Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 303 White Lotus Buddha and Zhao Qi'an
Following Ji Yunrui's words, sentences...

Ji Qingkong's mind went blank in an instant. For a moment he even forgot what to say and stood there speechless.

Ji Yunrui gently stroked the rim of the wine cup in his hand with his fingers, and said leisurely: "Zhao Qi'an had the intention of rebellion more than ten years ago. He seemed to be born to rebel. I don't even know why a man like him would come to Kyoto City, and I don't know why he could tolerate your family for ten years..."

"But the latent dragon will eventually break through the sea. Now that he is about to 'move', the first person to bear the brunt will be your sister Yuzhen."

"He is kind and righteous. If it were me, I would have killed Yu Zhen with a single blow. Why would I spare her life? I don't know if it's out of kindness or because the shadow cast by my father's visit to the East China Sea has not yet dissipated..."

Ji Yunrui showed great interest in Zhao Qi'an and even made a few comments.

"Such forbearance, such depth..."

"Such a person is actually right next to us, and no one in the entire Kyoto city has noticed it. Fourth brother, what a terrifying person Zhao Qi'an must be."

Although he said this, Ji Yunrui's face clearly showed appreciation.

Ji Qingkong stared at him intently: "How do you know this?"

He didn't understand why his third brother knew everything about Zhao Qi'an since he hid it so well.

The most important thing is... why did the third brother know my identity? !

Ji Yunrui noticed his reaction, chuckled, then raised his hands and clapped.

"Clap clap."

When the voice died down, a small door at the back of the hall opened and a figure slowly walked out of the darkness.

That was a little novice monk.

On his bald head, there are twelve scars symbolizing the "Twelve Links of Dependent Origination".

He was wearing a gold and purple cassock, and walked towards him with his hands clasped together, full of holiness.

"Twins are born from the same family."

The young monk chanted the Buddha's name, his eyes fell on Ji Qingkong, and he bowed and said, "I am Fadu, and I am honored to meet the Holy Son of Red Lotus."

Ji Qingkong lowered his eyes and stared at a white lotus embroidered on the little monk's robes.

White Lotus...

Ji Qingkong finally understood why his identity was exposed. There was actually a monk from the White Lotus Buddhist Kingdom by his third brother's side!

Twin lotus flowers stand together, they are one family.

The White Lotus lineage and the Red Lotus lineage are both salvation religions!
The only difference is that the doctrines between the two are different. One cultivates the way of ruthlessness, while the other cultivates the way of desire.

The truth behind Tianwu's destruction of Buddhism lies within it.

He turned around suddenly and growled at Ji Yunrui, "Are you crazy? How dare you let people from the White Lotus Buddhist Kingdom enter the capital?"

Now Daqian is gathering heavy troops to attack the Southern Buddhist Kingdom. Even Ji Yunrui doesn't dare to contact the monks of the Southern Buddhist Kingdom at this time. He didn't expect that there was one hidden in the outer courtyard of his third brother's mansion!
The twelve scars on his forehead, the purple gold cassock… this monk has an extremely high status in the White Lotus Buddhist sect.

Before Ji Yunrui could speak, the monk Fadu behind him explained, "Son, you have misunderstood. I was enlightened by the Buddha Mother and realized my past and present lives. Since then, I have followed the Buddha Mother's arrangements and have been lurking in Kyoto City, using the 'Lapis Lazuli Realm Dharma Eye' to keep an eye on Zhao Qi'an for the Buddha Mother. It has been seven years now. I did not come to the capital because of the invitation of the Third Prince..."

"This is impossible!"

Ji Qingkong interrupted the monk, pointed his two fingers at him, and shouted, "You said you sneaked into Kyoto seven years ago? How could you escape the eyes of the Imperial Master holding the armillary sphere?"

Monk Fadu smiled and replied, "Although the armillary sphere is a rare treasure, and the national teacher is also a banished immortal. But there are treasures in this world that can block the national teacher's eyes and ears and isolate the power of the armillary sphere."

He raised his hand and rolled up the purple gold cassock on his body: "The Buddha Mother knows the power of the National Master, but she still dares to let me enter the capital. Of course, she must have something to rely on. This cassock is called the 'Four Immeasurables'. It is a precious tool of our Buddhist sect. It has the effect of isolating the power of the celestial sphere, and can also resist the National Master's Dharma Eye that 'sees good and evil, and understands cause and effect'."

