Chapter 80 Breaking the Ice
Ah Hao only had a food allergy. Ling Xiao had come to see her, and after two doses of medicine, the red bumps on her body gradually disappeared. The maids even applied ointment to the scratches on her body. Zhang Yu kept his word, and the next day Song Shuhao was sent out of the palace without anyone saying goodbye.
For as many years as Ah Hao had been in the palace, she hadn't visited Jingyun Nunnery. The bluestone path and black-tiled eaves were more mottled and old than she remembered, and the walls in many places had peeled off, no longer smooth and clean. The incense here wasn't strong, but it was quiet and, being located halfway up the mountain, the scenery was pleasant.
Knowing that she wouldn't go far even after leaving the palace, Ah Hao didn't want to go anywhere. She didn't want to stay in the palace, nor did she want to return to the Song residence, so she thought of this place.
All her belongings from the palace were transported to Jingyun Nunnery by carriage. Abbess Jingyun, who had some connection with Ah Hao's mother, still remembered her and arranged a quiet wing room for her to live in.
Ah Hao took out some money from her private savings as a token of gratitude, under the guise of offering incense money. Once she arrived at Jingyun Nunnery, unlike at Yuanshu Pavilion, she was no longer constantly watched by people who seemed to have four eyes and eight ears. Zhang Yu no longer sent anyone to follow her, and Ah Hao lived alone in this courtyard, rarely disturbed by the other people in Jingyun Nunnery.
After moving into Jingyun Nunnery, Ahao began to live a peaceful life, far removed from all the strife and intrigue. The air on the mountain was wonderful; even in the sweltering summer, it wasn't hot at all. Most of the time, Ahao stayed in the courtyard, taking care of herself.
Sometimes, Ah-Hao would go for a walk along the mountain path; the scenery was most beautiful at sunrise or sunset. In the courtyard where she lived, there were large clumps of white gardenias, and now that they were in bloom, the cool night breeze would often carry their fragrance into the house. There were also several grapevines in the yard, their vines twining around the trellis, their lush green leaves providing shade.
Ah Hao lived and ate alone, not with the nuns at Jingyun Nunnery. If she needed to buy something, she would give money to a young nun who was going down the mountain to beg for alms to bring it back for her. When she was in the palace, she could barely be considered to have lived a life of luxury, but here she followed the local customs and ate simple meals, yet she did not find it difficult to adapt.
Seeing that everyone in the nunnery grew their own vegetables and fruits, Ah Hao asked the young nun to help her buy a small hoe and seeds. She also asked the young nun to teach her how to plant some things in the yard. Apart from copying scriptures and chanting Buddhist prayers, she was busy with some trivial matters every day, but she was always at ease. Even if she wasn't exactly happy, she no longer felt sad or miserable.
Master Jingyun would occasionally visit Ahao for a short while, but she always said that Ahao had not yet severed her worldly desires and should not come to such a place. Ahao would just smile, neither arguing nor saying much, but quietly accompany Master Jingyun for a few cups of vegetarian tea.
One day, there were constant noises near Jingyun Nunnery. When Ahao went for a walk, she noticed that construction seemed to be underway on a plot of land to the left of the nunnery. The young nun in the nunnery told her that a Buddhist temple was being built there. But how could she know it was a Buddhist temple when the foundation had only just been laid? Ahao was skeptical.
On the day that the vegetables and fruits that Ahao planted in the yard sprouted tender shoots, Prince Ning and Lingxiao came to visit her. She picked two bunches of newly ripened, jade-like grapes from the yard to treat them, brewed a pot of flower tea for the two of them, and then cooked a meal.
Ling Xiao was dumbfounded when he saw the vegetables, tofu, steamed egg custard, and vegetarian cucumber laid out on the table. He wanted to shake Song Shuhao's shoulders and ask her what the point of a life without meat was! But when he saw Ahao's calm and contented expression, he couldn't help but facepalm.
"Ah Hao, are you planning to renounce worldly life, purify your heart and reduce your desires, and then ascend to immortality after forty-nine days?"
