Chapter 26: Huguo Temple (Part 2)

  Seeing the three girls surrounding Chen Lan going to the Jing She, Su Wan'er was unwilling but knew that the Jing She of the temple only received high-ranking officials and nobles. Even if she chased after them, there would be no way, so she could only walk back with a heavy heart. When she reached the corner, she saw her brother waiting impatiently with a young servant, and hurried over to wipe away tears, but was met with a scolding.

  "I've said it before, the Yangning Marquis Manor is nothing but an empty honor. This time, they might even lose their title. Why are you still trying to curry favor with them? Besides, didn't you see that young man just now? He's so poorly educated, what can be expected of a girl from that family? And Grandmother is also being stubborn, insisting on arranging a marriage. Once I pass the imperial examination and become a scholar this year, I won't have to worry about finding a noble lady to marry."

  Su Wan'er was so moved by her brother's words that she felt a surge of bitterness in her heart, and several times she wanted to speak up to defend herself but was suppressed by his severe tone. In the end, she had no choice but to remain silent. However, just as the siblings were leaving the temple, they were intercepted by a group of people on their way to the rear temple's pagoda forest.

  The personal guard blocking the way, wearing a large red cloak and embroidered spring knife, spoke in a polite but stern tone: "My master is currently touring the tower forest, please stop here."

  Su Yi encountered several obstacles today, and she had been holding back her anger since the morning. At this moment, upon hearing these words, she suddenly sneered coldly: "This Da Huguo Temple was built by imperial decree, not some noble family's private property!"

  The imperial guard who blocked the way looked at Su Yi with a hint of surprise, just as he was about to speak up, a soft voice came from behind: "This Dabao Temple is indeed an imperial temple and not private property, but I, as a prince, can't even bring some friends here to play?"

  Su Wan'er heard the sound of the earthquake and immediately rushed forward, dragging her big brother down. Seeing that he was also shocked, she secretly hated him, and when she turned her head, she saw three men coming out of the moon gate one after another.

  The first one in front was wearing a large red silk gown, with a golden thread embroidered python patterned cloak draped over his shoulders, standing there exuding an air of nobility that was intimidating. The two behind him were one refined and the other sloppy, both dressed in attire that was not common, and behind them followed many elegant guests and literary attendants. Seeing such a group of people standing before her, Su Wan'er suddenly felt a pang of distress.

  This big brother has always been outspoken, but this time he's gotten himself into big trouble!

  King Jin Lin Tai is now twenty-five years old, and he is in his prime. Although the emperor has not yet established a crown prince, he is not the eldest son, but because he is both civil and military, he is impeccable in his treatment of people and things, and his demeanor and appearance are among the best. Therefore, most people in the court previously thought that he would be the first choice for the crown prince. So, he was not anxious before, and winning over the civil and military ministers was only done secretly. However, when King Wei returned to the capital this time to take up the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Command, he immediately sensed a crisis - not from those princes who were similar in age to him, but from the seven-year-old King Lu.

  So, the queen mentioned that the plum blossoms in the Temple of Protection were blooming well, and there was a good spring in the temple. Therefore, he intentionally invited Luo Xuan, the son of Duke Wei, to come to the temple for a stroll today. Coincidentally, Yang Jinzhou, the commander of the Imperial Guard, came to the mansion to deliver a message, and he learned that the other party had nothing urgent to attend to. He decided to invite this imperial confidant as well, and brought out all the guests and officials from the mansion. At this moment, after walking around the tower forest on the mountain, Luo Xuan did not say a single true word, looking left and right while speaking. Even Yang Jinzhou was frugal with his words, mostly silent most of the time. As a result, he felt unhappy no matter how good his temperament was.

  Despite this, when he just heard the arrogant words outside, his habit still took over, and he only stabbed a sentence indifferently. It wasn't until they exited the Moon Gate and saw that it was a shabbily dressed scholar that he finally lowered his face and stopped speaking. Seeing this situation, Jin He, the eunuch who followed him closely, understood in his heart and hurriedly glanced at Zhi Yong, who was presiding over the ceremony on the side.

  Zhiyong hastily joined his palms together and apologized, saying: "Your Highness, please forgive the offense. Earlier, I had already ordered someone to cleanse the temple. According to reason, only people from the Yangning Marquis's estate should come to pay their respects; others shouldn't be allowed in..."

  "Your Highness, it's not a big deal, let's just forget about it!" The Crown Prince of Weiguo, Luo Xuan, waved his hand indifferently and smiled at the King of Jin: "That old monk also mentioned earlier that someone from the Yangning Marquis' residence came today, but I don't know who it is. Today there are many people, why not go over and meet them?"

  The King of Jin, although he has some dealings with the Yangning Marquis's estate due to his relationship with the queen, looks down on the current Yangning Marquis Chen Jue. So when the Yangning Marquis suddenly fell into prison, he was surprised but remained unmoved and uninterested in the queen's proposal. The meritorious nobles nominally controlled the army, but actually only commanded troops, and had no military power in their hands on a daily basis. After the death of Chen Yong, the previous Yangning Marquis, the actual strength of the Chen family in the military was greatly reduced. Even if he helped a child become the new Yangning Marquis, what would be the use?

  So, he didn't think much of Luo Xun's proposal and shook his head with a smile: "The Yangning Hou Mansion has just caused trouble, and this king is related to them. How can I pass on such words without solid evidence? Besides, there are ladies involved, what do you want me to say?"

