Si Tian Guan Chapter 84

Chapter 84 Innate fire

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The afternoon sun shone through the window into the tea room, the stove made a pleasant sound of water boiling, and the dust floating in the beam of light was carried by the hot air from the air currents, making the tea room quiet and languid.

Liu Zhongming gave the person the upper seat and only then did he take the teapot from the novice monk, filled a cup himself, and handed it over with both hands.

Mu Jingyan also bowed slightly to take it and said with a smile, “Zhongming is very polite.”

“This is my duty, Wangye is too courteous. Wangye has been busy this past little bit, so being able to serve tea and listen to Wangye’s teaching, it seems that my visit today has become twice as good.”

“How could this king be busy normally? It is obviously Zhongming fighting his abacus so you haven’t been stretching your legs, thus now it seems you have become estranged from this Wangye.”

“It is my fault, I will go to Mingyue building another day to make amends, I hope Wangye will take the time to come.”

Mu Jingyan nodded slightly: “Of course.”

Liu Zhongming sat back and said half-jokingly, “I will go to Dali Temple to report for work next year, so now I feel very uneasy. I’m afraid that I’m superficial and ignorant, and I won’t be able to take on the big job. The emperor and my father often mentions Wang Ye, saying Wang Yei is prudent and thorough in his actions, and taught me to ask Wang Ye for more advice.”

“They exaggerate,” Mu Jingyan smiled humbly. It seemed like ripples have spread far away, and one could see the ups and downs, but it was still shallow: “Most people are naturally dull, just do your best. Zhongming is smart and clever, and you will definitely make great achievements in the future.”

The two made modest remarks back and forth a while before Liu Zhongming asked: “Why did Wang Ye come to this Southroad Buddhist Temple today, did you come to listen to the abbot talk about Zen?”

“The abbot said that Zen can be encountered but cannot be found, and this king has not had such luck.” Mu Jingyan smiled and looked at him: “This king has heard that the abbot is very fond of Zhongming and has frequent exchanges. Why not persuade the abbot to serve the country, the emperor will definitely not treat the abbot badly.”

This Southroad Buddhist Temple was originally unknown in the mountains. While he treated his illness and chanted sutras, some dignitaries came to the mountain temple, and gradually the fame spread, but the abbot was willing to be poor and ignored the affairs of the world, and would not leave the mountains no matter who invited him.

Liu Zhongming pursed his lips and smiled.

“Wang Ye, you are flattering me. The abbot is someone who is not involved in the affairs of the world, not attached to the secular world, therefore a higher person. Not mentioning that I can’t say anything to move the abbot, even if the abbot was willing to listen to me, how can I be so shameless to say such secular things to the abbot.”

He put down the teacup and gently pushed a plate of refreshments on the table.

“Speaking of which, the abbot said that I have a fiery heart. Every time I come here, they have to ask someone to bring this Jin Yin Duan. I’m not allowed to see him until I finish eating. It’s just that there’s some Longdan grass and Zhimu added to it…”

Liu Zhongming frowned reluctantly: “Every time I finish eating, I go back to eat for a few days and there is still a bitter taste on my tongue.”

Mu Jingyan chuckled: “The abbot likes you, it clearly wasn’t all talk. Even the tea is specially prepared for you.”

He picked up a piece of Jin Yin Duan and tasted it carefully.

“It is true that after the sweet taste, it is slightly bitter, but it is not strong. Zhongming, you are used to a life of luxury, so you can’t bear the bitterness. Not mentioning the kindness of the abbot, don’t let the abbot hear this complaint. “

“Wang Ye taught me well,” Liu Zhongming showed an innocent smile, and also picked up a piece: “I am only telling Wang Ye, how could I dare disappoint the abbot. Today, I still have important things to ask the abbot.”

The nobles in the capital, almost everyone knew why he came to seek the abbot.

Mu Jingyan asked with concern, “Are you feeling sick again? What is the sickness? After all these years, can’t a doctor diagnose it?

“They can’t.” Liu Zhongming shook his head helplessly: “The abbot said there is innate fire, the enmity of the past life is not resolved…”

As soon as he said that, his heart suddenly thumped and he covered his heart. It was just a casual remark just now, but it really seemed like there was a rope, suddenly tightening it, making it difficult to breathe.

This saying has been familiar to him since he was a child, but he never believed in ghosts and gods, and the older he got, the more he regarded it as a trick to fool people. It was just a joke – a person can live one lifetime and will sleep forever after death, how can there really be any past and present life.

But now that person has filled every gap in his life, so he can’t help but believe it.

The enmity of the past life…… Could it be Qu Chenzhou?

Seeing him suddenly clutching his heart with a solemn expression on his face, Mu Jingyan hurriedly asked, “Zhongming? Is there something uncomfortable?”

