Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 65
Chapter 65
That day was also the anniversary of the death of Pei Xiaoyuan’s late mother, Lady Cui.
Not long after the Danfeng Gate incident, she died of excessive depression. Before her death, she did not accept Cui Daosi’s offer to raise her nephew when they met in private, but instead ordered her son to leave the capital and go to his uncle Pei Ji who was far away in the northwest.
Of course, these were all old things. Now that Pei Xiaoyuan was an adult, the attitude of Lady Wang, the mistress of the Cui Mansion, had changed. This time, she attached great importance to the death anniversary of her late sister-in-law, and she called her niece Wang Zhenfeng to help prepare in advance. On this day, a large ritual was held in Ci’en Temple. Because it was the Yulan Festival three days later, this ritual would be held for three consecutive days, aligning with the Yulan Festival’s intent to honor the Three Jewels through Buddhist offerings and to elevate the lotus ranks of departed ancestors and family members.
After this accidental encounter, Pei Xiaoyuan quickly put his thoughts aside and went into the palace to attend the meeting.
Han Kerang was able to hold his current position because, in addition to his status as a loyal follower who had fought bravely for Prince Ding in his early years, he was also no ordinary person. He made a very thorough plan for the escort this time, from the departure to the stop on the road to the arrival at the Cangshan Palace. Not only was every step clearly arranged, but even the details such as how many guards and secret sentries were in each post were not missed, and he personally inquired about them one by one. After making sure that there were no more omissions, he ordered everyone to disperse and make preparations.
He also knew that the Cui family was holding a ceremony for Lady Cui at Ci’en Temple today. After the meeting, he deliberately kept Pei Xiaoyuan and told him not to be distracted by the travel in the next few days and to take care of his mother’s ceremony first. As for the matter of Luwu Division, he would personally help him keep an eye on it.
Pei Xiaoyuan was very grateful and bowed solemnly. Han Kerang told him not to be so reserved, saying that he was also moved by Lady Cui’s righteous act in the past, and he still remembered it vividly. Today was the anniversary of his late mother’s death, and it was also his first ritual since he came to the capital. As a son, how could he stay out of it? Just treat it as an extra vacation for him and let him to go there without worry.
Pei Xiaoyuan had already planned for this matter. Since his boss had specially arranged it this way, he did not refuse anymore. He thanked him again, then left the palace and came to Ci’en Temple.
As she had previously indicated, Wang Zhenfeng of the Wang family was especially attentive to the anniversary preparations, arranging everything meticulously. Ci’en Temple aware that the Cui family was holding a ceremony for the late Pei’s family lady, Cui shi, so they did not dare to neglect it and offering the entire Guanyin Hall as the venue for the ceremony for the next three days. The presiding monk was none other than the well-regarded Juehui, a renowned monk often summoned to the palace to preach the Dharma to the Grand Empress Dowager and other nobles.
Pei Xiaoyuan arrived in front of the Guanyin Hall, where the Dharma Assembly had already begun. Amid the lingering incense and the chorus of wooden fish and bells, Juehui led a group of monks in chanting sutras in unison. Pei Xiaoyuan listened outside the door for a while and heard that they were chanting the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita. He then walked to the door and the first person he saw was Qingtou.
He had been busy running errands recently and was likely exhausted. With the sound of the sutras in his ears, he leaned against the hall door, head tilted, and began to doze off while standing. Wang shi, surrounded by a cluster of ladies, was seated in the central position within the dharma hall. The women were all adorned with jewelry and dressed in fine silks and brocades, most of them likely relatives from either the Cui or Wang families. Among them were many whom Pei Xiaoyuan had never even seen before and did not recognize.
Wang Zhenfeng knelt on a cushion beside Wang shi. In the Guanyin Hall, she was the only one dressed plainly today, wearing a light blue jacket and a moon-white skirt, which made her stand out. She was holding her hands together in front of her chest, concentrating as if she was praying devoutly.
