Chapter 248
In the original plot, the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Xie Shi, had always been portrayed as a devout Buddhist, spending most of her time in her own Ren Shou Palace’s small Buddhist hall. After Chu Lishu’s successful revenge, she wasn’t targeted. However, over time, Chu Lishu’s tyrannical behavior became increasingly cruel, insane, and unjust. When the Empress Dowager came out to advise, it only angered Chu Lishu, who was already addicted to killing, and she was eventually sentenced to death.
So, Chu Lishu doesn’t actually hold any resentment or affection towards the Empress Dowager. She is more like a background character.
The Buddha statue that Ning Ziheng mentioned should be inside the small Buddha hall.
Because it involves the secret of prophecy, it’s not convenient to entrust it to outsiders, so only the two of them can handle it personally.
Entering the small Buddha hall, Lin Qingyang looked around in amazement at this brightly lit hall. Besides a huge Buddha statue, various small Buddha statues were placed on the altar. Among them, the type of Buddha statue Ning Ziheng mentioned had more than thirty. Lin Qingyang was completely shocked.
“The Empress Dowager’s devotion to Buddhism is really remarkable.”
Fortunately, it seemed that the Empress Dowager didn’t like outsiders entering the small Buddha hall. With the two of them sneaking in, as long as the Empress Dowager didn’t return, they could search at ease.
Lin Qingyang picked up a Buddha statue, shook it near his ear, then carefully observed it before putting it down. As he searched, he couldn’t help but remark, “I’ve heard of people being devout Buddhists, but this level of sincerity is the first time I’ve seen it. It’s enough to build a whole temple.”
Chu Lishu searched while saying, “Speaking of which, this might be because of me.”
Lin Qingyang asked in confusion, “What do you mean? Are they praying for you?”
“Not quite.” Chu Lishu shook his head, the firelight casting shadows on his face, adding a touch of melancholy. “Have you heard about the Xie family?”
Lin Qingyang paused for a moment, then nodded. Indeed, it was probably because when Chu Lishu was still young, he persuaded the late Emperor to use drastic measures to suppress the Xie family, which had risen rapidly in a short period. That resolute action, disregarding family ties and exterminating them for the greater good, left a psychological shadow on the other three major familes. A Crown Prince who dared to wipe out even his grandmother’s family, how could they not be wary?
“In fact, she didn’t believe in Buddhism at all originally. She was a very wise, courageous, and resourceful woman. Both the Emperor and the late Emperor benefited from her assistance, which helped stabilize the Great Zhou’s development. Especially the late Emperor, who lacked imperial talent, owed much to the Empress Dowager for stabilizing the court during his ascension. However, she ultimately made a mistake in her family relationships, being deceived by the Xie family and overlooking their misdeeds among the common people. At that time, the Xie family’s territory was already in turmoil, and the people were suffering. The Empress Dowager was implicated due to her association with them, and was held accountable. In the end, except for one Xie Yiqing and the Empress Dowager, all members of the Xie family were executed, and the Empress Dowager’s power was returned to the late Emperor. With over a hundred lives from the Xie family, the Empress Dowager couldn’t find peace, so she turned to Buddhism wholeheartedly, ignoring the outside world and completely alienating herself from me and the late Emperor. I think in her heart, she resents us for being ruthless.”
Lin Qingyang hurriedly said, “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
Chu Lishu smiled and said, “I know. But before I got into trouble, her devotion to Buddhism wasn’t as serious as it is now. This is also my first time entering this Buddhist hall. I didn’t expect it to be so extravagant… I found it.”
Lin Qingyang was stunned and exclaimed, “So fast?”
Sure enough, Chu Lishu took out a rolled-up piece of paper from inside. The paper was already yellowed. Chu Lishu put down the Buddha statue, his expression gradually becoming serious. With his slender fingers skillfully unfolding the paper, Lin Qingyang nervously leaned forward to look. However, he immediately felt discouraged, as the words on the paper seemed like gibberish to him, and he couldn’t understand them at all.
“What is this?”
“It’s a script of a minority ethnic group,” Chu Lishu explained.
Seeing Chu Lishu’s expression almost unchanged, Lin Qingyang was surprised. “You can’t read it either?”
Chu Lishu smiled helplessly. “So in your eyes, I’m that capable, I understand everything?”
“Of course,” Lin Qingyang replied without hesitation.
