A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 94

Just past the Mao hour (5-7 AM), Xie Wenjun woke from her sleep.

The surrounding air was thick with a chilling, killing intent, and a coldness seemed to seep out from her bones.

Xie Wenjun sat up and, through the faint shadows cast by the windows and doors, observed that the guard presence around the Yongning Hall was greater than yesterday. The standard for personal guards on duty was one person every five paces, but now it was one every three.

Besides that, Xie Wenjun noticed a plate of completely cold sweet cakes placed on the side table.

Her heart inexplicably trembled.

The plate of cakes sat quietly there. She could guess who had bought them, but when she opened her eyes, that person was not by her side. In an instant, she knew that Chen Liangyu had already left the Supreme Temple, far away from her.

Xie Wenjun’s speculation was without concrete cause, purely a sudden, unwarranted feeling. And soon, the facts confirmed this feeling.

Xie Wenjun put on her shoes and got out of bed. Hearing the movement, the palace maids attending outside the Zen room filed in, stepping forward to serve Xie Wenjun as she washed and changed clothes. A palace maid brought a copper basin for washing and placed it steadily on the carved stool by the bed, kneeling beside it to wet a facecloth.

Xie Wenjun looked past the maid, “Rong Jun.”

No one answered.

“Yuan Rong, Dai Qing.”

Yuan Rong rushed over from the adjoining room, glancing down at the stone steps as she entered. She seemed to have seen something, and her footsteps abruptly halted. “Your Highness.”

Seeing the Princess’s icy expression, the maids silently lowered their heads and waited on the side.

Xie Wenjun shoved the Zen room door open. Both panels swung wide. The Changning Guards were all stationed on the corridor outside the Yongning Hall. Rong Jun was nowhere to be seen.

Below the sixty-four stone steps outside the Yongning Hall, more people were standing guard.

Those surrounding the Yongning Hall were not wearing armor, so it was impossible to tell at a glance if they were from the Northern or Southern Imperial Army. Although their waist knives were wrapped in coarse cloth, the shape of the horizontal blade was unmistakable.

They were the Imperial Army’s ceremonial swords.

There were neither many nor few of them, twenty to thirty in total, just enough to guard all the exits from the Yongning Hall to other places.

Something must have happened during this single night’s sleep.

Xie Wenjun surveyed her surroundings and asked the guard standing squarely in the middle of the two doors, one hand resting on the hilt of his waist knife, “Where is Dai Qing? Where are Rong Jun and Chen Liangyu?”

Yuan Rong replied, “Reporting to Your Highness, Dai Qing went outside the temple to buy sweet cakes. This servant heard the Great General went with her. This servant does not know where Commander Rong has gone.”

Commander Ren cupped his hands and bowed. “Your Highness, please hear my report.”

“Speak.”

Commander Ren said, “Half an hour ago, someone came up from the base of the mountain to report something. Commander Rong spoke a few words with this person and then went elsewhere in the temple to arrange the rotation of the guards. This subordinate saw some suspicious people among the temple’s pilgrims. As Commander Rong hadn’t returned, this subordinate took the liberty of summoning the brothers who had gone off duty to rest to reinforce the guard. Who knew, just as the deployment was finished, the Imperial Army surrounded the Yongning Hall.”

Having said this, he straightened his clothes and waited for instructions.

“Your Highness, they don’t have many people. It wouldn’t be hard to fight our way out.”

Xie Wenjun fell silent.

There weren’t many Imperial Army troops controlling the Yongning Hall, but the Supreme Temple was located halfway up the mountain. It would take an hour to drive down, not to mention the surrounding hills were easy places for ambushes. She didn’t know how many more people were hidden elsewhere, or whose orders they were acting under. Xie Wenjun hadn’t brought many soldiers. If they chose to fight, they wouldn’t have the upper hand.

“Since they are the Imperial Army, is this the Emperor Brother’s intent?”

Yuan Rong reminded her from the side, “Your Highness, it may not necessarily be His Majesty. Why not call someone up and ask? We’ll know right away.”

If not Xie Yuan, who else could mobilize the Imperial Army?

The Empress Dowager.

The Imperial Army Commander, Jiang Andong, was a capable man who had been overlooked during the Xuanyuan era. When Prince Qi rebelled, he was the person responsible for guarding the present Empress Dowager and the families of a number of military generals. At the time, Prince Qi, fearing the fierce and powerful troops commanded by Chen Liangyu, spared the lives of these family members, intending to use them as hostages for a standoff with Xie Yuan when his army approached the city gates.

