The spring is clear, and the sky is clear.

The early morning breeze swept up the peach blossoms on the side of the Xintang Bridge, and in the rain, a lacquered four-horse carriage slowly went out of the Yongning Gate in the inner city, crossed the Wangxian Bridge, and went straight to Gyeonggi out of Changle Gate.

The square carriage is carved with a blue bird moire, the wheel bearing axle, the wheel frame are painted and pasted, and the four corners of the eaves are hung with copper bells. Dingdong bells rang, and dozens of carts followed, flanked by silver armor.

Gu Yunqiu persuaded Princess Ning as she wished.

However, the conditions for the princess to bring him into the temple are-

Gu Yunqiu couldn't travel lightly, he had to bring all the miscellaneous servants and servants in Ning Xin Hall, as well as grandmothers and guards. The things used for food and clothing are loaded with several cars.

In addition to the original guards of the palace, King Ning was even more uneasy and transferred two teams of silver-armored guards to follow.

This battle is like a big man in the palace going on patrol.

Fortunately, King Ning and his wife are quite scored, and they know that there is too much movement in this way, so they calculate the time and go out of the city before dawn, and the streets and alleys are lonely, which also saves them from being watched and discussed.

Gu Yunqiu was not used to getting up early, and not long after getting on the carriage with a lot of excitement, he fell asleep in the shaking of the carriage.

The princess saw him leaning against the wall of the car and the chick pecking rice, so she had no choice but to reach out and hold the child flat and pull a small blanket to cover him.

The breeze is gentle, and the kingfisher warbler cries in the Dragon Mountain.

Dozens of miles up along the mountain road, there are ninety-nine stone steps in front of the Baoguo Temple.

The faint morning light lifted the fog curtain in the mountain, and there was a small novice with a broom on the stone steps.

He was dressed in a monk's robe and leggings, and he was not tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow back, and he looked very sturdy. The red light of the morning glow illuminates his small bald head, but it also outlines his deep eye sockets and high nose bridge.

The broom in the temple was taller than him, but he straightened his back and swept it down very carefully.

Today is April 17 of the eighth year of Chenghe, and Princess Ning is coming to the temple.

In previous years, the princess came as soon as spring began, but this year has been postponed for a month for some reason.

Sweeping the dust and fallen leaves on the stone steps to both sides, the little monk stopped, and suddenly sighed deeply-

It is now the eighth year of Chenghe, and there will be an outbreak of the epidemic in the palace next year.

The eighth prince and the sixth princess will all die in this epidemic, and the queen of the middle palace, who has been sick for many days, will also die of unbearable blows due to the loss of children and daughters one after another.

In due course, the Marquis of Xiangping will go to Beijing.

Time is running out for him.

The little monk lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, and the cold light in his eyes suddenly appeared, and he almost pinched off the broom. It took a while for him to wipe the sweat off his forehead and continue sweeping the floor.

The mountains are empty, and the brooms rustle.

Suddenly, there was a clatter of horses' hooves and brass bells from the bottom of the mountain—

He erected a broom and followed the sound, and in the shadow of the bamboo and elm trees, he saw a golden carriage.

At the same time, the mountain gate behind him opened.

The temple supervisor hurriedly rushed out with five or six disciples from the outer courtyard and stepped down the stone steps to greet them.

The little monk raised his eyebrows and gave way, and when he staggered, he bent down to fight them.

Hearing this, the head temple supervisor smiled at him, "Mingji is polite." ”

……

Baoguosa Temple is located on the Sacryongsan Mountain, 17 miles southeast of Gyeonggi.

The mountain of the sacrificial dragon mountain is steep, the rock peak is strange, the stacked mountains and mountains are full of ancient trees that take root in the dangerous rocks and rocks, the sunrise and sunset clouds are all over the mountain, and the surrounding mountain walls are bright like fire, dark like pine ink.

Gu Yunqiu also woke up at this time, and was picking up the curtain and leaning on the window to look at the scenery.

Hundreds of miles along the mountain road, there is a solemn ancient temple hidden behind the pine and green bamboo: the red wall is green tile, the gatehouse is towering, and you can see the word "serving the country" painted on the door from a distance.

Baoguo Temple has a long history, and it can be traced back to a hundred years.

The earliest Zen temple was built on the cliff on the top of the sacrificial dragon mountain, and the three treasure halls, the five Buddhas, the bell tower and the drum tower and the Tibetan scripture pavilion were also built in the lonely peak and dangerous rocks according to the mountain situation, and were connected by the flying bridge iron cable, the cloud ladder stone stack.

