Chapter 72.2

She was deliberately changing the subject, not wanting him to immerse himself in emotions that she couldn’t touch.

“The Diamond Sutra,” Chu Chengji replied, and the sense of detachment between his brows and eyes lessened considerably.

Indeed, the past was the past, and this life was different from the previous one.

In this life, he had her by his side.

Qin Zheng smiled. “You, who don’t believe in Buddha, seem to enjoy reading Buddhist scriptures.”

Chu Chengji flipped through the sutra in his hand. “It helps to calm the mind.”

The vegetarian meal was soon brought in by the attending monk.

The monk said, “There isn’t much scenery in the temple, but the meditation room where Emperor Wu Jia practiced meditation is still preserved, and the Gongsun tree in the courtyard has been there for over three hundred years.

Many worshippers who come to the temple to offer incense will hang wishing plaques on the tree. You might want to take a look.”

Qin Zheng thanked the monk, and after he left, she said to Chu Chengji, “Since we’re already here in the temple, we might as well take a look later.”

Chu Chengji was somewhat indifferent, but since Qin Zheng wanted to go, he nodded in agreement.

In his memory, there was indeed a Gongsun tree in the temple, and the old tree was still somewhat worth seeing.

As for the meditation room, there wasn’t much to see.

When he left the temple back then, he didn’t see the need for such a title.

Moreover, since he entered the temple this time, he found that there was no resemblance to his memories of Yungang Temple.

The temple had expanded several times, and there were now dozens of elegant meditation rooms for worshippers…

The temple courtyard was not rebuilt, and after three hundred years of repairs and alterations, it was probably no longer the same as it was back then.

After the meal, the abbot personally led them to visit the meditation hall, and Lin Yao and Song Heqing also went along.

When Qin Zheng entered the courtyard and saw the giant Gongsun tree draped in red silk, she paused for a moment. “Is this the Gongsun tree?”

The abbot smiled even more, resembling a Maitreya Buddha. “The public sows the tree, and the descendants harvest the fruit.

That’s how the tree got its name. When Emperor Wu Jia practiced meditation in the temple, he often watered this tree. There’s some karma between this tree and Emperor Wu Jia.”

Over the years, many worshippers had come to admire this old Gongsun tree, but there were few who had heard the abbot personally explain the origins of the tree.

Qin Zheng had visited many famous scenic spots in her previous life and had heard countless stories linking landscapes and objects to famous people, so she remained unfazed.

Lin Yao and Song Heqing, upon hearing that this tree was personally cared for by Emperor Wu Jia, looked at the tree with reverence.

Song Heqing trembled as he touched the tree trunk. “This tree has been nurtured by Emperor Wu Jia for several years and has grown into such a towering giant. Great Chu was created by Emperor Wu Jia himself, so it will surely flourish again.”

Chu Chengji’s mouth twitched slightly.

Just some disciples who lived in this monastery back then, taking turns to sweep the courtyard and water the flowers and trees, and now it’s been fabricated into this?

After introducing the Gongsun tree, the abbot then introduced a monument standing over ten feet tall next to the tree, appropriately named the Merit Stele, which recorded all the achievements of Emperor Wu Jia’s life.

Qin Zheng had already heard about the achievements of Emperor Wu Jia from Lin Zhao.

When the abbot mentioned Emperor Wu Jia’s lifetime achievements again, this time she heard some new ones:

“During the Yuanjiang flood, the people in the Jianghuai area suffered year after year, living in dire straits.

After Emperor Wu Jia unified the banks of the Jianghuai River, he repaired dikes, dredged rivers, and built the Yuzui Dam and the Dadu Dam.

From then on, the southern area of Qingzhou was spared from major disasters, and the two dams were named after that time.”

The abbot smiled warmly. “Qingzhou is indeed a blessed land.”

Qin Zheng thought to herself that Emperor Wu Jia was not only proficient in military matters but also understood these welfare projects, which was truly remarkable.@@novelbin@@

But nowadays, what most people pass down by word of mouth are mostly his military achievements.

No one noticed Chu Chengji’s furrowed brow.

Two major dams repaired? How come he didn’t remember doing that himself?

Was this to deify him by future generations, attributing all sorts of achievements to him?

The attending monk brought a tray with red silk tied to wooden plaques at both ends.

The abbot said, “Most of the worshippers who come to the temple will hang wishing plaques on this Gongsun tree. If the two benefactors have any wishes, you can also give it a try.”

The attending monk first brought the tray to Chu Chengji and Qin Zheng.

Chu Chengji stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the ancient Gongsun tree. “No need.”

To make a wish on a tree he had watered only a few times in the past seemed more absurd than paying respects to himself.

Despite his lack of cooperation, the abbot remained unruffled, smiling as if he were the venerable Maitreya Buddha himself. “Being content with nothing is true perfection.”

In this life, I ask for nothing, perhaps because I already asked for it in a previous life.

Lin Yao and Song Heqing believed in it. They both took wishing plaques and wrote something on them with a pen.

