As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Zhuoxu could indeed detect a very faint, sweet... gardenia scent in the air.
Unlike the delicate and refreshing scent of osmanthus, it has a hint of sweetness and milky aroma.
It is alluring and seductive.
...That's her scent.
Yan Zhuoxu's jawline tightened, and he closed his eyes tightly.
"Therefore, Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas should cultivate a pure mind in this way, and should not let their minds dwell on form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects."
"One should abide nowhere, yet let one's mind arise..."
He clenched the prayer beads with his fingertips, as if punishing himself, pressing his skin into the engraved Sanskrit characters.
Scripture imprint.
It washes away the gloomy thoughts that float with the fragrance.
"Master?" Shen Zhiyi looked up at him, her hand gripping his monk's robe slowly climbing up, grasping more of the fabric. "What's wrong with you?"
Why aren't you looking at me?
Yan Zhuoxu opened his eyes and saw the wall opposite him.
The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows intimately together.
He stood, she knelt.
And they're so close together.
The way she was acting made it seem as if she was helping him...
boom--
My thoughts were burning in an instant.
Yan Zhuoxu abruptly took two steps back, moving away from her touch and his own filthy fantasies.
The monk's robe brushed past her slender fingertips.
Shen Zhiyi lowered her eyes, concealing the faint smile in them.
Yan Zhuoxu picked up the medicine box.
With a deliberately cold demeanor, he pursed his lips and said, "That concludes today's consultation. I am already aware of your condition. Please cooperate with the subsequent treatment and refrain from..." He paused, lowered his gaze to look at her, and then... "overstepped his bounds."
Shen Zhiyi frowned slightly, as if she didn't understand the meaning behind his words.
She was about to get up when she said, "I'll see the master out."
"No need."
Yan Zhuoxu didn't look at her again and walked away.
After the figure disappeared, Shen Zhiyi sat down, picked up the teapot, and slowly poured herself a cup of tea.
She took a small sip, looked at the damp table and the teacup still lying on its side, and her peach blossom eyes overflowed with laughter.
He just now referred to himself as "I".
...
The night grew darker.
Yan Zhuoxu sat on a futon and added oil to the ever-burning lamp.
Beside him lay several handwritten scrolls of the Heart Sutra, the flowing ink binding him like chains under the lamplight.
His gaze shifted to the table not far away.
On it sat the white porcelain oil bottle that Shen Zhiyi had given him, which now seemed to be watching him quietly, like the eyes of a god.
"All forms are illusory."
He lowered his eyes.
Clutching the prayer beads in my hand, I turn them in turn while reciting the scriptures.
But his gaze involuntarily drifted to the corner of the monk's robe that Shen Zhiyi had grabbed.
He stared at it for a long time.
The sound of chanting scriptures gradually weakened and then stopped.
As if possessed, Yan Zhuoxu loosened his grip on the prayer beads...
He repeatedly covered the piece of robe with his large hand.
Her scent, body temperature, and face instantly penetrated my bones, vividly surfacing.
It begins in the palm of your hand and spreads irresistibly to your mind and your whole body.
It can even burrow into blood vessels and bone crevices...
Yan Zhuoxu clenched his fists tightly, gripping the piece of cloth fiercely. His lips were pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Years of suppressed desire surged forth like a tidal wave in the thick of night.
"Master, why aren't you looking at me?"
"Master, please save me..."
"Master, Master..."
Yan Zhuoxu's chest heaved heavily as he clutched the hem of his robe and collapsed amidst the scriptures scattered on the ground.
The candlelight flickered before my eyes.
But all I see are her faces, her smiles...
He closed his eyes in despair.
*
The Prime Minister's Residence in the Capital.
Shen Qingyuan suddenly stood up and slammed the wobbling teacup heavily onto the table.
"What did you say?"
"Didn't Shen Zhiyi come back last night?"
She actually managed to stay overnight at the temple?!
Her face suddenly turned deathly pale, and she nearly collapsed, swaying as she did so.
The maid Lianxing quickly helped her up.
"Miss, are you alright?"
Shen Qingyuan shook her head, pulled her hand away, and sat back down in her chair.
Lianxing steadied the teacup for her, poured a fresh cup, and placed it in front of her.
"Miss, please don't worry."
"I heard that it rained heavily last night and the road to Duanyun Temple was completely blocked. Perhaps that's why the Second Miss was unable to go down the mountain."
"Yes, yes." Shen Qingyuan grasped her hand, feeling slightly relieved. "You're right."
"She doesn't have the ability to win the Crown Prince's heart."
"It's just because of good luck, taking advantage of the right time and place..."
How could Shen Zhiyi possibly do something that she couldn't do?
She must have stubbornly stayed in the temple, refusing to leave even when it rained, until the mountain road was washed away, before she finally got the chance to stay on the mountain.
How could the Crown Prince possibly like someone so shameless!
The longer it stays, the more annoying it becomes!
Shen Qingyuan felt relieved upon thinking about this.
I picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"I asked you to find out about Ye Jinghong's whereabouts. How's that going?"
Lianxing said, "I've found out everything."
“Miss, there are indeed many opportunities to meet by chance. But I don’t understand, you and Young Master Ye are about to be engaged, why do you still bother to get close to him?”
Shen Qingyuan narrowed her eyes slightly.
"When my mother was arranging the marriage with Madam Ye, she mentioned the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family. It's hard to say what her intentions were."
Lianxing couldn't help but laugh: "You are the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family. Do you think the Ye family would be unwilling to marry you?"
"This is an immense fortune."
"I think Ye Jinghong is probably overjoyed right now, thinking about how to get married to Miss as soon as possible."
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