Chapter 72: Chopped Chili Fish Head (Part 23)
Jing Yi’s throat was indeed parched from talking, but when he asked Shenxiu for tea, it wasn’t just to quench his thirst and rest his tongue—he intended to use that cup of tea as an excuse to continue speaking about something else.
As for the tea, the one he wanted to brew naturally came from Cheng Family Tea House.
To deceive the most discerning crowd in the capital with tea leaves of a quality comparable to the cheap, large-bowl tea sold for a mere coin under roadside sheds, Cheng Family Tea House must have some trick up its sleeve. As for what that trick was, Jing Yi had his suspicions but still hadn’t figured it out.
Jing Yi always felt that, compared to crimes like murder and arson, these tea leaves seemed even more alarming. It wasn’t just because they were unbearably awful to drink, but also because such dreadful tea could sustain such an astonishingly high price.
It was like a courtesan in a brothel—so ugly her features seemed blurred into a mess—yet priced the same as the Top Courtesan. Not only priced the same, but there were still people clamoring to pay for her...
Shenxiu, who had been standing quietly by the side all along, still didn’t utter a word. He walked directly to the drawer where the tea leaves were stored, pulled it open, and glanced at the tea caddy inside, which had clearly been disturbed. A faint smile touched his lips as he casually picked out one box, returned to the table, and unhurriedly poured the cold tea from the pot into the flowerpot beneath the window. As he did so, he remarked offhandedly, “If I recall correctly, Grand Tutor Jing is the capital’s most avid tea enthusiast.”
Jing Yi acted as though he had completely forgotten everything that had just happened, and as if he had no recollection of his shaved head and plain monk’s robes. He wrapped an arm around Leng Yue’s slender waist and calmly sat down by the table. Listening to the soft trickle of tea soaking into the soil, he replied as casually as if he were chatting with a neighbor at the alley entrance after a meal, “Hmm, you could say that... Risking his life just to stash away private savings to buy a handful of tea leaves—I doubt there’s anyone else in the capital who’d go that far.”
Leng Yue listened quietly to this seemingly casual exchange and made a mental note.
Next time she visited the Jing family mansion, bringing tea leaves would probably be a better choice than bringing grilled skewers...
From the side, Shenxiu’s lips curved slightly upward. Without looking up, he finished emptying the teapot, removed the lid, and carefully used his immaculate fingers to pluck out the fully steeped tea leaves inside. He shook off the droplets clinging to the leaves and meticulously placed them in a small dish beside him. Still speaking in that offhand manner, he said, “I’ve heard that His Majesty is also quite fond of tea.”
“Mmm...” Jing Yi idly picked up the cups on the tea tray, stacking them one on top of the other, right side up and upside down. “Everything my Old Master enjoys tinkering with happens to be what His Majesty likes.”
The reason Master Jing had reached his current position and held it so securely wasn’t just due to his talent and good fortune, but also because of his temperament.
There were many in the court blessed with similar good fortune, but most were content with the privileges handed down by their ancestors, seeking comfort rather than striving for excellence. Those who, like him, possessed both fortune and scholarly talent were often too prideful, disdaining to engage in the trivialities of political maneuvering. They might achieve renown as great scholars but were unfit for heavy responsibilities.
Looking across the entire court, there was only one person like Master Jing—someone with both noble lineage and profound learning, who could coexist peacefully with people of any temperament, and whose every word and action seemed to strike right at the Emperor’s heart.That was why the Emperor felt so at ease entrusting the heavy responsibility of educating the nation's Crown Prince to this old minister—who understood his thoughts better than even the ladies of the inner palace—when the Crown Prince was still just a little child.
However, those were matters of the imperial court. This was a Buddhist temple. Though it was true that both were in the same city, they were separated by two high walls and a world of mortal dust, so distant that they seemed completely unrelated.
