The Princess Wei Yang (106+)

Chapter 173 - Old Friends Reunited - Part 1

Li Weiyang's carriage stopped at the outskirts of the city, and she saw a large nunnery among the lush trees. The red walls were covered with green leaves, making it appear somewhat solemn and mysterious. Looking up, there was a plaque hanging high above the nunnery, with the words "Qingxin Nunnery" written on it. There were several female nuns cleaning in front of the building. One of them, an old nun who seemed to be in charge, was directing them. When she saw a carriage coming, she approached them.

The old nun's eyes fell on Zhao Yue, and she nodded: "The benefactor is——"

Zhao Yue was about to speak, but Li Wei Yang had already walked up and said: "We are here to offer incense."

The old nun nodded and said: "Benefactor, please wait a moment." After saying that, she walked into the nunnery, and not long after, a middle-aged nun came out. The middle-aged nun smiled and said: "This benefactor, please excuse us, but there is a distinguished guest staying in the nunnery, so it is not convenient to receive outsiders. There are other nunneries not far ahead."

Li Wei Yang smiled and said: "Mistress, I know who the distinguished guest in your nunnery is, and I'm here to visit her. Please inform her."

The middle-aged nun hesitated for a moment and said: "Benefactor, this... is really inappropriate. This distinguished guest has been in my nunnery for half a year and has never been willing to receive guests. You'd better go back."

Zhao Yue frowned, but Li Wei Yang's smile was warm: "Mistress, please do not misunderstand. I have no other intentions, it is just that I have an old friendship with this esteemed guest. I passed by and heard that she was practicing here, so I came here to visit. Please pass her a message and let her know I'm here."

The middle-aged nun just frowned, still not seeming happy. Li Wei Yang took a step forward and put a gold ingot into her hand. The nun was surprised. Li Wei Yang laughed softly and said: "Ask her one question for me: After she went to Yuexi, does the promise still count? It's just a small matter, don't you think?"

The middle-aged nun laughed and said, "Alright, then I'll first invite Benefactor to go in and wait."

Li Weiyang entered the abbey and walked around the back of the Maitreya Buddha shrine and up the wide steps. The Buddhist hall was very gorgeous, with incense and candles already lit. There were dozens of nuns wearing cassocks, ringing bells and beating drums. The middle-aged nun smiled and said: "I'll go ask her. Benefactor, please pay your respects to Buddha."

The middle-aged nun went straight away. Li Wei Yang took a look at the abbey. A nun who was chanting sutras came to greet her. Seeing her interest, she curiously said: "I wonder where the benefactor came from?"

Li Wei Yang smiled and had no intention of answering, which made her even more curious. However, Li Wei Yang had already started looking around the nunnery. The Yuexi Dynasty followed the old imperial system of Daxing in the previous dynasty. All the sons of the emperor were to be crowned Grand Princes.

 (t/n: As mentioned before, there are different ranks of prince.  "亲王" (Qin Wang) translated as "Prince of the First Rank" or "Grand Prince" is the highest rank of prince aside from Crown Prince. Typically, an emperor's sons would only be given the rank of "郡王" (Jun Wang) which is a second-rank prince title, while only a favored prince or a prince who had made great contributions to the empire would be made a Qin Wang, as was the case with the Dali Emperor making Tuoba Yu a Qin Wang at his wedding in Chapter 165. In Yuexi, however, all of the emperor's sons are given the rank of Qin Wang.)

The eldest son and grandson of the Grand Prince were given the title of "Prince Heir" (t/n: literally "世子" (shizi), meaning "heir son", refers to the heir apparent to a Qin Wang) when they were ten years old. They were the successors to the Grand Princes and this rank was hereditary from generation to generation. It is said that during the Daxing Dynasty, a total of thirty Grand Princes' palaces were established in Yuexi. Except for those who had no sons or had their titles stripped due to crimes, the other Grand Princes passed on their titles until the demise of the entire dynasty, and a total of 97 Grand Princes were canonized. Forty-five of the ninety-seven Grand Princes built tombs, all located near their respective palaces, leaving behind large and complete cemeteries. The tombs of various Grand Princes were mostly built in the mountainous areas near the suburbs of the capital. They were built with the mountains without any set rules, but they were all extremely luxurious and spectacular. After the fall of the Daxing Dynasty, having so many tombs became a big problem because the buildings in the tomb area are all green tile stone walls carved with dragons and phoenixes, which are forbidden items for the common people. In addition, the tomb is unlucky. Not to mention the nobility, even the ordinary wealthy people are unwilling to buy it, so they could only leave it like this.