Remembrance of Tianyin's Adventure

In his sleep, Zhan Zhao felt that he was on top of a green hill, and the golden sunlight shone through his whole body through the sparse clouds.He walked up a high mountain, and the red sun in the sky became within reach. He slowly raised his hand and stretched it towards the clouds...

In an instant, everything disappeared without a trace. In the dimness, I could vaguely see the green cloth curtain tied on the side of the bed. Looking sideways, the furnishings in the room were very familiar. This was undoubtedly my bedroom, but for some reason, there were several people there. The monk sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes and recited scriptures silently.The soft sunlight passes through the gaps in the casements and sprinkles on each wooden fish. Every time there is a knock, it seems that a Buddha's light flashes.

Zhan Zhao lightly pressed the bed board with his left hand, trying to sit up, but unexpectedly, the internal injury in his heart was affected, and there was a sharp pain in his heart, and his mind suddenly became clear, and everything that happened recently came back to his mind instantly.

The cruelty of reality made him prefer to go back to the dream just now, where he not only met the two masters, but also Caiyun.Everything in the dream is so beautiful, although it cannot withstand rational scrutiny.If God gave him the right to question, he would rather believe that the dream world is real.

The sharp pain in his heart struck again, interrupting his chaotic thoughts. He quickly closed his eyes and focused his attention, exercised his kung fu and adjusted his breath. After about half a cup of tea, the pain gradually eased, and the meridians in his body were no longer obviously blocked. , but there was still no strength in his body, and he rested for a long time before barely sitting up.

"Brother!" Cheng Yin, who was kneeling in the corner chanting sutras, saw Zhan Zhao wake up, quickly put down the wooden fish in his hand, ran over excitedly, climbed onto the bed in twos and plunged into Jin Zhao's arms, crying, "Brother! Brother!" !"

Zhan Zhao was swayed by his bump, and hurriedly stretched out his hands to support himself on the bed, so that he could sit still.The other hand hugged Cheng Yin, patted his thin back and said, "Silly boy, why are you crying?"

Cheng Yin buried his head even deeper, and cried while crying: "I don't have a sister anymore, I can't have a brother!" Suddenly raised his head, and said to Zhan Zhao seriously: "You know? I have always regarded you as my brother-in-law, really Yes! It's true!"

Zhan Zhao's eyes trembled, he didn't answer, he just pulled Cheng Yin into his arms again and hugged him tightly.

When the monks heard the two of them talking, they knew that Zhan Zhao was awake, but none of them opened their eyes, and they still concentrated on reciting scriptures.

Seeing Cheng Yin crying, Zhan Zhao asked, "Why are all the masters chanting sutras here?"

Cheng Yin wiped away his tears and said, "They are all senior brothers from Xiangguo Temple. Master Bao invited them here, saying that chanting can save brother. They have been chanting for a day and a night."

Zhan Zhao was so sorry that he hurriedly asked the monks to stop and said, "Thank you, masters." Putting his hands on the side of the bed, he bowed and saluted, "Thank you, masters, for your help!"

The leading monk bowed and clasped his hands together: "People in the Buddhist sect should be merciful, and there is no need to express gratitude to the donors!"

Suddenly, I heard the report from the guards outside the door: "Princess Taiping is here!" Immediately, the door was gently pushed open from the outside, and I saw Chunni with a high bun, a gold flower and a phoenix hairpin, dressed in goose yellow court uniform, with a dignified demeanor, He walked slowly into the door, and said to the two eunuchs and four court ladies behind him, "You all step back." Everyone bowed and left the door to wait for orders.

After the monks saluted, they immediately took leave and went back to Xiangguo Temple. Cheng wanted to stay because he didn't know what to do, so he was also coaxed out by Chunni's good words.

Only then did Chunni come over and sit next to Zhan Zhao, looking at him quietly with gentle eyes, and said, "Although I'm scared, I never thought that you would really leave me."

"Since I promised Master to take good care of Chunni, how could I abandon you." Zhan Zhao's smile was as warm as ever.

Chunni nodded happily, she firmly believed in what the senior brother said.

Seeing that she was dressed like this, Zhan Zhao must have come from the palace, so he asked, "Mei Niang also returned to the palace? Can her poison be cured?"

"It's been resolved, and the queen mother also sent an imperial doctor to treat her." Chun Ni said with a disappointed expression: "She also wants to see you, but..."

"The Empress Dowager didn't grant permission?" Zhan Zhao said.

"How do you know?" Chunni wondered, how could the senior brother guess what the queen mother was thinking?

