Chapter 48
When Li Yu learned that Zen Master Kong had entered the palace for an audience, he was lying on the edge of the blue and white porcelain fish tank, glaring angrily at King Jing.
As soon as King Jing’s injuries recovered, he took out an ancient cultivation book and began to read it in front of the fish.
Li Yu didn’t know what was wrong with the tyrant’s master. The dignified male protagonist of a palace novel was actually interested in cultivation, and he was reading the book so seriously. Li Yu felt a sense of crisis in his heart. He was afraid that if he didn’t pay attention, King Jing would become an immortal.
It wasn’t the first time he disturbed King Jing’s cultivation. Originally, he wanted to wet King Jing’s book as usual. This kind of book had been wet by him many times, and King Jing had never blamed him. Li Yu had always been fearless. However, at this moment, he caught a glimpse of King Jing’s hand wrapped in gauze and hesitated. What if the fish jumped directly and accidentally wet King Jing’s wound?
The imperial physician had repeatedly warned that the wound must not be wet. Li Yu didn’t want the tyrant’s master’s injury to worsen and have a fever. It was simply too tiring.
Or should he secretly hide the book when he turned into a human, or directly announce it to Wang Xi? Wang Xi shouldn’t want his master to cultivate, right?
Li Yu was thinking about his plan to harm King Jing’s cultivation when Steward Luo came to Jing Tai Hall to pass a message on behalf of the Emperor. He said that Zen Master Liao Kong had come and the Emperor hoped that King Jing could meet with Liao Kong.
Steward Luo then whispered something in King Jing’s ear. King Jing calmly glanced at Xiaoyu and agreed.
When Li Yu heard Liao Kong’s name, he was a little flustered. If he remembered correctly, Zen Master Liao Kong was the abbot of Huguo Temple. In the original novel, he was an eminent monk with a transcendent status. When King Jing later became a tyrant, Liao Kong had come forward to persuade him. Although the evil King Jing did not listen, he was still unable to kill Liao Kong. From this, it could be seen that Liao Kong was somewhat capable.
However, in the original novel, Liao Kong only appeared to dissuade King Jing. Now that King Jing was doing well, why would Liao Kong still want to see King Jing?
Li Yu didn’t consider his own reasons at all. He thought that King Jing had already read a lot of introductory cultivation books. Could it be that he changed his mind and didn’t want to cultivate anymore? Could it be that he wanted to see through the world of mortals and become a monk?
For a male protagonist of a palace novel who didn’t play by the rules and always wanted to cultivate immortality, this was also possible!
Seeing that King Jing was about to go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Li Yu immediately jumped out of the fish tank and onto the crystal bottle. He also wanted to follow! Li Yu secretly made up his mind. If King Jing really proposed to Liao Kong to become a monk, he would dare to cause trouble in the Palace of Heavenly Purity again and ruin his plans to become a monk.
King Jing didn’t plan to leave him behind. As he neatly put the small fish into the bottle, he felt that the carp demon had an inexplicable murderous aura this time.
When King Jing arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Emperor and Liao Kong had just finished exchanging greetings. King Jing bowed to the Emperor. Liao Kong also stepped forward and nodded slightly to King Jing.
The crystal bottle was in King Jing’s sleeve. Li Yu also peeked out from his sleeve. Liao Kong was already over seventy years old. His hair and beard were all white, but he was still hale and hearty and in high spirits. He was completely different from the fake monk that the Sixth Prince had found. At first glance, one could tell that he was the type of eminent monk.
Li Yu only took a glance. Whether it was intentional or not, Liao Kong’s torch-like gaze actually shot towards the fish.
Oh no, this was a real eminent monk. Would he see through his disguise as a bookworm?
Li Yu was shocked and didn’t dare to peek anymore.
King Jing subconsciously covered his sleeve and blocked Liao Kong’s line of sight.
*Your Highness King Jing, long time no see,” Liao Kong said with a smile.
King Jing frowned and nodded.
The Emperor was very excited. Liao Kong’s arrival reminded him of some old matters. The Emperor rubbed his hands and said, “Heaven Lake, do you still remember Liao Kong? When you were young, you accidentally fell into the water and had a high fever that didn’t subside. It was very dangerous and the imperial physicians were helpless. At that time, Liao Kong happened to be in the palace. I had no choice but to ask him to come over and take a look at you. Fortunately, he knew an ancient recipe that could make your fever subside. He was also the one who told me that you were short of water in your life. Because of that, I thought about changing your name and praying for blessings. After that, you got better day by day and even recovered completely.”
The Emperor sighed and said, “It’s said that one who survives a great disaster is bound to have good fortune later. I still remember the pool where you fell into the water. At that time, the pool was shining with golden light and was very dazzling. Because of Liao Kong’s words, I chose the word ‘Chi’ for you again.”
King Jing, “…”
This was the first time King Jing heard the Emperor talk about the past. Before he was three years old, his original name was Tianjing. Later, it was Heaven Lake. When he became an adult and was bestowed the title of King, the Emperor deliberately used “Jing” as his title to return the name that originally belonged to him to him. However, when he had a high fever that year, he no longer remembered the cause and effect. He also didn’t know that there was a reason for this.