Chu Lishu paused for a moment, his cheeks slightly blushing. “Alright, I’ll learn it in the future, try to understand it all. I have seen this script before, but it’s been lost. Maybe Mr. Cao will know.” Chu Lishu didn’t mention another thing: the reason he recognized it was because… he had seen it with his master.
Actually, how the prophecy would affect Chu Lishu’s actions and his future path didn’t have much significance, just like in the original plot where the prophecy didn’t appear at all. But since there was an opportunity, they still wanted to investigate thoroughly.
After Chu Lishu finished speaking, he found paper and pen, and began to transcribe. After completing the perfect copy, the two of them started to restore everything.
But just as they were about to leave, the Emperor suddenly arrived at the Ren Shou Palace. The Emperor’s sudden arrival, accompanied by a large number of guards, disrupted their plans, forcing them to stay temporarily in the Buddhist hall.
With the Empress Dowager absent and the Emperor showing no signs of leaving, he instead seemed poised to enter the Buddhist hall.
There was hardly any place to hide in the hall, and the two couldn’t afford to wait to be caught by the Emperor. With the situation urgent, they had no choice but to escape, even if it meant revealing themselves.
The moment the Emperor entered, they toppled the shelves filled with Buddha statues, causing a commotion and drawing everyone’s attention. The guards gathered around the Emperor, leaving the space outside the window vacant. Seizing the opportunity, the two quickly climbed out the window and escaped.
Returning the same way was not an option as there were guards along that path. Chu Lishu grabbed Lin Qingyang’s hand and dashed towards another route.
Reaching a corner, Chu Lishu suddenly halted, hesitating for a moment, before pulling Lin Qingyang into a pitch-black palace.
When Lin Qingyang regained his senses, he realized they were in the Crown Prince’s palace where Chu Lishu had once resided.
Although they had been living in the palace for a long time, they had never been to this place before. It was filled with Chu Lishu’s past memories, and supposedly, all the palace servants who once served here had died. Chu Lishu probably wasn’t very willing to come here.
Sure enough, seeing Chu Lishu at that moment, he was lost in thought, gazing into the empty courtyard, lost in his memories.
Lin Qingyang couldn’t help but grip Chu Lishu’s hand tightly. When Chu Lishu looked over, Lin Qingyang smiled reassuringly, trying to calm Chu Lishu’s emotions. Chu Lishu snapped out of it and soon smiled in relief. The two of them stayed by the wall for a while, making sure that the pursuing guards had bypassed this area before they could relax.
“We need to stay here for a while until they finish searching nearby, then we can return to the Wenbo Pavilion,” Chu Lishu said.
“With such a commotion, they’re bound to catch someone,” Lin Qingyang said, feeling worried.
Chu Lishu led Lin Qingyang into the Crown Prince’s Palace. “Don’t worry, it’s different now. Even if we cause a big uproar, they won’t be able to catch us.”
With the support of the Grand Chief Steward and the Imperial Guards, as long as they aren’t caught in the act, they can smooth things over.
“Let’s go, I’ll show you where I used to live.”
“Then I want to hear about the fun things you did when you were little.”
“Sure, I’ll tell you.”
Meanwhile, the Emperor was furious. He hadn’t expected to encounter thieves during his visit. The guards searched for a long time but found nothing, not even a trace of anyone. Chief Steward Hai suggested that perhaps the cats the Empress Dowager liked to feed had caused the commotion, or it could be dishonest palace servants attempting theft. Knowing about Chu Lishu’s recent actions, Chief Steward Hai downplayed the situation. Just then, the Empress Dowager arrived and was shocked to see the broken statues scattered around. She quickly dismissed everyone except the Emperor, seeming to recall something important.
Once the Buddha hall was empty save for the two of them, the Empress Dowager began to search through the Buddha statues.
“Queen Mother, what are you doing?” the Emperor asked, puzzled.
Finally, the Empress Dowager found the Buddha statue concealing the prophecy. She retrieved the prophecy from inside, and the Emperor, seeing this, frowned deeply. “Why do you still keep this?”
The Empress Dowager sighed in relief. “It seems I was overly cautious. It must have been an accident.”
“Overly… cautious?” The Emperor’s heart skipped a beat as a thought occurred to him.