Zhan Zhao shook his head with a wry smile, ever since he presented Meiniang's purse embroidered with a huge que to the Queen Mother, he knew that the Queen Mother would not let Meiniang meet him easily again.

Thinking of the Queen Mother, Zhan Zhao asked, "Has the Queen Mother ever punished Your Excellency?"

Chun Ni said with a look of "I knew you would ask", "Don't worry! The queen mother has been thinking about Master Bao's kindness in rehabilitating her. How can she blame Master Bao? It's just that the body of the demon girl has not been found yet. There is not even a trace of blood under the cliff." He said sadly: "Speaking of it, Guo Zhongqing is really infatuated, and he jumped off the cliff to die for the witch, but he disappeared after this jump."

Zhan Zhao was surprised to find out that when he heard that Tong Yun's body had not been found, not only was he not disappointed at all, but he was also somewhat grateful in his heart.He didn't know if he had really become indistinguishable from right and wrong, but he felt that before Tong Yun jumped off the cliff, the words "I want Caiyun to be smashed to pieces" kept echoing in his ears.

Although Chunni didn't know what Zhan Zhao was thinking, since Zhan Zhao was able to jump off the cliff to save Tong Yun, Tong Yun must have something to do with Lian Caiyun.She didn't want Zhan Zhao to be troubled by love just after waking up, so she changed the subject and said, "Senior brother, there is something that I haven't understood after thinking about it for a long time. One string of your qin was clearly broken that day. , how can you play such an emotional song?"

"Incomplete?" Zhan Zhao sighed softly, looked away, stared at a broken branch on a sycamore tree outside the window, and said, "The world is inherently incomplete. Perhaps, only a harp with broken strings can express the sorrow and joy in the world."

Chunni was asking casually, but he didn't expect him to say such incomprehensible words. She couldn't think clearly for a while, so she simply stopped thinking about it.Immediately, a palace lady from outside the gate of life came in and put the two plates of snacks in the food box on the table.

Chunni helped Zhanzhao get out of bed and sat at the table, and said to him, "Guess! Whose craft is this?"

Seeing her proud face, Zhan Zhao said with a smile, "Of course it's you!"

"You're only half right!" Chunni moved the two plates of dim sum in front of Zhan Zhao and said, "The plate of 'Osmanthus Poria Cake' on the left is made by me, and the 'Pine Nut Hibiscus Cake' on the right is made by Mei Niang !" She smiled happily, as if making snacks for Zhan Zhao herself was the happiest thing in the world.

Zhan Zhao asked, "Have you sent some to Bai Yutang?"

Chun Ni said: "I want to give it, but he has no luck, and he left the government office last night."

"What? Left?" Zhan Zhao wondered, "Didn't he also get injured?"

Chun Ni said: "Yesterday evening, we received the imperial edict from our mother, and we should have returned to the palace immediately. But Brother Bai called Mei Niang aside and asked some questions. Seeing that Mei Niang refused, he left in a fit of anger. The heroes on the island were worried about him, so they followed him." I didn't want Zhan Zhao to worry about Bai Yutang, and said, "You don't know his temper, but after a few days, he will come back naturally. He must come back, I Father's skill is still in him!"

Knowing that she has been thinking about this matter, Zhan Zhao lowered his eyebrows and said, "Actually, I have already recovered my 60-year-old skills, how about..."

"Why not?" Chunni immediately became serious and said, "My father gave you the skill, how can you pass it on to others?"

Zhan Zhao said: "Bai Yutang is not someone else! He is kind to you!"

"That's not okay!" Chunni turned her back angrily and said, "If you bring this up again, I will ignore you!" She is usually gentle and pleasant, but when her temper comes up, she is even more stubborn than Bai Yutang .

Zhan Zhao has protected her since he was a child, and let her go. When he saw that she was angry, he stopped arguing with her, patted her shoulder and said, "Okay, just don't mention it."

Seeing that Zhan Zhao followed her as always, Chunni regained her smile, turned around and said, "Come, have some snacks!" She poured a cup of tea for Zhan Zhao, looked at the snacks on the table with great interest, and asked: "Which dish do you try first?"

Hearing her tone, Zhan Zhao seemed to have something to say, looked at 'Osmanthus Poria Cake' and then 'Pine Nut Hibiscus Cake', but didn't take a single piece.

"Choose quickly!" Chunni urged anxiously.

Seeing her nervousness, Zhan Zhao knew more in his heart, so he picked up the tea, brought it to his mouth leisurely, took a sip, and said with a sly smile in his eyes, "It's better to drink tea!"

