He felt bored. In his heart, he should and needed to get out of this predicament, but he couldn't find a way. He had no choice but to lock himself in the room alone and think hard.
Zhang Si was worried when he saw all this, but he could not relieve the prince's sorrow. He could only increase the number of talented maids and external pleasures to entertain the prince all the time. However, the prince had turned a blind eye to all this. He seemed to have forgotten all this.
A few days later, the prince told his father that he wanted to go to the countryside for fun. After hearing the prince's report, Zhang Si felt a little worried in his heart, thinking: The last time the prince went to the suburbs, he saw an old man outside, which made him so sad and unhappy. It has only been a few days, but I have to go out for fun again, and maybe I will encounter some strange things, which will make me more worried and bored.
Zhang Si deliberately refused to let the prince go out, but there was no proper reason.
What should I do?
Just when Zhang Si was hesitating, a feeling of love suddenly returned to Zhang Si's heart. He really loved this prince so much, how could he go against his beloved son's wishes?
As long as the prince likes it in his heart, he must agree to the trip even though he knows it carries great risks.
So Zhang Si said, "Go ahead, but be careful on the way and don't overplay and injure yourself."
This time, Zhang Si summoned all his ministers to clean the streets along the outskirts and make the roads more tidy and beautiful. The places where the prince's motorcade passed were decorated with lanterns, flowers and incense were scattered, creating a prosperous and gorgeous scene, not to mention Those stinky things were placed on the roadside to prevent the prince from seeing them and feeling unhappy.
Zhang Si said to the prince: "Last time, you went out through the east gate. This time, if you want to change places, go out through the south gate."
"Yes, father." The prince agreed, and then led the motorcade to set off towards the south gate as vigorously as the last trip.
This time, the roadside was still crowded with onlookers on three levels inside and three outside. The prince smiled and greeted them.
Just after walking out of the south gate of the city, a patient suddenly appeared on the roadside. He was very thin and frail, but had an extremely big belly. He was panting constantly. His bones seemed to be scattered and his muscles seemed to have ceased to exist. The color was frail and yellow, and the whole body was trembling. He no longer had the strength to support his body, but he was supported by two people and managed to stand. Later, he couldn't support it anymore, so he squatted on the side of the road and kept breathing.
The prince felt very strange when he saw this scene and asked the attendant beside him, "Who is this?" The attendant replied: "He is a patient."
The prince asked again: "What is a patient?"
The entourage replied: "The so-called diseases are caused by people's excessive desires, excessive eating, and imbalance of the four elements. Therefore, people become sick. When a person is sick, he will feel uncomfortable, even painful, and weak in all parts of his body. He is weak, eats less, and cannot sleep or lie down peacefully. Although the human body has a body and limbs, he cannot move on his own and needs other strength to sit or stand up."
When the prince heard this, he suddenly felt compassion in his heart. He looked at the patient as if he were suffering from the same disease, and he was filled with sorrow because he was unable to relieve the pain.
He then asked: "Is this person the only one who is sick like this, or does everyone else get sick like this?"
The attendant replied: "All people will get sick, no matter high or low, no matter men, women, old or young, they will experience the process of getting sick."
After hearing these words, the prince thought silently in his heart, "Sickness and pain like this will affect everyone in the world. Why do people in the world only think about the happiness in the present and are not afraid of the future? "
As soon as the prince thought of this, he felt deeply frightened and terrified, and his body and mind trembled, just like the shadow of the moon falling on the water, the wind and water stirred, the waves were sparkling, and he could not calm down. So, the prince said to the people around him: "Then, bodies like ours are the place where great pain gathers, but people in the world are full of joy in this pain, no matter they are stupid, foolish, or ignorant. It’s so pitiful that all these people are so ignorant of enlightenment! Today we are going to play in a garden in the suburbs, and we are also ignorant of enlightenment.”
The prince immediately ordered not to travel again and drove back to the palace.
Back in the palace, the prince sat alone in the room, thinking, feeling worried and uneasy in his heart all the time.
After the prince came back from his second outing, he was depressed all day long. Zhang Si saw this and felt pain in his heart. He didn't know how to alleviate the prince's sadness.
He thought: The prince must have encountered something again.
So Zhang Si asked the attendants who were traveling with the prince, "Isn't the prince happy when he goes out today?"
The attendant replied: "The prince just came out of the south gate today and met a patient. He was so depressed that he drove back."
When Zhang Si heard this, he felt even more worried. He was worried that the prince would have the idea of becoming a monk again.
Zhang Si lowered his head and thought for a while, then sent word to the minister who was responsible for cleaning the streets to go to court to ask what happened.
The four ministers kowtowed and said, "The prince just walked out of the city gate today when he met a sick man."
Zhang Silongyan was furious and said: "Didn't I order the officials outside to clean the roads and remove all stinking and filthy objects, and also expel the elderly and sick people away from them?"
"Reporting to the emperor, we have indeed given strict orders, but we really don't know where this patient came from." All the ministers said in unison.
Zhang Si then thought to himself: Could it be that this patient really does not know where he came from, with no sign or trace at all? Appeared suddenly like this?
Zhang Si felt that it was indeed God's will. He was afraid that the prince would hesitate again and become a monk and practice Taoism. Therefore, he took great pains to recruit many singing and dancing beauties and gave them to the prince, letting them accompany the prince all day long and keep the prince in pleasure and pleasure. He developed a love for playing music in the world, and gradually gave up the idea of becoming a monk.
At that time, there was a very smart Fan Ling in the country who was very eloquent. In order to retain the prince's heart, Zhang Si invited Fan Ling here, hoping to use his wisdom and eloquence to persuade the prince not to become a monk.
Fan Ling said to Zhang Si: "The prince is very smart, no one can compare with him. He is also knowledgeable, many of which I have never heard of. Now I am asked to persuade the prince to give up his intention to practice Taoism. This is like a lotus root thread." It is absolutely impossible to lift Mount Sumeru."
However, Zhang Si did not give up his plan to persuade the prince in the end, and gave him a task: let him be the prince's personal attendant. He must follow the prince no matter he walks, lives, sits or lies, and cannot stay away.
A few days later, the prince was going out for an outing again. Because Zhang Si had this Fan Ling accompanying the prince, he hoped that Fan Ling could randomly speak to the prince so that the prince would no longer be weary of the world, so he safely agreed to the prince's request.
This time, both inside and outside the city, the preparation work was more meticulous than last time. The roads, gardens, pavilions, buildings, etc. were all more orderly and solemn. The elderly, sick, stinky and other things had all been driven away; fragrant flowers were paved on the road. The canopy of flags is like a forest, which is more spectacular than the previous two times. At that time, the prince and all the officials led him out of the palace, playing and playing, and meandered towards the west gate.
Just as they had just walked out of the west gate of the city, they suddenly saw four people carrying a coffin, and one person was spreading fragrant flowers on the body; some of the people following behind were wailing, some were sobbing softly, and some were looking down. He has a sad look on his face, and some of his eyes appear dull.
