Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 6: Wrath

In front of the hall, incense smoke was curling up and the prayer flags were lightly swaying.

　　The overseer slowly stepped forward to greet Li Yaoying and pressed his palms together: "I was unaware that the princess has honored us with your presence. This humble monk was discourteous."

　　He instructed the monks to prepare the puja and invited her to the main courtyard.

　　Li Yaoying smiled and shook her head, "Venerable Master need not be polite. I didn't come to the temple without a cause, and have disturbed Venerable Master's tranquility."

　　In the midst of these troubled times, the people were displaced and in a precarious state. Numerous people sought solace and to free themselves from worldly desires through Buddhism.

The influential families and large clans worshipped Buddha. Uncle Xie's and Noble Consort Xie's names came from Sanskrit, one called Wuliang and the other Manyuan.

The Li family didn't have this tradition. Yaoying didn't practice Buddhism, and the only things she knew about monks was from literature that had spread around in later times.

　　She wasn't here today to offer incense and prayers.

After a few polite words, she directly stated the purpose of her visit.

　　The overseer breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Wait a moment, Princess. Venerable Mondatipa happens to be in the temple today."

　　Yaoying smiled, "In that case, I would like to ask Venerable Master to send a bhikkhu to introduce me."

　　The overseer was stunned, and then smiled.

　　He had received many noble personages these days. The new dynasty hadn't been established for long, and the imperial relatives were arrogant and rude, so he was a bit fearful around them. He thought that the seventh princess would also be a difficult one, but did not expect that although she did not believe in Buddhism, she was modest and polite, a rare thing indeed.

　　The overseer found a receiving monk to take Li Yaoying to see Mondatipa.

The receiving monk went into the courtyard first, carrying a visiting post written by Li Yaoying herself.

　　Not long later, one of Mondatipa's servants came out from the door and respectfully invited Li Yaoying into the room.

　　Mondatipa, who had just finished his morning meditation, sat on the prayer mat and met with Li Yaoying.

　　He was from Tianzhu, with a high nose and deep eyes, a broad face and a square mouth. Looking at his face, he was about fifty years old, with a pair of light brown eyes shining with a gentle light. Dressed in a brown kasaya robe, with an uncommon temperament, he felt very authentically Chinese.

　　Yaoying seldom dealt with monks, and the other party was a foreigner, so she hesitated for a moment.

Mondatipa asked, "Is the princess troubled because of your mother?"

　　He walked in the mortal world, often interacting with high officials and nobles, and was not a person who did not understand mundane affairs.

Yaoying nodded. The reason for her visit was already written on the post: "I have heard that Venerable Master is highly skilled in medicine, so I would like to ask Venerable to go and take my mother's pulse."

It was impossible for Xie Wuliang and the other Xie family members to come back from the dead, and there was no cure for Noble Consort Xie's heart disease; she asked for a doctor for another matter.