C37

Ye Yuning subconsciously took a whiff, and read out a few spices in her heart, "The fragrance here is really special, if I smell it it'll make me feel comfortable."

Lady Wen turned her head, and laughed: "This incense is made from the incense of my Wen Family."

"Is that so?" Ye Yuning's eyes lit up.

She did not know that although there were no more descendants in the Wen Family, the fragrance of the Wen Family would continue to spread.

After following Lady Wen and bowing to him in the Yuantong Hall, Ye Yuning decided to walk around.

Ye Yuning waved her hand, "Then I'll have to trouble Master."

With that, Ye Yuning brought Fei Qing and followed the monk to leave the Yuantong Hall to the back of the mountain.

He walked up the stairs and saw a row of bamboo trees. From behind the bamboo forest came the faint chanting of monks, causing people to feel especially serene.

"In a place with a winding path leading to Ethereal Opening, there are profound flowers and trees in the meditation room. The words of the poem are indeed true." Although Ye Yuning was sweating profusely, she couldn't hide his excitement.

A large field of beautiful peonies opening outside the bamboo forest attracted Ye Yuning's gaze.

"How can there be such a gorgeous flower growing in this buddhist land?" Ye Yuning was extremely curious, she walked in and looked carefully, "Could this be a Luoyang Peony?"

The peonies in front of him had nine colors: white, yellow, pink, red, purple, and black. These nine colors weren't in disorder, rather, they were growing layer by layer, appearing as gorgeous as rainbows.

Loyang peony is not a single peony variety, but a combination of several types of flowers.

Luoyang was the capital of the former dynasty, and the ruler of the former dynasty had a concubine who loved peonies the most. In order to please his beloved concubine, the king ordered people to plant peonies of all kinds in Luoyang City and cultivate nearly a thousand varieties. But unfortunately, only a dozen or so have been left of these nearly a thousand varieties.

Ye Yuning remembered these old rumors, and couldn't help but to have a fondness for the peony in front of him.

"Who planted this peony? Can you bring me to meet him? " Ye Yuning asked the monk leading the way.

The monk was in a difficult position: "The peony was planted by Master Jingkong, and is highly valued by him."

"Master Jingkong?" Ye Yuning was startled.

The monk nodded: "Master Jingkong is a good friend of Master Fang, at this point in time, he is not a monk from my Putuo Temple. Usually, Master Jingkong does not go out much and is a rare guest, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for Chief Shi to see him. "

Ye Yuning did not want to make things difficult for the other party, so hearing this, she felt somewhat regretful. She could only say: "Then, can you help me ask Master Jingkong for some seeds? I want to take it back and try it out and see if it blossoms. "

"No problem, please wait a moment, Benefactor." The monk heaved a sigh of relief, bowed to Ye Yuning, and quickly left.

"Miss, please sit down and rest for a while! That master will probably be back for a while. " Fei Qing carefully wiped a rock with the handkerchief and helped Ye Yuning to sit down.

Ye Yuning heaved a sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat off her forehead: "This place's scenery is not bad."

From where Ye Yuning was sitting, she was able to see a green stone path through the bamboo forest. She guessed: Where does this path lead to? As the breeze blew, the bamboo forest gave off a rustling sound, and the chanting of the monks in the distance made the atmosphere exceptionally tranquil.

Ye Yuning rested for half a quarter of an hour and that monk still had not returned. Ye Yuning looked around, then stood up and said: "Fei Qing, wait for that master here, I will go into the bamboo forest to take a look."

"Miss!" Fei Qing was unwilling, "Sister Fei Xiu repeatedly reminded me not to leave Miss's side."

Ye Yuning laughed, patted Fei Qing's shoulders and said: "Don't worry, we are in a temple, are you afraid that I will be in danger? "I'll take a look inside the bamboo forest. If there's anything I can shout out, wouldn't you hear me?"

Fei Qing looked at the bamboo forest, then nodded: "Then young miss, come back quickly."

Ye Yuning touched Fei Qing's face, and amidst Fei Qing's anger, she walked into the bamboo forest.

Ye Yuning panicked, and quickly chased after him. If she lost the handkerchief then it could be big or small, but if she let Xiao Xiao pick it up then it would ruin her good name. Moreover, that handkerchief was specially made for Ye Yuning by Lady Wen, and on it was embroidered her most beloved lotus flower.

After chasing for a distance, Ye Yuning realized that she had already deviated from the bluestone path. Looking at the green bamboo that was identical to the previous one, Ye Yuning frowned.

At this moment, a soft voice came from the front.

"There should be someone ahead. Let's go over and ask him." Ye Yuning's eyes lit up, and followed the direction of the voice.

Before long, an empty space appeared in front of them as an old man and a young man sat in front of a bamboo house playing chess. When he saw the young man's face clearly, Ye Yuning could not help but exclaim out: "Young Master Shen, why are you here?"

However, Shen Yunxing did not seem to hear Ye Yuning's voice, as he looked at the chessboard on the stone stage, and furrowed his brows. Ye Yuning realized that she had lost control of herself and quickly covered her mouth.

After standing in place for a long time, Ye Yuning saw that the two of them had not noticed him and could not help but go forward to size them up.

In the rustling autumn wind, three bamboo houses stood in the middle of the empty space. The bamboo houses were simple and unadorned, and through the wide open door, one could see that the inside of the house was empty except for a table, chairs, and a few prayer mats.

Outside the bamboo house, a few stone blocks were casually placed. The two people were sitting on two stone blocks as they stared at the stone stage. Ye Yuning felt bored after looking around, so she walked up to the two of them.

The stone platform was smooth and flat. The stone platform was engraved with criss-crossing runes that formed a chessboard. As for the round black and white chess pieces, they were impressively made from numerous stones. However, if one didn't pay close attention, it would be difficult to notice.

Ye Yuning was quickly immersed in the game of chess. Her Yi Zu, Li Yanqing, loved to play chess too, and when he was young in the Cloud Region, his godmother would always play chess with Yi Zu. Over time, she could understand quite a bit.

No matter if it was Li Yanqing or Li Haitang, they both raised Ye Yuning, either intentionally or unintentionally nurturing her. Although Ye Yuning was not proficient in zither, chess, painting, or calligraphy, at the very least, she had entered the sect.

It was a pity that after returning to the Ye's Mansion, the Old Mistress had never agreed to hire a master teacher to teach her. As a result, during these three years, Ye Yuning's zither skills and paintings had become new to her. The only thing she did not leave behind was the chess piece and the book.

The one who was in charge of the crime was Shen Yunxing, the old monk in gray robes was in charge of it.

On the chess board, it looked like both Blackie and Bai Zi were equally matched, but in Ye Yuning's eyes, Blackie was actually at a disadvantage. Bai Zi looked loose on the surface, but was actually hiding something, forming a corner, and was about to surround Hei Zi.

And once Hei Zi was besieged, a large part of his force would be lost. Bai Zi would be surrounded, and at that time, it would be difficult to turn the tides.