Chapter 51: Chopped Chili Fish Head (Part 2)
In earlier years when Leng Yue was still a young girl, she had indeed disguised herself as a boy for convenience in handling affairs. Having just returned from the battlefield at the border back then, she had a large frame, slender build, slightly darker complexion, and thin calluses on her hands from practicing swordsmanship. As long as she remained silent, convincing people she was a young boy came much easier than convincing them she was a girl.
But now, Leng Yue had grown up.
Not only had she grown up, but she had developed considerably—in ways that couldn't be concealed by just a loose monastic robe.
Although Xiao Jin Yu's legs weren't very agile, his eyesight remained excellent. Before Jing Yi could make Leng Yue disappear from view, he had already calmly said, "No need." "It's nothing urgent—just keeping an eye on someone."
"Keeping an eye on someone?" Jing Yi was momentarily stunned, still meticulously blocking Leng Yue behind him as if afraid Xiao Jin Yu might change his mind if he looked at her too long. "A monk in the temple?"
Xiao Jin Yu slowly sighed and weakly shook his head. "The fifth Goryeo prince, Wang Tuo... He'll be staying at Anguo Temple for some days."
Jing Yi froze at this.
Leng Yue also froze.
Although she hadn't yet dealt with Goryeo people face-to-face, she had heard some about the conduct of Goryeo envoys. They were the only delegation that could truly achieve the emperor's instruction to "eat and drink well" during palace welcoming banquets—making it hard not to know about them.
Goryeo sent envoys to the capital every year, sometimes led by important ministers, sometimes by royalty. This fifth prince Wang Tuo was likely visiting the Central Plains for the first time.
No matter how devoutly Goryeo people believed in Buddhism, would a Goryeo prince who finally had a legitimate reason to visit the Central Plains really want to stay in a bland temple?
Jing Yi slightly furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, then suddenly said gravely, "Your Highness, I understand."
Xiao Jin Yu casually picked up his teacup and asked offhandedly, "Understand what?"
"Recently, there must have been a large wave of Imperial Chefs taking vows at Anguo Temple."
"..."
Xiao Jin Yu choked on his tea and coughed violently. Leng Yue, with a dark expression, pinched Jing Yi's round and perky buttocks hard, eliciting a loud "I was wrong!"
"Your Highness," Leng Yue pushed aside the hopping Jing Yi who was covering his buttocks in front of her, and said to Xiao Jin Yu who had finally caught his breath, "Has this Goryeo prince committed some crime?"
Xiao Jin Yu sighed again, shaking his head with a hint of faint regret.
If he had committed a crime, it would be easier to handle...
"The person who recently died by crashing into a coffin at Anguo Temple was someone he had admired since childhood. He wants to hold a Buddhist Ritual for that person at Anguo Temple and won't allow laypeople to disturb it. The emperor has listened to him cry for two days and couldn't take it anymore, so he agreed. However I think about it, it feels somewhat inappropriate, but we can't have the emperor go back on his word... After noon tomorrow, Anguo Temple will temporarily close its gates by imperial decree, so..."
As Xiao Jin Yu spoke, he looked deeply at Jing Yi who stood nearby covering his buttocks. "If you oversleep tomorrow, you'll have to climb the wall yourself."
Jing Yi, receiving a sidelong glare from Leng Yue, hurriedly forced a smile. "No, no, definitely won't happen... Your Highness, may I ask—what kind of person could make this Goryeo prince admire them since childhood?"
Xiao Jin Yu hesitated for a moment, his voice slightly lowering. "You know him. His grandson's corpse was found under your wedding bed.""...Zhang Lao Wu?!"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently and added in a measured tone, "The Porcelain King of the capital, Zhang Lao Wu."
Jing Yi suddenly remembered that Zhang Chong hadn't yet passed the third seven-day mourning period. According to current capital customs, the deceased could only be buried after completing all seven seven-day periods. Before burial, it was customary to hold Buddhist rituals—the grander the better—to ensure the deceased would be reborn into a favorable circumstance.
But...
