Chapter 585: No Regrets, No Sorrow

The Daxiangguo Temple was ancient, having endured countless wars and reconstructions, and naturally received substantial donations from the powerful and wealthy. Zhang Yue once thought his grandmother, who was a devout Buddhist, was the greatest benefactor of the temple, but in reality, no one in Kaifeng could compare to Prince Zhou Zhu Tu’s generosity. From various Buddhist and Taoist temples in the city to the less popular mosques, all had received donations from the Prince Zhou’s estate, with the Daxiangguo Temple receiving the most.

Therefore, since it was now the Prince Zhou’s estate holding a water and land ritual for the late Princess Feng, even if not for the prestige of the estate, just for the past donations, the temple’s abbot, Juehai, accepted the decision to close the temple without hesitation. All the temple’s lodgings were made available for the people of the estate to stay in. As Princess Chenliu, Zhu Ning, was Zhu Tu’s only unmarried daughter, she now had complete control over the lodgings meant for wealthy women. Her concubines, Mu and Yang, were very obedient and did not even come out to see what was happening despite the chaos.

After sending the Prince of Xinan away firmly, Zhu Ning slowly sat down on the cold stone bench and gently rubbed her temples with her fingers. Having stayed in the capital for many years, she had only heard about the turmoil among her brothers, but upon returning, she truly realized the severity of the situation and felt deep regret. After some thought, she stood up, dressed in her coarse hemp mourning clothes, ready to return to her room to recite scriptures.

“Princess!”

Hearing this voice from outside, Zhu Ning turned around and was surprised to see the old steward bending deeply at the moon gate outside the courtyard. He was a eunuch chosen by the founding emperor to serve in the Prince Zhou’s estate. Later, because of his loyalty, her father Zhu Tu kept him in the capital. Now, considering his old age, he had been brought back, and he should have been accompanying them—so why was he here? Full of confusion, she ordered her maid to call him over. As soon as the maid went, she exclaimed,

“Princess, look who’s here!”

Zhu Ning felt a stir in her heart when she saw Zhang Yue and Du Wan appearing behind the chief steward, filling her with both surprise and joy. Seeing that Du Wan had already entered the courtyard while Zhang Yue merely stood outside the Moon Gate bowing in greeting, she thought for a moment before nodding. Then she instructed the chief steward, “Accompany Zhang Yue to see our father. I’ll stay here to talk with Wan. Although aside from my eldest and fourth brothers, the others probably don’t want to stay in this strictly regulated temple, be careful when showing them the way so as not to run into them again.”

Once the chief steward took them away, she stepped forward, grabbed Du Wan’s hand, and pulled her into her own chamber without hesitation. Looking at Du Wan’s mourning clothes and then at her own, she sighed deeply. “Your family has lost its matriarch, and we siblings have lost our legitimate mother. Last year was truly a difficult time!”

“Although the old lady has passed away, she still cared about the whole family before she died and took care of all matters thoroughly. There was hardly anything she hadn’t thought of. Even though she’s gone, she remains the pillar of our family. Thanks to her efforts, along with the support of the Duke and Duchess of Yingguo, our family is doing well.”

Recalling Lady Gu’s kind expression as she spoke, Du Wan felt a pang in her heart. She quickly narrowed her eyes to suppress the tears before saying, “It seems your royal family isn’t as peaceful. Just now outside, we happened to hear you arguing with your brother. Sister Ning, you should think about yourself too.”

“You heard that?” Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow. Seeing Du Wan staring at her intently, knowing she couldn’t hide anything from this close friend, she said calmly, “It’s no big deal. My legitimate brother is limited in his abilities; he just wants to reap some benefits by following my second brother. Having a father like our king, I have no regrets in this life. The royal family may not be as harmonious as the Zhang family, but as long as our king is alive, they can’t turn things upside down. But now that our king’s health is much worse than before, we can no longer let them act recklessly. Wan, can you do me a favor?”

Seeing Zhu Ning’s serious expression, Du Wan was puzzled. Given their long-standing friendship and the favors Zhu Ning had done for her, she couldn’t refuse. She nodded immediately. “Sister Ning, just tell me what you need.”

Although the Daxiangguo Temple is a large temple, without the financial support of powerful families, it would be difficult to hold water and land rituals even twice a year. This time, Prince Zhu Tu donated 200 mu of land and 200 taels of silver to the temple and earnestly requested the ritual. Thus, for this 49-day ritual, all the high-ranking monks, from the abbot to the supervisors, devoted themselves wholeheartedly.

Both the inner and outer ritual altars were prepared well in advance. At the center of the inner altar hung images of the Three Buddhas—Vairocana, Sakyamuni, and Amitabha—representing past, present, and future. On the offering table were incense, flowers, lamps, candles, and fruits of various colors. On the four rectangular platforms in front were bronze chimes, drums, cymbals, and other instruments. The three chambers of the inner altar were separated by curtains, each containing ten murals depicting water and land deities. The outer altar consisted of six major ritual areas: the main altar, the sutra altar, the Lotus Sutra altar, and others. From the inner to the outer altar, the entire ritual required over a hundred monks. They had been busy since early in the morning, and now only the sound of chanting could be heard, seemingly calming people’s hearts as well.

When Zhang Yue met Zhu Tu, the gray-haired prince was murmuring prayers in the meditation room, in harmony with the chanting. Since he was deeply focused, the chief steward did not dare disturb him, so Zhang Yue waited nearby. After what seemed like a long time, he finally saw Zhu Tu open his eyes, and he quickly stepped forward to bow.

