On the way to Yungang Temple, Qin Zheng was preoccupied with thoughts.
Chu Chengji said today was his birthday, but Song Heqing claimed it was in the first month.
As the Crown Prince, his birthdate was recorded in the ancestral hall and the royal genealogy.
Courtiers wouldn’t make such a mistake.
Was he trying to deceive or test her with what he said earlier in the chamber? After all, they had exchanged birth cards long before their wedding.
How could she not know his birthday?
The more Qin Zheng thought about it, the faster her heart beat.
Thinking back to his expression at that time, it didn’t seem like he was trying to trick her...
What was his true intention?
Qin Zheng’s mind was completely chaotic.
She rode in a carriage, while Chu Chengji rode a tall horse ahead.
Song Heqing and Lin Yao each rode beside him, a striking sight.
Qin Zheng gently lifted the carriage curtain and gazed at Chu Chengji’s tall and straight figure on horseback, lost in thought.
Chu Chengji seemed to sense something and glanced back, their eyes meeting across the distance.
Afraid that his glance might prompt Lin Yao and Song Heqing to look back as well, Qin Zheng quickly let the curtain down.
“Stop,” Chu Chengji suddenly spoke up.
Song Heqing, fearing he might suggest turning back halfway, nervously asked, “Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
Chu Chengji replied, “The weather is hot. Let the troops rest for a moment before moving on.”
It was already early summer, and the sun was getting hotter day by day.
After nearly an hour’s journey, the accompanying soldiers were indeed a bit tired.
Song Heqing put his worries aside and ordered the men to rest on the spot.
Chu Chengji rode up to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and handed in the water flask from his horse.
The carriage was spacious, with tea and snacks neatly arranged on a low table.
Qin Zheng, adorned in a magnificent golden-red palace dress, sat by the window with her hair elegantly coiled and adorned with golden hairpins.
Her face was delicately made up.
The most eye-catching was the crimson flower hairpin on her forehead, echoing the vibrant red lipstick on her lips.
Chu Chengji, accustomed to her usual plain appearance, couldn’t help but pause for a moment as he looked at her in her elaborate makeup.
Qin Zheng thought it odd that he came over just to hand her a cup of water when there was already tea on the table.
She pointed to the teacup on the low table and said, “I already have tea here.”
Chu Chengji took back the water flask and bluntly said, “Pour me a cup.”
He came all this way just to ask for a cup of tea?
Qin Zheng found it strange but poured a cup and handed it to him.
Chu Chengji drank it in one gulp and handed the cup back, asking, “You’ve been looking at me. Is there something you want to tell me?”
Qin Zheng’s thoughts were in turmoil, especially about his birthday.
If she asked him directly, what would she say if he asked why she didn’t know his birthday?
Should she confess that she was actually a wandering soul from another world?
Even in modern times, claiming to be someone else after a soul transfer might be difficult for loved ones to accept.
Qin Zheng smiled faintly, shaking her head. “I just wanted to look at you.”
Her red lips glistened like cherry honey in the sunlight, tempting to pluck.
Chu Chengji squinted at her and suddenly asked, “Can your lipstick be transferred?”
Qin Zheng didn’t understand but nodded.
Afraid of smudging her makeup on the way, Qin Zheng brought along rouge and powder.
Chu Chengji said, “I’m still thirsty.”
Qin Zheng was about to pour him another cup of tea when she suddenly understood his meaning as she saw the sly smile in his eyes.
Blushing with annoyance, she swiftly dropped the curtain, cutting off his view.
As soon as she settled back in her seat, the coachman was dismissed, and someone unceremoniously climbed into the carriage.
Today, Chu Chengji wore a golden crown and luxurious clothes, making him even more handsome.
Qin Zheng warned him, “We’re outside. Don’t get any funny ideas.”
Little did she know, the charm of a beauty lies in her anger, adding to her allure.
It was the first time Chu Chengji saw her wearing lipstick, a bright red that tempted him to smudge it and devour her lips bit by bit.
And indeed, he did just that.
After Chu Chengji got off the carriage, Qin Zheng took a while to calm her breath.
She retrieved a small bronze mirror from the carriage’s compartment and wiped off the smudged lipstick, applying a fresh coat.
Thinking back to what he said, her face couldn’t help but flush.
“You won’t let me kiss you here? How about at the temple?”
How could such a composed person utter such licentious words?
After a quarter of an hour for everyone to freshen up, they resumed their journey and finally arrived at the foot of Yungang Temple before noon.
Yungang Temple was where Emperor Wu Jia used to practice, and it had been bustling with pilgrims in recent years.
However, with the change of rulers in Bianjing this year, there were fewer people coming to pay their respects.
The army sealed off the mountain as a gesture of sincerity.
Qin Zheng and Chu Chengji had to walk up the stone steps from the foot of the mountain together.
Chu Chengji didn’t mind much, but when he ordered someone to find a sedan chair, Qin Zheng politely declined.
Although her body was indeed delicate, she had endured all kinds of hardships during their escape.
Climbing thousands of steps was nothing, especially since she had been learning martial arts from Lin Zhao for a long time and had been practicing alone regularly since arriving in Qingzhou City.
Her physical fitness had improved significantly.
The sedan chair was eventually used for Song Heqing.
