Chapter 77 Yang Guifei (VII) Expectation

The morning frost at Taizhen Temple fell on the bamboo tips, as white as a layer of fine salt.

When Lin Jiaojiao pushed open the door of the woodshed, a chill seeped in through her collar. She pulled her plain Taoist robe closer and her eyes fell on the water tank - the mulberry bark that had been soaked for more than ten days had become soft, and sticky fibers could be squeezed out with a pinch of her fingertips. It was time to make paper.

She dug out an old bamboo screen from the music library, washed it, and spread it in a wooden basin. Then she evenly poured the beaten fiber paste onto it and gently shook the screen to disperse the fibers in the water. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the woodshed window, falling on the screen. She could see the fibers slowly solidifying into a thin layer of paper, remarkably resembling the prototype of the Xuan paper she had refined during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The burrs on the edge of the bamboo curtain had caught on a few fibers, so she patiently picked them apart with her fingertips, thinking to herself: After the paper dries, I'm going to draw a rabbit with round ears for the little nun. She said last time that she liked snow-white color.

"Master, what are you doing?" A crisp voice came from the door. It was the little Taoist nun who delivered the meal. She was holding a food box in her hand and looking inside. There was a piece of bamboo shavings on her temples that had not been swept away.

Lin Jiaojiao smiled and waved, "Come and take a look. I made some new paper. Once it's dry, I'll draw you a little bunny."

The little nun came bounding in, came to the wooden basin, her eyes wide open: "Wow! It's much whiter than the paper in the temple! It feels so soft! Taoist priest, you are amazing!" She suddenly remembered something, quickly covered her mouth, and quietly moved to Lin Jiaojiao's side, her voice as low as a mosquito's hum: "By the way, Taoist priest, my mother came to deliver vegetables yesterday and said... that a high-ranking official was arrested in the city, and there were many soldiers following his carriage. The neighbors are saying that it was General Wang, the cousin of Lord Li Linfu, or that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who had him arrested!"

Lin Jiaojiao paused her hand holding the bamboo curtain, and put the curtain into the paper drying rack with a calm expression: "Let's not speculate about the court's affairs, just practice Taoism well." But her mind became clear - Ling took action, arresting Li Linfu's confidants, which must be to scare the tiger and continue to close the net along the clues of the corruption account books.

She glanced at the little nun's nervous look and took out a piece of osmanthus cake from her sleeve: "Don't be afraid, take it and eat it, don't let others see it."

The little nun's eyes lit up, and she quickly took the cake and put it in her pocket. She carefully carried the paper drying rack and walked into the yard, her steps so light that it seemed as if she was afraid of hurting the frost on the ground.

Lin Jiaojiao looked at her back, walked to the corner of the woodshed, and took out a piece of burnt charcoal from the stove ash. It was the leftover hemp paper that Ling had sent her last time. The charcoal core was still a little black, just right for recording messages.

She tore off a small piece of freshly copied rice paper, drew a simple "account" on it with charcoal, and drew a circle, which meant "It is known that Li Linfu's corruption account books are fine, everything is fine", folded it into a square the size of a fingernail, and stuffed it into her sleeve.

At this time, a palace banquet was being held in Xingqing Palace, and the candlelight illuminated the hall as bright as day.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang sat in the main seat, his eyes always glancing at the beauty beside him. The beauty was a commoner girl found by the prince. Her features resembled those of Princess Shou, but she was a little more delicate. She was timidly serving food to Emperor Xuanzong, which made him laugh frequently.

At the wine table in the corner of the hall, two court officials were huddled together, talking in low voices, their wine glasses covering their mouths for fear of being overheard.

"Look, Your Highness," the Minister of Revenue quietly raised his eyes and looked at Ling, who was sitting on his left. "When you arrested General Wang a few days ago, you didn't even give Lord Li Linfu a courtesy and directly ordered the Wang family's door to be sealed. Where is the cowardice you showed before?"

"That's right!" The military official lowered his voice, not even noticing the wine spilling on his clothes. "Lord Li Linfu originally pushed for him to be the crown prince, thinking he would be easy to control. Now it seems that he was wrong! Didn't you see how respectful the general of the Yulin Army was to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince when he toasted just now? Even the Qianniu Guards obeyed his orders!"

"And your Majesty," the Minister of Revenue glanced at the main seat and lowered his voice, "Ever since you got this new beauty by your side, you've even mentioned less about the one at Taizhen Temple. I heard that you've even been attending fewer court meetings lately, leaving everything to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If this continues, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's power will probably surpass Li Linfu's!"

As the two were talking, they suddenly saw Ling stand up with a wine glass in hand and walk towards the main seat. His steps were steady and his expression was calm. He was completely different from the dejected Prince Shou in the past.

The doctor from the Ministry of War quickly shut up and picked up the wine glass to cover up, but he secretly sighed in his heart: This prince is probably going to become something big.

When Lin Jiaojiao went to the front yard under the pretext of "delivering scriptures", the nun in charge was sitting under the porch sewing. The sunlight fell on her needlework basket, the silver needle shuttled across the cloth, and the spool of thread rolled to the ground.

Lin Jiaojiao bent down, picked up the spool, and handed it over, saying with a smile, "Sister, I copied some scriptures and wrote them on new paper. Can you see if they are useful?"

The nun in charge took the scroll, ran her fingertips over the pages, and her eyes suddenly lit up: "This paper is really good! It's even finer than the rice paper in the palace. The ink will definitely not bleed when I write on it." She suddenly remembered something, quickly glanced around, and leaned close to Lin Jiaojiao, her voice very low: "Yesterday my cousin came to deliver oil and salt, saying... that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince presented the corruption account books of General Wang to His Majesty. Although His Majesty didn't immediately punish Li Linfu, he stripped him of his power as prime minister and let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince take charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Now everyone in the palace is saying that Lord Li Linfu is about to lose power. You should stay in the temple and don't run out, so as not to be affected."

