October 29th is the full moon day of the prince Liu Qi. According to the old rites, the world regards pregnant women giving birth as an unclean thing, and even the heavenly family is not exempt from this. Therefore, in September, Concubine Dong Guifei was forced to move to the Taiye Pond in the west of Chang'an City to wait for her childbirth. It was not until the prince was one month old that she had to return with her son.
Only then could Emperor Liu Xie see his own son for the first time.
When he became a father for the first time, the emperor was overjoyed and invited officials from the court, who were worth more than 600 shi, to have a banquet in Changle Palace. Chen Chong, as the captain of the Sili school, was naturally among those invited.
Li Yi, Yang Xiu and others in the mansion advised Chen Chong that since he thought the emperor was plotting, the palace was a dangerous place and could be arranged by Qian Zhao, and it was not appropriate for Chen Chong to go there in person. But Chen Chong thought about it and said to his staff: "The emperor has seen the deaths of He Jin and Dong Zhuo. Don't you know that no matter whether it is success or failure, once trouble occurs, it is difficult to hide the mastermind. When there is chaos in the capital, as the emperor, he will bear the brunt of it. It's hard to keep it safe. I will go to the banquet this time without any worries." So I decided to go to the banquet.
The weather was good at this time, the sky was amazingly blue, the bright white sun was shining in the sky, and the leafless branches were swaying gently in the breeze. There is neither heat nor winter coolness in the air, and there is a sense of tranquility and desirelessness between the breaths, making people feel as if they are in a pure land that is boundless, without beginning or end, soundless, colorless, carefree and joyless. in the world.
By the time Chen Chong arrived at Changle Palace, most of the people had already arrived.
The banquet place is in the open space in front of a pavilion. There is a bamboo shelf set up around it. It is covered with yellow vines. Only a few leaves have not fallen. There are also plum bushes planted around the shelf, which are all hung at the moment. There are pink or white flower bags, which must be blooming soon.
Seeing the dragon head coming, a group of people came up to greet him and tried to inquire about the war on the front line. Chen Chong managed to cope with it, and then asked a Huangmenlang for directions, intending to meet the emperor and congratulate him personally.
When he saw the emperor, he couldn't help but be surprised. It turned out that the emperor was sitting in the pavilion, surrounded by more than a dozen monks, who were singing Buddhist chants beside him, while the emperor was lying beside the eucalyptus, writing something with his hands. And Chen Chong also recognized an acquaintance among the monks. Wasn't the leader Kang Mengxiang, the abbot of Yuanjue Temple?
Kang Mengxiang smiled slightly at Chen Chong, and then stopped the wooden fish in his hand. The surrounding monks also stopped, and the emperor came back to his senses. In a blink of an eye, he saw Chen Chong, and a look of surprise flashed across his face. He then put down his pen and paper, held the apprenticeship salute to Chen Chong, and said, "Sir is here."
Chen Chong nodded slightly and performed the courtesy of a courtier. After the ceremony, he stood up and smiled at Kang Mengxiang: "I didn't expect to see the master here today." Kang Mengxiang replied humbly: "It's all the nobleman's favor."
It turns out that after the Yuanjue Temple was built, a monk said to the believers: "If you really want to have a son, you can recite Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. This will give you hope for the future." Then gradually spread the reputation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva giving birth to children, and the people heard about it and flocked to it like ducks. . Concubine Dong Guifei heard that it was quite efficacious, so she also sent her maid to the temple to pray for blessings, and asked monks to copy the "Avalokiteśvara Sutra" a hundred times in order to give birth to a boy and live a long life. Concubine Dong Guifei gave birth to a prince this time. She thought she had got her wish, so she asked the emperor to invite monks to the banquet to chant sutras and fulfill the wish of the eldest son.
What the monk just recited was the "Ten Sentences of the Avalokitesvara Sutra". Funny to say, this scripture was translated by Chen Chong and his friend Kang Ju when he was in Luoyang. Chen Chong said to Kang Ju: "If you want Buddhism to flourish, you should spread the small sutra so that people can remember it widely." Kang Ju greatly agreed and chose this sutra. There are only ten sentences in the whole text:
"Avalokiteśvara, Namo Buddha. I have a cause and a predestined relationship with the Buddha. I have a predestined relationship with the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and I am always happy. I recite Avalokitesvara in the morning, and recite Avalokitesvara in the evening. The recitation of Avalokitesvara starts from the heart, and the recitation of the Buddha never leaves the heart."