Is there such a treasure?
Ji Qingkong looked solemnly at the purple-gold cassock on the monk Fadu, and then said calmly: "Even if what you said is true, why would the dignified Buddha Mother pay attention to Zhao Qi'an? Even if Zhao Qi'an is such an extraordinary person as you said, Daqian still has so many guardians of the country, not to mention that the capital city and the Southern Buddhist Kingdom are more than ten thousand miles apart."

More than ten years ago, the Buddhist leader "Buddha of the Ten Directions and Three Ages" passed away. Buddhist monks risked their lives to sneak into the land of Kyushu, searched all over Daqian Kyushu, and found a "Buddha Mother".

It is rumored that this "Buddha Mother" is pregnant with a virgin and is nurturing the future incarnation of the "Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Three Ages". She is highly respected by Southern Buddhist monks. Now she has become the new leader of Buddhism after the "Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Three Ages" has passed away.

How is it possible that such a person would care so much about Zhao Qi'an?

Even if Zhao Qian'an is really that extraordinary, he has not yet fully grown up. No matter how talented he is, he has not yet reached the first level of Taoism. No matter how powerful he is in the East China Sea, he is at most just another Southern Buddhist Kingdom.

There is no connection between the two, at least on the surface.

If the supreme mother of Buddha treated other guardians of the country in this way, such as Guan Yunzi, the leader of Dao Sect, or the high priest of Wujiang, Ji Qingkong would think it was reasonable.

But why would it be Zhao Qi'an?

Fadu monk did not change his expression when facing the questioning. He chanted the Dharma name and said calmly, "I don't know the details. I only know that when the Buddha Mother was still in the secular world, she had a deep relationship with Zhao Qi'an. She is also the person who knows Zhao Qi'an best in the world. What the Third Prince and the Holy Son said just now is true. I am willing to swear by the Buddha."

He seemed to be worried that Ji Qingkong would not believe it, so he reminded him, "The Buddha's mother was also born in the East China Sea."

So, this Buddha Mother had a grudge against Zhao Qi'an before she became "Buddha Mother"?
Ji Qingkong was still skeptical about what he said.

Ji Yunrui then said, "None of this is important. What's important is that your sister Yuzhen was killed by Zhao Qi'an's people. This was seen by the Zen Master himself."

Ji Qingkong looked at Monk Fadu: "Is that true?"

Monk Fadu nodded and said, "A few months ago, a fellow disciple of the Red Lotus lineage came to the capital. I don't know what secret method he used to look for the reincarnated person. He almost exposed me. I think he is a subordinate of the Holy Son. Fortunately, there is also a reincarnated golden boy in the capital, otherwise the fellow disciples would have killed each other, which is not good."

He shook his head slightly and chanted the Buddha's name again.

At the beginning, Gong Xinying and her group of White Lotus followers wanted to send the "holy fetus" condensed in Jingzhou to Kyoto City. The reason why they stayed there was not only because Gong Xinying wanted to meet Yuzhen privately, nor for money, but most importantly, they found a reincarnated golden boy in Kyoto City.

The Holy Lord of Red Lotus is collecting these reincarnated golden boys, and Gong Xinying was able to convince other Savior believers to stay because she wanted to share in this great credit.

But the reincarnated golden boy they were looking for at the beginning was not Ling Yunzi, the little Taoist boy from Baiyun Temple, but the Buddhist disciple of the White Lotus Sect lurking in Kyoto City.

No one knew what magic the monk Fadu used to make Gong Xinying and his group of the Salvation Sect target the little Taoist boy Ling Yunzi, which led to many subsequent events.

Ji Qingkong was completely unaware of this. Although he was the Holy Son of Red Lotus, and Gong Xinying's group of salvation believers came to Kyoto City to deliver the "holy fetus" for him, he had only had one-way contact with the believers and had never actually met them.

He did not interrupt Monk Fadu and listened patiently.

Monk Fadu continued, "Although I am protected by the Four Immeasurable Robes, Zhao Qi'an's strength is hard to predict. He seems to have innate divine eyes, so I dare not get too close to him. But when fellow disciples of the Salvation Sect came to Beijing, I paid some attention to them, and happened to witness a lot of things."