While other families would invite eminent monks or Taoist priests to conduct rituals at home, why had Zhang Lao Wu brought his grandson's coffin to the temple instead?
Jing Yi looked toward Leng Yue, who was also watching him, her face bearing the same mix of astonishment and confusion.
"Your Highness..." Leng Yue slightly bowed her head, releasing her still sore and aching waist as she cupped her hands toward Xiao Jin Yu. "This humble officer dares to ask—is there truly nothing suspicious about Zhang Lao Wu's death by crashing into the coffin?"
Xiao Jin Yu didn't answer, instead telling Jing Yi, "Just focus on monitoring Wang Tuo. Report to me promptly if anything happens, and don't act rashly."
Jing Yi was momentarily taken aback, then responded readily, "Your Highness can rest assured."
Xiao Jin Yu never lied to his own people. Whenever he chose not to disclose something, there were inevitably reasons why they shouldn't know.
After speaking, Jing Yi frowned somewhat troubled, "However, there's another matter... I used to frequently accompany my mother to offer incense at Anguo Temple. Besides the abbot, many people there know me. Some might even know I just got married. I need a plausible reason for suddenly becoming a monk to avoid raising suspicions."
Xiao Jin Yu lowered his gaze in thought for a moment, then looked up at Leng Yue. "What if your newlywed wife suddenly divorced you?"
Divorced him...
Forget about becoming a monk—he might as well wish for death.
Heaven knew which Jing family ancestor had manifested to make Leng Yue suddenly willing to marry him that day. If she were to divorce him, even for just a day or an hour, changes that would drive him mad could very likely occur.
Jing Yi's face turned pale with fright. Before he could tuck Leng Yue behind him again, she was already shaking her head seriously with a furrowed brow. "No one would believe that. There are more women lining up in the capital to marry him than soldiers stationed at the northern frontier camp. If I divorced him, he could marry three wives a day and still have plenty left to burn paper offerings for him when he dies. Would he really become a monk over something like that?"
Jing Yi faintly heard the sound of shattering from within his internal organs. He wanted to cry, but couldn't.
"If you ask me," Leng Yue pondered for a moment, "it would be better to say he lost a bet with the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince punished him by making him become a monk."
Jing Yi sighed silently to himself.
He had to admit—although his wife didn't understand him very well, she had accurately grasped the Crown Prince's temperament. Using monastic life as a betting matter was exactly the kind of thing that mischievous Crown Prince would do...
Regardless, this reason was far better than having Leng Yue divorce him.
Just as Jing Yi was about to agree, Xiao Jin Yu shook his head again.
"That won't do... The court hasn't been very stable recently. The Crown Prince should avoid unnecessary complications." After speaking with weary nonchalance, Xiao Jin Yu considered briefly and said, "Here's an alternative: I've heard many in the capital know you were once very close with Feng Si'er, the highly popular high-class courtesan from Sparrow Nest Brothel. Now Feng Si'er is involved in a case and has been killed. Although the case is still under investigation, news of Feng Si'er's death can now be made public. You can become a monk under the pretext of performing rites for her salvation."Leng Yue hadn't expected Xiao Jin Yu to suddenly bring up Feng Si'er's death at this moment. Startled, she hurriedly glanced at Jing Yi, barely catching a flicker of astonishment in his expression before he returned to his usual composure.
"Understood, Your Highness. Rest assured."
After seeing Xiao Jin Yu out, Jing Yi also left. By the time he returned, dinner hour had long passed. Leng Yue still sat at the dining table, guarding a spread of dishes that had long gone cold.
Seeing Jing Yi enter, Leng Yue stood up and buried her face in his chest, startling him so much he nearly dropped the paper package in his hand.
Before Jing Yi could collect himself, Leng Yue shoved him away forcefully. The push sent him stumbling back two steps, nearly tripping over the threshold and falling flat on his back.
"Why didn't you just die out there!"
"I..." Jing Yi blurted out in his dazed state, "forgot."
"..."
Leng Yue was rendered speechless. Her face shifted from pale to dark with anger, yet her eyes reddened. Clenching her silver teeth, she seemed on the verge of tears with one more word.
