Daming Palace, in front of Xuanwu Gate.
A group of Qianniu Guards stood at the gate, stopping Qin Mubai, Princess Gao Yang and others.
"Your Highness the Princess, General Qin, please forgive me for being rude." The leader, Senniu Beishen, said with an expressionless face and a business-like tone, "The General is here with the order and is here to wait for the Princess and the General."
"It seems that Li Ji has already sent someone to report to His Majesty the Emperor." After Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang looked at each other knowingly, they stepped forward and said, "Tell me, what is your Majesty's decree?"
"Your Majesty ordered Princess Gaoyang and Qin Mubai to carry the coffin to Dajiao to see the emperor." Qianniu Guard prepared his body and replied.
"I know." Qin Mubai nodded, returned to Princess Gaoyang, and looked at her worriedly, "Did you hear that, Dajiaoguan?"
"Well..." Princess Gao Yang's reaction was surprisingly calm and she nodded lightly, "Then let's go!"
"I will see Your Majesty and Concubine De later..."
"Mu Bai, don't worry." Princess Gao Yang interrupted him and took a deep breath, "Let's go!"
"Okay." Qin Mubai nodded, and the appearance of Concubine Yin De emerged in his mind.
Now that the matter has come to an end, Princess Gaoyang's knot has been resolved. Li Shimin doesn't have to worry about this at all. The only thing that makes people feel uneasy is the concubine Yin De in the Dajiao Temple who may have already had her heart broken.
What would this poor woman do when she saw the body of her only son
…
Qianniu Guards led the way, Qin Mubai and others protected Li You's coffin, walked into the imperial city, and headed towards the Dajiao Temple of the Harem of Daming Palace.
The palace was extremely deserted today, and I met almost no one along the way. Perhaps the emperor had already sent someone to make arrangements. Therefore, walking along the way, it always looked like this deserted place.
Princess Gaoyang has been silent, with a somewhat solemn expression, but there is always a faint look of perseverance in her eyes, as if she has made some important decisions, and she seems to be constantly cheering herself up.
Dajiao watched. There were several hundred-horse guards standing at the door, all of whom Qin Mubai knew.
When they got here, all the Qianniu Guards retreated, and a team of Baiqi came out of the temple. They first greeted Princess Gaoyang and Qin Mubai, and then started to carry the coffin into the temple.
Qin Mubai privately called a familiar Baiqi and asked, "Your Majesty, are you in the audience?"
"Yes." Baiqi replied in a low voice, then looked around warily and whispered, "General, be careful. Your Majesty is not happy today, and his old man's roar can be heard from the room from time to time."
"Scold Concubine Yin De?"
"Then the general will be unknown... In short, the general should be careful."
"I know. Just go ahead and get going!"
At this moment, several monks came out of the Taoist temple. He walked out of the Taoist temple with his hands clasped and his eyes straight, without saying hello to anyone.
"It's strange, where do the monks come from in the Taoist temple? Moreover, these big-headed monks seem to be very handsome. They don't seem to pay attention to Gao Yang and this general, and they don't come to say goodbye when they meet." Qin Mubai said softly. Said to himself.
Princess Gao Yang was standing next to Qin Mubai, and had been quietly watching the hundreds of knights carrying the coffin. At this time, she said softly: "They are the monks from Famen Temple, the royal temple. These monks regard themselves as outsiders and eminent monks. He did not kneel down when he saw His Majesty the Emperor, and he has always been deeply favored by the Holy Spirit."
"Famen Temple?" Qin Mubai whispered curiously, "Is it the famous 'Ashoka Temple'?"
"Yes." Princess Gaoyang nodded and said, "Famen Temple is located a hundred miles west of Chang'an. Its original name was Ashoka Temple. There are more than 5,000 monks in the temple. A few years ago, my grandfather, Emperor Wude, , renamed it "Famen Temple". I once heard my father talk about this temple. It seems to be hundreds of years old. It was built in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. There is a pagoda in the temple, which is dedicated to Sakyamuni Buddha. Hundreds of years ago, a king named Ashoka unified India and divided the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha into 84,000 parts and sent them to various Buddhist holy places to build pagodas for worship. 'The word was created at that time. There had never been such a word in the Central Plains before."
"Gao Yang, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable." Qin Mubai also deliberately distracted Princess Gao Yang and asked her not to be too nervous, so he smiled and said, "I have heard of Famen Temple for a long time, but I have never seen it. I have time some other time. , let’s go and see it together.”
"Okay..." Princess Gaoyang nodded with a smile, but there was a sense of paleness and weakness in her smile.
