Chapter 72

Sui Xun was not around, so Sui Yan left a few words for Li Zhao to pass on, then packed up a bunch of things and followed Duan Ming Chong into the carriage to Xiangguo Temple.

It snowed a few days ago, and the mountain road to Xiangguo Temple was extremely difficult to walk on. Sui Yan and Duan Mingchong walked and stopped many times, and finally arrived after half a day.

The people at Xiangguo Temple had already prepared a place for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to live, and Duan Mingchong ordered people to move Sui Yan's messy things over.

Sui Yan held the small hand stove in his hand, looked around at the temple where the snow had not yet melted, and said, "Does Your Highness come to Xiangguo Temple often?"

Duan Mingchong nodded: "Not bad, I'm going to see Master Gengxue now, do you want to go with me?"

Sui Yan was a little hesitant. He had only seen Gengxue for a short moment that year, but he learned from a few words that Gengxue knew about his rebirth.

He was so confused at the time that he ran away without saying a word.

Although three years had passed since the incident, Sui Yan still had an unknown fear towards Geng Xue.

He was silent for too long, Duan Mingchong asked: "Ayan?"

"Ah?" Sui Yan came back to his senses and said, "Okay, let's go. The last time I came to Xiangguo Temple to see Master Gengxue, I left without talking to him for long. Thinking about it carefully, it was really rude. This time I will go and apologize to the master."

Duan Mingchong smiled, said nothing, and took him to the temple in the backyard.

Under the Qingmuxue corridor, Gengxue, dressed in a monk's robe, was kneeling on a mat, with smoke rising slowly from the small incense burner in front of him.

Three years have passed, and Gengxue has not changed at all. Seeing Sui Yan and Duan Mingchong coming together, she was not surprised at all. She smiled and clasped her hands together to bow.

Duan Mingchong returned the greeting and said with a smile, "Master, please don't blame me for coming here with you to bother you."

Sui Yan nodded slightly and said calmly, "Master, I am well."

Gengxue smiled and said, "After not seeing you for so many years, you look much more energetic now."

Sui Yan glanced at him and said with a half-smile: "Master, you haven't changed at all."

Gengxue pretended not to hear the hostility in his tone, asked the two of them to sit down, and made some tea.

The clear water quickly swirled and the aroma of tea filled the air.

Sui Yan was afraid that Gengxue would say something nonsense to Duan Mingchong, but when he thought carefully, a monk as enlightened as Gengxue would definitely not gossip.

Gengxue poured tea for the two of them and said to Sui Yan, "Does the Marquis seem to be unwell?"

Sui Yan said, "Master, please don't worry. It's nothing serious."

Sui Yan took a sip of tea and frowned, as if the tea was not to his liking. He put the cup down and stopped drinking.

Duan Mingchong looked at him awkwardly, and gently touched Sui Yan's leg under the table, telling him to stop messing around.

Sui Yan didn't say anything, but just kept staring at Geng Xuemeng.

Gengxue didn't think he was being rude. She looked at him and smiled.

Sui Yan stopped talking, Duan Mingchong breathed a sigh of relief, and exchanged a few words with Geng Xue.

Duan Mingchong came for the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, and could not stay in Gengxue for long. He just said a few words casually and then stood up to say goodbye.

Duan Mingchong stood up and was about to leave when he found Sui Yan was still sitting there motionless, and seemed to have no intention of leaving.

"Ayan?"

Sui Yan raised his head and smiled at Duan Mingchong obediently: "Your Highness, please go ahead and do your work. I have nothing to do in Xiangguo Temple anyway, so it's just right for me to discuss Buddhism with the Master here."

Buddhism?

Duan Mingchong looked at him suspiciously and whispered, "Do you believe in Buddhism?"

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan could hardly hold back his smile, and said incoherently, "Now I believe it, Your Highness, please go and do your work. I will come find you later."

Sui Yan had no sense of propriety, but Master Gengxue should have some. Duan Mingchong was no longer worried that the two would fight, so he smiled at Gengxue, turned around and left.

