Chapter 263: One plant, two beauties, twin flowers (9)
"I heard that Master Mingjing was leaving, so I came to see him off."
Shi Sui was dressed in gorgeous and appropriate clothes, spoke softly and politely, and had the style and bearing of a true princess.
When she entered the room, she even bowed properly to the queen, which made the queen very happy.
When did my daughter become so well behaved?!
Master Mingjing clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, thank you for your concern, Princess. I have to return to the Great Buddha Temple to take charge of affairs, so I have come to bid farewell to the Empress."
He felt so tired.
The Empress could be spoken to in a nice way, but the Princess was notoriously willful and capricious. Before leaving, he was really afraid that she would cause him some trouble.
As expected, what you fear will come true...
"Master, are you going back now? This makes me feel so sorry. I've been reading the Shurangama Sutra and the Lotus Sutra carefully lately, and there are many things I don't understand. I wanted to ask you for advice."
Shi Sui spoke in a dignified and gentle manner, but Master Ming Jing was so frightened that his flesh and blood skipped a beat when he heard it.
There were too many formalities in the palace, and he didn't want to be forced to stay there too long just because of a princess.
The Queen looked at Shi Sui with surprise and said, "You are actually reading a book?"
Taoist Xuanqing did not forget to assist: "Reporting to the Queen, it's not just the Buddhist scriptures. Recently, Her Royal Highness has also been reading books such as "Nujie", "Nu Xun" and "Nu Twenty-Four Filial Piety". She also practices calligraphy and painting every day. She is very dedicated."
"Really?" the Queen asked Eunuch Ning, the old eunuch who was in charge of supervising the princess, "Is the princess really studying?"
Eunuch Ning twirled his fingers, his face beaming with joy. "Your Majesty, it's absolutely true! I've witnessed with my own eyes these past few days how Taoist Xuanqing has been teaching the princess with reason and sincerity. Her Highness, grateful for the Empress's kindness, has been diligently studying and practicing every day, earning praise from all the teachers!"
Eunuch Ning was not exaggerating.
Ever since Shi Sui and Taoist Xuan Qing reached an agreement, the two of them have teamed up to play the role of good teacher and good student. Their purpose is to seize the opportunity when Master Ming Jing is about to return and use him to leave the palace openly.
The queen was overjoyed. She stood up from her seat, walked to her daughter and took her hands.
"My child, are you willing to marry to Beiyan?"
"Of course." Shi Sui knelt and bowed, "As the legitimate princess, I have the responsibility to share my mother's worries."
"You finally understand my mother's painstaking efforts! I'm also reluctant to see you marry far away, but for the sake of our country and your future, the brave and warlike King of Northern Yan is your best destination!"
After the queen finished speaking nice words to her daughter hypocritically, she turned around and praised Taoist Master Xuanqing.
"Master Xuanqing has a solution. He's only been in the palace for a dozen days and he's already made the princess sensible and reasonable. Tell me what reward you want, just ask!"
A loving mother and filial son, a wise king and virtuous ministers, what a harmonious scene!
Even Master Mingjing was stunned.
He was clearly there to bid farewell to the Queen, but two people suddenly showed up and stole the limelight from him, and everyone seemed to have ignored his existence.
Completely reduced to a backdrop, a sense of crisis quietly crept into Master Mingjing's heart.
Taoist Priest Xuanqing was dressed in a pure white Taoist robe, exuding a unique and charming ethereal feeling. He bowed to the queen and gave her advice.
"Your Majesty, I truly wish to ask you for a reward... Actually, I'm asking for it on behalf of Her Royal Highness, the Legitimate Princess. Please allow her to accompany Master Mingjing out of the palace to the Great Buddha Temple to burn incense and pray for divine protection."
"Leaving the palace???"
The Queen hesitated severely.
According to the rules of their dynasty, even unmarried princesses were allowed to leave the palace on extremely rare occasions as long as there was a legitimate reason and guards were accompanying them to ensure their safety.
It was just that the princess was too wild and had a bad temper, and the queen was worried that something might happen if she let her out, so she refused to allow it.
It's just now...
"Mother, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so willful and unruly before and hurt your heart. I heard that the Big Buddha Temple is very effective. I want to go and confess my sins to the Buddha and pray for your health and well-being."
Shi Sui's eyes were filled with tears, and she looked pitiful.
But this alone is not enough to completely dispel the queen's doubts.
Taoist Master Xuanqing struck while the iron was hot and immediately turned his attention to Master Mingjing.
"Although the princess has a heart of respect for Buddha, I wonder what Master Mingjing thinks? If it's inconvenient..." He asked Shi Sui in a pretentious manner, "Your Highness, if Master Mingjing is busy and can't receive you, there's actually a Taoist temple outside Yecheng that's very effective. Would you consider it?"
Wow, when Taoist Xuanqing said this, he completely skipped the question of "whether he can leave the palace" and directly fast-forwarded to the question of "where to go after leaving the palace", and also put great psychological pressure on Master Mingjing.
Of course, Tokiho had arranged for him to say this beforehand.
Seeing that Taoist Xuanqing was becoming more and more popular in front of the Empress, Master Mingjing could no longer remain silent.
Buddhism is the state religion. How could he tolerate a Taoist monk repeatedly stealing his limelight?
Master Mingjing took a step forward. "Amitabha, Taoist Xuanqing, don't worry. The Great Buddha Temple is renowned in Yecheng, with a flourishing incense market. It has hosted many royal relatives. How can it be compared to an unknown Taoist temple in the countryside?"
"But if the incense is very popular, it means there will be many people talking and there will be noisy conversations. Will it be..."
"Master, you don't understand, right? Since the princess is here, this temple will naturally be closed to the public and cleared of all irrelevant people to ensure her safety!"
Everything happened just as Shisui had arranged and predicted in advance. Under the provocation of Taoist Xuanqing, Master Mingjing refused to give in. With just a few simple words, he went from disliking the legitimate princess to insisting on having her go to the Big Buddha Temple to burn incense.
Finally, the queen agreed to Shisui's request.
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