In the end, Yinzhen did not force Ling Ruo and allowed her to stay in Pushou Temple temporarily. There was only one condition: she was not allowed to have her hair cut off, otherwise she would be granted the title of Pushou Temple immediately.
After coming down from the mountain, Yinzhen summoned Shi Sheng overnight to inquire, and ordered him to describe everything in detail from the time he rescued Ling Ruo to the past two months.
After they left, Yinzhen stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, staring at the dark sky outside in trance. Sixi did not dare to make a sound and waited quietly aside.
It was midnight at this time, and when Sixi's head was feeling dizzy and drooping, Yinzhen suddenly said: "Sixi, am I really wrong?"
"Ah?!" Si Xi quickly pinched her thigh secretly to drive the sleepiness out of her head, but she was so lost just now that she didn't hear clearly what Yinzhen was asking herself.
While he was nervously thinking about his reply, Yinzhen turned around and saw the uneasy look on his face. He waved his hand and said, "That's it, it's okay. If you're sleepy, just go down first."
In the past few days, Si Xi followed him non-stop from the capital to Wutai Mountain, and he hardly slept a wink. He was a eunuch, and he entered the palace after performing ablution, and has been waiting in the palace. He could not compare with the muscles and bones he had gained from practicing martial arts since he was a child.
.
"I'm not sleepy, my slave." Si Xi quickly shook his head. He was Yinzhen's personal eunuch. Yinzhen didn't even sleep. How could he, a slave, go down to sleep? After a while, he said carefully: "Your Majesty is thinking about Xi.
What about the concubine?”
Although he and Li Wei didn't hear anything in Pushou Temple before, but afterwards, Concubine Xi did not follow the emperor up and down the mountain, so the conversation between the two must not have been so pleasant.
Yinzhen sighed sadly, the evening breeze blowing with a bit of coolness on his face, "She doesn't want to follow me back to the palace, she wants to become a nun in Pushou Temple, and she will never forgive her for what happened in Tongzhou."
I."
Si Xi thought for a while and whispered: "I just listened to Shi Sheng's words. In the past few months, the empress has suffered a lot, and it is normal for her to have some resentment in her heart. However, I believe that after a few days, the empress will dissipate.
, I will definitely change my mind and follow the emperor back to the palace, after all, the emperor personally came out of the palace to pick up the empress this time."
Yinzhen shook his head and said nothing. From the conversation in Pushou Temple, he could feel that Ling Ruo was not resentful towards him, but disappointed. He was so disappointed that he had no confidence to continue walking hand in hand, so he would rather chant sutras and chant Buddha's name for the rest of his life.
, even Hongli was willing to give it up.
Originally, he should have walked away angrily. Did he love Xinjueluo? Yinzhen was the emperor and had the power over the world. What kind of woman did he want? If she didn't want to believe in him anymore, then let her go; she
It was up to her to pray for blessings while becoming a monk.
But, he couldn't let go, he just couldn't let go of that woman, damn it! Damn it!
That woman has already dismissed him, so why should he persist in not letting go? There are many women in and out of the palace who please him in every possible way and flatter him in every possible way.
However, as he said himself, there is only one Niu Hulu Lingruo in the world, and there will be no second one. He failed to keep Mei'er that day and watched her marry Lao Ba, which made him regretful for the rest of his life.
, don’t want the same regret to happen again.
Yinzhen was suddenly shocked. Since when did he always compare Ling Ruo and Mei'er unconsciously? And since when did she occupy a position in his heart that continued to expand, making it difficult for him to let go.
In the past, he only cared about Mei'er. For other women, maybe due to various reasons, he would have a little affection for her, but it was limited to this. No matter what kind of favors and favors he gave, it was not love.
All can be discarded, such as Tong Jia's.
But Ling Ruo... He can't tell now what kind of feelings he has for her, love? Like?
The moon slowly sets from west to east, and the dawn gradually appears on the horizon, marking the beginning of a new day. And Yinzhen stood in front of the window all night. Although Sixi behind him couldn't help pinching his thighs
, but I couldn’t bear the fatigue from the past few days, so I fell asleep leaning against the wall.
The rising sun is always the most lively. Everything revives under this bright light and starts a new day.
Yinzhen slowly took two steps back. He inadvertently lowered his head and found a heart-shaped bodhi leaf lying quietly at his feet. He remembered that this was a tree planted in Pushou Temple. He thought it was not there last night.
I carefully stuck it on the sole of my foot and brought it here.
He bent down and picked it up in his hand. He had trampled on the bodhi leaf all night, but it was still green and flawless, without a trace of dust. It reminded him of a Buddhist saying: Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the first place. Where is it?
Stir up dust.
If he made a mistake before, how can he make up for it now?
Yinzhen thought for a long time, but still had no clue. He was anxious and couldn't help coughing. Hearing the cough, he was so happy that he opened his sleepy eyes, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Is it okay?" He said this.
After some time, I realized that the sky had already
It was bright. Seeing the emperor's appearance, it was obvious that he had stood all night. He said worriedly: "Your Majesty, I know that you are concerned about Concubine Xi, but you also have to take care of the dragon body. If you stay awake like this, if the dragon body is damaged,
, but how can it be good."
No one knows better than him how tired the emperor is these days. Since the disappearance of Concubine Xi, the emperor has never had a peaceful sleep. The state affairs are already heavy, and coupled with worries about Concubine Xi's safety, the emperor often wakes up in the middle of the night.
, and then paced back and forth in the dormitory until dawn.
"I'm fine." Yinzhen waved his hand and said, "Go and call Li Wei in. I have something to tell him."
"Hey." After calling Li Wei in, Sixi went down and ordered people to prepare breakfast for Yinzhen. Although Yinzhen left the palace incognito and didn't want too many people to know, his safety had to be taken care of. So yesterday
After Yinzhen came down from the mountain, he moved to the post house and used it as a temporary palace. He notified the Wutai County government and sent people to guard the post house.
There is no way of knowing what Yinzhen ordered Li Wei. In the next few days, Yinzhen often went to Pushou Temple to see Ling Ruo and say a few words to her. But every time, before leaving, he would ask: But
Are you willing to return to the palace with me?
And every time, Ling Ruo, who was dressed in gray Buddhist robes and practicing in the temple with her hair tied, would kowtow to the Prime Minister and ask, "Please, Your Majesty, grant my concubine's request to become a monk."
Both of them refused to give up their obsessions. One wanted to take him back to the palace, while the other wanted to become a monk and practice in the temple. Neither one wanted to compromise easily.
One day in September, the autumn sun was shining brightly, and the fruits in the Bodhi tree in the temple began to mature and hung in bunches on the branches. Ling Ruo was sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard when he suddenly saw Shi Sheng and Xuan'er walking together.
Come, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face, he stopped what he was doing and said, "Would you like to offer some incense?"
[Author's digression]: There are still two chapters to be revised, a little later