Chapter 63 063 Xie Huaiyuan looked at her coldly...
Cibei Temple is a continuous stretch of halls and pavilions, with tiled roofs and flying eaves nestled among towering ancient trees. After nightfall, the only sounds in the ancient temple, besides birdsong and insect chirps, are the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Inside the solemn and sacred Great Ming Palace, the candlelight shone brightly, making it as bright as day.
A man in a purple robe and jade belt stood quietly before the Buddha statue, silently raising his eyes to look directly at the golden Buddha statue on the lotus seat. The warm candlelight made his compassionate face, which seemed to be saving all sentient beings, appear even more merciful.
The cool night breeze blew in through the door, ruffling his robes and making the hall seem very desolate.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from afar, growing louder until they stopped outside the palace gate.
The guard hesitated, his forehead beaded with sweat, then gritted his teeth and entered the hall. He bowed and whispered his report, afraid of disturbing the peace: "Your Highness... she, she ran away. That's where Her Highness the Princess rests; it's not appropriate to go there."
Xie Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his eyes from the Buddha statue's face, a cold glint flashing in them. His hand clenched in his sleeve, and he whispered as if into a lover's ear, "It really can run!"
Guard: "Should we go again...?"
Xie Huaiyuan: "No need."
She wouldn't come here for no reason; there must be something that made her come all this way.
Xie Huaiyuan's eyes darkened, and he turned and left without pausing for a moment. He strode along the road, walking faster and faster until his figure disappeared into the darkness. His back revealed a sinister and angry expression, and the guards following behind him were terrified.
In the guesthouse in the backyard of Cibei Temple, one room still had its light on, standing out conspicuously in the dark night.
The Crown Prince put down the documents in his hand, lightly pressed his fingertips to his forehead, and after reading through the documents for more than half an hour, he was slightly tired. He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea, and then slowly spoke: "You mean Xie Huaiyuan sent someone to look for Miss Lin just now?"
The eunuch with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face knelt down and bowed his head, not daring to look directly at the person above him. He replied respectfully, "I just saw it with my own eyes. However, Miss Lin seemed to have some concerns. She turned back along the original route halfway there. The guard saw this and could not send anyone over, so he left first to report to Lord Xie."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince chuckled, put down his teacup, and said, "Truly interesting!"
Last year, I often heard how much Miss Lin of the Su family was infatuated with the young master Xie Huaiyuan. But after only a short time, she became so timid and cowardly that she hid away, like a mouse encountering a cat.
The prince's brow relaxed, and he looked up at the quiet courtyard outside the guesthouse, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, he whispered, "A concubine?"
The eunuch, still kneeling in the guest room, lowered his head. In the silence, even the slightest sound was exceptionally clear. When he heard the superior's voice, his kneeling body trembled slightly, and he lowered his head even further in panic, trying to minimize his presence.
Rumors are circulating in the palace that the Empress wants the Crown Prince to take a concubine as soon as possible, and everyone is watching to see who will ultimately be chosen.
This Miss Lin from the Su family suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and even gained the favor of the Crown Prince. They traveled together in the same carriage, and when they entered the temple, the Crown Prince even sent people to keep an eye on her. If you say there's nothing fishy going on here, I'd never believe it even if you beat me to death.
However, as a mere eunuch in the palace, although he felt a little strange, it didn't bother him much. After all, he had seen many similar things in the palace. He would just try to please that Miss Lin in the future.
-
Spring is often rainy. Last night, a sudden wind arose, bringing in dark clouds. In the latter half of the night, some rain fell. The wind was strong and the rain was heavy, knocking down branches, leaves, and flowers all over the ground.
In addition, Cibei Temple is holding a prayer ceremony for the Emperor. In order to protect the safety of the Empress, the Crown Prince and others, the temple has been declining the visits of devout men and women who come to burn incense and worship Buddha in the past few days. The few people seen in the temple are mostly from the palace.
Lin Wan walked slowly along the corridor inside the temple, her mind preoccupied with what Princess Zhaoyi had told her.
Early in the morning, after the temple bells rang through the sky, the monks began chanting sutras and praying for blessings. Princess Zhaoyi was also going to the Baohua Hall with the Empress to pray for blessings today. Before leaving, she mentioned that she wanted Lin Wan to go to the Sutra Repository to find the Diamond Sutra so that she could copy it for blessings.
The Compassionate Temple is very large, with many Buddhist halls of all sizes. She is now dressed as a palace maid. The palace maid Yue'er who was originally with her is now ordered to do something by Princess Zhaoyi, so only Lin Wan goes to the Sutra Pavilion.
I asked several monks along the way, and finally a kind-hearted young novice monk took the initiative to lead the way.
The Sutra Repository is located at the westernmost end, requiring a walk through almost half of the temple. The further west you go, the quieter it becomes, with the trees along the bluestone path growing increasingly lush, and some weeds even growing wildly, gradually giving the area a sense of neglect and desolation.
If the person leading the way hadn't been a young novice monk from the temple, Lin Wan would have suspected that he was just leading the way randomly.
As you pass through the covered walkway hidden by a lush bamboo grove, you can faintly hear the sound of chanting in the distance.
As we got closer, we could hear that the sound was coming from one of the simple houses called the Hall of Rebirth.
Lin Wan was suspicious. If it was a Buddhist hall for chanting scriptures, wouldn't it be in the front? How come there was a Buddhist hall for chanting scriptures in such a remote place in the back? "Little monk, which Buddha is enshrined in this hall? Why isn't it in the front hall?"
