Sui Sui didn’t know how she got back to Shanchiyuan. She seemed to be numb all over.
It was another sunny day. The morning light was splashed on the roof, casting a shimmering golden and red glow. It was a scene full of hope, but in Sui Sui's eyes it looked like a bloody setting sun.
Previously, excitement and hope supported her spirit and made her feel not tired, but now the fatigue was getting worse.
She dragged her legs into Qinghan Courtyard, but did not go back to the side room. Huan Xuan should still be asleep at this time, he needed enough rest. Moreover, she knew that she was exhausted now and could not hide her fear and despair.
She washed herself briefly, then lay down on the bed and curled up into a ball.
The quilt was cold, and her body was cold, too. The coldness penetrated into her body, and seemed to freeze even her bones.
Deep doubts kept pouring out of her mind; maybe there was no antidote at all, maybe this was God's will, the fate she could not escape since she was born.
She had never felt so helpless as she did now, and she no longer had the strength to be strong.
All she could do now was to bury her face in her arms and cry like a weak and helpless person.
There were deep and slow footsteps outside the tent, and someone opened the tent curtain.
She knew who it was and couldn't turn around.
Huan Xuan lay down beside her, hugged her from behind, and whispered, "Don't be sad."
After he said that, the tears that Sui Sui had barely held back burst out again, and she couldn't help shaking all over.
Huan Xuan hugged her tighter, as if he wanted to use his back to shield her from all the wind and frost.
Sui Sui was already finding it difficult to continue, but in his warm embrace, her body slowly warmed up and she seemed to have the strength to hold on again.
She pursed her lips and said, "It doesn't matter if it's not in the scriptures. It's not that easy to find. There are still so many places that I haven't searched."
"Sui Sui," Huan Xuan's voice was as sharp as a knife, "Don't look for it anymore."
He knew what it felt like to have hope ignited and then extinguished again and again. She had experienced it once, and it was like cutting his flesh out.
"There are still many places we haven't searched," Sui Sui said, "and there are places we haven't thought of..."
Huan Xuan kissed her hair gently: "Don't look for me anymore. Even if you don't come back, I have no regrets in this life."
He paused and said, "Every day now is stolen by me. You will stay with me for one last day. Let's leave tomorrow."
Sui Sui's back suddenly stiffened.
Huan Xuan said: "I don't want you to watch me leave. Just treat me as if I am still in Chang'an. It is you who left me..."
He had turned his back to her several times, and at least the last time he didn't want to leave his back to her.
Sui Sui suddenly turned around and kissed him.
This kiss was hot and desperate, with the bitterness of tears, which reminded him of the lingering spring night before he set out for the Huaixi expedition. That time it was a separation of life, but this time it was a separation of death.
After a long while, Sui Sui Fang said: "If you want me to leave, just issue an imperial decree."
Of course Huan Xuan couldn't issue an imperial edict to force her to leave.
Sui Sui buried her face in his chest: "It's not the last moment yet..."
After saying this, she seemed to be finally exhausted and slowly closed her eyes. In a half-asleep and half-awake state, she instinctively felt that she seemed to have overlooked something. She was too sleepy and tired, her mind was in a mess, and she fell asleep before she had time to figure it out.
She slept until noon without realizing it. When she woke up, she was still a little dazed. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed such a deep and dreamless sleep.
Huan Xuan was still hugging her, his chest flat and evenly bent, obviously still asleep - he obviously didn't sleep well last night.
Sui Sui carefully moved his arm away. Just as she put it aside, the man frowned, hugged her again, and held her close to him.
Sui Sui struggled for a while, stuffed a bunch of clothes into his arms, and then broke free.
She went to the clean room to wash and change her clothes, had some light porridge and vegetables in the hall, and then asked the eunuch to move a box of documents that she had not finished reading in the side room to the bedroom.
