A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 102.1

The night before returning to the temple, a torrential rain poured down the mountain. The mountain road was muddy, and the wooden cart of Monk Jing jue was stuck fast in a mud pit. This section was uphill, and no matter how hard he pulled and tugged, the wheels wouldn’t budge.

Monk Jing jue exerted all his strength, and the wheel finally pulled out of the mud pit. Before he could take a breath of relief, the high stack of wine jars and barrels piled on the cart instantly crashed down.

He used the back of his foot to catch one of the wine jars, sheltering it in his arms. Unable to free his hands to catch the others, he could only watch as the barrels and jars rolled down the mountain. Fortunately, a group of monks returning to the temple after begging for alms also came back via this mountain road. They hurriedly helped to pick up the wine jars and barrels everywhere, reloaded the cart, and lent a hand to push the wooden cart upwards.

Struggling through the mud to reach the gate of Taihuang Temple, Monk Jing jue’s lips curved slightly. He bowed with palms pressed together, thanking the monks, “Thank you.”

Then, he dragged the wooden cart to the back of the mountain alone.

The monks involuntarily shivered.

“Master Jing jue is even scarier when he smiles, like he’s going to eat children.”

“It’s creepy.”

In the evening, Monk Jing jue sent a small jar of fruit wine to Yongning Hall, a wine brewed from sour wild mountain berries. The wine was intercepted by the Imperial Guard for inspection.

This scene fell into Rong Jun’s eyes. He charged up and delivered a fierce kick, instantly knocking down the Imperial Guard who was about to check the wine.

The Changning Guard uniformly drew their swords.

Seeing this, the Imperial Guards also quickly gathered, drawing their swords against them.

Rong Jun roared, “Does the Princess Elder’s belongings fall to you to inspect? You dog servant who disregards hierarchy!”

Jiang Andong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was absent. The one in charge was a Colonel named Ma, named Ma Feng. The phrase “dog servant” ignited his temper. “Lord Rong, my brothers won’t appreciate that. We are all following orders…”

“Whose orders are you following?”

“Naturally, the Emperor’s orders.”

“Where is the Imperial Edict?”

Ma Feng choked. “We are following His Majesty’s verbal decree to protect the Princess Elder’s safety. The wine is something the Princess Elder consumes, so naturally, it must be carefully inspected.”

Rong Jun sneered contemptuously, “His Majesty’s verbal decree mandates the Imperial Guard to protect the Princess Elder. This is clearly imprisonment!”

“Rong Jun, you are slanderous! In the past, you were the confidant of Crown Prince Yizhang, and we dared not provoke you, calling you ‘Master.’ But now you are nothing more than the head of a small guard unit. What right do you have to be so arrogant!”

“You old man, I’ve tolerated you long enough!”

Rong Jun turned and wrestled with the Colonel named Ma.

With the two superiors starting the fight, their subordinates took their cues and also began to scuffle. In close combat, even the sharpest swords were not as effective as fists, kicks, or a brick to the head. So, hair was pulled, clothes were yanked, and fists flew in a chaotic melee.

Before long, many martial monks gathered around, watching the spectacle.

If not for knowing these two groups were the Imperial Guards, one might think they were two groups of beggars fighting over territorial boundaries for alms.

While the fight raged outside, Monk Jing jue had already entered Yongning Hall.

He had returned to the temple a day later than usual after this trip down the mountain. After delivering the wine to all the other places, he waited for Jiang Bojin at the bottom of the mountain as agreed. Jiang Bojin was a full day late.

It was already nearing the end of May.

The ceremony of Transcending Souls at Taihuang Temple was also nearing its conclusion.

“Someone asked this monk to deliver fruit wine to the Princess Elder.” He tapped the side of the jar. “The wine has been delivered. This monk will take his leave.”

Throughout the world, Xie Wenjun was only familiar with one person who loved sweet fruit wine.

As soon as Monk Jing jue left, Yuan Rong and Dai Qing quickly closed the doors of the meditation room. Outside, Rong Jun was violently beating the Colonel named Ma, who was pinned to the ground.

It was truly noisy.

Xie Wenjun picked up the wine jar, examining it for a moment. She uncorked the stopper. Inside was clear wine. Imitating Monk Jing jue, she tapped the side of the jar. Sure enough, a small area produced a slightly different sound from the rest.

She held up the wine jar and poured the clear wine into the censer for incense ash. Reaching her hand inside, she indeed felt a raised section.

It was a bamboo tube sealed with wax.

She scraped off the sealing wax on the outer wall, and a thin piece of paper was rolled up inside the tube. The paper was densely covered with tiny characters; it was not Chen Liangyu’s handwriting.

