Chapter 47 Chapter 47 His delusion.

After leaving Yong'an Marquis Mansion, the carriage did not return to Lin Mansion, but went to the royal temple in the city - Dajueshan Temple.

Lin Zhen's skirt, embroidered with bamboo leaves, slowly fell to the ground. She looked at Ji Sui in confusion. Before Ji Sui could explain, a servant stepped forward and saluted. "The Third Prince has been waiting in the courtyard for a long time. Please follow me."

In order to facilitate the worship of royal relatives and dignitaries, Dajueshan Temple is the only temple built in the city. Although it is located in the downtown area, it enjoys a unique and quiet place.

The hustle and bustle of the world is isolated far away by a high wall, leaving only the faint sound of Buddhist chants.

Led by the servant, Lin Zhen and Ji Sui passed through the majestic and solemn golden statue in the front hall, followed the cobblestone path, and came to the octagonal pavilion in the backyard.

"I am late, please forgive me, Your Highness." Ji Sui said.

The Third Prince interrupted Ji Sui's greeting and waved his hand, saying, "It's not too late. Mother hasn't arrived yet. Who is this—my sister-in-law?"

"On the day of your wedding, I happened to be busy with important matters and was unable to attend the celebration in person. Brother Ji and my wife, please don't be offended!"

The marriage between his cousin Jiang Yuchang and Ji Bai did not go through, and due to the appearance of his mother and uncle, Duke Rong, he could no longer attend Ji Bai's wedding.

Ji Sui's lips curled up slightly, and he subconsciously glanced at Lin Zhen. Seeing her calm expression, he silently suppressed his smile, coughed lightly, and said, "Your Highness, your words are too kind."

The Third Prince did not feel offended when Ji Bai brought his family to the banquet. On the contrary, he thought that Ji Bai treated him as one of his own.

Meng Liangyu was in a high position and had extensive influence, like a mountain pressing down heavily on the Third Prince. He often acted like a mentor and admonished and reprimanded this prince at will.

It is still like this now. If his father appoints him as regent, even if he ascends the throne in the future, he will still live under Meng Liangyu's control.

How could he accept this?

But Ji Sui is completely different. He is a rookie and has a shallow foundation.

From a public perspective, in the future, no matter who becomes the regent minister except Meng Liangyu, Ji Sui will be a sharp weapon in his hand to compete with him.

Personally, Ji Rui is a young man full of vigor and vitality like him, and he would rather have such a person as his right-hand man.

Even if he rebels in the future, it will be much easier to deal with him than Meng Liangyu.

He knew that Ji Sui and Meng Liangyu were in the same boat, but he firmly believed that people all over the world gather together for profit and disperse when the profit is gone.

Ji Sui's acceptance of the appointment today proved that he was right.

The two men exchanged pleasantries for a while, and a young monk came forward to add tea, and accidentally spilled the tea on Ji Sui.

The Third Prince slammed the table and stood up. The little monk trembled and knelt on the ground. Ji Sui's eyes were cold and the Third Prince's eyebrows were furious. Lin Zhen said, "Why don't you take us to change clothes?"

Hearing this, the Third Prince angrily sat back down and impatiently scolded the monk, "Hurry up! You will be punished for delaying my business!"

The little monk kowtowed to express his gratitude and led the two of them to the meditation room.

The Zen room was in a remote place. After walking for a long time, Ji Sui found it elegant and tidy inside, which allowed him to suppress his anger.

Lin Zhen lightly hung the clothes given by the monk on the clothes rack. The moment she released her fingertips, her expression changed.

The clothes hanger is made of a single piece of wood, and it will inevitably shake slightly after hanging clothes on it. However, the one in front of Lin Zhen always stays firmly and motionlessly on the ground.

"Something's wrong..."

Lin Zhen murmured, and Ji Sui immediately fastened the half-undone waist belt, walked closer, and pulled Lin Zhen behind him.

"Something seems to be wrong with this clothes hanger." Lin Zhen repeated.