Later, about 50 years ago, the Jin Dynasty royal family was in a civil war, and Emperor Sejong was cornered by the rebels, so he could only hide in the Dragon Mountain and hide in the Baoguo Temple.

After he was successfully restored, he designated Baoguo Temple as the Great Jinguo Temple, and built this magnificent temple in the gentle place on the southern slope of the original Zen Temple.

Rounding the last two sharp bends on the muddy mountain road, the coachman reined in his horse and parked in front of the mountain gate.

Master Yuankong, who is a master outside the world, did not come forward to greet him, but only sent the temple supervisor, a fat head tuo, to take care of everything.

When the princess gave birth in the temple, in order not to cause trouble to the Baoguo Temple, King Ning paid to buy the monk's house that was used as a delivery room, and expanded a new monk's room for the masters in the back mountain.

The original location of the monk's house was given up, and a palace of the king was built, and a garden was set up behind the palace.

On the courtyard wall facing west of the garden, open the moon cave door, and set up two straight houses next to the door, and the straight rooms connect the corridor, the rockery lotus pond and a nine-curved bridge.

To the north, there is a wide courtyard by the lotus pond.

The main hall and the left and right wings are set up in the courtyard, which is regarded as the private residence of the palace and is dedicated to the princess to worship the Buddha.

There is no curfew at the door of the moon cave, and the monks can also go to the monk's house and the pavilion in the back mountain through here, but there are royal guards on duty in the straight room to keep the princess safe.

This small courtyard has Ning Wangfu sent people to take care of it from time to time, but the temple supervisor still took the disciples of the outer courtyard to clean it again inside and out.

The coachman brought the ladder, and the grandmother stepped forward to help out the princess.

After the temple supervisor and others called the Buddha's name, they smiled and bowed.

The princess hurriedly helped them up, and returned the Buddha salute, "Master is polite, I bothered me." ”

As soon as the temple supervisor wanted to speak, the curtain behind the princess moved, and a hairy head poked out, "Brother Shun helped me-"

He was stunned for a moment, and saw a little boy in a brocade robe come out of the carriage, looking at the age of about eight years old, born with pink carving and jade, white and snowy, and a pair of willow leaf eyes slender and bright.

The temple supervisor was stunned and looked at the princess, "This time, the little prince is also here?" ”

The princess nodded, and smiled apologetically, "I didn't inform the master of the temporary idea, I hope it won't cause trouble to the temple." ”

The temple supervisor waved his hand, "Where did the princess say, Buddhism is widely used by the world, and the little prince is very welcome." ”

Over there, Gu Yunqiu got out of the car, he ran to the princess in two steps, looked up at this chubby head, raised his palm after a little groaning, and bent over, "Gu Yunqiu has seen the master!" ”

The voice was crisp and vivid, and the wide sleeves slipped down to the crook of the arm, revealing a small arm like a tender lotus.

The temple supervisor was amused and called a Buddha name, "The son of the world is polite." ”

The princess also smiled, but her eyes were filled with joy.

Gu Yunqiu said twice, stretched out his hand to hold the princess's hand, and rated his performance in his heart as a first-class grade: not only mastered the attitude of an eight-year-old child, but also got the favor of the temple supervisor, earn!

In this way, the temple supervisor said a few more polite words to the princess, and then stepped forward to lead the way, "The princess and the prince are tired of traveling and driving, so they should go to the courtyard to rest first, and host the senior brother's side, and the poor monk will go to the court." ”

"Then there's Master Lao."

The group walked up the mountain, and after climbing more than a dozen steps, they heard strange sounds from a distance.

The princess paused and saw a small novice on the platform.

"...... that?"

The temple supervisor followed her gaze and smiled, "It's Mingji." ”

"Mingji?" The princess's voice was slightly higher, "That's it...... The kid? ”

The temple supervisor nodded yes.

Gu Yunqiu walked beside the princess, and he didn't react when he heard the name at first glance, and after the princess said this, he suddenly widened his eyes and looked up suddenly-

It was a little monk in a gray robe, holding a large broom, sweeping the fallen leaves.

That's, that's ...... Li Congzhou when he was a child?

Gu Yunqiu swallowed his saliva, and a layer of sweat oozed from his palm.

"I think the princess and this child are also fate," the temple supervisor was happy, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Mingji——! ”

The little monk who swept the floor with his back to them paused, and when he turned around, Gu Yunqiu saw that his facial features were well-defined, his tiger eyes looked like King Ning, and his thin lips were pursed and nine points like a princess.

