NFBE Chapter 111 A Chance Encounter at Hantuo Temple
Chapter 111 A Chance Encounter at Hantuo Temple
Chapter 111 A Chance Encounter at Hantuo Temple
After entering the Handuo Temple, Zhenhuan got off the car and thanked the third prince Yinzhi again before saying goodbye. The two also introduced their families to each other, which made Zhenhuan even more determined to stay away from him.
The Third Prince didn't want to leave, but since they had already entered the Hantuo Temple, it would be inappropriate for him to continue following behind. It would be easy for the other party to see what he was thinking.
Zhenhuan soon entered the main hall. Her main purpose today was to burn incense, but after what she had just experienced, she wanted to pray for safety. Maybe it was not appropriate for her to go out before the audition?
With this thought in mind, Zhenhuan entered the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's hall, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and knelt in prayer. A moment later, she heard the rustling of fabrics beside her, and then felt someone kneeling beside her. Thinking they were also worshippers, she ignored them and focused on reciting her wishes to the Bodhisattva several times before opening her eyes and preparing to stand.
But it was not clear whether it was because she had been kneeling for too long, but when Zhenhuan tried to stand up, she felt her legs go weak and was about to fall to the ground. At this moment, a strong arm stretched out from the side, supported Zhenhuan directly, and lifted her up.
Nanny Wu in the outer room heard Zhenhuan's scream and hurried in to check. She saw the Seventh Prince holding Zhenhuan tightly. Zhenhuan did not struggle, but her face looked a little frightened.
Nanny Wu was startled. Why did this gentleman come today? Not daring to think too much, she quickly walked up to Zhen Huan and said, "Princess, what's wrong with you?"
Zhen Huan had recovered by now, but her legs were still numb and she couldn't stand. She reached out to Madam Wu and said, "Madam, please help me up. I almost fell because I couldn't stand steadily."
She was also aware that her current posture could easily lead to misunderstandings. After what happened with the Third Prince, she began to doubt the identity of the person in front of her. Although the other party was wearing a dark blue uniform and his identity could not be seen, he had a yellow belt tied around his waist. This person was either a prince or a member of the royal family. He looked more like a prince than a member of the royal family.
When Nanny Wu helped Zhen Huan stand upright, Zhen Huan bowed to the Seventh Prince sitting opposite her and said thank you: "Thank you for your help just now, sir. If you hadn't helped me, I would have fallen down."
The Seventh Prince had already taken advantage of the previous action to take a good look at Zhen Huan. He was quite satisfied with her image at this time, so his attitude was very gentle: "No need to be so polite, Princess. It's just a small favor, so there's no need to thank me."
Hearing the other person say this, Zhenhuan felt a little more favorable towards him. They met in the temple, and he looked quite serious, but his voice was quite gentle just now. Could he be the Fourth Prince? But the Fourth Prince should be twenty years old this year. Could this prince in front of her be twenty years old?
Despite what she was thinking, Zhenhuan did not act rudely. She thanked him again, said goodbye, and went to the temple's side room prepared for pilgrims.
As soon as she sat down in the wing room, Zhen Huan glanced at Nanny Wu several times. Nanny Wu said politely, "The one just now was the Seventh Prince, also known as the Seventh Master."
Zhenhuan was thankful that she hadn't said too much or had too much contact with him. She couldn't get involved with the Seventh Master. A disabled prince had no right to compete for the throne. Even during the Kowloon Succession War, he was very safe. But marrying such a prince, with her family background, would at best make her a prince's concubine. Could she be as powerful as an imperial concubine? Or as powerful as the empress dowager?
She was going to be the Imperial Consort, Imperial Noble Consort, and Empress Dowager in the future, so a mere Seventh Prince would not look down on her. However, Zhen Huan was a little confused. Wasn't it said that the Seventh Prince was disabled and had a problem with his legs? She didn't see anything just now.
Nanny Wu's heart was already pounding. Although Hantuo Temple was a major temple in the capital, it wasn't so popular that two princes would come at the same time. Furthermore, these two princes were now involved with the princess, and it happened right under her nose. Could they have known the princess's fate? However, in the entire Niuhulu Mansion, only Ling Zhu and Peng Shi knew about this matter, and she had learned it from the emperor. How could the other princes know? Could it be that their masters had also told them?
Unable to figure it out, Nanny Wu stopped thinking about it. Her job was to keep an eye on Zhen Huan and report Zhen Huan's every move in a timely manner. As long as her master didn't give her any other instructions, she wouldn't interfere too much.
The unaware Fourth Prince Yinzhen had already met Yuanzhen, a high monk from Hantuo Temple. The two of them sat by the woods, discussing Buddhism while playing chess. This was a common occurrence for Yinzhen when he came to Hantuo Temple. Every time he came, Yuanzhen would play chess and chat with Yinzhen. The two of them didn't seem like a high monk and pilgrims, but more like close friends.
At this time, the eldest prince Yinzhi had also arrived at Handuo Temple. As soon as he came in, he met the third prince Yinzhi who was strolling in Handuo Temple. The eldest prince was stunned for a moment and then quickly realized that the third prince had also received the news.
This information made his originally bright face instantly gloomy. He thought that only he and the second brother were competing. It turned out that the third brother also had his own ideas. But why did the third brother think that he could beat him?
Just relying on those few good articles or a few good poems? The literati failed to rebel in three years, and this is not just talk. Behind the third brother, at best, there are only Dong E and Rong Xian, the little girl, supporting him. With this little power, Yinzhi really didn't take it seriously.
When the Third Prince saw the First Prince, he gave him an awkward smile and stammered a greeting: "Big Brother, you are here to burn incense today as well. The Bodhisattva in the Handuo Temple is truly powerful. I am here to pray for Mother as well. Since you are here, you must be busy with something, so I will not disturb you today."
