Chapter 60: Prayer
The Jianfu Temple Garden was quite famous in Chang'an. During the war, several parts of the courtyard wall were destroyed and collapsed by the rebel army, but the ancient trees and famous flowers were still there. The withered grass and trees in winter covered the winding paths, and there was silence all around.
Qiandeng chased to the end of the winding path. At the turn, there was a ditch overgrown with weeds, and withered yellow reeds blocked the way ahead.
She pondered in her heart, and heard the rustling footsteps in front of her, as if luring her to chase.
Qiandeng glanced around, seeing no sign of any guards, and hesitated. But the sound of a baby crying up ahead made her unable to give up, so she followed the source of the sound and gave chase.
After searching along a deserted path near the Zen room, she finally saw a young monk carrying a large bamboo basket and looking around furtively.
In the basket was a red swaddling cloth, embroidered with a pattern of grapes with thousands of vines and hundreds of grapes, exactly the same as the one wrapped around Yang Jiazhi's newborn daughter.
Qian Deng immediately quickened his pace and rushed over: "Little Master, why are you here alone?"
"What does it have to do with you?" The other person looked panicked and something was wrong. When he saw someone, he tucked the basket under his arm and quickly ran towards the deserted path.
Qiandeng chased here and finally found the child's trace. How could he give up? He immediately chased after him.
The man wasn't very agile, looking like an ordinary monk, not to mention he was carrying a basket. Qian Deng chased him through the corridor and caught up behind him, reaching out to grab his basket.
Unexpectedly, when he turned around, a cold light flashed in his hand, and a dagger stabbed towards her.
Qiandeng dodged alertly, raised his hand to grab his wrist and twisted it hard.
The young monk was clumsy and tried to grab the dagger in his hand. However, in his panic, the dagger cut a big gash on his own hand and blood gushed out.
The child in the cradle in the basket felt the violent shaking and burst into tears.
Qian Deng was startled to see the other party waving his arms with a dagger in his hand. Fearing that he might hurt the child, he rushed forward desperately, stopped the dagger with one hand, and tried to grab the basket with the other.
In the chaotic scramble, both men's clothes were stained with blood. However, the blood on the young monk's gray robes was not noticeable, while the scarlet blood on Qiandeng's plain clothes was particularly glaring, messy and shocking.
But Qian Deng didn't care anymore. He fought till he was covered in blood and finally grabbed the other person's bloody hand, preventing him from moving.
The blood was slippery, and coupled with the pain in his wrist, the dagger slipped and fell onto the swaddling clothes in the basket, narrowly sliding across the child's cheek.
Qiandeng had no choice but to let go of the hand that was trying to grab the basket and quickly grabbed the dagger.
Just as she grasped the dagger, the little monk pulled out the loosened basket, turned around and ran, and rushed into an inconspicuous small door next to him.
How could Qiandeng let him go? Thinking that the empress was in the temple with all the ladies and royal relatives today, she was not afraid that he would set an ambush, so she immediately chased after him.
Just as she passed through the small door and turned around the huge incense burner behind it, she saw the scene in front of her and was shocked and stopped abruptly.
In front of you is a wide square between two Buddhist halls, neatly arranged with incense, flowers, candles, prayer flags and chanting platforms.
Amidst the monks seated in meditation, a raised platform covered in red carpet stood. The abbot of Jianfu Temple sat upright on it, preaching the Dharma. The Empress and other imperial relatives and ladies sat cross-legged on cushions, surrounding the platform in turn, listening to the Dharma.
When they saw them rushing in, the guards guarding the small gate immediately came up to stop them to avoid disrupting this grand Dharma assembly.
Unexpectedly, the young monk raised the basket in his hand and shouted: "Buddha, have mercy on me! The Princess of Lingling has gone mad and is killing people in the Buddhist temple with a knife!"
The scene was originally silent, but the wailing cries for help suddenly broke the solemn atmosphere, causing everyone in the temple to burst into an uproar and look over here.
