Aoyama

Chapter 373 Human Heart
Jingyang Palace is divided into a main hall and a rear hall.

The side hall is divided into east and west sections. The east side hall is named Jingguanzhai, and the west side hall is named Gujianzhai. Jingguanzhai was where Xuanzhen lived, and Gujianzhai was where female Taoist priests wrote and meditated.

It was Zhu Lingyun's first time visiting Jingguanzhai, and she couldn't help but take a look at the furnishings.

Unlike the austere atmosphere of the rear hall...

In Jingguanzhai, towering bookshelves lined the walls, filled with Taoist scriptures.

On the other side was an embroidered couch, next to which was a table inlaid with mother-of-pearl. On the table was a hollowed-out bronze incense burner from which wisps of sandalwood fragrance wafted, and there was also a plate of candied fruit.

Xuanzhen pointed to the embroidered couch: "Sit down."

Zhu Lingyun instinctively stepped back, her back pressed against the tightly closed door: "What did you summon me for, Master?"

Xuanzhen smiled slightly: "You've been in charge of Jingyang Palace lately, has anyone disobeyed you?"

Zhu Lingyun replied warily, "No."

A few days ago, Xuanzhen told Bai Li and Zhu Lingyun that if they were willing to take over the duties, they would not have to kneel as punishment and could go back to the back hall to sleep.

Unable to hold on any longer, Zhu Lingyun secretly returned to the inner palace. From then on, Jingyang Palace was tacitly under her management, and she was given the Taoist name Xuanyun.

During this time, Zhu Lingyun did not have much contact with Xuanzhen and continued to listen to Baili in everything.

Xuanzhen pushed the plate of dried fruit toward Zhu Lingyun and said softly, "When you and Princess Baili first arrived, I had no intention of making things difficult for you. But I didn't expect that the villain Xuansu would act so arrogantly in the back hall and deliberately torment you two sisters."

Zhu Lingyun remained silent.

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Xuanzhen said slowly, "Xuanyun, you know in your heart that Jingyang Palace is a prison. Once you enter, you can never get out. You and I will have to spend decades together here. I don't ask you to become my best friends. I just want us to live in peace. Don't worry, if anyone disobeys you, just tell me. Take these candied fruits and share them with your sister. You haven't had candied fruit in a long time."

Zhu Lingyun was skeptical. She looked at the dried fruit on the table, swallowed hard, but finally insisted, "I won't eat your food."

Xuanzhen smiled and said, "It's alright if you don't eat them. By the way, the tribute fruits on the offering table will be changed today. When the eunuchs bring the new tribute fruits, you can take the ones that have been withdrawn and distribute them to everyone. It's up to you who you want to give them to... These aren't really my things, are they?"

Just then, a eunuch's voice came from outside the door: "Is the master in charge here?"

Xuanzhen waved his whisk: "The eunuch who is here to exchange the tribute fruit has arrived. Go."

Zhu Lingyun fled the side hall as if she were escaping.

She stood guard in the main hall, watching as the palace eunuch removed the nine peaches from the offering table and replaced them with new ones.

Zhu Lingyun used the hem of her Taoist robe to gather the offerings that had been taken down, and ran excitedly towards the back hall: "Sister!"

Bai Li was sweeping the backyard when Zhu Lingyun ran up to her like she was showing off a treasure, mysteriously peeking out a crack from the hem of her blouse: "Sister, these are peaches I just took off my clothes, come and eat them!"

Jingyang Palace only served simple vegetarian meals, and the removed tribute fruits were already a rare treat. When Xuan Su was in charge, only her trusted female Taoist priests could share them.

But Bai Li didn't look at the tribute fruit; instead, she looked at Zhu Lingyun with concern and asked, "Lingyun, did Xuanzhen make things difficult for you just now?"

Zhu Lingyun explained, "No, she suddenly acted strangely friendly, saying she wanted to get along peacefully with us. I didn't listen to what she said carefully; she just said a few words and then let me out."

Bai Li frowned slightly.

