Chapter 443

Qiqi stopped before a seven-story pagoda, its top piled with residual snow, with clumps of grass poking through the snow; it was clear no one had swept it for a long time, no different from the surrounding pagodas. Qiqi said nothing and reached out to clear the grass on the pagoda.

Hu Xiaotian walked over to help, but before his hand touched the pagoda, Qiqi snapped, "Don't move!"

Hu Xiaotian thought, "I meant well and got stuck with this donkey's liver and lungs—do you think I want to move?" He stepped back a few paces, stood with arms crossed, and kept watch for her, after all they'd climbed over the wall, feeling a bit guilty like a thief.

Qiqi cleared the grass from the pagoda, then knelt before it, bowed her head three times with hands clasped and eyes closed, apparently praying. Hu Xiaotian had known her for a while but had never seen her so devout. He wondered silently who lay buried beneath the pagoda and what connection she had to them.

At that moment footsteps sounded in the distance; Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw a young monk in gray robes carrying a bundle of incense walking slowly toward them.

The monk also saw them at the same time; having entered by climbing the wall, Hu Xiaotian felt a bit guilty, but the monk's expression remained calm, as if he hadn't noticed them. The young monk placed incense sticks one by one into the incense burner before the pagoda, then bowed with palms together.

Soon the young monk arrived at the pagoda they had cleaned, lit three incense sticks, and kowtowed three times. As he rose to leave, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help asking, "Which eminent monk is buried beneath this pagoda?"

The young monk smiled and said, "In this pagoda forest lie the relics of three hundred seventy-seven monks; each pagoda has no name. In the Buddha's eyes, all beings are equal, with no distinction of high or low, noble or base." Having spoken, he continued on his way.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the monk's composed face, feeling a spontaneous admiration; he hadn't expected such a young monk to have cultivated such serenity of mind.

Qiqi retorted, "So-called equality of all beings is nothing but a lie fabricated by your Buddhist disciples!"

Hearing this, the young monk involuntarily stopped, turned to Qiqi, and said with palms together, "Young benefactor, monastics do not speak falsehoods."

Qiqi sneered, "Monastics don't lie? That's a falsehood. In the pagoda forest there are three hundred seventy-seven pagodas, yet they vary in height and size—some are swept clean, others overgrown with grass and dilapidated."

The young monk replied calmly, "One flower, one world; one tree, one life. All things have their reasons for growing; to you they are merely weeds, but from the weeds' perspective we and they are not fundamentally different—there really isn't that much inequality in the world; it's people's hearts that hold too much unfairness."

Hu Xiaotian secretly praised the young monk's eloquence.

Qiqi chuckled, "The Buddha said all beings are equal, so why does he calmly accept the worship of myriad masses? You constantly proclaim equality of all beings, yet you willingly kneel before a Buddha statue—do you not understand that the Buddha is you and you are the Buddha? With your wisdom, even a lifetime of bowing to the Buddha would bring no progress."

The young monk clearly hadn't expected Qiqi's words to be so sharp; for a moment he stood there, stunned by her questioning.

Although Hu Xiaotian didn't interject, he felt Qiqi's words made sense.

The young monk finally gave no answer to Qiqi, turned, and continued onward.

Qiqi gazed at the pagoda, her eye rims suddenly red; she bit her lip and whispered, "Do you know why I came to sweep this pagoda?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head.

Qiqi said, "My mother was killed years ago when she crashed into this pagoda!"

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted. He suddenly recalled the portrait he had seen on Mount Ethereal; the figure in it resembled Qiqi exactly—yes, her memorial day is the first day of the lunar year. Could that Ling Jiazi be Qiqi's mother? If so, why would the old emperor have her portrait made into a tablet? Unscientific! Hu Xiaotian dared not think further.

Qiqi's words explained why she had come to the pagoda forest of Great Xiangguo Temple on the first day of the new year—to pay respects to her mother.

Hu Xiaotian carefully recalled the scene of seeing that portrait yesterday; Ling Jiazi's memorial day is also the first day of the lunar year—surely there couldn't be so many coincidences. He did not lightly speak of it, for the imperial palace hides many secrets, and careless words could invite deadly disaster; his troubles were already enough, so it was best to avoid stirring trouble.

Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian returned the same way, still choosing to climb over the wall to leave, but upon exiting they found the two horses that had been tethered in the grove had vanished without a trace.

Both were dumbfounded; Qiqi stamped her foot in anger, shouting, "Those horse thieves—if I catch them I'll chop off their heads!"

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed, "You just said Kangdu has good order and simple customs, where lost items aren't picked up and doors aren't locked at night—yet the moment you finished speaking, they were stolen."

Seeing the smile at Hu Xiaotian's mouth, Qiqi guessed what he was thinking and snapped, "What are you laughing at? It's all your fault!"

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed, "What's that got to do with me?" He thought, "Just now I wanted to stay and guard the horses, but you wouldn't let me, insisting I follow you into the temple; now when something goes wrong you blame me."

