dazzled by a touch of rouge, and he asked again, "When did you change your clothes? You weren't wearing this during the day, were you?"

Chen Liangyu felt her head buzzing, "Ping'er."

Bu Ping'er stood up: "Your subordinate is here."

Chen Liangyu pointed at Lin Yin: "Drag her away and execute her."

"yes."

So Lin Yin, completely bewildered and full of questions, was forcibly dragged away by Bu Ping'er.

***

On the Zen platform, the bright moon hangs high overhead, and the mountains and rivers come into view below.

The abbot ordered a few jars of wine to be brought up by a young monk in the temple. Lin Yin, his mind clouded by the wine, pulled Bu Ping'er aside to play a drinking game. "The moon isn't full tonight, what's there to see? Come on, come on, it's rare to be free from military rules, let's have some fun." He then asked Yuan Rong and Dai Qing, "Ladies, come on over."

After Xie Wenjun nodded in approval, Yuan Rong and Dai Qing also went to sit on opposite sides of the square table.

Xie Wenjun chose the character "月" (moon) and let them play with it as they pleased.

Yuan Rong recited a line: "The moon is bright and the stars are few; crows and magpies fly south."

The character "月" (moon) is the first character in this sentence; in the next sentence, "月" should be the second character.

Daiqing then continued: "The heat of July fades, and clothes are given out in September."

Bu Ping'er paused briefly, then said, "The moon shines on half the houses in the deep night, the Big Dipper hangs low, and the Southern Dipper slants."

Chen Liangyu and Xie Wenjun did not join in the fun. Instead, they sat in the center of the main hall of the Zen Inquiry Platform. The roof of the hall had a wooden frame in the middle of the straight-lattice window, with vertical strips arranged around it. It was an open-air skylight without any paper covering, and one could see the moon when looking up.

If it weren't for the sudden gust of wind, the scenery here for moon viewing would be exceptionally beautiful.

A sudden gust of wind swept into the meditation platform through the skylight, causing Chen Liangyu's hair, which had been hanging down over her face, to flutter backward, and Xie Wenjun's sleeves to sway in response. Regardless of the biting frost and the falling snow, as long as she was by his side, he felt that the wind, snow, mountains, and rivers were all beautiful scenery, and he gladly went forth.

The wine was requested by Chen Liangyu, but she did not touch a drop.

Apart from the wine jar that Lin Yin took to play the drinking game, the wine jars and vegetarian dishes on the table remained untouched. The charcoal fire in the copper brazier was burning brightly.

The two wisteria chairs were very close together, and Chen Liangyu leaned to the side, intentionally or unintentionally.

His gaze lingered on the several jars of wine on the table.

Taihuang Temple is a royal temple, and monks breaking their vows is a serious crime. According to the law, they should be stripped of their robes and sent to the Ministry of Justice for trial. The abbot leading the way in breaking the vow of not drinking alcohol is an even more serious crime. But she is the kind of person who will help if she can and let things slide if she can. As long as the trouble doesn't fall on her, she is too lazy to overstep her bounds and investigate anything on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he casually asked Xie Wenjun, who was standing nearby, "Taihuang Temple has strict rules against drinking alcohol, so how come the abbot sells alcohol?"

Xie Wenjun rested his hand on the armrest of the chair and carefully explained: "Taihuang Temple prays for blessings, performs rituals for the deceased imperial relatives, and promotes Buddhism every year. Each Buddhist ceremony costs countless silver coins. The funds allocated to the temple by the imperial court are barely enough, and the monks often have to supplement the cost with incense money. Since the Cangnan people's disaster case, Taihuang Temple has set up a Compassionate Field. Whenever there is a natural disaster or man-made calamity, Taihuang Temple opens its granaries to distribute grain, provide medicine to treat the sick, and relieve the poor and weak. When the temple's incense money is tight, it brews some wine to sell in order to raise grain and medicine."

I see.

Chen Liangyu said, "The abbot is a compassionate person."

Xie Wenjun said, "Besides Taihuang Temple, there is a Jingci Nunnery on Lingjiu Mountain. The nuns in the nunnery also set up a shelter outside the nunnery called Puji Hall to help those in distress. It was originally intended to help those suffering, but later many people went to Puji Hall to abandon their babies."

Tiny stars streamed through the skylight into the room, casting irregular shadows on the floor with the moonlight, as if the wooden frame of the skylight had captured the entire starry sky.

Xie Wenjun turned her head and saw that Chen Liangyu only frowned slightly. She said, "When others heard about this, they all looked indignant. Your reaction today is not like you."

Chen Liangyu said, "If those parents were heartless enough, they could have simply drowned the child in a water vat, which would have been much easier. Why bother sending the child all the way to Pujitang? The fact that they sent the child here means that their conscience has not been completely extinguished, and they still hope that the child can have a way out."

My family can't afford to raise them.

They couldn't even spare a single extra grain.

