Chapter 61

 

Late Ninth Month, Wudang Mountain, Taihe Temple.

At dusk, the old temple master with gray hair and childlike face finished his sermon. Hua Yang stepped forward with a pious expression and asked for advice on a few things she was confused about before taking Chen Jingzong to leave.

The couple walked side by side towards the guest house where the princess and the prince consort were temporarily staying.

On the way, Chen Jingzong looked at Hua Yang, who was wearing a white dress and no makeup, and asked again: “We have been here for seven to eight days. When are you going to go back?”

Hua Yang: “What’s the hurry. I may only come to Wudang once in my life, of course I have to stay longer. If you are worried about the affairs in the military station, you should leave first.”

She originally didn’t want Chen Jingzong to accompany her on this trip, but Chen Jingzong insisted on coming.

Chen Jingzong pursed his lips.

Last month, she took Chao Yun, Chao Yue, Zhou Ji, Wu Run and dozens of guards to visit Dongting Lake. She left at the beginning of the month and came back at the end of the month. She just stayed in Ningyuan for a few nights and returned to the ancestral home to spend the Double Ninth Festival with the elders, then wanted to visit Wudang Mountain again. If Chen Jingzong didn’t come with her, the couple might have to be separated for another month!

“The military station has Lu Da, so I don’t need to worry about anything. You, on the other hand, have either been listening to sutras in Taihe Temple or Yuxu Temple in the past few days. If you continue to listen, I’m afraid that you will follow your imperial grandfather’s footstep, and devoted yourself to the Tao, thinking about how to cultivate immortality all day long.”

“Presumptuous!”

Hua Yang scolded, and at the same time looked around vigilantly to make sure that no little Taoist monk was passing by, she coldly warned Chen Jingzong: “Usually, it’s fine if you’re just ridiculing me, but how can you make arbitrary comments about imperial grandfather? If it spreads, the censor will go to Father Emperor and accuse you for being disrespectful. Even if Father Emperor wants to let you go for my sake, when it comes to Imperial Grandfather, he cannot show favoritism.”

Chen Jingzong looked at her with a smile: “Wouldn’t that just give you a reason to divorce me, and then find a new Prince Consort who is completely to your liking?”

Hua Yang didn’t bother to pay attention to him.

After returning to the guest house and taking a short rest, two little Taoist monks brought dinner for the couple. Being in a Taoist temple, it was natural for it to be vegetarian.

Steamed buns, white porridge, and vegetarian dishes made Chen Jingzong’s face look even worse.

Hua Yang only found it funny: “You asked for it.”

Chen Jingzong was not afraid of being a vegetarian. What made him most aggrieved was that he had brought that thing over, but because they were staying at a Taoist temple, she had to be very particular and not allowing him to mess around.

If he had known this, he might as well have gone with her to Dongting Lake last month instead of coming to Wudang Mountain.

Hua Yang gave him a steamed bun and said, “Eat more. I want to climb Tianzhu Peak tomorrow.”

Chen Jingzong sneered: “You? You’d get tired walking from here to Tianzhu Peak, and you still want to climb the top?”

Hua Yang: “Didn’t I still have you. If I can’t climb anymore, I’ll let you carry me.”

Chen Jingzong: “I eat vegetarian food every day so I can’t carry you on my back.”

What he disliked in his mouth was the vegetables, but what his eyes longed for was another kind of meat.

Hua Yang just pretended that she didn’t understand and said with a smile: “If you can’t carry me, just sleep at home. I’ll take Zhou Ji there.”

The next morning, at the foot of Tianzhu Peak, Chen Jingzong rolled up his sleeves and continued to be a cow and horse for the delicate princess.

Tianzhu Peak was too high, and Hua Yang didn’t expect to have Chen Jingzong carry her all the way there. When she could walk, she walked by herself. When they came across a place suitable for enjoying the scenery, she and Chen Jingzong found a smooth stone to sit on, while Zhou Ji followed behind with a group of guards at a certain distance.

After walking and resting like this, it was almost noon, and the two finally reached the top of Tianzhu Peak.

The autumn wind was blowing, making the clothes rustle.

Zhou Ji came over with a food box and picked a place with no wind to set up a painting easel. Then he retreated to the guards so as not to disturb the princess and the prince consort.

Chen Jingzong watched him walk away, bit into his bun, and said to Hua Yang, “Your imperial ancestors just like to torment people.”

