Luo Wei let go of the grip he had on Master Fu Yi. Seeing that the emperor was heading over, he quickly knelt on the ground but he still wasn’t satisfied. This Grand Priest must know something, and he was determined to get an answer out of him.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Master Fu Yi did not kneel at the sight of the emperor, and only bowed respectfully, “I was trying to explain a few rules of Buddhism to the Third Young Master, but it doesn’t seem as if his path crosses with that of the Buddha.”
Emperor Xing Wu gave Luo Wei permission to rise while he joked with the Grand Priest, “Are you trying to convert this boy and ordain him as a monk?” Emperor Xing Wu has respect for Buddhism, but as a father, he was rather happy to hear that Luo Wei’s path did not cross that of the Buddha. No one wanted their children to spend their lives alone and empty, and the emperor was the same. He wanted to give Luo Wei a life of fortune and luxury.
“Third Young Master,” Master Fu Yi said to Luo Wei, “There are things that the Buddha dictates that can’t be spoken of, they can’t be spoken of.”
Luo Wei was angry now. If they can’t be spoken of, then why did he say those things before? Or was it that perhaps, Luo Wei thought now of the way that the Grand Priest was standing next to Long Xuan, was it that this man was trying to plead mercy for Long Xuan? Was Long Xuan’s situation so dire that this Grand Priest was trying to help him out now? Was the priest trying reach a hand out to this drowning man?
“Wei Er, you can head back to the Hall of Eternal Light first,” Emperor Xing Wu saw that Luo Wei was unsettled, so he gave instructions first, “I have words to speak of with the Grand Priest.”
Luo Wei could only obey and head back to the Hall of Eternal Light as ordered. It was still half an hour to the morning audience, who knows what Emperor Xing Wu wanted to talk to his Grand Priest about.
Zhao Fu saw Luo Wei entering the Hall of Eternal Light, so he quickly attended to him, “Young master, His Imperial Majesty left a letter on his desk and said that you should read it as soon as you got here.”
Luo Wei went behind the desk and sat down. There was indeed a letter on it. When he opened to read it, he found that it was from Long Yu. Luo Wei glanced over the contents, and immediately felt his annoyance grow to worry. Long Yu said in the letter that the Liu family has done much for the country, and was pleading with the emperor to leave some branches of the Liu family untouched and spare their children. Could this sort of person be someone who grew up in a treacherous place like the palace? Luo Wei didn’t even know how to react just now.
Emperor Xing Wu and Master Fu Yi walked in the Imperial Gardens. The sky had been overcast for days and days, but produced no rain or snow. All the plants seemed to hang in the air, making it feel rather oppressive.
“Why did Master Fu Yi come into the palace?” Emperor Xing Wu spoke up finally as the two of them wandered deeper into the woods of the garden, making sure the two of them were alone.
“Last night, the second prince drank a little too much, so I humbly invited him to the temple to rest for a night,” Master Fu Yi said, “I was hoping that Your Imperial Majesty wouldn’t fault him too much.”
Emperor Xing Wu made a noise rather coldly, “He’s my flesh and blood, what could I possibly do to him?”
Master Fu Yi continued, “Your Imperial Majesty should open his heart a little more and not be too sensitive about things like this.”
“That boy just now,” The emperor ceased his steps then, “That boy is Luo Wei. What does the Grand Priest think now that you’ve seen him?”
Master Fu Yi asked, “What does Your Imperial Majesty want to ask about him?”
“I wish to ask about his fate.”
“The Third Young Master’s fate is naturally filled with fortune and luxury.”
“How fortunate is he?”
“Your Imperial Majesty, the birth date and time(1) that you sent to me the other day, they must be the young master’s, are they not?”
Emperor Xing Wu looked at the Grand Priest. This monk seemed to have a pair of eyes that knew everything, “Last time you said that the child who had those dates and times was doomed to a life of suffering. Compared to leaving him at court, you said it would be better if I let him go. But today you said that his life was one of fortune and luxury. Master Fu Yi, which reading of yours should I trust?”
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Fu Yi answered, “The Third Young Prince would be better served with the surname Luo rather than the surname Long, he would be better served living in a village faraway rather than being at court. Brocade and delicacies are of course his fortune and luxury, but the suffering I spoke of will be in his heart.”
“The Luo family has treated him very well,” Emperor Xing Wu said, “Why would his heart be full of suffering? Luo Zhi Qiu is a good father, that mother of his is only not very close to him, but she doesn’t treat him especially badly. Even those two brothers of his treat him very well.”
“This humble monk doesn’t know the things that will come to pa.s.s,” Master Fu Yi said, “I only feel as if the third young master would live a more peaceful, happy life if he were far away from here.”
FOOTNOTES:
1. birth date and time – In Chinese numerology and fortune telling, a person’s birth date, location, and time can lay out what their life is going to be. The month, the day, the location, and the time are referred to as “Ba Zi” or the eight letters. The t.i.tle of the chapter specifically means natal chart, or birth chart, but generally is better translated as fate.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:
hey guysss!!! sorry to leave you guys on kind of a cliffhanger for a while! christmas is coming so I picked up a few more shifts in order to get some more $$ to buy some christmas gifts for friends and family. : ) Work is progressing pretty well though, and I’m probably going to take a few trips in the next few months just to have some time off. Will make sure I have a good amount of chapters translated and backed up!!
In case anyone is wondering, the reason sometimes your comments don’t show up is because the default is that I have to approve new comments. But! If you have commented in the past and I have approved it, you will be able to comment without approval. to keep out spam and wild spoilers or just trolling, I’m going to keep the approval system the way it is, but don’t worry! your comments will show up once I see it! : D