Green Mountain
Chapter 262 - 206, as usual

Chapter 262: 206, as usual

"No self, no person, no sentient beings, no life span..."

The Chen Family’s Buddha Hall was brightly lit by candlelight, and the smoke from the burning candles twirled around the beams.

Inside the Buddha Hall, the gilded Sakyamuni Buddha, with his left hand in the giving mudra and right hand in the wish-granting mudra, had compassionate brows and a dignified aura. Chen Ji and Mrs. Liang sat cross-legged, whispering with parched mouths and fatigued bodies and minds, their faces twisted.

Outside the Buddha Hall, servants, maids, and nannies gathered in a group, nearly falling asleep while standing. Xiao Man, seeing Chen Ji step out to pay respects yet not return for a long time, also waited outside the door, leaning against the wall, nodding off bit by bit.

Outside the Chen Mansion, a night patrol passed by, striking a gong and calling out in a high voice, "The air is dry; be careful with candles and lamps!"

Midnight.

Mrs. Liang’s personal maid, ’Dongzhi,’ heard the night patrol’s voice and her lips twitched slightly. This session of paying respects had started in the early hours of 5 to 7 AM before dawn and lasted until midnight, for a total of ten hours.

With only twelve hours in a day, who else would spend a whole day paying respects? With such sincerity, even Buddha should have been summoned by now.

In the Buddha Hall, Mrs. Liang stealthily glanced at the two people beside her, knowing that they were young and strong and certainly would outlast her. If she were to perish here today due to Chen Ji’s perseverance, it would turn into a huge joke.

But she had initiated this herself; it was not enough to recite a volume of Buddhist scripture—she insisted that Chen Ji recite another volume, ultimately bringing trouble upon herself.

After pondering for a moment, Mrs. Liang slowly set down the Buddhist scripture, her voice hoarse, "You two continue reciting. I suddenly wish to read ’The Diamond Sutra,’ which we do not have here. I will go elsewhere to find it."

Chen Wenzong nodded slightly, "Mother, please go."

Mrs. Liang stood up and signaled with her eyes to Dongzhi outside the door, "Dongzhi, come and help me search."

"Dongzhi" gave a sound of acknowledgment and followed Mrs. Liang to a side room where Buddhist texts were kept.

As soon as they entered the room, Dongzhi closed the door behind them, and Mrs. Liang let out a sigh of relief, nearly collapsing onto a chair.

Dongzhi knelt beside her, massaging her legs, and whispered in a low voice, "My lady, what has gotten into Chen Ji? When he returned last New Year’s Day, he was so obedient to you, yet now he seems ruthless."

Mrs. Liang frowned, "You’ve noticed it too? I also feel something is off about him, as if he’s become a different person."

Dongzhi consoled, "My lady, rest here. If they come looking, just say we haven’t found the scripture yet. Can Chen Ji really last until dawn?"

Mrs. Liang, lacking the energy to say much, slowly closed her eyes, "I’ll rest for a moment; keep watch for me."

Inside the Buddha Hall, Chen Ji glanced at the empty cushion beside him and suddenly asked, "Brother, as I read this part, I am confronted by several doubts which the Buddhist scriptures do not answer. Could you help me resolve them?"

Chen Wenzong put down the scripture he was holding and said calmly, "Let me hear them."

Chen Ji asked, "Is this world eternal?"

Chen Wenzong was taken aback.

Chen Ji then asked, "Does this world have boundaries?"

Chen Wenzong furrowed his brow in silence, not answering. Even though he had read through the Buddhist scriptures in his youth, he had never seen the Buddha answer these two questions.

However, Chen Ji knew from the start that Chen Wenzong wouldn’t be able to answer because these were among the ’Fourteen Unanswerable’ questions in Buddhism.

The so-called ’Fourteen Unanswerable’ questions refer to the fourteen questions that people from later generations say even Buddha was unwilling to answer. The term "unanswerable" is directly translated from Sanskrit, inherently meaning "indescribable, beyond words."

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Brother, do you not know the answers to these two questions either?"

Chen Wenzong candidly replied, "I have limited knowledge and learning. Thinking about it carefully, it seems that even the Buddha did not answer these two questions. I shall revisit the Buddhist scriptures these coming days to see if there are any answers within."

Chen Ji said with a smile, "Brother, there’s no need for such trouble."

Chen Wenzong was puzzled, "Third brother, do you have a way to clear the doubts?"

Chen Ji replied, "Why don’t we ask the Lady?"

Chen Wenzong was startled.

Chen Ji rose to his feet, "The Lady has studied Buddhism diligently; she will surely be able to answer these two questions."

After speaking, he walked to the side room and knocked on the door, "Lady, Chen Ji has doubts, please enlighten me."

