Washing oneself in the long river, what was washed away was not just dust and grime, but also the dust in one’s heart. The body is like a bodhi tree, the heart like a bright mirror’s stand—constantly wipe it clean, let no dust alight.
These words from the mendicant monk Shenxiu were scorned by Yun Ye in his youth. He always thought Shenxiu was a failure, not as capable as Huineng. After all, the other man had said: Bodhi is fundamentally without tree, the bright mirror is also not a stand—originally there is not a single thing, where can dust alight? This supremely excellent explanation for his own laziness was truly something to look up to.
Yun Ye had met the monk Hongren, but had not seen his two formidable disciples. Perhaps at this time they were not yet famous. He didn’t know why washing in the bath made him think of that old monk Hongren. Yun Ye felt like laughing a little. Back when Yun Ye had refused to petition the Emperor on behalf of that monk Daoxin who appeared destitute but was actually extravagantly wealthy, when seeing them out, it was this Hongren who had turned back to look at him. His gaze was very profound. Yun Ye called all gazes he couldn’t understand “profound”—really, such gazes weren’t much different from an idiot’s gaze. You’ve already emptied yourself of all worldly concerns, yet still clutch tightly to wealth and won’t let go. He really didn’t know how to evaluate these eminent monks. Perhaps you see farther than me, but now you should at least take out the useless money to save yourself first. Truly incomprehensible.
“Ye Zi, what are you thinking about?” Li Tai fished out the towel that Yun Ye had dropped into the river, tossed it to him, and asked.
“Nothing much. I suddenly thought of a monk for no reason—that monk Hongren. Just now looking at the river water, I somehow remembered the glance he gave me when leaving my house.”
“Ye Zi, do you feel guilty toward Buddhism?” Li Chengqian sat on the soft sand at the river bottom, only his head showing, and asked Yun Ye.
“No. I rarely have emotions like guilt. The last time it appeared was when looking at my son, feeling I hadn’t properly accompanied him—that’s when this feeling arose in my heart. Not enough to feel it for a greedy monk.”
“Do you know that after the new currency came out, those who suffered the most severe damage were actually the powerful families and Buddhism? Of course, Daoism was also affected—it’s just a matter of more or less. This world is slowly walking toward its proper course. Even if it can’t immediately be restored to its original appearance, constantly approaching it is still good.”
“Ever since we started taxing Buddhist temples and Daoist monasteries, the farmland in Guanzhong has, for the first time, shown growth. The temples and monasteries sold the land they couldn’t farm to the government. The prefectural and county governments finally have some surplus land. My father emperor got thoroughly drunk in the palace over this.”
“Let’s not talk about it anymore. We’re not discussing these things. Didn’t we already agree that we now only care about crops and ask nothing about other matters? Just now I was just bored, which is why I thought of a monk. Maybe that fellow cast some demon spell on me. Tomorrow I’ll find their mortal enemies, the Daoists, to help me take a good look and exorcise the evil.”
After Yun Ye finished speaking, he plunged headfirst into the water and swam underwater for quite a distance before surfacing. The sun had completely set. They had to hurry ashore, otherwise the mosquitoes would soon suck the three of them dry of blood.
Li Tai wasn’t returning to the palace. He strolled back to his house at the Academy—still that not-so-large room. The furnishings inside hadn’t changed much. This was his instruction—not to let anyone touch this room.
Princes all had some peculiarities. The princes Yun Ye had previously encountered either liked turning into toads or were perverts who liked stealing kisses from sleeping women. Li Tai having a slight attachment to objects really didn’t amount to anything.
Li Chengqian also returned to his own villa, with only Liu Jinbao and three family retainers guarding by his side. The night wind at Yushan was cool as water. Yun Ye didn’t ride Wang Cai, just let it follow behind him. Thinking of monks today was a kind of warning. Yun Ye had deep awareness of this feeling of his. Last time it appeared in the palace—if not for that momentary alertness that let him know Li Er was eavesdropping from next door, he might have said some things he shouldn’t say, thereby causing Li Er to have other views of him rather than the current harmless state. Today, this feeling had come again.
Yun Ye indeed should feel threatened, because under the same moonlight, Gae Suwen was racing toward Chang’an on horseback. Behind him was a long delegation. As the vice envoy of this mission to the Great Tang, his heart was like it was on fire. He wished he could step across to Chang’an in one stride to demand back his Ronghua Nu from Yun Ye.
The chief envoy was an old man from the Yeon Gaesomun clan who couldn’t endure such jostling—an old fellow nearly dead. Gae Suwen helplessly had the delegation stop and make camp in the desolate wilderness. He himself scrambled up a tall tree, tied his legs to a horizontal branch, and ate dry rations intermittently. The pale yellow moon, no matter how he looked at it, resembled Yun Ye’s utterly detestable face. Drawing a knife from his waist, he held it in his arms, trying hard not to think of Yun Ye and Ronghua Nu, forcing himself to fall asleep quickly. Upon reaching Chang’an, he still had many things he needed to do—not one of them could be easily accomplished.