He struggled to climb the steps due to his age and halfway through, he was exhausted.
Chu Chengji ordered some soldiers who were carrying the sedan chair to lift him up.
The abbot of Yungang Temple had received news and led a group of monks to greet them outside the temple gate.
The abbot was a chubby monk with large earlobes, smiling like a Buddha statue in a shrine.
His eyes were kind but also seemed to see through the world’s mundane affairs.
“Namo Amitabha, the benefactors have traveled from afar. Please forgive us for any shortcomings in our welcome,” the abbot said, holding prayer beads in one hand and placing the other palm vertically in front of him, bowing to Chu Chengji.
Chu Chengji returned the gesture with a slight hint of coldness and indifference in his eyes. “We’ve come to worship our ancestors on his birthday. Thank you, venerable abbot, for your hospitality.”
Chu Chengji felt awkward saying this line, which he had rehearsed several times.
The abbot smiled and said, “The benefactor looks familiar, and he has a connection with the Buddha.”
His gaze fell on Qin Zheng, and his smile became even more mysterious. “The lady benefactor also has a deep connection with the Buddha.”
Qin Zheng had never been religious and had only visited temples and Daoist temples a few times in her past life as a tourist attraction.
She felt a bit suspicious when praised for her connection with the Buddha.
She wondered if the abbot was being insincere.
She kept her emotions hidden and followed Chu Chengji’s lead in bowing to the abbot.
On Emperor Wu Jia’s birthday, whether noble officials or ordinary people, they would come to the temple to burn incense.
The temple monks had specially set up a hall for Emperor Wu Jia, where a golden statue of him was enshrined and worshipped.
Chu Chengji and Qin Zheng were personally led by the abbot to the hall of Emperor Wu Jia.
The attendant monk handed them incense sticks.
Qin Zheng stole a glance at the golden statue of Emperor Wu Jia.
Crowned and robed like an emperor, his appearance was dignified.
Qin Zheng knew that any statue worshipped by the people, whether a Buddha or a deity, would be idealized and not necessarily accurate.
She didn’t believe Emperor Wu Jia looked exactly like this in real life.
The eulogy was recited by Song Heqing. “In the presence of our esteemed ancestor, as the mountains and rivers crumbled and foreign invaders came,
desecrating our land and humiliating our people,
our esteemed ancestor took up the heavenly mandate,
restored our land, vanquished enemies to the north and south, and rescued the people from water and fire, shining brightly throughout history...”
Song Heqing recited the eulogy praising Emperor Wu Jia for two or three pages, but it wasn’t finished yet.
Chu Chengji listened quietly, his lips curved with a hint of mockery.
Qin Zheng caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye and thought he was being disrespectful in front of their ancestors’ temple.
After waiting for a while, the part praising the virtues was finally finished.
When it came to the current situation, Song Heqing couldn’t help but shed tears as he lamented the downfall of the once prosperous Great Chu:
“Nowadays, the situation is worse than ever before.
The rebels from Qixian have rebelled, seized Bianjing, and slaughtered our royal family, ministers, and loyalists.
The four counties in Hexi have fallen into the hands of the barbarians, and we, the ministers and people, are once again enslaved by barbarians.
Whenever I think of this, I can’t help but shed tears of sorrow.
In this time of crisis, we are fortunate to have the Crown Prince to turn the tide, reclaiming Qing and Xu provinces, and restoring the glory of the Chu dynasty.
Now, as the enemy sends troops to battle, outnumbering us, I pray that Emperor Wu Jia will bless our Great Chu and bless our Crown Prince!”
Many soldiers outside the hall heard Song Heqing’s impassioned words, their eyes reddening with tears as they tightly gripped their weapons, wishing they could charge into battle right away to fight the enemy.
Qin Zheng was also moved by Song Heqing’s impassioned eulogy.
When she and Chu Chengji offered incense and bowed together, her sincerity was evident.
However, Chu Chengji remained indifferent throughout, showing no sign of respect for his ancestors.
Qin Zheng silently criticized Chu Chengji.
Was this how the ancestors of the Chu family ended up with such disrespectful descendants?
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By noon, after paying respects to Emperor Wu Jia, the abbot invited them to stay in the temple for a vegetarian meal.
When Qin Zheng and Chu Chengji were led to a specially arranged Zen room to rest, there were no outsiders present. She asked, “Your Highness, it seems like you don’t like it here?”
Chu Chengji casually picked up a Buddhist scripture from the bookshelf and flipped through it. “It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not.”
He had practiced Zen for eighteen years but had stopped believing in it later on.
Back then, people had criticized him as a warmonger and a butcher from Longxi.
They had accused Yungang Temple of teaching a bloodthirsty demon, and the temple gate had been destroyed.
It was said that he had been expelled from the list of lay disciples since he descended from the mountain.
But in the blink of an eye, three hundred years had passed, and he had become a revered war god praised by the people, with temples built and statues erected in his honor.
If one spoke of emotions, there wasn’t much fluctuation in his emotions. He just couldn’t achieve complete calmness.
Qin Zheng felt that at this moment, he was both far away and very close to her, a sense of vague connection transcending time.
She walked over and sat on the cushion at his feet, leaning against his knees.
As he glanced down at her, she smiled lightly and asked, “Which sutra are you reading?”