"There are so many things among them. I am only one person and cannot take care of too many. I only know that before Princess Yuzhen went crazy, she borrowed a 'blood bodhisattva' from your sect's saint and took her to the princess' mansion. Since then, she has never left the mansion again. It was not until all the Honglian disciples in the capital were annihilated that the news of Princess Yuzhen's madness spread."

Monk Fadu paused for a moment and continued, "Zhao Qi'an has countless talented people under his command. One of them is Wei Haiyan, the former head of the Imperial Horse Administration. He had a chance in his early years. He accidentally entered a cave when he was young and found a shadow wall left by a master in the cave. Unfortunately, he was not talented enough and had no chance to practice martial arts. He only learned a set of 'Silver Needle Secret Techniques' on the shadow wall."

"After all of the Red Lotus disciples in the capital were annihilated, I saw with my own eyes that the people from the Princess's residence took him into the palace."

"Princess Yuzhen's illness doesn't seem like madness or hysteria, but rather like she was given acupuncture that reversed her Niwan acupoint. It's most likely this man's doing."

He looked at Ji Qingkong and said, "This man lost the battle with the Five Marquises, and it was all thanks to Zhao Qi'an that he saved his life. Now he even regards Zhao Qi'an as his benefactor. His Highness Yuzhen's madness... is actually all due to Zhao Qi'an!"

Ji Qingkong subconsciously took a step back and said in a low voice: "This, this is just your one-sided statement!"

"Is this just my one-sided story? Saint Son, why don't you go see Princess Yuzhen and see if there are any signs of acupuncture on her skull? You will know at a glance."

Ji Qingkong was completely speechless.

In fact, he already believed it in his heart.

But when the emperor promised Yuzhen to Zhao Qian'an, Yuzhen tried her best to refuse. In the end, he felt that the Zhao family was the richest family in the world and that a marriage would have many benefits for him, so he took the initiative to mention it to Yuzhen, and she agreed.

At the moment he was trying hard to find excuses for Zhao Qian'an, but in fact he was making excuses for himself.

In this case, doesn’t it mean that... he was the one who pushed his sister into the fire pit with his own hands!
He stepped back step by step, his face becoming more and more embarrassed.

Until... someone supported him from behind.

"Fourth brother." Ji Yunrui had stood behind him without him noticing. He held him up with his hand and said softly, "I know that you and your sister have a deep relationship. Now that your second brother treats you so well and relies on Zhao Qi'an as his arm, what reason do you have to stand on his side?"

"Moreover, if my second brother knew your identity, would he dare to accept you? Who in this capital city would dare to accept you now?"

"But I dare!"

"Since I can accommodate the White Lotus Buddhist Sect, I can also accommodate the Red Lotus Desire Sect! If I can become a crown prince, I will grant this Jingzhou as your fiefdom, and allow you to have children and inherit it from generation to generation!"

These words were spoken with such sincerity that they seemed to be an expression of true feelings.

But if you think about it carefully, it is a needle hidden in cotton.

The underlying meaning of his words was that if he didn't agree, he would go all out and make Ji Qingkong's identity public.

If agreed, he was willing to overturn Emperor Tianwu's national policy of "demoting hereditary titles by one level, and only princes can inherit fiefdoms" after he succeeded to the throne, and also let Ji Qingkong and his descendants be "King of Jing" for generations.

The conditions are very generous, and the cost of rejection is also very high.

But Ji Qingkong looked hesitant, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "I have to go see Yuzhen first, and then make plans." Ji Yunrui did not expect that even after saying this, Ji Qingkong still did not express his opinion on the spot.

But he quickly smiled and shook his head: "Then it's up to you, but now is the time to race against time..."

"It won't be long. Tomorrow...tomorrow I will give my brother an answer!"

Ji Qingkong bowed to Ji Yunrui and said, "I am not in the mood for a banquet today, so I will take my leave first."

"Okay, Xuanyi, give it a go for my fourth brother."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After Zhou Xuanyi led Ji Qingkong away, Monk Fadu also took his leave and said, "Since the Fourth Prince has left, I will also take my leave."

……

A moment later, after Zhou Xuanyi sent Ji Qingkong away, he returned to the hall.

The monk Fadu was no longer seen in the hall.

Only Ji Yunrui was sitting by the fire, looking at the wine pot warming on the stove, looking contented.

Zhou Xuanyi waved away his attendants, then came to Ji Yunrui and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, I have something to say that I cannot help but say!"

"explain."

