Chapter 151: The warmth of the Zen room hides the secrets, the cold light of the embroidery needle lays out the dark plot
The rich sandalwood incense of the Huguo Temple's Zen room mingled with the chilly, post-snow air drifting in from the window, forming a thin mist on the blue brick floor. The abbot had just brewed fresh tea in a silver kettle. The tender buds of Biluochun tea slowly unfurled in the white porcelain cup, the liquid tinged with a faint goose-yellow. Little Swallow warmed her hands with the cup, her phoenix coronet already removed and placed on the table. Her jet-black braid was loosely tied, a few strands draping across her cheeks, stained with cinnabar rubbed from the plum tree.
"The figure I just saw in the backyard must be coming for us." Xiaoyanzi took a sip of hot tea, her tongue numbing from the heat, but she couldn't help but frown. "I remember that scent of powder. I smelled it last time behind the rockery in the Imperial Garden. It's the same scent as the incense in Concubine Gao's palace."
Ziwei was wiping the wooden fish pendant on her wrist with a handkerchief. The warmth of the peach wood was heated by her body temperature. She whispered, "Maybe it's a pilgrim passing by? This Huguo Temple is very popular." Although she said so, her fingertips tightened unconsciously, and the orchid embroidered on the handkerchief was pinched into deep folds.
"Why would a pilgrim wear a gray cotton-padded jacket?" Yongqi took the teacup from Xiaoyanzi's hand and blew away the foam for her. His fingertips touched her red earlobe. "Just now I went to check. There were fresh footprints in the corner of the wall, leading all the way to the back door. They're definitely not good people." He looked at the abbot with a serious look. "Master, you have to pay more attention to the temple these days."
The abbot paused, twisting his Buddhist beads. The smile in his old eyes faded a little, and his fingertips gently stroked the red sandalwood beads. "Monks don't interfere in worldly affairs, but it's our duty to protect pilgrims." He picked up the teacup, and the tea mist blurred the wrinkles on his face. "I'll have the temple's warrior monks patrol the area later. You can rest assured."
Erkang was helping Ziwei comb her wind-twisted hair. The silver tassels were tangled around his fingertips, and he undid them with a gentle twist. "The enthronement ceremony is imminent, and some people might be restless," he said, his voice low enough for only those around him to hear. "The man just now was small and thin, and looked like a palace eunuch."
Xiaoyanzi's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered what Xiaowenzi had said the previous night. When she went to the Imperial Household Department to collect charcoal, she heard Li Ma mutter to a young eunuch, "The incense at the Huguo Temple is good, just the right amount of bad luck for the princesses." She had thought it was a joke at the time, but now, thinking back, the hidden meaning behind those words was colder than the snow outside the window.
"No matter who it is, if they dare to mess with me, I'll..." Xiaoyanzi slammed the table, causing a few drops of water to splash onto the Diamond Sutra on the table, leaving a small stain. Before she could finish her words, the abbot stopped her with a look. She could only scratch her head in frustration. "I'll just... offer him a cup of hot tea and a chat about Buddhism."
This made everyone laugh, and the tense atmosphere in the meditation room dissipated. Ziwei took out an embroidery frame, on which was a half-finished amulet. Silver thread weaved across the plain silk, the stitches meticulously applied. "Better be careful. The abbot said, 'It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark.'" She looked up at Xiaoyanzi, her eyes filled with worry. "You have a quick temper. Don't be impulsive."
"I know, my dear sister." Little Swallow leaned over to watch her embroider, her nose almost touching the embroidery frame. "Could you embroider a little swallow on this amulet for me? Just like the one on the plum tree in the temple, painted with cinnabar!"
Yongqi laughed and said, "You just know how to mess around." Even as he said this, he pulled out a small pair of silver scissors from his sleeve pocket and handed them to Ziwei, "This is what my mother left behind. It's the most efficient at cutting silk thread."
The snow outside the Zen room began to melt under the sun, and water droplets dripped from the eaves, leaving small wet marks on the bluestone slabs. The footsteps of the temple guardian monks passed through the corridor, steady and regular, adding a sense of vigilance to this seemingly peaceful ancient temple.