After hearing the whole story, Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh to Kang Mengxiang: "Now that your Majesty's worship of Buddha has spread, the world will follow suit. It seems that Buddhism is about to flourish!"
Kang Mengxiang replied with a smile: "I still remember Longshou's wonderful talk about the past and afterlife in the temple. It can be seen that Longshou has a profound knowledge of Buddhism. There is just one question that I have always wanted to ask, but I haven't had a good opportunity. Today I will take your Majesty's opportunity. , I just want to ask, I wonder if Longshou is willing to answer?"
Chen Chong glanced at the Emperor and saw that he was sitting upright and looking at him, so he looked back and said, "Master, it's okay to ask."
"Among all the sutras, I don't know which sutra Long Shou likes the most?"
Chen Chong said: "I once translated the Diamond Sutra, and it was probably this sutra that left the deepest impression on me."
"What do you think?"
"Being calm when looking at the cliff, being calm when facing huge waves on all sides."
Kang Mengxiang was greatly impressed by it. He said: "The difference between great hope and great hope is just a thought, a thin line. In front of the huge sea of Jue Ren, there is no color or loss of color. The dragon's head is very close to my Buddha!"
When Chen Chong heard Kang Mengxiang's words, he couldn't help but feel a faint pain in his heart when he thought that Tian Yu had answered in the same way. The young man has died in Longshouyuan, but he is still alive. How cruel the world is.
He had no intention of talking to Kang Mengxiang anymore. Monk Hu obviously noticed this, and after a few words of pleasantries, he said no more. The emperor then interjected: "Sir, you haven't seen my son yet, why don't you come with me and have a look."
Chen Chong nodded slightly, and the two of them immediately led a dozen guards to the palace behind the pavilion.
When they walked to the side hall of the palace, the maids along the way saluted them. When they opened the door again, Chen Chong saw an old maid surrounded by two girls and holding a small baby. Obviously, this was the prince Liu Qi. In the center of the hall, there are two richly dressed women, kneeling on futons and chanting to the scriptures in the hall. Chen Chong recognized Concubine Dong on the left and Princess Wannian on the right.
Chen Chong looked at the child, who was sleeping soundly. Although he had no worries about food and clothing, his face was still a little wrinkled, but he looked very well-behaved, with a vibrant red color on his face. Chen Chong congratulated Liu Xie and said: "Your Majesty, Your Highness is blessed. I believe you will live a long and safe life in the future."
Liu Xie smiled and suddenly said: "Sir, are you here to congratulate me today just to say this?"
Chen Chong was stunned for a moment, then looked at Liu Xie with bright eyes. Unexpectedly, Liu Xie did not shy away and continued: "In recent days, the guards in the palace have scolded me a lot. It must be the intention of sir."
Chen Chong nodded slightly and said calmly: "General Jianping openly cut the country's throat, and the harm is far-reaching. I have long-term plans with Qianjun. I am afraid of changes in the palace, so I strengthen the guards to protect your majesty."
Liu Xie said: "What happened in the palace?"
Chen Chong said: "There are widespread rumors among the people that Your Majesty wants to kill me and Xuande. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"
Liu Xie asked back: "I have also heard that there are widespread rumors among the people that the master and the general covet the artifact and want to take it from me. I wonder what you think, sir?" He paused and said to Chen Chong: "Sir, if If you still want to assist the left, then try your best to assist the left; if you don’t want to assist the left, please beg your grace and let me go!"
Chen Chong suddenly realized something. Only now did he realize that the childish face he saw when he rescued the driver seven years ago has now become angry and angular. He also noticed that Concubine Dong Guifei's whole body trembled slightly when she heard his words, and her voice of chanting sutras also weakened.
He was a little uninterested, and at this point, the two of them had almost nothing to say. Chen Chong could only think sadly in his heart: He could not be his minister, nor could he be anyone's minister. So he cupped his hands and said, "Then please take care of yourself, Your Majesty." He glanced at Concubine Dong Guifei, who was biting her lip and looking pale, and sympathized with the young mother in his heart, and said, "Your Highness, please rest assured, no matter what happens to Hongnong, Whether Jianping is a war or a surrender, I will not implicate my family."
The seventeen-year-old girl stopped chanting, her eyes made contact with Chen Chong, and then they separated for a moment. She obviously didn't know what to say, so she could only hold the corners of her sleeves and look down at the masonry on the temple.
