“What do you mean, Master?”
Beichen Yuan pretended to be confused and asked back.
Nun Mochou said “Amitabha” and lowered her eyes and said, “Your Highness the Regent should understand what I mean. Shuiyue Temple is a Buddhist place. The children who become monks here must cut off worldly ties and purify their six senses. Wuyou should also do the same.”
Beichen Yuan’s expression was indifferent: “Master, do you think that I have disturbed Wuyou’s practice?”
Master Mochou did not comment.
An atmosphere of silence spread between the two.
After a while, Beichen Yuan slowly spoke: “This king has always had a puzzlement. I think the nun knows about this. It happens that the nun is here today, so I ask the nun to help this king solve this puzzlement.”
Master Mochou did not refuse him, “Your Majesty, please speak.”
“I once read in a book that Buddha saves those who are destined to be saved. Do you think Buddha can save someone like me?”
Beichen Yuan raised his right hand which always held the sword.
He looked at the hand, which was long and slender but covered with scars.
Just like the scars on his body hidden under his robes, hideous and ugly.
He clenched his fists slightly, and the aura around him changed as his expression gradually became fiercer.
“The nun said that to practice Buddhism, one must cut off worldly ties and purify the six senses. But I have not been able to be at peace since two years ago. I hear whispers in my ears and have dreams every night. All of my dreams are filled with blood. It’s like entering hell and I can’t rest. Is this the end? But the Buddha is unwilling to save me? Or is this my retribution?”
Nun Mochou closed her eyes and said, “Amitabha, Your Majesty fought for the country and quelled the invasion of the enemy. Although his hands were stained with blood, he also saved countless people, kept peace for the people, and brought a hundred years of prosperity to the Ming Dynasty. There is a clear distinction between good and evil here, and there should be no retribution.”
“It’s not retribution, but Buddha doesn’t want to save us, right?”
Beichen Yuan has no expression on his face?
“Perhaps there is a divine will in the dark.”
“God willing?”
When Beichen Yuan heard these two words, he couldn’t help but laugh, “It is indeed God’s will.”
He turned around and took another look inside the hall.
“The days of torture have continued until now. I originally thought that there was no cure, but I didn’t expect that the unexpected fate that we formed when we said goodbye that day allowed me to find a cure in your Shuiyue Temple. This is God’s will, right?”
Master Mochou was stunned.
Beichen Yuan immediately took action, his dark eyes showing a hint of strength: “So you should understand, Master, I am not disturbing Wuyou’s practice, I am just… following God’s will.”
After finally finishing the morning lessons, Wen Si quickly packed up the scriptures.
Looking back, a man seemed to have never left and was still waiting at the entrance of the hall.
I don’t know when, Master Mochou was also waiting there.
Wen Si ran over holding her scriptures, “Master, His Royal Highness the Regent.”
“Is today’s morning class over?”
Beichen Yuan asked her casually in a familiar tone, and took the scripture from her hand, “Let me take a look.”
When Wen Si heard him say he wanted to take a look, she didn’t refuse.
As soon as my hands were empty, they suddenly felt a little more heavy.
Wen Si looked down and saw several oil-paper packages tied together, emitting a tempting sweet aroma of pastries.
“Is this the pastry from Dingshenglou?”
Wen Si recognized it as soon as she smelled it.
“What a good nose.”
Beichen Yuan smiled and said, “Eat it quickly. It was freshly baked this morning, but after waiting for so long, I’m afraid the fragrance will soon fade away.”
Although Wen Si was very greedy, she did not eat immediately. Instead, she turned her head to look at Master Mochou beside her with anticipation in her eyes.
“Monks should not be too concerned with the desire for food…”
“Master~”
“…But considering that you have been practicing quite hard during this period, you can have one portion.”
Wen Si’s eyes suddenly lit up, “Can the remaining disciples share with other sisters to try?”
Their practice at Shuiyue Temple was very austere.
Things like pastries are indeed hard to find on a normal day.
After getting Master Mochou’s consent, Wen Si immediately took the bags of pastries to find her senior sisters.
When I came back, there was only half a pack left in my hand.
Wen Si ran back happily, and just as she saw Beichen Yuan, she suddenly remembered something, “Ah…”
I seem to have forgotten to leave some for His Royal Highness the Regent…
Beichen Yuan knew what she was thinking at a glance, and was about to say that he didn’t want to eat it and let Wen Si eat it herself.
But he changed his mind as soon as the words came to his mouth. He raised his eyebrows and said, “What should I do? There are only so few left, and I haven’t eaten a single piece yet.”
Hearing this, Wen Si felt even more embarrassed.
The cakes bought by His Royal Highness the Regent were so good that she just distributed them to her fellow sisters and forgot to leave some for them.
Wen Si handed the remaining half of the bag back to him with an embarrassed look on her face: “There is still a little left, would you like some, Your Majesty?”
“Of course.”
Beichen Yuan stared at her slightly red little face, but reached out and just took one piece from the half-wrapped oil paper package.
“But I don’t like to eat it very much, so you can keep the rest for yourself.”
Wen Si was surprised for a moment.
She looked up at Beichen Yuan’s expression and suddenly realized that this man was just teasing her.
But she was not angry. After thanking Beichen Yuan with a smile, she held the oil paper bag in one hand and ate the cake with the other.
“I bought you some medicinal seeds yesterday, along with a planting method. Your yard is too small, so if you want to plant, go to the back mountain. I have asked someone to open up a piece of land for you. It’s close to the stream, so it’s convenient for watering.”
Wen Si was surprised again when she heard this, “Didn’t I tell you not to bother the prince? Why did you buy it anyway?”
“It’s just something that comes handy.”
Beichen Yuan said lightly.
And also went to the back hill to reclaim a piece of land for her?
At this moment, no matter how slow Wen Si was, she could feel how different Beichen Yuan’s attitude towards her was.
Would a regent be so idle that he would come to send her things every now and then?
And recently it doesn’t happen every few days anymore, but every day.
Even her needs were taken into consideration.
From the medical book she first proposed, to helping her find the Poison Scripture because he guessed her true purpose, to supporting her, sending her medicine for injuries, and even buying cakes and seeds for her, and sending people to cultivate the land…
Wen Si thought about it carefully and felt something was not right.
But in order to avoid overthinking, she considered it for a moment before tentatively asking, “Your Highness, Regent, is there anything you would like me to help you with?”
Beichen Yuan looked at her eyes that revealed a hint of uneasiness that could not be concealed, and he couldn’t help but smile in his heart.
“There is indeed something I would like to ask Master Wuyou for help with.”
“What is it?”
Wen Si asked cautiously.
Beichen Yuan pretended to be embarrassed, which made Wen Si even more nervous. Then he raised the corner of his mouth and said, “I asked you to read the sutra for me before, and my condition was relieved a little after that. But after a long time, my condition became uncontrollable again, so I want to ask you, can I come to you every day to listen to the sutra?”
“daily?”
Wen Si’s mouth twitched.
She thought Beichen Yuan was talking nonsense. How could an illness be cured by just listening to someone chanting?
“Why don’t you go see a doctor? Or the imperial physician in the palace would be fine.”
She is just a little nun now, how can she help the regent so much?
“I went to see a doctor, and he said that physical illness can be cured, but mental illness is difficult to cure.”
Beichen Yuan stared at her intently, “I have killed too many people and am trapped in hell. My ears are filled with the groans of the dead. You may not believe it, but I can only find peace for a moment when you are chanting.”