Ji Sui reached out his hand and immediately felt something was wrong. He swept the clothes aside and looked at them carefully. He found that the gap between the stone slabs where the clothes hanger was placed was not consistent with the gaps between the other stone slabs in the room.

The clothes hanger was firmly embedded in the stone slab, which was why it was so stable and could not be pushed or pulled out. Ji Bai pressed it casually, and it suddenly sank slowly.

Ji Wei couldn't help but hold Lin Zhen's arm tightly and took half a step back.

*

If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, no one would have thought that there was such a long secret passage in the meditation room of Dajueshan Temple.

The secret passage was narrow and dark, and they didn't know how long they walked before they finally reached the end.

At the end is a dark room, which is not big but extremely luxurious.

A layer of golden nanmu wood was suspended from the ground, covered with a Persian gold-woven velvet carpet. On the north side was a large carved bed made of Indian small-leaf red sandalwood. The bed curtains were embroidered with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes in gold thread, and the fabric was heavy lotus silk from Shu. Even in the dim candlelight, it still shimmered.

On the table are eight-treasure glass lamps, a golden pot with a lion playing with a ball, a nine-dragon cup holding a pearl...

Everything placed in the room is a tribute, except for the words "All things are empty" hanging on the wall. Although the words have a shape, they lack the transcendental charm in their meaning, and do not seem like the work of a great master.

This was her first time in this dark room, but the calligraphy in front of her seemed familiar to her...

It is the word "empty" which means all things are empty!

Today at the side gate of Yong'an Marquis Mansion...

"Whose secret room is this?" Lin Zhen suddenly asked.

Ji Sui stroked the Nine Dragon Cup in his hand with a smile on his lips, "It's our honest and upright Prime Minister." He presented this Nine Dragon Cup to Meng Liangyu, and judging from the location of the secret passage, this was the Meng Mansion.

Prime Minister Meng Liangyu?

Is he the other person my aunt mentioned who wants the letter from my father?

Lin Zhen didn't know much about this person. He only knew that he was in a high position with many disciples, and that he had abused his power for personal gain, accepted bribes, and committed injustice countless times. The people had long had complaints about him.

Although his father had many different political views from him, the two never had a direct conflict.

Neither friendly nor hostile.

Lin Zhen really couldn't understand why Meng Liangyu wanted this letter.

Ji Sui also couldn't understand. Although it was common for people of Meng Liangyu's status to have a secret room in their home, why did this secret room lead to Dajueshan Temple?

Ji Sui turned his head and looked at the deep darkness behind him.

But he didn't have time to think about it. He put the Nine Dragon Cup back to its original place, held Lin Zhen's wrist and said, "Go back quickly."

"Why are you back just now? Mother has already come to the temple to burn incense and is now resting in the meditation room. But that's fine, we can just go there directly."

The third prince looked anxious. If he wanted to kick Meng Liangyu out and form an alliance with Ji Bai, he had to get his mother's approval. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the palace, so he did not want to miss this opportunity.

The monk who was waiting on the side had been replaced. This monk seemed to have sharper eyes and ears. Upon hearing this, he said, "Let me lead the way for the three nobles."

The imperial concubine had a fixed meditation room in the Dajueshan Temple, but because the third prince had never believed in or even disliked the notion of ghosts and gods, he had never been to the Dajueshan Temple to burn incense, so he didn't know its location. When he heard the monk say this, he readily agreed.

They were clearly walking the same route as before. When they were halfway through the journey, Lin Zhen and Ji Sui looked at each other and both remained silent.

The only difference was that when they returned to the Zen room, there were palace servants guarding the door, blocking them, saying, "The Queen has gone to bed. No one is allowed to enter."

The Third Prince shouted at the leading nanny, "Look carefully! It's me!"

The nanny nodded and smiled, "My eyes are not dim, so I naturally recognize Your Highness. However, Your Majesty has instructed that no one is allowed to enter. Please wait patiently here, Your Highness."

The third prince was furious, but he didn't dare to disobey his mother, so he could only stand aside and wait.

