Upon hearing Hongzhou's words, the abbot quickly bowed and said, "It is my poor eyesight that I failed to recognize His Highness Prince Heqin."
Hongzhou quickly helped the abbot up and then said, "Master, there is no need for such formalities. I did not want to cause any further trouble, so I did not explain this to you beforehand."
The abbot pondered for a moment, then looked at Hongzhou with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why did Prince He ask about what happened back then?"
Upon hearing the abbot's words, Hongzhou knew he could not tell him the whole story. The letter from the mysterious man had mentioned that those who knew about the matter had been silenced by the emperor and were not allowed to mention it again. Therefore, he could not directly ask the abbot. He could only try to find out indirectly whether the twins mentioned in the letter were true.
Thinking of this, Hongzhou said, "I was just curious and happened to hear in the marketplace that my brother Hongli, who is now the Prince Bao, was born in Tan. So I just wanted to ask the abbot if it was true."
Hongzhou smiled and continued, "I originally came here to satisfy my curiosity. If I had come here in a grand manner, it would have been a laughing stock. So I came here privately to ask you."
Upon hearing Hongzhou's explanation, the abbot nodded slightly and said, "I see."
Although the abbot didn't say much, he was naturally a perceptive person. Seeing that Hongzhou hadn't told the whole story, the abbot didn't press further.
Hongzhou's trip to Huangjue Temple was destined to be fruitless, because although the abbot was indeed in the rain-praying procession and knew that Consort Xi had given birth to a prince—apparently a twin—in the side room of the altar, he was just a monk at the time and naturally did not witness it firsthand.
Now that Hongzhou had suddenly asked, the abbot had to think it over. He simply told Hongzhou, "The Empress Dowager did indeed give birth to Prince Bao at the altar, but I was just a monk at the time, and I was only praying for rain at the altar. I did not see with my own eyes whether the Empress Dowager gave birth to twins."
Upon hearing the abbot's words, Hongzhou was slightly disappointed, but he couldn't get any more information, so he had no choice but to leave. Hongzhou sighed softly and said, "Thank you, Abbot. I have troubled you this time. I will be leaving now."
"Your Highness is too kind. Unfortunately, this old monk cannot answer your questions."
After Hongzhou left, the abbot thought about what had happened that day and was still a little worried. So he went to his desk, picked up a piece of paper, and wrote down the story of how Prince He had suddenly come to Huangjue Temple to inquire whether the Empress Dowager had given birth to twins at the altar.
After finishing the letter, the abbot carefully handed it over and then summoned the monk who had just settled Hongzhou in the meditation room, saying, "Take this letter to the Yuanmingyuan Garden and personally deliver it to the Empress Dowager."
"Yes, Master," the monk said respectfully, and then walked out of the meditation room.
It turns out that Lanqin donated a very generous amount of money to Huangjue Temple every year. The abbot felt that it was strange for Prince He to ask about this matter, and the reason behind it could not be solved by mere curiosity.
At this point, the abbot could not make any rash comments. After thinking it over, the abbot felt that the empress dowager would surely make a decision, since this concerned royal secrets and the empress dowager was a participant in the incident.
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