“Yearning yet unable to meet,
A promise in the season of peach blossoms,
To meet by the waterside pavilion,
Lest be like the Goddess of the Luo River.”
This single shout from Su Ronghua made Su Rongqing return to his senses. Su Rongqing lifted his hand and respectfully knelt down in an unhurried manner, ceremonially greeting Li Rong: “This humble official, Su Rongqing, greets Your Highness.”
Li Rong nodded and raised her hand to signal to Jing Mei and Jing Lan to release Chang Le. Si Zheng momo also stepped back and stood at her side. Li Rong turned to look at the two brothers of the Su family and expressed her doubts: “Why have the two darens come?”
It stands to reason that people outside the palace were not allowed to enter the inner palace, so why were these two brothers here?
“Answering Your Highness,” Su Ronghua was the first to speak, presenting himself rather respectfully, “We humble officials are here to tutor His Highness Su on His Majesty’s orders, holding classes here every afternoon, so we usually arrive a bit earlier to wait.”
Li Rong wasn’t surprised to hear this. Su Ronghua was Prince Su’s tutor in the previous life, and because of this relationship, he had spoken a few words on Prince Su’s behalf when Prince Su rebelled and angered Li Chuan. It was just that she didn’t know that Su Rongqing also served as Prince Su’s tutor early on as well.
There was a clear significance to using people from the Su family as Li Chun’s tutors. Xiao Rou came from an ordinary family, so if she wanted Prince Su to gain support from the imperial court and contend with the Empress, it was necessary to cultivate enough faction members. Now that Li Ming had placed Xiao Ping in the Northwest to allow Prince Su to raise troops, he had members of the Su family serve as his imperial tutors to win over the support of the aristocratic families. The imperial examination system that began five years ago allowed people from poor and humble families to pour into the imperial court, though there were not many, and their official posts were rather low. However, given some time, a new source of influence will emerge in the court. These people from common families will naturally have good impressions of leading figures like Consort Rou, who was born like them. In that manner, they will naturally choose to stand by Consort Rou.
It could be said that Li Ming has spared no effort to pave the way for Prince Su. In the heart of the matter of going through so much trouble to lay the groundwork, Li Ming likely thinks that…
He can still live for a very long time.
Li Rong felt a little helpless. If Li Ming knew that he was going to die in three years, then perhaps he wouldn’t have tried so hard…
But if Li Ming knew that he was going to die in three years, then perhaps… He wouldn’t take such a gradual approach.
Li Rong’s thoughts slightly shifted elsewhere, but outwardly, she only slightly nodded to Su Ronghua and Su Rongqing before saying to the eunuch beside her: “Since it is early noon, the two darens have arrived early. In that case, find another place to rest first.”
“Yes.”
After the two responded, they got up and followed the servants outside. As soon as they left, Li Rong looked up and saw that Hua Le’s face was still ghastly pale. Chang Le saw her looking over and wanted to open her mouth, but Li Rong directly cut her off: “Must I have your mouth slapped for it to be the end of this matter?”
Chang Le froze when she heard this. She knew that Li Rong would actually slap her mouth today. Li Rong looked down at the Buddhist scriptures and calmly said: “Si Zheng momo, I want to give a lecture on scriptures to the other sisters.”
Si Zheng momo respectfully heeded the order and made a “please, go ahead” gesture towards the two princesses, Chang Le and Hua Le. Chang Le swept her sleeves out in anger and headed straight outside.
Li Rong turned her head and looked at the little princesses who were evidently frightened and said: “Come, sisters. Let’s recite the sutras then.”
The two elder sisters had been dealt with to set an example, so the little princesses were trembling in fear, lining up like a bunch of little radishes in a vegetable field, hastily bowing their heads before starting to chant.
The sound of children chanting in unison poured out of the waterside pavilion, accompanied by the summertime sounds of insects and songbirds. Li Rong lightly used her fan to cool herself and looked down at the Buddhist scriptures.
“Thus have I heard,
All phenomena are conditioned,
Like illusive dreams, froths and shadows…”
As Li Rong listened in to the chanting, she inadvertently raised her head and saw the Su brothers sitting and talking directly across from her in the extended pavilion not too far away.
Su Ronghua sat in a daunting manner, going through a lot of gestures and slapping his knee when he laughed. Having no sense of formality at all, he was truly an exception in the Su family.
And Su Rongqing sat opposite of him in an upright manner, maintaining his calm expressions. Although his mannerisms were impeccable, he was a bit different from usual, and there was a kind of relaxed posture that Li Rong had never seen before. Even if she could only see the vague outline of that individual from afar, it was enough for her to feel his gentleness and kindness.
Li Rong looked on in silence and listened to the chanting of the Buddhist scriptures. For a moment, she was in some sort of a trance as if she was slipping into a dream in the cycle of reincarnation, a dream of youth.
She couldn’t get a hold of her thoughts for a bit, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to listen attentively. It was at that moment that a soft-spoken announcement came from outside: “Your Highness, His Majesty is here.”