"I've come to see Princess Ning and the prince," the temple supervisor shouted as he looked down at Gu Yunqiu, "There are also many young novices of the same age as the prince in the temple, and they can also be playmates in their spare time." ”

The princess nodded and smiled, and the little monks of Baoguo Temple stood out. If her son can be friendly with them, then she will really wake up laughing in her dreams.

Moreover, I don't know if it was the cause that was planted in the production that year, she always felt that the little novice looked close.

However, Mingji only looked at them quietly, then turned around and shoveled up the fallen leaves on the ground and walked away.

"......" The temple supervisor was a little embarrassed, and after coughing, he explained to the princess, "Don't blame Niangniang, this child was not like this before, he had a serious illness two years ago, and his temperament changed when he woke up, not intentionally rude." ”

The princess shook her head and didn't care, but Gu Yunqiu suddenly whined and hid behind her.

"Qiuqiu?"

Gu Yunqiu clutched the hem of the princess's skirt and buried her head, his teeth clenched, his whole body trembled, and cold sweat broke out uncontrollably on the back of his neck.

That, the little monk was obviously half a head shorter than him, but the eyes he looked at were as cold and terrifying as in his previous life.

- No, it is worthy of being a true son of the world who killed people like hemp in his previous life.

Gu Yunqiu was so frightened that his calves trembled a little.

The princess thought he was afraid of life, and couldn't help but joke a few words, leaned over and picked him up, "How old is Qiuqiu, is it a shame?" ”

Gu Yunqiu crouched on the princess's shoulder, thinking that it was better to be embarrassed than to lose her head.

Scared, he decided to hide from Li Congzhou in the temple.

Waiting for the palace and his party to walk away, another gray figure walked out from behind the banyan tree at the entrance of the temple, and Li Congzhou looked at Princess Ning in the crowd quietly, as well as the goose-yellow little thing on her shoulder.

After watching it for a long time, I didn't know what to think, and a cruel smile suddenly appeared on the little monk's face.

The eyes that were like cold stars in the cold night were full of thirsty blood.

……

Although he was a little frightened, after everything was settled, Gu Yunqiu regained his spirits.

The princess gave him the east wing room to live in, which was a room facing the lotus pond facing the sun:

In the middle of the door, there is a medicine Buddha, and the Buddha statue hangs a plaque of "no troubles". The room is full of sandalwood, the window is hung with bamboo curtains, a book case under the window, a soil kang is placed next to the case, and two stone green futons are placed on it.

Brother Shun looked around with his bags in his arms, his eyes were slightly disgusted.

You must know that he has his own independent straight room in Ningxin Hall, and now in this situation, I am afraid that he will have to squeeze a few shops at the door with others.

Gu Yunqiu happily threw himself on the kang and picked up the futon to roll.

Seeing the little master like this, Brother Shun had to swallow the complaining words back into his stomach, making a happy appearance on the surface, but in his heart he was calculating - how long will the freshness of the son of the world pass.

In this way, Gu Yunqiu successfully settled in Baoguo Temple.

But the plan to pick up elm money did not go as smoothly as he expected:

The princess cared about him, and sent him five guards, ten silver-armored soldiers, plus a few small servants and grandmothers such as Brother Shun, wherever he went out of the courtyard, he was surrounded by a group of people.

Moreover, the monks treated him very warmly, and no matter where he went, even if he just took a look at the ancient well, a monk would come up to him and ask him if he wanted to drink water.

In this way, how embarrassed is he to squat down and pick up other people's elm money.

Gu Yunqiu tried a few times, but he didn't come up with any good ideas to avoid people for the time being, so he had no choice but to go back to the room, lie on the bookcase in front of the window, and look at the lotus pond outside with his hands on his cheeks in a daze-

The spring water moves with the wind, the new lotus in the pool has not yet bloomed, and Brother Shun has made an appointment with a few small guys to play rattan ball by the pool.

He came to invite, but Gu Yunqiu was upset, so he didn't respond.

Looking at Brother Shun's actions, Gu Yunqiu pouted: In terms of frolicking, Brother Shun is indeed a good hand. It's a pity that there are too many thoughts, and it is not the choice of a loyal servant.

He was thinking nonsense here, and the little guys over there suddenly exclaimed.

Brother Shun hit a certain ball high, and he didn't catch the ball for a while, and the rattan ball popped out with a whizz, and happened to hit a small novice on the Jiuqu Bridge.