The Empress Dowager sighed and began to tidy up the Buddha statues one by one. “I have always wondered, since Yuan Ran has died, why your Yuan clan has not escaped the fate written in the prophecy. Could it be karma? Or perhaps Yuan Ran has not truly died, then why hasn’t he returned?”
The Emperor’s expression darkened, and he coughed uncomfortably. The Empress Dowager looked at him with concern, furrowing her brow. “Take care of yourself, Your Majesty.”
“Queen Mother, in the future, it’s best not to speak of such matters. I came to discuss serious matters with you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Queen Mother, I hope you will protect Concubine Xu. Currently, Prime Minister Li’s family is gaining too much power. In a while, they will inevitably pressure me to establish a Crown Prince. Establishing a Crown Prince is not the main issue, but I am losing control of the situation. I need time to adjust, and I fear Concubine Mei will harm Concubine Xu. I don’t have the energy to deal with both matters simultaneously. I hope you can temporarily protect Concubine Xu on my behalf.”
The Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised. “Rest assured, since she is carrying the dragon seed, I will certainly not allow any harm to come to her. You seem quite fond of her. Is it because… her personality and character resemble those of Concubine Liu from back then? Does she remind you of a beloved person?”
The Emperor’s expression changed slightly. “Your help is appreciated, Queen Mother.”
“I understand,” the Empress Dowager replied, not pressing further. As she watched the Emperor leave, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow. Indeed, the Emperor’s current symptoms were similar to those before Concubine Liu’s incident. Although the Empress Dowager knew about the Emperor’s involvement in Concubine Liu’s fate, she didn’t know the specifics of what happened. She could only sigh, thinking that perhaps the guilt from back then was finally catching up to him.
The Empress Dowager looked at the rearranged Buddha statues and knelt down devoutly to pray.
The palace was still bustling with the search for the culprit.
Meanwhile, Chu Lishu had already brought Lin Qingyang to his former sleeping quarters.
Inside, it was empty and desolate, covered in cobwebs and dust. A sense of bleakness filled the air, and they could only make out the outlines of the room in the moonlight.
“Ask away.”
“Mmm.”
The two of them felt much better as they made their way, and Chu Lishu even indulged Lin Qingyang in a game of questioning.
“Have you ever flirted with the palace maids here?”
Chu Lishu was surprised. “Of course not.”
Lin Qingyang looked incredulous, raising an eyebrow. “Your Highness, with your extraordinary appearance, you may not need to flirt with palace maids, but surely there were many who admired you secretly. Were there any bold enough to offer themselves willingly?”
During this moment, Chu Lishu felt a bit embarrassed.
Lin Qingyang squinted. “As expected!”
“But I’ve never touched any of them. Whenever I saw them, I made sure they were sent away and dismissed,” Chu Lishu said helplessly, pulling Lin Qingyang closer affectionately. “I’ve only been close to you, I swear.”
Lin Qingyang blushed as Chu Lishu’s warm breath brushed against his ear, quickly changing the subject. “There’s nothing much to see here anyway, not even a bed left behind.”
Chu Lishu couldn’t help but tease, “Why, do you want…?”
Lin Qingyang quickly pushed away from Chu Lishu, who was getting too close. “No way! It’s so dusty here, I’m already sneezing.”
Chu Lishu chuckled. “Right, it’s our first time, we definitely shouldn’t do it here.”
Lin Qingyang felt awkward. Since the resolution with Cheng family and Yuan Ye, news of smooth progress from the side of Huo Luo and Yue Chen had also arrived. Everything had gone more smoothly than they had expected, easing some of the burden on them. Chu Lishu seemed to be getting a bit distracted as well. Occasionally, he would say things like this, as if they were counting down to something, making Lin Qingyang nervous from time to time.
As Lin Qingyang was trying to process the sudden surge of heat in his body, Chu Lishu’s voice came from nearby, “Come over here. Actually, bringing you in was to find something. When I was young and just learning mechanical arts, I tried setting up hidden mechanisms in my own chamber and hid something at that time.”
“What? A treasure?” Lin Qingyang’s interest was immediately piqued.
Then the two walked to a wall. After Chu Lishu tapped and fiddled with it for a while, a hidden compartment was indeed opened. Due to the lighting, they couldn’t see inside clearly, but Chu Lishu reached in directly to grab something.
Soon, a box was brought out.
