Chapter 141: Verification

The situation was truly intense and difficult. In Zhu Houzhao’s heart, Fang Jifan held significant weight, and he naturally did not wish for Fang Jifan to suffer.

Alright, the only solution was to find someone to take the blame for the two of them!

Meanwhile, Liu Jin, who had accompanied Zhu Houzhao, stood in a corner of the hall. Upon hearing this, a suspicious liquid instantly soaked his trousers, his legs went weak, and he felt the world spinning before he collapsed outright.

The Grand Empress Dowager’s eyes were filled with sternness as she said, “Guards…”

“Your Servant is innocent!”

By this point, Liu Jin knew it was a matter of life and death. How could he dare to take the blame for Fang Jifan now?

He kowtowed repeatedly like pounding garlic, weeping and sobbing, “Your Servant is a palace servant. How could I not know the palace rules? Your Servant… Your Servant did not copy for the Crown Prince! Your Servant is wronged!”

Hearing Liu Jin’s plea of innocence, the Grand Empress Dowager understood immediately. She demanded sharply, “If it wasn’t you, then who was it?”

Liu Jin instinctively looked up and cautiously glanced at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao appeared calm and unruffled, neither blushing nor panting, but inside he was extremely tense. He remained silent.

The Grand Empress Dowager took all of this in. Suddenly, she recalled something and said, “Was it Fang Jifan?”

Liu Jin wept bitterly, stammering, “Your Servant dare not say.”

The answer was practically out in the open.

It must be Fang Jifan! Otherwise, Liu Jin would have flatly denied it. Why would he say he dare not speak?

The Grand Empress Dowager’s face turned ashen and terrifying!

She took a deep breath before saying, “Such distortion of the classics’ meaning, such deviation from orthodoxy, is truly dreadful. To have such a person remain by the Crown Prince’s side, potentially misleading him—how grave a matter that would be. I hold no prejudice against Fang Jifan; in fact, I even find him exceedingly clever, entirely unlike ordinary young men. It’s rare that the Crown Prince likes him, and having him accompany His Highness in studying isn’t a bad thing. But now it seems…”

She cast a cold glance at Zhu Houzhao, who now realized the situation was more serious than he had imagined, then sternly questioned Wang Yan, “Wang Yan, you must immediately select the parts of this heretical scripture that deviate from orthodoxy and present them to me. Then, summon the Emperor. I cannot ignore this matter.”

Wang Yan initially intended to comply. After all, the Grand Empress Dowager wanted to first critique the commentary before summoning His Majesty for a direct confrontation.

It seemed Fang Jifan… his good days were likely over.

But when he looked up and saw Zhu Houzhao glaring coldly at him, his heart sank sharply!

This wouldn’t do. If he picked flaws well in the commentary, he would offend the Crown Prince. If he picked poorly, he couldn’t answer to the Grand Empress Dowager. This… was truly a trap.

Moreover, as he served the Grand Empress Dowager, he had always studied the scriptures with her. He was familiar with the texts, but his understanding of their meaning was only superficial.

This was understandable. The scriptures were inherently abstruse and difficult to comprehend. He had no idea which parts were nonsense.

After a brief but deep contemplation, he said with a distressed expression, “Your Highness, Your Servant believes that such a Daoist scripture should be examined by a Perfected Master in person.”

The Grand Empress Dowager was initially furious at Wang Yan’s evasion, but after hearing his explanation, her expression softened somewhat.

Indeed, how could one expect a eunuch to identify errors in the scriptures? Even if he did, it would hardly convince anyone.

Besides, Fang Jifan was, after all, the Nanhe Bozi and the Crown Prince’s study companion. Recently, it was heard that the Emperor had praised him frequently. To persuade the Emperor, it must be done with proper justification!

So she nodded and said, “Take this scripture to the Taoist Registry Department and order them to summon Perfected Master Puji of Longquan Taoist Temple to personally verify it. This way… we can provide an explanation to everyone in the palace.”

Wang Yan finally let out a long sigh of relief. At least… this matter was no longer his concern.

As for Perfected Master Puji of Longquan Taoist Temple, he had always enjoyed the Grand Empress Dowager’s trust. Back when the Chenghua Emperor was alive, Taoists were everywhere, each trying to curry favor with the Chenghua Emperor. Some even went so far as to disrupt governance for their own gain. Yet, Perfected Master Puji never got involved, remaining secluded in his temple to study the scriptures.

Even when the Emperor repeatedly summoned him, Perfected Master Puji refused to enter the palace, stating that as a cultivator of the Dao, his focus should be on studying the scriptures and self-cultivation. Alchemy was a peripheral path. If His Majesty summoned him to the palace to learn the scriptures, he would gladly go. But if it was to summon him for alchemy, he dared not.

Consequently, Perfected Master Puji was sidelined. If not for the Grand Empress Dowager’s respect for his character, he might have been harmed by other Taoists long ago! This guy was inflexible. While everyone else was practicing alchemy, only you focused on studying the scriptures? What did that mean? Were you trying to ruin their livelihoods?

After the Chenghua Emperor passed away, most other Taoists were expelled. Perfected Master Puji, however, rose rapidly, and even his Longquan Taoist Temple gained prominence.

Now, having Perfected Master Puji conduct the verification was indeed the best course of action.

