The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 137 A Living Buddha
At sunset, Li Xiaoren, the Chief Astronomer of the Astronomical Bureau, entered the palace, dressed in a Taoist robe adorned with the Eight Trigrams and holding a horsetail whisk. Two young disciples followed closely behind him. On the night of the palace coup on the seventh day of the first lunar month, Li Xiaoren had been bedridden with illness and was absent from the palace. It was his two disciples who had remained at the Immortal Ascension Platform.
Now recovered and summoned by the emperor, Li Xiaoren strode into the palace with an air of arrogance.
His two disciples, however, were trembling with fear, not daring to lift their heads. It had not been Li Xiaoren who had cowered in terror that night, shivering throughout the chaos—it had been them. Only those who had experienced that night of panic and horror could understand how terrifying the imperial palace truly was. Had the imperial guards stormed the Immortal Ascension Platform and cut them down, their deaths would have been in vain, and no one would have uttered a word of grievance on their behalf.
When Li Xiaoren arrived at the Immortal Ascension Platform, the Chief Eunuch Ji Fu was already waiting outside the hall.
Seeing Ji Fu, Li Xiaoren quickly approached him with a fawning smile. "Ji gonggong."
Ji Fu returned the smile. "Li daren. His Majesty has been troubled by many matters lately; you must tread carefully."
Li Xiaoren bowed slightly. "Many thanks for your guidance, Ji gonggong." With that, he entered the Immortal Ascension Platform.
Two hours later, Li Xiaoren emerged, letting out a long breath of relief. He felt invigorated, his face glowing with satisfaction. Having been suppressed by the monk Shanting for an entire year, Li Xiaoren now basked in victory—Shanting had been beheaded in a public execution, the emperor had abandoned Buddhism in favor of Taoism, and in the end, Li Xiaoren had triumphed.
In high spirits, he instructed his disciple to slip a few gold leaves to Ji Fu and flattered him, saying, "From tomorrow onward, this lower official will be attending the Immortal Ascension Platform daily. Ji gonggong, serving His Majesty is an arduous task; you must take care of your health."
Ji Fu accepted the gold leaves without a change in expression and smiled. "Li daren should take care of himself as well."
Li Xiaoren left with his disciples, walking with a spring in his step, brimming with smugness.
"What an opportunistic scoundrel," a voice muttered.
Ji Fu turned to see his godson and frowned. "And is that something you should be saying?"
The young eunuch, Xie Bao, lowered his head, sulking. "Yes, but I'm not wrong, am I?"
Ji Fu sighed. "Mind your tongue. This is none of your concern."
Xie Bao murmured assent and was soon sent off to handle errands in the imperial harem. Yet, as Ji Fu watched Li Xiaoren and his two young disciples leave, he couldn't help but feel the same way.
How foolish Li Xiaoren was—so foolish that he could so confidently believe Zhao Fu to be a ruler devoted to Taoism.
Zhao Fu was a man who, in his entire life, had believed neither in gods nor in Buddha. He believed only in himself.
After the coup in the first month, Ji Fu suddenly felt that he understood Zhao Fu more than ever. On the day Zhao Fu summoned Ji Wengji, Ji Fu had stood outside, listening to every word of their conversation. Ji Wengji had described Zhao Fu as a ruler of supreme intelligence yet utterly self-serving. But Ji Fu thought that "self-serving" was no longer an adequate description—Zhao Fu, for more than sixty years, had seen only himself.
Having served Zhao Fu for over fifty years, Ji Fu now felt a chill in his heart.
Xie Bao had considered Li Xiaoren a petty opportunist because he sympathized with the late monk Shanting. Unlike this bootlicking fraud of a Taoist, Shanting had been approachable, never currying favor with high-ranking officials, never singling out Ji Fu for flattery while ignoring other eunuchs. He had been well-liked by the palace eunuchs and maids alike.