When Li Rong heard this, she quickly stood up and led the little princesses out of the waterside pavilion.
Li Ming and Pei Wenxuan were standing at the entrance. Li Rong was slightly astonished when she saw Pei Wenxuan, but nevertheless, she saluted Li Ming first, then asked: “Which wind has sent Father Emperor this way?”
“Zhen and dear official Pei were taking a stroll in the Imperial garden and just talking about some things,” Li Ming lifted his finger to point to Pei Wenxuan, then looked at the waterside pavilion and said, “Zhen heard the sound of your chanting voices, so Zhen came to have a look.”
“How long has Father Emperor been here?”
Li Rong walked out with Li Ming and ordered Jing Lan to watch the princesses. Li Ming thought for a moment and said, “Not very long. Just before you fell into a daze.”
Li Rong was secretly startled to hear these words. She didn’t know if Li Ming actually saw her looking at Su Rongqing or not, but she didn’t show it in her expressions. She just smiled and said, “That long? And yet, Father Emperor did not announce his arrival.”
“These children are usually very naughty,” Li Ming laughed, “You actually managed to properly discipline them today.”
“In the past, it was not within my control, and I also thought that there were many momo in the Imperial Palace to educate them on palace etiquette. Consort Rou niangniang came to ask me to instruct and discipline them, but I didn’t know how to go about it,” Li Rong lifted her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear in an elegant manner. Her voice was gentle as she said, “But after seeing it for myself today, I realized that Consort Rou niangniang has her own difficulties too. It’s just a matter of children, but Her Grace cannot always deal with them, so it would be better for me to do so as an elder sister, and I should have come around a bit earlier.”
Although these remarks expressed empathy for Consort Rou, in the ears of those listening, they seemed to imply that Consort Rou wasn’t good at looking after children.
Consort Rou’s lack of strict discipline naturally reminded others of her origins. Li Ming remained silent as if he was thinking about something.
Li Ming secretly glanced at Pei Wenxuan, who was standing behind him, but he didn’t know what Pei Wenxuan was thinking. The changes in his expressions were fleeting as if he hadn’t been listening to their conversation at all.
Li Rong accompanied Li Ming to walk for two rounds. Li Ming told her to go ahead first, so Li Rong turned to Li Ming and saluted. Then, she heard Li Ming say: “Ping Le, are you going to leave without saying a few words to Pei daren?”
Li Rong seemed to shyly smile. She pursed her lips and saluted Pei Wenxuan, “Have a smooth journey, Pei daren.”
Pei Wenxuan’s face remained calm and indifferent, and he bowed to Li Rong.
Li Rong couldn’t help but feel that it was a little strange. Pei Wenxuan would at least give her a meaningful look every once in a while at a time like this.
She had to feel a bit worried in her heart, wondering if Li Ming said something to Pei Wenxuan.
After classes were over, Li Rong had someone send a letter to ask about what had happened earlier in the day. Pei Wenxuan’s response only consisted of two words: “It’s nothing.”
As it happened, there was also a pile of bills attached.
Li Rong saw the rate at which Pei Wenxuan was spending money and inhaled a sharp breath of air. She felt strange that nothing was wrong.
She quickly sent him a reply, and a letter from Pei Wenxuan came the next day. It was a bit more like his usual style, basically along the lines of:
“Silver taels are being used like running water, my heart is troubled.”
This was indeed something that Pei Wenxuan had been worrying about all his life. Li Rong’s heart could be at ease now, knowing that nothing had happened, and that there weren’t any court affairs that she had missed.
Based on the conversation that Li Rong and Li Ming had, there was no need to wait for Chang Le to go to Li Ming and complain. Li Ming went ahead and bestowed Li Rong a ruler and told all the princesses that they must obediently listen to their eldest sister, so Chang Le didn’t dare to demand justice from Li Rong and earnestly followed the lessons on rules and etiquette and recited Buddhist sutras every day.
Li Rong taught these princesses to recite the sutras and counted the days until she would be married. These princesses were well-behaved under Li Rong’s instruction. After ten volumes of scriptures had been copied, Li Rong collected and bound them into books, then sent them to Ci Ning Palace.
The Empress Dowager was originally from the Shangguan clan and had a good relationship with Li Rong and the Empress, but Li Ming was not particularly fond of seeing them gathering in one place in recent years. Hence, the Empress Dowager announced to the public that she was ill and would be closing her doors to practice Buddhism.
Now that Li Rong had sent some scriptures to her, the Empress Dowager didn’t take any action, but Li Ming actually bestowed a reward in no time. It was said that the Empress Dowager’s physical condition had been a bit troubling recently, but she suddenly felt much better after receiving the scriptures. After Li Ming heard about it, he felt that Li Rong was deeply filial and immediately rewarded her.
However, he didn’t only reward Li Rong but also specifically rewarded Princess Hua Le, saying that she had copied the scriptures beautifully, that the Empress Dowager was very fond of them, and that it was her sincerity that had moved the Heavens, allowing the Empress Dowager’s condition to take a turn for the better.
