The procession of over ten thousand people safely arrived at Shengguo Temple without encountering any trouble on the way.
By the time they arrived, it was already getting dark. A group of monks, having received prior notice, had been waiting for some time. The Great Empress Dowager seemed to know the head monk personally, stepping down from the carriage to greet him. Jiang Wu, too lazy to move, remained sprawled inside, waiting for someone to carry him out.
Perhaps they mentioned Jiang Wu during their conversation, for the white-bearded head monk glanced at him, then respectfully bowed. Jiang Wu kept his eyes closed and didn’t acknowledge him.
The emperor descended from his carriage and was carried in a small sedan chair, hoisted by four monks, as they escorted him into the temple.
The room prepared for him was spacious and clean, though not as grand as Taiji Hall. Qi Hanmiao touched the bed and immediately ordered an extra two layers of bedding to be laid down. He couldn’t help but feel distressed for Jiang Wu. “How can His Majesty sleep comfortably on such a bed?”
Jiang Wu began yawning one after another. His yawning left his mouth sore, and his spirit seemed increasingly lethargic and drained. He said, somewhat dejectedly, “Help me undress.”
Though the carriage had been equipped with shock absorbers as much as possible, after a full day of travel, it was impossible not to feel the bumps along the way. The main issue, though, was his dragon robe, which was unbearably heavy. The ceremonial crown weighed down his head so much he could barely lift it, and the jade hook at his waist felt like it might fall off at any moment. If the first reason Jiang Wu hated attending court was having to wake up early, the second would be the unbearable outfit.
“Right away, right away,” Qi Hanmiao ordered as he helped Jiang Wu sit down. He hurriedly urged the attendants, “Hurry up! Add another layer to the bedding! What are you all doing? Ah…”
Qi Hanmiao waved away the palace maid, personally smoothing out the bedding. Then, he helped Jiang Wu onto the bed and undressed him himself, saying, “The conditions in the temple are simple, and His Majesty will have to endure for a little while. Once we return to the palace, it will be better.”
Jiang Wu laid on the bed and tested the softness of the two extra layers of bedding. It was passable, so he said nothing.
Tomorrow would be the 15th of March, and they would rest at the temple for one night before going to offer prayers.
After helping him change clothes, Qi Hanmiao wiped his hands and face. Jiang Wu, extremely tired, immediately fell asleep.
Usually, he didn’t notice anything special about the dragon bed, but now, away from it, he realized something was amiss. The dragon bed seemed softer; when he laid on it, he felt a slight sinking sensation, but this one was flat and hard, pressing down on his flesh as he laid there.
“Yin Wuzhi.”
“Your Majesty, are you awake?” Qi Hanmiao came over and said, “The young shizi is guarding the temple gate. Shall I call him in?”
Shengguo Temple was built halfway up the mountain, with strong winds at the entrance. Yin Wuzhi held his sword, patrolling back and forth.
From time to time, his gaze would drift over the wall, where he could see the half-moon in the sky. He was outside the courtyard, and the moon was inside, only visible from afar.
The young general lowered his lashes, unable to hide his disappointment.
Jiang Wu’s status was too noble, and with his location as the center, the small courtyard was guarded by King Dingnan and Marquis Zuowu. The front and back gates of Shengguo Temple were guarded by Yin Wuzhi and Zuo Haoqing, with another layer of mountain guards. It was truly a triple-layered defense.
Just guarding a temple gate already made him a close minister to the emperor.
“Your Highness, Your Highness?”
Yin Wuzhi suddenly looked up to see Qi Hanmiao waving at him with a smile. “His Majesty has asked for you.”
With other soldiers around, Yin Wuzhi instinctively asked, “What’s the matter?”
“His Majesty has summoned you for an important matter.”
Yin Wuzhi smirked, pretending to be calm as he walked over. Once in a secluded place, he quietly asked, “What important matter?”
He guessed it might involve feeding or putting him to sleep, yet Qi Hanmiao still maintained his dignity by calling it an “important matter.” Trying to suppress a chuckle, he heard Qi Hanmiao reply, “It’s naturally state affairs.”
They soon arrived at a courtyard. Qi Hanmiao said, “Your Highness should remove your sword before meeting His Majesty.”
Yin Wuzhi handed over the sword casually.
Over there, Jiang Wu was staring at a bowl of plain congee on the table. Until now, he hadn’t realized how different congee could be. The palace’s congee was thick, with a smooth starchy layer coating the tender rice grains—fragrant and delicious.
But the congee in this temple was utterly bland, and as it went down his throat, it even scraped a bit.
Qi Hanmiao had not yet returned with Yin Wuzhi, and no one else had the skill to adjust his meals. From now on, even the Great Empress Dowager would eat the same food.
Jiang Wu longed for steamed egg.