Ling Xiao struggled to control himself, refraining from chuckling out loud, lest he offend the person before him who seemed utterly devoid of any worldly charm. Ah Hao had indeed left the palace, but Ling Xiao hadn't expected her to leave for this kind of life.
"But it's not right to be so unruly and disregard the rules when living in this nunnery with the nuns." Ah Hao smiled and didn't talk much about herself. When she asked about Ling Xiao and Prince Ning, they both simply said that everything was fine.
Just before leaving, Prince Ning told A-Hao some news related to the inner palace: the Empress had passed away a few nights ago. Upon hearing this news, A-Hao was stunned for a moment, but asked, "Shouldn't the palace be busy? How come you have time to come here?" Prince Ning seemed to want to say something, but Ling Xiao interrupted him, and the two left together a short while later.
Seven days later, Xia Mingzhe accompanied Zhang Xin to the garden. The vegetables and fruits that Ahao had planted in the yard had sprouted tender green seedlings. Zhang Xin was very interested when she saw them and excitedly helped water them.
Ah Hao cut all the ripe grapes off the vine and returned them to the nuns in the temple. The grapes still hanging on the vine were not yet ripe, so Zhang Xin and Xia Mingzhe were unable to taste them.
However, Ah Hao happened to have some fresh and sweet peaches sent by the nuns, so she washed them and served them. She also brewed a pot of flower tea and cooked a meal for them.
Looking at the vegetarian tofu, cucumber and egg, and steamed eggplant on the table, Zhang Xin felt like crying. With teary eyes, she asked A-Hao, "Is this how a human being lives? Why torture yourself like this?" Poor Xia Mingzhe didn't have time to cover her mouth.
When Ahao asked Zhang Xin how she had been these days, Zhang Xin cupped her face in her hands and smiled, saying, "I am who I am, a firework of a different color." Ahao was stunned. Zhang Xin then said, "Aren't the things Aunt Ling taught me particularly interesting?" Ahao couldn't help but laugh.
After the meal, Zhang Xin pulled Ahao aside to talk. She first brought up the matter of Xia Mingzhe going out to drink and carouse, which had been bothering her, saying, "I knew he wasn't that kind of person who would do something so improper. How could Tenth Brother talk such nonsense?"
After muttering to herself for a few more minutes, she turned to persuade Ah Hao, "You're so pitiful here, you can't even get two ounces of meat. Can't you come back to the palace with me?" Suddenly remembering something, Zhang Xin became indignant.
"Ah Hao, you have no idea, my Emperor brother misses you so much. He's lost so much weight these days, he can't eat or sleep. Some people even dress up as you and imitate your voice to hang around in front of him. The other day I went to see my Emperor brother and he saw me like that. I immediately..." He had her tied up and dragged to a corner and beaten until her head was a pig's head!
Before Zhang Xin could finish speaking, Xia Mingzhe covered her mouth and dragged her away. Ahao saw them off from Jingyun Nunnery, smiling as they all boarded the carriage. Only after they had gone far away did she return to her own courtyard.
·
Back in the palace, Zhang Xin, fearless of anything, rushed to the Xuanzhi Hall and began to nag Zhang Yu, who was busy reviewing memorials without even looking up, almost bursting into tears.
“Brother Emperor, you really don’t know, Ah Hao has become so thin in such a short time! She’s skin and bones, you know? You can’t even pinch two ounces of flesh off her body, you know? Do you know what she eats every day? Vegetables! Tofu! It’s so pitiful, I can’t bear to see her like this! She’s so depressed and always looking so sad, you know? Brother Emperor, please go and bring Ah Hao back…”
Seeing that Zhang Yu had no reaction, Zhang Xin tried again for another fifteen minutes, but still received no response. She almost bit her handkerchief in frustration. Zhang Yu finally raised his head, but asked indifferently, "That's it?" Zhang Xin wanted to burst into tears, and stomped her foot angrily as she left. Zhang Yu, however, just lowered his head and picked up the unread memorials to continue reviewing.
Later, Princess Zhang Jin also arrived at Xuanzhi Hall to find Zhang Yu. She was followed by a palace maid carrying a food box. Zhang Jin took the food box and placed it on a corner of the dragon table. After the palace maid left, she said, "How can you not eat more than a few bites every day? You've become so thin in just a few days."