As a result, the rattan ball was reangled, and after jumping twice on the bridge deck, it slid into the lotus pond.

As soon as the breeze blew on the lotus pond, the ball floated to the middle of the water.

Brother Shun was anxious on the spot, he rolled up his sleeves, walked over aggressively, and reached out to grab the placket of the little novice: "Compensate me for the rattan ball——! ”

Xiao Shami was blocked by the two little guys brought by Brother Shun, Gu Yunqiu couldn't see his face, he could only vaguely see the corner of his gray monk's robe.

The little novice didn't speak.

Brother Shun was even more annoyed, and when he let go of his placket and backhanded, he pushed hard: "What are you doing, dumb?!" ”

The little monk was taken a step back by him, but he stood straight again, and he raised his eyes, "The rattan ball was hit by the donor himself." ”

"Smack——! Brother Shun slapped him hard, "You fucking fart!" ”

"If you don't appear suddenly, how can Lao Tzu's rattan ball be in the water?!"

The little monk was beaten by him and his cheeks were slightly red, he used his tongue to push his cheeks from the inside, a pair of eyes slowly narrowed, and the eyes of Brother Shun became increasingly dangerous.

Brother Shun was furious by his eyes, and an evil fire rose up, raised his foot and kicked over, "What are you looking at?!" Believe it or not, I'll gouge out your eyeballs! ”

The little monk was kicked, but he watched him laugh slowly.

In a pair of cold eyes, four words were clearly written: You try it.

Brother Shun was anxious, "Hold him down for me, I won't kill him today, my surname is Zhang!" I don't know what to do, do you know who I am? Let me tell you, I'm the personal servant next to King Ning's son! Can you afford to be offended?! ”

Gu Yunqiu, who was sitting far away in the east wing: "......"

Why didn't he know that Brother Shun was still doing this kind of thing in his name behind his back.

The little monk was pressed by a group of small men left and right, but there was no fear on his face.

Hearing the words Ning Wang Shizi, he couldn't even help laughing.

Brother Shun had never seen such a crazy person, so angry that his whole face turned red, and he punched the little monk in the stomach.

The little monk sighed, looking at Brother Shun like a dead man, he made a clever effort, and as soon as he struggled easily, he got out of the shackles and walked towards the rockery without looking back.

"Huh?!" Brother Shun punched himself into the air, but he fell into a dog and gnawed on.

A few people next to him helped him up, and he angrily shook them with an ear scraper, "A bunch of idiots! I can't even fucking look at myself, what's the use of you?! ”

The attendants did not dare to speak.

Brother Shun was angry and pushed them away to continue chasing, "Where the are you running!" ”

However, before he took a step, Gu Yunqiu's voice called him from afar:

"Brother Shun ——!"

He paused, sighed first, and was about to tell the two little servants to follow the little monk, but Gu Yunqiu called their names again:

"What about you people?! I have something to say! You're telling everyone to come to my room! ”

Brother Shun couldn't help but snort, scratched his head irritably, and finally stomped his feet and glared at the little monk from afar, "Count yourself lucky!" I won't bother with you about this rattan ball yet, but you can remember it for me—"

The little monk looked at him with a smile on his face.

Brother Shun felt that he had been provoked, so he didn't care about jumping on him and wanted to hit him again, but as a result, Gu Yunqiu urged him again, so he snorted heavily and turned his head to take people back.

The little monk was left standing on the Jiuqu Bridge, his tiger eyes were cold, and there was a sarcastic smile on the corner of his mouth:

Pity.

Behind him, the rockeries were undulating and staggered, like majestic mountains, the lower ones were covered with moss vines, and the top two were crumbling boulders.

The stone weighed more than a thousand gold, and if it hit anything, it would turn into a puddle of rotten flesh.

The breeze blew the little monk's robe, revealing the word "Ji" embroidered on the inside.

……

Gu Yunqiu just didn't want Brother Shun to do evil, but in fact, there was nothing important to order.

After he talked a lot, he made an excuse that he wanted to eat osmanthus cake, and sent Brother Shun and the two little guys down the mountain.

- I just hope that the little monk outside has left, and nothing will happen to him.

The next afternoon.

Gu Yunqiu woke up from a full night's sleep, looked around and saw that Brother Shun was not there, and he didn't call anyone again, so he got dressed and got up.

There are two stacks of freshly baked osmanthus cakes on the bookcase next to the earthen kang, which were not bought by Brother Shun, but after Brother Shun went down the mountain yesterday, he happened to meet King Ning's henchmen at the door of Tao Ji.