“Tolerable…don’t worry Wang Ye,” Liu Zhongming frowned, “I asked for a protective talisman from the abbot last year. The talisman seemed to have lost its effectiveness, and I have been weak and tired recently, so my chest is often tight.”

Mu Jingyan immediately understood what Liu Zhongming meant by, “There is an urgent matter to request from the abbot”. He was about to call someone to find the abbot, but was stopped by Liu Zhongming.

“No need, I will visit the abbot later.”

Mu Jingyan waved his hand and let the servant leave, before nodding his head: “In this way, it might indeed be a heart disease that cannot be cured. Wang Ye also came to ask the abbot for a protective charm.”

“What’s wrong with Wang Ye?”

“It’s not this king. Royal Mother had a nightmare a few days ago. The imperial physician gave her some calming medicine but the efficacy was minimal. This king is still not at ease.”

“Wang Ye is filial to the world, Concubine Yu will recover soon. My store recently received some keel and mother-of-pearl, it is the best to soothe the nerves. It will be delivered to Wang Ye’s residence tomorrow, please do not refuse .”

Mu Jingyan smiled slightly: “Then this king will not be polite.”

Liu Zhongming served tea again, joked a few words, lowered his eyes and took a sip, slightly surprised in his heart.

If what Huai Wang said is true, then the panic he saw on Concubine Yu that day was not a mistake. When he went to the palace to visit his sister a few days ago, his sister was also sure that Concubine Yu was indeed ill. Reportedly, it was deficiency of qi and blood, a heart palpitation disorder.

But what was it that made Concubine Yu uneasy?

The two were chatting casually when suddenly they heard a commotion in the courtyard. Liu Zhongming stood up and opened the window lattice, frowning and scolding, “What is the noise?”

Immediately outside, someone trotted over and replied, “Replying to Shizi, the servant of Shizi’s family has escaped – Shizi, don’t worry, he was caught before he ran past the clock tower.”

“Escaped?”

Liu Zhongming was more shocked than everyone else. He never expected that the first time he took the person out of the city, he would run. What happened?

“Zhongming’s?” Mu Jingyan also got up, remembered something, and asked with a chuckle: “The one who beat Pan He last year? He ran away again?”

“Watch the person carefully and I will deal with it later.” After instructing the outside person, he smiled bitterly: “Wang Ye, please excuse my lack of discipline.”

Mu Jingyan poured some tea to the side, and said with a smile: “So Zhongming likes such unruly people. This king heard that because of him, you made a bet with Liao Guangming. Bringing him here, is it possible that you really have a crush on him?”

“Your Highness is joking, it’s not a crush, it’s just for fun. I only brought him here because of Shi Yan.”

“Hm?”

“Shi Yan said that I have a strange disease and I have a little monster at home. He said something about being anxious, saying he was infected with evil and that I needed to ask the abbot to take a look at it.”

“Shi Yan’s worry is not without reason.”

Liu Zhongming was about to come forward to pour tea, when he saw Mu Jingyan waving his hand, and then withdrew.

“As for the bet with Commander Liao, it’s not because of him, I was just helpless. Wang Ye didn’t see Commander Liao that day, but he was angry for no reason, and he was aggressive and refused to give in, so I can only do that.”

Mu Jingyan couldn’t help laughing: “Liao Guangming is indeed a little bit more hostile. He doesn’t need anyone to make him angry, it’s like that every day.”

Seeing him get up, Liu Zhongming also followed him to the door of the tea room, but said helplessly: “Me and Commander Liao will have an appointment in half a year’s time. If Wang Ye sees a beautiful person somewhere, don’t forget me, money can always be discussed.”

“Really?” Mu Jingyan smiled and turned to look at him: “I think you seem to want to lose on purpose, so that you can continue to live happily and ignore everything.”

“Your Highness has wronged me by saying this, I really want to win. It is said that each flower has its own viewer, and if Commander Liao really wants to make it difficult on me, I can only rely on Wang Ye to support me.”

Mu Jingyan put his finger on his forehead, tapped lightly, and scolded with a smile: “You little crafty figure, you should just say this to the emperor directly.”

Liu Zhongming also laughed sullenly.

From this gamble alone, he knew that what Qu Chenzhou said was right, that Liao Guangming was just a jerk with no ink on his chest, and only relied on the grace of the emperor.

As the Shizi of the Anding Marquis, whether or not he should enter an official position, can Liao Guangming stop him with just a gambling game?

Even if he loses, everyone would think he is young, frivolous and ignorant.

If a resignation was submitted, he would just be scolded by the emperor. Maybe Liao Guangming would also be taught a lesson. Can he really let him leave Dali Temple?

He sent the person all the way to the mountain gate. When he saw that Mu Jingyan had already descended the steps, he was about to turn around when he heard someone calling him from the steps: “Zhongming.”

Liu Zhongming hurriedly turned, and bowed his hands: “Is there any other orders from Wang Ye?”

