The silence of the dilapidated temple was broken by a series of footsteps, startling the birds and beasts hiding inside. For a moment, there were sounds of small animals scurrying in all directions.
There was a large hole in the roof of the dilapidated temple. Sunlight filtered through the overlapping leaves and shone right on the Buddha statue covered with vines and moss, adding a faint trace of divinity to its body.
Ji Lingchuan stood in front of the Buddha, silently looking into the down - cast eyes of the Buddha statue for a moment, then shifted his gaze.
He lowered his head and carefully searched the dilapidated temple, hoping to find any clues in this place he hadn't set foot in for four years.
Four years ago, in order to wait for that person, he had waited in this dilapidated temple for most of the day. He had intended to wait forever until he saw that person. However, at sunset, what he received was an imperial edict.
The war at the border was urgent. He had to immediately lead his troops to the border to fight the enemy. Since the imperial order was hard to disobey, he had no choice but to put on his armor, mount his steed, and leave the capital. In his hurry, he hadn't even had time to write her a letter or leave behind a keepsake.
After arriving at the border, he had also sent trustworthy people to continue waiting in the dilapidated temple, but she had never appeared again.
It was as if she had disappeared from the world.
Maybe she simply didn't want to meet him and deliberately avoided him. But he still wanted to take a chance and find a keepsake that could prove their connection.
Even a piece of clothing would be fine.
However, neither behind the Buddha statue, nor under the shabby futon that would crumble at a touch, nor under the sacrificial table that had been gnawed to pieces by insects, was there anything he was looking for.
Just as he got up to leave, he caught a glimpse of a silver flash from the corner of his eye.
Ji Lingchuan suddenly turned his head and walked towards the rickety wall covered with vines beside him.
There was an indescribable smell at the corner of the wall, a mixture of plants and dampness, which made one nauseous.
But for Ji Lingchuan, who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, this was nothing. He didn't even wrinkle his brow.
He used his sword to push aside the thick vines and saw a nine - ring puzzle pierced through a vine at the very innermost part.
His heart skipped a beat. He used his sword to cut the vine and took down the nine - ring puzzle, holding it in his palm.
The nine - ring puzzle was rusty, but it was still clear that the locks on it were in an unsolved state.
Instinctively, he felt that this was something she had left here.
After he left, she had once come to this dilapidated temple.
This discovery made Ji Lingchuan's heart tremble imperceptibly.
He put the nine - ring puzzle into his bosom, took one more look around the dilapidated temple, then turned around and strode away.
After Ji Lingchuan returned to the Prince Ning's Mansion, he went straight to the Pine and Crane Courtyard.
Having found something belonging to his old acquaintance, the dissatisfaction that had been building up in his heart reached its peak. He was eager to find the Princess of Prince Ning and ask about this marriage.
"Subhuti. The Tathagata fully knows and sees all these sentient beings. They obtain such immeasurable blessings and virtues..."
As soon as he arrived outside the Pine and Crane Courtyard, he heard a voice as clear and pleasant as a spring on a rock, slowly reciting the obscure Buddhist scriptures.
Ji Lingchuan stopped in his tracks, and his breathing became a bit disordered.
He recognized this voice. It was Song Yihuan.
Why was she in the Pine and Crane Courtyard, in his mother's room?
Inside the room, the sound of scripture - reciting continued.
Strangely enough, these scriptures, which had once been like a curse to Ji Lingchuan, became pleasant after being softly recited by her.
Gradually, all the restlessness in his heart subsided.
He hesitated outside the room for a moment, but finally stepped in.
In the Pine and Crane Hall, that slender and charming figure was standing quietly in front of the Princess of Prince Ning, obediently reciting the scriptures.
The man was extremely tall and imposing. The light in the room dimmed for a moment. Song Yihuan seemed to sense something and turned to look at Ji Lingchuan. The man was walking against the light, and the cold aura around him instantly enveloped her, leaving her nowhere to escape.
Song Yihuan instinctively took a step back, and the scriptures she was reciting suddenly stopped.
The Princess of Prince Ning also saw Ji Lingchuan and said with a smile and a feigned scolding, "Look at you. You didn't announce yourself before entering. You've scared the girl, haven't you?"
Scared? Ji Lingchuan secretly glanced at Song Yihuan, who had her head down and was silent, looking well - behaved. He scoffed in his heart.
She was bold enough to openly covet her brother - in - law. How could she be scared by this? When she saw him, she was probably secretly happy, right?
Ji Lingchuan said to the Princess of Prince Ning, "Mother, what are you doing?"
What he was more concerned about was why Song Yihuan and Song Yixuan were here.
"Isn't it because there's no one in the mansion to accompany me? I was bored, so I invited Miss Huan and little Xuan'er to keep me company," the Princess of Prince Ning said with a smile.
Ji Lingchuan tightened his fingers. Miss Huan? She really had good methods. In just a short period of time, she had coaxed his mother to call her like this. Even the Crown Princess hadn't received such preferential treatment.
The Princess of Prince Ning didn't know what he was thinking. Pointing at Song Yihuan, she said to him with a bit of pride, "You've come at the right time. Guess what special ability Miss Huan has?"
Ji Lingchuan followed the Princess of Prince Ning's finger and looked at Song Yihuan again. The girl who had been full of charm in front of him that day was now lowering her head and didn't dare to look at him. But he could see her ear tips gradually turning red under his gaze.
Ji Lingchuan shifted his gaze from those ears as white as jade, but accidentally caught sight of her charming figure tightly wrapped and outlined by her dress.
His Adam's apple rolled imperceptibly. Ji Lingchuan turned around subtly, and his voice involuntarily became a bit hoarse. "Son doesn't know."
All he knew was that her ability to seduce people was really well - developed.
The Princess of Prince Ning wasn't surprised by Ji Lingchuan's answer. She smiled and said, "She has a photographic memory!"
"I just tested her specially. Guess what? She can really recite the content of the scriptures word for word after just one look!"
A photographic memory? Ji Lingchuan was stunned for a moment. He looked at Song Yihuan again, frowning tightly.
Did she really have such an ability, or had she inquired in advance about his mother's preferences and deliberately catered to them in order to gain his mother's favor and get closer to him in the future?
His phoenix - like eyes narrowed slightly. Ji Lingchuan said, "Really? These scriptures can be bought outside. Just reciting scriptures doesn't prove anything. Someone, go to the Surging Waves Courtyard and ask Fuzhou to fetch the military books from my study."
Hearing this, Song Yihuan raised her head and met Ji Lingchuan's eyes.
The suspicion and ridicule in the man's eyes were so obvious that it was clear he didn't believe she really had a photographic memory. This instantly aroused her competitive spirit.
"How does the Crown Prince know that I haven't read military books?"
Ji Lingchuan said coldly, "I didn't expect Miss Song, the fourth daughter of the Song family, to be so well - read that she even reads military books. Don't worry. There must be some you've never seen before."