She sat beside Huan Xuan's couch and continued to check the accounts of Chen Wang Mansion. She found that Huan Jiong had bought a lot of rice whenever there was a good year since about ten years ago. However, when Chen Wang Mansion was confiscated, there was not much grain in the warehouse. The account books only recorded the large amount of rice expenditure but did not record where it went. In addition, he also bought a large amount of cloth and silk cotton in the years when copper was expensive and cloth was cheap. This was also unusual because the more expensive copper was, the more people would hoard their money.
And no one knew where all the rice, grain, and cloth had gone. Such a large amount, and it had lasted for so many years, even if Huan Jiong was really stupid, he could see that something was wrong, not to mention that he was much more meticulous than ordinary people.
"What's strange?" Huan Xuan asked.
Sui Sui found out that he woke up. She was afraid that he would be upset and hesitated whether to tell him.
Huan Xuan seemed to guess her thoughts: "Although you are smarter than me, two people thinking together are always better than one person."
After a pause, he said, "I want to live, too."
Sui Sui's eyes moved slightly: "Okay."
She recounted the strange things in the account: "He spent so much rice and cloth in the past period that I almost thought he had a private army."
This is of course nonsense. To keep private soldiers under the nose of the emperor, Huan Jiong must have extraordinary ability. Besides, where could he hide these private soldiers
Huan Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Rice and cloth are fine, they can be used as money, but silk and cotton are not like that, they can only be used to make winter clothes."
Sui Sui nodded: "So Huan Jiong has a group of people, and they are not a small number."
I still have no clue after pushing this far.
Sui Sui said: "It's a pity that none of the stewards in Prince Chen's mansion and Huan Jiong's confidants were left alive, otherwise we would know where those things went after the first trial."
Huan Xuan said: "Your body is not well yet, don't worry too much."
Sui Sui nodded, frowned, and put down the account book.
Then she took out the list of property and land that had been confiscated from the palace treasury after the search of Prince Chen's mansion.
He glanced through the equipment list, pointed at some items with his fingertips, and frowned, "I always feel like something is missing from the list..."
She closed her eyes and recalled the rooms she had walked through in Prince Chen's mansion that day. When she thought of the stone chamber in the basement, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Her eyes inadvertently fell on the lotus-shaped column base in the room, and in a flash, she suddenly realized what was wrong: the Sumeru pedestal in front of the empty wall.
She originally thought that the stone block was for sitting, but now she thought, why not put a couch or a rope bed instead of a stone block? Moreover, in such a small secret room, a wall that could have been used for a wooden frame was empty, as if it was specially left there.
Because it is not a stone pedestal. Both the Sumeru pedestal and the lotus pedestal come from Buddhism, so it is very likely a base for placing statues.
At this time, Huan Xuan said, "I think your inference about the Medicine King Sutra is not wrong. Huan Jiong did not give my elder brother a volume of the Medicine King Sutra for no reason, and the timing was so coincidental. But if I were him, I would not put the antidote directly in the sutra. If my elder brother does not find it, but someone close to him finds it, then we will know who poisoned him after a check."
Sui Sui nodded, Huan Jiong simply left their lives and deaths to fate, but there was no reason to leave any evidence pointing to him.
"So that scroll of scriptures is probably just a clue." Huan Xuan said.
Sui Sui said: "Buddha statue."
She took out the confiscated list and said, "There should have been a Buddha statue on the Sumeru throne in the secret room, but it's gone, and it's not on the confiscated list either."
She paused and said, "If I guess correctly, it should be a..."
Huan Xuan added: "Medicine Buddha."
Sui Sui said: "The Buddha statue is not in Prince Chen's mansion, nor in Concubine Shu's palace. Huan Jiong can't put it somewhere where he can't find it. The most likely place should be a temple."
She paused and said, "Are there any temples in the city that worship Medicine Buddha?"
Huan Xuan said: "Buddhist and Taoist affairs are under the jurisdiction of the Honglu Temple. You can find out with a simple search."
He called Gao Mai and asked him to arrange someone to take the handwritten order to the Honglu Temple to check the documents.
Sui Sui was not idle either. He asked someone to invite Prince Yuzhang to search the most famous temples dedicated to Medicine Buddha.
