Yu Yichen smiled and said, "There are people here to take care of things. They also need to eat, so they don't have to wait for me to come before they can use this. However, this was originally prepared for you, so I can't let them eat it."
He stopped playing the zither and sat down facing Zhenshu, saying softly, "In my mother's hometown, if a woman takes a fancy to another man, she can go to his field in the middle of the night to steal a vegetable and ask him to catch her, which means she has agreed to the marriage."
Yu Yichen grabbed Zhen Shu's hand and held it under the lamp: "Look, the mud stains on her hands from stealing scallions are still fresh. What should we do?"
He always found a way to shift the blame onto her. Zhenshu withdrew her hands from her bosom and lowered her head, saying, "If you're willing to leave here with me, I'll marry you tonight if you leave tonight. If you leave tomorrow morning, I'll marry you tomorrow morning. But as long as you're still in the capital, I can't marry you."
Yu Yichen said, "Alright, I believe the young shopkeeper's promise. But you must still remember that as long as I am alive, you cannot marry anyone."
Zhenshu suddenly remembered Du Yu and the way he had once lay on top of her, and a chill ran down her spine.
Yu Yichen added, "If I find out that you married that man, I will kill him with my own hands and take you back."
The image of Du Yu flashed through Zhen Shu's mind, then disappeared, then reappeared. Her heart pounded as she stared blankly at Yu Yichen, only to see him pull her head towards him and seal his lips with his. Zhen Shu was still haunted by the memory of that day on the bed at Du Yu's house. She had no memory of it before, but now she remembered it all.
Suddenly, the sound of a zither came from afar. Zhenshu turned around and saw a zither player sitting in the flower garden downstairs. A candle flickered in front of them. Yu Yichen also pulled the zither over and held it in his arms, playing along with the music.
The sound of strings rose, still lingering and far-reaching, accompanied by the melody of flutes below, intertwining and soaring into the dark clouds. The woman in the center began to sing, her voice as melodious as a nightingale's song: "There is a beautiful woman, whom I cannot forget once I have seen her. If I do not see her for a day, I am driven mad with longing."
Following the sound of Yu Yichen's zither, a male voice began to sing, deep and resonant: "The phoenix soars high, seeking its mate across the four seas. Alas, the fair maiden is not on the eastern wall."
Zhen Shu also knelt and sat upright on the platform, glancing sideways at Yu Yichen, who was also smiling as he watched her play the zither. She then looked at the zither player in the flower garden. The woman's voice sang again: "Let the zither speak for me, to express my heartfelt feelings. I wish to be worthy of your virtue, to walk hand in hand with you."
A man's voice echoed: "When will I be granted permission to fly with you, to soothe my wandering heart? Unable to soar, I am doomed."
As the music grew brighter, the male and female singers began to sing together. Their deep, resonant voices rose into the night sky along with the music.
The song ended, and the music ceased. The musician and the singers bowed respectfully from afar and quietly withdrew. Zhenshu wanted to ask where the elderly singer had gone, but then she thought that, like Sun Yuan before her, he had probably killed them all.
Zhenshu smiled and said, "This is 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate.' I've read the poem, but I've never heard the music."
Yu Yichen, still plucking the strings of his zither, asked, "Are you moved?"
☆、110|Chapter 110
Zhen Shu pushed the zither away and climbed into his arms to sit down. She wrapped her arms around Yu Yichen's neck and whispered, "I'm moved. Even if you don't play or sing, as long as you sit in front of me, I'm moved, I'm moved at all times."
After saying that, she lowered her eyes and chuckled softly. Yu Yichen suddenly pulled her up and ran into the house: "Come on, let's wash your dirty little hands."
He started teasing her in the bathroom, teasing her until she couldn't resist throwing herself at him. They lingered on the bed for a long time, their tongues locked in a passionate kiss, when suddenly she felt something warm and hard push inside her. Because of how intense their encounter on the Lantern Festival had been, she was almost unable to walk. Afraid he would hurt her again, she clenched her legs and asked, "What is that?"
He reached down and touched it casually, finding a hard object that looked like a man's penis. Startled, he quickly dropped it and asked, "What is this?"
Yu Yichen said, "I thought you would like it."
Zhenshu swallowed hard to moisten her mouth before saying, "Everything else is fine, but this is no good. You can never use it."
Yu Yichen brushed a strand of her hair aside and tossed it across her face, covering her eyebrows and eyes, before smiling and saying, "Okay, never need to."
He gradually withdrew, kissing her all over before releasing his pleasure. Afterwards, the two lay together in each other's arms. Zhenshu was about to fall asleep when she suddenly heard Yu Yichen whisper in her ear, "Before I met you, even though my life and fate were like this, I had no regrets. It was only after meeting you that I began to feel regret."
