A Beauty In Troubled Times

Chapter 18: Door of Songqing Ancient Temple (1)

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It was a sunny day, and Zhaopei and Ruhua went to Tongtai Temple to pray. When they came out of the main hall and were about to go to the purification room, they happened to pass by a lotus pond. She stopped and saw the thousand-petal lotus in the pond in full bloom, like a beautiful woman.

For no reason I remembered a poem and blurted it out subconsciously: "The green lotus covers the green water, and the lotus is covered with red. There are lotus roots with twin roots below and lotus flowers with twin heads above."

But then another woman's voice sounded behind him: "But Miss Xu?"

Zhao Pei looked back when she heard the voice and saw the woman in aqua clothes standing not far away, smiling at her. Zhao Pei was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses and bowed: "Zhao Pei greets the Crown Princess."

Crown Princess Yao smiled and walked a few steps closer: "This is not in the palace, so there is no need for such etiquette." Then she looked her up and down and exclaimed: "You are really a rare beauty. No wonder De Shi and Liu Zhen have always..." She stopped talking halfway and just smiled gently.

Zhao Pei lowered her eyes slightly, avoiding her gaze. Yao was not annoyed, and continued to smile: "I heard from Deshi that you both call each other brother and sister. If you don't mind, how about calling me sister?"

Although he didn't know why she was so close to him, he couldn't refuse her smile. Zhao Pei slowly let out a smile: "Sister, how can I dislike it if I want it so much? How did you find time to come here today?"

Yao smiled happily and stroked the child in her arms: "Look, Yu'er is almost one year old. Bring him here to pray for his safety." Zhao Pei then noticed the baby she had been holding in her arms, and her heart was a little bitter but warm. The child was very cute, delicate and beautiful. He was also very well-behaved, not crying or making a fuss, but just looking at her curiously with his big black eyes.

Zhao Pei looked at the pair of eyes that looked very similar to his, and she didn't know whether she was happy or sad. The child stared at her and suddenly laughed, stretching out his chubby little hands to grab her hanging black hair. Zhao Pei's heart moved, and she held his little hand tightly, with unspeakable excitement and joy.

"Yuer likes you very much." Yao smiled gently.

Zhao Pei also smiled and replied: "He is so cute. He looks exactly like... Big Brother."

Yao said intentionally or unintentionally: "Yes, Deshi likes Yuer very much and holds him in his arms all day long as if he were his precious child. He gave him many instructions today for fear of embarrassing his precious son." Zhao Pei was stunned for a moment, forced a smile and withdrew his hand.

"Sister Zhao Pei, how about we go for a walk together?" she said again.

Zhao Pei replied, "Of course." Yao called the wet nurse to take the child away, but Zhao Pei still turned her head to look at the small figure. She only withdrew her gaze awkwardly when she knew that Yao called her.

The two of them walked silently around the lotus pond for half a circle, and then they were about to walk through the corridor to the purification room. Zhao Pei was a little uncomfortable with such silence and depression. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Yao say, "I often hear Deshi and others mention you, saying that you are a beautiful and intelligent woman. You know, there are not many women who can be praised by Deshi." She smiled and said, "There are even fewer women that my sixth brother misses so much. No, you are the only one. So, I have always wanted to meet you, and now I didn't expect to meet you here."

Zhao Pei didn't respond, waiting for her to continue. As they walked through the corridor, Yao said, "I was really surprised when my sixth brother refused to marry me a few days ago. Considering his personality, he would not have acted like this if he didn't have someone in his heart. You..."

Zhao Pei finally understood what she meant. It turned out that she was trying to match her with Xiao Lun. She immediately said, "Sister, Zhao Pei is just a little girl. How could the Sixth Prince like her? Besides, Zhao Pei's heart..." She raised her eyes to look at the beautiful woman. Her chest felt tight and she could no longer speak.

Yao Shixiu frowned slightly, she already understood, and it was not easy to say anything. This is the advantage of being a smart woman, some things don't need to be said out loud.

There was another silence, but when a figure appeared at the end of the corridor, everyone couldn't help but exclaim: "Your Majesty?"

The man in monk's robes turned around when he heard the sound. The man's eyebrows and eyes looked exactly like the current emperor. He saw the two women in front of him clearly, walked forward with a smile and clasped his hands together: "So it's Yunchang. Are you here to pray today?"

They all returned the greetings, and Yao smiled and said, "Yes. I brought Yu'er here today and happened to meet Sister Zhao Pei."

The emperor looked at her with a deep look in his eyes: "So the girl from the Xu family is here too."

Yao was still very surprised to meet the emperor dressed like this at such a time and in such an occasion, and asked blankly: "Father, what are you doing..."

The emperor smiled and said, "Can't Yunshang see?"

Yao was still a little bit incredulous, but the emperor said, "Alas, the Buddha worship is about to begin. It would be bad to miss the time. I will take my leave now."

The two of them saluted quickly, and when his figure disappeared, Yao hurriedly pulled Zhao Pei to the temple gate. Zhao Pei was a little puzzled, what was the emperor doing? Did he give up his life to become a monk? Although I know that the emperor worships Buddhism, it shouldn't be like this.

When they left the temple gate, they stopped. Sure enough, there was a quarrel at the gate. The ministers were waiting at the gate without even changing their official uniforms. There was a lot of noise. They must have gone to court early in the morning, but heard the news that the emperor had sacrificed himself. They were shocked and had to come to ask the emperor to go back. But the emperor ignored them and was anxious, angry, worried and sighing.

I really want Buddha more than the kingdom.

Zhao Pei was still sighing at the emperor's sincerity, but she heard Yao say, "My dear sister, you go back and look after the emperor first, and try to persuade him. I'll stay here and think of a solution to prevent these people from causing any trouble."

Zhao Pei had no choice but to nod, and went back to the yard holding up her skirt. She happened to meet Ruhua who came looking for her. She gave her a few instructions and then hurriedly turned around and left.

The ceremony in the main hall had just begun. Zhao Pei stood by the door and looked inside. She saw the emperor sitting cross-legged under the Buddha statue, looking solemn and dignified. Many Buddhist disciples were chanting sutras and worshiping Buddha, with wooden fish sounds and incense burning.

Although she was annoyed with her job, she also understood the serious consequences of this matter. Books often say that a country cannot be without a monarch for a day. If the emperor ignores state affairs, then their Daliang will be in chaos. Then she thought again, if the emperor ignores state affairs, won’t all the numerous affairs fall on the prince? How can this be done? Can he bear such a heavy burden? He will ruin his body. Thinking of this, she became more confident. (To be continued)