His ribs still ached faintly. He didn’t know if this was his own delusion or if it was real. He had searched out all the famous physicians in Goguryeo, and all said his body was very healthy with no problems whatsoever.
Gae Suwen didn’t believe it. Would a venomous villain like Yun Ye easily let him go? From the beginning when he wouldn’t give him wound medicine to treat his injuries, Gae Suwen believed that Yun Ye wanted to kill him—had always wanted to kill him. The pastry slipped from his hands. Gae Suwen finally fell into a deep sleep.
Yun Ye’s misfortune wasn’t limited to this. In a large room in the back courtyard of Yanlai Tower, Takayama Yoko was wearing only a breast band, learning from Yao Niang how to make men dizzy with infatuation.
“Noble lady, if you have a bosom, show your bosom. If you don’t have a bosom, show your back. This is an old saying in our profession. But nowadays men are picky. Men with status are cheapskates. If you expose too much, they’ll instead look down on you. The bosom and hips—these places cannot be easily shown to others. Women are pitiable. In a knife fight we can’t match men. We only have this body to use as a weapon. So we must fully utilize our capital. Every frown and smile is a killer move against men. Men obtain power through killing. We, as long as we conquer men, can likewise obtain these things. Look—Daji, Bao Si, Xi Shi were all like this. One smile topples a city, another smile topples a nation—this speaks of our power.”
“Your appearance is sufficient. Your bosom is also a beautiful bowl shape. The elasticity and skin are top choices. Your waist is slender, hips round, legs long and graceful, ten fingers like white scallions, and your feet are also small and exquisite. What you lack is merely some technique.”
Takayama Yoko looked proudly at Yao Niang’s hands moving over her body. Regarding her own body, she had absolute confidence. Unfortunately, women of Wa always liked to paint themselves to look like ghosts. Having lived in the Tang for over ten days, she now frowned whenever she saw Wa women.
Yao Niang sniffed around her armpits like a dog. After smelling both sides, she smiled and said: “We women have another skill—natural body fragrance. Using perfume doesn’t count as skill. Only true natural fragrance can drive men mad. You are a virgin, yet lack a virgin’s fragrance. Yanlai Tower has a secret never passed on—within one month’s time, we can make your entire body fragrant. It’s just the price is a bit high. I wonder if the noble lady can afford it?”
Without thinking, Takayama Yoko nodded to her attendant. Immediately, a fist-sized gold nugget was tossed on the table. Yao Niang’s hand swept across the table, and happy as a hen that had just laid an egg, she stretched her voice and shouted loudly to outside the room: “Prepare Hundred Flowers Bath for the guest, and bring the Beauty Passing Through Flower Hall from my bedroom.”
After giving instructions, seeing Takayama Yoko was very surprised, she said with an ingratiating smile: “Let the noble lady know—this is a recipe passed down by Yanlai Tower’s founding master, incomparably precious. Our Yanlai Tower has been the leader of the pleasure quarter in Chang’an for over a hundred years, relying on these two things. As for the prescription, this slave won’t tell the noble lady. Even if you killed me I wouldn’t reveal it. Over two hundred girls at Yanlai Tower still depend on it for their livelihood.”
The door opened a small crack. The servant displayed professional competence by stuffing the medicine packet through without looking inside even once. It wasn’t that he was in a pleasure house and well-informed, having lost interest in women’s bodies, but rather that four black-clothed masked men holding long knives stood on both sides of the door. If he dared look inside even once, perhaps those knives would fall on his neck.
Yao Niang took the medicine packet, extracted a brocade box from inside, carefully opened it—inside were white honey pills the size of parasol tree seeds packed full. She pushed it in front of Takayama Yoko and said with a smile: “Noble lady, this is Beauty Passing Through Flower Hall. Just follow the method of three in the morning and four in the evening—that is, take three pills in the morning, four pills in the evening. Take continuously for one month, and bathe daily in Hundred Flowers Bath. After one month, I guarantee your entire body will be fragrant.”
Takayama Yoko remained expressionless. Behind her, two tall and sturdy female servants rushed forward, pushed Yao Niang to the ground, casually took four pills from the brocade box, and stuffed them into Yao Niang’s mouth. One servant tapped a finger on Yao Niang’s cheek. With a gulping sound, Yao Niang swallowed a large mouthful of saliva. The saliva went down her throat along with the pills.
After being released, Yao Niang didn’t seem surprised at receiving such treatment. She just kept saying: “Noble lady, what a pity, such a pity! An old woman past her prime like me eating such precious pills—truly a waste!”
She knew better than anyone the rules of noble families. This kind of medicine testing—it wasn’t her first time.
After taking the pills, lying in a bathtub full of flower petals, Takayama Yoko tilted her head back against the edge of the tub, looking at that round moon outside the skylight. In her mind she constantly missed a young man in blue robes and golden crown. She missed him so much that her long fingernails broke against the tub wall without her even noticing.
Under the same round moon, three people were all looking at the moon. Unfortunately, this round moon could not convey the meaning of longing. The wind rose. Around the moon appeared a huge halo. They say a sun halo brings rain at the third watch, a moon halo brings wind at noon. Yet who knew if this wind would come tomorrow, or if it was still waiting for someone…