The emperor arrived very quickly. He showed up at Dazhuo Temple the next morning in a simple carriage with Hua Bolin. At the request of his master, Zeng Han, who had just finished morning classes with the monks, went to the door to greet him.
Looking at his junior brother who behaved like a little adult, the emperor teased him with a smile, "You really look like a little monk in this dress. How about it, can you sit still? If you can't sit still, tell me and I will go and ask the tutor for mercy."
"I can sit still." Zeng Han pursed his lips and didn't say that he felt a little sleepy, but the master always had a reason for doing things. Since she said that it would be good for him to follow the monk for a few days, then he would follow her. Even if she asked him to resist going to the library of Dazhuo Temple to find out what was going on, he could resist.
How could the insincere words that were not deep enough be hidden from the emperor? He touched his junior brother's head and stopped teasing him. He looked around the courtyard that seemed quiet and peaceful under the sun and filled with the scent of sandalwood. His heart calmed down, especially when he saw the tutor who was wearing casual clothes and looked very gentle. This peace of mind was even more real.
Without waiting for the two to bow, the emperor quickly stepped forward and helped the regent up. Lai Fu saw the opportunity and immediately helped the princess up. "There is no need to care about these empty formalities outside. Just sit down and talk."
Hua Zhi responded with a smile and sat down at the bottom. She glanced at her brother but only glanced at him briefly.
"I received the news from the regent yesterday and summoned the official in charge of this matter. According to him, the number of monks applying for certificates of ordination has indeed increased since the beginning of the year. I then sent people to investigate and found that the number of monks in the nineteen temples of all sizes in the capital has increased significantly, which is far from what he said, that there has only been an increase."
The emperor looked annoyed, but Hua Zhi was not surprised. The certificate of ordination was not given for free, it had to be purchased with money, and officials who were not so honest would naturally be reluctant to cut off this source of income.
"Can the price of the certificate of ordination be increased?"
"Not openly." The emperor raised his lips, but there was frost in his eyes, "But privately, you can't buy it without bribes."
How could Hua Zhi not understand? Her original intention was to use this matter to test the emperor, so she did not express her opinion, but just asked, "Does the emperor have a plan in mind?"
"It is better to ease than to block. I can't let all monks return to secular life. Even if there are those who are eager to get ahead, there are also good monks like Master Prajna who have Buddha and sentient beings in their hearts."
Picking up a vegetarian fruit and playing with it in his hand, the emperor sneered in his heart. After all, this matter was all because of his good father who had easily issued that decree. If we really want to talk about right and wrong, the mistake lies in the root.
Hua Zhi didn't ask any more questions. After all, she and Yan Xi were there to take care of things, so nothing would go wrong.
Obviously, the emperor didn't want to talk about such bad things at such a relaxed and leisurely time, so he changed the subject and said, "Xiaohan rarely goes out, why don't we let him go to the market with us?"
"Even if the emperor didn't mention it, I would have mentioned it." Hua Zhi glanced at the little disciple and couldn't help laughing. "I finally took him out, but he's still just pondering the collections in other people's library. It's better not to read if he reads too hastily."
Zeng Han lowered his head and rubbed his toes together, feeling somewhat happy and somewhat embarrassed.
The emperor didn't have that scruple, he laughed out loud, stood up, picked the man up and walked out, "Then I'll take him away, Master, you have to save some food for us at noon."
Hua Bailin hurriedly followed, and when she reached the door, she turned around and grinned at her eldest sister, bowed, and walked away quickly.
Hua Zhi laughed and shook her head, walked to the door and looked at the three people's backs in a daze. It was so beautiful. It would be great if it could stay like this for many years to come.
Feeling that there was someone beside her, she moved closer without even looking, leaning against his strong chest without any obstacles, with her body embraced. The two of them just watched the three people talking and laughing as they walked away until they disappeared from their sight.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Hua Zhi shook her head gently. How could she not be worried? Even if she was confident that she could calculate everything in the world, she could not calculate everyone's heart. One of the three was her brother, and two were her disciples. She could not afford to see any of them suffer, so, "I will be a good tutor."
At least we have to teach him that life can only be fulfilling if he has a few close friends. If he really becomes a loner, he can only talk to himself.
Gu Yanxi nodded softly and said that he would do his best as regent and let the emperor know what he absolutely could not do before he retired from the court.
Not under the watchful eyes of palace maids and eunuchs, not under the constant gaze of ministers, the emperor felt as if his bones had lightened when he saw the pious people coming and going.
He lifted up the junior brother who was clinging to his neck obediently. He looked around for a moment and gave up the idea of finding the direction by himself. "Laifu, how do we get there?"
Lai Fu lowered his head to hide his smile, bent to the side to lead the way, and glanced at the close appearance of the three people out of the corner of his eye, with a myriad of emotions in his heart. This was a very common scene in the eyes of others, but it was the most unusual scene in the royal family.
Zeng Han struggled slightly and tried to get down, but the emperor patted his butt and held him tighter, preventing him from moving. He tilted his head and said to Bo Lin, "I'm afraid this is a test from the Grand Tutor. You should pay more attention to it. If the Seven Stars Division reports any news, please let me know immediately. I want to see how many people are involved."
"yes."
"It's just a decree that has been in effect for a short year and it's already like this. I dare not imagine how deeper the water is for other things." The emperor's face was cold. He only thought that he knew too much darkness and filthiness in the past, but when he really sat in that position, he realized that what he knew was just the basics. In such an environment, it's no wonder that the people in the deep palace were either crazy or dead.
"I think this is a good idea."
The emperor raised his eyebrows and looked over.
Hua Bolin smiled, his brows and eyes were clear, "Now that the foreign enemies have been eliminated and the world is at peace, if you don't have to worry about anything, do you think that life will be interesting? What power can drive us to keep getting stronger?"
Using Daqing's internal troubles to motivate yourself? The emperor glared at him, then wanted to laugh. Taifu's boldness was all on the surface, and everyone knew there was nothing she dared not do. But Bolin's boldness was on the inside, and she kept a low profile at ordinary times, but it could surprise people so much that their jaws dropped.
But what he said makes sense.
He now knew that the deep pool was full of undercurrents. Even if he couldn't move now, he would move in the future! When he was strong enough.
Therefore, he has no right to slack off.
As the noisy sounds got closer, the two men stopped talking and walked faster. They put state affairs aside for now. What was important right now was what the Grand Tutor had told them. Given the Grand Tutor's temperament, he would definitely ask about it after returning from here, and they didn't want to be embarrassed in front of him by not being able to answer.
PS: The extra chapters are not guaranteed to be updated every day, but they should be updated every other day. Let me explain that I don’t want to write the extra chapters too scattered, so I will use a main thread to pull everyone in, but there won’t be too many plots. Also, the new book is being prepared, and I hope it can be published by the end of June.