The Prince Consort's Beloved

Sunset glow and waning moon.

The cold wind chills the tiles.

Li Yuanrou curled back up on the couch, closed her eyes and concentrated, saying tenderly: "Rou'er, are you tired?..."

It is so difficult to have a dream. It is so unwilling to be interrupted like that. It would be great if the dream could continue.

The next day, the princess's procession was on the way to Dabei Zen Temple.

Qing Luan lifted the carriage curtain and whispered, "Master, there is a tail, it seems to be Li Yuming, do you want me to investigate?"

Li Yuanrou closed her eyes and said calmly, "It's okay, let him be."

Qingluan was indifferent. The people who had followed her originally were all unrecognizable people, but now they had been replaced by Li Yuming. She didn't know whether it was more of a protection or more of a surveillance.

The Dabei Zen Temple was cleared out.

Mr. Interpreter of the Fortunes was now the host and he came out to greet them personally.

The main reason was that Li Yuanrou donated too much money, and he was so happy. The money he owed for replacing the Guanyin statue was finally settled, but his face remained calm and composed, as if he was a great man who regarded money as dirt.

He glanced at Li Yuanrou's belly calmly and smiled peacefully: "If my senior brother were still here, he would definitely be happy."

Li Yuanrou had accidentally learned about Zhuge Hongzhan's death before, and now when he mentioned it again, he still felt sad.

The fortune teller saw that she looked melancholy and said, "Don't think about it anymore. It will only cause you more worries. Go in."

He leaned forward slightly and put his hands together. Li Yuanrou returned the greeting reverently and walked towards the temple.

The fortune interpreter glanced back subtly, but Li Yuming did not dodge and let him look at him.

Daya leaned close to Li Yuanrou's ear and said, "Mr. Interpreter has really changed a lot. He looks like a wise monk who can see through the world. He has an extraordinary temperament."

Li Yuanrou looked at her with great interest: "Insight into the world? You can see that?"

Daya said seriously, "What he said just now, 'Don't think about it', did he mean something?"

Li Yuanrou did not answer. She paused and looked at the Temple of the God of Wealth in the distance. Her expression was solemn and lonely.

It cannot be pursued, it cannot be thought of.

Daya asked softly, "Princess, do you want to go to the Temple of the God of Wealth?"

Li Yuanrou shook her head and walked straight towards the Guanyin Temple.

Daya sighed in her heart, not only the fortune teller had changed, but the princess had also changed. Every time she came before, she would go straight to the Temple of the God of Wealth and would simply ignore other temples. Now, she doesn't even go to the Temple of the God of Wealth.

As she was sighing, Li Yuanrou suddenly changed her tone and said, "Forget it, let's go to the God of Wealth Temple first. Although we are not poor now, we can't be arrogant. We still have to report to the God of Wealth."

Daya smiled happily: "I will go with you."

The two of them headed towards the Temple of the God of Wealth.

Li Yuanqi and Li Yuming, both dressed in casual clothes, came out of the Guanyin Temple and met the fortune teller who came to look for Li Yuanrou.

Li Yuming followed Li Yuanqi's instructions and humbly bowed, then asked, "Master, how can we avoid being bound by the eight sufferings of life: birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, reunion with those we hate, and failure to obtain what we desire?"

The fortune teller returned the greeting with his hands clasped together. His expression was solemn: "All living things are suffering. Everything is nothing. Only one can save himself."

Li Yuming: "How to save yourself?"

Mr. Interpreter: "One should not dwell on anything, but give rise to the mind. The past mind is unattainable, the present mind is unattainable, and the future mind is unattainable. Follow the circumstances and be at ease. Nirvana is tranquil."

After Li Yuming finished asking the questions Li Yuanqi asked him to ask, he looked at Li Yuanqi. The two looked at each other, and Li Yuanqi gave him a look that asked him to continue asking.

Li Yuming lowered his eyes. In his arms was still the letter Xiao Luobai wrote to Li Yuanrou. He had deceived the emperor, but he did not burn it.

Li Yuming asked: "Master, I have a worry in my heart, how should I solve it?"

The fortune teller replied: "Because of love, there is sorrow. Because of love, there is fear. If you are free from love, there will be no sorrow and no fear."

Li Yuming: "How can one be free from the one he loves?"

Mr. Interpreter: "Without the self, without the others, without the sentient beings, without the life, you can be free from the lover."

He smiled knowingly: "This is back to what I said earlier about not dwelling on anything, but giving birth to one's mind. All things are originally nothing, and one can only save oneself."

A bitter smile appeared on Li Yuming's lips. He couldn't leave the one he loved, and he couldn't save himself.

The fortune teller continued, "If sentient beings were not in darkness, how would they know to pursue light? In fact, the truth of this world cannot be explained in a few words. All things are impermanent, all leaks are suffering, everything can be left to fate, and forcing is suffering."

Li Yuming was in a trance for a moment. He put his hands together and said devoutly, "I will teach you."

Mr. Interpreter suddenly said something meaningful: "You reap what you sow. Everything is empty. If the cause and effect are not empty, everything will not go away. Only karma will follow you. If you do something and get nothing, look for the reason within yourself and stop at the highest good."

When he said the last sentence, his eyes were looking at Li Yuanqi. The previous few sentences about cause and effect were Buddhist words, but the last sentence was not.

Li Yuanqi had been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, so he naturally knew that the saying "When one's actions fail, one should reflect on oneself and strive for the highest good" comes from "Li Lou Chapter and Verses" in "Mencius". It means that when one's actions do not achieve the expected results, one should reflect on oneself and try to correct them. The fortune teller wanted him to reflect on himself more when he encountered difficult problems. Combined with the previous theory of cause and effect, it was obviously a rebuke to him that if he did something that caused bad results, it was all because of the causes he had planted, and he could not blame others.

Li Yuanqi's eyes darkened and he scolded, "How dare you!"

The fortune teller had a calm face, showing no fear. He said calmly, "The angry eyes of a diamond are not as good as the lowered eyebrows of a bodhisattva."

Li Yuanqi raised his eyebrows slightly. These words seemed to advise him not to be angry, and seemed to be an admission of guilt. The anger that had just risen in him due to the unwarranted offense subsided.

He thought of the statue of Guanyin he had seen in the hall just now. The statue's eyes were full of compassion and it was so lifelike that even he, the emperor, could not help but be shocked.

Li Yuanqi said with interest: "Speaking of Bodhisattvas, the Water Moon Bodhisattva in the temple is not often seen."

The fortune teller said: "Like the moon in the empty space, its reflection appears in the clear pond, not the moon itself entering the water. The same is true for all things."

Li Yuanqi nodded and walked towards the gate of the Zen temple with Li Yuming.

The high and drawn-out voice of the fortune teller came from behind: "The angry eyes of a diamond are not as good as the lowered eyebrows of a bodhisattva."

Li Yuanqi's eyes paused slightly, but he did not stop.