Chapter 45

Two days later.

Under the clear blue sky and the gentle breeze, Sang Yao embarked on the journey to the Altar of Earth in the northern suburbs along with the others.

Inside the carriage she was in, there were six people in total, all unfamiliar faces.

The carriage was eerily quiet. They had been together since morning, yet none of them had uttered a word throughout the day.

Most of the people around Sang Yao were female relatives of the imperial family, or at least distant cousins, all more or less related to the Lu family by blood. They all shared a common trait—they had spent at least four years in a temple.

In the current era where Buddhism was highly respected, especially within the royal family, some families would send their children to temples for a few years to cleanse their hearts and minds. Bringing them along on this trip was for reciting sutras and praying to Buddha for blessings.

Sang Yao was included in this group, all thanks to Sang Shu.

When Sang Yao was young, she had been sent to recuperate in a small town in Jiangnan. Sang Shu had hidden this fact, telling everyone that she had actually been at a Buddhist temple in Jiangnan, showing signs of being blessed by the Buddha. The Emperor had granted her permission to join the trip.

For the Emperor, it was a trivial matter of one more person or one less person, not significant at all.

Sang Shu readily agreed without much thought, and she wouldn’t bother investigating afterwards.

But for Sang Yao, she was extremely nervous.

Already timid by nature, this situation felt like deceiving the Emperor, making her feel guilty. Because of this guilt, she found it hard to breathe properly throughout the journey.

She tried to maintain a calm expression, attempting to appear kind and gentle, but her naturally charming appearance didn’t help her cause.

After enduring a whole day, as dusk fell, the group stopped their journey and took a break at a temple at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.

In previous years, the journey had always been like this, and Qiyang Temple had long prepared rooms and food to welcome everyone.

Sang Yao was the last one to jump down from the carriage. After sitting in the carriage all day in the hot and humid weather, she felt a bit dizzy.

Qiyang Temple was quite large, with a series of meditation rooms in the backyard.

She remembered that her sister had initially wanted her to join the trip to create an opportunity to interact with Xie Yun. But now it seemed that was just wishful thinking.

Because ever since she got off the carriage, she hadn’t seen Xie Yun at all.

Although they were in the same group, Xie Yun was walking with the Emperor in the middle of the procession, while she was at the end and couldn’t see him.

As she was pondering, someone ahead waved to her. It was Yang Wenchuan.

In terms of rank, Yang Wenchuan was currently a scholar-official in the Hanlin Academy and didn’t need to accompany the group. He was brought along by Chen Ke.

Yang Wenchuan ran up to Sang Yao and said, “Yao Yao, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

It was awkward to explain this situation to Yang Wenchuan. Sang Yao hadn’t figured out how to respond yet when Yang Wenchuan handed her a sachet.

Sang Yao asked, “Yang Ge, what’s this for?”

Yang Wenchuan said, “It contains orange peel and silver grass. If you feel uncomfortable from the swaying on the carriage, just smell it. I happen to have two, so I thought I’d give you one.”

He continued, “This is a remedy my teacher taught me before. It might not be much, but it’s better than nothing.”

To Sang Yao, this was like a ray of sunshine in the snow.

She was touched and thought to herself, Yang Wenchuan is such a good person.

Sang Yao took it and said, “Thank you, Yang Ge”. then added, “I’ll be sure to repay you when I get back.”

Yang Wenchuan burst into laughter and joked, “Well, Yao Yao, you better think carefully. This sachet isn’t something I got casually.”

Sang Yao paused for a moment before realizing that a sachet itself carried a meaning of affection. When a woman gave it to a man, it often implied some affection.

Yang Wenchuan’s words inadvertently reminded her of the discussion she had with Sang Yan a few days ago. She felt somewhat awkward and whispered, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Yang Wenchuan said, “I’m just joking with you. If you really want to repay me, how about giving me a box of silver grass directly?”

As they bantered back and forth, it eased some of the tension that had built up in Sang Yao throughout the day.

As the sun set, casting warm golden hues on the two conversing figures, they seemed familiar and at ease with each other, occasionally sharing smiles.

In the bustling corridor, they were the only ones standing and talking.

Behind them, Xie Yun stood sideways at the entrance of the main hall, waiting for the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

With his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze seemed to be wandering into the distance, but it was unclear what Xie Yun was looking at, as he didn’t seem to be looking at Sang Yao.

It was uncertain whether he was pretending or genuinely indifferent.

He stood there silently, his eyes seemingly fixed on Yang Wenchuan.

Before, he never thought this top scholar was so annoying.

Staring for a while, he turned his gaze towards Xie Yun.

No need to say, it was that indifferent and cold face again.

Very incomprehensible.

His master’s thoughts are really hard to guess.

Can’t understand, how could he tolerate this?

He mentally prepared himself, trying to sound natural: “I never thought Miss Sang actually knew Mr. Yang.”

Xie Yun glanced at him, “Hmm, so what?”

His voice weakened, “I just casually remarked.”

Xie Yun sarcastically remarked, “If you care so much about her, then don’t follow me anymore, follow her instead.”

It’s not impossible.

Who would be willing to follow, waking up early, sleeping late, resting only once every half a month, for half a day each time, this job is not worth doing.