The maidservant of Cui Mansion standing in the corridor made a little noise because of Pei Xiaoyuan’s arrival, which made her turn her head. When she saw Pei Xiaoyuan, her eyes lit up slightly, and she quickly stood up and walked out. Pei Xiaoyuan followed her to an open space a little further outside the hall, bowed to her, and thanked her for taking the trouble for this matter.
Wang Zhenfeng hurriedly declined his thanks and said with a smile, “This is something that we women should handle. I have never heard of men taking care of this. Besides, you are very busy with official duties. And Qingtou also helped me a lot. Why should you be so reserved?”
Pei Xiaoyuan said: “Then I won’t be polite with you. If you have any problems in the future, just ask. If I can help you, I will definitely help you.”
Wang Zhenfeng glanced at him, paused, then bowed deeply to him and thanked him in a low voice.
Pei Xiaoyuan waved his hand. After saying some polite words, he got to the point and reminded her to tell Qingtou all the expenses after the ceremony, and not to miss any of them. Wang Zhenfeng was about to reply when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw that it was Wang shi who came out. It turned out that one of the maids had just gone in to remind her that Pei Xiaoyuan was here.
Seeing Wang shi coming over with a beaming face accompanied by several maids, Pei Xiaoyuan bowed and called her Aunt, then repeated what he had just said to Wang Zhenfeng. This made Wang shi very unhappy and blamed him, saying that Lady Cui was her sister-in-law, and that this ceremony would not cost much. Even if it did cost a lot, it would be the responsibility of her as the elder. How could she ask him, the junior, to pay for it? If words got out, how would others look at her?
Since she said so, Pei Xiaoyuan thought about converting the money she spent this time into a gift for her at the next festival, so as to avoid an argument at this moment. Therefore, he dropped the subject and just thanked her.
Only then Wang shi became satisfied again. After sending away the maidservant, she then asked a few questions about the emperor’s trip to escape the summer heat. Naturally, Pei Xiaoyuan didn’t say much and gave a few perfunctory responses. Then he heard Wang shi continue, “This time, for your mother’s memorial, even if Aunt had three heads and six arms, it would be hard to manage everything alone. Fortunately is here. Inside and out, there’s no place that doesn’t benefit from her efforts. Aunt is not just praising one own’s family, but in all these years, I have never seen a girl as good as Qi Niang. She’s truly one in a hundred, well-read in women’s classics, capable, and beautiful.”
Qi Niang was Wang Zhenfeng’s nickname. When she heard Wang Shi praising her so much in front of Pei Xiaoyuan, no matter how graceful she was, she couldn’t help but felt embarrassed. A faint flush appeared on her cheeks as she hurriedly wanted to leave, but Wang shi held her hand, so she had to stop and slowly lowered her head.
Hearing this, Pei Xiaoyuan bowed to Wang Zhenfeng again. Wang Zhenfeng didn’t dare to look at him, so she turned to Wang shi and said, “Aunt! Master Pei has already thanked me just now.”
Wang shi patted her hand gently to comfort her and said with a smile, “With your kindness towards Erlang’s mother, he should thank you as much as he can.”
Pei Xiaoyuan maintained a calm expression and, following Wang shi’s intent, offered his thanks once more. Just then, the chanting inside the Guanyin Hall stopped, and the ritual for summoning and guiding spirits across the sea of suffering began. The sounds of cymbals and gongs filled the air, with the rapid beat of the wooden fish drum like a shower of rain—a lively and intense atmosphere. He smiled and said he wanted to go in. After that, he nodded slightly to Wang Zhenfeng who was slowly looking up at him, then walked inside.
After a while, it was unknown what Wang shi and Wang Zhenfeng was talking. Wang shi then led Wang Zhenfeng back and sat down.
Wang Zhenfeng sat quietly until the ritual was over. During the break, she quietly turned her head to look at the corner where the young master of the Pei family had just sat, and found that he was gone.