The writing was too small, requiring her to lean in to see clearly. Yuan Rong moved two oil lamps and placed them on the table in front of Xie Wenjun.

The first point was the agreement with Dongyin: Crown Prince Chu Zhang of Dongyin and ten thousand prisoners of war would be returned to Dongyin soon.

The second was that after Xi Ma Nou destroyed the fields and Chen Liangyu was subsequently imprisoned for it, Gu Xie immediately secretly found Xi Qing, promising him six volumes of books on the day Dai Qing got married, telling them to continue causing trouble in Yongdu, determined to have the Emperor execute Chen Liangyu.

This tactic of advancing by retreating indeed dispelled Xie Yuan’s suspicions about Chen Liangyu.

The third was that the Western Ridge rebels were coming fiercely, successively capturing two western commanderies. Yan Nian’s kneel at the palace gate forced Xie Yuan to grant Chen Liangyu an early pardon from the death penalty, ordering her to mobilize troops to quell the rebellion in Western Ridge. Originally, mobilizing troops from Suzhou in the northern border and dispatching them westward along the Qilian Road was the fastest marching route. However, the rebels were aiming to attack Yongdu directly, so it was decided to mobilize troops from the North Camp to meet and strike them head-on.

After the Ministry of War and the Court of the Imperial Stud finished counting the soldiers and warhorses, and the Ministry of Revenue finalized the accounting for military provisions and grain, Chen Liangyu would soon lead troops out again.

The more chaotic the situation, the more likely complications were to arise. When the Ministry of Revenue audited the military supplies, there was a discrepancy between the grain tax figures and the accounts reported by the various local Agricultural Bureaus. Simply put, the grain tax collected by the Ministry of Revenue was far less than the amount checked by the Central Secretariat.

This was a situation that had never occurred when Xie Wenjun managed agriculture.

A few days later, Censor-in-Chief Jiang Xian submitted a memorial to the Emperor, requesting the dismissal of the Central Secretariat and that the Princess Elder continue to manage the Agricultural Bureau.

Xie Yuan pretended not to hear this.

Sheng Yu’an, the Vice Minister of the Central Secretariat, transferred the Fish Scale Registers from the Imperial Library to check the grain tax. Starting with the nearest Pingsha Commandery, the inspection immediately revealed a problem.

‘Gui Ji Tian Mu’ Fraudulent Registration of Farmland.

In a fit of rage, Xie Yuan executed the Prefect of Pingsha Commandery and simultaneously dispatched several Investigating Censors to tour the various regions.

Xie Wenjun finished reading, placed the paper on the oil lamp, and burned it. Outside Yongning Hall, the sound of Rong Jun beating someone was getting quieter and quieter.

“Tell Rong Jun to be gentle and not beat anyone to death.”

Dai Qing curtsied, about to go break up the fight, but when she opened the door, Rong Jun was already waiting in the corridor, dragging the bruised and swollen Imperial Guard Colonel. He kicked him again in the calf. Ma Feng’s legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

“Your Highness, how should he be dealt with?”

Dai Qing said, “He should be beaten to death with a rod! They monitor Your Highness wherever she goes, and yet they dare to inspect the Princess Elder’s belongings? Look at how arrogant they are. I thought you Imperial Guards were here to discipline Her Highness. Armed with a verbal decree from the Emperor, do you think you’re half the master of the world?”

Ma Feng prostrated himself, touching the ground. “Princess Elder, this subordinate would not dare. This subordinate was merely following orders, checking the Princess Elder’s personal items and anything consumed, as is standard procedure, to prevent malicious individuals from poisoning Her Highness.”

Dai Qing said, “To test for poison, do you need to look at the wine jar repeatedly? Was it following orders to inspect, or looking for an opportunity to administer poison?”

Ma Feng truly couldn’t explain, and he kowtowed, begging for mercy. “Princess Elder, this subordinate absolutely has no intention of harming the Princess Elder. Princess Elder, please forgive me! In the future, as long as the items are not brought from outside the temple, the Imperial Guard will no longer inspect items delivered to Yongning Hall within the temple.”

Xie Wenjun raised a hand, and Rong Jun delivered another kick with a muddy shoe print onto the man’s back. “Get lost quickly!”

Ma Feng thanked her for the pardon and ran away.

Xie Wenjun held the iron-reinforced message tube, lost in thought. The dim light of the oil lamp reflected on her beautiful profile.

She didn’t know the exact date of Chen Liangyu’s departure for the campaign.

The forty-nine-day period for the Dharma ceremony had arrived. If nothing went wrong, perhaps she would have time to see her again before she left. Even a distant glance would count as seeing her off before battle.

For ten years, Chen Liangyu had campaigned in all directions, and she could only spend day after day tracing the markings of the sundial, calculating her return.

It had always been this way.