Princess Zheng kowtowed, but the anxiety in her heart was still not dissipated at all. She sat on the corridor facing the moonlight, watching the swaying lanterns and the sound of pine waves. She leaned against the pillar for a long time without coming to her senses.
Master Jinghui knew that she must have encountered some difficulties. She did not dare to disturb her and just asked Mother Ding: "Mom, I don't know if the princess will... "
Mother Ding smiled bitterly and said to her, "I'm sorry to bother you. It's already so late. The city gate was closed when we left. We are not going back today. We have to stay here for another night."
Mother Ding doesn't want to offend anyone in front of the Buddha now.
Master Jinghui expressed her understanding and quickly told the little nun next to her to inform the people at the back to prepare the side rooms. Then she asked Mother Ding about some taboos.
It’s not like we haven’t received princesses before, but it’s really unprecedented for a princess to stay here. Master Jinghui felt a little uneasy and asked Mother Ding: “Should we prepare some midnight snacks? I think the princess hasn’t eaten anything…”
Mother Ding sighed, "That's right. I was just about to trouble you. Please ask the nun to make some vegetarian dumplings and a bowl of vegetarian noodles... I'm afraid the princess doesn't want to use anything else. It's just the vegetarian dumplings from your nunnery. The princess used to like them very much..."
The preparation of vegetarian dumplings is quite troublesome. The taro has to be boiled in water until it is soft, then the skin has to be peeled and mashed into a paste, and sweet potato flour has to be added. The water and sweet potato flour are then stirred into a paste in the pot and added to the mixture. The mixture is kneaded into dough, and then rolled into dumplings one by one. Usually, to make this, someone has to be called in the morning to notify the temple that a distinguished guest will order it, and then the temple will make it.
But now that it was the princess who spoke up, this troublesome matter was no longer a trouble. Master Jinghui agreed without hesitation and asked the little nun to go to the kitchen to explain. She also advised Princess Zheng: "I don't know what kind of troubles the princess has encountered, but I am not overestimating myself to advise the princess. Bad things will always pass. Don't be too sad. It's getting late. The mountain is windy at night. The princess should take care of herself."
Princess Zheng listened to her words. After hearing her say that bad things will eventually pass, she suddenly had an idea and clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed, "Thank you for your good wishes. If everything really passes, I will definitely give you ten times more incense money than before."
The gift was already very generous, and now they have to add ten points? Master Jinghui was a little surprised, but she still chanted: "Amitabha, the princess worships the Bodhisattva so devoutly, everything will be as she wishes."
With Master Jinghui's comforting words, Princess Zheng's uneasiness was finally relieved a little. She reluctantly ate a bowl of dumplings and then threw them away. She muddled through the night and got up early the next morning.
Mother Ding was old and could no longer keep watch outside at night, so Peiqin was the one who kept watch. Knowing that Princess Zheng hardly closed her eyes the whole night, she quietly told Mother Ding and asked her to persuade her well.
Mother Ding knew that she had not slept all night, and she could not help but sigh: "Princess, you have not closed your eyes all night. I am afraid you will not have enough energy later. Why don't you sleep for a while? We will wake you up later."
Princess Zheng resolutely refused: "No, they have sent people to Fangshan. Shen Chen must have received the news and will send someone to reply soon. Whether to give the medicine or not, there will be a reply today. I have to go back. If I delay things, it will be bad."
She was eager to get the medicine right away and give it to Bao Ge'er. She was unwilling to stay in the nunnery any longer. She got up, washed up, and even refused to have breakfast. She kowtowed to the Bodhisattva three times again, and asked Mother Ding to take out a silver note of 1,000 taels and give it to Master Jinghui: "This is a small gift from me. If my wish can be fulfilled and the child can survive this disaster safely, I will definitely add ten times the offering."
One thousand taels!
Even the old lady Dingbei Hou, who was considered very generous before, had never given so much silver at one time!
The previous Princess of Chu only gave three hundred taels of silver at most, but this time Princess Zheng gave one thousand taels and said that there would be ten times the amount of silver later. Master Jinghui's left eyelid twitched suddenly, and she felt that her eyes were full of white silver. She quickly collected her mind and said some auspicious words.
As Princess Zheng listened, her expression became much calmer and her heartbeat slowed down. She said something to Master Jinghui, then came out of the mountain gate, looked towards the direction of the mountain, and bowed three times before getting back on the carriage.
She didn't feel anything when she came, but on the way back she always felt that the pace was too slow. Princess Zheng anxiously asked where they were from time to time in the carriage. After entering the city gate, she still felt empty and disoriented in her heart, and held Mother Ding's hand and said some meaningless words.
Mother Ding knew that she was extremely nervous and did not dare to say anything to irritate her. She just comforted her by saying that everything would be fine and that Shen Chen had a good relationship with the prince and would definitely help her.
Princess Zheng also listened slowly, thinking that Shen Chen was really good to Prince Zheng, and now he was going to get married with Wei An... She was stunned thinking about this, and after a while, she said firmly: "It's okay. If he hates me and doesn't agree, it doesn't matter. I will go to Wei An and beg her. I will kneel in front of the princess and beg her to forgive me... The princess is usually very good to Baoger, and Baoger relies on her a lot, right? Even if she is angry with me, she should not have any hatred towards Baoger, and she will definitely forgive me, for sure..."
Up to now, she has always believed that Wei An is fine, and thinks that Wei An is such a good person that he will definitely not stand by and watch him die.
Mother Ding felt sad when she saw her helpless look, and quickly held back her tears and agreed, "Yes, yes, the princess has always loved Bao Ge'er, and she will definitely save Bao Ge'er as long as she can afford it."
Princess Zheng felt much more relieved, and there was finally some spirit and hope in her eyes. When she arrived home and the carriage stopped, she couldn't wait to get off and went to the main courtyard first.
Prince Zheng was not in the main courtyard. The wet nurse and others who were serving Baoger were feeding him. When they saw her coming, they all knelt down and kowtowed in fear and trepidation.
Princess Zheng called out "Mian" and looked straight at her son. She saw that Baoger was eating with relish and called him "mother" with a smile on his face when he saw her. She felt relieved and hurriedly stepped forward to respond, took the spoon, and scooped the egg custard herself to feed him.
After Bao Ge'er had eaten a few mouthfuls, the nurse said that he had already eaten a lot of food before and couldn't eat too much. Then she put down the bowl and whispered to the nurse where the King of Zheng had gone. (To be continued)