Zhou Xuanyi lifted his robe and knelt down, clasping his hands and saying, "Although Your Highness has now broken with the old master, there are still many comrades in the Western Desert Army who admire Your Highness as much as I do. The fact that the Xinghe Emperor's grandson has already won over a part of the Western Desert troops is the best proof!"

"Your Highness is a hero, not a wimp like Ji Haoyu. You can't leave Old Master Zhou, you can't leave the Zhou family, and you can't leave the Western Desert Army!"

"Today, the emperor is old and no longer has the ambition he once had. The left prime minister Wu Yong monopolizes the government, the civil officials control the government, and the military officials suffer a lot. The second prince relies on the literati and regards us as straw dogs. The military officials in the world are all looking forward to the reappearance of the 'Emperor Wu's prosperous era'. If Your Highness raises his arm and calls for action, countless knowledgeable people will be willing to die for you!"

"Your Highness's current strategy should be to stabilize the officials of the five prefectures in the capital and win over the soldiers of the local prefectures. Why, why..."

He gritted his teeth, and every word he spoke was like burning coals in his mouth, and the veins on his forehead bulged: "Why did Your Highness collude with the evildoers of the Salvation Church?"

Ji Yunrui just listened quietly. His expression remained unchanged despite these inspiring and generous words.

He reached out and opened the lid of the wine pot warming on the stove, and added some dates and other things into it. While doing this, he said calmly: "It's not surprising that the Southern Buddha Kingdom is willing to cooperate with me. Now that the troops of my eldest brother and Mr. Lin have been combined, and there is also the strong support of Wujiang, and the forces of the seven foreign countries have been integrated to persuade them to send troops. This time, the Southern Buddha Kingdom is really in danger of life and death. They need a helper, and they need someone who can stop this war to stand up."

"The new emperor of Daqian supported by them is the best partner, isn't he? Maybe those bald asses of the Southern Buddhist Kingdom still have the idea of ​​redressing the injustice of Buddhism after I succeed to the throne."

"As for me……"

He put down the things in his hand and looked at Zhou Xuanyi: "Can what you said deal with Prime Minister Wu? Can it help me win the position of crown prince?"

Just as Zhou Xuanyi was about to speak, Ji Yunrui shook his head and said, "You can't deal with it. You are still limited to the rules. But within the rules of the court...how can you deal with Prime Minister Wu who is the best at this?"

"When the White Lotus Buddha Country first approached me, I wanted to refuse, but they gave me the fatal handle of Prime Minister Wu as a bonus for this deal, which gave me hope of overthrowing Prime Minister Wu. How could I not be tempted?"

"What's more, you escaped from the Western Desert, and you are the eldest grandson of the old man. How come you didn't see what the old man hid in the Western Desert? I hoped that by offering the dragon ball, my father would pay attention to the Western Desert, but he turned a deaf ear to it. The White Lotus Buddhist Country is willing to go to the Western Desert to support the emperor, so how can I not be tempted?"

He sighed: "Xuan Yi, you think I have a choice because you haven't seen enough!"

"If you were standing next to me and saw what I saw, you would know..."

"There aren't that many choices in this world!"

……

On the other side of Kyoto City, in a house, a banquet had just come to an end.

After Lin Wenxu sent all the guests out of the Xiangguo Mansion, he turned around and returned home.

In the banquet hall, several maids were clearing away the cups and plates, while the Left Prime Minister Wu Yong sat in the main seat at the table, leaning on the edge of the table, holding his forehead with his hand.

It was not until he heard footsteps beside him that Wu Yong opened his eyes and looked up at Lin Wenxu standing beside him. His expression softened: "Everyone has left."

"I personally escorted you outside the mansion and watched you gentlemen get on the carriages before returning."

Lin Wenxu answered respectfully, then looked at Wu Yong's tired face and said worriedly: "Teacher, you have been busy these days, why don't you go back to your room and rest first."

Wu Yong shook his head and pulled himself together, "No hurry. I've been delayed by the banquet today and my official duties are not yet completed. Please follow me to the study and help me check for any omissions."

Lin Wenxu advised: "Teacher, why rush?"

Wu Yong insisted: "Today's work should be done today, how can the affairs of state be delayed?"

Lin Wenxu knew his teacher's temper and knew that it was useless to persuade him, so he had no choice but to follow him to the study.