Li Rong was in the Palace when she heard this and couldn’t stop laughing. What Li Ming probably didn’t know was that Hua Le’s scriptures had never actually been copied by her in the first place. It was just that the imperial decree had already been sent out, so Hua Le could only put on a brave face and accept it. After receiving the imperial decree, she began to lock herself in her room, kneeling and begging Bodhisattva to protect her, praying that no one would ever expose her a thousand times over.
When she was young, Li Rong would have wished to expose the matter right away, but now, she knew that while it might hurt Hua Le and make her lose face, it would not do her much good, so it’s better to save it for later and wait for the right opportunity to let it out and slap Consort Rou’s face.
In the blink of an eye, it was already her last day to teach the young princesses. After getting up early in the morning, she arrived at the waterside pavilion early, but there was unexpectedly no one else there. Li Rong turned her head and looked over at Jing Lan beside her and asked: “Are you sure that today is the last day?”
Jing Lan heard Li Rong’s question and immediately knew that there was a problem. She proceeded to say, “It was Qiu Feng who passed along the word.”
“Go check it out.”
Li Rong looked at Jing Mei: “You go and inform Pei daren. Tell him to go to the place that he previously wrote about and wait for me there. Then, send someone to His Majesty’s side to wait and see who’s going to inform his Majesty and keep an eye on Qiu Feng as well.”
Jing Mei heeded the order and withdrew at once. Li Rong and Jing Lan were the only ones left in the waterside pavilion. Jing Lan was slightly nervous as she said, “Your Highness, now that we know it’s a trap, it’s best if we…”
“No need,” Li Rong chuckled. “There’s not too much to the tricks that the princesses in the inner palace use, but you can take this opportunity to take a good look at the people around you. After all, it does take a few things to see through people’s hearts, right?”
Jing Lan was taken aback for a moment. After a few moments, she understood.
For most battles in this world, success is not determined by how brilliant a strategy is but the people around them.
Although Jing Lan didn’t know why Li Rong had so much trust in her, once Li Rong had spoken, she would accompany Li Rong and quietly wait with her.
Master and servant sat in the waterside pavilion for a while, enjoying the passing breeze before they heard footsteps behind them. Li Rong turned around and saw Su Rongqing arriving in the courtyard. When he saw Li Rong, he was slightly taken aback, and LI Rong didn’t expect that it was Su Rongqing who would come either. She thought that with the patience of people like Chang Le, she would have found a guard or something along those lines to frame her. She didn’t expect that of all people, how could Su Rongqing be tricked into coming here?
Li Rong slightly smiled: “Why did Su daren come here?”
Su Rongqing’s face drastically changed. He turned around, prepared to leave when he heard Li Rong say: “Su daren, don’t be so hasty. Please come over here for a bit, Bengong will give you something.”
Seeing Li Rong’s calm expression, Su Rongqing stepped forward and respectfully began: “Your Highness.”
With her back facing the pavilion entrance, Li Rong extended her hand to help him up and said in a low voice: “Just say that Pei Wenxuan asked you to deliver a letter to me.”
Su Rongqin’s expressions slightly changed. He secretly accepted Li Rong’s letter and simultaneously handed over a slip of paper to Li Rong.
Li Rong took the note and removed the gilded patterned cover on her golden fan under the cover of her long sleeves. She slipped the note in and slid the cover over it again. Li Rong smiled and brought her hand up to point outside: “Let’s go and see Pei daren together.”
Su Rongqing responded with a hum of agreement and walked out with Li Rong. When the two came out of the waterside pavilion, they heard a loud shout: “Are you both still trying to run away?”
“Thus have I heard / All phenomena are conditioned / Like illusive dreams, froths and shadows…”
From the Chinese version of the verse…
This closely follows the Chinese version of the verse, except with emphasis on a poetic touch in English, ie. ‘froths and shadows’ instead of ‘bubbles and mirages.’ However, “Thus have I heard” is a common English translation of the phrase used to introduce Buddhist discourses—an indicator that this is coming from Buddha himself.
The full Chinese verse can be read as: “Thus have I heard / All conditioned things are / Like the mirage of bubbles, like that of an illusive dream / Like dew, like that of lightning / As thus should be seen.”
The verse conveys that all existences are empty and merely constructed by us like mirages and dreams, short-lived like morning dew, and fleeting as lightning.
From a common English translation of the Diamond Sutra 868…
In the English version of the Diamond Sutra of 868, it is translated as a poetic verse:
Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
If you would like to read up on it, here is a more contemporary translation by Alex Johnson (a light and easy read): https://diamond-sutra.com/read-the-diamond-sutra-here/diamond-sutra-chapter-32/
Autumn Pond Reflection 
Ooooh I love a good play🤩 where’s my melon seeds and other good snacks
Thanks for the chapter 🙏
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Daym a classic palace drama, mmmm my favorite
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