Zhong Li stepped forward and walked to the side of the sweeping monk, asking, "Master, what do you mean?"
The old monk sweeping the floor glanced at Zhong Li, did not answer, and continued with his work.
Zhong Li was not deterred and stepped forward, preparing to ask again.
Unexpectedly, the old monk suddenly stopped his work, but without looking up, he threw out a sentence: "Instead of asking this humble monk, don't you have someone clearer by your side?"
Zhong Li turned her head and her gaze fell on Lu Wuxie.
Lu Wuxie looked at the sweeping monk and smiled, saying, "Master, are you speaking of twenty years ago?"
The sweeping monk did not answer, walked a few steps away from the two, and continued clearing fallen leaves on the ground.
Zhong Li withdrew her gaze and looked at the man beside her.
Lu Wuxie knew that this matter could not be hidden, so he clasped his hands and said as he walked towards the monks' quarters, "Twenty years ago, the Buddha statues in this Lingshan Temple also shed tears of blood."
How could that be? How could a Buddha statue shed tears of blood?
Zhong Li's mind echoed with this thought. From her perspective as a modern person, setting aside whether the Buddha existed in the world, just considering the materials used to craft Buddha statues, be it stone or wood, perhaps with some paint, how could these things produce such a phenomenon?
"Your Highness, I heard people in the crowd just now saying that the Buddha shedding tears signifies impending disaster. Is it related to twenty years ago?"
Lu Wuxie nodded emphatically, "Do you remember the matter of the Ruan family that I told you about in the case of the red coral lotus hairpin?"
Zhong Li nodded. Twenty years ago, the Ruan family rebelled, but how was this related to the Buddha shedding tears? She had never heard of any Buddha predicting the future for the emperor.
"Li'er is nineteen this year, and coincidentally does not know about the events of that year," Lu Wuxie said, calculating Zhong Li's age. "Twenty years ago, the Nanyue Kingdom was almost destroyed."
Hearing this, Zhong Li's eyes flickered with disbelief.
Lu Wuxie continued, "Nanyue faced both internal strife and external threats. In the past hundred years, perhaps only the current emperor has endured such hardship. At that time, the Ruan family rebelled, and the Emperor, with the assistance of the Shen and Fu families, prepared to flee to Suqing. No one knows who leaked the affairs of Nanyue to the Northern Di tribe.
The Northern Di seized the opportunity and attacked from Yandu Pass, intending to reach Suqing directly and capture the Emperor."
Lu Wuxie spoke simply, but Zhong Li listened with a racing heart. Nanyue's capital was Jincheng. To the south, there were five cities, but to the north, there were only two. If the Northern Di broke through Yandu Pass, it would mean that after conquering Lin'an City, capturing Lu Jing'an's head would be a matter of reaching out and taking it.
"The situation was so dire. How did everyone manage to escape then?" Zhong Li asked.
"Ge Meng," Lu Wuxie uttered the two words plainly.
"General Ge?"
Lu Wuxie nodded, "Ge Meng was in charge of Yandu Pass back then. Knowing that it was impossible to borrow troops from the Imperial City, he temporarily gathered all the young men from Lin'an City and Suqing County, utilizing the advantages of the Yandu Mountain range. Finally, they managed to block the Northern Di outside Yandu Pass."
"So that's how it was." This was the first time Zhong Li had heard of Ge Meng's true deeds. She had to admit that this man was very astute and brave.
"However," Lu Wuxie paused here, his tone suddenly changing, and layers of sadness appeared in his eyes.
Zhong Li was bewildered.
"At that time, General Ge gathered a total of 100,000 troops from Lin'an to Suqing and marched towards Yandu Pass. Only... a few thousand people returned."
A few thousand people?
Zhong Li's heart ached, and she found herself at a loss for words. Those two simple numbers implied that Suqing and Lin'an City were essentially devoid of strong young men. To quell a rebellion, nearly 100,000 lives were sacrificed. How much blood stained the throne?
"Did the Buddha shed tears at that time as well?" Zhong Li asked.
Lu Wuxie nodded, "When General Ge returned home with the remaining few thousand people, he heard that the Sakyamuni statue in Lingshan Temple had shed tears of blood."
So that was it. Zhong Li now understood why Lu Wuxie had appeared so perplexed when he saw the scene in the Great Hall of Heroes from the Bodhi tree.
And why would those common people be so eager to enter the Great Hall of Heroes to get a clear view? After all, after twenty years of relative peace, no one wanted to experience such suffering again.
As they spoke, the two of them unknowingly arrived at the monks' quarters.
At this moment, Lin Jin was waiting at the entrance with the simple fare provided by Lingshan Temple.
"Your Highness," he said, bowing as soon as he saw Lu Wuxie.
Lu Wuxie glanced at the plain porridge and small dishes on the tray and said, "Bring it in."
Lin Jin nodded and followed the two into the room.
"Is there anything else?" Lu Wuxie picked up a small spoon, preparing to have dinner, and found Lin Jin still standing beside him. He raised his eyes and asked.
Lin Jin glanced at Zhong Li, then at Lu Wuxie, and then said, "Your Highness, Miss Lian Xue asked this subordinate to pass on a message to you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Wuxie's action of scooping porridge paused, and he said coldly, "This Prince does not wish to hear it now. You may leave."
Lin Jin, as if he had expected this, cupped his hands and left the monks' quarters.
At this moment, only Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie remained in the room.
Zhong Li finished her own meal and stood up to walk towards the side room. When she emerged again, she was holding a quilt.
"Where are you going?" Lu Wuxie, who seemed not to be hungry and was eating listlessly, grabbed her arm as she passed by and asked.
Zhong Li gave Lu Wuxie a knowing roll of her eyes and said, "Of course, I'm going to sleep on the floor outside. There's only one bed inside, how can we both sleep well?"
Lu Wuxie put down his spoon, turned his head to look at the situation in the side room, and as Zhong Li had said, there was indeed only one bed in the side room. However, the bed was not a carved wooden bed like those in the Prince of Xian's mansion, but a heated platform similar to a dormitory bed. Calculating it, it was enough to accommodate two people.
He then glanced at the bedding in Zhong Li's arms. It was the end of summer, but Suqing County was located in the northern part of the Nanyue Kingdom. The temperature difference between day and night was significant, and the ground would definitely be cool at night. As a woman, could Zhong Li endure sleeping on the floor?
"Go back," Lu Wuxie commanded without hesitation.
If it were in the past, Zhong Li might have heeded his words. After spending more time together and understanding his temper, she automatically ignored Lu Wuxie's words and went directly to a corner to begin her work.
Lu Wuxie raised an eyebrow and watched her every move. The expression on his face as he was defied was indescribable.
After a while, Zhong Li had almost wiped the dust off the floor and was about to spread the sheet when her peripheral vision suddenly caught a figure slowly approaching her in the candlelight.
Her heart tightened, and her fingertips quickly moved to her waist, retrieving a dissection knife. She thrust it backward.
To her surprise, there was no one behind her. When she reacted, she felt a pain in her waist and could no longer move.
"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Zhong Li saw clearly who had acupunctured her and asked with a darkened expression.
Lu Wuxie emerged from behind her, looked up and down at Zhong Li with a casual gaze, did not reply, and then picked her up and walked towards the side room.