At this time, the Lingshu had been unloaded from the carriage, and more than ten hundred riders lifted the coffin and slowly entered the Taoist temple. In order to facilitate the entry of Lingshu, the gates of the Taoist temple were demolished. It seems that the emperor has indeed been prepared.
A hundred knights came forward and bowed with clasped fists: "Your Highness, General Qin, Your Majesty invites you."
"Well, lead the way." Qin Mubai took Princess Gao Yang's hand, patted it gently, and smiled.
Princess Gao Yang also smiled, and the two of them walked in shoulder to shoulder and followed the Baiqi towards the Taoist temple.
There were no Taoist nuns in the temple, and they passed through several corridors along the way. Only the emperor's close bodyguards, the Hundred Cavalry Soldiers, were on guard. A few hours later, Qin Mubai and Princess Gao Yang arrived at a small independent courtyard in Yifang and stood in front of the door of a room.
Baiqi led the two of them here, then held his fist and retreated far away. The Lingshu was also quickly carried.
Qin Mubai and Princess Gao Yang were about to ask for permission when the door was opened from inside. Li Shimin stood in front of the two of them, glanced at them expressionlessly, and said calmly: "Come in - bring the Lingshu in!"
"yes."
Everyone agreed, and Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang entered the room one after another. The hundreds of cavalry guards carried the coffin in with a roar, and then quietly retreated out.
Within a hundred steps of the entire small courtyard, there was no one waiting around.
This room is the Zen room where Concubine Yin De rests quietly on weekdays. At this time, with her hair covered in frost and snow, she was still kneeling on the futon, lowering her head and silently facing the bronze statue of Lao Tzu.
Li Shimin turned around and closed the door in person, cut his hands behind his back, and walked to the coffin.
He frowned, gritted his teeth, and puffed out his cheeks slightly. Staring at the coffin but saying nothing, the meaning in his eyes was very complicated.
The room was quiet, and you could clearly hear the flickering sound of candles burning.
After a while, Li Shimin cleared his throat and said, "Your son is back."
Concubine Yin De, who was kneeling on the futon, trembled slightly and said nothing. She stood up silently and turned around.
In an instant, Qin Mubai felt a thrill in his heart... Concubine Yin De, after just one year of absence, she seems to have aged ten years? !
Princess Gaoyang was obviously even more surprised and distressed. She looked at Concubine Yin De with dumbfounded eyes, her eyes were red, and she called out with a trembling voice: "Concubine..."
"Good..." Concubine Yin De smiled lightly, stepped forward and gently stroked Princess Gaoyang's hair, then reached out to touch the coffin wrapper, stroking the shiny new paint just like she was stroking Princess Gaoyang's. The coffin, murmured: "Son, you are back..."
No one spoke.
At the moment, it seems that everything I say is so inappropriate.
Li Shimin has always maintained that look, quiet and solemn, his eyes sharp and complicated, and I don't know what he is thinking in his heart.
"Open the coffin and let me take a look at him." Concubine Yin De did not cry, her expression and eyes were unusually calm, and she said calmly.
Qin Mubai turned to look at Li Shimin and asked for his opinion.
"You don't have to look at me." Li Shimin said calmly.
Qin Mubai nodded, thinking: If it weren't for the king's reserve, Li Shimin would have lifted the lid of the coffin himself. Sigh... After all, blood is thicker than water, so why wouldn't he want to take one last look at his unscrupulous son
So Qin Mubai stepped forward, untied the rope from the coffin, and slid the coffin open.
The body had already been embalmed, and there was no peculiar smell in the coffin. And he pretended to be pretty good. At this moment, Li You seemed to be asleep, with a smile on his face, but his face was as white as a piece of paper.
Li Shimin, Concubine Yin De, and Princess Gaoyang all looked at Li You's body quietly and fell into silence.
There was no unexpected crying or losing control of emotions. At the moment, the three of them were so tacitly silent and surprisingly quiet.
Princess Gaoyang kept supporting Concubine Yin De, fearing that her mother would faint or something. At this time, Concubine Yin De gently put aside Princess Gao Yang's hand, put her hand into the coffin, and touched Li You's face.
"You'er, You'er..." She whispered softly, just like she was calling Li You to wake up when he slept in early in the morning when he was young.
Li Shimin took a deep breath and sighed heavily, clasping his hands on his back and frowning even more tightly.
"Mom, just cry..." Princess Gao Yang was filled with worry when she saw her mother like this, and whispered with a trembling voice, "Cry, it will feel better."
"Mother is not crying. Why is mother crying?" Concubine Yin De smiled instead, caressing Li You's face kindly, revealing a few clear crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.
For a moment, Princess Gao Yang didn't know what to say, but shed tears herself.