The study in the Wu Mansion was built in a very grand style, with all the furnishings arranged neatly and orderly. It was simply too clean to be found anywhere else.

The only thing on the desk was several thick piles of official documents, which made it look a bit messy.

These are the official documents sent by the central government today. In addition to the officials in Kyoto, there are also memorials submitted by officials from all over Kyushu. Such a large amount is only one day's work.

Wu Yong sat behind his desk and began his routine review. He would only glance at a memorial a few times, circle the unimportant ones, and if there were some important ones, he would just ponder for a moment and then pick up his pen to write down a good plan.

Lin Wenxu was right beside him, and he would review every memorial. If there were no omissions, he would help sort them out. If there were any omissions or negligence, he would hand them over to Wu Yong for review.

The master and the apprentice worked in perfect harmony. They hardly talked to each other during the whole process. Occasionally they had a few brief exchanges, but they were always concise and to the point.

After a moment, Lin Wenxu wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Wu Yong with admiration in his eyes.

He was already exhausted from just assisting.

But the teacher had to read every memorial, and he had to think carefully and come up with a response for each one. You can imagine the energy he consumed.

Everyone inside and outside the government felt that the teacher was greedy for power, that he monopolized government affairs, that he had to review everything, that he had to ask for instructions on everything, and that he was unwilling to give up any power to others easily.

But they fail to see that behind all this is Daqian, which is like a leaky sieve!

The teacher has to do everything personally in order to fill in the holes in the screen one by one, for he is afraid that any mistake will ruthlessly remove the last fig leaf of Daqian and the edifice will collapse!

If Daqian didn't have a teacher, even the apparent stability over the years would no longer exist!

It’s ridiculous that those people still think that the teacher is just mediocre, and is a “mud prime minister” who can only whitewash and cover up whenever something big happens!
There were so many memorials that others would not be able to handle them in half a month, but it was just one day's official business.

Living this kind of life, day after day, for decades, how many people in the court can do it?
Lin Wenxu just felt ashamed. In the past, he had followed the crowd and became a disciple of Prime Minister Wu, but he was just unwilling to give up fame and fortune and wanted to gain a bright future.

But over the years, he has been deeply impressed by Wu Yong and has long regarded Wu Yong as his true teacher.

"Yunwen."

When most of the official business was done, only some unimportant memorials remained.

Wu Yong closed his eyes and gently held his forehead, a look of fatigue on his face, and called out softly to Lin Wenxu.

Yunwen is Lin Wenxu's courtesy name.

He was so sleepy that his upper and lower eyelids were fighting each other. Suddenly he heard Wu Yong calling him. He woke up with a start and bowed quickly: "Student is here."

Wu Yong didn't open his eyes, but kept rubbing his brows and asked, "Has the eldest prince replied?"

"This……"

Speaking of the eldest prince, Lin Wenxu looked a little embarrassed.

He answered truthfully: "I have presented the teacher with a visiting card, and it has been accepted by the prince's personal guards. However, I heard from a familiar eunuch in the palace that the prince has not returned to Jingxuan Palace since returning to the capital, and now even his personal guards do not know his whereabouts."

After he answered, he didn't hear Wu Yong's reply for a long time. He looked up in surprise: "Teacher?"

"Teacher? Teacher?"

It was not until Lin Wenxu called out several times that Wu Yong seemed to come to his senses. He slowly opened his eyes with a confused look in his eyes: "Where were we just talking about?"

Lin Wenxu saw this and a look of worry appeared on his face again. He replied, "Teacher was just talking to the student about the eldest prince."

Wu Yong was stunned for a moment, then he remembered what happened just now, and nodded: "In this case, the eldest prince is deliberately avoiding us, which is a good thing for us."

In his mind, he recalled that after the birthday banquet a few days ago, the eldest prince Ji Wuchang had privately met with Emperor Tianwu. He thought it was about the war in the south, but then Emperor Tianwu summoned him to the Yangxin Palace to inquire about the affairs of the Western Desert Border Army.

He has been trying to figure out the emperor's intentions about this strange thing in recent days.

Considering the actions of the Third Prince in recent days, and the fact that Zhou Tiansheng, the old fox, was sick and didn't come to Kyoto City, and even missed the birthday banquet...

"If my guess is correct, something happened in the Western Desert."

He murmured softly, coming to a conclusion in his mind.

(End of this chapter)