Hearing that his son wanted to eat, King Ning immediately sent someone to send it up the mountain in two stacks a day.

Unwrapping the twine outside the oil paper, Gu Yunqiu thought about yesterday's events while eating:

Human nature is profit-seeking, and there is nothing wrong with it.

But Brother Guanshun's behavior is obviously not the first time he has done this kind of thing.

Now that they are young, they dare to bully others in the name of King Ning's son, and when they grow up in the future, they don't know what kind of heinous evil they want to do.

Brother Shun is clever, but if he thinks too much, he is cunning.

Gu Yunqiu finally relived his life, but he didn't want to bury such a hidden danger around him.

He had to find a reason to replace Brother Shun, and then find a reliable loyal servant to lead by his side.

Just as I was thinking about it, there was a sudden noise outside the window.

Lifting the bamboo curtain, Gu Yunqiu actually saw Brother Shun and a few small servants blocking a little monk in a gray robe near the rockery of Jiuqu Bridge.

Hiss.

Gu Yunqiu bared his teeth like a toothache, and the unchewed cake fell to the placket.

This Shun brother, will cause trouble like this?

He didn't care about the side either, wrapped the flower cake in his hand and kicked it into his arms, pushed open the door and ran towards the bridge-

On the Jiuqu Bridge, Brother Shun was still holding a wooden stick in his hand that he had picked up out of nowhere, and he looked at the little novice in front of him and smiled maliciously, "Yo, you little bald donkey still dare to go here?" ”

He raised the wooden stick and unceremoniously poked the little monk in the shoulder, stabbing him crookedly, "Didn't you get beaten enough last time?" ”

The little monk still looked at them expressionlessly.

His eyes are tiger-eyed, and the fishtail is naturally upward, and he is naturally sharp.

In addition, he has no emotion, and a pair of eyes swept over lightly, which seemed to be extremely oppressive.

Brother Shun didn't like his eyes, like looking at dead people and ants.

But a little bald donkey, where did he get the confidence?

Originally, a rattan ball didn't matter, but he just couldn't stand such a look.

Brother Shun took a sip, "I think you are toasting and not eating and drinking!" ”

He raised the wooden stick in his hand and said that he was going to hit someone.

However, as soon as the stick hit the little monk, there was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him, and along with the footsteps, there was an angry reprimand:

"Brother Shun ——!"

Brother Shun turned around, and Xiao Shizi, who didn't know when he got up, was looking at him angrily:

"Slaves and maids of the royal palace, all those who bully others, insult and beat the people, shall be punished with a hundred rods and sixty lashes."

Gu Yunqiu slowly paced forward, spitting out words like ice, "Brother Shun, do you want to be whipped?" ”

Brother Shun's face turned pale, no matter how powerful he was, he was a subordinate and a slave in the end, if Gu Yunqiu really cared about it, he could not only beat him and punish him, but also betray him.

He panicked, hurriedly threw away the wooden stick in his hand and knelt on the ground, "Gong, Gongzi, the villain is confused for a while, and the villain is ......"

Gu Yunqiu glanced at him, "The person who was beaten and abused by you is not me." ”

When Brother Shun heard this, he immediately turned to the little monk.

As soon as he moved like this, Gu Yunqiu saw the little monk's face clearly.

“……”

At a glance, Gu Yunqiu's calves began to tremble, and there was a dull pain in the back of his neck.

It's going to happen, it's going to die.

How, how could it be Li Congzhou?!

He was short of breath and covered in cold sweat, and after a while, he thought that Li Congzhou was only eight years old now, and the Baoguo Temple had not been destroyed, or ...... Maybe he hasn't contracted that homicidal madness.

If he has a good relationship with Li Congzhou now......

Gu Yunqiu quietly raised his head and glanced at the little monk, and was frightened away by those cold eyes:

What is the relationship, or to save the life is important.

In the panic, he didn't think about it, he just wanted to find a way to get out, raised his hand and touched the osmanthus cake in his arms, so he couldn't help but say, "This, this is delicious, give, give it to you——! ”

After speaking, he didn't dare to look at Li Congzhou anymore, turned his head and ran.

Brother Shun looked at each other, and only after a while did he remember to chase after him, "Childe——! ”

And the little monk who stayed in place moved slightly, and looked coldly at the oiled paper bag in his hand, and the osmanthus cake in it was obviously bitten:

There is a circle of tooth marks in a circle, and there is a missing tooth in the lower row.