Chapter 2457 - 2431: Heh Heh

Master Zhi Ren first nodded at them with a smile, then looked at Princess Mingda and Princess Changyu, clasping his hands together in greeting, and said with a smile, "What brings the two princesses to our humble temple?"

Mingda quickly replied, "Our grandmother was devoted to Buddha when she was alive. We thought of coming to offer incense and pray for blessings for our imperial grandmother."

This matter was easy to handle, but since they were princesses, the incense they burned was naturally different. So Master Zhi Ren had someone seek out the abbot to make arrangements.

Back then, Master Zhi Ren left before the end of the Western Expedition; they took a different route back, much faster than Manbao and the others. They returned to the capital only after the news of the expedition’s victory arrived.

Zhou Man and the others had returned four months ago, but they simply hadn’t contacted each other yet.

At this moment, Master Zhi Ren sized them up and found that several of them had grown taller, their faces appeared more resolute, and much of their previous naivety had faded.

Master Zhi Ren smiled, feeling a sense of amazement in his heart, realizing they had indeed grown up.

Master Zhi Ren asked Jiechen to instruct Bai Shan and the others in martial arts. Jiechen no longer mentioned anything about reporting back to the abbot and agreed straightforwardly.

Manbao and the others were delighted and sat down with Master Zhi Ren, showing great concern for him, asking, "Was your journey back smooth, Master? Did you encounter anything interesting on the way?"

Master Zhi Ren laughed and said, "It’s certainly not as eventful as your grand adventures..."

They talked at length about their journeys to the west and back east. Bai Shan even encouraged him, "Now that several kingdoms in the Western Regions have submitted to the Great Jin, there won’t be any wars for a while. If Master Zhi Ren wishes to go to the Western Regions to seek Buddhist scriptures, now is the best time."

Master Zhi Ren smiled and nodded, saying that he would consider departing again once he finished translating the scriptures in hand.

Mingda listened enviously, while Changyu, not particularly interested in such matters, whispered to Manbao, "Is Master Jiechen’s martial arts very formidable?"

Manbao nodded, giving a thumbs-up, "So formidable."

Changyu’s eyes twinkled, and she asked, "Does he use a whip? Martial monks typically practice hard techniques, which might not be suitable for you. Why don’t you practice the whip with me? Let me tell you, I’m very skilled with the whip."

Manbao had experienced it but found it unappealing, "I want to be able to leap effortlessly onto rooftops, with a graceful demeanor. Now, I can only climb up the walls after jumping on them for a while, which isn’t very attractive. Besides, among weapons, I find swords more appealing."

"The whip is less strenuous," Changyu said, "Once you’ve mastered skillful striking, you can create flourishes just by standing, and no one can come close to you."

"I don’t aim to be in battle; I just want to look graceful."

"All that leaping isn’t ladylike. Isn’t effortlessly maneuvering the whip more elegant?"

Manbao: "I still want to fly. Haven’t you seen how Master Jiechen leaps elegantly in fights, like... like a painting brought to life, swift and clean, especially beautiful?"

Changyu: "...All just for appearance."

"Not entirely," Manbao sighed, "It was only by traveling that we realized how dangerous it is outside. Although we have guards for protection, knowing some martial arts ourselves could be life-saving at critical moments. They say that a good teacher produces excellent students, and among the people we know, Jiechen’s martial arts skills are the best."

Changyu: "Can he be better than Minister Li, State Duke Su, and others in the court?"

"I’ve never seen them fight."

The conversation drifted, and once the abbot ahead had made preparations, Manbao and the others got up to bid farewell to Master Zhi Ren and accompanied the two princesses to offer incense.

The advance guard and palace maids who came to the Guardian of the Nation Temple early reappeared, handing over the prepared incense money to the abbot. As the sun was about to set, they prepared to descend the mountain and return.

Mingda and Changyu did not call for the carriage to come up. Instead, they walked down the steps, hand in hand, mixing in with the other worshippers. Mingda excitedly said to Manbao, "Look, no one recognizes us."

Indeed, no one recognized Mingda and the others, but everyone could tell they weren’t ordinary people.

However, the Guardian of the Nation Temple is a national temple, frequently visited by dignitaries, so the worshippers didn’t pay much attention, just giving them a bit of space and not approaching their party too closely.

But that was enough to make Mingda happy.

Changyu didn’t understand this happiness, but since her sister was happy, she joined in the joy.

Once in the carriage, she continued recommending her whip to Manbao, "If you learn the whip from me, I’ll give you the one I used when I was young. It was a birthday gift from Mother when I turned ten."

Mingda chuckled, "Why has my sister suddenly become fond of teaching?"

"It’s rare to find someone who shares my interest in martial arts; naturally, it’s best if she plays with the whip just like me. That way, we can play together in the future."

Manbao leaned against the carriage window and said to her, "You’re silly. You use the whip, I use the whip; when we play together, are we just snapping whips together? It’s too dull."

She said, "You should learn the whip, and I’ll learn the sword; that way, whip versus sword is much more fun."

"Aren’t you going to learn martial arts with the monk? That should be palms or fists, right?" Changyu teased her, "At most, it would be a staff. In a long weapon versus short weapon fight, you’ll surely lose."

Manbao was left speechless, refusing to back down, "What’s the big deal? Can’t I hold onto your whip and get close? Then your whip won’t have room to move, making it useless."

Seeing the two of them bickering, one inside the carriage and one outside, Mingda hurriedly intervened, "You haven’t even competed yet, this is all just talk."

Especially Manbao, "Have you learned anything?"

Manbao fell silent.

Changyu gained a point, and chuckled gleefully.

Mingda knocked on the carriage, instructing the driver to return to the palace, and said to Manbao, "You better find some time to learn martial arts before talking about it."

As the carriage moved, Manbao let go of the window, and Changyu leaned out and said, "Manbao, you still have four days off. Learn first, and when you enter the palace, we’ll spar."

Manbao corrected her, "It’s six days!"

Then she said, "I need to inspect my official lands and farms, so I can only learn for two days. I won’t spar with you until I’ve learned for at least half a year."

As the carriage moved further away, Changyu could only shout, "Two days have already passed, clearly there’s only four days left..."

The carriage was too far for Manbao to bother responding. Mingda would surely explain it to her anyway.

Indeed, before Changyu even withdrew her head, Mingda had already said, "Four days later is a ten-day rest, that’s two extra days, making it six days in total."

Changyu paused, "Wow, she gets such a long vacation?"

Mingda laughed, "She’s been confined in the imperial manor for so long, naturally, she gets a longer break. Moreover, it just so happens that with six days of vacation, she attended the grand court meeting for one day and worked at the yamen for another, right in time for the ten-day rest."

It wasn’t just a coincidence, Director Xiao had specifically arranged the time for Manbao and Imperial Doctor Lu, considering they’d been kept in the imperial manor for so long. It was indeed necessary for them to take a proper break.

Imperial Doctor Lu had been resting well recently, and Manbao planned to make up for the spring outing. However, before that, she still had to visit Madam Tang’s cousin.