Xie Wenjun suddenly asked her in a sorrowful tone, "Ali, was I wrong?"

Why does Your Highness ask this question?

"In the past, the distribution of land was a temporary measure to ensure a period of peace. I was only thinking of it as an expedient solution. Everything can be planned gradually."

Xie Wenjun's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

"Too slow. National reforms take a long time; a few decades is a lifetime for ordinary people. If this continues, the common people may not be able to survive the next winter."

Chen Liangyu placed his palm over Xie Wenjun's hand, which was resting on the armrest, clenched it, and hid it in his sleeve, saying, "It's too slow. It's too slow for the world to stop fighting and for the flames of war to cease forever."

Xie Wenjun said, "The five-year period."

Chen Liangyu understood that this was a deadline Xie Wenjun had set for herself. She said, "Okay, five years."

The drinking game had been going on for a while when there was silence. Just when Chen Liangyu thought Lin Yin couldn't come up with a response, a cheerful voice suddenly rang out: "The moon over Mount Emei is half-full in autumn, its reflection flows into the Pingqiang River."

Xie Wenjun glanced over there and said, "Your subordinate is so roguish, yet he can compose poems and lyrics."

Chen Liangyu said, "When A Yin was at Bogong Ridge, she was taught by Lin Jianshu and studied academics and military strategy for several years. Lin Jianshu was my maternal grandfather's chief disciple, so A Yin can be considered half a disciple of my maternal grandfather. After a year of training in the military camp, her bandit-like nature has been almost completely mellowed out."

It was late at night, and even with the beautiful moonlight, people were feeling a bit sleepy.

Xie Wenjun looked up at the sky through the skylight, her head gradually tilting down, leaning little by little against Chen Liangyu's shoulder that was leaning towards her.

She pointed to a very dim star in the north and showed it to Chen Liangyu, saying, "That is the Emperor Star."

The Emperor Star is the Purple Star, the lord of all stars.

Chen Liangyu looked up and saw that, perhaps because the moonlight was so bright tonight, the imperial star was indeed faint. The guest star that the Imperial Observatory had mentioned, which showed signs of driving away the main star, was invisible to the naked eye.

The astrological observatory was located atop the mountain where Taihuang Temple was situated. Yan Tianshu, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, would reside here during the first three months of the year to observe the stars and divine whether the new year would be auspicious or inauspicious. At other times, he would only come here when unusual celestial phenomena occurred or when some major political event required divination.

Yan Tianchu is currently at the astrological platform on the summit.

The Yanzhishan Palace was to be rebuilt. Xie Wenjun ordered the Ministry of Works to complete the project before the Grain in Ear solar term in June. Yan Tianshu came to choose an auspicious date for the completion of the Yanzhishan Palace.

Chen Liangyu asked, "Does Your Highness not summon Yan Tianshu?"

Xie Wenjun said, "I will not summon you."

Chen Liangyu said, "The Yanzhi Mountain Palace will be completed around the time of the Grain in Ear solar term. If the guest star does not disappear after the Emperor Emeritus moves the palace, Your Highness will become the target of everyone's criticism."

The celestial phenomena were only recorded in the writings and pronouncements of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Xie Wenjun said, "The Taihuang Temple has many informants. If we were to act rashly and summon Yan Tianshu at this time, wouldn't it make me look like a guilty thief? Besides, is the guest star definitely me? There might be someone else."

Chen Liangyu said, "Whether it is or not, we must take precautions."

“If I summon him, he may not be willing to do anything for me. But if he comes to me for something, then everything will be fine. The Grain in Ear solar term is in early June, so two months should be enough.”

A moment of silence.

Xie Wenjun then asked, "Is Chu Zhang still soaking in the water dungeon?"

"Then we won't use a floatation device?"

Several seasons have passed. When Chu Zhang was first captured, he was imprisoned in a water dungeon for half a month and almost died.

Chen Liangyu said, "They were pulled out a long time ago. Even if someone is made of bronze or iron, how can they still look human after being soaked in water for several years? If we return a prince of that quality to Dongyin, I'm afraid they won't recognize him."

Once the envoys from all sides had left for the Wanhe Festival, news of Hengmiao of the Southern Border capturing Liu Mo and Meng Yuanliang, the envoy of the Eastern Yin, reached Yongdu. This prompted the dispatch of troops to escort Chu Zhang back to the Eastern Yin, which also meant that the task of dealing with Liang Qiuting, the King of the Southern Continent, was about to begin.

The weight on her shoulders gradually increased. Chen Liangyu looked down and saw Xie Wenjun with her eyes closed, deep in sleep.

"Your Highness is sleepy."

Xie Wenjun gave a soft "hmm".

"Back to Yongning Palace?"

"Stay with me a little longer."

Seemingly fearing that Chen Liangyu might be unwilling, Xie Wenjun bargained with herself, saying, "Just for a little while."

Chen Liangyu smiled and said, "There's plenty of time in the future."