Inside the side room, Mrs. Liang suddenly opened her eyes, feeling as if Chen Ji’s voice at that moment was like the lingering ghost of a degenerate time, which refused to leave. She had already hidden herself here, yet he had still found a reason to pursue her.

Her expression was somewhat vacant, as if she could not bear it any longer.

Dongzhi, worried, glanced at her, "Lady, shall I send him away?"

Mrs. Liang shook her head, "No need."

After speaking, she adjusted her makeup, smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes, took up a copy of "The Diamond Sutra," and walked out the door with a warm smile, "What is the question?"

...

...

Outside the Buddha Hall, footsteps approached.

Chen Liqin frowned as he looked at the servants and maids gathered outside the Buddha Hall, "What are you all doing here?"

Dongzhi bowed deeply and was about to complain, "Reporting to master, the Third Young Master is being too..."

Suddenly awakened, Xiao Man cut her off, "Master, the Elder Young Master and the Third Young Master are accompanying the Lady in reciting Buddhist Scriptures."

Dongzhi turned and glared at her discreetly, to which Xiao Man glared back defiantly.

Chen Liqin didn’t notice these exchanges. Seeing the three silhouettes under the light of the Buddha Hall and hearing the low murmurs of prayers, he felt a long-absent warmth in the house.

Hearing Chen Liqin’s voice, Mrs. Liang, as if liberated, breathed a sigh of relief and rose to greet him, "The master has returned."

Chen Liqin stepped into the Buddha Hall and said with a smile, "I have been inspecting the river embankments all day, and you all seem to be in good spirits."

Mrs. Liang remained silent for a moment before replying hoarsely, "It’s not really a leisure activity..."

Chen Wenzong explained, "Father, today, I came with the Third Young Master to pay respects. Afterwards, we stayed to accompany Mother in chanting prayers. Third Young Master seemed to have an epiphany about the meanings in the Scriptures, and we accompanied him, clarifying his doubts along the way. The Third Young Master is intelligent; even Mother and I could not answer some of his questions."

"Oh?" Chen Liqin didn’t ask what the questions were, for he had an inkling that whatever stumped Chen Wenzong would likely stump him as well.

He said with a smile, "Chen Ji, it is rare for you to take an interest in the meaning of Scriptures, but you should also study our Confucian doctrines. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are all interconnected, and we Confucian scholars also have profound knowledge. Right, you should go to Donglin Academy when spring arrives next year."

Chen Ji bowed, "Mr. Chen, I don’t wish to leave home for so long or go so far away."

Chen Liqin pondered for a moment, "Then go to the Imperial Academy. I am acquainted with the Sacrificial Official ’Yang Zhan,’ and it would not be difficult for him to arrange for you to become a student. However, in the Imperial Academy, a mere fifty National Doctors must answer questions and provide explanations for over nine thousand students, which certainly does not compare to the Donglin Academy..."

Chen Ji understood that the Imperial College in the Imperial Capital was like a mass dining hall, while the Donglin Academy was akin to a private kitchen, and the difference was clear at a glance.

However, he was already Hai Dongqing of the Ritual Supervision, an Inner Court Secondary Fifth-Rank imperial guard, where even a County Magistrate would have to show him respect; there was truly no need to participate in the imperial examinations anymore.

At this moment, Mrs. Liang hoarsely said, "Master has to depart from his post soon, yet still went to inspect the embankments, you must surely be exhausted. I will arrange for the servants to heat water for you and cook a bowl of silver fungus and lotus seed soup. Chen Ji, Wenzong, you two should go back first."

Chen Ji paid his respects, "Yes."

As he was about to leave, Mrs. Liang suddenly called out to him, "Chen Ji."

Chen Ji turned back, "Does Lady have any further instructions?"

Mrs. Liang sent Dongzhi to fetch three volumes of "The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra" and handed them to him, "I know you want to strike while the iron is hot, so take these three volumes back with you. You’re enthusiastic now, and you must not slack off. Tomorrow, I will test you on the knowledge within."

Chen Ji, keeping his composure, "Many thanks, Lady."

"Go back and rest."

...

...

Moonlight scattered across the bluestone path. The branches rustled and swayed, casting shadows like waves against the green bricks.

Chen Ji walked ahead while Xiao Man, yawning, followed behind with the three volumes of scripture.

Once back in Mingquan Garden, Xiao Man asked curiously, "Young Master, where shall we place these three volumes?"

Chen Ji, weary in body and mind, "Throw away the first and second volumes."

"Ah?" Xiao Man was startled, "What about the third volume?"

Chen Ji let out a noise as he sprawled onto his bed, "Throw the third volume further away."

