Chapter 152: Warm sun melts the snow and hides the secrets; shadows traverse the corridor and create a mystery
The warm afternoon sun of Huguo Temple filtered through the carved window lattices, weaving tiny specks of light across the blue brick floor of the Zen room. Little Swallow was crouching over the table, watching Ziwei embroider, her nose almost brushing against the plain silk on the embroidery frame. Her jet-black braid swayed gently with her movements, the red pom-pom at the end brushing against the teacup on the table, creating ripples.
"Ouch!" She pulled her hand back abruptly. The silver needle pricked her fingertip, leaving a small red dot. The pain made her grimace in pain, and her eyes instantly turned red. "How come this needle is sharper than the tip of my sword!"
Yongqi quickly grabbed her finger and brought it to his lips, gently sucking away the drop of blood. He frowned slightly, "I told you not to make trouble, but you wouldn't listen." He scolded her, but his eyes were filled with heartache. He pulled a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve pocket, poured out some ointment, and rubbed it on her fingertips. "This is the hemostatic ointment my mother gave me. It will heal soon."
Ziwei put down the embroidery frame and gently wiped the ointment stains from Xiaoyanzi's fingertips with a handkerchief. "Who told you to keep staring at my embroidery thread? Who else should I prick?" She smiled with the corners of her eyes and picked up the embroidery frame to show it. "Look at this amulet. It's only a few stitches away from being finished. I wanted to make one each for you and Yongqi."
The amulet on the embroidery frame was embroidered with a lotus flower in silver thread, the stitches meticulously detailed. A tiny pearl adorned the center of the lotus, gleaming softly in the sunlight. Little Swallow, forgetting the pain in her fingertips, reached out to touch it. "Give me the one with the little swallow embroidered on it! And it should have cinnabar eyes, just like the one on the plum tree in the temple!"
"I know what you're thinking." Ziwei smiled and slapped her hand away. "You're still not behaving well after the injection. Be careful if you give me another injection." She turned to look at Erkang, and seeing that he was staring at the snowy scene outside the window, she called softly, "Erkang, what are you looking at?"
Erkang came back to his senses, his gaze shifting from the snow outside the window to Ziwei's face. His eyes were as gentle as spring water melting snow. "I was wondering if it snows like this in Jinan in winter." He walked over to Ziwei and picked up the half-embroidered amulet. "After the enthronement ceremony is over, I'll go back to Jinan with you to visit your aunt's grave."
Ziwei's eyes instantly turned red, and her nose felt a little sour: "Okay, I also want to take Father Huang... take the Emperor to have a look, and let him see the place where his mother lived." As she spoke, her fingertips gently stroked the pearls on the embroidery frame. They were specially chosen by her, and they looked very much like the stars at Daming Lake at night.
The abbot walked in, carrying a cup of freshly brewed Rain-Predawn Longjing tea. A touch of snow foam clung to his gray beard. He smiled and said, "Young people's worries are written on their faces." He passed teacups among the group, and the aroma of tea rose in the air. "This tea is from the young buds we picked this morning while sweeping the snow. Try some."
Xiaoyanzi picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. The heat made her stick out her tongue, which made everyone laugh. She smacked her lips and said, "Good tea! Even more fragrant than the Dragon Well tea before the rain in the palace! Grandpa Abbot, is this tea here imbued with the aura of immortality?"
"It's the smell of snow." The abbot twisted his Buddhist beads, a gentle smile in his old eyes. "Brewing tea with snow water naturally adds a bit of freshness." He looked at Yongqi and Erkang, "The palace is not as quiet as the temple. When you protect these sisters from now on, you must be more careful and less impatient."
Yongqi nodded solemnly, "Master, don't worry. We will definitely protect them." He looked at Xiaoyanzi and saw that she was secretly pouring the remaining tea leaves into her handkerchief, probably intending to take them back to Shufangzhai. He couldn't help but reach out and tap her forehead, "Trying to steal something again?"
Xiaoyanzi covered her forehead with her hands and cried out, "Ouch!" She stuffed the handkerchief into her bosom and made a face at Yongqi. "This is called 'borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha'. Bring it back for Xiaowenzi and the others to try, so they can also get a taste of Zen!"
As he was speaking, Xiao Jian walked in from outside, a light layer of snow on his dark robe. He patted the snow off his shoulders and said in a deep voice, "Just now, I saw a eunuch acting suspiciously outside the mountain gate. He was wearing the clothes of the Imperial Household Department, but he went to the back mountain. His behavior was suspicious." He walked over to Xiao Yanzi and took the teacup from her hand naturally. "I've asked the temple guards to keep an eye on him. Let's see what tricks he has up his sleeve."
Xiaoyanzi's heart skipped a beat, and she remembered the scent of the crabapple blossoms she had smelled that morning. Her fingertips unconsciously clenched around her handkerchief, "Is he wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket? Are there ink stains on the cuffs?"
Xiao Jian was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "How did you know?"
"I saw him behind the plum tree in the backyard this morning!" Xiaoyanzi stood up. Although she had changed out of her phoenix coronet and bridal robe, her lilac-colored coat and skirt looked a little disheveled from her movements. "He must be coming for us!"
