Chapter 172: Offering to the Buddha

Gu Jiu Ling followed Xiao Yin hurriedly out of the Empress Dowager's Jingren Palace, passing through two palace walls, and only then did their steps slow a little.

Gu Jiu Ling could no longer walk, ignoring the cold of the yellow poplar bench in the flower pavilion; just as she was about to sit down, Xiao Yin seized her hand with a pair of large hands.

She sat on the yellow poplar bench, but Xiao Yin supported Gu Jiu Ling's waist and let her sit on his own long, sturdy leg.

Gu Jiu Ling felt uneasy, raised her arm to brace herself, but Xiao Yin wrapped both of her hands together within his own, warming them.

He slipped off his cloak and added another layer over Gu Jiu Ling's shoulders; she instantly felt less cold.

"What did that old witch just say?" Xiao Yin's magnetic, steady voice, after being soaked by the outside chill, sounded even clearer in the ear.

Gu Jiu Ling inhaled, annoyed, and said, "She wants to go to Panlong Temple for a prayer before the year's end, taking all the noble ladies from Shang Jing with her, saying the more followers the more sincere the merit."

"Ha! Does the Buddha care about the number of heads to disperse merit? That old witch is getting more and more troublesome. Tomorrow I'll help you refuse it; what kind of nonsense is that!"

Gu Jiu Ling sighed, "I can't refuse any more; I've already agreed."

"You…" Xiao Yin looked at Gu Jiu Ling's delicate face, about to call her stupid, but faced with that bright, beautiful face, the insulting words choked back.

"Prince, it can't be pushed aside," Gu Jiu Ling tugged at her sleeve; the embroidered mandarin duck of Jinzhi on it was vivid.

"She says she's praying for the Emperor, and it must be sincere to be effective!"

"We at Rui Wang Fu can't refuse this pretext; otherwise it would be a curse for the Emperor to die early. I think we should just endure it."

"We'll be careful then; this hurdle must eventually be crossed, we can't avoid it."

Xiao Yin fell silent at once, his brows furrowed fiercely, almost forming the character for 'river'.

His complexion was very grim, not because of Emperor Longqing and Empress Dowager Ning An's anger, but because he was angry at himself.

In fact, since Gu Jiu Ling married him, every danger she encountered was somehow linked to this Prince Rui—not that she relied on Rui Wang Fu's protection, but that he truly hampered Gu Jiu Ling.

Xiao Yin closed his eyes, raised his arm and tightly embraced Gu Jiu Ling; his voice was a bit muffled, his chin resting on her soft hair, whispering, "I'm sorry."

Gu Jiu Ling froze there, lifted her head to meet Xiao Yin's gaze, and saw sorrow and deep self‑blame in his eyes.

"It's fine! Our relationship has come to this point; you trap me, I trap you, you involve me, I involve you—what does it matter? Right?"

Gu Jiu Ling raised her hand to his face, sighed, and said, "You say Heaven won't let a woman have too much, otherwise there'd be no law? No Dao?"

"Look at you, so good‑looking, a face that makes one want to commit a crime."

"You can fight, your intellect is high, your bloodline noble—I've already taken you, so a little involvement from you is no problem."

Xiao Yin couldn't help but laugh, hugging her tighter, kissed her forehead and said softly, "My Princess Consort is quite the one who praises others, Jiu Ling, wait a bit longer; I'll definitely give you stability."

"When that time comes, do whatever you want, even if you overturn the heavens, I'll bear it for you as your husband!"

Soon came the day when Empress Dowager Ning An led the group to Panlong Temple to offer the Buddha prayers for Emperor Longqing; she was a rare Buddha‑worship specialist in Southern Qi's history.

Gu Jiu Ling could not imagine why she, on one hand converted to Buddhism for peace of mind, and on the other brandished a slaughtering knife everywhere—what was she really after? It was indeed puzzling.

The three carriages of Rui Wang Fu slowly left the alley in front of the Wangfu; the first carriage carried Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling. Its interior was spacious; although the exterior still reflected Rui Wang Fu's usual modest, low‑key style, the carriage's interior decoration was extravagantly decadent.

Night‑glowing pearls illuminated the surroundings, and inside a newly refurbished, large purple sandalwood couch that could be lain on horizontally was placed.

There was also a brocade quilt with Shu embroidery, making it more comfortable for Gu Jiu Ling to lie down.

In the second carriage sat Su Wanrou; along the way she hadn't seen Xiao Yin pamper Gu Jiu Ling, and each sight cut a sharp, salt‑sprinkling wound in her heart, a piercing pain that made her feel almost unbearable.

The last ordinary carriage held servants and maids, those who followed their masters up the mountain to serve them; usually only trusted confidants would be taken out.

At the rear were Rui Wang Fu's guards, and an ox‑cart pulling the masters' food, clothing and other delicate supplies.

Fortunately Panlong Temple lay just outside the capital; otherwise the long trek would have exhausted Gu Jiu Ling. She suspected Empress Dowager Ning An was forcing her to come for prayers, perhaps also to harm her child.

The carriage stopped at the foot of Panlong Temple's mountain; the temple's meditation rooms had already been cleaned out.

Typically, imperial family members lived in the inner courtyard, while lower‑status people stayed in the outer courtyards, divided layer by layer according to rank.

Because Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin were the Imperial Uncle and Imperial Aunt of Southern Qi, and Emperor Longqing was ill and stayed in the palace city of Shang Jing, Empress Dowager Ning An could only leave Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling, son‑in‑law and daughter‑in‑law, to serve her.

Su Wanrou originally wanted to live in the inner courtyard, but a eunuch told her that although she was a master in Rui Wang Fu, she had no "Linghuo" seal.

That meant she had no decree, no reward—just an unknown junior who had taken Xiao Yin as an elder brother; only those in Rui Wang Fu treated her well, and without Rui Wang Fu's protection she was nothing.

No matter how red‑eyed Su Wanrou became, or how close her tears were to falling, in the eyes of the imperial clan her behavior was contemptible affectation.

Forced, Su Wanrou could only live apart from Xiao Yin and the others.

Xiao Yin still could not guess what scheme Empress Dowager Ning An was setting up at Panlong Temple to trap and kill him and Gu Jiu Ling.

The two of them, on the carriage, reviewed every misfortune of the past three years but could not find where Ning An would strike a breakthrough to finish them off.

The servants arranged everything brought from Rui Wang Fu into the warm pavilion, filling it to the brim.

Gu Jiu Ling had just finished tidying up, and as night fell, she received a message from Empress Dowager Ning An, inviting her to a small gathering in the Dowager's courtyard for a meal.

The servants didn't even mention inviting Xiao Yin; Gu Jiu Ling's side was already set.