blueteamnovel Chapter 72.1
Chapter 72.1
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?”
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?
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?”