“Zhongming is lucky.” Mu Jingyan helped lift him up: “This king is just curious about one thing – I heard that Qisheng building used to have a lot of fame because of that slave’s fortune-telling. Zhongming bought him for a long time, I don’t know if you have heard of his divination.”

“So the lord also heard about it, it’s just a businessman’s gimmick,” Liu Zhongming laughed: “I can’t do what Du Quan was shameless enough to do. I’m afraid that someone will smash my golden signboard.”

Mu Jingyan also laughed: “Yes, if it is really a useful cash cow, why would Zhongming be willing to keep it at home to eat food for free?”

Seeing that the sky was getting dark and the crows fleeting by, Mu Jingyan not wanting to stay overnight in the mountain temple, he exchanged a few words with Liu Zhongming, and then he got on his horse and left.

Liu Zhongming stood outside the mountain gate, and a tense nerve was relaxed.

He didn’t know if it was influenced by Qu Chenzhou or not, but Huai Wang’s faint smile made him have a kind of incomprehensible taste, and he didn’t appreciate it like he used to, especially in the rouge incident. Huai Wang so easily pointed at Concubine Yu’s framing…and led it back to the empress.

It was only then that he realized that perhaps not only the people in the court who clearly stood behind Huai Wang, but also many people would unconsciously trust Huai Wang, just like him and Shiyan in the past.

But having said that, he sometimes was at a loss for a moment. On the way to seize the throne, there was nothing wrong with what Huai Wang had done. His current practice of following Qu Chenzhou… is it really right?

If Huai Wang succeeds, will he do better than the emperor?

Twilight shrouded his head, and he was so pressured that he couldn’t breathe. Liu Zhongming stood in the mountain wind for a moment before turning around and entering the door.

There were servants waiting for him beside the lotus pond, crowded back, past the Tian Wang Hall. He saw a circle of people under the steps of the Yaoshi Hall. When Bai Shilei saw him, it was like seeing a savior.

“Second brother, second brother, look,” he turned around and pointed at the person at the corridor, at a loss: “I didn’t do anything. The abbot asked me to pass the wine, and Little Brother Qu ran away, what happened?”

“It’s okay,” Liu Zhongming patted him on the shoulder: “You rest first.”

Bai Shilei responded, took a few steps to leave, then retreated back, and asked in a soft voice, “Second brother, I heard that Little Brother Qu was mad before. It can’t be true, right?”

“It’s real.” Liu Zhongming sneered and pushed him away. After the crowd had dispersed, he paced down the corridor and put a hand over there: “Get up, it’s cold on the ground.”

Qu Chenzhou stood up silently. The lights in the courtyard shined over, and the paleness on his face had faded – when he was thrown down, he had woken up from the nightmare and knew that this time he had lost his mind.

“What’s the matter?” Liu Zhongming asked him.

“Sorry…” Qu Chenzhou said softly, “I accidentally remembered the past…”

Liu Zhongming thought for a moment, then asked, “Because you saw Huai Wang?”

Qu Chenzhou shook his head: “No.”

“Have you been to Southroad Buddhist Temple?”

“No…” He sighed lightly when he saw the other party asking again.

“Not to hide it from Shizi, I used to have a lot of troubles and encounters in the past. Although I lived a lifetime, it was inevitable that I would be emotional and lose my temper. Those things in the past are not important to Shizi, they are only related to me. I also ask Shizi to let me go and not bring up the past again and expose the scars.”

Liu Zhongming watched the scattered hair on his forehead cast mottled light and shadow on his face. It fell into his eyes, as if he had an infinite sense of sadness. After thinking about it, he swallowed the question.

“Even if I don’t mention the past, you can’t be so crazy. I’ll take you to see the abbot later.”

“Abbot?” Qu Chenzhou was surprised.

“Heart diseases also require heart medicine. The abbot here is an expert and he cured my previous illness. If it is not convenient for you to speak directly about your life experience, you might as well talk to him about Zen, maybe he can enlighten you.”

Qu Chenzhou smiled reluctantly: “Shizi is kind.”

He knew that with such a “madness”, it was indeed not suitable for him to be taken out to meet people, but he did not believe that there were any experts outside who could accept him, a ghost coming back from the dead.

Liu Zhongming took him to the Buddhist Temple behind, and suddenly turned around and asked, “Did you see Huai Wang just now?”

Qu Chenzhou nodded and replied softly, “Concubine Yu did not appear in the divination. Huai Wang is planning to… save Ren Rui.”

The author has something to say: Do you remember Ren Rui, the one who was caught during the flood, the one who went after Zhongming in the last life, and the one who slaughtered everyone in the captured city [I know that some people will forget.] Show me the way to the little angel who looked blank before: Mu Jingyan in this chapter is Huai Wang, the one who forced the emperor to abdicate to become the new emperor and who was also forceful to the imperial concubine and Chenzhou

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