Drunk Bamboo

The soft light of the early morning shines into Daci Temple, onto the high walls of the main hall, and onto the pilgrims, creating a quiet and beautiful scene.

This is a temple located in the bustling capital city, a place of meditation amidst the hustle and bustle.

After the morning court session, Han Xin came here to look for King Wen Hua Qinming.

Hua Qinming wore a plain long gown, knelt on a cushion, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and worshiped the Golden Bottle Buddha devoutly.

Han Xin never worshipped Buddha, and because King Wen was kneeling, he could not stand either. He knelt down, kowtowed three times casually, and then stood up hurriedly.

"The prince came to the Daci Temple early in the morning to worship Buddha, with great compassion and mercy."

Hua Qinming finally opened his eyes and slowly stood up: "Pray for the health of my father, mother, and the people of Rao, and pray for the prosperity of Rao. With a sincere heart, how can I come so early?"

"Your Highness is right. I made a mistake." There were only Hua Qinming's two personal maids, Chun'er and Xia'er, and a few monks around, so Han Xin didn't dare to speak carelessly.

Several people walked into the quiet side hall, and Han Xin spoke again: "Your Majesty must have heard about the incident yesterday when Prince Feng broke into the palace with the Peony Jade Card and brought all the imperial doctors out of the palace to treat the Grand Tutor. Your Majesty knows what Prince Feng's temper is like, and he will definitely not follow the rules and ask people to come out. Your Majesty has been deceived for a while, and as a minister, I should share your worries and solve your problems, and let your Majesty know the truth of the matter."

"Mr. Han, have you forgotten the promise you made yesterday overnight?"

"I have discussed this with my father. We must hit the target right away this time. Rumors and gossips are no longer a big deal to King Feng. Besides, he really saved the tutor this time. Without witnesses and physical evidence, it will be difficult to convince Your Majesty."

Hua Qinming's calm eyes moved: "Rumors can't become popular in a short time. If time passes, no one will remain indifferent, and they will naturally become true. After a long time, who will remember what the truth was?"

Han Xin stood up and his voice rose involuntarily.

"Then how long do we have to wait? Please ask the Royal Concubine to come forward and conduct an investigation in the palace. Your Majesty, this opportunity is rare. The Royal Concubine is deeply loved by His Majesty. Now that Your Majesty has been crowned a king, he will be able to attend court soon. The Crown Prince is not in Zhongdu. If we wait until the Crown Prince returns, I'm afraid it will be too late!"

Xia Er said sternly: "How outrageous!"

Hua Qinming's expression remained unchanged. He leisurely picked up the tea brewed by Chun'er and took a sip.

The air in the Zen room suddenly felt cold.

Han Xin felt a chill on his back. He knew that his attitude had offended him, so he quickly apologized: "Your Highness, please calm down. I am doing this for your future! Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear, and everything the Han family does is for you!"

Hua Qinming glanced coldly at the person kneeling on the ground with his indifferent eyes, put down the teacup, raised the corners of his mouth, and in the blink of an eye, he revealed a smile as warm as spring breeze.

"I know the loyalty of the Han family. I will ask my mother for help in this matter. Get up quickly, Master Han."

Han Xin stood up quickly and said flatteringly:

"Thank you, Your Highness! Without the help of the Queen, Prince Feng would not have been able to bring out the Imperial Physician Qi so easily. Anyone who stands with Prince Feng will be in trouble."

Hua Qinming said in a calm voice, "My mother was born in the Wang family of Hedong, one of the 'Four Famous Clans' of Rao State. She is a Confucian scholar who upholds justice. She likes my third brother the most because he is honest, kind, and outspoken. She has loved him since he was a child. Now, she favors my third sister-in-law and even gave the peony jade token to the Feng Palace."

He lowered his eyebrows and smiled, then slowly said the last few words: "You really like it so blatantly."

Han Xin said with a sly smile: "But this world belongs to your Majesty. What the Queen likes is not important. What your Majesty likes is the most important."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled, his thin lips moved slightly: "Yes, the most important thing is to get this world."

