Chapter 448 — The Zen Temple
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 3 of 4
Dou Yan cleared her throat.
Ji Yong laughed out loud. "Don't bother covering your ears to steal the bell," he said. "All of the capital is talking about it..."—as brash and unbridled as ever, utterly without restraint.
Dou Yan cut him off: "And what if we do cover our ears? At least people know we'd rather not speak of it."
Ji Yong had not seen Dou Yan in a long while and had no wish to quarrel with her; he murmured a couple of assenting sounds, and the topic was considered dropped.
Defu, who had already paid his respects to the abbot, let a flicker of surprise cross his face, then pressed his palms together and bowed to Dou Yan.
Dou Yan and Jiang Yan hastily bent their knees in return.
Ji Yong then asked Dou Yan, "How is it Song Yantang let you come to Puji Temple to offer incense alone? Where is your son? I hear he was given the childhood name Yuanheng? When he was a month old I was in Fujian on imperial order, so I asked my aunt to bring Yuanheng a longevity lock. It was consecrated by an enlightened monk of Mount Putuo—take it out and hang it by his bed, it will ward off evil!"
Dou Yan broke out in a cold sweat.
Right in front of the abbot of Puji Temple and Defu, he had told her that a longevity lock consecrated by an enlightened monk of Mount Putuo could ward off evil—which was rather like praising the sweetness of Li's melons at Granny Wang's stall...
She shot a swift glance at the abbot and Defu, only to find the two of them looking utterly unruffled, as though they had heard nothing at all.
What was going on here?
Dou Yan's thoughts were somewhat in disarray, and she could only say, "What were you doing in Fujian? Did it go smoothly?"
Ji Yong said, "I went as censor! Didn't you know? Since the Duke of Dingguo's death, Fujian has been in turmoil—Japanese pirates come ashore time and again to kill and plunder. It is no exaggeration to say the people can scarcely live. His Majesty sent me to observe the resistance to the pirates there."
The Duke of Dingguo has not even been rehabilitated yet, all right?
And even if he had, you still cannot comment on affairs of state like that in public!
Dou Yan glanced at the abbot and Defu again.
The abbot was fine. But Defu said with a smile, "Madam Song need not worry. I find Lord Ji's words quite reasonable."
Dou Yan was mortified.
Ji Yong looked at her and laughed. "You had best hurry back," he said. "Mind that Yuanheng doesn't cry for you. The monk Defu and I agreed to debate sutras today, so I can't entertain you. Next time you come to Puji Temple, send word ahead, and I'll treat you to Puji Temple's famous sweet-and-sour fish."
Debate sutras?
Not at Longshan Temple, but at Puji Temple?
Dou Yan wanted to say something, then decided that nothing she could say would be quite right. She gave Ji Yong a smile and a nod, and climbed into the carriage with Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan let out a breath of relief and said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, who is this Lord Ji? He looks like a very difficult man to deal with..." As she spoke, she patted her chest, still a little shaken.
Her instincts were quite accurate!
Dou Yan explained to Jiang Yan how she and the Ji family were connected.
Jiang Yan said gravely, "Sister-in-law, you had better have as little to do with him as possible!"
Dou Yan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
For some reason, neither of the two siblings liked Ji Yong.
When they reached home, Dou Yan told Gan Lu to find the longevity lock Ji Yong had given to Yuan Ge.
So many people had sent gifts for Yuan Heng's full-month celebration that she had never known Ji Yong had sent something for him too.
Gan Lu searched high and low through trunks and cabinets, but the longevity lock from Ji Yong was nowhere to be found.
Dou Yan said, "Could it have gotten mixed in with the things the Sixth Madam sent?"