Proud Feather

Chapter 97 Please ask
Master Lingxu!
Chu Ling hadn't heard this name in a long time.

In her previous life, after causing a scene at her second brother's family banquet, her father was furious and sent her to the Sanqing Temple to reflect on her mistakes, entrusting her to the care of Daoist Lingxu.

Lingxu Daoist was serious and not easily fooled. No matter how busy he was, he would make time to give her lectures. If he was really too busy, he would call Xiao Yu to come.

At first, she couldn't listen to anything. Master Lingxu didn't care and just crammed her with information, making her memorize and write, which tormented her to no end. Gradually, she lost her self-pity and self-deprecation.

After half a year, her temperament gradually calmed down, and with Xiao Yu pointing out her predicament, she finally understood.

In this respect, Master Lingxu was indeed her mentor who changed her life; otherwise, given her previous ignorance and incompetence, she would have been devoured by her second brother long ago.

"Why is he here?" the emperor asked in surprise.

Sun Shouquan said with a forced smile, "They said they came to apologize. The Crown Prince's funeral should have been presided over by the abbot, but unfortunately he was in seclusion at the time..."

"Oh." The emperor remembered. "Have him wait in the side hall. I'll go back now."

"Yes."

Chu Ling interjected, "Father, can I come along?"

The emperor asked curiously, "What are you going to do? Aren't you bored?"

Chu Ling said, "I want to ask Master Lingxu, do people really have souls? Is my elder brother's soul still wandering in this world? I want to see him again and say goodbye..."

Hearing these words, the emperor felt a pang of sadness and reached out to touch her head: "Your elder brother was kind and filial, and he performed countless good deeds in his lifetime. He will surely ascend to heaven."

Before long, the two returned to Funing Palace.

Master Lingxu was slightly surprised to see the father and daughter enter together, but he still stood up and bowed with composure: "This humble Taoist greets Your Majesty and the Princess."

The emperor offered a helping hand and said in a kind tone, "It's been a long time since we last met, Daoist Master. I wonder how the Imperial Preceptor has been lately?"

Master Lingxu, still with his serious expression, replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My master is traveling abroad. He last wrote to me in the middle of the year when he was in the Western Regions. I do not know where he has gone since."

The emperor nodded, his tone tinged with envy: "The Imperial Preceptor is so carefree, going wherever he wants. I wish I could escape this shackles of the world someday."

Master Lingxu smiled slightly but didn't reply. The emperor was just trying to get closer to him; only a fool would believe him.

After exchanging pleasantries, the emperor pointed to the tea table and said, "Master, you are a person beyond worldly affairs, so let's not stand on ceremony today. Please sit down!"

Master Lingxu thanked him and sat down opposite the emperor, behaving casually yet respectfully.

Chu Ling inwardly praised him. Only after being reborn did she realize how high Lingxu Daoist's cultivation level was. From the moment they met, his tone, expression, and words were all perfectly timed.

—Speaking of which, the timing of Master Lingxu's arrival was just too perfect…

She obediently sat down beside them, took the initiative to brew tea, and listened to their conversation.

"...I was in seclusion for cultivation some time ago and was unaware of the great changes that had occurred in the capital. I was unable to offer sacrifices to the Crown Prince in time, which is a dereliction of duty. I have come to apologize to Your Majesty."

The emperor waved his hand: "There is a reason for this, I don't blame you."

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty." Master Lingxu paused, then asked, "This morning when I arrived in the capital, I heard that the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review had apprehended the real culprit. Is this true?"

The emperor nodded and sighed, "My A-Yi died unjustly! He was acting out of a sense of public duty, working hard to clean up the Imperial Waterworks Bureau for the sake of river repairs. Who knew that some wicked people, lacking common sense, would hold their personal grudges against A-Yi and poison him..."

At this point, tears welled up in the emperor's eyes.

Chu Ling quickly handed over a handkerchief and comforted him, "Father, don't be sad. My elder brother was the most filial son when he was alive. How could he rest in peace in the afterlife if he saw you so upset? Blame Zhu Fan. She claims to be a talented woman, yet she can't distinguish right from wrong and dares to hold a grudge against the Crown Prince over such a trivial matter. It's outrageous!" She rattled off a string of words before the Emperor could stop her and revealed the details of the case.