Chen Chong sighed and apologized to Liu Xie: "Until the Hongnong matter is resolved, please do not leave the palace at will." Then he turned and walked away. The emperor and the imperial concubine stayed in the palace to watch him leave.
When passing the aisle, a palace maid saw Chen Chong passing by, and when she got close to Chen Chong, she thrust something into his hand. Chen Chong was shocked. He saw that the palace maid was just a girl he didn't know, and he didn't know what her purpose was. The thing in his hand seemed to be rolled up into a ball of silk. He was afraid of being seen, so he quickly held it in his hand.
After he came out, he reluctantly exchanged greetings with everyone, then left everyone and went straight out of the palace. After getting on the carriage, he called the waiter and waved his whip and hurried forward. In the rickety car, he opened the silk with sweaty hands and saw several lines of beautiful small characters written on it. Looking carefully, it read:
"The house is thousands of miles deep, and I can't live if I want you. I show mercy to the royal family, and my concubine's love is only for me." The signature on the end of the silk is "Wannian".
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
Chen Chong was quite surprised after reading it. The meaning of Princess Wannian writing this letter is that someone is plotting to harm her. Does "Thousand Miles of Grass" refer to the remnants of Dong Zhuo's party? Or someone else? He then thought again, did she want to intercede for the emperor in this way? But he thought too much. No matter whether Xuande succeeded or not, it would not harm the emperor's life.
Chen Chong immediately felt even more sad. Princess Wannian was just a woman, but she had to mediate for two people in this situation. How difficult the world is! He pondered for a moment, folded the thin silk and put it into his sleeve robe, and no longer thought about it.
When he returned to Sili Mansion, Chen Chong bumped into Qian Zhao, Chen Deng, and Chen Qun. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Chen Chong was safe and sound. Qianzhao stepped forward to persuade: "You are responsible for the safety of the whole country, so you must not be careless. You should do less of this kind of thing in the future."
Chen Chong did not answer, but asked: "Zijing, is there any progress recently?"
Qianzhao knew that he was talking about secretly investigating the emperor's accomplices. He shook his head and said: "I'm afraid as I said before, there are no other people around your majesty, and I haven't heard of any conspiracy. I'm afraid the person who conspired is not in the palace. If you want to investigate, If you find a traitor, you may have to resort to extreme measures."
Chen Chong was silent for a moment, walked towards the depths of the trees, waited for them to catch up, and then asked in a low voice: "What do you think?"
Qianzhao said: "There are two relatives in the country, one is Jianping and the other is Situ. Now that Jianping is in trouble, Situ may not be able to get away with it. Now the matter is urgent. How about we arrest Situ, interrogate him with severe torture, and plunder him?" His family is not afraid that he will not be able to reveal that he is conspiring with the same party."
Chen Chong frowned slightly and said cautiously: "With the current situation, arresting the three men without real evidence will have little impact on the gang. And torture and interrogation can easily lead to defeat. If he is really involved, it would be okay to confess honestly, but if he starts biting randomly, I'm afraid It’s hard to end it. If you don’t have to, don’t do it again.”
When Chen Deng heard this, he became anxious and immediately admonished him: "Your Majesty, this is the moment when the country is in danger of survival. How can we treat it as normal? If your Majesty does not want to live up to this reputation, you can give me a manpower privately and I will do it on my own!"
Chen Chong wandered back for a while, thinking of Princess Wannian's silk in his sleeves, and finally made up his mind and said: "Lynching is not allowed in the country. Even if the matter is serious, we will make it known widely, and 600 soldiers from the Si Li Mansion will be dispatched to conduct a thorough investigation." The whole Situ Mansion. You, Yuan Hai, are in charge of investigating this matter. You can separate and interrogate them, and correspond to the confessions. Remember! Be cautious! If there is anything wrong, it will not be too late to impose punishment."
Speaking of this, Chen Chong felt deeply that the troops in Xijing were stretched thin. He had originally mobilized some of Jinyang's troops, but now it seems that they may still be insufficient. So he waved to Chen Qun and told him: "Chang Wen, go to Jinyang in person, first find the general's wife, and then go to Meiji to mobilize 5,000 Helian Tiefu cavalry and 5,000 Wang Ting Qingqi.”
Chen Chong suddenly had a hunch that he seemed to have overlooked something, but he was busy with everything and had no time to take care of it.