He restrained his expression, “I misspoke.”

Sang Yao didn’t realize that the scene where she had just spoken with Yang Wenchuan had been noticed by Xie Yun.

After bidding farewell to Yang Wenchuan, she followed to a secluded meditation room for the novice monk.

There were two beds in the room, but the other person hadn’t arrived yet.

Sang Yao sat on a round stool, smelling the sachet that Yang Wenchuan had given her. The scent of silvergrass was strong but not overwhelming.

Mixed with the scent of orange peel, it made her somewhat clearer-headed after feeling drowsy all afternoon.

She had only taken a few bites of the horse hoof cake at noon because of her poor appetite, but now that she had gotten off the carriage, she was feeling hungry.

There were two plates of sticky rice cakes on the table, so Sang Yao picked one up and ate it slowly.

As she ate, she thought about how she should explain things to her sister when she returned home this time.

She had already given up on telling her sister about Xie Yun secretly admiring her, so she thought, maybe she should just tell her directly that she had realized these days that she didn’t like Xie Yun anymore because he wasn’t a good person.

That seemed more believable.

Unconsciously, she had finished eating one piece of sticky rice cake.

Just as she was about to pick up another piece, the door suddenly swung open.

Sang Yao quickly turned around and saw a beautiful face.

…Oh no!

Why is it her?

Sang Yao quickly stood up, forcing a somewhat insincere smile, and said, “Miss Ming.”

Ming Rong also seemed quite surprised to see her, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. Sang Yao felt that she seemed somewhat displeased.

Her tone wasn’t very good as she asked directly, “What are you doing here?”

Sang Yao honestly replied, “The junior master brought me here.”

Ming Rong walked into the room, perhaps because she was emotional, she slammed the door shut, causing it to rattle.

Sang Yao shuddered and dared not eat any more sticky rice cakes. She shrank back and sat down on her own bed.

Sang Yao thought to herself that Ming Rong probably hadn’t expected her to be sharing a room with someone else tonight, which was why she was upset now.

But fortunately, Ming Rong didn’t say anything else, she just had an unpleasant expression on her face.

Inside the room, there was a small window, and it was already summer, so the weather was hot and humid.

Ming Rong took off her outer garment as she entered, and Sang Yao’s gaze accidentally swept over her porcelain-white skin. Just as she was about to look away, she noticed a bruise on Ming Rong’s shoulder.

Perhaps she had accidentally bumped into something. Applying ointment would help it heal faster, so Sang Yao kindly reminded her, “Miss Ming, you have a bruise on your right shoulder. Applying ointment will… help it heal faster.”

Ming Rong’s hand paused as she was taking off her clothes. She then put her outer garment back on and glanced at Sang Yao, responding perfunctorily, “Did you enjoy looking at me?”

Who would enjoy looking at you!

Sang Yao’s kind gesture was taken for granted, and she bit her lip, feeling unhappy.

But she couldn’t afford to provoke Ming Rong, so she could only silently endure it.

Up to this point, she hadn’t noticed anything wrong.

She just felt that Ming Rong’s reaction was a bit strange.

It wasn’t until Ming Rong had been in the room for a while that Sang Yao suddenly had a flash of realization and finally figured out what that bruise was.

…

She wanted to slap herself on the spot. How could she have blurted it out?

Nervously, she thought, Ming Rong shouldn’t have noticed anything wrong, right?

After a while, Ming Rong emerged from the room. She had changed her clothes, wrapping herself up tightly.

It’s better to say less to avoid making mistakes. Sang Yao didn’t look at her anymore and didn’t say anything else.

Ming Rong sat opposite her and asked her proactively, “Why did you follow us?”

Sang Yao began to make up a story, “…Because I spent some time in a Buddhist temple in Jiangnan when I was young, so the emperor allowed me to come along.”

Ming Rong said, “Is that so? But they will all be chanting sutras in the main hall tonight. Why didn’t you go?”

“…”

Sang Yao had no idea about this. She had never been interested in Buddhist scriptures since she was young. Let alone chanting, she even struggled to read them smoothly.

She pursed her lips, not knowing how to answer at all.

But Ming Rong seemed very expectant for her answer, staring at her intently.

Sang Yao had no choice but to whisper, “I’ll go later.”

Ming Rong, wearing a loose robe, held onto her sleeve and said, “Why not go now?”

For some reason, Sang Yao felt like Ming Rong was urging her.

But with the backyard’s winding paths, she didn’t even know if she could find the main hall.

Ming Rong looked unhappy. She raised her chin and continued, “Or do you not want to go?”

With her words, it seemed like she had no choice but to go.

Sang Yao didn’t understand why Ming Rong seemed so eager to make her leave. She silently bit her lip as the candlelight flickered in the room, and Ming Rong’s hair was still dripping with water.

The droplets fell onto the woman’s collarbone.

Sang Yao’s slow mind suddenly understood something.

If she guessed right, Ming Rong probably thought she was alone in the room and was planning to do something. Her arrival interrupted her plans.

What could she do?

It was obvious!

She didn’t expect that man to be in the group either. Not to mention, this was a sacred place of Buddhism, where the emperor and the prince were present. How could they both not restrain themselves?!