Lin Jiaojiao felt warm in her heart. Although the nun in charge was ordered to monitor her, she always reminded her secretly. She nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder, senior sister. I will be careful." When she turned to leave, she quietly stuffed the small square of rice paper hidden in her sleeve under the spool of thread in the sewing basket. She knew that the cousin of the nun in charge would come to pick up the sewn clothes. This note might be passed to Ling to let him know that she was fine.

In the next few days, Lin Jiaojiao copied paper in the woodshed every day.

The dried rice paper was stacked up in a thick pile in the corner of the woodshed, like a pile of white snow.

She picked out the most delicate ones and used them to copy the music score of "Bamboo Catkins". The tip of the pen moved across the paper, the ink was evenly distributed, and the notes were like jumping elves.

The little nun often came to help, and every time she would lean over the paper drying rack and ask, "Master, when are we going to draw the bunny? I've dreamed about it so many times!" Lin Jiaojiao would always smile and rub her hair, "Wait until the weather gets warmer. The paper is still damp now, and the painting will easily smudge."

That afternoon, Lin Jiaojiao was hanging paper in the yard when she suddenly heard a light knocking sound outside the wall. She hurried to the base of the wall and pried open the secret compartment of the third bluestone slab. Inside was a small cloth bag embroidered with bamboo patterns and a piece of hemp paper.

On the hemp paper was written Ling's handwriting, a few more words than before, the ink a touch anxious: "Evidence of Li Linfu's corruption has been presented to His Majesty. His Majesty has stripped him of his power as Prime Minister and ordered me to take over the Ministry of Revenue and the defense of the capital. The Yulin Army and the Qianniu Guards are now completely under my command. The mourning period is still one month away. The house outside the palace has been prepared. It is next to the bamboo forest west of Chang'an City. You will definitely like it. Also, the rice paper you make is very good. I received the note from the Taoist nun in charge. Don't worry."

Lin Jiaojiao held the hemp paper, her fingertips trembling slightly - Ling received her note.

She opened the cloth bag, and inside was an exquisite jade pendant. The jade was of a warm color, and it was engraved with a thin bamboo with clear veins on the bamboo leaves, exactly the same as what she had seen in the temple.

I think Ling had it carved specially because they were afraid that she would be lonely in the temple, so they gave her such a personal item.

She hid the jade pendant in her collar, and the cold jade surface pressed against her chest, slowly warming up.

She also placed a piece of rice paper in the secret compartment, with a bamboo plant drawn on it with charcoal and a small word "An" written next to it - there were no extra words, but it contained all her concerns and peace of mind.

In the evening, a strange Taoist nun came to the temple. She was wearing a green Taoist robe and a jade token tied around her waist. She said she came from the palace and wanted to "inspect the Taoist practice in the temple and ensure that there were no violations."

The middle-aged Taoist nun followed the whole process, her eyes as alert as a cat. When Lin Jiaojiao went to the woodshed to get tools, she followed her and even swept every corner of the woodshed.

Lin Jiaojiao knew that this person must have been sent by Li Linfu to see if she had any private contact with Ling or if she had hidden anything that should not be hidden.

She still copied and hung paper every day, and occasionally played "Bamboo Catkins". The sound of the piano was very low, mixed in with the sound of wind blowing through bamboo leaves, and it was impossible to detect it unless you listened carefully.

The strange Taoist nun stayed in the temple for three days, searching every corner of the east courtyard and even looking through the old scores in the music library, but she didn't find anything unusual. Ling had already asked Zhao Heng's people to tell the Taoist nuns in the temple not to talk nonsense. Even the middle-aged Taoist nun only dared to say, "Master Yang copies scriptures and practices Taoism every day and has never left the courtyard."

On the day they sent the strange nun away, the nun in charge quietly pulled Lin Jiaojiao aside and stuffed a cloth bag into her hand. "Here are some snacks my cousin brought. Hide them and eat them. Don't let anyone else see. That nun is close to Li Linfu. Li Linfu is struggling to protect himself now, so I'm afraid he doesn't have the energy to keep an eye on you. Just be patient. Better days are coming soon."

Lin Jiaojiao took the cloth bag, which contained a few pieces of osmanthus cake, still a little warm. She nodded, her eyes slightly warmed: "Thank you, Senior Sister."

He walked to the woodshed, picked up the copied music score of "Bamboo Catkins", and hummed softly. The melody was gentle, floating out of the woodshed and towards the bamboo forest outside the temple.

At night, Lin Jiaojiao sat by the window holding the luminous beads, looking at the moonlight outside the window.

Occasionally, the sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the temple wall, more frequent than before. The sound was brisk, and it seemed that Ling was deploying troops and making final preparations to take her out of the temple. She took out the jade pendant from her collar, and her fingertips brushed across the bamboo patterns on it, her heart full of anticipation.

Ling, who was far away in the East Palace, was looking at the rice paper music score on the table. It was the "Bamboo Catkins" that Lin Jiaojiao had asked the Taoist nun to pass on to her. The paper still had a faint bamboo fragrance.

He brushed his fingertips over the notes, imagining her copying the music in the temple, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Heng's voice came from outside the palace: "Your Highness, the Yulin Army has been deployed outside Taizhen Temple. We will be ready to bring the Crown Princess out once the mourning period is over."

Ling raised his head and looked at the moonlight outside the window with a firm gaze: "Okay, make sure she is safe."