Zhenshu heard Yu Yichen's sincere words and knew that his heart must be broken at this moment. She nestled in his arms and said, "I love you. I love your broken body and your strange soul. I love everything about you. Even if you commit a sin, I am willing to share half of the punishment with you in front of the King of Hell. However, in the future, if you do not have to protect yourself, you must never do anything that is immoral or immoral again, okay?"
Yu Yichen said, "Okay!"
The two slept soundly and woke up at four in the morning. Yu Yichen still had to go to court early, and Zhenshu had been out all night. If she didn't go home now, she was afraid that Su Shi and Zhenyi would accidentally find that no one was in her room and become anxious. So they got up together, washed up, hitched up the carriage, and left Chuanzi Hutong.
Because many people stay up all night during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people occasionally chat or doze off around bonfires on the street, or recite poems and drink wine.
Upon reaching the East Market intersection, Zhenshu insisted on getting out of the carriage. Yu Yichen, fearing troublemakers might cause trouble in the middle of the night, also got out and accompanied her to the mounting shop. They hadn't gone far when suddenly a person darted out of the darkness, grabbed Zhenshu's hand, and asked, "Song Zhenshu, where did you go last night?"
Zhen Shu was startled by Du Yu's words, and with Yu Yichen beside her, she asked directly, "Where do you think I went?"
Du Yu said, "Your mother came home in the middle of the night and was scared half to death when she found you were not there. We searched for you all over the capital all night."
Yu Yichen stepped forward and asked, "Does the Deputy Inspector still oversee street patrols in the East Market?"
Du Yu had seen Yu Yichen following him and knew that he had abducted Zhenshu again last night. He had also gone to the Yu residence to look for her, but after knocking for a long time, he couldn't get the door open. Yu Yichen was a eunuch, with no relatives or friends, and didn't care about the consequences. The people in the mounting shop thought that Zhenshu had gone out in the middle of the night and had gotten into trouble. They had searched for her all night and were scared half to death. Thinking of this, they were anxious and angry, and they mustered up their courage and replied, "She is my wife, of course I can take care of her."
"Shut up and get out!" Zhen Shu shouted angrily when she saw Du Yu say such things.
Yu Yichen was somewhat stunned. He drew his sword and pointed it at Du Yu, saying, "Say it again."
He said more than once, "If I find out that you married that man, I will kill him with my own hands and take you back."
Fearing that Yu Yichen would really kill Du Yu, Zhen Shu quickly pushed Du Yu aside and held out her hand in front of him, saying, "He's just drunk and talking nonsense here. Don't mind him. Go to the palace quickly."
Du Yu pulled Zhen Shu aside from behind and stepped forward to meet Yu Yichen's sword, saying, "We bowed to heaven and earth and entered the bridal chamber three years ago. As long as I live and she lives, we are a proper husband and wife. She is my wife."
Yu Yichen saw Zhen Shu run into his arms, crying and shaking her head, saying something, but he couldn't understand a word. Suddenly, he raised his sword and thrust it towards Du Yu's chest. Zhen Shu was afraid that he would kill Du Yu, and she was also afraid that he would hurt himself. She grabbed the blade of the sword and cried out, "He is the bandit from Wuling Mountain three years ago."
Yu Yichen suddenly recalled the night Zhenshu nestled in his arms and wept bitterly in the inn at the Liu Family Village market. She had said, "I did it willingly."
She added, "He's a liar. He cheated me. I thought he was just a farmhand. I even considered starting a business with him, but he was just a liar after all. And I was just a fool who was easily fooled."
No wonder she exuded anxiety whenever Du Yu appeared; her expression and eyes seemed to wish him dead. He was her lover from her teenage years, the object of her sexual awakening, a real man.
Yu Yichen suddenly found it somewhat laughable and asked Zhenshu softly, "So, he stole Liu Zhang's dog?"
Zhen Shu said, "That's right."
How ridiculous! He was the one who gave her that dog. There was a time when Shih Tzus were rampant in the Eastern Palace, so he gave one to each of the wealthy families in various places who had contributed money and effort. It was the dog he gave away that brought them together, which led her to the capital because of her tarnished reputation, and then to her meeting him through mounting calligraphy and paintings.
This destiny, after going through so many twists and turns, had actually been there all along. In a casual remark he made while frowning, their paths crossed and their eventual separation was already predetermined.
Yu Yichen dragged his sword forward, the blade scraping against the cold stone slab with a piercing, metallic sound. He knew his steps were unsteady, his back view somewhat desolate and forlorn. Behind him, his beloved girl and her first love were watching, but he couldn't care less. The sound of the sword pierced his heart, like dust rising from a desolate, empty wasteland.