When they saw Qian Deng rushing in with a dagger in his hand and his clothes stained with blood, everyone gasped.
Xiao Fuyu immediately stood up, stood in front of the queen, and shouted, "Someone, protect the queen!"
Hearing her shout, all the royal relatives and ladies went from being stunned to being terrified. They subconsciously stood up and shielded the empress dowager and the concubines.
In fact, the small gate was still quite far from the queen, but the entire open space was arranged as a lecture hall. When Qiandeng broke into the small gate, it was like he had entered a place for prayer.
The guards arranged around had already rushed over, swords drawn, pointing directly at Qiandeng.
She immediately knelt down, bowed her head, raised the dagger in her hand above her head, and shouted, "Lingling had no intention of harming anyone. I simply stumbled into this place by mistake. I beg the Queen Mother and Her Royal Highness to forgive me!"
"Lingling, what are you doing here?" The sound of boots clattered before her. It was the Crown Prince, ignoring the guards surrounding him, who hurried up to her. Seeing her covered in blood and holding a weapon, he was startled. His question was questioned and hesitant. "Didn't the palace exempt you from accompanying the prayer yesterday?"
Qian Deng answered loudly, hoping everyone present could hear him: "Your Highness, my cousin gave birth to a child today, but someone snatched her away. I chased her all the way here and discovered the perpetrator's activities in the backyard. I mistakenly entered this place and disturbed Her Highness the Queen. I beg for your forgiveness!"
Princess Gao scoffed, then said sarcastically, "Alas! Right here at the foot of the Emperor, inside Chang'an City, in the prosperous Kaihuafang, someone actually snatched a child in broad daylight? And you, the Princess of the County, not only chased the child snatcher alone, but you even bypassed all the guards and broke into the palace's prayer center. I can't believe this."
"Amitabha! Moreover, if the county lady came here looking for the child, why would she bring a weapon into our Buddhist temple, and why would she stab a member of our sect with a knife?" The young novice monk chanted the Buddha's name aggrievedly. "The child in my hands was given to me by my family to be ordained before the Buddha today during the prayer. I have brought her here in accordance with the Dharma, and I have done nothing wrong."
When everyone saw his clasped hands covered in blood and his Qiandeng robe covered in blood, they were all shocked and confused.
"This is clearly my cousin's child who was kidnapped, and I snatched the dagger from you!" Qian Deng, realizing he was accusing her, immediately retorted, "I was just about to ask, you're a monk from Jianfu Temple? How did you manage to carry a sharp weapon in this temple?"
The two men were both speaking with such conviction that everyone was just beginning to wonder what to say. Then an old monk beside the abbot stood up, walked over to the young novice, and asked, "Pu Jing, monks are supposed to abstain from anger and fighting. Today's prayer is unusual. The temple has already cleared away sharp objects, even the kitchen knives have been properly put away. Where did you get this dagger?"
These words seemed to be questioning the young monk, but in fact they were meant to clear his name and prove that there was no murder weapon in the temple.
The young novice monk also bowed his head and cried, "Master, I did nothing wrong. I just brought the baby with me. But the Lingling County Lady somehow managed to sneak into the temple. When she saw me, she rushed at me with a knife. I was afraid of hurting the child, so I could only raise my hands to stop her. As a result..."
"Amitabha, although seeing blood while praying before the Buddha is unlucky, you are doing this to protect the baby, so it is a meritorious deed. Please heal your wound first."
They sang in unison, and everyone looked at Qian Deng with more suspicion and fear.
Wei Fengyang, the Eastern Palace Left Guard officer beside the Crown Prince, asked, "Who was it that stabbed the victim? Checking the weapon might give us some clues."
Qiandeng's heart trembled slightly, and an ominous thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
She subconsciously raised her eyes and looked at the dagger in her hand.
On the fine iron dagger, stained with blood, four small characters could be vaguely seen engraved:
Changhua Palace.
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