At this moment, several older female Taoist priests, upon hearing that there were peaches to be returned as tribute, immediately came out of the back hall and, without saying a word, tried to take them from the hem of Zhu Lingyun's robe.

Zhu Lingyun retreated repeatedly, clutching the peaches tightly to her chest: "Liu Ping'e, what are you doing? I'm in charge now. Did I say you could eat them?"

Bai Li stood in front of Zhu Lingyun, blocking the female Taoist priests: "Look into Xuan Su's eyes, and then think about whether you want to take action."

Liu Pin'e felt a sense of apprehension, but still looked coldly at the two sisters: "We were never short of tributes in the past, so why are we not getting any now that you're in charge? There are so many peaches, do you two sisters think you can eat them all?"

In the past, when Xuan Su was in charge, she relied not only on Xuan Zhen's support, but also on the fact that she used benefits to win over Liu Pin'e and the others. Anyone who disobeyed them would be dealt with by them.

Now that they are bullying Zhu Lingyun and Bai Li because they have no powerful backing, and remembering that Xuanzhen once disliked the two of them, they immediately decided to break off all pretense of civility.

Not wanting to argue with them, Bai Li said to Zhu Lingyun behind her, "Lingyun, give them seven, and you can keep two for yourself."

Zhu Lingyun was unwilling to give up: "Sister, I'm the one in charge. How can I let them take things?"

Liu Pin'e sneered: "Do you dare to take this to the Master? Think carefully about what happened to Xuan Su when you complained to the Master before."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lingyun shuddered. The last time she went to Xuanzhen to complain, the latter had beaten Xuan Su's palm until it bled.

Thinking of this, she loosened her grip on her clothes, scattering the peaches all over the ground.

“That’s right,” Liu Ping’e and the others rushed forward to grab the peaches.

However, just as Liu Pin'e bent down to pick up the peaches, she suddenly saw a pair of cloud-patterned shoes in front of her. They were thick-soled and high-topped, with the toes turned up like clouds, and golden Bagua patterns were embroidered on the clouds.

In Jingyang Palace, only Xuanzhen could wear the Cloud Shoes; everyone else wore the Ten Directions Shoes.

Liu Pin'e's hand trembled slightly as she picked up the peaches, and she quickly straightened up. But then she saw Xuanzhen flick his whisk upwards, and a fierce force struck her chest, causing her to roll backwards and gasp for breath.

Everyone was stunned; no one expected Xuanzhen to step in and help Zhu Lingyun!

Xuanzhen stood calmly in the courtyard and said, "I appointed Xuanyun to manage affairs, and you are all dissatisfied?"

Liu Pin'e hurriedly got up and knelt at Xuanzhen's feet: "I dare not."

Xuanzhen's gaze swept over everyone, then he looked at Zhu Lingyun, his expression softening: "You can restrain them as you see fit. If anything happens, you can come to the side hall to find me, and I will take care of it for you."

The female Taoist priests fell silent, utterly bewildered as to why Xuanzhen had changed his nature.

After Xuanzhen left, Zhu Lingyun sneered at Liu Pin'e and the others: "From now on, everyone can eat these tribute fruits, but you are the only ones who cannot."

Bai Li whispered, "Ling Yun, Xuan Zhen has ill intentions. Don't make enemies. Give Liu Pin'e two peaches."

Zhu Lingyun retorted, "Sister, they were just trying to steal my peaches!"

Bai Li became serious: "Ling Yun, give it to her!"

Zhu Lingyun reluctantly gave two peaches to Bai Li, kept two for herself, gave only one to Liu Pin'e, and distributed the rest to the others.

She looked at the white carp: "Is it done yet?"

Bai Li sighed inwardly, took two peaches and went into the back hall. She gave one to Princess Yongchun, and stood there silently for a long time with the other peach in her hand.

She turned her head and saw that there were only three people in the back hall: herself, Princess Yongchun, and Xuansu.

Bai Li then gave the peach to Xuan Su.