So Wang Yan quickly took the scripture and went to the Ministry of Rites. The officials at the Taoist Registry Department, upon seeing it and learning it was by the Grand Empress Dowager’s verbal decree, dared not delay.

However, they couldn’t help but wonder: what major event warranted the Grand Empress Dowager’s personal instruction?

For ordinary Taoists, the officials at the Taoist Registry Department, responsible for managing the Taoist sects, could simply issue a document to summon them.

But Perfected Master Puji’s status was different. Thus, the Ministry of Rites personally brought the “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue” to Longquan Taoist Temple outside Xizhimen Gate. Upon arriving at the temple gate, they sent word of their arrival before entering the temple.

Perfected Master Yu Daochun, also known as Puji Zhenren, was studying scriptures in the Ancestor Lü Hall when he learned of the Grand Empress Dowager’s verbal decree. He was puzzled.

Back in the second year of Chenghua, he had already been granted the title “Erudite Scholar Who Embraces the Dao and Comprehends the Dharma.” Later, he took charge of Longquan Taoist Temple and was further titled “Perfected Master Puji.” After the Chenghua Emperor’s demise and the Emperor Hongzhi’s ascension, he was conferred the lengthy title “Perfected Master Puji, Who Cultivates Tranquility, Nurtures Simplicity, Emptiness, Serenity, Expounds the Dharma, and Pacifies Transformation.” Generally, the longer the title, the more esteemed the individual.

Additionally, the imperial court bestowed upon him a silver seal of the second rank. Consequently, within the Taoist community, many regarded Perfected Master Puji as the leader of Zhengyi Taoism in the north.

It should be noted that throughout the Great Ming, only two Taoist sects held legitimate status: Quanzhen Taoism in the north and Zhengyi Taoism in Jiangnan. These were the two major branches of Taoism designated since Emperor Taizu’s time. Other Taoist sects, lacking imperial recognition, declined or eventually became subsidiaries of these two major sects.

Quanzhen Taoism flourished in the north, leaving little room for Zhengyi Taoism, with Baiyun Taoist Temple in the Capital being particularly prominent. Perfected Master Puji, as a Taoist from Jiangnan’s Zhengyi Taoism, managed to thrive in the Capital, which was quite unusual.

Thus, Yu Daochun personally went to greet the official, welcoming him into the Ancestor Lü Hall. They sat as host and guest. The official explained his purpose and presented the “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue.”

Upon hearing that someone had distorted the Daodejing, Yu Daochun immediately showed displeasure.

Such heretical deviations from orthodoxy had become increasingly rare.

After Emperor Taizu designated Zhengyi Taoism and Quanzhen Taoism as the orthodox Taoist sects, the imperial court’s control over Taoism became strict. To prevent unorthodox sects from misinterpreting the Daoist scriptures, the Taoist Registry Department often meted out severe punishments.

After all, the annotation of the Daoist scriptures had become an official act. Moreover, there were ill-intentioned individuals who exploited the Daodejing, secretly distorting its meanings to gather various factions locally for sinister purposes—a not uncommon occurrence. Therefore, Yu Daochun naturally felt antipathy toward such people.

So he said solemnly, “Please rest assured, this humble Taoist will carefully verify it.”

Having agreed to the task, he saw the official off. Yu Daochun then gathered several disciples.

These disciples were all around forty to fifty years old, having followed Yu Daochun for decades. They sat cross-legged. Yu Daochun turned to one disciple and said, “You read…”

“Yes,” the disciple nodded, then took the “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue” and began to recite: “The Dao is primordial emptiness, chaotic and natural. The two poles arise from it, and all things take form through it. It cannot be named, but we forcibly call it the Dao…”

At first, Yu Daochun listened with a grave expression, while the other disciples also showed indignation.

Although Zhengyi Taoism and Quanzhen Taoism differed in their understanding of the Daoist scriptures, and within Zhengyi Taoism itself, there were many branches, they still respected the annotations of other Taoist schools.

However, this commentary from an unknown source was clearly written by someone with ulterior motives. Given that the Grand Empress Dowager had personally sent it, their initial thought was that it must be some heretical book.

But… just from the beginning, the disciples, who had been eager to find faults, were all taken aback.

This opening, though not delving deep—merely starting with the explanation of ‘The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao’—didn’t seem problematic at all.

In fact, this opening not only didn’t feel heretical but seemed to hint at deeper meanings within the Daodejing.

The disciples looked at each other, none knowing what to say.

Yu Daochun also sensed something unusual and said to the reading disciple, “Let me see it.”

Now, he was quite curious about what followed. Waiting for someone to recite it felt tedious; it was better to read it himself.

So the disciple hastily presented the “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue.”

Yu Daochun sat upright and began to read.

‘Thus, at the beginning of the first chapter, it should end with the word “Dao,” just as in the chapter “The Dao is empty, yet using it…”‘

Upon reading the next line, Yu Daochun’s pupils constricted.

This sentence still interpreted ‘The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.’

He couldn’t help but murmur softly, “Ending the first chapter with the word ‘Dao’… yes, yes, ending with ‘Dao’ is the essence of the Daodejing…”

The more he read, the deeper Yu Daochun’s frown became. This commentary, compared to others from past dynasties, did not feel deviant. Instead, Yu Daochun felt it merged seamlessly with the scriptures he recited!

This interpretation was remarkably refreshing.