If not abolished

In March, in Huangcheng Temple, Hu Shanxiang had just finished listening to the morning class hosted by the abbot, walked out of the main hall, and went straight to the back mountain.

As the saying goes, a winding path leads to a secluded place. During these few days, Hu Shanxiang also found a relatively quiet place in the entire temple. Speaking of which, hundreds of years later, she happened to come to Nanjing. On the last day of her departure, she and her friends came to this place. This place was extremely famous in later generations. Every day, there were endless streams of people coming to pray for marriage. Yes, this place was named the Marriage Temple, and it was said to be very effective. However, in addition to marriage, there is also a Temple of the God of Wealth. I remember that when my friend and I heard about the Temple of the God of Wealth, we almost knelt down for a long time.

I didn't expect that I would see this place from more than 700 years ago. It is different from later times. People who came later had to pay ten yuan for a ticket, and they would be given three incense sticks when they came in. The Tower of Babel could be seen at a glance, with several levels of palaces that seemed to have no end, and steps one by one. After climbing up, I realized that it was a mountain.

I heard that the vegetarian food here is extremely delicious. I didn’t get to eat it the last time I came here, but now I can eat it every day. It’s really good.

The further you go in, the more trees there are, and it's quieter with fewer people.

When Hu Shanxiang walked to the little secret base she had discovered, she found that there was a man standing there alone. She looked around in surprise and thought that since there was someone there, she might as well leave today.

Just as Hu Shanxiang was about to turn around and leave, a voice came from behind her: "Young lady, now that you are here, why are you leaving again?"

"I didn't know anyone was there, and now I'm planning to go back." After saying that, Hu Shanxiang immediately trotted away.

After running far away and thinking that she would no longer see anyone, Hu Shanxiang stopped, took a few breaths, and wondered why she was running so fast.

I thought that person just came to that place accidentally, but I didn't expect that when I came back a few days later, the person was there again. When Hu Shanxiang was about to leave again, the person said, "Why do you run away every time you see me? Am I a monster?"

"Sir, you are joking. I was afraid of disturbing you." Hu Shanxiang said with her head down.

"It's not a disturbance at all. I think I disturbed the girl."

"It's not my place, but it's quiet here, so I come here to sit from time to time." Hu Shanxiang explained.

"The girl should stay here, and not lose a good place because of me."

"Then I'd better obey your command." Hu Shanxiang sat on the stone bench next to her.

When I got closer, I saw that there was a painting on the stone table. It turned out that he was painting, Hu Shanxiang thought.

After Hu Shanxiang sat down, she took out a book to read. The man continued to paint. No one spoke. For a moment, the world was silent.

An hour later, Hu Shanxiang looked up and stretched. The man must have finished painting. He turned his back to her and walked aside to look at the scenery.

Hu Shanxiang looked at his finished painting with curiosity. It was just a bamboo forest. She didn't know much about painting, but she felt that looking at it made her feel peaceful, and a feeling of lush and endless life came to her face.

This person doesn't look very old, but his paintings show a very unique state of mind, as if he has experienced a lot of vicissitudes of life.

"What's the matter?" The man suddenly walked behind Hu Shanxiang and spoke, scaring her.

Hu Shanxiang patted her chest and said, "Don't you know that scaring others can kill them?"

"Is there such a thing? I have never heard of it."

Hu Shanxiang turned around and gave her a look.

Knowing that he was the first to be rude, the man hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, did I really scare you?"

"Yes, sir, please pay the money."

"This..." The man felt around his body with both hands, "I don't have any money on me, so... I'll give this painting to the girl as compensation. How do you think?"

"Pfft, I was just joking, why did you take it so seriously?" Hu Shanxiang laughed as she looked at his embarrassed look.

The man saw her laugh and started laughing too.

"Do you like painting?"

"One of my interests."

"The girl hasn't answered me yet, how about this painting?"

"I don't quite understand it. I just feel that it is very comfortable to look at, as if there is artistic conception, but I can't put it into words." Hu Shanxiang answered truthfully.

"Young master, we finally found you. It's time to go back." Just as the two were talking, the servant called him to go back.

"I'm going back now. See you next time." The man was about to leave without picking up the painting on the table.

"Hey, your painting." Hu Shanxiang picked it up and chased after him.

But the man said, "I just said this was an apology to the girl, now it's yours."

"How embarrassing."

"It's not worth much in the first place, I hope the girl doesn't mind it."

"Then, thank you."

"polite."

The man walked a few steps, then turned back and asked, "Miss, do you often come here to worship Buddha?"

"Well... I left home and now live here."

"I see. See you next time."

After the man left, Hu Shanxiang muttered, "What a strange person."

"Miss, you're back. Why did you come back so late today? The food is almost cold." Lingzhi was the only one who came with Hu Shanxiang. Originally, Hu Shanwei asked her to bring someone else to take care of her, but she thought it was too much trouble.