Li Yu, who had been eavesdropping since he couldn’t peek, ” …”
Li Yu was confused. Could it be that what happened in the illusion wasn’t completely an illusion?
Could it be something that had happened to King Jing before?
According to the Emperor’s words, it should be true. Little Fatty did fall into the water when he was young and then had a high fever that didn’t subside.
However, although he was in the illusion, King Jing wasn’t so lucky in reality. It was probably because he drifted ashore later on. Li Yu recalled Little Fatty’s round body. It was really too difficult.
The situation at that time must have been very dangerous. Even the imperial physicians were helpless against a high fever. For a two or three-year-old child, it was a life-threatening situation.
The Emperor was afraid that he really had no other choice. In the end, he didn’t find a physician and instead found a senior monk to change King Jing’s name to pray for blessings. It was also a desperate effort…
At this time, Li Yu still hadn’t realized what the Emperor deliberately mentioned about the pool of golden light. He only thought about how there could be light in the water and where it was reflected from.
And King Jing’s original name was Tianjing. He had guessed correctly.
Fortunately, Liao Kong reminded the Emperor. Li Yu thought that if the Emperor went overboard and changed King Jing’s name to Tianguang or Tianjin, it wouldn’t sound as good as Heaven Lake.
Although King Jing didn’t remember what happened back then, under the Emperor’s deliberate reminder, he still cupped his hands and thanked Liao Kong.
Liao Kong said humbly, “This old monk only lifted a finger. It was His Highness, King Jing. Heaven helps the worthy.”
“Great Master, please don’t be modest.” After some small talk, the Emperor finally cut to the chase. “Now, I’ll have to trouble Great Master to take a look again. King Jing has been raising a fish recently. I think it’s pretty good.”
Li Yu, “…”
Li Yu realized that it wasn’t King Jing who wanted to become a monk. The Emperor asked King Jing to see Liao Kong for the fish.
Little Carp suddenly felt a little nervous. He wasn’t afraid of other people, but would a senior monk like Liao Kong discover that he was a bookfish at a glance?
Li Yu decided to hide it as much as possible. He tried his best to disguise himself as an ordinary fish. He definitely wouldn’t cause trouble under Liao Kong’s nose.
Since the Emperor had spoken, King Jing calmly took out the crystal bottle from his sleeve and opened the bottle cap in front of the Emperor and Liao Kong.
When Liao Kong saw the black and golden fish in the crystal bottle, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Under his gaze, little Carp was especially obedient and rarely swam. King Jing was afraid that little Carp would be nervous when he saw a stranger, so he gently touched the fish’s spine with his uninjured left hand.
Li Yu, “…”
Li Yu pretended not to feel anything. He didn’t cooperate at all and blew a bubble coldly.
King Jing, “…”
Liao Kong saw every move of King Jing and the fish. Liao Kong pondered for a moment and said to the Emperor, “In this old monk’s opinion, this fish of His Highness, King Jing’s is indeed extraordinary.”
Liao Kong paused for a moment. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he quickly felt two burning gazes on him. One of them came from King Jing, who had a cold expression on his face, and the other came from the little carp in King Jing’s hand, who seemed to know nothing.
Pets really do follow their masters.
Liao Kong smiled secretly and continued, “This old monk has never encountered such a situation in his life. This fish ….. “
He deliberately kept him in suspense. As expected, King Jing’s gaze was about to cut him into pieces.
Liao Kong was a man in his seventies, but he felt a chill on his neck. He was slightly surprised and said, “This fish should be the offspring of a Koi. It doesn’t look like one now, but it will become more and more like one in the future.”
Li Yu, “!!!”
Li Yu was dumbfounded. He didn’t expect the eminent monk to have such a wise opinion. If this person didn’t see it, why did he say that he would “become more and more like a Koi”? If this person saw it, why didn’t he expose him?
King Jing coldly glanced at Liao Kong. As long as Liao Kong didn’t say that Little Carp was a demon or a ghost or that it turned into a dragon, it was all the same to him.
The Emperor was stunned for a moment and said, “Is this fish really a Koi?”
*.. Yes.” Liao Kong nodded and said seriously, “It’s just that this kind of Koi is extremely rare. It’s very lucky for His Highness King Jing to encounter it.”
The Emperor trusted Liao Kong. Liao Kong’s words matched the calculations of the Imperial Astronomer, so the Emperor was finally relieved. He smiled and said, “No wonder I thought it was a good omen. It turns out that it’s the offspring of a Koi.”
The Emperor felt even more disdain for the Third Prince, who even wanted to frame a Koi.
Li Yu was still trying his best to pretend that he was an ordinary Koi, secretly observing the Emperor and Liao Kong’s movements.
Liao Kong would always pause between his words and assume the posture of an eminent monk, causing Li Yu to tremble with fear several times. However, since he finally said that he was a Koi in front of the Emperor, it didn’t matter how he changed in the future, right?
This Liao Kong seemed to scare the fish, but in the end, he helped the fish. As lucky as he was, he unwittingly crossed the path in front of the Emperor and King Jing. He felt that he wasn’t far from getting the reward of the Koi branch.