At this time, Li Shimin said as if talking to himself: "I am going to plate his body with gold chrome and place it in the holy tomb of Ashoka Pagoda."
"Oh?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but be a little surprised.
"What, you think it's inappropriate?" Li Shimin asked.
"No. Wei Chen is just a little confused." Qin Mubai said truthfully.
At this time, Concubine Yinde chuckled and said: "The Li family regards Lao Tzu as their ancestor and respects Taoism. Your Majesty's son, however, wants to be buried in the Ashoka Pagoda in Famen Temple. No wonder General Qin is puzzled."
The implication is that he wanted to avenge Li You's injustice. According to royal customs, after the death of princes and princesses, they should be buried in the mausoleum of the late emperor, even if they were commoners. At present, Empress Changsun has been buried in Zhaoling, which will be Li Shimin's tomb a hundred years later. According to common sense, Li You should be buried in Zhaoling. Even if he was unworthy and "had no right" to be buried in a mausoleum, he should still be buried in the countryside with royal honours. Now, he is not allowed to "lay in peace". No wonder Concubine Yin De is so angry.
Li Shimin's reaction was very calm, and he said: "I knew you would be displeased. I did this with good intentions. Taoism advocates practicing and attaining the Tao during life, while Buddhism emphasizes reincarnation and karma in the past life. You'er has sinned in this life. The deep inner demons have not been eliminated. I hope that he can purify his inner demons and be reborn in bliss under the guidance of Buddhism, so that he can become a peaceful and kind person in the next life. "What's wrong with this?"
Qin Mubai nodded without saying a word. He guessed that Li Shimin was deeply touched by Li You's incident this time. After he ascended the throne during the Xuanwu Transformation, I'm afraid it left a shadow in his heart. He extremely hated, or could be said to be afraid of, his own son, imitating him in doing such a thing. Defend day and night, this kind of thing will happen after all. At present, he wants to put Li You's body in Famen Temple without burial. To put it nicely, it means that he will be able to enjoy the bliss of Buddhism in the afterlife. But in the deeper meaning, is there some "hanging corpse to alert" meaning
He hoped that his other sons would follow Li You as a warning.
"What a cruel father." Concubine Yin De shook her head, with a smile still on her face, but it was extremely bitter.
Princess Gao Yang didn't know if she had thought of this, but she just shed tears without crying or speaking.
"Hey... whatever you want to say!" Li Shimin sighed heavily, shook his head and said, "The matter has come to this, everything is irreversible. I only hope that Li You will not make the same mistakes again in the next life!"
"Ha! He's already dead, yet you don't forgive him." Concubine Yin De shook her head repeatedly, staring at Li You's face, her eyes showing bottomless despair and sorrow, and murmured, "You'er, I'm grateful. Your good father! If there is an afterlife, it will be the greatest blessing for you not to be born into an emperor’s family!”
Li Shimin glanced at Concubine Yin De in annoyance, turned to Qin Mubai and said, "Mubai, close the coffin!"
"Yes." Qin Mubai bowed his hands and was about to step forward when Concubine Yin De suddenly said: "Slow down!"
"What do you want to do?" Li Shimin's voice was a little deep, full of authority.
"Do nothing."
Concubine Yin De took out a pair of scissors that had been prepared, scaring both Princess Gao Yang and Li Shimin and yelled: "Stop!"
Concubine Yin De smiled faintly, cut off a bunch of her own white hair, and threw it into the coffin.
"Youer, remember your mother's taste. In the next life, you will still be my child."
"You!..." Li Shimin glared at Concubine Yin De with a confused and somewhat angry look, not knowing what to say.
"Why, does this also offend His Majesty's Longwei?" Concubine Yin De threw the scissors casually, and they hit the ground with a sudden clanking sound.
Then, she turned around, walked to the bronze statue unusually calmly, and knelt down as before.
"Mother..." Princess Gaoyang seemed to sense something was wrong. She hurriedly walked to Concubine Yin De and squatted down, asking in a low voice, "Do you really want to... become a monk?"
"What's the difference between having a family and having no family? What are the similarities and differences between becoming a monk and not becoming a monk?" Concubine Yin De said calmly, "Cut off the threads of worries and cut off the fate of this life. Since Your Majesty said that Buddhism can repair the karma of the next life, then I will become a nun. I will spend the rest of my life hoping to renew the relationship between mother and son in the next life. Gao Yang, please take care of yourself and don’t miss me anymore.”
"Mother, no... I don't want you to become a monk! Mother, do you know that to be a nun, you have to shave off all your hair, which is so ugly!" Princess Gaoyang whispered eagerly, "Father, please come and persuade me." Concubine! She is a dignified concubine. If she really becomes a nun, wouldn’t it be a disgrace to the royal family if it spreads?”