At that moment, the side hall of Jingren Palace was filled with the rich fragrance of crabapple blossoms, a sickly sweet aroma that couldn't overcome the chill in the air. Concubine Gao reclined on a soft couch covered in white fox fur, fiddling with a red-gold and kingfisher-embellished hairpin, the pearl in her phoenix beak swaying gently with her movements. Nanny Li was kneeling on the ground, holding a brocade box containing a few strands of dimly luminous silk thread.
"Are you sure that thing works?" Concubine Gao's voice was lazy, but the ending tone was a little fierce. Her nails scratched lightly on the green feathers of her hairpin, leaving a few white marks.
"I specially asked someone to find this 'unlucky thread' from outside the palace." Nanny Li's voice was very low, with a flattering smile on her face, but a sinister glint in her eyes. "Just embroider it on the birthday screen that Princess Mingzhu gave to the Empress Dowager, and then prick her a few times with a needle dipped in black dog blood. I guarantee she will..." She made a "bad luck" gesture, and a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth. "She will definitely make a fool of herself at the enthronement ceremony!"
Concubine Gao scoffed and threw her hairpin onto the dressing table with a clang. She stood up and walked to the window, looking at the frozen crabapple tree in the courtyard, digging her nails into her palms. "An adopted daughter and a bastard, are they worthy of being given the title of Princess? Do they really think this harem is their Jiangnan stage, where they can sing whatever they want?"
"Your Highness is right," Nanny Li agreed hastily, pulling out a small, bulging sachet from the brocade box. It exuded a pungent herbal aroma. "This is the 'Horse-Tripping Incense' prepared for Princess Huanzhu. Grind it into powder and mix it with the sword tassel. The odor will dissipate when heated. I guarantee she'll feel dizzy and weak during sword practice, and embarrass herself before the Emperor!"
Concubine Gao took the sachet, put it to her nose and sniffed it, her brows furrowed instantly. "This scent is too strong! Be careful not to be noticed." She tossed the sachet back into the box, her eyes sinister. "Be more careful, don't leave any evidence. Eunuch Su has been keeping a close eye on us lately, and the Emperor's attention has shifted to the Fang Residence."
"That's for my use." Nanny Li closed the brocade box and tucked it into her arms, as if she were carrying something precious. "That young eunuch is my distant nephew, and he's very tight-lipped. After the deed is done, I'll give him some silver and send him to a palace in another province. He'll make sure it's foolproof." She lowered her voice again. "Just now at the Huguo Temple, my nephew saw clearly that the two princesses were in the meditation room. Shouping and Jiansui...will have plenty of opportunities to take action."
Concubine Gao nodded with satisfaction, walked over to her dressing table, picked up her hairpin again, and tucked it into her hair in front of the bronze mirror. The woman in the mirror was still as beautiful as ever, but the resentment in the corners of her eyes added a touch of harshness to her beauty. She looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly sneered, "Pearl and jade together? I want to see if these two pieces of 'jade' can withstand the test of wind and snow."
Sunlight streamed in through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the floor, but it couldn't dispel the chill within. Nanny Li bowed and retreated, her steps as light as a cat's, the silk thread and sachet in her arms glistening eerily in the sunlight, like two dormant venomous snakes, waiting for the right moment to bar their fangs at the two bright figures in the warm Zen room.
Inside the meditation room of Huguo Temple, Xiaoyanzi grabbed Ziwei's embroidery frame and clumsily began to learn to embroider. A silver needle pricked her fingertip, causing her to grimace in pain, drawing laughter from the crowd. Yongqi reluctantly sucked the blood from her fingertip while Erkang explained Buddhist scriptures to Ziwei. The abbot smiled as he twirled his Buddhist beads. The scent of sandalwood and tea mingled, creating a warm atmosphere that seemed to ward off all the coldness of the world. Yet, no one noticed the scent of the crabapple blossoms from Xifu, which had slipped in through the back door and was now creeping into the cracks of the meditation room, like a cold needle piercing the momentary tranquility.
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