Late September, Wudang Mountain, Taihe Palace.
At dusk, the old abbot with white hair and a youthful face finished his lecture. Huayang walked up to him with a pious look and asked him about some things he didn't understand. Then he took Chen Jingzong away.
The couple walked side by side towards the guest house where the princess and her husband were temporarily staying.
On the way, Chen Jingzong looked at Huayang, who was wearing a white dress and no makeup, and asked again: "You have been staying here for seven or eight days. When are you going to go back?"
Huayang: "Why are you in such a hurry? I may only come to Wudang once in my life, so of course I have to stay longer. If you are worried about the affairs of the garrison, you can leave first."
She didn't originally want Chen Jingzong to accompany her on this trip, but Chen Jingzong insisted on coming along.
Chen Jingzong pursed his lips.
Last month, she took Chaoyun, Chaoyue, Zhouji, Wurun and dozens of guards to visit Dongting Lake. They left at the beginning of the month and returned at the end of the month. They just stayed in Ningyuan for a few nights, returned to the ancestral home to accompany the two elders to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival, and then they were going to visit Wudang Mountain again. If Chen Jingzong hadn't come with them, the couple might have to be separated for another month!
"Wei You Lu Da is here, so I don't need to worry about anything. But you have been listening to sutras in Taihe Palace or Yuxu Palace these days. If you continue to listen, I am afraid that you will also learn from your grandfather, and devote yourself to Taoism from now on, thinking about how to cultivate immortality all day long."
"presumptuous!"
Hua Yang gave a low scolding and looked around cautiously. After making sure that no Taoist priest was passing by, she warned Chen Jingzong coldly, "It's ok for you to make up stories about me, but how can you make irresponsible comments about the Emperor? If it gets out, the censor will report you to the Emperor for disrespect. Even if the Emperor wants to let you go for my sake, he can't be partial to you when it comes to the Emperor."
Chen Jingzong looked at her with a smile: "That will give you a good reason to divorce me, and then find a consort who is completely to your liking."
Huayang was too lazy to pay attention to him.
After returning to the guest house and taking a short rest, two young Taoist priests brought the couple dinner. Since they were in a Taoist temple, they naturally had to eat vegetarian food.
Steamed buns, white porridge, and vegetarian dishes made Chen Jingzong's face even uglier.
Huayang just found it funny: "You asked for it."
Chen Jingzong was not afraid of eating vegetarian food. What made him most aggrieved was that he clearly brought that thing with him, but because they were staying in a Taoist temple, she insisted on being particular and did not allow him to do anything wrong in the temple.
If he had known this, he would have gone to Dongting Lake with her last month instead of going to Wudang Mountain.
Huayang picked up a steamed bun for him and said, "Eat more. I want to visit Tianzhu Peak tomorrow."
Chen Jingzong sneered: "You? You're already tired after walking from here to Tianzhu Peak, and you still want to climb the highest peak here?"
Huayang: "I still have you. If I can't climb anymore, I'll let you carry me."
Chen Jingzong: "I can't carry it if I eat vegetarian food every day."
What he disliked was the food, but what he was longing for was another kind of meat.
Hua Yang pretended not to understand and smiled faintly, "If you can't carry it, just sleep at home. I'll take Zhou Ji with me."
The next morning, at the foot of Tianzhu Peak, Chen Jingzong rolled up his sleeves and continued to work like a slave for the delicate princess.
Tianzhu Peak is too high. Huayang didn't expect to be carried by Chen Jingzong all the way. She walked by herself when she was able to walk. When she came across a place suitable for enjoying the scenery, she and Chen Jingzong would find a smooth stone to sit down. Zhou Ji followed behind with a team of guards keeping a certain distance.
After walking and resting for a while, it was almost noon when the two finally reached the top of Tianzhu Peak.
The autumn wind is brisk, making clothes rustle.
Zhou Ji came over with the food box, chose a windless place to set up the easel, and then he retreated to the guards so as not to disturb the princess and her husband.
Chen Jingzong watched him walk away, took a bite of his bun, and said to Huayang: "You royal ancestors just like to torment people."