That's right. It was his shopkeeper who gave Du Yu the message, which is why Du Yu rushed to the emperor's aid in time. She was so righteous and kind-hearted that no matter how he tried to persuade, coax, or educate her, her mind would never change.
He was a born villain who fell in love with a kind-hearted woman. He wanted to teach her to do evil, but he was powerless to do so. He didn't mind her betrayal, but he was distressed by his own powerlessness. He couldn't bring her to his side, let her put down the burdens of the world, and live with him with a clear conscience.
Zhenshu turned around and saw Du Yu still standing there. She was so angry that she raised her hand and slapped him across the face, saying, "Are you happy now?"
After saying this, she stormed off to the mounting shop, followed by Madam Su and Zhao He. Once they reached the upper floor of the small building, Madam Su pointed at Zhenshu and scolded, "You're becoming more and more dissolute and shameless! You actually spent the whole night with that eunuch and didn't come home. Do you know we searched every street and alley in the entire capital?"
Zhenshu turned around and asked, "If you can personally send me to a man's bed, why can't I go to a man's bed myself?"
Enraged, Madam Su slapped Zhenshu across the face and said, "You shameless wretch! I should have just burned your whole family to death at Caijia Temple. It would have been better than coming to the capital to embarrass yourself."
Zhen Shu sneered, "You're absolutely right."
Su was speechless after being choked by her, and after a long while she cursed angrily, "Everyone in the capital knows that Yu Yichen will be killed and skinned sooner or later. So many people wish they could eat his flesh and drink his blood. Just wait, one day he will be killed and hung on the city gate tower."
Zhen Shu replied bitterly, "If that day ever comes, if anyone wants to kill him, they must first step over my bones. As long as I have a breath left, I will never let anyone kill him first."
Su collapsed to the ground, pounding her fist and crying out, "Father, why did you die so young, leaving me to suffer this alone? Why wasn't it me who died?"
Zhenyi came over and pulled Su Shi away, saying, "Mother, go back to your room and sleep. Second Sister is also feeling sad."
Madam Su slapped the ground and said, "What's wrong with her? If she still cares about us, she should go find Du Yu and live a good life. She has such a bright future, why should she get involved with a eunuch? Is that something a human being should do?"
Zhenyi struggled to help Su Shi up and dragged her towards her bedroom. Zhenshu took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off her hands, then wrapped her hands in another handkerchief before going inside. Just then, she saw Du Yu walking up the stairs with heavy steps, carrying a bottle of medicine and handing it to her, saying, "Apply the medicine and then wrap it up, otherwise you'll catch a cold."
Zhenshu took it and saw that he was still standing there, not leaving. She whispered, "No matter what you think of him, what you say about him, I still love him. Just as I didn't mind that you were a farmhand, I don't mind that he's a eunuch, so..."
Du Yu said, "I understand!"
After saying that, he went downstairs and left.
On the seventeenth, Yu Yichen rode in a small blue sedan chair, accompanied by a few attendants, and traveled lightly to Xiangguo Temple in the Wuling Mountains outside the city. The sedan chair stopped outside the mountain gate, but he did not enter the main hall. Instead, he went around the lotus-covered release pond that greeted the entrance, passed the dining hall on the left, and followed a path up a gentle slope to the gate of a small courtyard.
There were two young monks standing in front of the gate, and several small monks with round heads carrying loads and hoes were also carved in stone. Yu Yichen put his hands together and said in a low voice, "Please inform Master Kusheng that Yu Yichen has come to see him."
The two young monks greeted each other with their palms together. One of them went into the courtyard and came out a moment later, saying, "Master, please come in, sir."
Yu Yichen took off his black cloak and tossed it to Sun Yuan, then straightened his clothes before pushing open the door and entering. This small courtyard was personally built by him; it was sparsely furnished, with a spacious and bright meditation hall. At this moment, the hall was bathed in sunlight, exuding a warm and inviting atmosphere. Yu Yichen knelt outside the door and announced loudly, "Disciple Yu Yichen requests an audience!"
After a long while, an aged voice from inside replied, "Come in!"
Yu Yichen took off his shoes and slowly stepped inside, where he saw the elderly Master Kusheng, sitting on the meditation platform in the northwest corner where the sunlight was just right. Behind him on the wall was a square piece of calligraphy by the late Song Gongzheng, with four large characters written on it: "All dharmas are empty of form".