The young novice monk smiled and explained, "This is the Hall of Rebirth. It contains memorial tablets for those who have passed away but cannot be sent back home. We chant sutras and pray for their well-being here. However, in recent years, most of them were sent here from the palace and remain here."
Lin Wan hadn't thought anything of it; she was just asking casually.
But as she passed by the Hall of Rebirth, a gust of wind suddenly blew by, blinding her. She had to turn her head to avoid the wind blowing in her face. Inadvertently, her eyes caught a glimpse of the Hall of Rebirth, and she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The young novice asked curiously, "Benefactor, aren't you going to the Sutra Repository? You still need to walk a few more steps."
She strode into the Hall of Rebirth. The chanting of the monks inside the hall reached her ears clearly. No one was disturbed by her sudden intrusion. The chanting of the scriptures was loud and clear, but Lin Wan seemed to be oblivious to everything around her. She stood blankly in the hall, staring at one of the memorial tablets on the incense burner, on which the words "Li Yunzhou" were clearly carved.
The familiar voice pierced through the clouds and reached my ears.
"Wan'er, listen to me. I'm a fast runner. You go first, I'll be there in a bit."
That year.
She went to Licheng on behalf of her father to check the accounts of the Licheng branch, but she inadvertently fell into the hands of bandits in Licheng and was taken hostage to their den.
In the moment of crisis, it was him.
It was Li Yunzhou who led a group of men into the thieves' den alone and rescued him. However, during their escape, their whereabouts were exposed, and Li Yunzhou's act of staying behind allowed him to escape first.
When she was out of danger and safe, she encountered Li Yunzhou's father, Magistrate Li. Magistrate Li was furious and berated Lin Wan. He had no choice but to lead the officials who had come from the capital to suppress the bandits to search for the bandits' den along the way. However, at that time, the area in the direction of the bandits' den had been burned all night, and they found nothing.
She had always thought that Li Yunzhou, who treated her with even more sincerity than her own relatives, was the one who suffered misfortune at that time. She had been blaming herself ever since, and finally accepted the truth of what happened back then.
Now someone told her that Li Yunzhou did not suffer any misfortune that day, but rather that he had unintentionally angered people in the capital and was secretly taken to the capital, where he eventually died.
When she learned of this and rushed back to the capital, Princess Zhaoyi told her that she knew where Li Yunzhou, whom she was looking for, was enshrined, in exchange for her leaving Xie Huaiyuan.
On one side was her savior who had suffered misfortune while saving her, and on the other was the person she had been longing for and filled with joy. She had no choice but to bow her head to Princess Zhaoyi and agree to her request...
But now, Lin Wan stared at the cold words on the memorial plaque with tears in her eyes. She felt all the sadness that had been suppressed for so long surge into her heart. She stared blankly at it, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that wet her cheeks.
-
The gray sky began to rain again, a light drizzle.
Princess Zhaoyi walked back to the guest house from Baohua Palace, but did not see Lin Wan there. Upon asking, she realized that she had asked Lin Wan to borrow a scripture from the scripture pavilion, but Lin Wan had not returned for most of the day.
She frowned, thinking of Xie Huaiyuan, who was also in the temple. Could it be that the two of them had run into each other?
How can this be!
Suddenly, a gust of wind and rain came, and Lin Wan appeared outside the inn. Her clothes and hair were soaked by the rain, and even her face was wet.
Princess Zhaoyi: "It's just going to the library to borrow a scripture. It shouldn't take more than half a day for a round trip. Where are you going?"
Hearing her voice, Lin Wan opened her eyes, her dark pupils calmly looking at her. She slowly stepped forward, took out the scriptures she had been holding, and placed them on the table in front of Princess Zhaoyi. "Your Highness, the scriptures are here."
Princess Zhaoyi was taken aback, realizing that Lin Wan in front of her was very different from before. She seemed to be overwhelmed with grief and no longer cared who she was facing or the promises they had made to each other.
Lin Wan said calmly, "Thank you for your care, Your Highness. I have troubled you for a long time, and it is time for me to take my leave."
"What?" Princess Zhaoyi asked anxiously, "Don't you want to see...?"
“I have seen it,” Lin Wan said decisively. “Let’s end the agreement between the princess and me here.”
She was tired.
My heart is so tired. Suddenly I miss my grandmother so much. I want to hug her and have a good cry.
Princess Zhaoyi: "Do you really think you can leave like this?"
"Your Highness, I am not a real palace maid, why can't I leave?"
Lin Wan had never felt such disgust for this place. She didn't want to argue with Princess Zhaoyi anymore. She just wanted to leave, to go back to the Su family mansion, and to miss her caring grandmother.
Princess Zhaoyi's expression changed, and she hurriedly called out to Lin Wan, who had already reached the entrance of the guest house, "Don't you want to know how that person died? He was one of the assassins who broke into the palace that night, and he died under the sword of the prince Xie Huaiyuan that you mentioned when he was captured!"
What!
In an instant, Lin Wan's face turned deathly pale and she gasped for breath, heartbroken.
However, under Princess Zhaoyi's gaze, she bit her tongue tightly to force herself to regain her composure. At this moment, she was silent. Her eyes, which used to be bright, were now empty and lifeless.
As Princess Zhaoyi shouted and urged them from behind, they gradually walked away from the inn.
When she vaguely realized it, she had already arrived at the main hall of the palace.
Looking up at the golden Buddha statue that compassionately and peacefully watches over the worshippers, something silently slips away from my heart.
Lin Wan knelt beneath the Buddha statue, gazing intently at the image above her. Overwhelmed by grief, she failed to notice anyone approaching from behind.
Xie Huaiyuan stood behind her, coldly watching her devoutly kneeling figure...
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