It took two hours, from noon to sunset, for the door to finally open with a creaky sound.

The lady walked out slowly wearing the phoenix-head shoes woven by Danyu, and her long black brocade skirt dragged on the ground. Now the position of Empress was vacant, and after the autumn sacrifice, the third prince had monopolized the limelight. The Imperial Concubine was undoubtedly the most honorable person in the harem.

Her hair is jet black without a single white hair, her skin is as smooth as jade, and there is no trace of time at all.

The woman's eyebrows were like distant mountains, her lips were as red as a dot of vermilion, and her makeup was exquisite and flawless. It was obvious that she had dressed up carefully, but the weariness that could not be hidden in her eyes made her look exhausted.

The Third Prince was unaware of this and excitedly stepped forward and said, "Mother! I would like to introduce someone to you."

The imperial concubine seemed to be in a bad mood. She didn't even look up at Ji Sui. She held her hair lightly and said impatiently, "I said I will arrange everything for you. You don't need to worry."

She had said this too many times before. The Third Prince shouted at the Imperial Concubine's retreating figure, "But I am destined to be the ruler of a country. I have my own ideas!"

"How dare you!" The woman suddenly turned around and shouted. She glanced around and lowered her voice slightly, but her anger remained undiminished: "Who taught you to say such outrageous words?"

"I think you have lost your mind recently. Kneel here for half an hour before returning to the palace!" After saying this, the imperial concubine turned around and left.

The Third Prince's finger bones turned white from being pinched. After a while, he relaxed dejectedly, lowered his eyes, and knelt on the stone bricks in front of the door.

A Buddhist bell rang in the distance. Ji Sui walked slowly forward amidst the lingering sound and bid farewell to the Third Prince, his voice laced with a perfectly balanced sigh: "Take care, Your Highness."

The regret and lament on his face peeled off like a mask as he turned around, revealing a sly smile in his eyes. The imperial concubine's attitude towards him today was obvious, but at this moment he had other plans in mind.

*

If Lin Zhen still had doubts about the people who went to Yong'an Marquis' Mansion today in the dark room, all the doubts were dispelled after seeing the imperial concubine walking out of the room.

She intuitively felt that it was Meng Liangyu himself who was in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion today. The imperial concubine had been "resting" for a long time, but her hair was not a bit messy and her face was full of fatigue. She was probably overly worried because Meng Liangyu did not show up for the appointment today.

Lin Zhen was lost in thought and was caught off guard by the jolting of the carriage. She nearly fell, but Ji Sui held her steady and said, "Be careful."

Following the warm breath beside his ear, Lin Zhen looked up at him.

She had only told Ji Sui last night about her trip to Yong'an Marquis' Mansion today, and Meng Liangyu just happened to get there before her.

Is this a coincidence, or... ?

Lin Zhen stared intently into his eyes, which were dark yet clear and bright, reflecting her appearance clearly.

"What's wrong, Lin Zhen?" There was no evasion in his eyes, only pure concern.

Like a drop of water falling into a calm lake, it instantly stirred up thousands of ripples in Lin Zhen's heart, gradually spreading to every part of her body. Her fingertips trembled slightly, she looked away, and just shook her head gently.

Ji Sui was willing to keep his appointment with the Third Prince, but he also made sarcastic remarks in the dark room. It seemed that his relationship with Meng Liangyu was not as solid as she had imagined.

Her stagnant breathing gradually slowed down, and her stiff body relaxed. Perhaps she didn't even realize that she was feeling fortunate that Ji Wei was not involved in this matter.

She didn't know whether it was the tired body and chaotic thoughts that exhausted Lin Zhen's energy, or the familiar agarwood scent on his body that made her feel at ease, but she leaned on his chest in a daze.

Ji Wei's hand, which had just been holding her shoulder, was only left loose, not daring to tighten or loosen it.

He felt as if he was trapped in a fragile dream, and even the sound of his heart beating in his chest disgusted him, fearing that it would disturb this delusion that did not belong to him.