"I was so engrossed in reading that I forgot the time." After saying that, he put his things down, walked to the dining table and sat down, starting to eat. To be honest, the vegetarian food in Huangcheng Temple was really delicious. Although it was just vegetarian dishes, it tasted much better than meat.

After dinner, Hu Shanxiang prepared to take a nap.

Lingzhi was sorting out the things she brought back, "What is this?" Lingzhi was holding a rolled-up piece of paper in her hand?

"Hey." Hu Shanxiang was about to take it from her.

But it was too late, the Ganoderma lucidum had already opened.

"This is..." Lingzhi looked at her.

"It was given to me by a man I met in the bamboo forest today." Hu Shanxiang had no choice but to tell the truth.

"I just give gifts when I see you. You should avoid remote places next time. What if you meet someone bad? This temple is different from the homes here. They are all outsiders. It's better for you to avoid contact with them... If something happens, how can I explain it to you..."

"Okay Lingzhi, can you take a rest and talk to me after I wake up?" Hu Shanxiang interrupted her as she kept talking nonsense.

"Girl, okay, okay, you take a rest first." Lingzhi saw that Hu Shanxiang didn't seem to be listening, so she finally stopped muttering. She thought to herself that next time the girl went out, she must follow her. Okay, yes, that's it.

On the other hand, Zhu Zhanji came out of the Huangcheng Temple and got on the carriage back to the palace. He was resting with his eyes closed, but his heart was not at peace. Why did Shanxiang come to the Huangcheng Temple? However, it made it convenient for the two of them to meet.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess asked you to see her immediately after returning to the palace." Wu Cheng lifted the curtain and said to him.

"Who is gossiping?" Zhu Zhanji opened his eyes and asked fiercely.

"How dare we, the servants? It's probably because Your Highness has come to the Imperial City Temple several times that the Crown Princess is worried."

"There is no best. If I knew that someone was telling lies to others, I would never forgive him."

"Yes."

Zhu Zhanji hurried back to the palace and went to his room to change his clothes before meeting the Crown Princess.

"The Grandson has arrived."

"My son greets my mother." Zhu Zhanji walked in quickly and bowed.

"You still remember to come back? I thought you were going to become a monk?" The Crown Princess seemed not to notice that he was still kneeling there and did not let him get up.

Zhu Zhanji knew that his mother was angry, so he explained, "I had nightmares at night a few days ago, so I thought of going to Huangcheng Temple to burn incense. I have slept better in the past few days, so I went there today to fulfill my wish. That's what mother said about becoming a monk, but you have wronged me." Zhu Zhanji looked up at the Crown Princess with a pitiful look as he spoke. He knew that his mother really enjoyed this trick.

Sure enough, after hearing what he said and seeing his son like this, he almost forgot the words of blame he had prepared for a long time, and hurriedly said to the palace servant beside him: "The prince has been kneeling for a long time, and you didn't even remind me to let the prince stand up."

"Is it the servants' fault?"

"Agui, please get up quickly." The Crown Princess hurriedly walked down the stairs and asked Zhu Zhanji to get up.

"Since you have already fulfilled your wish today, there is no need for you to leave the palace again. Just study hard with your teacher in the main hall. I still remember clearly the time you were injured. Stay in the palace and be safe." The Crown Princess continued.

"Mother, my grandfather is away at war, and I want to go to the Imperial City Temple every ten days to pray for the army."

"Half a month, no more. Wait until your royal grandfather comes back. If he tests you on your studies, you must not be careless."

"Thank you, mother." Zhu Zhanji said happily.

"Okay, you've been tired all day, go and have a rest."

"Why did the Crown Princess agree to this when she was so worried about the Crown Prince's safety when he left the palace?" Hongmei beside her asked in confusion.

"No matter how I refuse, he will bring up Your Majesty and tell others that the Crown Prince is praying for the country. How can I stop him? If it gets out, will I be known as an unfilial person? Besides, even if I disagree, can't he do what Agui has decided? Can't he still ask the Imperial Concubine for help? This child didn't grow up with me, and we were not very close to each other. How can I push him out again? Fortunately, the Imperial City Temple is not far away. We should send more people to be careful. Alas, the child is grown up and we can't do anything about it."

In the evening, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince talked about this matter.

The prince put down the military report and said, "What is there to worry about? Are you going to stop letting Agui go out in the future? Father intends to let Agui go to Mobei to fight in the future. If he dares not even leave the house because of an accident, wouldn't he be laughed at?"

"I am a little woman and timid, naturally not as good as Your Highness. Back then, Your Highness disregarded the danger, and you carried Agui to the city of Beiping to boost morale when he was just one year old." The Crown Princess said with some tone.

"Why are you still bringing this up? You know the situation at that time, and I had no choice but to do it." The prince said, holding her hand.

"I understand, but I can't help but worry." The Crown Princess also knew to stop while she was ahead, and said worriedly with her head down.

"Okay, I know you are worried, but don't say such things anymore. It would be bad if it got to Father's ears."

"I understand."

"Don't worry too much, Agui has some newly selected young soldiers around him."

"makes sense."