APSIL -Chapter 134 He Caught Such a Big Fish…

The outskirts of the imperial capital were filled with ancient sites and historic landmarks.

Although when the Ming Dynasty was first established, many people felt that this capital city was inferior to the ancient capital of Nanjing, which occupied the wealthy and prosperous Jiangnan region.

Some also believed it could not compare with Chang’an, which controlled the natural defenses of Guanzhong and had even been renamed by the founding emperor himself.

Emotionally speaking, many people were unwilling to accept that the former Dadu—once occupied by the Mongols—should become the imperial capital.

But none of those opinions could overcome the determination of the founding emperor.

And that founding emperor was someone who could never sit still.

Although he could not recklessly travel throughout the entire empire whenever he pleased, he had thoroughly explored the area around the capital.

Along the way, he left behind countless legends, and he also elevated many previously obscure scenic locations into famous attractions that now attracted countless visitors.

For example, Lingguang Temple.

A temple originally built during the Tang Dynasty, later passing through the eras of Liao and Jin, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.

“Back then, Emperor Taizu secretly traveled to Longquan Temple in disguise. After visiting the Zhaoxian Pagoda left behind from the Liao Dynasty, he insisted on spending the night inside the tower.”

“According to legend, that very night, Emperor Taizu dreamed that one of his teeth fell out.”

“The next day, he summoned the temple abbot and ordered him to open the pagoda.”

“Of course, the monks refused at first. But after they learned that the emperor himself had arrived, they immediately panicked.”

“After that, Emperor Taizu ordered the Ministry of Works to send skilled craftsmen, and they excavated the Buddha’s tooth relic!”

Standing before the magnificent Zhaoxian Pagoda, which had been rebuilt and now looked solemn and majestic, Zhu Ying spoke with great enthusiasm under the autumn sunlight.

“Because of this, Emperor Taizu later established so many rules restricting Buddhist temples and monks.”

“But no one dared to object.”

“Because this was not some treasure dug out from ordinary soil.”

“It was a stone container excavated by a group of monks under the guidance of skilled craftsmen!”

“When those monks finally retrieved the Buddha’s tooth relic, every side of the wooden box containing the relic still had inscriptions written by the monk Shanhui describing the Buddha’s tooth.”

“Once the news spread throughout the empire, who knows how many devoted believers came here to worship…”

Listening to Zhu Ying tell the story of Taizu searching for the Buddha’s tooth, Zhang Shou could not help clicking his tongue inwardly.

This senior from another era really was something.

He had actually uncovered the Buddha’s tooth relic that had been buried for more than a thousand years ahead of time.

And his purpose was not merely to add a halo of “reincarnated Buddha” around himself.

Instead, he used the discovery as justification to firmly restrain Buddhist temples and monks.

Such careful planning…

Compared to simply digging up treasures, this move was far more brilliant.

“Because he discovered the Buddha’s tooth relic, Emperor Taizu personally wrote an imperial decree and changed Longquan Temple into Lingguang Temple.”

“The other ancient temples and monasteries hidden among the three nearby mountains were also rediscovered.”

“Taizu ordered some of them restored and rebuilt.”

“There were eight places in total, so people called them the Eight Great Sites.”

“Because Lingguang Temple contained the Buddha’s tooth relic, it ranked first.”

When Zhang Shou first climbed the mountain, he had already noticed that Chang’an Temple, one of the Eight Great Sites, was nowhere to be found.

However, considering that even in his previous life, Chang’an Temple had never been restored to its former appearance after being destroyed, let alone opened to visitors, he did not find it strange.

After all, in this era, Lingguang Temple—the first-ranked site because of Taizu’s miraculous discovery of the Buddha’s tooth—was the politically correct choice.

As for the other temples being shifted forward by one ranking, that was merely a trivial matter.

Looking at the endless stream of pilgrims entering Lingguang Temple, Zhang Shou, who had originally only stood to the side of the pagoda to admire it from afar, lowered his voice.

“There are so many people.”

“Should we come another day instead?”

Zhu Ying immediately understood what he meant and smiled.

She nodded before leading Zhang Shou toward a side entrance.

After gradually moving away from the overwhelming crowd, she blinked at him.