Xuan Su was stunned: "Miss Bai Li is sharing peaches with me? Then what will you eat?"

Bai Li shook his head: "It's just a matter of appetite. Eat, and remember what you said earlier."

Xuan Su nodded quickly: "This servant remembers."

Princess Yongchun, holding a peach, said with a shy smile, "Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, this peach smells so good! Can I save it for Brother Zhuoyuan?"

Bai Li gently gathered her loose hair and said softly, "Eat up, your brother Zhuo Yuan won't be here for a long time, and the peaches will go bad by then."

Princess Yongchun pouted: "Do peaches spoil so quickly?"

Bai Li nodded.

Princess Yongchun looked up at her: "What about people's hearts?"

The white carp was stunned.

Princess Yongchun lowered her head and smelled the fragrance of peaches: "No one wants to be controlled all the time, even if it's their parents... Bodhisattva, don't you agree?"

……

……

At noon, several eunuchs delivered food boxes to Jingyang Palace.

The female Taoist priests sat down for a meal in a side hall, and Liu Pin'e and others came together.

Before they could even sit down, they saw several female Taoist priests each sitting on two chairs, leaving no place for Liu Pin'e and the others to sit.

Liu Ping'e's expression turned slightly cold: "What are you doing?"

The female Taoist priests sneered, "Stand aside. You were just trying to snatch the steward's things, and now you're sitting at the same table eating? You can only eat when the steward tells you to."

Zhu Lingyun was taken aback; she hadn't expected anyone to stand up for her.

She glanced at Bai Li, but Bai Li stopped her, saying, "We see each other all the time, why make things difficult for each other? Let's all sit down and eat."

Zhu Lingyun was a little disappointed, but still chimed in, "Let's all sit down and eat."

Liu Ping'e looked at the female Taoist priests who were occupying the seats and said angrily, "The manager has spoken, why aren't you moving aside?"

The female Taoist priests who had been occupying the seats reluctantly moved their buttocks, allowing Liu Pin'e to sit down.

Today's lunch consisted of dishes prepared by the Imperial Kitchen, including stir-fried ginkgo nuts with spring water tofu, braised double fungus with thunder and tremella, five-color vegetable dumplings, stir-fried bamboo shoots with fern sprouts, lotus pond moonlight, and angelica stewed radish, all of which are famous dishes from Taoist vegetarian banquets.

These dishes were so rare that even outside the palace, one might not be able to find them. For example, the silver ear fungus in the Lei Yin Braised Double Ear Fungus was extremely precious. However, after eating them for a while, the nuns had lost all taste in their mouths. Zhu Lingyun thought the spring water tofu was not bad today, at least it had some meat flavor. She had only taken a couple more bites when someone immediately got up and moved the plate of spring water tofu to her.

She looked over in surprise, and the female Taoist priest smiled ingratiatingly: "Master Xuanyun, if you like this spring tofu, please eat more."

Zhu Lingyun felt a little uncomfortable: "I'm not a real person."

The female Taoist priest smiled and said, "Then I'll call you Steward Xuan Yun."

Zhu Lingyun found it strange that these people had become so eager in such a short time.

She looked to Bai Li for help, and Bai Li calmly said, "Let's all eat properly."

The female Taoist priest awkwardly picked up a mouthful of rice.

Zhu Lingyun hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the female Taoist priest: "You... what's your name again?"

The female Taoist priest hurriedly replied, "My name is Du Miao. I was once a Zhaoyi bestowed by the current emperor. I was punished for offending Consort Xue and was sent to Jingyang Palace to cultivate Taoism."

Zhu Lingyun recalled, "Consort Xue? The current Crown Prince's mother?"

The female Taoist priest said in a low voice, "That's right."

Bai Li coughed lightly: "Ling Yun, let's eat."

She quickly finished her meal and pulled Zhu Lingyun out of the side hall.

Just as she stepped out, she heard an argument erupting in the side hall. Zhu Lingyun turned around and saw Du Miao and Liu Pin'e arguing fiercely, divided into two factions.