There was a sudden noise outside. Qi Hanmiao soon approached with a solemn expression, leaning close to Jiang Wu. “The young highness is not at the temple gate.”
“Where did he go?”
“The soldiers said he was called away by a servant.”
“Which servant?”
“Qi Hanmiao.”
Jiang Wu understood a bit; it seemed his mother had taken action. He hoped Yin Wuzhi was blessed and would be all right. If he endured, that would be best. If he couldn’t, it would mean history had changed entirely, and he wouldn’t need to cling to life anymore.
He ordered, “Sixteen, go and check.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cry of pain came from outside. Jiang Wu reached out to steady his wheelchair. “Qi Hanmiao.”
The latter quickly pushed him out.
At the small courtyard entrance, King Dingnan and Marquis Zuowu were tugging at Yin Wuzhi’s face. “Could it be a disguise?”
“Marquis Zuo may not recognize him, but how could his own father fail to recognize his son?”
“My son has no reason to seek His Majesty.” King Dingnan justified himself, seeing Marquis Zuo checking Yin Wuzhi’s left ear, he didn’t want to be left behind, so he grabbed Yin Wuzhi’s right ear to check as well. “Seems like there’s no mark.”
Marquis Zuo’s expression turned grave. “Let’s check the sword.”
With a dark face, Yin Wuzhi took down his sword. King Dingnan hesitated, ready to release him, but glimpsing Jiang Wu approaching, he braced himself and commanded, “Take off your pants.”
Yin Wuzhi protested, “Don’t push me too far!”
“My son has a mole on his buttocks. I know it well. Quickly, take them off.”
Marquis Zuo noticed the Emperor’s arrival as well and said with a straight face, “I heard the young general was shot by an arrow earlier this year. The injury should not be fully healed by now, so take off your shirt too.”
Fuming, Yin Wuzhi clenched his belt in frustration. “If you’re still uncertain after all this, I’m beginning to question if you two are really my father and the Marquis.”
“Impudent boy, what nonsense.” King Dingnan smacked him on the head and said, “Do you know who you’re about to meet? That is the Emperor. We must take every precaution.”
Marquis Zuo nodded solemnly, “Naturally.”
Yin Wuzhi’s eyes were red with anger.
“Enough.” The Emperor’s voice rang out, and the two older men instantly turned to bow. King Dingnan said, “This Minister greets Your Majesty.”
Marquis Zuo added, “This old minister was just inspecting a suspicious individual and failed to notice Your Majesty’s approach. My apologies.”
King Dingnan said, “.” Truly, he is a government official from the capital. He must learn more from him in the future.
Yin Wuzhi, holding his torn belt, looked up at Jiang Wu, who said, “Yin Wuzhi is right.”
“It takes so long to check the identity of a true shizi like this. Are you two serious?”
Oops, I overacted.
King Dingnan was still thinking of how to respond, “Uh…”
Marquis Zuowu responded promptly, “This old minister admits his fault. Perhaps due to my old age, I’m not as capable anymore. I recommend Left Minister Shilang to guard the court for Your Majesty. He recently went to Qi along with Yin Shu and is worthy of the responsibility.”
King Dingnan quickly analyzed the key point. These words not only let him off the hook but also pushed his son in front of the emperor. Truly clever.
Jiang Wu said, “Even an old horse stumbles; what about a young foal?”
Marquis Zuowu: “…”
King Dingnan erased the incorrect analysis.
“Let them in for inspection.”
Before the two old ministers could react, Jiang Wu had already returned inside. Yin Wuzhi neatly put away his belt and said sternly, “His Majesty ordered me to verify you two, pardon the offense.”
King Dingnan kicked him, while Marquis Zuowu gave him a disdainful glance.
Yin Wuzhi gloomily went back to report to Jiang Wu, “They are both real.”
Jiang Wu looked at his reddened face and asked, “What happened earlier?”
“Great Empress Dowager found someone skilled in disguise to test whether I could handle Empress Dowager Yao.” Clearly upset from being fooled, Yin Wuzhi frowned, “At first, I thought it was Empress Dowager Yao acting so quickly.”
Jiang Wu: “.”
Why is everyone so boring?
With those two matters resolved, Jiang Wu looked toward the bowl of congee on the table. Yin Wuzhi followed his gaze and said, “This rough rice, how can His Majesty eat this?”
Qi Hanmiao sighed, “The other three nobles also eat the same.”
“They are them, and His Majesty is His Majesty,” Yin Wuzhi said, “I’ll go get something better for His Majesty to eat.”
Jiang Wu looked at him.
Yin Wuzhi stopped, “Your Majesty, is there anything else?”
“Bed.”
Qi Hanmiao quickly added, “Taizong liked sleeping well. That dragon bed was specially designed by craftsmen. The frame is adorned with silk woven by hundreds of palace women, with tightly woven gold threads inside. Every emperor who ascends the throne would remove the old gold thread and reweave new silk, making it extremely soft.”
