Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Chapter 223: Form Is No Different from Emptiness, Emptiness Is No Different from Form (2 / 2)

The crown prince waited every day in the Eastern Palace, eagerly anticipating Xu Yanmiao’s news. He waited and waited—over a month passed before he finally received word.

“The item is in Longmen Mountain.”

The crown prince’s previously serious expression immediately broke into a broad smile.

He dragged his father along at once.

When they reached the mountain ridge, the old emperor twisted his jade thumb ring idly and asked in a leisurely tone, “Alright, my dear crown prince, what exactly did you drag us all up here for in the freezing weather?”

Behind him, several ministers who had been pulled out of court deliberations in the Wuying Hall vigorously nodded in agreement.

It was November! The cold wind was biting! Forcing this group of old bones to climb a mountain—what if someone froze or fell ill?

The crown prince, walking ahead to lead the way, turned back and flashed a brilliant smile. “Over the past month, I sent people searching high and low and finally found a precious treasure to present to Your Majesty!”

“Heh.” The emperor’s smile was one of thinly veiled skepticism.

This was his son. He knew exactly what he was up to. Whatever hesitation he’d had earlier about his son’s intentions was now gone. Clearly, this rascal was up to mischief again, deliberately trying to provoke him.

The crown prince averted his face to hide the excitement gleaming in his eyes.

Though he didn’t know exactly what Xu Yanmiao had prepared, he was sure it would be something extravagant but not so lavish as to be wasteful or oppressive. After all, he hadn’t seen Xu Yanmiao mobilize large resources, nor had there been any reports of people being killed or ruined for materials.

Extravagant items were what his father disliked the most. A crown prince obsessed with treasure hunting was not fit to be a ruler.

Two birds with one stone! Perfect!

And with ministers witnessing everything, there was no way his father could suppress the news!

In the distance, the crown prince spotted the object Xu Yanmiao had prepared. He immediately raised his finger to point at it from afar, his voice high-pitched with excitement. “Your Majesty! The treasure I prepared is right there!”

Prime Minister Dou, part of the group accompanying them, squinted at the object covered by a large cloth. He smiled, his eyes curving. “Your Majesty, it seems the crown prince has truly gone to great lengths to find this treasure. Such filial piety is truly commendable.”

The Minister of Rites, who had struggled so much on the climb that his hairpiece was askew, glanced suspiciously at the crown prince while adjusting his hairpiece.

Filial piety? Really? Why does something feel off about this?

The crown prince’s eyes sparkled. “Your Majesty! Please unveil it!”

The old emperor gave his son a sidelong glance. Without missing a beat, he stepped forward and yanked the coarse cloth aside with one swift motion.

The crown prince maintained a facade of composure, though his eyes burned with anticipation as he stared intently at the covered object.

Inwardly, he was jubilant: As expected, asking Xu Yanmiao to handle this was the right move! Judging by the shape, it’s a small house. Not a big deal. Even if it’s a ‘golden house,’ it couldn’t have cost much.

Then, the cloth fell to reveal a small one-room house.

The house itself wasn’t the focus. The real spectacle was the walls, densely inlaid with “gems” of every size and color.

The wall was inlaid with lustrous white round beads, resembling pearls, each about the size of a fingernail. The entire wall was nearly covered, with the countless beads forming an intricate mosaic.

At the base of the wall sat a glowing black lotus, appearing as though it was lifting the entire house off the ground. The “black lotus” seemed to embody the essence of water in solid form, radiating an aura of priceless rarity.

Then there was the semi-transparent red roof…

The Minister of Rites, a dignified second-rank official, was so shocked that he stuttered: “Th-this—this can’t be blood jade, can it? Such a massive piece…”

Crown Prince, where on earth did you get this?

You didn’t actually rob someone, did you?

Beneath the eaves, colorful pearls were strung and hanging!

Colorful!

This was at least ten times more extravagant than the golden or jade houses they had imagined. Naturally, the cost must have been astronomical.

Prime Minister Dou calculated briefly and concluded, “It couldn’t have been built for less than ten billion.”

