In the palace, Princess Jinyi helped Empress Jing'an clean her face, while the Eighth Prince sat obediently beside her, his eyes filled with worry. The Emperor looked at his two children and made a decision.
Recently, a monk from Qingshan Temple was recommended to the palace. The emperor had originally been reluctant to act, but now he wanted to give it a try. Empress Jing'an had been lying in bed for so long, perhaps she was suffering from the soul-leaving syndrome the monk had mentioned.
The eighth prince left Fengyang Palace with the emperor. The emperor went to the Yangxin Palace to summon the monks, while the eighth prince went to the study to attend classes.
A monk with a Buddhist aura stood at the bottom of the hall, made a Buddhist seal with one hand, and then said, "Amitabha."
The emperor sat upright in front of the dragon table, looking at the monk without saying a word.
After the two of them had stood face to face for two quarters of an hour, the Emperor asked, "How confident are you, the monk, in bringing back the Queen's departed soul?"
The monk extended his hand in a Buddhist gesture, raised his index finger, and then replied, "Your Majesty, I am only 10% sure."
Hearing this, the emperor's heart sank a little and he said impatiently: "100%, that's 100%. If the queen doesn't come back, you should go and accompany her."
The monk chanted a Buddhist name, lowered his head and said no more.
The two young monks accompanying the monk followed their master to the Tianji Hall. The monk sat down cross-legged to meditate, while the two young monks were busy preparing for the matters before the ritual.
The day's chanting paused at sunset. The monk gazed out the window at the last rays of the setting sun and said, "Begin." Two young monks entered the inner chamber of the Tianji Hall's main hall. Queen Jing'an lay on the bed. The emperor took Queen Jing'an's hand and sat beside her.
"Your Majesty, the ritual is about to begin. Please leave for a while." One of the monks said to the emperor.
The Emperor let go of Empress Jing'an's hand, tucked her in, and touched her face before standing up and slowly leaving. Outside the palace, Princess Jinyi and the Eighth Prince also arrived, and the three of them stood waiting.
When the time came, the monk took up his golden staff, donned his robes, and paced around the main hall, chanting scriptures. An hour later, Empress Jing'an remained motionless on the bed.
Princess Jinyi, who was waiting outside, asked worriedly, "Father, Queen Mother..."
The emperor stared at the door of the main hall and said without turning around: "Your mother will definitely come back."
The monks were busy cooking, but Zhou Shuyan, who came home from get off work, went straight to bed without even eating. She felt extremely sleepy ever since she got off her eMule.
After falling asleep, Zhou Shuyan quickly entered that dark dream. This time, no one called her name, but countless golden lights from the Buddha's seals shimmered in the darkness. She didn't know how long she stood there until she felt like she was leaving her body again. Startled, Zhou Shuyan tried to wake up, but the golden lights from the Buddha's seals seemed to be holding her captive, like some kind of gravity.
With a thunderous "Amitabha", everything in front of Zhou Shuyan went black and she lost consciousness.
"Mother, mother..." Princess Jinyi called out to Queen Jing'an anxiously.
Zhou Shuyan listened to the sound getting closer and clearer. She opened her eyes with great effort. A blurry shadow approached her. It was not until someone grabbed her hand that the world in front of Zhou Shuyan became clear.
Meeting a pair of familiar eyes, Zhou Shuyan shuddered and quickly looked around. Great, she seemed to be back again. The three people around her were all her family members from ancient times.
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