Chapter 531 Entering the Dream
Xie Shang left the Jiang residence and went straight out of the city. By the time he arrived at Huguo Temple, it was already dark.
Lin Feng revealed his identity before they were led to Master Wu Zi's meditation room.
Xie Shang went to knock on the door himself and said, "Master Wu, I have something to ask of you. May I ask you to see me?"
After a short while, the door to the meditation room was opened by the young monk. "The abbot invites Your Majesty in."
Xie Shang entered the meditation room, and heard Master Wu Zi say in a deep voice, "Amitabha, this old monk has been waiting for Your Majesty for a long time."
Xie Shang clasped his hands together to show his sincerity: "Master knew I was coming."
"The arrival of the Imperial Star is a blessing upon the Great Zhou Dynasty, a blessing for His Majesty and all the people," Wu Zi added. "The Imperial Star was born in the direction of the Imperial City. Will His Majesty have any children born soon?"
Xie Shang said, "My fourth son has only been born for a little over a month. The master is saying that the fourth prince is the star that can save the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"Yes and no." Master Wu Zi slowly explained: "If we follow my previous calculations, that's one way to put it, but now the celestial phenomena have changed. During my seclusion, I entered a dream and received guidance from a celestial master. In the dream, phoenixes flew and dragons soared across the four seas, displaying an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers. However, in the dream, I also saw a phoenix undergoing a rebirth, which is the key to changing the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty."
Xie Shang wondered if Jiang Fenghua's rebirth had changed the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and if what she said was true, and not just a dream.
Master Wu Zi continued, “Buddhism emphasizes the cycle of cause and effect, the six realms of reincarnation. Every effect has a cause, and every cause has an effect. All things are empty except for cause and effect. Only Your Majesty can find those who can help you. Remember, Your Majesty, plant good seeds to reap good results, and plant bad seeds to reap bad results.”
Xie Shang continued, “Master, your Buddhist teachings are profound. I also have some worries that have been troubling me. Master, do you have any way to help me enter my dreams to find out the truth? Since cause and effect have already been determined, I want to know what kind of cause I have sown. I want to make amends but I don’t know where to start.”
"Who is causing Your Majesty's distress? Do you have any of that person's personal belongings?"
Xie Shang didn't hide it anymore. Since Master Wu could predict the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he could definitely also figure out whether Jiang Fenghua was a reborn person. He added, "My wife has been plagued by nightmares and can't even sleep normally."
Xie Shang originally planned to bring Jiang Fenghua to see Master Wu Zi, hoping that the master's Buddhist light could dispel Jiang Fenghua's inner demons. He thought that Jiang Fenghua's frequent nightmares were caused by her inner demons.
Xie Shang took out an exquisite pouch from his bosom. "Inside are my and her hairs."
Master Wu Zi clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha. Your Majesty, please lie down on the bed. This old monk has a method to help Your Majesty fall asleep. You only need to silently recite the name of Your Majesty's wife."
Xie Shang lay down as instructed, silently reciting Jiang Fenghua's name. He heard Buddhist scriptures he couldn't understand and was quickly hypnotized into sleep.
Xie Shang had a dream in which he came to a house and looked up at the plaque above it, which read "Jiang Mansion".
At this time, the Jiang family was celebrating a happy occasion, with red silks hanging inside and outside the mansion, and the atmosphere inside was lively and festive.
He walked further in and saw that the two maids, Hongxiu and Lianye, still looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The maid who was with them said, "The Third Miss is getting married. I'm so happy for her."
Xie Shang thought to himself: What? Ruan Ruan is getting married? She is clearly my wife, who is she going to marry? Ruan Ruan, where have you gone?
He followed the maid into Jiang Fenghua's bedroom, where he saw that she was stunningly beautiful, her exquisite makeup still as gorgeous as ever. "My Ruan Ruan is still as beautiful as ever."
He tried to call her name, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a response from her.
Jiang's mother said, "Ruanruan, the man you are marrying is Prince Heng. His status and position are extraordinary. But as long as you do your duty well, and my Ruanruan is so beautiful, she will surely win Prince Heng's favor. After marriage, you will be a royal daughter-in-law..."
Xie Shang listened and then realized that the person Ruan Ruan was going to marry was himself. At that time, he was still a prince. How could he dream about the time when he was still the Prince of Heng?
The weight lifted from his heart. It turned out that Ruan Ruan was going to marry him in his dream. He must have missed her so much that he dreamed about their past.
However, what happened next was completely different from what they had experienced.
Since she boarded the wedding sedan chair of Prince Heng's mansion, the bright red veil on her head has blocked Jiang Fenghua's broad view, and her eyes can only see the small world in front of her.
Nearby, palace maids were gossiping: "Her Majesty the Empress adores her daughter-in-law. Her wedding dress was meticulously embroidered by the palace's textile department over six months, and it was incredibly luxurious. Even the hairpin in her hair was a phoenix-shaped gold hairpin that the Empress had specially granted permission to wear. It's as if even a chicken coop can produce a golden phoenix."
The person who said these things was full of sarcasm.
Hearing the discussions outside, Jiang Fenghua thought to herself: Father said this was too ostentatious and somewhat overstepped the bounds of propriety, but since the Empress ordered her to wear it, Father couldn't say a word against it. He only told her before her marriage to be careful in her words and deeds after marriage and not to stand out. She should forget the knowledge she had learned in her youth.
A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent.
As a newlywed, she naturally thought about how to be a good wife and mother after marriage. She would not be blinded by her wealth and status. Marrying into the royal family was no small matter. She thought her father was trying to remind her of this.
She imagined what her future husband would look like, what his temperament would be like, what his habits would be like, and how she would get along with him...
What Xie Shang found strange was that he could hear Jiang Fenghua's inner thoughts in his dream.
Her bridal sedan chair stopped in front of the Prince Heng's mansion, and the master of ceremonies shouted, "Please have the groom kick the sedan chair door."
She eagerly awaited her husband, having only heard that Prince Heng was handsome, but she had never actually seen him.
She couldn't help but peek outside through the curtain. In that one glance, her heart pounded like a deer. She thought her husband was incredibly handsome, as radiant as the moonlight. In her imagination, the handsome and elegant Prince Heng was beyond her wildest dreams.
When Prince Heng reached out his hand to her, her fingers trembled with nervousness, but the next moment he easily grasped her fingers in his palm.
She hid behind her small veil as he led her step by step forward, hand in hand.
At that moment, she imagined that this was the man she would spend the rest of her life with! Imagining a loving marriage, growing old together, her lips curved into a smile of joy. She would spend the rest of her life with her husband.
From the entire wedding ceremony, Xie Shang could tell that this time the wedding ceremony was not like their wedding day. She did not almost fall into his arms, and everything went smoothly. Jiang Fenghua was full of anticipation for the wedding ceremony with him, but the Prince Heng in front of her was full of coldness and disgust.
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