Chapter 48: Bianjing Temples and Observatories

Malnutrition had made this little girl dark and thin, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.

"Wait in that room over there."

"Yes, Young Master."

Seeing Seeing Qingcao carried the kettle of hot water into the room.

As soon as she entered, she felt a wave of warmth hit her face; someone was inside.

She looked up to make out the person's features and was so startled she shivered.

Xu Xu Zaijing's master was simply too terrifying.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao shivered, her hand loosened, and the porcelain kettle filled with hot water dropped.

"Thud."

Seeing Seeing Qingcao felt the person in the room suddenly appear beside her.

"The kettle."

The voice was hoarse.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao shivered again, realizing she had nearly broken her master's property.

She hastily squatted down and lifted the kettle from the feet of this terrifying person.

"Sit."

The groom said nothing more, tightened his clothes, and walked out.

"Thank... thank you, Eldest Uncle."

The groom paid her no heed.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao looked outside; by the edge of the vast horse track, that kind yet terrifying uncle had already led a horse out.

Not far away, two figures were sparring.

"This seems to be a good family," Seeing Seeing Qingcao thought.

After more than half an hour had passed,

Xu Xu Zaijing and Brother Qingyun, having finished their training outside, walked into the room by the track.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao, who had grown drowsy in the warm room, instantly woke up.

The kettle had been placed atop the water tank and was still warm.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Brother Qingyun shared and drank some of the water.

Once they had cooled down from their sweat, they went to the warming room to rinse off, though they did not wash their hair.

When dawn broke, the children of the Xu family and Sun Shi had finished dressing and boarded the carriage with its heated water tank.

The main gates of Xu Fu stood wide open, and two horses along with three carriages rolled out of the estate.

When passersby asked, the gatekeeper boys merely said they were going to Xingguo Temple, Guangyuan Temple, Yuqing Observatory, and other temples to pray for their family and for the Great Zhou.

Xu Xu Zaijing rode atop the black young horse; this imperial steed was leaving Xu Fu for the first time and was slightly excited.

It was only after Xu Xu Zaijing soothed it a few times that it calmed down.

The purple lambskin cloak bestowed by the Empress had been adorned with several strips of fur trim by the family embroiderers and was now worn by Xu Xu Zaijing,

with a small part draped over Xu Xu Zaijing and the greater part spread across the back of the black young horse.

This was because the cloak was somewhat large.

He wore padded undergarments beneath it, so Xu Xu Zaijing riding on horseback in the winter morning did not feel cold at all.

At present, the entire Bianjing capital had a rough population estimate of nearly two million; naturally, it could not compare to Earth in his previous life, but in this era, it was already a super-metropolis.

Early in the morning, servants and retainers were often seen walking along the roadsides,

and there were also carriages delivering stone coal; upon seeing the Xu family party, especially Xu Xu Zaijing riding high on a great horse, they hastily stood respectfully by the road to avoid startling the noble personage.

Whenever Xu Xu Zaijing encountered those who actively made way, regardless of their status, he would nod in acknowledgment.

This indeed surprised quite a few people.

Those who could read, seeing the character 'Xu' on the carriages, secretly noted it down; this would become future conversation material:

Perhaps someday after drinking,

this person would say, "The noble young masters of Bianjing are so graceful and polite; when I made way, that noble family even nodded to me!"

However, someone held a different opinion, claiming they had encountered a member of a certain Duke's household who spat at them! Polite? My foot! And then the two began to argue.

Closest to the Xu family was Xingguo Temple; the Xu family would first pray there, then proceed to Guangyuan Temple, and finally stay overnight at Yuqing Observatory before returning to the estate the next day.

When the sky had fully brightened, the Xu family convoy arrived near Xingguo Temple, and the streets became increasingly crowded.

"Steamed buns~ Freshly steamed buns~"

"Wontons, wontons, fresh wontons to warm your bodies~"

"Crab meat buns~ Mutton buns~ Bamboo shoot meat buns~" (These buns contain filling, unlike modern mantou.)

The vendors' hawking cries were incessant.

Usually, entire families operated the stalls: some prepared the food, others cooked, while the children cleaned bowls and chopsticks.

Charcoal stoves burned, steam rose from the vendors' steamers along the roadside, and from time to time, mouth-watering aromas drifted out.