Gold thread is soft, and the silk is soft too. No wonder the bed was so comfortable.
Yin Wuzhi walked over and examined the bed, saying, “Such a large piece of furniture would be difficult to replace.”
Jiang Wu lowered his eyes.
Yin Wuzhi added, “But I have a solution. First, I’ll go fetch some food for Your Majesty.”
“Steamed egg.”
Qi Hanmiao reminded, “… No meat is allowed in the temple.”
Jiang Wu simply looked at Yin Wuzhi.
Yin Wuzhi said, “I’ll go down the mountain to see if there are any chickens. If there are chickens, there will be eggs, and with eggs, I can make steamed egg custard.”
Jiang Wu: “Hmm.”
Yin Wuzhi soon left and quickly returned, sheepishly reporting, “There are chickens, but they are all roosters.”
Qi Hanmiao sighed deeply, “This is a temple, no women are allowed. How could there be hens?”
Jiang Wu: “.”
Yin Wuzhi said, “I’ll go down the mountain to check again.”
“Dark.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark. I’ll be back soon.”
Jiang Wu dozed off in a soft chair. During this time, Yin Wuzhi regularly fed him meals, making him nearly forget the feeling of hunger. His stomach rumbled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He stared blankly at the door for a while until he finally heard movement.
Yin Wuzhi jumped in through the window, holding a small food box. The drowsy Qi Hanmiao immediately perked up, “Your Highness is back.”
“Yes.” Yin Wuzhi took two steps forward, took out a bowl of freshly steamed egg custard, and said, “It’s still hot. I’ll feed Your Majesty.”
Jiang Wu smelled the faint aroma of sesame, while Qi Hanmiao opened the window, fanning the air outside, fearing they’d be discovered. Jiang Wu opened his mouth and began eating the custard. Halfway through, he asked, “What if the temple staff find out?”
“What can they do? At most, they’ll accuse us of disrespecting the Buddha.” Yin Wuzhi blew on the food before feeding it to Jiang Wu, who slowly swallowed and asked, “What if they accuse us?”
“Nothing much,” Yin Wuzhi replied, “I did everything. His Majesty need not worry about the Buddha’s wrath.”
“And if they blame you?”
“Then they blame me. I don’t believe in Buddha anyway.” Yin Wuzhi fed Jiang Wu the last spoonful. Jiang Wu didn’t like the bits that were left, so Yin Wuzhi scraped the bowl and ate the remaining pieces himself. After wiping Jiang Wu’s mouth, he said, “Alright, now I’ll get the bed ready for Your Majesty.”
He retrieved some rope, one end fitted with an iron nail, the other with a hook, securing them to the walls. Then, he had Qi Hanmiao cut holes in the four corners of the beddings and burned the threads inside. Soon, a handmade hammock appeared before Jiang Wu.
Amid Qi Hanmiao’s astonished gaze, Yin Wuzhi humbly remarked, “Though it’s not as good as the palace bed, I did my best.”
After speaking, he sat on it to test its sturdiness before gently lifting Jiang Wu onto the hammock, eagerly asking, “How does it feel? More comfortable?”
“Hmm.” Jiang Wu pondered his earlier words, “Yin Wuzhi, you don’t believe in Buddha?”
Yin Wuzhi replied, “I don’t.”
“Nor Taoism?”
“No.”
“You’ve never believed?”
“Never.” Yin Wuzhi looked at Jiang Wu lying there, unable to resist poking his cheek. “Why, is Your Majesty worried that Buddha will blame me?”
This didn’t align with what Jiang Wu had learned about Yin Wuzhi from history.
Historically, Yin Wuzhi had one defining trait: he was deeply devout, both to Buddhism and Taoism. It was said he spent his life searching for the secret of immortality, and everywhere the Xia dynasty’s iron cavalry went, they left behind temples and Taoist monasteries built by him. Though many of those were destroyed thousands of years later, the legacy remained.
But he raised a group of Taoists and monks, repeatedly researching the methods of immortality. Because of this, during his reign, the status of monks and Taoists was even higher than that of many officials, which became the most criticized aspect of his rule in history.
Jiang Wu asked, “Why don’t you believe?”
Yin Wuzhi thought Jiang Wu was still concerned about being blamed and reassured him, saying, “Didn’t the Buddha say that all beings are equal? So, I am equal to the Buddha. What right does the Buddha have to blame me?”
“Will you ever believe?”
“I won’t,” Yin Wuzhi said matter-of-factly. “The existence of Buddha and Tao only serves to satisfy the delusions of those who seek but cannot attain…”
He glanced at Qi Hanmiao, who was lighting incense to cover the sesame oil smell in the room. Yin Wuzhi quickly gave Jiang Wu a light kiss at the corner of his mouth and whispered, “I have no unfulfilled desires.”
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