It was just dawning, and in front of the gate of Zhongyihou Mansion, there were several followers waiting with two horses.
After a while, the door of the Hou Mansion opened and two young men walked out.
The older one, about 20 years old, has a dark complexion, is extremely tall, and has a burly body, like half an iron tower. He is wearing light armor and soft armor, and carries a sense of majesty in his movements. He is the Crown Prince Zhongyi: Lu Yihong.
The younger one, about fifteen or sixteen years old, has a fair face, tall and tall, wearing a long robe with wide sleeves and a soft gauze Tang scarf on his head. He looks like a student. This person is the second son of the Zhongyi Hou Mansion: Lu Jinxuan.
As soon as they saw the two people coming out, a middle-aged man who looked like a butler hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "I've met the Crown Prince, I've met the Second Young Master."
Lu Yihong's eyebrows jumped when he saw the person coming: "Uncle Lu, is there something wrong?"
Lu Fengnian was the old housekeeper of the Hou Mansion. If nothing happened, he would not wait for him at the door of the house early in the morning.
Lu Fengnian said: "Returning to the Master is not a big deal. Last night at the fourth watch, someone came from Yuxuan and said that the young lady was upset and couldn't sleep. She was thinking about listening to the Yuyuan Opera Troupe's play."
"The old servant saw that it was too late yesterday, so he didn't dare to disturb the prince. He thought it would be the same if he asked in the morning."
Lu Jinxuan laughed angrily at the side: "In other words, Miss will not go to class today?"
Lu Yihong got on his horse, waved his hand and said, "If Wan'er wants to hear it, just go and invite her."
"If you don't go to the academy, you won't go. What's the point of reading Lao Zi Shu? If you can read a few words, you won't be blind."
"Brother, if you manipulate her like this, sooner or later she will become lawless." Lu Jinxuan also got on the horse with a straight face.
Lu Yihong raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways at Lu Jinxuan: "Can you control her? Well, you do it!"
Lu Jinxuan was furious. If he could control Lu Wan'er, why would he waste so many words with Lu Yihong!
"Feng Er, Feng Wu, please keep an eye on the young lady today." Lu Jinxuan didn't believe that Lu Waner spent so much time just to skip class for a day, "Be careful not to let her find out."
After that, the two Lu brothers rode away.
"Miss, the housekeeper has sent someone to invite the Yu Garden troupe." Taohong opened the curtain and entered the inner room excitedly.
Lu Wan'er always got up early, and she had the habit of getting up in the morning to practice martial arts. At this time, she had finished practicing a set of sword skills and was sitting at the table having breakfast refreshed, while Shen Zhuo was sitting next to her with a sleepy look on his face. superior.
"Jiaojiao, you really don't want me to follow you? Maybe I can help you." Lu Waner said.
Shen Zhuo shook his head, lazily drank half a bowl of porridge, wiped his mouth and said, "I'm not going to fight, I don't care about the crowd. Just stay in the house and help me cover my whereabouts."
"Ying'er is about the same height as me. I asked her to pretend to be me and stay with you to listen to the opera in Yuxuan."
When it was daylight, the Zhongyihou Mansion was bustling with activity. People from the Yuyuan Theater Troupe moved all kinds of people to Tingyuxuan.
At this time, an inconspicuous green cloth carriage parked outside the back door of Zhongyihou Mansion. Two handsome young men came out of the back door and went straight to the carriage.
"Two young brothers, we booked the old man's car today. Where are we going?" the coachman asked.
"Uncle, go to the Xishan Reclining Buddha Temple." A crisp reply came from inside the car.
"Okay~~ The two little brothers are seated." The coachman flicked his whip, and the carriage started to move with a "clatter".
"Miss, even if the eldest lady doesn't take you to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, there's no need to dress like this and follow."
Lan Cao, who was dressed as a servant in the car, pulled his clothes uncomfortably and lowered his voice.
Lancao looked at Shen Zhuo puzzled. The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is a famous temple in Kyoto. There is an endless stream of people going to worship the Buddha and burn incense all year round. Miss, you can go if you want, why do you have to disguise yourself?
"I went secretly this time, just because I didn't want sister to know." Shen Zhuo said with his eyes closed.
She seemed to be leaning against the car wall to catch up on her sleep, but actually she was planning her next move.
Shen Zhuo did not dare to reveal to anyone the real purpose of disguising herself to go to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha secretly. She wanted to find out the details about Xiao Cheng.
In the previous life, before the prince was deposed, no one saw Xiao Cheng's true face. In this life, Shen Zhuo wanted to see if he could find some clues in advance.
An hour later, the green cloth carriage stopped at the entrance of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Shen Zhuo and Lan Cao jumped out of the carriage one after another.
Lan Cao took out forty copper coins and paid it to the coachman: "Uncle, we have to go back later. Could you please wait here?"
The coachman weighed the coins in his hand and smiled happily: "No problem, I'll wait under this tree. You can see the two boys as soon as they leave the temple."
Although today is neither a New Year nor a festival, the incense is still flourishing in the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The huge temple is full of people, and many pilgrims are burning incense and praying for blessings.
Shen Zhuo first went into the main hall and burned a few sticks of incense, and then began to wander around the temple.
This was not the first time for Shen Zhuo to come to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. He had been here several times with Princess Pingyang in the past. She knew that behind the monks' Zen rooms in the temple, there were several exquisite and unique Zen courtyards, which were specially used for the stay of distinguished guests.
Several of them were built by families who believed in Buddhism and were regarded as special Zen monasteries. Xiao Qingyun lives in one of them.
But Shen Zhuo couldn't remember how to get there. One is that in the past there were monks who knew how to lead the way, and the other is that the time gap was too long.
Shen Zhuo and Lan Cao bumped into each other like headless flies. Without realizing it, they came to a quiet courtyard.
The air here is calm and peaceful. There are several towering ancient cypresses in the courtyard with lush branches and leaves, making it quiet and solemn. A five or six-year-old novice monk was cleaning the courtyard with his head down.
"Little Master, do you know where Princess Qinghe is?" Shen Zhuo grabbed the little novice and asked.
The young monk raised his head, looked at Shen Zhuo and said, "This female benefactor, I don't know where Princess Qinghe is."
Lan Cao's eyes were surprised. This little master's eyes were really sharp. With just one glance, he recognized that they were girls.
Being discovered by others, she was so serious that she didn't take it seriously. She glanced at the little novice monk and said with a slow smile: "Little master, monks don't gossip."
The little novice monk stopped the broom in his hand, pursed his lips, and hesitated: "Master said that the princess's whereabouts should not be known to outsiders."
Shen Zhuo rolled her eyes and knelt down. She looked at the little novice monk and said, "Well, you don't need to say that. Let me guess. If I guess wrong, you don't have to say anything. If I guess right, you can continue sweeping the floor." In this way, you are not violating your master's instructions, and you are not gossiping in front of the Buddha. What do you think?"
"Then, what if you keep guessing wrong?" asked the little novice monk.
"Well, then it's five rounds?" Shen Zhuo blinked.
The young novice agreed.
"Backyard Zen Room?"
The little novice didn't move.
"Chanting hall?"
The little novice monk still didn't move.
"Magnolia forest in the back mountain?"
The little novice took a deep breath, picked up his broom and ran away quickly.
Lan Cao couldn't help but smile and praised: "Miss, you really have a way."
Shen Zhuo raised his eyebrows proudly, raised his little head and said, "Let's go to the back mountain."