Qiqi jabbed a finger at his nose, saying, "You're a jinx—whenever I meet you, nothing good ever happens."

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile, "Young master, don't rush to blame—let's go out and see; maybe we can catch the horse thieves." He well knew there was no reasoning with this princess at all.

After Qiqi was reminded by him, she stopped complaining; the two walked together toward the woods' edge, searched the vicinity, and saw no trace of their mounts—apparently someone had simply led them away. On the first day of the new year, crowds surged everywhere; trying to find their horses in that sea of people was no easy task.

Qiqi, accustomed to arrogance, had her face fall at this mishap on the first day of the year. Hu Xiaotian, however, thought nothing of it—"no lost items picked up, doors left unlocked" is something only children believe; now Dakang faces danger on all sides, years of poor harvests have made the people's lives harder day by day, and petty theft will only increase. Today's incident is merely a microcosm of social turmoil.

The two left Great Xiangguo Temple on foot; seeing it was already noon, Qiqi, having walked half a day, felt hungry and thirsty, and asked Hu Xiaotian, "Hey, do you have any money on you?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head.

Qiqi glared at him, "Stingy, I'm hungry—take out your money and treat me to a meal."

Hu Xiaotian gave a bitter smile, "Young master, I only have a few silvers; I just gave them all as tips to those boys in Lock Spring Lane, and now I don't have a single cash coin."

Qiqi snorted, "Didn't Eunuch Quan just give you a red envelope?"

Hu Xiaotian lamented, "You mean that old miser? He gave me a few candy pellets, treating me like a child; I swear on heaven there's not a single cash coin inside."

Qiqi wore a bitter expression, "I'm both thirsty and hungry—think of a solution."

Hu Xiaotian said, "There are a few ways—first, we could rob!" He glanced sinisterly at a nearby pot-bellied fatso; from his attire it was clear he was a wealthy upstart.

Qiqi shook her head, "No way—I'm of what status, how could I do such a thing?" To her, state law is family law; the Dragon Clan established the edicts, so how could a member of the Dragon Clan violate them?

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then we'll just beg!"

"A beggar? I'd never do that—I am what status?"

Hu Xiaotian thought, "What status are you? Nothing more than being born into the imperial family, with an emperor as your father, yet you actually think your status is lofty? Didn't you just hear the monk say all beings are equal, with no high or low, noble or base?"

Qiqi looked toward the distant imperial city, then at Hu Xiaotian; she had originally planned to tour outside after visiting Great Xiangguo Temple, but never expected this mishap, and she whispered, "What else can we do?"

Hu Xiaotian sized her up, "That fur coat of yours isn't bad—it should fetch some silver."

"What do you mean?"

"Not stealing, not robbing, and unwilling to beg—all that's left is to pawn. Even if I were willing to pawn my servant's garb, a pawnshop might not accept it; so it's really just your fur coat."

Qiqi rolled her eyes at him and said, "Being with you, how unlucky am I? Even my clothes have to be pawned."

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed, "You deserve it — I didn't exactly choose to follow you; who can you blame for feeling ill at ease during the New Year?"

On the first day of the lunar new year, quite a few pawn shops stay open; the newer the year, the better their business. For ordinary folk, making ends meet is tough, and those with poor means will try every possible way — even smashing pots and selling scrap iron — just to have a good year.

Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi went to the biggest Xingyuan pawn shop in the capital, pawning Qiqi's fur coat for fifty taels of silver. Although the coat is worth at least three hundred taels, Qiqi, though not money‑savvy, realizes she's been ripped off today. However, Hu Xiaotian tells her pawn shops have a deadline; as long as she brings the pawn ticket within the agreed period to redeem it, she only needs to pay the shop some extra interest. Qiqi naturally doesn't care about that piece of clothing; her annoyance over pawning the coat quickly gives way to the pleasure of going out for fresh air.

Hu Xiaotian worried she'd catch cold, so he bought her a dog‑skin jacket. Though it isn't stylish, it's cheap — five taels of silver takes care of the warmth, leaving forty‑five taels for the two of them to splurge on.

Qiqi, still a minor, looks left and right, curious about everything outside. Just now, leaving Cheng'en Manor in her fur coat, she seemed at first glance a distinguished young noble of extraordinary bearing; but now, having swapped into the dog‑skin jacket and walking beside Hu Xiaotian, the gap between them has clearly narrowed. If Hu Xiaotian in his ridiculous rag‑like vest looks like a servant, then her outfit makes her look like a cart‑driver. As the saying goes, Buddha needs gold adornment, people need fine clothes — good bearing is one thing, attire another.

Even though she is a princess of the current dynasty, wearing that bulky dog‑skin jacket and a rabbit‑fur cap makes it hard to tell her identity from her appearance.

Two updates delivered, please vote for the Monthly Ticket! Zhangyu doesn't know how to stir emotions, only solid updates — if you give me a hundred tickets today, I'll still do Three More! (To be continued~^~)