Master Lingxu's heart skipped a beat; he wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose. However, it sounded like his junior brother's guess was pretty much correct...

Chu Ling continued, "That Zhu Fan died too easily! She harmed my elder brother and then committed suicide so easily! If she were alive, I would definitely grind her bones to dust to vent my hatred! By the way, Master Lingxu, do you have any magic spells that can torture ghosts?"

Even though Master Lingxu knew the inside story, he was still confused by her erratic train of thought and replied blankly, "Why is the princess asking this?"

"Of course, it's to punish the murderer!" Chu Ling said. "I read in the storybooks that there are soul-locking nails that prevent people from being reincarnated after death, or some kind of array that makes the soul suffer the pain of being burned by flames for eternity..."

Master Lingxu was both amused and exasperated, and said tactfully, "This is just a far-fetched interpretation by people; such magic does not exist."

"Oh!" Chu Ling's face fell in disappointment. "Wouldn't it be a quick and easy death for Zhu Fan? Besides, her parents and brother are all dead, so there's no one to even find to join the execution..."

Just as the emperor was about to comfort his daughter, he heard Daoist Lingxu tentatively ask, "Zhu Fan? Is the princess referring to Zhu, the head of the Xianle Pavilion?"

Chu Ling looked surprised: "Daoist Master, you recognize him? Is Zhu Fan that famous? You, a monk, also..."

Master Lingxu quickly clarified: "I have never been to Xianle Tower. I learned about it through other means."

After speaking, he looked at the emperor, a slight hesitation on his face: "This humble Taoist priest came to the palace this time intending to ask Your Majesty for a decree, allowing me to go to the Eastern Palace to pay my respects to the Crown Princess..."

These are two unrelated matters. The emperor sensed the tone in the words and frowned slightly: "Is there something you need, Daoist Master?"

“It concerns the Crown Prince,” said Daoist Lingxu. “Before his death, the Crown Prince entrusted me with a matter concerning Zhu Fan, the head of the Zhu family. Now that the Crown Prince is gone, I originally intended to entrust the remaining matters to the Crown Princess.”

The emperor and Chu Ling were startled and asked in unison, "What is it?"

Master Lingxu took out a cloth bag, opened it, and laid it on the tea table. Inside was a letter and a wooden hairpin.

"Does Your Majesty still remember that the Sanqing Temple goes to the northern lands every year to offer sacrifices and pray for the souls of the soldiers who died guarding the border?"

The Emperor nodded. Since its founding, the Great Xiang Kingdom had been engaged in intermittent warfare with the Western Wei and the Northern Hu, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. From the first National Preceptor onwards, the Sanqing Temple had sent people to the border every year to perform sacrifices and guide the spirits of the fallen heroes back to their homeland. This was a righteous act, which Emperor Taizu had highly praised.

"Before the grand ceremony this year, I received a request from the Crown Prince. When the disciples of the temple went to the north, they were asked to find two people: one named Zhu Yu and the other his mother, who had been exiled there. Once they were found, they were to be settled properly."

Master Lingxu said with remorse, "The disciples of the temple found them, but unfortunately, their health had been severely depleted during the exile, and they soon died of illness..."

Zhu Yu, Zhu Fan's younger brother, and his mother really died?

Chu Ling felt distressed, but upon further reflection, she realized something was amiss.

"Master, when did you receive this news?"

Master Lingxu replied, "Just a few days ago, the disciples from the temple returned."

When did they die of illness?

Master Lingxu thought for a moment and said, "It should be late August or early September. I set off for the North in August, held a grand ceremony for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and only then did I find the Zhu mother and son."

!!!

Chu Ling turned around and grabbed the emperor's sleeve, saying excitedly, "Father! Did you hear that? Something's not right! My elder brother fell into the water on the fifth day of the ninth lunar month. The imperial physician said the poison had been administered at least half a month ago, which means Zhu Fan poisoned my brother around the Mid-Autumn Festival. But the Taoist priest said they were still alive by the Mid-Autumn Festival! How did Zhu Fan get that information?"

This part of the story is quite long; there's more to come.