Chapter 124: Zen Sound Accompanies the Emperor’s Visit to the Fragrant Chamber, Old Memories and New Fate Warm the Palace Walls
The morning dew had just been scorched by the sun, turning into a wisp of mist. The last traces of moisture still clung to the petals of the crabapple blossoms in Shufangzhai. Little Swallow sat on a bamboo stool under the porch, twirling a mahogany wooden fish pendant. The sandalwood scent mingled with the delicate fragrance of the orchids in the courtyard, floating gently in the warm morning light. As her fingertips traced the patterns on the pendant, she suddenly remembered the bell tower of Huguo Temple—the wind that day was just as warm, and the sound of the bells pounding against the bronze bells numbed her eardrums, yet dispelled the panic within her heart.
"What are you thinking about?" Ziwei emerged from the room, inkstone in hand. Her moon-white skirt swept across the bluestone, picking up a few fallen bellflower petals from the previous night. She placed the inkstone on the stone table, gently swirling the ink in the water, creating a faint black blur. "Xiaodeng said you were so distracted during sword practice this morning that you nearly stabbed yourself with the tip of your sword."
Xiaoyanzi came back to her senses, stuffed the pendant into her sleeve pocket, scratched her head and smiled, "I'm thinking about the abbot. Do you think he's ringing the bell at Huguo Temple? And if I had kept the osmanthus cake I brought back last time, would it still have the sandalwood fragrance?" She picked up a crabapple petal and tucked it into Ziwei's half-written poem. "Just like this petal, it can retain its fragrance when placed in a book. Could it be the same with memories?"
Ziwei was about to answer when Little Wart ran in from the Moon Gate, holding a glass lantern with the tassel swung high in the air. He was still shouting, "Damn! The Emperor has arrived—and he's brought the abbot and several princes with him!" Before he could finish his words, Little Dengzi was already panting behind him, "Princess! Girl! Come and meet him!"
Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei quickly stood up and straightened their clothes. Xiaoyanzi fixed her crooked hairband, while Ziwei smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt. As they reached the center of the courtyard, they saw Emperor Qianlong, wearing a bright yellow formal suit with dark gold dragons embroidered on the cuffs, walking side by side with an elderly monk in gray robes, the abbot of Huguo Temple. Behind them came Yongqi, Fuerkang, Fuertai, and the twelfth prince, Yongji, in a royal blue brocade robe. The laughter of these young men, mingled with the tinkling of wind chimes, disturbed the quiet of Shufangzhai.
"Father Emperor! Grandpa Abbot!" Xiaoyanzi's eyes lit up, and she ran over. Just as she was about to bow, Qianlong smiled and supported her. "No need for all the formalities here." He glanced at the orchids and crabapple trees in the courtyard, and finally landed on Xiaoyanzi. The smile in his eyes was like warm honey. "It seems you're getting used to living here?"
The abbot twisted his red sandalwood Buddhist beads, his white beard gleaming silver in the morning light. He patted Xiaoyanzi on the head and said gently, "You're good at keeping the courtyard so lively even in the palace." His eyes fell on the wind chimes in the corridor, then glanced at the inkstone on the stone table. "You haven't neglected your brush and ink, and you haven't forgotten the sound of the bell, have you?"
"I haven't forgotten!" Xiaoyanzi nodded quickly, remembering last year at the Fang Mansion, when the abbot had touched her copy of "A Brief Explanation of Zen Chess" and praised her for the evenness of the ink; she remembered the morning bells of Huguo Temple, which had made her heart burn, and the abbot's words, "When the mind is steady, the steps are steady"; she remembered the sweet sweet osmanthus cakes she brought back, which made Ziwei squint her eyes; she remembered opening the emperor's letter late at night, the lotus mark on the wax seal gleaming in the light... These images played through her mind like a revolving lantern, and she smiled and said, "I was tired from sword practice the other day, and I was counting the bells in my mind. I didn't get tired of it until the third one."
Ziwei knelt beside him and saluted, saying in a gentle voice, "How are you, Master Abbot? I read a few pages of the Diamond Sutra every day that you asked me to bring last time."
