Chapter 80, Master Heiichi.
The day after Master Pingyi entered the palace to recite scriptures for the Empress Dowager, Chu Heng and Daiyu went hand in hand to Renshou Palace to pay their respects.
"It's almost the twelfth lunar month, and the weather is getting colder and colder," the Empress Dowager said with a smile, leaning back on the couch and gently stroking the hand warmer. "It's kind of you to come here in this cold wind."
Chu Heng smiled and said, "The sun is shining brightly today, so I don't feel cold."
Daiyu smiled and said, "It's been a few days since I've been to the palace. Your Highness has been thinking about the Empress Dowager. Seeing that you look so well, Your Highness can finally focus on serving His Majesty."
The Empress Dowager smiled with satisfaction as she looked Chu Heng up and down: "You are all filial children. Yesterday, Master Pingyi came to the palace. I invited him to chant sutras and pray for blessings with me, and I felt refreshed. He truly deserves to be called a person with great supernatural powers."
Upon hearing this, Daiyu couldn't help but look at Chu Heng. What had Master Pingyi said that made the Empress Dowager so radiant? It couldn't be that the eldest prince was destined for the throne.
Chu Heng smiled calmly: "My son's health has improved so much thanks to the master's supernatural powers. I also went to visit the master a few days ago."
"Hmm." The Empress Dowager looked at Daiyu. "The master is so capable, otherwise there would be no marriage between the two of you."
Daiyu smiled and said, "I will personally go and thank the master another day."
Taking the opportunity, the Empress Dowager carefully examined Daiyu and slowly nodded: "Since Master still has some free time, let Heng'er accompany you."
Daiyu replied, "Yes."
After chatting and laughing with the Empress Dowager for a while, Chu Heng and Daiyu were about to get up and take their leave when the Empress Dowager said, "Oh, there's one more thing. In previous years, Heng'er would come to the palace for the New Year. This year, he's getting married and is now an adult, so it's not appropriate to make an exception. You two are used to such things every year, so ask the old servants in the mansion more often. Don't be careless."
Chu Heng and Daiyu respectfully agreed, and after listening to the Empress Dowager's rambling for a while, they were finally able to leave.
Once the carriage left the palace, Daiyu finally couldn't help but ask curiously, "What exactly did Master Pingyi say that made the Empress Dowager so understanding? Also, the way the Empress Dowager looked at you and me today was very strange."
It was as if they were getting to know the two of them all over again, trying to find some clues from them.
Chu Heng was also puzzled: "Master Pingyi only said that he could help us solve the problem, but he didn't say how to solve it."
“I still feel uneasy. Let’s go ask Master Pingyi.” Daiyu frowned slightly.
Chu Heng nodded: "That's what I meant too. Since you said you wanted to thank him, it wouldn't be awkward for us to go again. We just can't go today. We'll prepare the gifts and go tomorrow."
Daiyu said, "When we get back, I'll tell someone to open the storeroom... But I've never given a gift to a monk before, so what should we give the master?"
This question was posed to Chu Heng. After a long pause, he said, "Give him gold and silver. Master Pingyi has a wish to save all living beings. We cannot do such a thing, but we have no shortage of gold and silver. Please let Master Pingyi benefit the people of the world."
"To save all living beings?" Daiyu's face showed admiration. "Master, you are compassionate."
Chu Heng and Ping Yi had only met a few times. Regardless of whether Ping Yi possessed supernatural powers or not, Chu Heng only knew that this person was not only eccentric but also difficult to understand.
Chu Heng smiled, took Daiyu's hand and held it: "You'll know when you meet him. Master Pingyi is a very unusual person."
...
Two days later, Chu Heng and Daiyu presented their visiting cards. Master Pingyi came out to greet them, and the three of them sat down in the meditation room, while servants from the Duan Prince's Mansion stood guard outside.
Chu Heng got straight to the point: "My wife and I have a question that we cannot answer, so we have come to ask the master for clarification."
Daiyu also said, "We would like to know what you and the Empress Dowager discussed. Would it be convenient for you to reveal a little about it, Master?"
Ping nodded and said, "This humble monk tells the Empress Dowager that the Prince and Princess are immortals who descended to the mortal realm to continue their love. As long as you live a life of wealth and peace, when you return to the immortal realm, you will naturally not forget the mortal world. At that time, you will surely repay the kindness shown to you."
Chu Heng: "..."
Daiyu: "..."
Chu Heng forced a smile: "Kindness must be repaid, and grudges must be settled, right? Master, scaring people isn't lying, is it?"
"The Empress Dowager's remaining years will not be as long as those of the Prince and Princess, but people drink the Meng Po soup and cross the Naihe Bridge, so there will always be a next life," Pingyi said in a serious tone.
Chu Heng: "..."
Daiyu: "..."
"To dare to openly threaten the Empress Dowager, Master, ordinary people wouldn't have that kind of courage. You truly possess extraordinary abilities that ordinary people don't have," Chu Heng said admiringly.
Daiyu remained silent. She had only one thought in mind: Chu Heng was right; Master Pingyi was far too extraordinary.
Last year, when Daiyu met Master Pingyi, it was during the time when she was worshipping Buddha and chanting sutras in the morning and evening at Longhua Temple. Apart from listening to his sermons, she didn't have much interaction with him. Therefore, she didn't know that Master Pingyi was such an extraordinary person in private.
That's really refreshing!
Considering what Chu Heng once said, that Master Pingyi said the two of them were destined to be together in a past life, and those other stories about repaying kindness, it's really not surprising at all.
Ping Yi said, “Your Highness has misunderstood. It was the Empress Dowager who first brought up the changes in Your Highness and Princess over the past year and then asked me about your fates. That’s why I spoke frankly. It was not a threat as Your Highness claimed.”