Chu Lishu smiled and said, “Fortunately, they didn’t knock down the wall, so this thing is still here. I originally planned to wait until everything was over to search for it, but since we’re here today, let’s take it in advance.”
As Chu Lishu opened the box, inside was a cylindrical jade seal, two fingers wide in diameter.
Lin Qingyang’s original self enjoyed collecting jade stones, so Lin Qingyang could instantly tell that this was definitely top-quality jade after seeing so many collections.
In the moonlight, the obvious milky white color was visible, with excellent transparency and warmth. Combined with the gel-like luster, it was undoubtedly an exceptional piece of jade.
Chu Lishu picked up the jade seal and showed it to Lin Qingyang. It was only then that Lin Qingyang noticed that there wasn’t a smooth surface on it, but rather a relief of a dragon. The scales on the dragon’s body were vividly carved, coiling around the seal. The dragon’s head was perfectly positioned at one end of the seal as decoration, appearing lively as if a playful little dragon was frolicking on the seal.
Looking at the bottom, Lin Qingyang noticed that it was engraved with the four characters Crown Prince Yuan Ran. This was Crown Prince Yuan Ran’s seal.
Lin Qingyang had never seen such an exquisitely complex seal before and looked at it with the same appreciation as admiring jade carvings.
“This was carved by me when I was interested in jade carving as a child, so it’s different from ordinary seals. Before I entered the court, I used this jade seal. Later, when I obtained the Crown Prince’s official seal for handling political affairs, I stopped using it because I couldn’t bear to put it in the private treasury, so I hid it here,” explained Chu Lishu.
Lin Qingyang exclaimed, “The carving is amazing.”
“This… is for you.” Chu Lishu took Lin Qingyang’s hand and placed the jade seal, which had witnessed his best moments in the past, in Lin Qingyang’s palm.
Lin Qingyang looked up in astonishment at Chu Lishu, only to see a tender affection flowing from Chu Lishu’s warm eyes and brows.
The jade seal in his hand was somewhat heavy, yet warm and beautiful. Suddenly, it felt like a proposal scene, and Lin Qingyang’s heart couldn’t help but quicken. He tightly grasped the seal, feeling an infinite tenderness in his heart. “I will cherish it dearly.”
Unable to resist, Chu Lishu pulled Lin Qingyang close and gently kissed him. However, the environment was really not suitable for anything more, so they had to leave.
In order to evade pursuers, the two of them made a trip to the Crown Prince’s Palace, which turned out to be quite rewarding.
The palace was in a commotion that night, but it eventually settled down. The two of them managed to rest for a while, albeit briefly. The next day, they informed Concubine Mei and left the palace.
They first approached Mr. Cao, but he didn’t recognize that type of writing, so the two of them could only regretfully return to their private residence.
Chu Lishu thought they could try again to find his master in the future. However, coincidentally, Mu Huichun came to examine his pulse. Chu Lishu remembered that Mu Huichun had always been with his master, so he tried probing a little. Unexpectedly, Mu Huichun did recognize the writing.
“Many of Master’s prescriptions are written in this script, so I learned it,” Mu Huichun said, looking at it. His expression gradually changed, and his pupils trembled slightly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
Lin Qingyang and Lu Yi Lu Shi were both nervous when they saw this.
Chu Lishu noticed Mu Huichun’s troubled expression and eventually nodded. “Go ahead.”
Mu Huichun seemed uneasy, like a child who had made a mistake. He translated word by word.
The first line: In the future, the wisdom will unify the mountains and rivers, causing all nations to unite without resistance. All people will regard it as their leader, controlling the life and death of everyone.
The second line: Fate carries an ominous aura, a sign of great calamity. Once crowned, it will inevitably bring harm to all loved ones around. The Yuan clan’s bloodline will be reduced to this sole individual. In middle age, blood will stain the mountains and rivers, and the Great Zhou dynasty will come to an end, replaced by a new dynasty.
The third line: Forever without love, destined to never find it, or if found, it will be lost. Alone until old age, living a life of sorrow and bitterness.
The world bestowed upon him the most formidable talent, destined to be remembered for eternity, yet it also cursed him with the most venomous of curses, ensuring his infamy for a thousand generations.
Even for those who don’t believe in prophets, hearing such prophecies would likely be unsettling.
This was the destined fate of Yuan Ran, as foretold in the original plot.
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