Qin Zheng always liked to join in the fun, so she also took a wishing plaque.

Lin Yao stood far away, and she didn’t see what he wrote.

But she clearly saw the eight characters written by Song Heqing with a bitter expression.

“May the Chu family rise again, and may the country remain unharmed.”

The worries of this old minister have always been for the dynasty he once served and the people.

Qin Zheng held the pen for a long time, pondering, then she also wrote something.

Red silk hung with wooden plaques on both ends, when thrown onto the tree, the red silk hung on the branches and couldn’t fall down.

The characters were small, so even from a distance, it was hard to see what was written on it.

The Lu family heard that Chu Chengji had returned.

Lu Jinxin’s nanny immediately urged her to go with the Lu family to visit Chu Chengji’s mansion.

When they arrived at the mansion, they found out that they had suddenly gone to Yun Gang Temple.

After Chu Chengji returned to the mansion and heard that the Lu family had come, he directly summoned Lin Yao, “I heard that Miss Lu from the Lu family was brought back by you?”

His tone sounded calm, but Lin Yao felt uneasy. “Madam was afraid that Miss Lu might encounter danger on the road, causing trouble, so she asked me to greet her.”

By then, Lu Jinxin was almost at Qingzhou City.

Chu Chengji and the Lu family had cooperation.

Qin Zheng couldn’t directly refuse Lu Jinxin’s group outside Qingzhou City.

If she were to be captured by people from the court, it would be a big problem.

Chu Chengji nodded, “She has been bored in the city recently. Take her hunting nearby.”

Lin Yao’s first thought was that he, like Lin Zhao, was designated as Lu Jinxin’s playmate? But after a second thought, he realized that Chu Chengji was clearly asking him to protect Lu Jinxin.

Thinking of that delicate Miss Lu, Lin Yao got a headache and quickly passed this hot potato to someone else, “Your Highness, I’m leading troops to attack Hu Prefecture. Let General Wang Biao or General Zhao protect Miss Lu’s safety, okay?”

Chu Chengji glanced at him faintly, “You also know that the daughter of the Lu family is a bit timid. Generals Wang and Zhao might scare her. After careful consideration, you are the most suitable.”

With that, he patted Lin Yao on the shoulder and went into the mansion.

Lin Yao stood still for a while, pondering the meaning of Chu Chengji’s words repeatedly.

Finally, he touched his own face, “Your Highness, does this mean you find me more pleasing to the eye?”

It was already dusk, the main house was lit, and Chu Chengji went in to see Qin Zheng, who had changed into her usual home clothes, tinkering with her engineering drawings at the desk.

Seeing him back, she pointed to the clean room, “I’ve had someone prepare hot water for you. Go and bathe.”

Chu Chengji smiled as he looked at her. Under his gaze, Qin Zheng remembered this morning’s absurdity and couldn’t help but glare at him, ignoring him and continuing to focus on her drawings.

Chu Chengji lifted the corner of his lips and went to the clean room.

After his bath, Chu Chengji found Qin Zheng still drawing with her homemade charcoal under the light.

He said, “Stop staring, it’s bad for your eyes to look at it for too long at night.”

But Qin Zheng seemed enchanted, paying no attention.

Chu Chengji walked over and realized that she wasn’t looking at the city defense maps but rather some yellowed drawings of water conservancy projects.

“What’s this?”

He suddenly spoke behind Qin Zheng, startling her.

When she turned around and saw it was him, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She leaned back on the chair, “Today, I heard the abbot say that Emperor Wu Jia built the Fish Mouth Weir and the Great Dujiang Weir before he passed away.

I was curious, so when I came back, I ordered someone to find the construction drawings, but unfortunately, the original drawings were gone.

These two are redrawn by the River Transport Commissioner more than ten years ago.”

Chu Chengji furrowed his brow, “He didn’t build them.”

He suddenly said this, and Qin Zheng was puzzled for a moment before she realized that he meant the Fish Mouth Weir and the Great Dujiang Weir were not built by Emperor Wu Jia.

Confused, Qin Zheng asked, “How do you know it wasn’t him?”

Why does this guy always like to go against his ancestors?

Chu Chengji stared at him for a while, only saying, “The royal records don’t mention it.”

If he didn’t do it, why do those incompetent descendants keep bragging about it? Embarrassing!

Historical records often contain many fabrications, and even official histories may include some falsehoods.

The fact that even his own family’s descendants denied it, Qin Zheng didn’t dwell on this issue.

She simply sighed with emotion, “Throughout history, there have been many talented people. It’s remarkable that the people who built the dams and levees three hundred years ago already knew to build a fish ladder.”

A fish ladder is a passage built on both sides of a dam to allow fish to migrate upstream after the water level difference caused by the construction of the dam prevents some fish from swimming upstream.

In the world where Qin Zheng originally lived, fish ladders didn’t appear until the seventeenth century.

Unexpectedly, in this different time and space, people already knew to build fish ladders alongside dams so early on.

Chu Chengji furrowed his brow, “Fish ladder?”