Shenxiu's delicate lips curved upward a little more. He finished scooping out the tea leaves from the pot, poured in some fresh water, and carefully rinsed the remaining tea stains inside. Accompanied by the soft sound of flowing water, he recited faintly, "From attachment arises sorrow, from attachment arises fear. For one who is free from attachment, there is no sorrow, and so no fear."
After reciting, Shenxiu deliberately paused his task and turned to look considerately at Leng Yue. "Patron Leng, do you understand the meaning of these lines?"
Leng Yue was taken aback and shook her head. "No, I don't."
Shenxiu turned back, satisfied. "Good that you don't understand."
"…"
Jing Yi, quick as lightning, grabbed hold of Leng Yue, who had nearly sprung up from her stool. "I understand, I understand…"
"What do you understand?!"
"I understand that he doesn’t want you to understand…"
"…"
Shenxiu seemed completely unaware of the tense atmosphere behind him. Calmly, he finished rinsing the teapot, then added new tea leaves and poured in hot water. With a light, tea-like smile, he said, "My junior brother indeed possesses spiritual wisdom."
Under Leng Yue’s sidelong glare, Jing Yi hurriedly said, "No, no… I used to have a little bit of spiritual wisdom, but isn’t the emphasis here on the purity of the six roots? I thought the other roots would be hard to purify anytime soon, so I purified this one first—just to make up the numbers and show my sincerity, hehe…"
Watching Shenxiu’s slightly twitching profile, Leng Yue suddenly felt much, much better.
"So," Jing Yi finally released his hand from Leng Yue’s waist with relief, contentedly placed the last cup upside down on top of the stack, and said with a cheerful smile, "Senior brother, feel free to say whatever you want. Anyway, even if you speak, the two of us won’t understand. It’ll be as if you said nothing."
Shenxiu paused for a moment, then turned around and saw the stack of cups Jing Yi had arranged—base to base, rim to rim. As if he had grasped something, he smiled knowingly and brought the teapot to the table.
"Then I’ll speak freely." Shenxiu sat down opposite the two, carefully took the topmost inverted cup from the stack, and placed it right side up in front of himself. Casually, he remarked, "Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, but Heaven is above, and all living beings are below. Heaven is one, while living beings are countless. Thus, it is easy for Heaven to know the suffering of all beings, but difficult for it to relieve that suffering through its own power alone…"
As he spoke, Shenxiu took the second cup from the stack, flipped it over, and neatly placed it rim-to-rim over the first cup. "This requires acting in reverse—relying on the strength of living beings themselves to aid all beings."
Then, he gently took the third cup, placed it base-to-base on top of the second, and said, "Though living beings are small and insignificant, being insignificant has its advantages. Unnoticed, they are unconstrained, able to act flexibly and unlikely to become targets."
Leng Yue listened in a daze up to this point and turned her head to glance at Jing Yi.Shenxiu's every word was clear to her, yet when strung together into sentences, they transformed into incomprehensible riddles. However, listening to Shenxiu's words made her suddenly understand what Jing Yi had meant earlier.
Jing Yi's earlier remarks had initially sounded like he was taking her side to mock Shenxiu. But pondering them alongside Shenxiu's cryptic speech, it became evident that Jing Yi was actually subtly conveying to Shenxiu that no matter what he said, the two of them would pretend not to hear—letting it go in one ear and out the other, never mentioning it again.
Leng Yue stared at these two gleaming bald heads and suddenly felt that when ancient sages coined the phrase "so clever as to have a bald head," they must have witnessed a scene exactly like the one before her.
"Being empowered by heaven may bring fame and fortune, but it inevitably invites endless calamity..." Shenxiu took down another cup, stacking it methodically as before. "Thus, among living beings, there will be deception, suspicion, and slaughter."
As he spoke, Shenxiu picked up the last two cups together, flipped them over simultaneously, and stacked them at the very top. Gazing at the completely inverted stack of teacups, he sighed softly. "When the time comes, retribution will follow naturally."