"Buddha saves only those with affinity. Master Shanting, you truly wished to save our emperor, but your powers were not enough. You couldn't save him," Ji Fu lamented in his heart. Perhaps he was the last person in the world mourning the monk.
After court was dismissed, Tang Shen returned home to find Tang Huang vividly recounting a story to Aunt Yao and Feng Bi.
"…The great monk pressed his hands together in a mudra, knelt at the execution ground, and began chanting sutras. The most miraculous thing was that as he chanted, the executioners froze, the gathered crowd fell silent, and everyone listened in awe. With each word he spoke, lotus flowers bloomed on the ground, covering the entire execution site in a sea of blossoms."
"Why not just say he spit golden lotuses and achieved enlightenment on the spot?"
Tang Huang turned her head and saw Tang Shen. She gasped, eyes wide. "Wait, did that really happen? The monk actually spit golden lotuses and became a Buddha?"
Tang Shen: "…"
"Of course not! Where did you even hear such nonsense? During an execution, the condemned's hands are chained behind their back—how could they press them together? The moment the appointed time arrives, the execution proceeds without delay—do you think the executioners would just stop? I’ve told you before, don’t believe every wild rumor you hear. They're all fake."
Aunt Yao sighed. "Ah, so it wasn’t real. I thought those monks were really that miraculous."
Tang Shen had nothing to say to that.
The common folk had no idea what truly transpired during the coup in the first month. They believed it was a case of a treacherous monk bringing disaster upon the nation. But it wasn't just them—many officials in the capital were equally clueless. The people turned it into a tale for idle chatter, crafting multiple versions of the story. Even the Tang family’s Xixia Tower had adopted it as a supernatural legend, spinning a tale of a Taoist priest vanquishing an evil monk.
As February approached, Tang Shen was summoned to the palace.
Zhao Fu had regained his usual demeanor. Seated on the imperial throne, he reviewed memorials. Ji Fu led Tang Shen into Chuigong Hall, where Zhao Fu set down his scroll, looked up, and smiled. "It seems I haven't seen you in a long time, Jing Ze."
Tang Shen bowed. "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
Zhao Fu gestured for him to step closer. "Come closer so we can speak."
Tang Shen took two steps forward.
Zhao Fu sighed. "Still as youthful and brilliant as ever. But I… I have grown old."
By now, it was almost instinct for Tang Shen to prepare a flattering remark, but Zhao Fu gave him no chance to speak, continuing, "I have little time left, yet I still have so much unfinished business. Jing Ze, your senior brother has been in Youzhou for quite some time now. How has he been?"
Tang Shen thought that Zhao Fu probably knew more about Wang Zifeng’s situation than he did. "I have not seen my senior brother in a long time, but he is meticulous in his work. Since arriving in Youzhou, he must be accomplishing tasks with great efficiency."
Zhao Fu laughed. "Then you should go to Youzhou and assist him."
Tang Shen was startled but maintained his composure. "I obey Your Majesty's command."
Zhao Fu sighed. "I truly hope to see my wishes fulfilled before I close my eyes forever!"
Tang Shen understood—Zhao Fu was not merely sending him to assist Wang Zifeng with the Silver Pull Division. His true objective was Liao.
The Great Song had stood for over a hundred years, with a total of nine emperors. During the reign of Emperor Xunzong, the Song and Liao States were locked in years of war, ultimately ending in a devastating defeat for the Song. As a result, they were forced to cede 1,400,700 hectares of land in the northwest and pay annual tributes.
By the time of the previous emperor, the dynasty pursued relentless militarization and waged fierce battles against Liao, finally putting an end to the humiliating tributes.
When Emperor Kaiping ascended the throne, he waged another decade-long war against Liao, successfully reclaiming the three prefectures of Youzhou. However, 600,300 hectares of Song territory still remained under Liao occupation.
To have achieved this much, Emperor Zhao Fu had already secured his place in history. But he was not satisfied. What he sought was to become a true, enlightened ruler of his age.