“It’s you,” Zhu Tu recognized Zhang Yue and nodded pleasedly. “At first, I was worried that those rumors would harm Du Yishan, and I even thought about going to the emperor personally to plead for him. Fortunately, I held back. Zhang Yue, you’re quite good—able to endure when necessary and bold enough to act when needed. Du Yishan has chosen a good disciple and a good son-in-law! Yang Shiqi was released after just ten days in prison twice, and Jian Yi was reinstated after only five months. But after all, they have served the emperor for over a decade. Du Yishan, with less experience, was able to get out so quickly thanks to you. Together as teacher, disciple, and father-in-law, you will surely accomplish great things in the future. By the way, he’s now back at the Wenyuan Pavilion and must be very busy. Can he still hold up?”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My father-in-law isn’t a frail scholar. He goes to bed early and gets up early, and he practices Tai Chi in the morning to keep his body strong,” Zhang Yue said, smiling slightly at the thought of his father-in-law. “As for your compliments, I truly can’t bear them. If it weren’t for my father-in-law’s open-mindedness and honesty when questioned by the emperor, I alone would never have been able to escape prison so quickly. Although he’s only been in the court for a few years, his integrity is evident to everyone. Once the emperor’s anger subsides, how could he not trust him?”

“I only praised you a little, and you already start praising him. You two are really…”

Born into a royal family rife with deceit, Zhu Tu had almost lost all traces of brotherly affection due to suspicion between rulers and subjects and other hardships. Thus, he particularly valued the ease of interacting with ordinary people. Thinking of the conflicts among his sons upon his return, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Then he asked Zhang Yue a few questions about his family, learning that Zhang Xin and Zhang Zhuo would build huts beside their ancestral graves to observe mourning for three years. He nodded in approval: “After all, propriety is passed down through the family—true to its reputation. By the way, did girl Du come today? I haven’t played a proper game of chess in ages. My queen was also an excellent player; if I could play a masterful game to honor her spirit in heaven, she would surely be pleased.”

As a prince of the Zhou dynasty, he naturally couldn’t do without a chess partner. But Zhu Tu disliked people playing deliberately or even losing on purpose. Moreover, his own chess skills were strong—unless someone gave it their all without any distractions, they had no chance of beating him. Zhang Yue’s skills weren’t good enough either, so he hadn’t played many games since returning to Kaifeng. Now, looking eagerly at Zhang Yue, he saw him hesitate for a moment before nodding and saying that Du Wan was with Zhang Yue. Immediately, Zhu Tu stood up, the weariness on his face fading significantly.

Zhang Yue’s chess skills were merely passable—he lost seven or eight out of ten games against Du Wan, far from being a match for her. Yet, as the onlooker, he gradually became captivated as he watched Zhu Tu and Du Wan play intensely. After each game, Zhu Tu would solemnly hold up the chess notation written by Zhang Yue himself, saying with satisfaction that he would burn it to honor the late Queen Feng. He couldn’t help but feel that this prince was very different from the Han and Zhao princes he had met before.

“My biological mother and the queens have been with me for many years; some even stayed in Yunnan with me for years. Though they came from privileged backgrounds, they willingly endured so much hardship… With them and a daughter as understanding as Anning, I have no regrets in this life.”

For the large Daxiangguo Temple, which housed hundreds of monks, a thousand bushels of white rice was far more useful than gold coins. Especially since there had been another flood in Henan last year, and many displaced people remained in the city before spring plowing, they needed to distribute porridge and rice. When the temple supervisor learned that this was the dying wish of the late lady of the Zhang family, he clasped his hands in prayer and expressed his deep gratitude for such kindness. Looking at Zhang Yue, he recalled the incident of the temple distributing porridge during the flood eleven years ago and couldn’t help but bow deeply again.

“The old lady had been in the capital for many years, yet still performed numerous acts of kindness for the people of Kaifeng every year. Even now that she has passed away, she still remembers to do good. She must surely have ascended to paradise, and her descendants will enjoy its blessings. On behalf of the entire Daxiangguo Temple, I thank her!”
In the past, he had once escaped danger at Daxiangguo Temple, and in the following years, he saw the temple often distributing food, porridge, and clothing during times of famine. Naturally, Zhang Yue developed a strong fondness for this famous temple. Hearing the sincere words of the abbot, he quickly thanked him in return. After staying for a while longer, he and Du Wan bid farewell to the King of Zhou and his daughter. As they got into the carriage after leaving the temple, he was thinking about how King Zhu Tu was now sixty-two years old when suddenly his wife pulled at his sleeve.
“Sister Ning asked me for a favor before.”
Hearing that it was a request from Princess Zhu Ning of Chenliu, Zhang Yue immediately became attentive. Over the years, he had received countless favors from her and had long felt guilty. However, after Du Wan finished explaining, he fell into deep thought.
According to Zhu Ning, the Prince of Runan and the Prince of Xin’an, having spent their childhood together in Nanjing with the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao, shared similar temperaments and had a close relationship. Many of the three guards assigned to the King of Zhou by the imperial court were recommended by the Prince of Runan and the Prince of Xin’an. If these guards were to be directly under the imperial guard in the capital, careful arrangements would be necessary. The so-called “help” was simply that Zhu Ning hoped he would keep an eye on things to prevent the King of Zhou’s family from getting caught up in those turmoil. It was truly rare to have parents and daughters like Zhu Tu and Zhu Ning in the royal family.