"Let her go!" Li Shimin seemed to let her go.
Qin Mubai closed the coffin without saying a word. But there are mixed feelings in my heart.
Li Shimin and Concubine Yin De are really mortal enemies. Their son died. They were both very sad, but they seemed unwilling to let each other go. It was as if they all blamed the sins of their son's life on the other party.
"Mubai, you will be responsible for the funeral of King Qi." Li Shimin said suddenly, "I have already issued a decree to Master Huiye, the abbot of Famen Temple, and will also appoint officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Taichang Temple, and Ancestral Temple. They will help you. If you don’t understand anything, just discuss it with them.”
"Yes, I will obey the order." Qin Mubai agreed with his hands.
Li Shimin nodded, his expression still solemn. He glanced sideways at Princess Gao Yang, with an expression that seemed to give up, and finally couldn't help but call out: "Gao Yang."
Princess Gao Yang responded, wiped her tears, walked to Li Shimin and saluted: "Your Majesty is here."
Li Shimin stretched out his hand, stroked her head with great pity, and said: "Later, come to Penglai Hall to see my father."
"yes… "
"I'm leaving first." After Li Shimin said that, he turned around and prepared to walk out. However, he paused in his steps, looked back at Li You's coffin, raised his brows slightly, and finally strode away.
Qin Mubai and Princess Gaoyang watched the emperor walk away. At this moment, they all felt that this man of ninety-five stature, no matter how silent his expression was, could not hide the indescribable sadness deep in his heart.
Looking at Concubine Yin De, it would not be surprising at all that she should have burst into tears and even fainted. On the contrary, she didn't even cry.
That sentence - "Mother doesn't cry. Why does mother cry?", but every word is like a needle, able to pierce people's hearts.
Perhaps she also felt that studying after Li You's death was not a relief. Or perhaps, there is nothing greater than grief, and her tears have long since dried up.
…
Soon after, several officials from Zongzheng Temple, Hubu and Taimiao came together to ask Qin Mubai if it was possible to move the coffin of King Qi to the Taimiao to serve as a sacrifice to the ancestors. First, some simple procedures were carried out. Royal funeral ceremony.
Qin Mubai was about to ask Concubine Yin De, but she turned her back to Qin Mubai and said first: "Mu Bai, let them take it away! It's just a skin, nothing to cherish. You'er's soul, Will stay with me."
"Yes..." Qin Mubai felt astringent in his heart and didn't know what to say. So he called those people in, carefully carried Li You's coffin out, loaded it on carriages and horses, and transported it to the Ancestral Temple.
"You all go!" Concubine Yin De said.
"Mom... just let me accompany you, okay?" Princess Gaoyang begged worriedly.
"No." Concubine Yin De shook her head gently, but said firmly, "Just let me spend some time alone with your brother! You go to see your father, Mu Bai, you also have a lot of things to be busy with? Let's all go. , don’t worry about me.”
Seeing her speaking so firmly, Princess Gaoyang and Qin Mubai couldn't stand it, so they had to say goodbye and leave.
"Mu Bai, I'm so worried about my mother. Do you think she might... commit suicide?" Princess Gao Yang said worriedly after leaving the house.
"No." Qin Mubai replied without thinking.
"Really? Why are you so sure?" Princess Gao Yang was a little surprised.
"I don't know either." Qin Mubai frowned, looked up at the tall and magnificent palace, sighed softly, and said, "It's just... a feeling."
"Feeling..." Princess Gao Yang murmured again and shook her head blankly, "I'm still worried. How about we tell the Taoist nuns to pay more attention to her and send some soldiers to protect her strictly?"
"All right!"
Later, the two left Dajiao Temple. Princess Gaoyang went to Penglai Hall to see Li Shimin, while Qin Mubai went to the Ancestral Temple.
Some great monks are doing some water and land ashram, and the sound of Sanskrit is filling the beams with incense and smoke. Li You's body was taken out, bathed and changed, and some preparations were made to prepare it for chrome plating. Qin Mubai gave special instructions and stuffed Concubine Yin De's white hair and a huge luminous pearl into Li You's mouth to seal it.
If there really is an afterlife, with Ye Zhuzhu's guidance and white hair as her faith, Li You must be able to find her mother in this life and continue the unfinished bond between mother and son.
At this moment, Qin Mubai hoped that Li You could travel to another world like him. Like myself, I could meet a mother who looked exactly like Concubine Yin De. Or better yet, he travels back several years and becomes himself.
There, there is his beloved mother and sister.
He could... start over!