Chu Heng raised an eyebrow: "Would the Empress Dowager believe that?"
Pingyi did not answer, but said only, "The Empress Dowager asked me to divine the fate of the eldest prince and see if he might become prominent in the future."
How much more prestigious can a prince become? Can he simply be a prince enjoying a life of luxury? The Empress Dowager wants Pingyi to tell her that the eldest prince might succeed to the throne.
"She believed it." Chu Heng rubbed his fingers, a hint of doubt in his voice. "She just believed it like that?"
Since last year, what happened to Chu Heng has indeed been hard to explain, but he was actually half-believing Ping Yi's words, simply because they were too unbelievable that the Empress Dowager would believe them so easily.
Daiyu said softly, "The Empress Dowager knows about your health condition before, and she knows even more about how you have been over the past year, so..."
The Empress Dowager concluded that either Master Pingyi's supernatural powers were protecting Chu Heng, or Chu Heng was born extraordinary.
Regardless of which one it is, the Empress Dowager must be cautious, after all, she wants to use this ethereal supernatural power to achieve her own goals.
If there is a shortcut, everyone will naturally want to take it.
Chu Heng looked at Ping Yi: "But, Master, you can't control the future, nor do you know the fate of the First Prince, right?"
Pingyi lowered his head: "This is how this humble monk answered the Empress Dowager."
Chu Heng chuckled: "This time she doesn't believe it."
Ever since Chu Heng recovered his health last year, the Empress Dowager has been convinced of Ping Yi's supernatural abilities, and even Ping Yi himself cannot sway her.
Pingyi clasped his hands together and said, "The Empress Dowager has fallen into the maze of lust for power."
Daiyu said, "Master, you are merciful, but I'm afraid the Empress Dowager's confusion will be difficult to dispel. Since she has convinced that you have supernatural powers, she will surely seek you out again in the future."
Just like before, she repeatedly found fault with Daiyu. That's the kind of person the Empress Dowager is; she won't give up until she gets what she wants.
"Does the master have a way to solve this?" Daiyu asked worriedly.
Chu Heng said, "Starting from last year, all of Master's misfortunes were caused by me. I will help Master..."
Pingyi shook his head and smiled calmly, "This humble monk is about to leave. The Empress Dowager will no longer make things difficult for me."
"Leave? You go..." Chu Heng paused, "What the master meant by leaving is..."
It's not about leaving Beijing, it's about leaving this world.
Daiyu understood his meaning: "Master, why do you say that? If you... if you are ill, you can ask the imperial physician to come and see you. Why do you have to..."
Pingyi shook his head again: "Life has an end. The princess and the prince came to repay their debt of gratitude, as did this humble monk. Now that the debt of gratitude has been repaid, there is nothing left to linger in this world, so I should return."
Chu Heng found it both absurd and funny, yet he was also deeply grateful, since Ping Yi, a complete stranger, had indeed helped him more than once since last year.
After a long pause, Chu Heng said, "Since you say so, Master, we can only wish you a speedy ascension to paradise and a quick return to the celestial realm."
Pingyi lowered his head and said, "This humble monk will wait for the two of you to gather together."
Chu Heng: "..."
Daiyu: "..."
As they boarded the carriage and left, both Chu Heng and Daiyu felt a sense of unreality. They remained silent for a long time before Chu Heng finally said, "I'm starting to believe I'm a deity."
Daiyu murmured, "Yes, I'm starting to believe Master Pingyi's words."
Master Pingyi was so serious and assertive, and he even had facts to back him up, so it's no wonder the Empress Dowager believed him.
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore!" Chu Heng slapped his thigh. "Whether someone is a god or not is either a matter of the past life or the next. Let's just live this life well first."
Daiyu suddenly realized: "Yes, illusion is illusion after all. Let's focus on the reality in front of us first."
"Yes." Chu Heng nodded. "We should pay more attention to the Empress Dowager. We can't just assume we're safe from now on based on a few words from the master."
Daiyu said cautiously, "I understand. Even if the Empress Dowager truly believes the master's words, the outcome is still uncertain."
The two discussed the matter in detail until the carriage stopped outside the second gate of the Prince Duan's residence.
After that, Chu Heng was busy with the sacrificial rites in the court, while Daiyu stayed at home making various preparations for the New Year. When Chu Heng returned at night, the two of them would sit side by side and discuss some trivial matters.
When Daiyu was young, she lived with her parents and had carefree days during the New Year. Later, her mother and father passed away one after another, and she lived under the roof of others. Every year, no matter how lively the Jia family was, she would think of herself as an orphan and inevitably feel sad.
However, since the Jia family was celebrating the New Year in a lively atmosphere, she couldn't show her sadness. She also had to keep up with everyone and chat and laugh with Grandmother Jia. Therefore, Daiyu never looked forward to the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
For Chu Heng, the New Year was just something to go through the motions. After all, as far as he could remember, the New Year celebrations in the palace had never changed, and there was never anything new or interesting about them.
But things are different now. Although they still have to go to the palace, they can stay at home with each other and don't need to worry about what others think.
Thinking of her childhood, Daiyu told Chuheng about the childhood memories that were gradually fading from her mind. She was too young then to remember much.
As the year drew nearer, Daiyu missed her deceased parents more and more. She now had a lover by her side, but she could not take care of her parents, which was a great regret in her life.
The memorial tablets of Lin Ruhai and Jia Min were in their hometown of Suzhou, so Daiyu had nowhere to pay her respects. To ease her mind, Chu Heng persuaded her to ask Master Pingyi for two Buddha statues to be placed at home so that Daiyu could pay her respects to her parents at any time.
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