Zhang Jin took out the food from the food box one by one, pointed to several dishes, and said to Zhang Yu, "Can't you eat whatever she eats? Vegetarian tofu, steamed eggplant, cucumber and eggs, that's all. If you keep putting yourself through this, who among us will be better off?"
Zhang Yu neatly arranged the approved memorials, glanced at Zhang Jin, and said indifferently, "You're the ones who're making a mess of things." Zhang Jin was silent for a moment, then said, "The Empress Dowager has gone to Hanshan Palace to recuperate. You haven't touched any of the many concubines in the palace. You've done so much for her, isn't that enough? The two of you, one like a nun and the other like a monk... it's truly admirable."
“It has nothing to do with her.” Zhang Yu stood up, ignoring Zhang Jin, and went straight into the cubicle. After being repeatedly rejected, Zhang Jin was almost out of breath, but she didn’t chase after him, nor did she care about the food, and strode out of the main hall.
Seeing that Prince Ning, the little princess, and the eldest princess had all failed to curry favor with His Majesty, Lü Yuan sighed as he looked at Lü Chuan. Lü Chuan, who was usually expressionless, was nudged by Lü Yuan, who was also waiting for orders outside the hall, and he sighed as well.
He looked up at the sky and said, "What are His Majesty and Aunt Song going to do now? Aunt Song has gone to a nunnery, which is bad enough, but His Majesty has ordered a Buddhist temple to be built next to it. Could it be that His Majesty is planning to..." Lu Yuan imagined the scene and closed his eyes without thinking.
Lu Chuan, without glancing to the side, calmly said to Lu Yuan, "The Buddhist temple has been under construction for some time now. Given His Majesty's meticulous nature, it would be appropriate to go and take a look and inspect it now."
Hearing his words and understanding their meaning, Lü Yuan raised his hand to touch his chin, then slapped his thigh and laughed, "Hey, Xiao Chuanzi, you're quite something!" He then nudged him, "Since that's the case, why don't you hurry up and go in to remind His Majesty?"
Lu Chuan turned to look at Lu Yuan, his tone still calm, "Considering that we've worked together for so many years, I will definitely remember to collect your body."
Lü Yuan: "...You really are a good person."
Zhang Yu was reclining in a chaise lounge with his eyes closed, when he heard Lü Yuan's voice coming from outside the crystal beaded curtain. He asked, "What time is it?" Lü Yuan replied that it was a quarter past the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), and only then did Zhang Yu ask what was going on.
Lu Yuan bowed and said in a low voice, "A letter just arrived from outside the palace, saying that the temple has been under construction for some time... I wonder if Your Majesty would like to go and see for yourself?"
After a long silence from Zhang Yu, Lü Yuan silently wiped away a tear in his eye, thinking that poor Xiao Chuanzi was probably really going to be collecting his corpse this time. Suddenly, he felt a shadow loom over him. Without looking up, Lü Yuan knew it was Zhang Yu.
The next moment, Zhang Yu passed Lü Yuan, but Lü Yuan heard him utter a single word, "Go." His sorrow turned to joy, and he hurriedly bowed and followed.
·
While preparing dinner, Ah Hao accidentally cut her finger with a knife. She went back to her room and searched everywhere for her first-aid kit. She clearly remembered putting it in the cabinet, but she couldn't find it. She had to check every box and compartment to make sure it was there.
While searching, Ah Hao inadvertently opened a wooden box, inside which were familiar items—embroidery patterns, kites, sword tassels, and a box containing rabbit lanterns that she had specially retrieved and stored back in the palace.
Besides these familiar items, there was also a note in the box. The note had a sentence written in bold, powerful strokes that sounded like a question: "If you're willing to keep it, why don't you take it with you?" Ah Hao stared at the words for a moment, stunned.
Coming to her senses, she put the note back, closed the wooden box, found the medicine box, treated her finger wound, and then prepared dinner. After eating and bathing, she sat in the courtyard for a while to cool off before going back to her room to sleep. She had a rare dream, though she didn't know what it was about, but she woke up after a little over an hour.