But when it was time to use them, the hostages had already been transferred out of the city.

After the new Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager strongly promoted Jiang Andong. Grateful for her patronage, he was continually promoted until he became the Imperial Army Commander. Over the past two years, there have been some rumors in the palace: the relationship between Imperial Army Commander Jiang Andong and the Empress Dowager goes beyond a mere return of favor; it is said to be intimate, and he has become the Empress Dowager’s favorite.

Putting the gossip aside for now, since Jiang Andong was a man she promoted, the Empress Dowager was naturally capable of coordinating the Imperial Army.

Xie Wenjun was about to order Commander Ren to bring up an Imperial Army soldier from the bottom of the steps for questioning when she saw the temple abbot, accompanied by a group of Supreme Temple warrior monks, ascend the steps from her vantage point.

The abbot wore a bright yellow kasaya robe with a golden lotus pattern and a long string of sandalwood prayer beads around his neck. The warrior monks behind him all wore plain cloth sashes around their waists and had their trouser legs tucked into black boots, presenting a uniform appearance. Dai Qing was not among the group of warrior monks. She wore a coat for warmth, and although she was unbound, she was practically being escorted up.

Xie Wenjun’s gaze gradually became stiff and sharp.

The abbot led the warrior monks onto the Yongning Hall. Under Xie Wenjun’s increasingly cold and stern gaze, the abbot made a gesture to the group of warrior monks behind him.

Dai Qing was able to take the opportunity to break free from the warrior monks’ tight circle. After paying her respects, she retreated to Xie Wenjun’s side and whispered hurriedly, “Your Highness, Commander Rong…”

The abbot stood on the corridor. “This old monk pays his respects to Your Royal Highness the Princess.” He interrupted Dai Qing’s low murmur.

Xie Wenjun said, “Dai Qing is my personal attendant and also a translator from the Court of State Ceremonials’ Foreign Service Office. How dare you treat her with such disrespect?”

The abbot clasped his hands together. “Your Royal Highness, please forgive me. His Majesty ordered the warrior monks to return Attendant Dai Qing to Your Highness. In addition, His Majesty commanded this old monk to convey to Your Highness that Great General Chen has already descended the mountain.”

The abbot held up his palm and bowed again. “Your Royal Highness, this is an Imperial Edict by word of mouth. Please receive the decree.”

An oral decree at this hour!

Yuan Rong and Dai Qing quickly stepped forward to straighten Xie Wenjun’s robes and attire. After a slight adjustment to her appearance, Xie Wenjun slowly bent her knees and bowed towards the direction of the decree-giver. “Your subject sister receives the decree.”

“As the tenth anniversary of Empress Huixian’s passing approaches, the abbot of the Supreme Temple is instructed to prepare the Buddhist ceremony to pray for the transcendence and blessing of Empress Huixian. All matters within the temple shall prioritize Empress Huixian and the Princess, and full service must be rendered. Given Jiangning’s customary filial piety and longing for her relative, she is specially granted permission to stay at the temple for more days, and a propitious date will be chosen for her return to the palace once all affairs are complete.”

This oral decree, issued in the name of a prayer ceremony but effectively a house arrest, seemed incredibly strange to Xie Wenjun.

Even if the eunuch delivering the decree from the palace traveled at the fastest speed, it would still take two or three hours to reach the Supreme Temple. Now, just past the Mao hour, the decree had already arrived, which was illogical. The city gates of Yongdu opened at the Mao hour and closed at the You hour (5-7 PM). The opening of the gates coincided with the morning court session. If it were solely for a posthumous ritual, the decree should have been sent after the morning court concluded and Xie Yuan had spare time.

If her prediction was correct, the court session was suspended today, and Xie Yuan was currently at the Supreme Temple.

The abbot bowed slightly, his head lowered. “Your Royal Highness, the praying and chanting for Empress Huixian will take some time. His Majesty specifically ordered the temple’s warrior monks to attend to you closely, ensuring Your Highness’s complete safety.”

“Abbot, is the Emperor Brother still in the temple?”

“Replying to Your Royal Highness, His Majesty is indeed within the temple, and has already issued an order that his presence should not be announced and should not disturb the temple’s pilgrims.”

Xie Wenjun said, “The Emperor Brother has traveled a long way. I should go and pay my respects.”

The abbot pondered for a moment. “His Majesty has not summoned you.”