Bai Li reminded him, "Stop looking."

Zhu Lingyun said unwillingly, "Sister, how did they treat us before? Why can they do it but we can't? Besides, I didn't instigate it just now. They must have had a grudge against us in the past."

The white carp firmly declared, "Spiritual Essence!"

Zhu Lingyun and Bai Li stared at each other for a long time before finally giving up: "Alright, alright, I'm not watching anymore, I'm going to take a nap."

She broke free from the white carp's restraints and went into the inner hall on her own.

Just as Bai Li was about to follow them inside, she saw Xuan Su standing guard at the door, whispering, "Miss Bai Li, Du Miao and Liu Pin'e have an old grudge. Before they even came to Jingyang Palace, they caused a lot of trouble in the palace. It was wise of you not to be used as a tool by them."

Bai Li shook her head: "I don't care what grudges they have. I just don't want Ling Yun to become like you."

Xuan Su awkwardly shrank her neck: "Miss Bai Li's adherence to her principles is commendable. Now that Jiao Tu's power is still lingering, Xuan Zhen dares not use force, but once Jiao Tu can no longer enter Jingyang Palace, Xuan Zhen will definitely reveal his true colors, so please be careful."

"Thank you for reminding me," Bai Li said as she entered the back hall, only to find Zhu Lingyun already lying on the communal bed, her head covered by a blanket.

Bai Li sat on the edge of the dormitory and whispered, "Lingyun, I don't mean to restrict you in everything, but Xuanzhen has bad intentions. We don't know what she's up to now that she's suddenly changed her tune. You can't fall for her tricks. Besides, if we become like them, what will we do when we get out of here and look back on ourselves?"

Zhu Lingyun, her voice muffled from under the covers, said, "Sister, wake up! We can't get out!"

……

……

into the night.

Du Miao brought Zhu Lingyun a basin of water to wash her feet, gently placed her feet in the water, and looked up to ask, "Manager Xuanyun, is the water temperature nice?"

Zhu Lingyun was momentarily dazed, feeling as if she had returned to Prince Jing's mansion.

Bai Li said solemnly from the side, "Daoist Du Miao, you don't need to do this."

Zhu Lingyun subconsciously lifted her feet out of the water, but Du Miao pressed them back down and rubbed them. She said with a smile, "Xuan Su and Liu Ping'e have been doing evil for a long time. The two of you helped us vent our anger. This is what we should do."

Zhu Lingyun looked at Bai Li with pleading eyes: "Sister, she did it willingly..."

Du Miao smiled at Bai Li and said, "Princess Bai Li, I know you care about Steward Xuan Yun, but I did it voluntarily. Steward Xuan Yun did not force me."

Bai Li looked into Zhu Lingyun's eyes, sighed softly, and turned over to sleep.

When the morning bell rang, Bai Li heard rustling sounds beside her. She opened her eyes and saw Du Miao and others helping Zhu Lingyun get dressed and tie her hair.

Zhu Lingyun stood beside the bed with her arms outstretched, just like when she was in the Prince's mansion.

Before Bai Li could speak, Zhu Lingyun, seeing that she had woken up, hurriedly said, "Sister, get up quickly and go to your morning class. If you're late, the Master might scold you."

She hurriedly left the back hall and rushed towards the main hall.

Du Miao and the others laughed beside her, "Manager Xuan Yun, why are you so afraid of your sister?"

Zhu Lingyun subconsciously said, "I'm not scared."

Du Miao covered her mouth and laughed, "I'm not scared yet. I'm just repaying Steward Xuan Yun for eliminating a menace for my Jingyang Palace."

Another female Taoist priest laughed and said, "This Princess Baili is really something. Anyone who knows her would think she's your mother, but you should know that you are now in charge of Jingyang Palace. With just one order from you, we will make sure that Liu Pin'e and Xuan Su are in deep trouble."