“Actually, I came here with the emperor and my father when I was very young.”

“But I don’t really have much knowledge.”

“I only thought the Buddha’s tooth looked rather ordinary.”

“If you really want to see it, I can ask the emperor later to seal the temple for you so you can look as long as you want.”

Zhang Shou immediately laughed.

He was not some devout believer.

Admiring it was fine, but why would he need the entire temple sealed?

After leaving the temple and meeting up with A-Liu and the other guards, they continued climbing while enjoying the scenery.

As for the other Buddhist temples, Zhang Shou merely walked around and checked them off his list.

Zhu Ying, who was mainly there for companionship, naturally did not care either.

Soon, they reached the mountaintop.

Because they had left the capital early and eaten some snacks before climbing, it was already past noon by the time they reached the summit.

The guards, understanding the situation, went together with A-Liu to prepare the delayed lunch.

The two food boxes they had brought contained wine, dishes, and snacks.

They even had special compartments designed to hold charcoal fires and heat the food.

Perfect for a picnic.

However, what surprised them was that Zhu Ying, who had been speaking with Zhang Shou nearby, suddenly returned.

Not only did she return, but she also looked extremely unhappy.

After angrily sitting down on a stone bench, she rested her chin on her hands and remained silent.

Seeing this, the guards exchanged glances.

Someone secretly looked toward A-Liu, hoping he could go persuade the couple.

However, no matter how they looked at him, A-Liu simply sat there like a wooden statue, staring blankly at the food boxes.

Wasn’t Miss Zhu always saying Zhang Shou was perfect in every way?

Today was a rare outing.

The atmosphere had been wonderful the entire journey.

How had the two suddenly quarreled?

Especially since the old madam had already hinted that once Duke Qin returned, the marriage would immediately be arranged.

Only A-Liu noticed that Zhu Ying was not truly angry.

She was stomping on the grass roots as if venting her frustration, pulling leaves one by one from an unfortunate branch beside her.

But from time to time, she glanced toward Zhang Shou.

She also kept muttering: “Angers me to death…”

“Doesn’t appreciate kindness…”

“He’s doing something so dangerous and still wants to send me away…”

Meanwhile, Zhang Shou—the person who supposedly had a fight with Zhu Ying—had unknowingly walked more than ten steps in another direction.

He also seemed distracted.

He kept his head lowered while walking, staring at the ground instead of looking ahead.

Fortunately, unlike Lingguang Temple at the foot of the mountain, the summit was relatively quiet and had few visitors.

It was only when he heard voices arguing ahead that Zhang Shou finally looked up.

“This problem isn’t solved like that…”

“You’re all wrong. The calculation should be done this way…”

Ahead of him were three young men gathered around a stone table, pointing at a sheet of paper and arguing.

Zhang Shou was slightly surprised.

Then he walked closer.

Seeing that they were discussing one of the three mathematics problems he had given to the Shuntian Prefecture when recruiting students for Jiuzhang Hall, he did not interrupt.

He simply stood there quietly.

One tall young man explained an extremely complicated solution method and finished solving the problem.

Then he proudly said: “That is exactly how I answered it on the examination paper submitted to Shuntian Prefecture.”

“Hmph.”

“Doctor Zhang values simplicity the most.”

“Your overly complicated method may not impress him.”

Zhang Shou raised his eyebrows.

He walked forward.

But before he could even speak, two of the young men suddenly moved.

One stepped left.

One stepped right.

Together, they trapped him between them.

At that moment, the young man who had been pretending to focus on solving the problem finally raised his head.

“Sure enough.”

“Only by using something Doctor Zhang is truly interested in could we lure you here.”

Zhang Shou calmly asked: “Who are you?”

Although he tried his best to remain composed, his elegant and handsome face had become extremely tense.

The equally handsome young man revealed a proud expression.

He glanced contemptuously at the sword hanging from Zhang Shou’s waist.

Then he casually said: “Who am I?”

“Of course, I am the person who sent you that sword.”

“I never expected that even after I gave you such an obvious warning, you not only refused to restrain yourself…”

“You actually continued showing off.”

“So it was you who sent the sword to threaten me.”

Zhang Shou suddenly smiled.

“I thought it was a treasured sword being gifted to a worthy hero.”