So… where on earth did his nephew get this kind of money? Was he accepting bribes? Or exploiting the people’s wealth?

The old emperor’s gaze grew increasingly dangerous.

The crown prince stared blankly at the dazzling, gem-studded, crystal-like house built entirely from what seemed like pure wealth. He suddenly shivered.

Instinctively, his hand moved to the one leg he still had intact.

Knowing his father’s temper, seeing this kind of house would definitely make him break the other leg too!

All he wanted was to rile up his father, but he never expected Xu Yanmiao to prepare such a massive surprise!

“Father!”

“Father!”

“Calm down! I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding!”

“There must be a misunderstanding!”

“Please put down that tree branch! The thickness of that thing—it’s going to hurt a lot!”

“Uncle, stop my father! Help!—”

“Aaahhh—!”

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At the foot of the mountain, Xu Yanmiao stood, shading his eyes with one hand as he looked up toward the peak.

He couldn’t see anything.

But in his heart, he felt immensely proud and pleased with himself.

[Mission perfectly accomplished!]

[Burning chicken and duck bones for an entire month finally paid off!]

[I even worked hard catching mice, fed them quartz sand for days, and then fired them in the kiln. I made the crown prince a set of seven dragon pearls, each the size of a fist, in seven vibrant colors. He’s bound to be moved to tears!]

[It’s just a pity I couldn’t find radium—otherwise, I could’ve made it glow.]

Radium is radioactive. Xu Yanmiao is just joking—he wouldn’t actually use it even if he found some.

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During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan six times. When he arrived in Yangzhou, the local officials once offered him “Nine Silk Soup” to curry favor with the emperor. At that time, Nine Silk Soup was made with dried tofu threads, along with shredded ham, bamboo shoots, whitebait, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, seaweed, egg crepe, and chicken. Sometimes, it also included shredded sea cucumber, dried leeches, or bird’s nest.

—Excerpt from Old Nanjing Memories

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The production method for ?ar?ra replicas… There really is a patent for this.

Maybe it’s worth learning in case of time travel—you could make and sell ?ar?ras for profit!

As for how some high monks’ ?ar?ras are created… here’s an interesting anecdote:

Excerpt from Tales of Liuli Village

Master Huiyin listened quietly for a long time, then said, “Maybe we should just try to find some ?ar?ra. If we can’t find the Buddha’s, perhaps we could use one from a high monk. Have any of the old monks who passed away here left ?ar?ras behind after being cremated?”

An elderly monk replied, “We cremated them all, but none of them produced ?ar?ras. I think it’s up to you now.”

Master Huiyin sighed, “I don’t think I’ll manage either…”

The elder monk suggested, “If you’re really intent on it, I recommend you start paying attention to your diet. Eat more minerals, or if that doesn’t work, maybe grind up some bricks or tiles and mix them into your porridge. Over the years, it might help.”

Master Huiyin retorted, “Bricks and tiles? Should I just swallow two iron balls instead?“

The elder monk responded, “That would be even better!”

Master Huiyin, exasperated, shouted, “Get lost!“

At this moment, Fatsong chimed in, “Master, may I suggest something?”

Huiyin replied, “Anything to change the subject—speak!“

Fatsong continued, “Actually, you don’t need cremation to make ?ar?ras. You can use cow bones.”

Huiyin asked, “Who knows how to make them?”

Fatsong replied, “My third uncle does—he’s the one who made the ?ar?ra at Dahua Temple, to be honest.”

(This book is delightful, filled with humorous little stories.)

For example:

Old Master Gao’s son, Gao Bujü, had a penchant for eating raw fish slices as a youth, sometimes consuming over ten pounds in one sitting.

One day, while traveling, he encountered a scholar who struck up a conversation, saying, “You must be Gao Bujü?”

Gao replied, “That’s me. And who might you be?”The scholar smiled and suddenly transformed into a massive, towering fish, its body over ten feet long. Staring at him with its large, bulging eyes, it demanded, “Don’t you think you’ve gone too far? A little is fine, but don’t overdo it, alright?“