Since Huan Jiong wanted his elder brother to find the antidote, he didn't want to hide it too secretly. The Buddha statue could be placed in a secret room, and it didn't have to be too large. According to the list drawn up by the Honglu Temple, there were sixteen temples in and around Chang'an that met these requirements.
Although the search could be done by the guards, Sui Sui was afraid that they might miss something, so he spent two days visiting all the temples on the list.
In addition to the Buddha statue, every corner of the temple was searched, but still nothing was found.
Sui Sui walked out of Jinglin Temple, the last temple on the list. It was just the time when the golden crow was setting in the west. The sound of the evening drum seemed to be hitting her back, blending with the sound of the golden bells on the horse, which was indescribably sad.
Everyone rode their horses with their heads down in silence; even Huan Minggui could not utter a word.
It was already dark when we returned to Chang'anfang.
As soon as Sui Sui's carriage entered the gate, an eunuch came out to greet them, and said hesitantly: "Reporting to General Xiao..."
As soon as she saw his expression, she knew something was wrong: "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
Before she went out today, Huan Xuan was obviously in good spirits. He even got out of bed and walked a few steps, and drank some soup with her.
The eunuch choked up and said, "Not long after General Xiao left, His Majesty fainted and has not yet woken up..."
Sui Sui heard a loud noise in his ears, and then he could no longer hear anything. He ran towards Qinghan Courtyard.
Not only did she fail to find the antidote, but she also wasted so much time. She could have at least been able to spend the last few days with him.
She felt cold all over, her blood seemed to have frozen, and she couldn't even feel her heart beating.
Gao Mai came forward and looked at her hopefully.
Sui Sui shook his head gently.
The old eunuch's lips trembled twice, and he choked up and said, "The two Fengyu from the Shang Pharmacy are here. Fengyu Zheng just gave Your Majesty an acupuncture. The eldest princess is also here."
Sui Sui walked quickly to the screen, but suddenly he didn't have the strength to move forward.
Until a familiar voice sounded from behind the screen: "Sui Sui..."
Sui Sui suddenly came to his senses, walked around the screen and came to the couch, only to find that Huan Xuan's eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed. It seemed that it was just his dream talk.
The eldest princess wiped her tears and turned around to greet Sui Sui.
Sui Sui wanted to say something, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something and she couldn't make a sound. She didn't need to ask any more questions to know Huan Xuan's current condition.
He had held out long enough for her.
The princess wiped more and more tears and cried, "General Xiao, please accompany His Majesty for the last few days."
Sui Sui nodded woodenly and sat down beside Huan Xuan's bed.
The princess and the doctor retreated, and they were the only ones left in the bedroom. The sound of the monks chanting in the courtyard drifted in through the window lattice with the night wind.
Sui Sui had never believed in Buddhism, but at this moment she couldn't help but listen attentively. She had done the best she could and there was no other way to think about it.
Which god or Buddha would be willing to protect such an evil star as her
She did not believe in Buddhism, but she had read a lot of Buddhist scriptures. She could tell from the monks that they were reciting the Upasaka Sūtra: "… If someone can make such a large amount of offerings as stated, you should know that this person will receive immeasurable benefits…"
Hearing this, Sui Sui's head suddenly moved and he stood up.
The so-called "field of blessings" in Buddhist scriptures refers to "field of respect", "field of grace" and "field of compassion".
In addition to the temple, there is another place that also worships Medicine Buddha, but it is a place that dignitaries do not like to set foot in. Even the Honglu Temple does not include it in its list. That is Beitianfang, which specializes in taking in poor patients and orphans.
There were several Beitianfang in Chang'an City. Some of them were supported by large temples and received rice allocation from the court. Others were built by temples and maintained by donations from kind people.
Sui Sui finally thought of where the large amount of rice and cloth in Chen Wang Mansion had gone.
…
The long night passed, and the first ray of dawn cut through the dark sky like a sharp sword. The sound of boots clattered down the stairs. Before Guan Liulang reached the door, he shouted through the window: "General Xiao, the prescription has been found! It is in the statue of Medicine Buddha in Beitianfang in the west of the city!"