"Good girl." The abbot nodded approvingly, his eyes shifting between her and Xiaoyanzi. "Sisters of one mind, even Buddha will protect you."
Yongqi came over at this time, holding a kite in his hand, the bamboo frame shining in the sun: "Little Swallow, look what I brought? I owe you the phoenix kite last time, and I'll compensate you today!" He was wearing a sky-blue riding and shooting outfit with his sleeves rolled up, revealing his strong forearms, and the smile in his eyes could not be hidden.
"You have a conscience!" Xiaoyanzi reached out to grab the kite, but was stopped by Forte. He held a wooden box in his hand and smiled mysteriously, "Don't rush to play, take a look at the goodies my brother and I brought." He opened it and found several rolls of fine rice paper and a wolf-hair brush. "Miss Ziwei said she likes brushes from the capital, so my father asked someone to find this for her."
Falcon stood aside, his eyes falling on Ziwei. Seeing her eyes shining as she looked at the rice paper, he whispered, "I heard that you like to practice calligraphy. These papers absorb ink well and don't easily seep through." Ziwei looked up and smiled at him, her cheeks slightly red, and her fingertips gently touched the edge of the paper roll.
Qianlong watched the children interacting, then turned to the twelfth prince and said, "Ji'er, you don't have to go to Ji Xiaolan's class today. Take a day off." He patted Yongji's shoulder, his eyes full of love. "Your sister Xiaoyanzi has just entered the palace and knows her way around. You should walk with her and explain the rules of each place. Don't let her run around like a headless fly."
Yongqi saluted hurriedly with a serious look on his little face: "Your son obeys your order! Sister Xiaoyanzi, I know the lotus flowers in the Imperial Garden are in bloom, and the peacocks in the Rare Bird Pavilion will spread their feathers. I'll take you to see them!" He had met Xiaoyanzi in Fang Mansion last year. At that time, she was still wearing a lilac-colored soft silk shirt, feeding the fish by the lotus pond, and she didn't care about the water splashed by her skirt. Now, seeing that although she had changed into palace clothes, the brightness in her eyes was still the same, he felt close to her in his heart.
When Xiaoyanzi heard about peacocks, her eyes lit up even brighter: "Really? Are they prettier than the peacocks in the south of the Yangtze River?" She suddenly remembered the night in Chapter 120, when she thought to herself in the moonlight, "Tomorrow the imperial garden will be filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers." Now, not only are the lotus flowers blooming, but there are also people to accompany her for a stroll, and her heart is warm.
"Of course it's beautiful!" Yong Qi said quickly, "I'll fly a kite with you later. It'll be higher than a peacock's spread tail!"
The abbot and Emperor Qianlong smiled at each other, and Emperor Qianlong said to the crowd, "Let's go inside and have some tea. It's a rare occasion for the abbot to come, so it's a good opportunity to try the vegetarian tea from Shufangzhai."
The group walked towards the house, with Xiaoyanzi in the middle. To her left was Yongqi, who was pulling her along, asking, "Is the kite string in the palace strong?" To her right was Yongji, who was whispering, "How do I get to the Rare Bird Pavilion?" Behind them, Ziwei and Fuerkang could be heard whispering about rice paper, while Fuertai was muttering to Xiaowenzi, "Wow, long, dong! This kite's bamboo ribs are so strong!" The morning light filtered through the wind chimes in the corridor, casting dancing spots of light on them. It was like the warmth of the Huguo Temple bells, like the sweetness of the lanterns in the Fang Mansion, and even more like the warm road slowly unfolding in these new days.
Xiao Dengzi and Xiao Zhuozi busied themselves brewing tea, while Mingyue Caixia brought freshly made almond cakes. Four talented scholars and two beauties shuffled through the corridors, their footsteps, laughter, and the chime of wind chimes mingling together, tinging the morning light of Shufangzhai with a sweet hue. And the peachwood pendant in Xiaoyanzi's sleeve swayed gently with her steps, carrying the fragrance of sandalwood and the warmth of two lifetimes together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