Ziwei also stood up, and the embroidery frame almost slipped from her knees. Fortunately, Erkang was quick to catch it: "Could it be... someone from the palace?" Her voice trembled and her fingertips were cold.
Yong Qi frowned. "The enthronement ceremony is approaching, and there are indeed people who don't want us to go smoothly." He looked at Xiao Jian, "What is that eunuch doing in the back mountain? There are only some abandoned meditation rooms in the back mountain."
"I've already sent someone to investigate." Xiao Jian's eyes were as sharp as a sword. "No matter who they are, if they dare to do anything in Huguo Temple, I will not let them off."
The abbot clasped his hands and said, "Amitabha, good deeds will be rewarded, and evil deeds will be punished." He picked up the Diamond Sutra on the table and said, "Relax, what is meant to come will come. Just be prepared to deal with it."
Meanwhile, in the alley behind the side halls of Jingren Palace, Nanny Li was stealthily talking to a young eunuch. The young eunuch was the one who had been targeted in the hills behind Huguo Temple. He was wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket from the Imperial Household Department, the cuffs stained with ink. His face was filled with nervousness, and he kept rubbing his red, frozen hands.
"Is everything ready?" Nanny Li lowered her voice and glanced around vigilantly. The cold wind howled in the alley, blowing up the remaining snow on the ground.
The young eunuch nodded quickly, pulled out a small oil-paper bag from his bosom, and stuffed it into Madam Li's pocket. "It's done! While they were talking in the meditation room, I slipped into the temporary wing and slipped some 'unlucky thread' into Princess Mingzhu's embroidery basket. I also sprinkled 'horse-tripping incense' powder into Princess Huanzhu's sword tassel!" His voice trembled. "Madam, if this is discovered, it will be a capital offense!"
Nanny Li tucked the oil-paper bag into her pocket and glared at him fiercely, "You useless jerk! After this is done, the Empress will reward you handsomely. I guarantee you'll have a comfortable life in the palace!" She pulled a heavy silver ingot from her sleeve pocket and stuffed it into the young eunuch's pocket. "This is the deposit. I'll give you the rest after this is done! Remember, keep this a secret. Anyone who dares to say anything will be on your guard!"
The young eunuch took the silver ingot and weighed it. The fear in his eyes was replaced by greed. He nodded repeatedly: "No need for that, slave! I didn't see anything, I don't know anything!"
Nanny Li nodded in satisfaction, turned, and hurried away, her gray skirt sweeping the snow, leaving a trail of messy footprints. As she turned the corner, a sinister smile crossed her face, her fingertips stroking the oil-paper bag in her bosom, as if she had already witnessed the two princesses' embarrassing appearances at the enthronement ceremony.
In the meditation room of Huguo Temple, Xiaoyanzi was pestering Xiaojian to teach her how to identify poison powder. "Brother, can you teach me how to tell if the sword tassel has been tampered with? What if there really is some kind of 'horse-tripping incense'? I don't want to get dizzy and fall flat on my face during the ancestral worship!"
Xiao Jian reluctantly picked up her sword tassel, a bright red silk tassel adorned with a few small bells. He put it to his nose and sniffed it, frowning slightly. "This tassel does have a strange smell, like it's mixed with herbs." He pulled out a small silver hairpin from his bosom and gently stirred it in the tassel. The hairpin immediately changed color. "Sure enough, there's something wrong. This silver hairpin changes color when it comes into contact with poison."
Xiaoyanzi's face changed. She snatched the sword tassel and threw it on the ground, raising her foot to step on it. "Damn it! How dare you tamper with my things!"
"Don't be impulsive." Yong Qi held her back, picked up the sword tassel, and examined it carefully. "This powder will only emit its smell when heated. As long as it stays away from charcoal fire, it will be fine. We can use their tricks to find out who is behind this."
Ziwei also became nervous and quickly looked through her embroidery basket: "What about my embroidery thread..."
Erkang picked up a strand of silver thread and examined it against the sunlight. Sure enough, there were a few very thin black threads mixed in the thread core, which were impossible to detect without careful observation. "There's something wrong with this thread. It's unlucky to embroider it on a longevity screen."
Xiaoyanzi gritted her teeth, "It must be that wicked Concubine Gao! The scent of the crabapple blossoms from Xifu that I smelled this morning is exactly the same as the incense in her palace!"
The abbot looked at the black thread and sighed, "People's hearts are unpredictable. Donors, please be careful." He took out two small sachets from the shrine and handed them to Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei. "These are made of mugwort and sandalwood. They can ward off bad air. Carry them with you."
Xiaoyanzi took the sachet and clutched it tightly in her hand. The playfulness in her eyes was gone, replaced by a firm look. "Thank you, Grandpa Abbot! They want to embarrass us, but I want to look beautiful and attend the enthronement ceremony. I'll piss them off to death!"
As the sun set, its golden afterglow bathed the red walls of Huguo Temple. The fallen snow shone faintly in the twilight. As the carriage pulled away from the mountain gate, Xiaoyanzi glanced back at the ancient temple. The shadow of the bell tower stretched out, as if silently guarding something. She clenched the sachet in her hand, knowing that this war without gunpowder had only just begun. Within the walls of the Forbidden City, palace lanterns gradually lit up, their warm yellow glow revealing countless hidden threats, awaiting the two sisters.
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