Du Miao echoed, "Moreover, look at Xuan Su from before. Has she ever written any prayers herself? Didn't she just take ours directly? When sweeping the palace, did Xuan Su ever lift a finger? Also, let alone foot bath water, why not boil a bucket of bath water and take a hot bath every day? Let Liu Pin'e and the others stay in the side room to boil water for you."

Zhu Lingyun suddenly stopped in her tracks: "If you say another word against my sister, you will all kneel down in the main hall. If it weren't for my sister protecting me, I would have died in Jingyang Palace long ago. Where were you then?"

The female priests fell silent.

Zhu Lingyun couldn't help but turn around and look at the back hall, where Bai Li was tying up Princess Yongchun's hair.

……

……

When Zhu Lingyun arrived at the main hall, Xuanzhen had not yet come out of the side hall.

Seeing Liu Ping'e and the others sitting on the prayer mats, Du Miao immediately kicked their backs with his toe: "Get out of here. From today onwards, you are not allowed to sit on prayer mats. Sit on the blue bricks and repent to the Taoist Ancestor for your sins."

Liu Ping'e glared at her angrily: "What are you doing?"

Du Miao lowered her voice: "Don't make a scene here, or you'll disturb the real person."

Liu Pin'e's expression changed, but she ultimately swallowed her anger and had the prayer mat removed, then sat stiffly cross-legged on the blue bricks.

Zhu Lingyun opened her mouth, intending to stop her, but seeing that Bai Li was not around, she ultimately did not speak.

At this moment, the side door of the side hall opened, and Xuanzhen walked out with an air of otherworldly elegance. She only glanced at them and noticed that Liu Pin'e and the others were not sitting on the prayer mats.

Zhu Lingyun was filled with anxiety, fearing that Xuanzhen would ask about this matter. But Xuanzhen simply smiled at her and sat down on the futon to begin his lecture, completely unaware of what was happening.

She suddenly felt more confident.

After the morning classes ended, Xuanzhen lightly waved his whisk: "Go and write the prayers. Xuanyun, remember to check them. If anyone hasn't written one by noon, report it to me."

Zhu Lingyun quickly replied, "Yes."

The female Taoist priests went to the west side hall in the backyard to write prayers, racking their brains.

The female Taoist priests in Jingyang Palace did not receive a monthly stipend. Only by writing beautiful and elegant poems could they possibly receive some small rewards, which they would then use to exchange with the eunuchs for the things they needed.

Bai Li finished writing early and sat at his desk in a daze.

For some reason, Zhu Lingyun subconsciously chose a seat furthest from Bai Li, but she hesitated to write, biting her pen. She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the group of female Taoist priests, only to find that everyone else had already finished writing, leaving her alone.

A female Taoist priest asked in a low voice, "Manager, it's noon, may we go and have our vegetarian meal now?"

Zhu Lingyun's face darkened: "What's the rush? I haven't finished writing yet."

The female priests lowered their heads and remained silent.

Zhu Lingyun's eyes flickered: "Bring me all the petitions you wrote. Now that I've taken over this position, I can't allow you to be perfunctory."

The female Taoist priests reluctantly handed over the prayer slips, allowing Zhu Lingyun to look through them one by one.

As Zhu Lingyun flipped through the pages, her eyes suddenly lit up: "This poem is quite well written. 'The Jade Pivot turns the Dipper, governing the four seasons and spreading harmony. Cloud-like characters float in the sky, displaying nine rays of light to illuminate the holy virtue...' Who wrote this?"

A female Taoist priest whispered, "I wrote it."

Zhu Lingyun pulled out the poem and said, "Give this one to me. You can keep it and rewrite another one."

The female Taoist priest's expression changed: "How can this be allowed?"

Zhu Lingyun sneered: "Why can't it be done?"

Bai Li said softly, "Lingyun, go eat. I'll write one for you."

Zhu Lingyun stubbornly said, "Sister, I don't want you to write it!"

Bai Li was silent for a moment: "I'll write one for you, it'll be quick."

Zhu Lingyun suddenly said, "Sister, I don't want what you wrote, I want hers!"

(End of this chapter)