After Duan Ming Chongyi left, the smile on Sui Yan's face disappeared instantly. He looked at Geng Xue expressionlessly, with coldness in his eyes.

Gengxue didn't feel rude at all when Sui Yan stared at him like that. He was gentle and drank half a cup of tea slowly before chuckling, "My Lord, just speak frankly. I will tell you everything I know."

Sui Yan liked this kind of straightforward personality, and said bluntly: "When was the last time you said we had met?"

Gengxue, with the mysteriousness of a high-level monk, said softly, "In a dream."

Sui Yan: “…”

This monk looks like a decent person, but why does he speak in such an ungentlemanly way?

The unruly monk laughed and said, "The past is like a fleeting dream. Since you already know the answer, why bother asking? I thought you were going to ask another question."

Sui Yan lowered his eyelashes and whispered after a long while: "What if I believe in gods and Buddhas? What if I don't believe in them?"

Gengxue said calmly: "If you believe in Buddha, you will be punished for your own actions; if you do not believe in Buddha, whether you go to hell or go to the mountain of swords, it will not affect you, Lord Hou."

Sui Yan said nothing.

Geng Xue looked at Sui Yan's rather lost expression, reached out and took out a wooden stick tube from under the small table, held it in front of Sui Yan, and said, "Master, please draw a stick."

Sui Yan raised his head, looked at him, and shook his head in rejection.

"I don't believe in gods or Buddhas."

Gengxue stared at him without moving.

The two of them were in a stalemate for a moment, and then Sui Yan stretched out his hand, drew a lot at random, and handed it to Gengxue.

Gengxue looked at it and the smile on her lips deepened.

"Sign it."

Sui Yan snorted and said, "That's why I said I don't believe it. If you can let me draw again, I will definitely get a good lot."

Gengxue: “…”

Gengxue shook her head and laughed, saying, "The matter that you are worried about is full of dangers. If you make a mistake, you may not end well."

Sui Yan was silent for a long time before he knocked on the table and said stubbornly, "This one doesn't count. I want to draw another one."

Gengxue put the box back and said, "If you don't believe in Buddha, you won't believe the monk's nonsense. What difference does it make whether you smoke or not?"

Sui Yan said, "For peace of mind, you may not believe in ghosts and gods, but you must respect them. If you don't let me smoke, I will feel uneasy these days."

Gengxue was still shaking her head.

Sui Yan curled his lips and gave up the idea.

Gengxue looked at Sui Yan's expression and said with a smile, "Are you worried that I will tell the Crown Prince about the past?"

Sui Yan raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "Can you do it?"

Gengxue: "Of course not. This is a divine secret."

Sui Yan: "Oh, just now you said it was just a dream. If it was a secret, you wouldn't have told me about it. The past is imaginary. If you didn't experience it yourself, who would believe it?"

Gengxue smiled and said, "Master Hou is very insightful."

Sui Yan thought for a moment, and then said, "If the Third Prince comes to Xiangguo Temple next time, you can have a chat with him."

Gengxue: “…”

Even though Gengxue remained calm, she was still speechless after hearing Sui Yan's words.

Sui Yan drank a few cups of tea at Geng Xue's place and brought up the idea of ​​drawing lots again, but Geng Xue rejected all of his requests.

Before Sui Yan left, he glanced at the sign box under Geng Xue's desk, sneered in his heart, and turned away.

He was led by the palace maids of the East Palace to the backyard of Xiangguo Temple. Duan Mingchong had already returned from his busy work and was standing under the porch, looking up slightly at a nest of sparrows chirping on the eaves.

He frowned and seemed to be a little troubled.

Sui Yan handed the hand warmer to the palace maid beside him, squatted down, made a snowball on the ground, and threw it directly onto the eaves.

The snowball exploded on the eaves with a bang, scaring the sparrows on the eaves into flying all over the place, and soon disappeared.