Yu Yichen went to the Buddha shrine, first pressing his right palm onto the prayer mat, then kneeling with his knees spread apart on the mat, then pressing his left palm onto the mat, and then turning both palms over to touch the Buddha's feet, bowing in a prostration. He bowed three times in this manner before getting up, walking around the scripture hall, and going to the feet of Master Kusheng on the other side, where he performed the proper prostration again before straightening up and remaining silent.
Two years ago, Yu Yichen, in pursuit of Zhen Shu, had this old monk and his entourage bound and imprisoned for a long time at Wanshou Temple. This time, seeking answers to his inner doubts, he disregarded the old monk's objections and forcibly brought him here from Wanshou Temple. He thought the old monk must be extremely angry at this moment, and although he had come to worship with utmost sincerity, he was still uneasy in his heart.
Master Kusheng smiled and pulled Yu Yichen up with one hand, saying in a low voice, "You've finally come to see me."
Yu Yichen was a cold-hearted person. When he touched the old monk's soft yet rough hands, he gently stepped back and stood two steps away, saying, "This place should have been managed by the Master, but it was too crude in previous years. I had people repair it before I dared to welcome the Master."
Master Kusheng smiled and waved his hand: "Don't bother with those empty formalities. You came here with a guilty conscience; if you had no doubts, why would you have come?"
This proves that he was willing to answer his questions.
Yu Yichen strolled to the Buddhist shrine, gazing intently at the small seal script on the banners flanking him: "Burning incense and contemplating the mind, silently purifying the heart."
"I recently read a book, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, written by the Venerable Xuanzang. However, the book only briefly describes the scenery, and I still have some questions in my mind. The journey to the west was long and arduous for the holy monk. What was it that motivated him to make the journey?"
Master Kusheng scrutinized the tall, thin man's back, which was draped in a wide, flowing cloak, and asked, "What do you think it is, sir?"
Yu Yichen turned around, his lips pursed and his eyebrows raised: "Obsession!"
Master Kusheng smiled as he looked at the eunuch whose inner demons were ingrained in his bones, and asked softly, "Why?"
☆、111| Witty Remarks
Yu Yichen said, "If he hadn't been so determined to find the true scriptures, he should have retreated when crossing the snow mountain, he would have gotten lost in the quicksand, and he should have spent his life in India after receiving the glory of the Wuzhe Assembly. But he came back because of his determination, the determination to find the true scriptures and save the world."
The phrase "misinterpreting the meaning of scriptures" probably best describes this kind of person.
"Am I right?" Seeing that the monk was speechless, Yu Yichen asked again, "Does the monk have any clever words to refute this?"
Master Kusheng was still smiling when he finally said, “Young man, your obsession is too deep. You can neither argue with nor understand witty words.”
Yu Yichen smiled, thinking he had won the argument with the old monk. He knelt down again to pay his respects before leaving.
He now has a single conviction in his heart that sustained him through a day and a night, allowing him to stand up again. The vast scriptures are filled with profound wisdom and grace, but those with impure hearts can only see the conviction they themselves crave.
Thus, they misinterpreted the meaning of the scriptures.
That day, Liu Wensi, who was far away in Liujiazhuang, actually came to the mounting shop in the East Market. He saw Zhenshu sitting behind the counter, and pointed outside with a smile, saying, "Second sister is truly a hero. I have been traveling all the way from the East Market, and everyone is talking about you."
Zhenshu smiled and led him into the inner room, personally serving him tea before asking, "Brother Liu, what brings you to the capital?"
Liu Wensi said, “I saw your letter last time, saying that Zhang Rui was dead and that we should get married. I was very happy to hear that, but although Liujiazhuang is a rural village, there are many gossipy people. When Zhenyuan first went there, Zhang Rui was with her, and later I took over to look after her. There are even more gossips in the countryside, and what they say can be quite unpleasant. I was afraid that Zhenyuan would be upset if she stayed there too long and heard some unpleasant things. Also, my father left me some money for my studies over the next three years, so I decided to move to the capital and rent a courtyard to marry her. Just yesterday, I went to my godfather's house, and he said that he had a quiet and secluded courtyard, which he generously gave to me. I went to see it, and it was very comfortable inside. I plan to go and bring Zhenyuan and Xi'er here, and we can hold the wedding in the capital. I came here today to discuss this matter with you.”
Zhenshu, thinking he was referring to the small courtyard in Chuanzi Lane, quickly said, "That's good! You haven't wasted your time as a godson. Is that courtyard near the East Market?"
Liu Wensi said, "No. It's on the west side of the city, not far from my godfather's residence."
Zhen Shu said, "I have prepared all the auspicious clothes and gifts. However, I am afraid that the dowry is far less than that of other wealthy women. I hope Brother Liu will not find it distasteful."