Many carriages were also parked by the road, where servants carried porcelain or wooden bowls and dishes to the roadside to fetch food and bring it back to the carriages.

Eating a bowl of hot soup in the cold weather truly warmed the body and felt extremely comfortable.

However, the masters inside the Xu family carriages, including the female servants, had no such concerns, as it was not very cold inside the carriages.

Xu Xu Zaijing was attracted by the scent of mutton buns (which are essentially mutton stuffed buns) from the roadside.

He directly instructed Brother Qingyun to buy a large steamer basket full of buns; he took two for himself and distributed the rest.

The freshly steamed mutton buns, mixed with other spices inside, tasted extremely delicious.

"Delicious!"

Xu Xu Zaijing gave the shopkeeper a thumbs-up.

"Thank you for your praise, noble one."

The middle-aged stall owner hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.

The middle-aged man was also a resident of Bianjing; setting up a stall here at Xingguo Temple, he was quite accustomed to seeing the city's nobles, but the horse beneath this young gentleman was a rarely seen divine steed of exceptional beauty.

Just as Xu Xu Zaijing was eating with great delight, Sun Shi's maid, Xiao Ju, approached.

"Brother Jing, Da Da Niangzi says you should eat less meat; after all, the immortals in the temple are vegetarian."

"Very well, tell Mother I understand."

Having said this, he stuffed the remaining bun into his mouth in one bite.

"Ow, ow, hot~~~"

Xu Pingmei and Xu Anmei, the two sisters sharing a carriage with Sun Shi, could only gaze at the steamed buns and sigh with regret.

After resting for a while, Sun Shi and her two daughters disembarked from the carriage and began walking toward Guangyuan Temple.

The three Xu brothers also dismounted; Xu Xu Zaijing removed his purple lambskin cloak, changed into a cape, and followed behind.

Servants and maids led the way in front and attended from behind, creating a very impressive spectacle.

Among the entire Xu family, except for Xu Xu Zaijing, the other four children had grown much taller, so at this moment, Xu Xu Zaijing remained the smallest in stature within the crowd.

Previously riding atop a somewhat tall horse, he presented quite a contrast that was endearing.

However, the chestnut horse did not dare to frolic simply because the person on its back was small, for the strength of Xu Xu Zaijing's legs clamping its flanks was no joke.

Sun Eldest Young Lady made an offering of oil money at Guangyuan Temple, praying for the Xu and Sun family sons guarding the borders.

She also burned Buddhist sutras she had personally copied, bowed sincerely before every Buddha statue in the temple, and finally requested the temple's Gao Seng to pray day and night for the imperial heirs of Great Zhou.

After the monk clarified whether the prayer was to be explicit or implicit, he hurriedly walked into the temple.

Only then did Sun Shi depart from Xingguo Temple.

As they were leaving, a monk from the temple loudly proclaimed:

"Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Da Da Niangzi, praying for the imperial heirs, offers..."

This was an explicit prayer,

serving as a method for the temple to elevate its status and promote itself, after all, even noble families were visiting this temple.

Leaving Xingguo Temple, the Xu family traveled for another hour over bumpy roads before arriving at Guangyuan Temple.

Following a process largely similar to that at Xingguo Temple, they bid farewell to the temple's abbot, and the family arrived at Yuqing Observatory as the sun began to slope westward.

With the carriages and horses following behind, the family walked up the mountain; Xu Xu Zaijing did not mind, but it was hard on the rest of the Xu family, especially the sisters Xu Pingmei and Xu Anmei.

Accustomed to being raised in the boudoir and walking little, they were already somewhat tired by this point.

But thinking of praying for their father, the two girls stubbornly persisted.

Carriages and horses constantly passed along the road, clearly indicating that Yuqing Observatory's incense offerings were no less than those of the other two temples.

Xu Xu Zaijing gazed at the scenery along the path,

the main hall, side rooms, and shrines,

wondering where Wu Da Da Niangzi's sixth son, Liang Liu Lang, had arranged his tryst with Mo Lan; aside from anything else, the scenery here was first-rate.

After resting overnight at Yuqing Observatory, the Xu family burned incense and prayed the next morning.

Brother Qingyun, who was tending to the horses in the guest courtyard of the Daoist temple, looked at the person before him with a puzzled expression.

He glanced at the nameplate on the carriage behind and said, "Are you... from the Qin family of Dongchang Marquisate?"

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(End of Chapter)