Many Taoist temples on Mount Wudang were built under the supervision of craftsmen ordered by her Taizu, Chengzu and the previous emperor. Climbing the mountain alone is tiring enough, and it must have been very hard for the craftsmen to transport so many stones and wood up the mountain.
Huayang: "Everything has its own gains and losses. Although the craftsmen worked hard, they also earned money. Our ancestors also left these Taoist temples for people to cultivate their minds and cultivate their nature. Otherwise, these mountains would be bare and tourists would have no place to stay."
Chen Jingzong was just chatting casually and didn't argue with her.
After eating, Huayang asked Chen Jingzong to grind ink so that she could paint. This was also a gift she would send to her father, mother, and younger brother. She would present what she saw with her own eyes to her family in the form of a painting.
The mountain scenery is magnificent, and Huayang painted three pictures from different angles.
Chen Jingzong: "Finally the painting is finished. My wrist will be sore if I continue to work on it."
Huayang glanced at his hand and somehow remembered certain moments at night, and his ears turned red.
Could it be that she had been alone for too long and even she was missing him? Otherwise, how could she have such a thought on the top of the mountain
Fortunately, Chen Jingzong was packing up, and when he looked up, Huayang had returned to normal.
The easel and other items were handed over to the guards, and the couple still walked in front.
When they were about to pass a fork in the road, Huayang saw a farmer in plain clothes carrying a bamboo basket coming from another road. She panicked and hurriedly asked Chen Jingzong to let her down.
Chen Jingzong also noticed the man and slowly put Huayang on the ground.
After walking a few steps, the farmer also appeared at the intersection. He caught a glimpse of someone coming down the mountain road above, and the farmer subconsciously took a look.
Seeing Huayang, the farmer was stunned.
Seeing Huayang staring at him intently, the farmer smiled, put down the medicine basket on his back, bowed and said, "I am Li Dongbi, a humble servant, honored to meet the princess."
Huayang had already guessed something, and when he heard him introduce himself, he was overjoyed. He trotted over to the man and said happily, "It's really Doctor Li. Why are you here?"
Li Dongbi was a famous doctor of this dynasty. He once worked in the Imperial Medical Bureau and treated Emperor Jingshun. When Huayang was a child, she caught a cold and became seriously ill. It was Doctor Li who cured her.
But Huayang was only ten years old at that time, and he had been reborn, so his memory was fuzzy. If it weren't for Li Dongbi's extraordinary charm and impressive appearance, Huayang might not even feel familiar with him.
Li Dongbi smiled and said, "Princess, you don't know that I am from Qizhou, Huguang. I happened to be in Wudang to collect herbs recently. I didn't expect to meet the princess."
The beauty of Princess Huayang is unforgettable to anyone. Although her facial features have grown more mature now than when she was ten years old, Li Dongbi still recognized her beauty at a glance. He also heard about the story of Princess Huayang whipping Prince Xiang, and knew that the princess was indeed in Huguang at that time.
The two of them talked about the past for a while, and Huayang finally remembered to introduce Chen Jingzong to Li Dongbi. He said simply: "This is my consort Chen Jingzong, the fourth son of the Chen family."
Li Dongbi looked at Chen Jingzong and sincerely praised the son-in-law for his good looks.
After all, he didn't know anything about Chen Jingzong, so he could only praise his face.
On the next mountain road, Huayang seemed to have forgotten Chen Jingzong, and kept walking with Li Dongbi, asking him what herbs were in his basket, and what Li Dongbi had done in the years since he left the capital. Li Dongbi didn't care too much about Huayang's identity as a princess, but treated Huayang as a friend of similar age, with a calm and kind attitude.
Chen Jingzong walked behind the two of them, his eyes sometimes falling on Huayang's smiling face and sometimes on Li Dongbi's goatee.
I don’t know if he was overthinking it, but Huayang seemed to particularly favor old men and people like Li Dongbi who were older and had real talents and knowledge.
At Huayang's warm invitation, Li Dongbi followed them to the guest house of Taihe Palace and had dinner together.