After leaving Chuigong Hall, Tang Shen went straight to the Censorate to prepare for his journey to Youzhou.
He did not notice that just as he stepped out of the hall, another official, dressed in a deep-red second-rank robe, was approaching from another palace path. The two narrowly missed crossing paths, but the official saw Tang Shen.
Yu Chaosheng stopped in his tracks. The eunuch beside him turned and asked, "Yu daren?"
Minister of Justice Yu Chaosheng said, "It’s nothing, let’s keep going."
Soon, Yu Chaosheng entered Chuigong Hall to pay his respects to Zhao Fu.
By midday, Minister Yu returned to Qinzheng Hall, where he sought out his teacher, the current Left Prime Minister, Xu Bi.
After Ji Wengji was stripped of his position, no one had expected that the one to succeed him as Left Prime Minister in Qinzheng Hall would not be Right Prime Minister Wang Quan but the seemingly unremarkable Right Vice Prime Minister, Xu Bi. Now, Xu Bi sat in the very same hall that once belonged to Ji Wengji, conversing with Minister of Rites Meng Lang. Upon seeing Yu Chaosheng arrive, Meng Lang said, "I shall not interrupt Xu xianggong and Yu daren’s reunion as teacher and student." With that, he rose and took his leave.
Once Meng Lang had departed, Xu Bi and Yu Chaosheng sat together on the Luohan couch, sipping tea.
Yu Chaosheng set down his cup and sighed, "Though half a month has passed, I still feel as if I am in a dream."
Xu Bi asked, "What kind of dream?"
Yu Chaosheng hesitated. "To be honest, it is somewhat embarrassing and laughable, so I won’t trouble you with it. It’s just that this coup in the first month was like trying to see flowers through the mist—I still haven’t made sense of it."
"What is it that you don’t understand?"
Yu Chaosheng carefully recounted his thoughts. "…I may not understand everything, but I have always followed your teachings. One does not need to grasp everything—knowing just a little is enough to ensure one's safety. So I choose not to be curious."
"Are you truly not curious?"
Yu Chaosheng shook his head. "Truly, I am not."
Xu Bi chuckled. "Oh, you, you’ve had this wooden personality for over a decade."
Yu Chaosheng smiled but did not respond.
How could he truly not be curious? But he knew well that the more one knew, the sooner one would meet their end. Especially under this emperor—Zhao Fu was never a ruler to be manipulated. The downfall of Ji Wengji was proof enough. Prime Minister Ji had seen too much, and that was precisely why he had ended up where he was. Yu Chaosheng did not know what Prime Minister Ji had discovered, but he was certain he did not want to find out.
Yu Chaosheng said, "Today, outside Chuigong Hall, I ran into Tang Jingze again."
Xu Bi raised a brow. "Again?"
"Yes. I had just received an imperial decree summoning me to the palace when Tang daren walked out of Chuigong Hall. But once again, he did not see me—only I saw him." Yu Chaosheng sighed. "I feel as if there is some inexplicable connection between me and Tang daren. I have never believed in Buddhism or Taoism, but as Minister of Justice, I was the one who oversaw the execution of Shanting a few days ago. Under the scorching sun, he was pressed onto the execution platform, yet his expression never wavered—he continued reciting Buddhist scriptures. In that moment, I felt as if I had seen the Buddha himself."
Xu Bi remarked meaningfully, "Shanting was no ordinary man."
Yu Chaosheng frowned. "Teacher?"
"A year ago, when he had just entered the palace, I met him briefly in front of the Immortal Ascension Platform. We exchanged a few words, and from his tone, I could tell—he already knew that he would likely never leave this palace alive."
"He foresaw what would happen a year later?"
"Not necessarily. He simply had clarity of mind—he saw through our emperor’s thoughts at a single glance."
Who in this world truly understood Zhao Fu the most?
Ji Wengji?
Shanting?
Xu Bi took a slow sip of his tea, lost in thought.