After these words, Shenxiu's expression relaxed slightly. Unhurriedly, he took down the stacked cups one by one, arranging them neatly on the tea tray. He poured three cups of tea, offering two to Leng Yue and Jing Yi while keeping one for himself. After taking a small sip, he looked up and asked Jing Yi, "How is it?"
Jing Yi lifted his cup for a delicate taste, then smiled with narrowed eyes. "Quite good."
Leng Yue bowed her head, staring at the cup before her without moving.
It wasn't that she suspected anything amiss with the tea, but she had a vague sense that Shenxiu's "How is it?" and Jing Yi's "Quite good" weren't referring to the tea's flavor.
Jing Yi set down his cup and turned to look at Leng Yue, who was still staring blankly at her teacup. He reached out, drew her into an embrace by the shoulder, and while she was startled and turning her head, swiftly planted a light kiss on her lips.
The suddenness of Jing Yi's kiss, especially in front of Shenxiu, made Leng Yue so flustered she nearly jumped up. Before she could leap to her feet, she heard Jing Yi say cheerfully, "There's nothing more to do here. Starting today, I'll be fully devoted to conducting memorial rites—for Feng Si'er, Zhang Lao Wu, and Zhang Chong... As for appeasing Prince An about the two of us, I'll leave that to you."
Leng Yue stole a glance at Shenxiu and saw him looking down at the tea in his cup, completely detached as if to say "do whatever you want." Her heart, which had nearly leaped out of her mouth, finally settled somewhat.
She remembered that Jing Yi had promised something to the abbot who attempted suicide over his weight. If she understood correctly, Jing Yi's continued stay at the temple was to ensure the abbot wouldn't be silenced by Xiao Zhao Ye. As for how he planned to achieve this, she couldn't guess through sheer speculation, but one thing was abundantly clear.
This method required her to leave this place—and for Prince An to know about it.
"Alright," Leng Yue grabbed her sword and stood up, casually ruffling Jing Yi's head. "I'll make sure to burn plenty of incense for you before Prince An."
By the time Leng Yue stealthily returned to Anguo Temple, the sky was completely dark.
The main hall was brightly lit, with the abbot leading all the monks seated densely in meditation. Shenxiu was among them, the continuous chanting of Sanskrit scriptures humming through the air like a stirred hornet's nest.Leng Yue knew perfectly well what these people were doing. Not only did she know, but within just half a day, the entire capital had become aware—Young Master Jing Yi, moved by past affections, had shaved his head and taken monastic vows at Anguo Temple to perform Buddhist rites for Feng Si'er, the once highly popular high-class courtesan from Sparrow Nest Brothel.
Heaven knew how many female devotees had visited Anguo Temple in that half day. In any case, the square incense burner in front of the main hall had been stuffed so full of incense sticks it resembled a broom head.
When Leng Yue found Jing Yi, the rumored sentimental young master who was said to be heartbroken was actually curled up in a chair, munching on steamed buns while drafting official documents.
Leng Yue glanced at the document and froze upon seeing the opening words. "How did you know His Highness wanted you to write this?"
Jing Yi swallowed a mouthful of his extremely plain tofu-stuffed bun, continuing to write without pause as he replied weakly, "I also know he wants me to stay put here for now, and that you're being sent out of the capital on business. Am I right?"
If he could guess the first part, deducing the rest wasn't unbelievable. Though still somewhat surprised, Leng Yue acknowledged, "Correct. I'm here to supervise your completion of this document, ensure its delivery to An Wang's residence, then I'll be making a trip to Suzhou."
Normally, officials from the three judicial departments shouldn't disclose their duties to one another, but this time Jing Yi had already deduced eighty percent of the situation without Leng Yue saying anything.
Jing Yi bent over the document, his brush flying across the paper. After swiftly completing it, he set down the brush, abandoned his half-eaten bun, wiped his fingers clean, and patted the table surface.
"Have a seat. Before you leave, let me treat you to a storytelling performance."
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