Seeing the third brother trying to slip away, the eldest prince Yinzhi immediately reached out to stop him: "Third brother, there's no need to rush. Stay and have a good chat with me. Why are you praying for Concubine Rong today? Is Concubine Rong seriously ill and won't have much time left?"
Yinzhi: "You!" The Third Prince was also angry now. If Princess Nianhulu was truly destined to be the emperor, then there was no point for the brothers to come and compete for her. It was not a big deal for him to come here early today to make friends with her. They were all princes, so they should compete fairly.
He was afraid of the boss's power in the court, but the boss couldn't go too far. He had already retreated and wanted to go back, so why was he still so aggressive?
Yinzhi said, "Brother, I respect you as my elder brother, so I am willing to take a step back and leave early. However, this is no excuse for you to offend Mother with your words. At worst, I will not ask for anything today, but I will go to the Qianqing Palace to seek justice for Mother."
The eldest prince now realized that his words were wrong. He was just angry and couldn't control his temper. Since the third prince said he would withdraw, he would no longer care.
Thinking of this, the eldest prince Yinzhi strode up to Yinzhi and patted him on the back with his big hand: "Haha, third brother, don't mind it. I was the eldest brother who said the wrong thing just now. I apologize to you here. Just pretend that we just met and nothing happened.
Since Third Brother has said he wants to withdraw, I won't keep you any longer. I think Concubine Rong is also waiting anxiously in the palace and hopes you will return quickly."
Yinzhi was slapped so hard by the eldest prince that he almost spurted out a mouthful of blood. Faced with the eldest prince's smiling interruption, he had to suppress his anger. He pulled a stiff smile at the corner of his mouth and said, "Yes, my eldest brother and I just met by chance at the Handuo Temple today. I want to go back now. I won't talk to you any more as I don't want to delay your business. I'm leaving now."
After saying this, without waiting for the eldest prince to say anything more, he quickly rode away with his men.
The eldest prince watched the third prince and his group leave and spat on the ground. "Bah, damned! They can only do little things behind my back. I thought they were all obedient children of the emperor, only obeying the second prince. It turns out they are all hypocritical. Literati are hypocritical and have no courage at all."
As soon as the eldest prince said this, an aide beside him immediately looked embarrassed. The master he chose to follow was good in every way: he was the eldest son and a good warrior, but he was not good at talking, or had a stubborn mind. He usually paid more attention to military commanders than to his aides.
If the eldest prince did not have the support of Lord Mingzhu, they would have long thought of jumping off the ship and joining another wise leader.
The eldest prince didn't care what his staff thought. In his eyes, these people were his slaves, and they had no control over what he said or did. If they could give him some advice, and he listened to one or two of their suggestions, that was already a sign of respect for them.
The person who went to get the news came back quickly: "My lord, Princess Niuhulu has left the wing room and is heading to the back mountain."
When the eldest prince heard this, he stopped nagging the third prince and quickly took his men to the back mountain. At the same time, the seventh prince also received the news and set off towards the back mountain.
Zhenhuan sat quietly in the room for a while, but after thinking about it, she still felt unwilling to give up and wanted to go out and try. She also knew that it was unrealistic for her to rashly inquire about the Fourth Master's news. Besides, the Handuo Temple was so big, it would be difficult to find the Fourth Master in a short time.
However, she heard that there was a large peach forest behind the Handuo Temple. Thinking of the beautiful scene where the hero and heroine met in the peach forest, Zhenhuan decided to go to the back mountain and give it a try. What if they really met by chance? This wonderful first encounter would definitely leave a deep impression on the Fourth Master, and his liking for her would double.
This time Zhenhuan only brought Nanny Wu out. Handuo Temple is a century-old temple, so she can be absolutely assured of its safety. Besides, the maids who came with her had experienced robbery on the way and they haven't recovered yet. If she takes them out, they will look listless, and those who don't know her might think she is a bad master, which will affect her reputation.
The three parties formed a triangle and met at the entrance of the peach forest in less than a quarter of an hour. There was a large rock there, which just blocked the two princes' view of each other.
The Seventh Prince saw Zhenhuan first and greeted her politely: "Glad to see you again. Are you feeling better?"
The Seventh Prince asked politely, and Zhen Huan had to return the favor and thank him: "Thank you for your concern, sir. I am much better now. I heard there is a peach blossom forest in the back mountain, so I thought of coming to take a look."
Seventh Prince: "My dear, you are too polite. If you don't mind, you can call me Seventh Master. I am the seventh in the family, so everyone else should call me Seventh Master."
Zhen Huan tried to refuse but could only say softly, "Seventh Master."
On the other side, the eldest prince also wanted to say hello, but was beaten to it by the seventh prince. After hearing the conversation between the two, he no longer understood anything. It turned out that these younger brothers came for Princess Nianhulu, and they all knew her before him.
Yinzhi sneered in his heart. They usually pretended to be pretty good. He originally thought that he was the only one who was dissatisfied with the prince sitting in that position. It turned out that these people had something to hide, but they just hid it well.
However, the eldest prince looked down upon the behavior of his two younger brothers. If a real man wanted the throne, he should seize it openly like himself, instead of hiding behind like a rat in a gutter, taking advantage of others when no one was paying attention.
Thinking of this, Yinzhi also stepped forward and said, "Hey, isn't this the Seventh Brother? Why are you here in the Handuo Temple when you're not on duty today? If I had known you were coming earlier, I would have asked my eldest brother to come with me. My eldest brother is coming here too."
The Seventh Prince Yinyou's face turned pale on the spot. The appearance of the eldest prince meant that he could not continue today. It was a pity to waste such a good opportunity. He had only exchanged a few words with Princess Nianhulu and had no idea what impression he had left on the other party.