Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 247 Concubine of Concubines

There was a heavy storm at night, and the sounds of wind, rain, and petals falling to the ground were all pleasing to the ears.

The sound of wind and rain accompanied Xiaocai's nightmare for half the night. He rubbed his chest and said to Wang Heng behind the screen: "Seventh brother, I am exhausted. This night, I just lived three lives. At first, I was a fisherman from Wuling who was traveling along the stream. Suddenly, I came across a peach blossom forest. Just as I was about to get off the boat to explore the Peach Blossom Spring, a gust of wind swept me to the vast ocean. Nezha the Third Prince made a riot in the East China Sea, and shrimp soldiers and crab generals came to join the battle. In a flash, huge waves rolled, the sky was dark, and I was about to be buried in the belly of the fish. I woke up with a start. The store owner cooked yellow millet rice and brought it to me. Taoist Lu looked at me sinisterly and asked me to go and become his disciple. I was scared to death and quickly smashed the yellow millet rice bowl. Only then did my soul escape back."

Wang Heng was half asleep. When he heard the yellow rice, he jumped up and stamped his feet, saying, "Oh no, oh no, Xiaocai, did you hear the breakfast bell ring?"

Xiaocai took two steps at a time, opened the curtain and looked at the sky. There was a light rain outside the window. Although the light was dim, it was obvious that it was already late. They had been busy and toiled all day yesterday, so they overslept today.

"You thief bald donkey, you didn't come to call us even after mealtime." Xiaocai put on his leather boots and trotted to the dining hall of the villa.

The wooden door of the dining hall was ajar; breakfast time had already passed. The young monk was scrubbing the table and sweeping the floor. When he saw the two men running over, he moved out the porridge bucket that had already been moved to the kitchen.

There was still some porridge left in the porridge bucket. Fortunately, the young monk had a conscience and left some dried radish and yellow earth for them.

Jubao Temple has strict disciplines, and the monks' meals are simple and crude, which makes the two young men quite miserable. They have been on the mountain for seven days, and the dry snacks they brought with them had long been distributed. Yesterday, they went to Jiangning County and were unfamiliar with the area, so they did not replenish their food in time. If they cannot eat the porridge in the dining hall now, they will be hungry for half a day.

"There are still six days left." Xiaocai said while counting on his fingers.

Wang Heng was concentrating on drinking his porridge when he suddenly heard the loud sound of bells and chimes from the direction of Jubao Temple, as well as the sound of Buddhist horns blown by conch shells.

Xiaocai listened for a moment and said, "The cremation ceremony of Monk Guangheng has probably begun."

Wang Heng was wondering whether Guang Heng's eldest brother, Master Chen, had arrived, so he quickly drank two bowls of porridge, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and walked towards the gate of the villa.

Xiaocai was not that quick, so he drank all the porridge with his head covered, and then took a few quick steps to catch up.

The rain gradually stopped, and the mountain breeze blew on my face, making the air fresh and pleasant.

When he reached the gate, he ran into the young monk Wuming. Wuming put his hands together and bowed, saying with a smile, "My two benefactors, the abbot asked me to invite you two. I happened to run into you, which saved me a trip."

Xiaocai asked, "Wuming, has Master Guangheng's elder brother, Master Chen, come today?"

Wu Ming was now assigned to run errands for Zhang Xiru. He was well-informed and immediately replied, "Chen Tanyue was shocked when he heard that Senior Brother Guangheng was murdered. He is very ill. The Chen family sent Senior Brother Guangheng's nephew to come."

Xiaocai was very disappointed. Wang Heng turned aside and asked, "Do you know why Mr. Zhang wants to see us?"

"Just now, a distinguished guest came to the temple." Wu Ming said, "He was accompanied by an official from the Honglu Temple in Nanjing. He is a prince of the Joseon Dynasty. The official from the Honglu Temple said that this prince is the nephew of the king of the Joseon Dynasty. The two sons of the Joseon King are still young and have not yet been granted the title of Crown Prince. This prince is the third in line to the throne."

"Prince of the Li Dynasty?" Wang Heng and Xiaocai were both a little surprised.

"Prince Joseon heard that our temple's Sutra Library has a handwritten translation of the Golden Light Sutra by an Indian monk named Zhendi from the Liang Dynasty of Southern Dynasties. Since the Queen Mother's anniversary is next month, he decided to copy a copy to pray for the Queen Mother to eliminate her karma." Wuming said, "Prince Joseon was very respectful, and the abbot thought it was not against the law, so he has allowed him to copy the Golden Light Sutra in the Sutra Library. The abbot said that the two donors might be acquainted with Prince Joseon, so please go and greet him." "Could it be him?" Xiaocai looked at Wang Heng with suspicion.

Wang Heng frowned, obviously racking his brains to think.

Wuming led the way. The three of them entered the mountain gate and walked west along a winding path that led to a secluded place. Under thousands of green bamboos, a tea room with a tiled roof and paper windows appeared. This was a place they had never been to before, so it must be the place where the temple entertained guests.

After lifting the curtain and entering, I saw a tall and handsome young man sitting in the upper seat. This person was actually Li Bin, a student of the Li Dynasty and a classmate of his in the Zhengyi Hall of the Imperial College.

"Lord Jinyang." Wang Heng and Xiaocai bowed deeply. Only then did they realize that they might know each other. They had already guessed something.

Jinyang Jun Li Yan was a very good person in the Imperial College. Everyone thought he was an idle royal family member of the Li Dynasty, but no one expected that he was actually the nephew of King Li.

Li Wei seemed very happy to see the two of them. Huo De stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "I didn't expect to meet Brother Wang and Brother Xiaocai by chance in Jubao Temple. It's really fate."

Wang Heng and Li Fu had not been in contact with each other for more than half a year. During the Cold Food Festival holiday, they went to the Chaotian Palace Ghost Market together. They both became friends with the Lishan people and gradually became familiar with each other.

Li Wei turned around and told his five or six servants, "You guys go down the mountain. Xiao Wu will be the only one left to serve me."

The attendants bowed their heads and left.

Li Wei asked his attendant Xiao Wu to carry the luggage, and smiled at Wang Heng and Xiao Cai, "Zhang Siye asked me to follow you and live in the Vimalakirti Courtyard."

Wu Ming said: "After the ceremony at Liu's house was over, the east wing of the other courtyard was vacant, so donor Li was arranged to live in the east wing."

Since they were classmates in Nanjian, he had to greet Li Fu first. Wang Heng and his group passed by the release pond and walked back to the villa.

The young monk from the villa opened the door to the east wing. After Liu had gone down the mountain, the east wing had been completely cleaned and the windows were spotless, so there was no problem moving in right away.

The east wing was slightly larger than the west wing and had an additional entrance hall. Li Wei took out something from his bag, placed it on the niche in the entrance hall, and lit three incense sticks as an offering.

Wang Heng looked up and saw a tablet with the words “The spirit tablet of my late mother, Madam Jin”.

Xiaocai stared at it and was also shocked.

"Lord Jinyang, why did you bring the spirit tablet of the Queen Mother?" Wang Heng couldn't help but ask.

Li Yan looked sad: "My mother is not some imperial concubine. There is no place for her in the Li Dynasty. She is just a daughter of the Jin family, a concubine of a concubine."