The Emperor and Liao Kong chatted happily. King Jing listened silently. When Liao Kong said goodbye, the Emperor ordered King Jing to personally send him off.
This time, King Jing didn’t bring the little Koi with him. Instead, he ordered Wang Xi to take the crystal bottle back to the bedchamber first. He still had a lot of questions to ask Liao Kong, but he couldn’t let the Koi Spirit know.
After dismissing his attendants, King Jing bowed deeply.
Liao Kong smiled and said, “Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. Fortunately, I didn’t disappoint you.”
King Jing looked up and smiled at Liao Kong. It turned out that when King Jing found out that Mu Tianxiao was trying to fabricate the rumor of Transforming into a Dragon, he already knew that things might get out of hand. The longer this rumor was delayed, the more disadvantageous it would be. He could only cut the Gordian knot and find someone who could convince the Emperor to completely overthrow the rumor.
However, King Jing wasn’t sure who to find at first.
Although Manager Sun of the Imperial Observatory was trusted by the Emperor, it was hard to guarantee that the Emperor wouldn’t be confused by the rumor and waver left and right. Therefore, he couldn’t rely on Manager Sun alone. King Jing quickly thought of Chanshi Liao Kong, the abbot of Huguo Temple. Huguo Temple was established by the Imperial Family, so the Emperor had no doubts about Liao Kong’s character. If he had any doubts, he would definitely look for Liao Kong.
In that case, he might as well directly ask Liao Kong for help.
Everyone knew that Liao Kong didn’t care about worldly affairs and basically only took orders from the Emperor. However, they didn’t know that Liao Kong had a close friendship with King Jing’s maternal grandfather, the Duke of Chengen. Although Liao Kong was someone who could only be ordered around by the Emperor, he would also run around for his close friend.
In the past, when Liao Kong agreed to the Emperor’s request to help the seriously ill Fifth Prince, it was partly because of the old Duke of Chengen’s face. King Jing had already known about this.
The reason why he was able to successfully ask Liao Kong for help this time was also because of the old Duke of Chengen’s mediation. King Jing and Liao Kong had already finalized a plan to deal with this situation. What they had done in front of the Emperor just now was just a show to dispel the Emperor’s suspicions.
There was no one else around. Liao Kong repeatedly praised, “Your Highness has such shrewdness. Your future will certainly be limitless.”
King Jing only thought that Liao Kong was teasing him. He lowered his eyes and cupped his hands in greeting.
The conversation that followed was all top-secret. King Jing took out a pen and paper that he had prepared earlier from his sleeve and handed it to Liao Kong. Liao Kong picked up the pen and quickly wrote, “Your Highness, are you not afraid that something will really go wrong if you keep him by your side?*
Liao Kong didn’t explicitly say who he was referring to, but King Jing and Liao Kong both knew in their hearts who he was referring to.
King Jing didn’t even think before he wrote with certainty, “He won’t harm me.”
Liao Kong nodded. He could also sense that King Jing’s fish was definitely not an ordinary carp.
However, it wasn’t some kind of demon either. Liao Kong didn’t sense any evil intentions. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have agreed to help King Jing cover up this special fish.
Liao Kong said, “Your Highness’s heart is as clear as a mirror. What else do you need this old monk to explain?”
King Jing wrote, “Does the Great Master know why he came here?”
Liao Kong looked deeply at King Jing, “This old monk may not know about other things, but this is the only thing I know a little about. Many years ago, on the day Your Highness accidentally fell into the water, this old monk happened to be in the palace. I discovered that in the pond Your Highness accidentally fell into, there was a black golden fish swimming past.”
King Jing, “!!!”
King Jing’s gaze surged. His hands couldn’t help but tremble slightly. He hurriedly wrote something, then crossed it out again.
King Jing calmed down. In the end, he wrote, “What does this fish look like?”
Liao Kong said, “It’s the same as the fish Your Highness is raising now. Its entire body is jet-black. Only its belly and tail have golden scales. It’s just that it’s slightly bigger.”
King Jing was silent. Size wasn’t a problem at all. His little fish had just grown a little round not long ago. What Liao Kong saw was probably his little fish.
Could it be that Little Fish had come to find him when he was young?
Liao Kong continued, “The pond Your Highness fell into back then was extremely deep. It’s impossible for a two- or three-year-old child to swim out on his own … Does Your Highness understand what this old monk means?”
“Let’s put it this way.” Liao Kong smiled and said, “This old monk doesn’t know what ‘he’ is, but ‘he’ must have come for Your Highness.”
– Came for him?
King Jing was deeply touched. He suddenly remembered the scene when Little Fish returned to its original form and lay on his chest. He felt a sense of deja vu. He also remembered the earliest time when he picked up the dying fish that the cat had discarded.
What was he thinking at that time, and why did he stop for a fish?
It was because he once heard something lightly hitting the ground.
This was ….. the sound of a fish tail touching the ground. Don’t ask him how he knew. These things seemed to be in his memory.
The sound of the fish tail meant that the fish was still alive. Later on, the sound stopped, and the fish was about to die.
Therefore, he almost didn’t think about it and wanted to save the fish.
