Su Xuening left Master Daoyi's meditation room, still thinking about what Master Daoyi had just said.
“This humble monk did indeed see this Buddhist rosary once at the possession of a nobleman.”
A benefactor?
Another benefactor?
As the previous abbots have mentioned, many nobles in Kyoto use agarwood to make prayer beads, so this prayer bead does not belong to a Buddhist monk in the temple, but to a noble person in Kyoto.
But who exactly is it?
Is there any nobleman in the capital who is celibate?
Su Xuening suddenly thought of Xuan Yuanzhan. She had indeed heard that he was not interested in women, but after marrying him, she did not find him to be so uninterested in women. However, he was still chaste, since he did not have any concubines.
Just over a month ago, he should have been half-dead from illness; it couldn't be him, could it?
Su Xuening lowered her head and glanced at the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand. The faint scent of sandalwood wafted over, gradually calming her restless heart.
There's no use in being anxious, but today is still a little better than usual, at least we've found some clues.
Moreover, judging from Master Daoyi's appearance, he should know who that important person is, but he just doesn't want to say.
She didn't want to make things difficult for anyone, but if she really couldn't find anyone, she should be able to get some information by kneeling at Bailong Temple for a long time!
Let me look for it myself first.
Su Xuening glanced at the prayer beads in her hand again. Since she had already come to Bailong Temple, she should check the monks there again.
Undeterred, Su Xuening went to the Bailong Temple's household registration office to check the monks' birth dates and times.
Meanwhile, at the Holy King's Mansion, Xuan Yuanzhan was handling affairs in his fiefdom of Xiangnan in his study.
Although he was not in Xiangnan, he still had to deal with the affairs there. Every few days, someone would rush to deliver the Xiangnan affairs that required his decision to the Holy King's Mansion for him to handle.
Xuanyuan Zhan was engrossed in his work when Ye Yun came in carrying a carrier pigeon and reported, "Your Highness, it seems to be a letter from Bailong Temple."
Bailong Temple?
Xuan Yuanzhan frowned as he took the note Ye Yun handed him and opened it.
"The Buddhist prayer beads have appeared!"
The note contained only three words, yet it made Xuan Yuanzhan jump up from his chair with a start.
Ye Yun looked at Xuan Yuanzhan, who had a look of astonishment on his face, and asked with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity, "What happened?"
Xuanyuan Zhan stared intently at the three words on the note, then suddenly remembered something and abruptly looked up at Ye Yun: "Which temple did the Princess Consort go to!"
Ye Yun was immediately taken aback by Xuan Yuanzhan's question: "Didn't you say there was no need to investigate? I didn't investigate!"
He just said it himself: forget it!
"Go investigate now!" Xuan Yuanzhan shouted urgently.
"Yes." Ye Yun was quite frightened by Xuan Yuanzhan and immediately wanted to go out.
Xuanyuan Zhan shouted again, "Prepare the horses, I am going to Bailong Temple."
Ye Yun had no idea what had happened. He only knew that the prince seemed to be in a great hurry. He dared not delay and sent people to prepare horses while also inquiring about the whereabouts of the princess.
In front of the Prince's Mansion, just as Xuan Yuanzhan mounted his horse, Ye Yun ran out to report: "Your Highness, the Princess Consort went out today but did not visit the Dowager Consort. I have not yet found out which temple the Princess Consort went to."
Xuan Yuanzhan, however, couldn't wait to know the answer: "Then send a message to Ye Xue to see where she is?"
After saying that, Xuanyuan Zhan rode off on his horse.
Ye Yun was completely dumbfounded.
The secret guards all have their rules, so sending a message to Ye Xue wouldn't work. Without the Princess's permission, Ye Xue certainly wouldn't reveal the Princess's location. Besides, given Ye Xue's personality, she definitely wouldn't even mention it to the Princess unless the situation was explained.
But he should explain to him clearly what happened that made him so eager to see the princess!
Ye Yun was at his wit's end and could only try anything. He sent a letter to Ye Xue; whether she would reply was entirely up to her.
After sending the message, Ye Yun hurriedly went to catch up with Xuan Yuanzhan.
The journey, which should have taken two hours, was completed in just one hour by Xuan Yuanzhan, who spurred his horse onward.
Ye Yun chased after the horse until its legs were almost broken before he finally caught up.
"Your Highness." Ye Yun didn't even catch his breath before chasing after Xuan Yuanzhan into the White Dragon Temple.
Just as Xuan Yuanzhan entered Bailong Temple, Su Xuening came out of the household registration office.
After searching for more than an hour, looking through all the birth dates and times of the monks at Bailong Temple, there was not a single one with a birth date and time of Shen year, Shen month, Shen day, or Shen hour.
There are really not many people with this kind of extremely yang constitution. She has already searched several temples, but none of them have her birth date and time.
In fact, when Master Daoyi said that the person was a benefactor, Su Xuening had already anticipated that the person was no longer at Bailong Temple. Adhering to the principle that since she had already come all this way and had already visited all the previous temples, there was no harm in visiting Bailong Temple as well, Su Xuening then went through the Bailong Temple's register.
Now that the search has confirmed that there is no such thing, Su Xuening can only give up hope.
She'd already investigated almost all the temples in Kyoto. Since Master Daoyi said it was a noble person, shouldn't she investigate further in Kyoto?
But with so many noble young men in Kyoto, it might be difficult to investigate!
Born in the year of Shen?
That means he's three years older than her, which would be considered reaching adulthood. In the capital, no noble young man is still a virgin at adulthood; they're usually given concubines by the time they're fifteen or sixteen. They don't wait until they reach adulthood.
Regardless, the birth date and time and the benefactor are clues, which is better than having no clue at all.
Su Xuening took a deep breath and left Bailong Temple.
Just as Su Xuening boarded the carriage and left Bailong Temple, Xuan Yuanzhan had already found Master Daoyi.
Master Daoyi was still giving a sermon when he saw Xuanyuan Zhan barge in. He nodded apologetically to the man and said, "Amitabha, my friend has arrived. I hope to give another sermon to you next time."
"Thank you, Master." The man also bowed to Master Daoyi and then left.
As soon as the man left, Xuan Yuanzhan looked anxiously at Master Daoyi: "Did you see that Buddhist bead? Is it the one I lost?"
Knowing that Xuanyuan Zhan was anxious, Master Daoyi didn't bother with formalities: "This humble monk has carefully examined them, and they are indeed your Buddhist prayer beads."
"Where are the prayer beads?" Finally, a clue appeared, and Xuan Yuanzhan's heart was pounding in his throat.
Master Daoyi looked completely innocent: "Naturally, that benefactor took it back."
Xuanyuan Zhan was extremely anxious and grabbed Master Daoyi's cassock, asking, "Where is that person?"
"It has been almost two hours since I left."
If the benefactor doesn't leave, he can't very well send him a message!
...Xuanyuan Zhan was speechless, his mind a complete mess from the anxiety. After a moment, he finally managed to reorganize his thoughts: "It's a woman, isn't it?"
"Yes." Master Daoyi nodded.
Having received a definite answer, Xuan Yuanzhan immediately took out a scroll of portrait: "I have a portrait here. Could you please help me identify whether it is the Buddhist prayer beads that the woman in the painting is holding?"
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