Chapter 2523 - 2497: Crooked Building

Mingda and Changyu have each visited their princess mansions only once. When they aren’t sending palace staff to check the progress, they are looking at the blueprints provided by the Ministry of Public Works to monitor the construction, discussing the building plans with them.

Mingda loves water, but her health is fragile, and she can’t be too close to it, so she only revised some of the waterways’ directions in the mansion and made no other changes.

However, Changyu wants to alter many things. If not for Mingda trying her best to suppress her and her father being truly poor, her numerous demands on the state treasury would have led to impeachment. She even wanted to pile more Taohu stones into rockeries in her residence. Ideally, she’d create a labyrinth with corridors connecting the rockeries and build pavilions on them.

She had already drawn her own designs and even received praise from an experienced elder from the Ministry of Public Works. Unfortunately, such a perfect garden design is not something that can see the light of day in the near future.

But she can share it with Manbao and Mingda.

However, Mingda and Manbao are not too impressed.

Mingda said, "It’s too luxurious. Even if the money isn’t coming from the state treasury or Father Emperor, such expenses are enormous. I wonder how many laborers it would take to transport those Taohu stones to the capital."

Changyu replied, "It’s not as if I’m not going to pay. I’ll buy them after I get married and make some money."

Manbao was curious, "Why must it be Taohu stones? Wouldn’t the large stones outside the outskirts of the capital work?"

Changyu gave her a disdainful look and said, "Not all stones are the same, just like people are not; some are beautiful and some are ugly. Stones are naturally the same."

Manbao retorted, "That must be because you lack an eye for discovering beauty."

She continued, "Our Sichuan region has graceful small hills and towering mountains. You can’t say that gracefulness is inferior to majesty, nor can you say that majesty does not match gracefulness. Don’t they each have their virtues?"

Sitting cross-legged on the wooden couch, she pointed and said, "If I were you, I would find stones in the capital and Yongzhou, bring them back and build them into whatever design I want. If they’re not visually appealing, carve them here and there. The expense would be minimal. Taohu stones are not only expensive but also need to be quarried by laborers there and then transported over a thousand miles to the capital. Why bother with such a costly process?"

Mingda couldn’t help but laugh, "If everyone in the world thought like you, then we wouldn’t have the beauty of cloud brocade or the rarity of gold and jade."

Changyu was rarely pleased to have Mingda on her side and immediately said proudly, "See, see, the one lacking in an eye for beauty is not me, but you."

Yet, Mingda didn’t agree with her large purchase of Taohu stones and said, "But Manbao’s suggestion is worth a try. Who knows, maybe my sister might create a new style?"

She added, "Weren’t Taohu stones only appreciated after the Later Jin era?"

Changyu replied, "Still, the stones have to be good-looking. Taohu stones are exquisite and varied, with unique shapes, vibrant colors, beautiful patterns, excellent texture, and elegant charm. They can be simple and ancient, dignified and deep, yet transcendental. Other stones have to be inherently beautiful to compete; otherwise, I can’t just call a deer a thousand-li horse and expect everyone to agree, right?"

Manbao clapped her hands and praised, "Well said!"

Then she added, "But isn’t that simple? The mountains in the capital and Yongzhou have one trait that Taohu stones absolutely don’t."

Mingda and Changyu were curious and asked, "What trait?"

Manbao replied with a serious expression, "They’re hard!"

She said, "If you smash Taohu stones against the rocks of the capital and Yongzhou, it’s the Taohu stones that will break."

Mingda and Changyu were both silent for a moment, and then Changyu angrily went to scratch her while Mingda couldn’t help but laugh.

What began as a joke led Changyu to actually send someone to the hills outside the capital to look for good stones, thinking about arranging a rockery in her princess residence to see how it would turn out.

She pointed to the area she’d chosen and said, "The rockery will go here, and then we’ll channel water to this place, making the garden have both mountains and water. We can open a side gate here, and Mingda, you can open a side gate in this direction, so we won’t need to use the main gate to visit each other."

Mingda was somewhat intrigued.

The Empress smiled at them and said, "If you’re undecided, why not go check it out? Perhaps seeing it in person will give you other ideas."

Mingda and Changyu both brightened at this suggestion and turned their heads to look at the Emperor.

The Emperor naturally had no objections and nodded approvingly.

So in the afternoon, Mingda and Changyu left the palace together. Since it was nearly the end of the workday, Manbao was specially permitted by the Emperor to leave the palace to accompany them.

When Manbao arrived at the Hanlin Academy, she managed to send a message to Bai Shan saying she wouldn’t be heading home with him today.

The Hanlin who was asked to deliver the message returned to the Hanlin Academy and stood in front of Bai Shan’s desk, watching him.

Bai Shan was writing vigorously and noticed the looming shadow on his desk lingering for a while. He looked up.

The Hanlin maintained a serious face and said, "Lord Zhou accompanied the princess’s carriage to the Hanlin Academy gate, and there’s a message for Editor Bai."

Bai Shan immediately straightened his posture, and the Hanlin said, "Lord Zhou said there’s no time today and won’t be going home with you."

Bai Shan’s brows furrowed slightly but he still bowed in thanks.

The Hanlin nodded seriously, then turned and couldn’t help but smile as he walked away steadily, only showing his amusement when he was out of sight.

Even though there was a royal carriage, the three insisted on squeezing into one carriage together.

Changyu even chased out the palace maids who usually attended to them in the carriage, and only then did the two of them start whispering to Manbao, "What is it like to get married? When I asked the aunts, they always said they would tell us when we’re about to get married."

Changyu whispered to her, "I read in a book that the wedding night is very painful."

Manbao asked her, "What kind of nonsensical books have you been reading again?"

Changyu moved slightly away from her, "It wasn’t that bad..."

Mingda’s face was also flushed, and she quietly said, "Aunt gave me a set of Yab-yum to look at."

She had a confused look in her eyes, "She said it’s a type of Buddha from the Western Regions. I’ve always known that the Buddhism of our Great Jin is different from that of the Western Regions, but I never realized they were so different. Aren’t our Great Jin’s Buddhists supposed to follow strict codes of conduct?"

Manbao perked up as she knew about this and immediately said, "The Buddhism of the Great Jin is not all the same. There’s Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism follows the bodhisattva path, aiming to save all beings, prohibits killing and encourages mercy, believing that sentient beings of the state are equal and can be reborn in the Pure Land. Hinayana Buddhism focuses on self-improvement and liberation, with self as the highest goal. Nowadays, it’s rare to see Hinayana teachings in the central areas of Great Jin, but in the Southern Border and Northern Frontier, Hinayana Buddhism is prevalent."

Manbao continued, "Many tribes on the grasslands also believe in Buddhism, mainly following Hinayana Buddhism. And within the two grand schools of Buddhist thought, there are further subsects with even more differences."

Changyu was dumbfounded, and Mingda was equally speechless. Then she asked, "You also study Buddhism?"

Manbao honestly shook her head, "Not really, it’s what Master Zhi Ren and Master Jiechen told me."

She sighed, "We traveled with Master Zhi Ren for more than two months in total. Running out of things to talk about, we could only discuss Buddhism."

That was truly a torturous time, Manbao stated. She selectively forgot that she initially approached Master Zhi Ren for conversation.

"We even witnessed several debates between Master Zhi Ren and masters from the Western Regions in the temple at Gaochang in Xizhou. Although I didn’t understand most of it, the debates were as intense as the verbal duels in the court—truly impressive."

Changyu pondered, "What were we just talking about?"

Mingda mentioned, "The wedding night."

"Oh, right, the wedding night. Let’s continue discussing the wedding night."