On this Wudang Mountain, many Taoist temples were built by the craftsmen ordered by her Taizu, Chengzu and the late emperor. Just climbing the mountain was tiring enough, and one could only imagine how hard it was for the craftsmen to transport so much stone and wood up the mountain.

Hua Yang: “Where there is a loss, there is also a gain. Although the craftsmen worked hard, they also made money. The ancestors also left these Taoist temples for the people to cultivate their minds. Otherwise, these mountains would be bare and there would be no place for visitors to stay.”

Chen Jingzong just chatted casually and did not argue with her.

After eating, Hua Yang asked Chen Jingzong to grind some ink, she wanted to paint. This was also a gift she would send to her father emperor, mother empress, and brother. She would give what she saw with her own eyes to her family in the form of a painting.

The mountain scenery was magnificent, and Hua Yang painted three paintings in a row from different angles.

Chen Jingzong: “It’s finally done. If I grind any longer, my wrist will be sore.”

Hua Yang glanced at his hand, and somehow remembered certain moments in the night, and the tips of her ears turned red.

Could it be that after abstaining for so long, she also missed it a little bit? Otherwise, why would she suddenly have such thoughts on this mountaintop?

Fortunately, Chen Jingzong was packing his things. When he raised his head, Hua Yang had returned to normal.

The easel and other items were handed over to the guards, and the couple still walked at the front.

When they were about to pass a fork in the road, Hua Yang found a farmer in plain clothes carrying a bamboo basket coming from the other way. She panicked and hurriedly asked Chen Jingzong to put her down.

Chen Jingzong also noticed the man and slowly put Hua Yang on the ground.

After walking a few steps, the farmer also appeared at the intersection. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of people coming down the mountain road above. The farmer glanced subconsciously.

Seeing Hua Yang, the farmer was stunned.

Hua Yang was about to avoid his gaze when she suddenly felt that this person looked familiar. When she looked again, she saw that although this person was dressed in commoner clothing, he had a dignified appearance and clear eyes. He was about fifty years old, with a long beard, and rather have an immortal spirit.

Seeing Hua Yang staring at him intently, the farmer smiled, put down the medicine basket on his back, bowed and said, “The commoner Li Dongbi has met the Princess.”

Hua Yang had a little guess. Hearing him announcing his name, Hua Yang was overjoyed. She jogged a few steps to come to this man and said happily: “It’s really Imperial Doctor Li. Why are you here?”

Li Dongbi was a famous doctor of this dynasty. He once worked in Imperial Hospital and treated Emperor Jingshun. When Hua Yang was a child, she contracted a cold and became very ill. It was Imperial Doctor Li who helped cure her.

It was just that Hua Yang was only ten years old at that time, and due to her rebirth, her memory had long been blurred. If it weren’t for Li Dongbi’s extraordinary and impressive style, Hua Yang might not even have this familiar feeling.

Li Dongbi smiled and said: “The princess doesn’t know. This commoner is from Huguang, Qizhou. Recently just happened to go to Wudang to collect medicinal herbs, unexpectedly can meet the Princess’s immortal beauty.”

Hua Yang’s beauty, no one could ever forget once they saw it. Although she had matured compared to when she was ten, Li Dongbi still recognized her at a glance. He had also heard the story about Princess Hua Yang whipping Prince Xiang, so he knew that she was indeed in Huguang at this time.

The two chatted for a while, and Hua Yang finally remembered to introduce Chen Jingzong to Li Dongbi with two simple sentences: “This is my Prince Consort, Chen Jingzong. The fourth son of Cabinet Elder Chen.”

Li Dongbi looked at Chen Jingzong and sincerely praised the prince consort for his good looks.

After all, he didn’t know anything about Chen Jingzong, so he could only praise his face.

On the rest of the mountain road, Hua Yang seemed to have forgotten Chen Jingzong, and kept walking side by side with Li Dongbi, asking him what herbs were in the basket on his back, and what Li Dongbi had done in the years since he left the capital. As for Li Dongbi, he didn’t care too much about Hua Yang’s status as a princess. Instead, he seemed to regard Hua Yang as a forgotten friend, with a calm and kind attitude.

Chen Jingzong walked behind the two of them, his eyes sometimes falling on Hua Yang’s smiling face, sometimes falling on Li Dongbi’s beard.

He didn’t know whether he was overthinking, but Hua Yang seemed to be particularly fond of the old man and Li Dongbi, these old people with real talents and learning.