“Very well, then I shall not disturb the Imperial Presence.” Xie Wenjun bowed with her sleeves together. “Your subject sister accepts the decree and thanks the Emperor Brother for his grace.”

“This old monk takes his leave.”

“Wait.”

The abbot paused. “Does Your Royal Highness have any other instructions?”

“I said a moment ago that Dai Qing is an official of the Court of State Ceremonials and a person by my side. Are the monks of the Supreme Temple disrespecting her to insult the court or to slight me?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the abbot, along with the hundred or so warrior monks behind him, knelt down in unison. The broad-sleeved, earth-brown monastic robes neatly covered dozens of layers of stone steps.

Xie Wenjun flicked her sleeve, turned her back, and decreed, “Effective immediately, the cultivated land entitlement for the Supreme Temple’s tenant farmers shall be reduced from thirty mu to fifteen mu per person. Their allocated grain and ritual robes shall be halved, and all special rewards are to be canceled.”

“Furthermore, please trouble the abbot to pass a message to my Emperor Brother: Since we are sovereign and subject, as well as brother and sister, all matters can be discussed. There is no need for such drastic action. Rong Jun has followed me for many years. When the Emperor Brother is finished questioning him, please have him returned. I will be busy with continuous rituals for many days here and cannot do without him.”

Xie Wenjun finished her toilette and sat down at the dining table. The plate of cakes was still there, untouched.

Looking at the few pieces of cold sweet cake, Xie Wenjun felt a hint of forlorn helplessness. She picked one up with her delicate fingers and took a small bite. It had no taste.

She thought, is the contest starting now?

She also thought that person had broken her word again. She had clearly said “the future is long” just yesterday, but after only a brief moment of closing her eyes, she had quietly left again.

After Chen Liangyu descended the mountain, Dai Qing originally wanted to return to the Yongning Hall as quickly as possible under the pretense of delivering the cakes to report to Xie Wenjun, but she was summoned to the Zen Questioning Platform by Xie Yuan. Imperial orders were hard to disobey, so she had no choice but to go. It was precisely at this time that Rong Jun was arranging the guard deployment inside and outside the Supreme Temple. As soon as he saw the Imperial Presence, he was restrained by several of Xie Yuan’s personal attendants.

The monks dispersed after their morning lessons and were milling about, walking towards this area.

Dai Qing reported to the Emperor, “Her Highness drank wine last night and feels unwell in her stomach, so she ordered this servant to buy a few cakes to help with the hangover. She is waiting for them now.” Having said that, she stopped a well-behaved young monk and asked him to deliver the sweet cakes to the Yongning Hall. Her Highness would naturally realize something was amiss when she saw the cakes but not her.

Who knew the young monk was an extremely dutiful person? Whatever task he was assigned, he executed. The sweet cakes were delivered to the palace maid on night duty at the Yongning Hall, and he respectfully took his leave, refusing to say a single word no matter who asked him anything.

Outside the Zen room, the Supreme Temple’s warrior monks were scattered around like sesame seeds in a pot of porridge.

They were said to be attending and awaiting orders, but in reality, they were watching and monitoring.

This ritual was personally ordered by the Emperor and was bound to be grand and extraordinary. The Supreme Temple’s drafted ritual process for the funerary offering spanned forty-nine days, including additional road offerings and pacifying ceremonies besides the chanting for transcendence.

The prayers and chanting usually only lasted seven days in previous years. Such a complex procedure could not have been drafted in a single day.

It seemed that Xie Yuan had come prepared.

Trapped on the mountain for forty-nine days, the outside world might well have changed drastically.

Xie Wenjun’s fingertip touched her chest. There was a metal object there, a gift from Chen Liangyu.

“Dai Qing.”

“This servant is here.”

“Have you and Xi Qing ever exchanged tokens of affection?”

According to regulations, if a palace maid privately exchanged gifts with a man outside the palace, she would be charged with “unauthorized entry into the forbidden area” and punished. If she associated with a tribal leader from the grasslands, the charge would be even more severe: forty strokes of the cane and two years of penal servitude. Although she didn’t know why Xie Wenjun asked about her private affairs, Dai Qing did not conceal anything from the Princess. She took an ivory waist token from the sachet hanging at her waist.

Xie Wenjun examined the waist token. It had an ivory base, was set in a gold frame, and was carved with the unique pattern of the Xi Ma Nou tribe. The handicraft industry of the grasslands was very underdeveloped, so the waist token’s workmanship was not particularly exquisite, but it was a sacred object symbolizing the tribal leader and his revered identity.

An iron-coated message tube.