Xiao Man, "..."

She approached, pretending to help Chen Ji to remove his boots.

Chen Ji, startled by her actions, sat up again, "What are you doing?"

Xiao Man stated matter-of-factly, "Removing your boots, Young Master. I’m going to heat some water for you to wash your feet later. It will help you sleep well."

Chen Ji drew his legs back, solemnly, "I have instructed you before that you don’t need to serve me. You just need to take good care of yourself."

Xiao Man widened her eyes, "Has the Young Master grown tired of me? Haven’t I always done this before?"

Chen Ji had to explain, "I have been in the Medical Hall for these two years, getting used to taking care of myself. I no longer need to be waited on."

Xiao Man fell silent, and so did Chen Ji.

A moment later, with a sigh, Xiao Man said, "It seems you’ve suffered a lot in these two years."

She then produced eight silver coins from her sleeve, "Young Master, old rules."

Chen Ji sat on the bed, puzzled. What old rules? And what’s with these eight silver coins?

On the window lattice, Wu Yun meowed.

But Xiao Man spoke up, "Today, Sister Li Qiu came looking for me, said that somebody wanted to pay monthly eight silver taels for your news. I agreed as before. Here it is, all eight silver taels. According to our old arrangement, I keep one, and you get seven. I wanted to find out who was hiring us too, but Sister Li Qiu is tight-lipped and wouldn’t tell me."

As she spoke, Xiao Man muttered, "Young Master, make sure you don’t flaunt these coins. Otherwise, they’ll know we’ve been deceiving people for money."

Chen Ji looked at Xiao Man with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Is the employer so stingy, only giving eight silver taels?"

Xiao Man, with a straight face and without skipping a beat, "Just eight taels, much more generous than before. They used to give only eight hundred coins. We were barely scraping by."

Chen Ji did not argue with her, just took the seven taels and instructed her, "You go sleep in the West Wing Room. I still have to get up early tomorrow for a greeting."

Xiao Man suddenly got angry, "In the past, Lady used to exploit you for trivialities like greetings, having you serve tea and water by her side. And now, just returning, you were punished to recite scriptures in the Buddha Hall all day, nearly turning into a monk! Young Master, why can’t you be more assertive, and what if you don’t go for the greeting?"

Chen Ji appraised her angry expression carefully, explaining softly, "The Chen family places great emphasis on propriety; without following it, we can’t survive in this mansion."

It has been said that immature people will die heroically for ideals, whereas mature people choose to live by enduring humiliation for them.

Chen Ji wasn’t sure whether this was true, but he had no choice at the moment. Bai Long had tasked him to get close to the core of the Chen family, so he had to follow the Chen family’s rules.

Nonetheless, he had his own plans.

Chen Ji advised Xiao Man, "Go to sleep."

Xiao Man, still irritated, "Sleep? You have nightmares every night; I need to keep watch over you. You sleep, I’ll catch up on sleep during the day."

Chen Ji shook his head, "I no longer have nightmares."

Xiao Man was skeptical, "Really?"

"Really."

"I don’t believe it, I will watch over you tonight."

...

...

The next morning before dawn, Wu Yun patted Chen Ji awake with her paw.

Chen Ji got up slowly, invigorated.

The fiery furnace of the Mountain Lord Sect’s teachings surged within him like a spring; a short slumber was as good as a full night’s rest for others.

He turned to look and saw Xiao Man sitting on a small stool by the charcoal brazier, her head dropping bit by bit, drowsy.

Chen Ji didn’t wake Xiao Man; he just quietly dressed and passed by her, exiting the courtyard, heading straight for the Buddha Hall.

At this time, the rooster had not crowed, and even the maids in Qunfang Garden had yet to stir, leaving the vast Chen Mansion empty and still.

Chen Ji straightened his clothes and knocked firmly on the door of the Buddha Hall.

After a moment, the door opened. Mrs. Liang, her hair disheveled and sleepy-eyed.

She looked at the color of the sky and then at Chen Ji, unsettled, "What watch is it?"

Chen Ji respectfully answered, "To report, Lady, the third watch."

Mrs. Liang clutched the wooden door tightly, "Why so early? Aren’t you tired?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then said earnestly, "Lady, a sincere heart will be blessed."

Mrs. Liang, "?"

She opened her mouth, at a loss for words for a long time, on the verge of losing her composure.

After a long while, Mrs. Liang took a deep breath and spoke soothingly, "Chen Ji, you are at a critical period of your eagerness for knowledge. You should focus all your energy on your studies, and you need not come for greetings anymore."

Chen Ji smiled, bowed, and took his leave, "Many thanks for the Lady’s consideration. Farewell."