The construction of the new Taoist temple was not that fast. Chen Jingke and Sun Simiao did not have a place to live, so they were temporarily arranged to live in the palace.
Many people will be surprised that other men can stay in the palace? Aren't they all eunuchs?
In fact this is a huge misunderstanding.
The palace was huge and divided into many areas. What other men were not allowed to approach was the harem where the concubines lived, which was only a small part of the entire palace.
The rest of the places have their own functions, and major meetings are usually held in the front hall, such as the annual Winter Solstice Meeting.
The small court meetings held by the emperor were usually held in the smaller central hall; the rear hall was where the emperor usually worked and received ministers.
The front, middle and back parts of the main hall are collectively called the outer hall. Only a small part of the people working here are eunuchs, and most of them are normal men.
For example, the imperial kitchen, the imperial hospital, and the ministers on duty all lived in these areas. In particular, a large part of the internal guards who held the power of palace confinement lived in this area.
On the contrary, concubines and maids were not allowed to enter the outer hall without permission. The only woman who could enter and leave the harem and outer hall at will was theoretically the only one, the empress' eldest grandson, Wugao.
Because the seal prohibiting entry and exit from the palace is in her hand, you can enter and exit freely only with the voucher signed by her.
In the outer hall, there are not only many imperial offices, but also a Confucius Temple, a Foguang Temple and a Sanqing Taoist Temple.
Foguang Temple existed during the Sui Dynasty. The Yang family and the Dugu family were both Buddhist believers, so they built a temple in the palace to facilitate their worship of Buddha.
Li Yuan was also a superstitious Buddhist. After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he often came here to listen to sutras and recite Buddhist scriptures. His favorite monks, such as Faya and others, lived in Foguang Temple.
Sanqing Temple was built after the Li family recognized Lao Tzu as their ancestor. However, due to the influence of their ancestors, the Li family all believed in Buddhism. This Taoist temple is just a decoration, with only a few Taoist priests cleaning it every day.
The situation did not improve after Li Shimin ascended the throne. He was also superstitious about Buddhism. It was okay at first, but as the queen and the prince fell ill several times, this differential treatment became more obvious.
Not only did he build Buddhist temples outside, but he also went to Foguang Temple to pray when he had free time, and wrapped the golden body of the Buddha statue inside layer after layer with gold powder.
I have never even looked at the Sanqing Temple next door, and I don’t even think about the golden statue.
The emperor didn't pay attention to it, and the few Taoist priests in Sanqing Temple naturally couldn't hold their heads up, and no one paid attention to them at all. Except for the money and food regularly distributed by the court, they couldn't get any other benefits.
They had had enough of this kind of life where grandma didn't love their uncle, so they welcomed Sun Simiao and Chen Jingke's stay with both hands and feet.
In fact, they did not dare not to welcome them, because it was Li Shimin and Changsun Wugou who personally sent them to Sanqing Temple.
The Taoist priest in charge, Xiang Xuezhen, did not even dare to take a breath, so he voluntarily gave up the main hall where he lived to Sun Simiao, while Chen Jingke lived in a side room.
After experiencing so many things today, Chen Jingke originally thought that he would not be able to sleep, but unexpectedly he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Sun Simiao really couldn't sleep, and wanted to talk to his apprentice about today's affairs. When he arrived in the next room, he found that Chen Jingke was already fast asleep.
He couldn't help shaking his head and laughing. No matter how precocious this apprentice was and how many strange medical skills he knew, he was still just a ten-year-old child.
He pulled the blanket up to cover his stomach to prevent him from catching cold, and then returned to his room to study medical skills alone.
Chen Jingke told him too many things today. Even with his medicine king's ability, he couldn't digest them all in a short while. It would take a period of dedicated study.
While he was immersed in studying medical skills, a shadow appeared furtively in the yard. He was as agile as a civet cat, and he walked without making a sound.
The black shadow cautiously came to the door of Chen Jingke's room, eavesdropped for a while, and seemed to confirm something before turning around and coming outside.
Anyone who is familiar with it will surely recognize that this dark figure is Yang Tianlu, a young Taoist priest inside the temple. What is even more unexpected is that Li Shimin is standing outside the Taoist temple.
"I am raising Tianlu to see Your Majesty."
Li Shimin said calmly: "No courtesy, what are Master Sun and the others doing?"
Yang Tianlu bowed and said: "Master Sun is studying medical skills, Master Xiao has already fallen asleep."
"Sleeping?" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows in surprise, but then a smile appeared on his face and said, "Yes, he is still a child who was frightened after a tiring day. It's time for him to go to sleep."
It’s only good for children, it’s easy to develop feelings.
Yang Tianlu lowered his head and did not reply. He knew that these words were not meant for him.
As expected, after talking to himself, Li Shimin said to him: "You must be tired of living in this small Taoist temple for several years."
Yang Tianlu shook his head and said: "It is quiet here and no one disturbs me. I can concentrate on practicing martial arts and not feel lonely."
"That's good." Li Shimin suddenly said seriously: "Now I have a task to give you, and you need to use your life to complete it."
Yang Tianlu knelt down on one knee and said: "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will fight to the death to complete the mission."
Li Shimin was very satisfied with his attitude and said: "Find an opportunity to become that little master's subordinate, and then protect him from any harm. If he has any shortcomings, you don't have to live anymore."
Yang Tianlu didn't understand why he was asked to protect the little Taoist boy instead of Sun Simiao, but as a dead soldier he never asked why.
"Well, no one can hurt the little real person until I fall."
Li Shimin said: "No, what I want is that he will not be harmed. Even if you die, you must send him to a safe place before you die."
Yang Tianlu hesitated for a moment and said: "If you want to be foolproof, I need a helper."
Li Shimin said: "Who do you want, Yao Yunyang?"
Yang Tianlu said: "No, I want to be a slave."
Li Shimin said with some surprise: "Yi Nu, her kung fu doesn't seem to be very good, right?"
Yang Tianlu said: "Because she is a woman."
Women are always easily ignored, especially Yi Nusheng, who looks like a ten-year-old girl.
There are no magic tricks in this world. If you are approached by a dead soldier without any precautions, even the best warrior in the world can only do it with a single blow.
Li Shimin naturally understood this truth, so he also understood the idea of raising Tianlu and agreed very much: "Yes, Yi Nu will come to you tomorrow."
Yang Tianlu said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After giving the instructions, Li Shimin turned around and left for the Li Zheng Palace. The Queen was still waiting for him.
Yang Tianlu waited until he was far away before he raised his head, looked at the moon in the sky and suddenly laughed: "This mission is not bad, at least it is not to kill people."
Then he turned around and returned to the Taoist temple. The world fell into silence, as if nothing had happened.