At the end of dinner, Huayang glanced at Chen Jingzong and said to Li Dongbi, "To be honest with you, Doctor Li, my mother-in-law has been suffering from back pain in recent years. Could you please go back to Lingzhou with us and take a look at her?"
Chen Jingzong: …
My mother is not even fifty yet and looks pretty healthy. She has never complained to them about her back pain. How come she suddenly needed Li Dongbi to see a doctor
Or is it that Huayang is too filial and can't bear to see his mother endure even the slightest problem, making him, her own son, look down upon
Li Dongbi was devoted to collecting herbs. If someone else invited him to see a doctor, he would definitely refuse.
But when he saw Huayang's sincere face, Li Dongbi couldn't bear to disappoint the princess.
"Since the princess is so filial, I will go with you."
Huayang was very happy. He called Zhou Ji and asked him to personally send Li Dongbi back to his place. Their carriage would go there to pick him up tomorrow morning.
After Li Dongbi left, Chen Jingzong followed Huayang into the house and asked in confusion, "Did mother tell you that her back aches?"
Huayang: "No, but she and her father are both old, and they all have some problems. Now that we have met Doctor Li, we can't miss this opportunity. You have also seen that Doctor Li is erratic as he goes around collecting herbs. If we go to look for him when the two elders really have some hidden illness, there will be no place to find him."
Chen Jingzong: "But if the two elders are healthy, then you made Doctor Li go there in vain, right?"
Hua Yang raised his eyebrows: "Which is more important, the two elders or delaying Doctor Li's trip for half a month?"
Even if Chen Jingzong went against the old man, he would still choose the two elders. He was just shocked by Huayang's behavior in front of others: "Princess, you treated Doctor Li as your own grandfather when you entertained him. Who would have thought that you just wanted to use Doctor Li's medical skills? I think he is almost sixty years old. Should I say that you are too utilitarian to him, or that you respect the old man too much?"
After all, she did it for the old man at home!
Huayang glared at him: "I want him to help both my father and mother, why do you only say that I respect my father?"
Chen Jingzong: "I guessed that you treated our family well because you loved the old man."
Huayang: …
She turned her back and started combing her hair.
Chen Jingzong sat down next to her, looked at her face and said, "You will only stop pushing me if you feel guilty."
Hua Yang snorted, "So what if I love my father and his family? I am a utilitarian person. I respect my father because he has the talent of a cabinet minister and can assist my father in governing the country and make my people live a good life. But heaven and earth are my witnesses. I only respect my father. Stop being so weird and talking nonsense. If it gets out, you, me and my father will all become a laughing stock."
Chen Jingzong: "I understand this. You are not so blind as to ignore a handsome and strong prince consort like me and instead think about an old man in his fifties. But I don't understand why you only care about this one of ours when there are so many cabinet ministers. When he left Beijing, he was only the second assistant minister, and his political achievements were not as good as the first assistant minister or even the previous first assistant minister."
Huayang put the hairpin on the table, picked up the comb, combed his hair twice, glanced at him, and said with a smile: "It depends on the face. I have seen more than a dozen ministers since I was a child. In terms of appearance and style, no one can surpass father."
She couldn't tell Chen Jingzong that she was a reborn person, so she could only make jokes to fool him.
Of course, she didn't mean to make trouble for Li Dongbi, but although her father-in-law looked strong, he actually suffered from a hidden illness. His father-in-law died prematurely in his previous life, which was related to that hidden illness.
Chen Jingzong looked at her inquiringly for a while, then squeezed over and looked at himself in the mirror.
The three brothers, including the second brother who has passed away, all have the same facial features as the old man, and are very handsome. However, Chen Jingzong has worn away the bookish air that is common among the men of the Chen family because of his martial arts training, as if a sharp sword had suddenly appeared in the beautiful jade box.
After looking at each other for a while, the couple's eyes met in the mirror.
Chen Jingzong suddenly asked, "If the Queen wants to grant a marriage, and my eldest brother, third brother and I are not married, who will you choose?"
Huayang: …
"I won't choose anyone, I'll marry someone else!"
(End of this chapter)