  Luoxuan lazily yawned and smiled slyly: "We're all relatives, what's the harm in chatting for a bit?"

  The young Su Yi, since learning the identity of the person above, after the initial shock, immediately became lively in his heart. He had been known as a child prodigy since childhood, and at the age of twelve he passed the imperial examination to become a scholar, and at sixteen he passed the provincial examination to become a candidate for the imperial court. This time, coming to participate in the imperial examination, he was full of great confidence, with dreams of becoming a high-ranking official filling his heart. At this moment, the noble person was right in front of him, and his mind was almost entirely filled with stories of virtuous ministers meeting wise rulers, so not only did he not kneel down to pay respects, but instead added several gestures of arrogance, looking down on the officials.

  But he never expected that the two people talking would not even glance at him, only focusing on their own conversation. Instead, it was the person wearing a green cloak who walked over slowly from behind. He thought the other person would at least ask him a couple of questions, but to his surprise, the young man didn't stop at all and directly passed by him, continuing to walk forward. For a moment, the anger of being ignored surged up.

  The King of Jin and Luo Xun exchanged a couple of words, only to see Yang Jinzhou turn around and walk away without even looking back. The king was taken aback, but quickly suppressed the annoyance in his heart and followed Luo Xun down the stairs. However, just as he stepped off the last step, he saw the young scholar from earlier suddenly take two steps forward, bow deeply, and then straighten up again.

  "The student had heard of the prince's reputation for a long time, but didn't expect that hearing about him was not as good as meeting him in person. As the saying goes, 'A thousand pieces of gold cannot buy a noble son to sit at home.' The prince, being the emperor's son, has a high status and assists his father in governing the country. If he has free time, he should read more books. This temple is just a few clay sculptures, this pagoda forest is just a few dry bones, why bother the prince to come and see it? What if there's danger? Moreover, the prince sent his personal guards to surround the temple inside and out, excluding all other pilgrims. If such disturbances were to spread, how would it benefit the prince's reputation? Furthermore..."

  Su Yi was talking non-stop and getting more and more into it when suddenly a voice came from behind.

  "Look at you, scholar, with your attire, are you a candidate coming to the capital for the imperial examination?"

  Su Yi was taken aback by the words, instinctively nodding his head, and a few hints of pride naturally appeared on his face. Yang Jinzhou, who had walked back, saw this expression and couldn't help but smile slightly: "Since you keep saying that this Buddhist temple is just a few clay sculptures, and this pagoda forest is just a few withered bones, then what is the point of a scholar like you, who will soon be entering the Imperial Academy, coming here to do?"

  Look at this scholar who was just talking loudly, suddenly got stuck. Yang Jinzhou said slowly: "You said that the son of a wealthy family should not sit in a humble hall, naturally it means that Your Highness's identity is noble and shouldn't wear casual clothes to avoid being teased by common people. Since so, Your Highness brought enough guards on this trip, cleaned up the temple beforehand, which is natural, how can you let ordinary people come in and make this place chaotic, and then put yourself in danger?"

  He paused slightly at this point, then smiled and said: "There are many great principles in the world, it's just a matter of how you turn them around. I think you're too impatient, if you were writing an essay for the exam, it would be the same. This year's exam might not go well."

  It was Yang Jinzhou who spoke, he walked slowly past Su Yi's side, who was as still as a wooden chicken, and only then arrived in front of the King of Jin and Luo Xu. He cupped his hands again and said: "Your Highness, Crown Prince, I just remembered something, so I'll take my leave first!"

  The King of Jin had already lost interest, but after hearing Yang Jingzhou's words, he suddenly felt that this guy's temperament was somewhat suitable for his taste, so he immediately grabbed him: "Don't try to deceive me with those nonsense words! You said earlier today that you have a holiday! As Luo Xian said, let's go to the temple and bother Master Zhiyong for a cup of tea. The spring water in this temple is good, if it weren't for the Emperor Taizu's imperial seal suppressing it, just coming to ask for spring water would be enough to give him a headache!"

  Zhiyong smiled and said, "Prince Jin is teasing me. Although the spring water here is good, it can't compare to the Jade Spring on Yuquan Mountain, where the Taizu Emperor himself wrote an inscription. Who doesn't know that the emperor treats Prince Jin with exceptional favor? Even the jade spring water provided in the palace is of the highest quality?"

  Everyone loves to be flattered, and King Jin was no exception. He laughed loudly while teasing Zhiyong a few times, then looked at Yang Jizhou with his eyes. Yang Jizhou couldn't resist Luo Xuan's persuasion and finally agreed. The three of them left in a grand manner surrounded by a large entourage, ignoring Su Yi who was still standing there stupidly and Su Wan'er whose face had turned bright red.

  "Why... why is it different from what's written in the book?!"

  Su Wan'er looked at the three people wearing brocade clothes, then turned her head to look at her big brother who was shaking his head in a daze, and immediately let out a sigh of relief. She ordered the little servant boy and maid who had been stunned beside her to go and support Su Yi, but in her heart she was very regretful. If it wasn't for Su Yi's foolish impulsiveness, they would have not only met the sister and brother from the Yangning Marquis Manor, but also left a good impression on the noble people, achieving two goals with one move!

  PS: Tonight is Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas to everyone! Although my family didn't celebrate Christmas in previous years, the Christmas stockings and hats that I've received as limited-time rewards so far can already fill up half a house, thank you all!