Chunni was so angry that she pouted her mouth high, and said coquettishly, "Why didn't you choose?"

Zhan Zhao's bright eyes were full of smiles, and he said to Chun Ni: "You two made a bet, didn't you?"

"How do you know?" Chunni has always been outspoken, and he tricked her into taking all of them: "We made a bet to see who you eat first." Fearing that Zhan Zhao would be unhappy, she hurriedly explained: "It's just that It's just a bet on winning or losing, there is no betting!"

Zhan Zhao doted on his cute little junior sister, and said helplessly, "How old are you, and you still play with this?"

Just as he was talking, an eunuch came in and bowed and said, "Princess Qi, the master of Kaifeng Mansion, Gongsun Ce, heard that Zhan's guards woke up and wanted to come in to visit."

Chun Ni said: "Please!"

As soon as Gongsun Ce came in, he wanted to greet Chunni as a monarch and minister. Chunni hurriedly stood up and helped him, and asked him to sit down at the table together.

Before Gongsun Ce could open his mouth, Zhan Zhao said first, "It's almost noon, sir, he must be hungry because he was busy with his business this morning." Pointing to the snacks on the table, he said, "This is what Chunni brought from the palace, you can try it. !"

After hearing this, Chunni suppressed a smile and gave Zhan Zhao a hard look.Zhan Zhao pretended not to see it, and looked at Gongsun Ce gently.

Gongsun Ce saw that the two plates of dim sum did not seem to be made by the same person, nor were they as exquisite as the pastry bestowed by the emperor, so he understood a little bit, smiled and said to Zhan Zhao: "Just now I was worried that the guard Zhan hadn't really woken up. But feel relieved. If you are not sober, how could you make this move so precise?"

Chunni finally couldn't help "giggling" and laughed out loud: "What an amazing sir!" She said to Zhan Zhao: "Forget it, forget it, I won't make things difficult for you anymore." She stood up and said, "You and your husband are busy with business. Well, I'll go back to the palace first." She said with a more serious tone: "Go back and tell Meiniang a joke!" She said it with ease, but felt a little melancholy in her heart.Mei Niang lived in the deep palace for a long time, enjoying all kinds of care from the queen mother, and at the same time endured the strict confinement of the palace rules, and only she could understand the bitterness of it.

After Chunni left, Gongsun Ce checked Zhan Zhao's pulse, and Fang felt relieved: "Although there are still some blockages in the meridians, the pulse condition has stabilized a lot. I didn't expect that chanting sutras would have such a miraculous effect!" Puzzled: " Didn't you already give your skill to Hero Bai, why..."

Zhan Zhao said: "This is the internal force of Taoism." So he told Gongsun Ce his adventure in the forbidden area of ​​Tianyin Sect.

Gongsun Ce said with emotion: "Misfortunes come with blessings. Although the exhibition guards suffered catastrophe, they were able to comprehend the truth of heaven. It is also a blessing!"

Zhan Zhao thought otherwise.comprehend?Have you really understood it? "Reminiscence" is like a bright mirror, allowing him to see his heart clearly.It turned out that a sudden epiphany can't really change anything.There are many things in the world that can be done without understanding.

Gongsun Ce wanted to persuade him to let go of his worries, but seeing that he seemed to have realized something, he didn't say anything else.

Zhan Zhao hoped to know the progress of the case from Gongsun Ce, so he asked, "Have you found the whereabouts of Tong Yun and Guo Zhongqing?" He thought, since no bodies were found, they must still be alive.

Gongsun Ce sighed, "There is still no trace."

Zhan Zhao said: "Zhan has thought of a place, as long as the two of them are alive, they will definitely go!"

"Oh?" Gongsun Ce said, "Where?"

Zhan Zhao said: "Guo Jian'an's ashes are still in the stone room where Tong Yun lives. Tong Yun has been trapped by love all his life, and he will never leave Guo Jian'an's ashes and run away alone."

Gongsun Ce said: "That's right. Even if Tong Yun is dead, Guo Zhongqing's infatuation will help her realize her wish." Immediately, he called the servants outside the door to come in, and ordered him to send orders to the officers and soldiers guarding the stone mansion to strictly control the stone room where the ashes were placed. monitor.

Seeing that Gongsun Ce seemed to have no intention of reporting to Bao Zheng before making a decision, Zhan Zhao asked, "Is your lord not in the mansion?"

Gongsun Ce said: "Your Excellency was invited by Prime Minister Wang to speak in the mansion after he came down to court."

Seeing Gongsun Ce's worried expression, Zhan Zhao said, "Could it be that another major incident happened in the court?"

