Chapter 51: Bianjing Temples and Shrines

Malnutrition had made the little maid thin and dark, but her eyes were bright.

“Go wait in that room.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Qingcao entered the room carrying a kettle of hot water.

As she stepped inside, she felt a wave of warmth on her face—the room was occupied.

She looked up and recognized the person inside, then flinched in fear.

Xu Zaijing’s master was simply too terrifying.

Qingcao trembled, her grip loosened, and the porcelain kettle slipped from her hands.

“Plop.”

Suddenly, the person in the room appeared beside her.

“Kettle.”

The voice was hoarse.

Qingcao shuddered, realizing she had nearly dropped her master’s belongings.

She hurriedly knelt and picked up the kettle from beneath the terrifying man’s feet.

“Sit.”

The coachman said nothing more, tightened his coat, and walked out.

“Th-thank you, Uncle.”

The coachman ignored her.

Qingcao looked outside: beside the wide riding field, the kind but frightening uncle had already led out the horse.

Not far away, two figures were sparring.

“This seems to be a good household,” Qingcao thought.

After more than half an hour,

Xu Zaijing and Qingyun entered the room beside the field, having finished their training.

The warm room woke Qingcao, who had been drowsy.

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

Xu Zaijing and Qingyun each drank some water.

After sweating, they went to the heated room to wash, but did not wash their hair.

When dawn broke, Xu’s children and Sun Shi had dressed and boarded the carriage with heated water tanks.

The main gate of the Xu household swung wide open as two horses and three carriages departed.

When passersby asked, the gatekeeper merely said they were visiting Xingguo Temple, Guangyuan Temple, Yùqing Shrine, and others to pray for their family and the Great Zhou.

Xu Zaijing rode the Lilu, the imperial gift horse, which was leaving the Xu household for the first time and was slightly excited.

Only after Xu Zaijing calmed it a few times did it settle down.

The purple lamb-skin cloak gifted by the Empress had been trimmed with extra fur edges by the family’s seamstress and now draped over Xu Zaijing.

A small portion covered Xu Zaijing; most of it hung over the Lilu’s back.

Because the cloak was too large.

He wore a padded undergarment beneath, so on this winter morning, riding the horse, Xu Zaijing felt no cold.

The entire Bianjing, roughly estimated, held nearly two million people—unimaginable compared to his past life on Earth, but in this era, it was a supermetropolis.

Early on, servants and laborers were often seen walking along the roadside.

Coal carts also passed by; upon seeing the Xu family, especially Xu Zaijing atop his towering steed, they immediately stood respectfully aside to avoid disturbing the nobles.

Xu Zaijing nodded in greeting to anyone who yielded the way, regardless of status.

This surprised many.

Those who could read saw the “Xu” character on the carriage and quietly memorized it—future conversation fodder:

Perhaps one day, over wine,

this man would say: “Among Bianjing’s noble young masters, those with manners are rare—I stepped aside, and he nodded to me!”

But others disagreed: “I met a noble from a Duke’s household—he spat at me! Manners? What nonsense!” Then the two began arguing.

The closest temple to the Xu household was Xingguo Temple; the family would pray there first, then proceed to Guangyuan Temple, and finally stay overnight at Yùqing Shrine before returning home the next day.

When daylight fully broke, the Xu family’s procession arrived near Xingguo Temple; the streets grew increasingly crowded.

“Steamed buns~ Fresh out of the steamer~”

“Wontons, wontons, hot wontons—warm your body~”

“Crab meat buns~ Lamb buns~ Bamboo shoot meat buns~” (Buns with fillings—not modern steamed buns)

Vendors’ calls echoed endlessly.

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

Charcoal fires burned; steam rose from roadside steamer baskets, occasionally releasing mouthwatering aromas.

Many carriages were parked roadside, servants carrying ceramic or wooden bowls to collect food and carry it back to their masters.

Eating a bowl of hot soup in the cold weather was truly comforting.

But the Xu family’s masters and maids had no such concerns—the carriage interior was not cold.

Xu Zaijing was drawn in by the scent of lamb buns on the roadside.

He directly ordered Qingyun to buy a whole steamer basket of buns; he took two for himself and distributed the rest.

Freshly steamed lamb buns, filled with other spices, were delicious.

“Delicious!”

Xu Zaijing gave the vendor a thumbs-up.

“Thank you, noble patron.”

The middle-aged vendor bowed deeply in thanks.

The man was a Bianjing resident; he had seen many nobles at Xingguo Temple, but this young master’s horse was unusually majestic.

Xu Zaijing was enjoying his meal when Sun Shi’s maid, Xiaoju, approached.

“Young Master Jing, Lady Sun says you should eat less meat—the gods in temples only eat vegetarian.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Mother I understand.”

He finished the remaining buns in one bite.

“Ooh, hot~~~”

Pingmei and Anmei, riding with Sun Shi, could only sigh at the buns.

After a short rest, Sun Shi and her two daughters stepped down from the carriage and began walking toward Guangyuan Temple.

Xu Zaiduan and his two brothers also dismounted; Xu Zaijing removed his purple lamb-skin cloak and put on a cloak instead, following behind.

Servants and maids led the way ahead, attended behind—very grand.

Of all the Xu family, except Xu Zaijing, the other four children had grown much taller; thus, Xu Zaijing remained the smallest in stature among them.

Previously, riding a horse already quite tall, he had a certain endearing contrast.

But the Lilu did not dare to gallop just because its rider was small—Xu Zaijing’s legs gripping its flanks were no joke.

Lady Sun added oil money at Guangyuan Temple, praying for the Xu and Sun family sons guarding the northern borders.

She burned her own hand-copied sutras, bowing devoutly before each Buddha statue, then requested the temple’s senior monks to pray day and night for the Great Zhou’s imperial heir.

The monks asked whether this was a public or private prayer, then hurried into the temple.

Only then did Sun Shi leave Xingguo Temple.

As they departed, temple monks loudly proclaimed:

“Lady of the Marquis of Yongyi prays for the imperial heir, offering—”

This was a public prayer,

a way for the temple to elevate its status and advertise—after all, noble families came to this temple.

Leaving Xingguo Temple, the Xu family rode another hour to Guangyuan Temple.

Following nearly the same ritual, after bidding farewell to the temple’s abbot, the family arrived at Yùqing Shrine as the sun sank low.

The carriages and horses followed behind as the family walked up the mountain; Xu Zaijing was fine, but the others in the Xu family suffered—especially Pingmei and Anmei.

Accustomed to staying indoors, they were already tired.

But remembering they prayed for their father, they pressed on stubbornly.

Carriages and horses passed constantly along the path—clearly, Yùqing Shrine’s incense offerings rivaled the other two temples.

Xu Zaijing gazed at the scenery along the way,

grand halls, side chambers, altars

wondering where Wu Da’s sixth son met Mo Lan—never mind that, the scenery here was top-tier.

After resting one night at Yùqing Shrine, the next morning the Xu family burned incense and prayed there.

Qingyun, tending to the horses in the guest courtyard of the Daoist shrine, looked puzzled at the person before him.

He glanced at the sign on the carriage behind: “You’re from the Dongchang Marquis’s Qin household?”

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(End of Chapter)