She found an excuse to go out and walked around the Guanyin Hall, but she didn’t find anyone. Finally, she couldn’t help but ask Qingtou, the servant of the Pei family, but the servant said that the master had just asked him to inform her that he had something else to do and had to leave first, and the matters here would be entrusted to her for the time being.
Pei Xiaoyuan left the Ci’en Temple where rituals were being lively performed, and quietly came to a town located in the southernmost corner of Chang’an with his two attendants waiting outside.
This place was far from the city center. Except for a large orchard that was used to grow peaches, apricots and other fruits for the imperial family, the rest of the land was as barren as far as the eye can see. Only near the orchard, around an abandoned temple, a few vegetable fields had been cultivated, as well as houses for around twenty to thirty families.
Many years ago, in the battle of Beiyuan, eight hundred warriors who followed the Shenshu Great General Pei Gu to fight against the enemy died. Some of them left orphans, widows, or old mothers after the war due to various reasons. The court settled all the people here, asking the men to work in the imperial orchards, and the women to make a living by spinning and weaving cloth for the inner court.
Day after day, year after year, until today, this group of people had been forgotten by the world. They fend for themselves, as if no one remember that there were dozens of such families living in this desolate corner of the prosperous capital. No one even remembered the achievements their ancestors made for the Holy Dynasty, simply because they did not stand in the right position when the imperial family was fighting for the throne.
Pei Xiaoyuan felt heavy-hearted when he walked into this deserted temple with holes all over its roof.
His uncle Pei Ji had always remembered these people, and every year he would convert his salary and the income from his ancestral farm in Hedong into money and have someone send it here to help. But his uncle had never run a private business and was incorruptible, and his ancestral farm was not big, so the support he could provide was limited.
The conditions of the wives, children and elderly mothers of his old subordinates who had followed his father to die in battle that day have not improved at all. Now they could only rely on the few broken tiles above their heads to keep out the wind and rain and live a hard life.
The grand ceremony being held in Ci’en Temple was certainly a commemoration for his deceased mother, but Pei Xiaoyuan believed that if his mother was still alive, on the anniversary of her death, she would probably prefer him to come here to visit the families of his father’s old subordinates on her behalf.
He brought some money today, ready to give some to each family to express his mother’s feelings. When he passed the with collapsed doors and walls, he was surprised to see a new memorial tablet was placed inside. In front of the tablet, two sticks of incense were burning gently. To his astonishment, the name inscribed on the tablet was none other than his mother, Lady Cui.
He called a child who was following him and looked at him curiously, and asked what was going on. The child was wearing new clothes, holding a fruit in his hand, and could not speak very well, so he called his grandmother.
Only then Pei Xiaoyuan knew that someone had been here yesterday.
“It was a handsome young man who said he knew that our families had lived here for many years and came to visit us. He gave each family two strings of coin, a bushel of rice, a leg of lamb, cloth, shoes, and even pills for headaches and dysentery! By the way, the young man also said that he would send people to help us repair the roof in a few days, so we don’t have to worry about leaks when it rains in the future!”
The noise of his arrival attracted everyone who lived here. When they heard his question, they all started talking at once, and everyone had a happy smile on their face.
“Although the general and Lady Cui are gone, the Pei family still remembers us. Yesterday, that young man also said that he was an old friend of the late Lady Cui of the Pei family, and he came to visit us on behalf of Lady Cui. Today is Lady Cui’s death anniversary, so we set up a tablet here.”
As they talked, everyone walked over and kowtowed to the tablet.
An old friend of his mother? A handsome young man?
Who is it?
Pei Xiaoyuan stood there in a daze for a moment, then came to his senses, told his attendants to distribute the money he brought, then turned around and hurriedly left.
He came to the palace and waited in a remote corner, feeling a little uneasy.
A moment later, the eunuch Zhang Shun who had taken Xuyu out of the palace that day came hurriedly alone. Hearing his question about the desolate town, he hesitated for a moment, nodded and said, “Master, your guess is correct. Young Master Ye did ask this servant, and this servant told him about this matter.
“He told me not to tell anyone.”