Under Hua Yang’s warm invitation, Li Dongbi followed them to the guest house of Taihe Temple to have dinner together.

At the end of dinner, Hua Yang looked at Chen Jingzong and said to Li Dongbi: “To be honest with Imperial Doctor Li, my mother-in-law has been suffering from back pain in recent years. Could you please come back to Lingzhou with us and check on her?”

Chen Jingzong:…..

The mother was not even fifty yet, and seemed to be quite strong and had never told them about her backache, why did it suddenly reach the point where she needed to ask Li Dongbi for medical treatment?

Or was Hua Yang too filial and couldn’t bear for his mother to even have the smallest problem, putting him, her own son, behind?

Li Dongbi was devoted to collecting medicines. If someone else invited him for consultation, he would definitely refuse.

But facing Hua Yang’s sincerely inviting face, Li Dongbi couldn’t bear to disappoint the princess.

“Since the Princess has this filial piety, this old man will go with you.”

Hua Yang was very happy and called Zhou Ji and asked him to personally take Li Dongbi back to the place he stayed. Their carriages would go directly there to pick him up tomorrow morning.

After Li Dongbi left, Chen Jingzong followed Hua Yang into the house and asked doubtfully: “Mother told you about her back pain?”

Hua Yang: “No, but she and Father are both old, and the elderly is bound to have some problems. Now that we have met Imperial Doctor Li, of course we can’t miss this opportunity. You have also seen that Imperial Doctor Li’s whereabouts are erratic as he goes around collecting medicines. If we wait until the two elders really contracted some illness and then go look for him, then he would be nowhere to be found.”

Chen Jingzong: “But if there is no problem with the two elders’ health, wouldn’t you let Imperial Doctor Li run around in vain?”

Hua Yang raised her eyebrows: “What’s more important, the two elders, or delaying Imperial Doctor Li’s schedule for half a month?”

Chen Jingzong was confronted with the old man again, and given the choices, of course he would choose the two elders of his own family. He was just surprised by Hua Yang’s behavior in front of others: “When you, this Princess, treated Imperial Doctor, it seemed like you regarded him as your own grandfather. Who would have thought that you only wanted to use Doctor Li’s medical skills? I wonder if it’s because you’re too pragmatic or if you hold too much respect for the old man?”

In the final analysis, she still did it for his family’s old man!

Hua Yang glared at him: “I want him to help Father and Mother. Why do you say that I only respect Father?”

Chen Jingzong: “Just guessing, your kindness towards anyone in our family is probably because of your affection for the old man, love the house and its crow.”

Hua Yang:…

She turned her back and continued to comb her hair.

Chen Jingzong sat next to her, looked at her face and said, “Only when you have guilty conscience will you stop arguing with me.”

Hua Yang snorted: “So what if I love the house and its crow? I am a pragmatic person. I respect Father because he is a talented man who can assist Father Emperor in governing the country and allow me and the people to live a good life. However, it’s clear that my respect for Father is just that—respect. You should stop being so weird and babbling nonsense, if word spreads out, you, me, and Father will become the 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 thinking about a stinky old man in his fifties. What I don’t understand is why, among so many Cabinet Elders, you only value that one from our family? He was only a Deputy Minister when he left the capital, and his political performance was not as good as the Chief Minister or even the previous Chief Minister.”

Hua Yang put the hairpin on the table, picked up the comb, combed her hair twice, then glanced at him and said with a smile: “It’s more or less depend on the face. I have met more than a dozen cabinet elders since I was a child. In terms of appearance and grace, 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 trouble Li Dongbi, but her father-in-law seemed to be tough, but in fact he suffered from a hidden disease. His premature death in the previous life was related to this hidden disease.

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 had died of illness, all have the same facial features as the old man, and they were very handsome. However, due to his martial arts training, Chen Jingzong managed to erase the scholarly aura commonly associated with the men of the Chen family, as if a sharp sword had suddenly appeared in a box of exquisite jade.

After looking at it for a moment, the couple’s eyes met in the mirror.

Chen Jingzong suddenly asked: “If the Empress want to granted marriage, and neither my eldest brother nor my third brother are married, who will you choose?”

Hua Yang:…

“I won’t choose anyone. I’ll marry someone else!”

The Author has something to say:

Suppose that the three brothers are not married yet and go to see the princess. After seeing her, the Old Four said: I am determined to be the Prince Consort, and I will beat whoever is in my way.

Old One, Old Three: ….

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