"Is that the case?" Gongsun Ce said, "Guard Zhan knows, how is Zhang Yaozuo, the envoy of the third division?"

Zhan Zhao didn't know why he asked this question, thought for a while and said, "Zhan doesn't know much about this person, but he just heard that he hasn't made any achievements since he became the third envoy, so he seems a bit mediocre."

Gongsun Ce said: "Your Excellency has never advocated that mediocre people stay in important positions for a long time, no matter what their status is."

"But Zhang Yaozuo happens to be Concubine Zhang's uncle." Zhan Zhao said.

"Exactly!" Gongsun Ce said: "Your Excellency is also the supervisor and censor, and it is his duty to remonstrate with the emperor. However, your lord's temperament is too upright, and he has repeatedly violated Yan Zhijian's remonstrance in front of the emperor. A few months ago, he The impeachment of transfer envoy Wang Kui already offended Longyan, and yesterday he had an argument with the emperor in the Golden Palace for the impeachment of Zhang Yaozuo, if not for the emperor's benevolence, your lord would have lost his head already!"

Zhan Zhao said: "Your Excellency is indeed upright and upright. It's a pity that Zhan was unable to see His Excellency's demeanor in the court hall!"

Gongsun Ce continued: "Although your Majesty has never blamed you, your Excellency's actions have shocked the whole court. Prime Minister Wang invited Your Excellency to the Prime Minister's Mansion today to give a good word of advice, lest your Excellency continue to do so and cause trouble."

Zhan Zhao said solemnly: "My lord, as an admonisher, should be devoted to the country regardless of one's own life." Seeing that Gongsun Ce seemed to disapprove of Bao Zheng's actions, he asked in confusion, "Mr.

Gongsun Ce said: "If this is the case, how can I follow the adults? I just think that direct remonstrance does not necessarily offend Yan Yan! Li Tang's admonishing minister Wei Zheng was able to stand in the court for a long time, not only because Tang Taizong humbly accepts remonstrance, but also because he always accepts remonstrance. To speak directly is to give Tang Taizong a face." Without waiting for Zhan Zhao to answer, he said again: "Among the important ministers of the Great Song Dynasty, Mr. Bao is the only one who is not afraid of power and is dedicated to serving the public. I really don't want to see you My lord offends Long Yan for being too upright. If he is really resigned because of this, in the future, who in this court will be able to plead for the people?"

"What Mr. said is not unreasonable." Zhan Zhao said, "Fortunately, the emperor has always been lenient to your lord."

Gongsun Ce cupped his hands to the sky and said: "The benevolence and virtue of today's sages is even greater than that of Tang Taizong. It is really the blessing of my subjects and the people of the world!"

"Sir, is there anything important you haven't told Zhan?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gongsun Ce hesitated for a moment, then sighed: "There is indeed something, and it is very difficult."

"What is it?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gongsun Ce said: "Do you know that Yu Qianfan, the deputy commander of the Imperial Forest Army, has sued you in front of the Queen Mother and the Emperor?"

Zhan Zhao often walks in the palace, and although he has business dealings with Yu Qianfan, he has no enmity, he asked puzzled, "What crime did he accuse me of?"

Gongsun Ce said: "He accused you of deliberately indulging the witch on the cliff that day, and even asserted that you had an affair with the witch. The emperor entrusted this matter to your lord for detailed investigation, and ordered him to report to the palace tomorrow morning.", Sighed: "This is the emperor's trust in the lord, and the protection of Zhan's guards. However, the impeachment of Zhang Yaozuo has just passed, and all the civil and military people in the court will stare at the lord to see if he will protect his subordinates. Your lord's uprightness, he will definitely report the case according to the facts and insist on your innocence to the emperor, but if you do this, it will definitely arouse criticism from all the ministers. What's more, there are still people with ulterior motives in the court."

Zhan Zhao lowered his eyes and said, "Zhan knows what to do."

Gongsun Ce sighed: "Your injury is quite serious. Although there is no danger of life at this moment, the internal injury is still serious. It will take a long time to recover. I shouldn't have told you about Yu Qianfan, but Tomorrow, my lord will..." Between the words, I was quite apologetic.

Zhan Zhao said: "Sir, you don't have to blame yourself. This matter is related to your lord's official position. The situation is urgent and cannot be delayed. If I were to change places with you, I would do the same. It's just that if your lord returns home, I will go to the palace to face the holy matter. Also, sir, please conceal it for me, otherwise, if the adults follow into the palace, it will be difficult to distinguish in front of the emperor."