Seeing her like this, Jing Yi panicked. "Th-th-that... d-d-don't, don't cry, please don't cry... I-I'll go out and die right now, alright!"
"...Get back here!"
Jing Yi obediently turned back, standing by the door with his hands at his sides and head bowed like a chastised wife. Stealing glances at his beautiful wife whose eyes blazed with anger yet glistened with tears, he spoke with both deference and sincerity, "I was wrong."
"What were you wrong about?"
Jing Yi struggled for a long moment but couldn't come up with anything, finally saying with helpless despair, "I don't know either... I just went out to buy some things we'll need at the temple, then went to pay respects to the Crown Prince. As I was leaving, your second sister chased me with her sword through several streets. I had to circle half the capital before managing to escape... Where exactly did I go wrong? Tell me, and I'll definitely change!"
Leng Yue stared blankly, so stunned that the tears threatening to fall retreated back. "You... you were out all this time doing these things?"
Jing Yi immediately raised three fingers, standing straight with a serious expression. "The roof beams above, the floor tiles below - those who've left worldly life don't speak falsehoods."
"..."
Leng Yue rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing slightly. Pouting, she muttered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "I thought you were angry with me about Feng Si'er and had run away from home..."
"Ah?"
Jing Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. People said women's hearts were as deep as ocean needles, but his wife's heart wasn't an ocean needle - it was ocean sand, where even an ocean needle might not find its mark.
"Ah what ah!" Leng Yue's beautiful eyes shifted sharply, glaring at Jing Yi. "If I'd known you were off eating delicacies and drinking fine wine at the Crown Prince's place, I wouldn't have saved you any leftovers! What a waste of food!"
Leftovers?
Jing Yi could see that all the meat dishes on the table were her cooking. She'd probably made them thinking he'd be eating nothing but vegetables and tofu starting tomorrow at the temple, specially preparing a good meal for him tonight. She'd waited until everything turned cold without touching a single bite.
A warm smile spread across Jing Yi's face. He tossed the paper package aside, scooped Leng Yue up horizontally, and sat down at the dining table.
"I love eating whatever you leave for me."Leng Yue was held in his lap and felt the thick bandage wrapped around his left leg. Remembering his unhealed wound, she hurriedly tried to struggle out of his embrace. The moment she exerted a little force, she felt Jing Yi’s body tremble slightly, followed by a low hiss of pain from him. Instantly, she froze, not daring to move another inch.
Seeing Jing Yi’s slightly furrowed brows and pursed lips, as if he were enduring pain, Leng Yue said anxiously, "Put me down right now! Have you forgotten what your second brother said? If your wound gets infected again, this leg of yours will be useless!"
Jing Yi showed no intention of letting go. After enduring the wave of pain, he lowered his gaze to the person in his arms and murmured gloomily, "So what if it’s useless? If you dislike it, you can divorce me. After all, there are more women in the capital lining up to marry me than soldiers stationed in the Northern Frontier camp. If you divorce me, I’ll marry three wives a day, and even by the time I die, there’ll still be plenty left to burn paper offerings for me…"
Before Jing Yi could finish speaking, Leng Yue deftly grabbed a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
"If you keep spouting nonsense, don’t even think about stepping out once you enter Anguo Temple!"
With both hands occupied holding her, Jing Yi couldn’t remove the chicken leg from his mouth. He could only let out a couple of increasingly aggrieved "mmph" sounds, but his utterly wronged expression said everything he wanted to say.
Why should the magistrates be free to burn down houses while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps?
Leng Yue shot him an exasperated glare and rescued the chicken leg from his mouth. "If you keep cursing yourself to die, don’t blame me for pasting a talisman on your forehead."
Jing Yi licked the grease from his lips. "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are part of life… Didn’t you think about it when you married me? What would you do if I died someday?"
Leng Yue initially wanted to slap him, but when she glared over, she noticed Jing Yi looking at her with complete seriousness, not at all as if he were speaking casually.
Leng Yue was slightly taken aback. After a moment of silence, she nodded.
"I’ve thought about it."
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