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong turned his head and saw Sui Yan smiling at him smugly, his slender white hands were frozen and slightly red.

Duan Mingchong walked down helplessly, pulled his hand and walked into the room, saying, "What did you talk about with Master Gengxue? Why did you come back so late?"

Sui Yan grabbed Duan Mingchong's hand and quietly slipped into Duan Mingchong's sleeve. He casually said, "Buddhism."

Duan Mingchong was amused: "Then tell me in detail what you talked about?"

Sui Yan couldn't answer for a moment, so he could only smile at him obediently.

There was no floor heating in the room, so a few charcoal braziers were placed there, and it was warmed up in a short while.

Sui Yan's cold hand tried desperately to get into Duan Mingchong's sleeve and was finally caught. Duan Mingchong pulled his hand out and glanced at him slightly.

Sui Yan smiled harmlessly, not daring to take advantage of him again. He ran to the charcoal brazier and squatted for a while before his hands were warm.

It was already late at night, and soon someone brought in vegetarian food.

Sui Yan randomly dialed a number and looked at Duan Mingchong expectantly: "Your Highness, you should have brought the chef to make snacks, right?"

His eyes were full of expectation, but Duan Mingchong shook his head: "No."

Sui Yan froze for a moment, somewhat incredulous: "Ah?"

Duan Mingchong saw that he looked shocked and disappointed, so he stopped teasing him and said with a smile, "Eat first, then have a snack. Otherwise, how can you eat your meal if you only have snacks?"

Sui Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Duan Mingchong was really getting worse and worse. If it were in the past, he would not have lied to him like this.

The two of them finished their vegetarian meal, and Sui Yan finally got to eat the steamed bun he had been craving for.

He ate with tears in his eyes and secretly made up his mind: "After the crown prince ascends the throne, Wu Mo will not be able to escape. He is my father's man anyway, so he should be willing to stay in the Marquis' Mansion."

He took care of himself and found a way out for Wu Mo. He felt that his life was perfect and he was very satisfied.

After Duan Mingchong finished his meal, he went to Xiangguo Temple to light the longevity lamp. Sui Yan was bored alone, so he had to read in his room.

He looked for a while and saw that Duan Mingchong had not come back yet. After thinking about it, he still felt uncomfortable.

Sui Yan rolled around on the bed for a while, then gritted his teeth, put on his outer robe and walked to the outer room, and said to the palace maid, "Can you call the chef who came with us over? I have something to tell him."

The palace maid asked, "Does the Marquis want to have some snacks?"

Sui Yan said, "No, no, just go ahead and call."

The palace maid then ran away without knowing why.

Another half hour passed before Duan Mingchong came back from outside, his body covered in frost.

He first took off his outer robe in the outer room, and warmed himself by the charcoal brazier for a while to drive away the coldness from his body, and then went into the inner room.

Sui Yan had already reached the bed and was now lying on the pillow, doing something.

Duan Mingchong stepped forward and said, "Ayan? Are you going to sleep?"

Sui Yan hurriedly sat up and said, "Your Highness, can you interpret the fortune?"

Duan Mingchong asked in confusion: "What?"

Sui Yan stretched his hand out from behind his back, revealing a handful of bamboo sticks.

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Sui Yanchong glanced at him and said, "I have drawn all the good lots. Your Highness, please help me interpret it. Will everything go as I wish? Will good things come to me?"

Duan Mingchong: "..."

Duan Mingchong asked with difficulty: "Where did you get these lottery tickets?"

Sui Yan lied with his eyes half closed: "I got it from Master Gengxue."

Duan Mingchong looked at the handful of sticks in Sui Yan's hand, there were more than ten of them, and he was speechless. For a moment he didn't know what to say.

Sui Yan blinked and urged him, "Your Highness, please untie it quickly."

It was not easy for Wu Mo to steal it.

Duan Mingchong pressed his forehead with a headache.

Author's words: Gengxue: Hmm? Hmm? Where's my signature?