When Han Xin walked out of the meditation room, Xia'er's pent-up anger finally burst out.

Xia Er said unwillingly, "Your Majesty, who does Han Xin think he is? How dare he order you to do something?"

Hua Qinming said indifferently: "Why bother? The Han family is just a pawn in my hand. I will have to rely on them to drag the prince into the water in the future."

When it is no longer useful, it will no longer appear in front of him.

"Pass the news to mother."

"Yes."

Xia'er took the order and left.

Chun'er followed Hua Qinming and slowly walked towards the gate of Daci Temple.

In a corner of the side hall of Daci Temple, Xie Yuzhu and Yunling, who had come with great enthusiasm to look for poisonous weeds, were refused a visit by the monks in the temple a moment ago, and were preparing to return home in low spirits.

Yun Ling: "Princess, Abbot Ci'en is in seclusion and will not come out until 49 days later. During this period, the Flower and Leaf Realm will not be open to the public. Are the flowers and plants that Princess wants to find only in the Flower and Leaf Realm? Otherwise, we can go to Lingshan in the western suburbs to look for them. I heard from Uncle Lao Liu that there are many exotic flowers and plants on Lingshan Mountain. There is also a Lingshan Temple on the top of the mountain. Praying there is also very effective."

All the poisonous flowers and plants collected from Nanmi to Zhongdu have been sorted and compiled by Xie Yuzhu. The next thing to do is to find new plants. The environment of Zhongdu is different from that of Nanmi, and the types of plants are also different. Lao Liu did an investigation and said that there is a garden in Daci Temple called Huayejing, which is planted with many exotic flowers and plants. So while Hua Qinfeng was away from the mansion riding a horse in the suburbs, Yunling and I went to Daci Temple to take a look.

Huayejing is managed by Abbot Ci'en. The abbot is in seclusion and the garden is closed to outsiders.

"Then let's go to Lingshan next time." Xie Yuzhu thought that if she wanted to go hiking in the western suburbs, she would have to prepare a lot of things, and she would also have to bring someone with martial arts skills. After all, this was Zhongdu, and she still had to consider her personal safety.

As they walked, they suddenly saw a maple tree about 30 to 40 meters high. They exclaimed, "Yunling, look, there is such a big maple tree in the temple! It is surrounded by high walls and halls, and you can't see it at all from outside the temple. It will be very beautiful when the maple leaves turn red in autumn!"

Yun Ling looked in the direction of the finger and said, "There is only this one maple tree in the temple. Doesn't it feel a little lonely and desolate? There are tracts of maple trees in the forests of the eastern suburbs. If the princess likes to enjoy the maple trees, everyone in the palace can go together this autumn."

"At dusk, autumn mist rises, and the maple trees rustle. The whole mountain and field are beautiful, and it is also beautiful when it is alone. Perhaps it is only lonely in the eyes of outsiders." Xie Yuzhu said that she was not lonely, but when she thought about coming into this world alone, she couldn't help feeling sad.

"How does Princess know it's not alone?" Yun Ling asked curiously.

"Look at it, it has grown so tall. It must have been desperately absorbing nutrients from the soil. Its roots are spreading in the depths of darkness that people cannot see, firmly grasping the ground, and constantly growing its branches and trunks. There is no way it would be lonely." Xie Yuzhu was also comforting herself, telling herself to live well and live the way she wanted in her heart.

"But it's a tree, not a person, and it has no feelings."

Xie Yuzhu raised her head, stretched out her arms, shielded the sunlight with her palms, and through her fingers, she saw many tender green buds sprouting on the branches of the maple tree.

I smiled inadvertently: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is what people want it to be."

Yun Ling seemed to understand, but still said: "As long as the princess likes it, Yun Ling will accompany the princess to watch it."

At this time, the sound of bells was heard, and the clouds dispersed. Xie Yuzhu stood under the maple tree with her head raised. Her body seemed to be covered with golden light, and the sound of Sanskrit was lingering. It was quiet and peaceful.

Hua Qinming, who was standing under the eaves, took a long time to look away.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…”