CHAPTER 386: CHAPTER 354: PRACTICING BUDDHISM WITHOUT SHAVING ONE’S HEAD (SECOND UPDATE)

The Su Family has been very lively recently, as Su Yaoqi’s marriage has become everyone’s top priority. Not just Duke Su and the Duchess, but even his three older brothers and married sisters have shown great concern.

The Duchess noticed that recently there have been many unfamiliar faces at the capital’s noblewomen’s banquets, and several young ladies made a good first impression.

After returning home, the Duchess shared the information she gathered with Su Yaoqi.

Su Yaoqi showed no reaction.

The Duchess asked him, "Yaoqi, your mother has been talking for so long, don’t you have any response?"

Su Yaoqi, caught off guard, reluctantly spoke, "Mother, I don’t want to get married."

"Why?" The Duchess frowned, "Are you still thinking about that Mrs. Wen?"

Su Yaoqi clarified that it had nothing to do with Miss Song; he had just figured out many things recently.

Upon hearing this, the Duchess became anxious, "You’re already nineteen, you need to get married and have children!"

"But getting married and having children doesn’t make me happy." Su Yaoqi shook his head, his clear eyes serious, "Living comfortably is what life is about. Otherwise, it’s just living for the sake of existence. From childhood to adulthood, all my affairs have been arranged by my parents. This time, can I follow my own wishes?"

"Yaoqi, don’t be foolish." Although the Duchess was usually not clueless, she already sensed the tone of detachment in her son’s voice, so she dared neither to panic nor mess things up, but cautiously tried to persuade him.

"Mother, let me become a monk." Su Yaoqi finally spoke, breaking through the last barrier.

"Yaoqi!" The Duchess’s eyes reddened instantly, "Do you know what you’re saying?"

"I do. All along, my parents have wanted the best for me. For the past nineteen years, I’ve been happy to receive pure love from them amidst their busy dealings. Now that I’ve grown up and have my own thoughts, I hope my mother can allow it."

"I disagree!" The Duchess cried, "Your father has raised you with great effort, not to send you to the monastery."

"But Father’s original intention was for me to always have a pure heart, wasn’t it?" Su Yaoqi’s face was composed, "To say something disrespectful, sometimes Father’s means are not so noble, but the fact that he can maintain some goodness among many evils indicates he isn’t entirely bad. I think Father put so much effort into me perhaps as spiritual solace. If my existence can keep Father’s goodness alive, I’m willing to always be a nineteen-year-old Su Yaoqi."

"But how can your mother bear to let you leave?" The Duchess wept bitterly, "You’re a part of your mother; how can you easily decide to become a monk? Yaoqi, Little Four, you’re your mother’s cherished child!"

Su Yaoqi looked at the quiet sky outside the window, "Maybe my parents can’t accept it right away, but to me, the Buddhist order is where my pure heart can continue."

The Duchess wanted to say more, but suddenly, Duke Su’s voice came from outside, "I don’t oppose you becoming a monk, but you must promise your father not to shave your head, maintain your hair while practicing."

Having heard what had been said earlier, Su Yaoqi nodded in agreement.

"Dear," the Duchess looked up, incredulous, "How can you agree to Yaoqi joining the Buddhist order?"

Duke Su didn’t answer but asked, "What can be done if we don’t agree? Do you want to tie him up at home to get married?"

The Duchess was speechless.

Looking at Su Yaoqi, Duke Su sighed deeply, realizing that for the past nineteen years, he has raised his youngest son almost like a Buddhist disciple.

"But I can’t bear to let my son go." The Duchess cried uncontrollably.

"I’ve already said he will keep his hair, and occasionally he can still come back and visit."

"If he’s practicing while keeping his hair, why can’t he stay home?"

The thought of her son’s detachment cut the Duchess to the core.

Duke Su responded, "Stay home? Will you join him in practicing?"

The Duchess had no answer.

Throughout, Duke Su had always been in Su Yaoqi’s mind as a hot-tempered ’grumpy old man’ who would angrily scold whenever things didn’t go his way.

Last time, when he mentioned he had someone in mind, his father flew into a rage that Su Yaoqi still vividly remembered.

Unexpectedly, this time, when he suggested joining the monastery, his father readily agreed.

Feeling grateful, Su Yaoqi stepped forward a few paces and knelt before his parents, bowing deeply three times, "Father, Mother, forgive my unfilial behavior, for I can no longer serve you closely. But should opportunities arise, I will do my best to visit you."

Duke Su only uttered a single "Hm," his tone deliberately restrained, filled with depth and pain.

After Su Yaoqi returned to his room, the Duchess began to complain to Duke Su.

Finding it tiresome to listen, Duke Su revealed the truth, "While I was out today, I encountered Master Xu Yun from Fahua Temple, who was preaching in the palace. I asked him to divine for Little Four, and the master said Little Four is a child with spiritual insight."

The Duchess was perplexed, "What else did the master say?"

"The master didn’t say it explicitly, but I understood. If Little Four stays at home, the disasters will only increase in the future. From the initial kidnapping, injury, and even the later disfigurement, you’ve seen it. There are countless people who want to deal with me, and they will only target Little Four. Rather than spending our lives worrying for him, it’s better to entrust him to the Buddhist sect. I will go discuss with Master Xu Yun, hoping he will take good care of Little Four at the monastery."

Upon hearing the man’s words, it became a settled matter that Little Four would join the monastery. The Duchess couldn’t accept it and fainted, her legs weak and her vision going black.

——

Su Yaoqi wanted to join the monastery, causing a stir within the Su Family. His three brothers were strongly opposed, unanimously disagreeing with their youngest brother facing such an outcome at a young age.

His sisters also rushed back from their marital homes to persuade him, but none could make Duke Su retract his decision.

When Su Yu found out, she felt anxious and glanced at Hao Yun, showing some concern on her face, "Do you think Little Four knows the fire was set by us, but he doesn’t want to say and thus volunteered to join the monastery?"

A woman during pregnancy inevitably feels more sensitive.

Hao Yun did not agree, "Little Four clearly proposed joining the monastery after returning from playing with the Song family. If we’re talking about reasons, it must have been something Song Wei told him."

Su Yu understood. To clear themselves, they had to let this matter be associated with Song Wei, regardless of whether it truly was related to him or not.

Thinking of this, Su Yu smiled, "Little Four was once deeply committed to Miss Song. It’s not unprecedented for a young man to renounce the world for the woman he admires. If Father knew, imagine how much he’d resent Song Wei."

"However, for now, the more important thing is for you to take good care of yourself during pregnancy." Hao Yun’s gaze fell on Su Yu’s growing belly, "After all, this is our first child."

Though the child will carry the surname Su, not Hao.

Su Yu gently touched her abdomen, and her usually cold and sinister eyes showed rare warmth.

A person about to become a mother experiences a change in outlook.

"What do you think, husband, will it be a boy or a girl?"

Hao Yun retorted, "Does it make any difference?"

Su Yu was startled for a moment, then sighed, "You’re right."

Hao Yun was a son-in-law who married into her family. The child would belong to the Su family, and she wasn’t under a mother-in-law’s control. The Su family wasn’t lacking in sons, so it seemed there wasn’t much difference whether the child was a boy or a girl.

Thinking of this, Su Yu didn’t know whether to feel comforted or saddened for the upcoming child.

...

Family members—cousins, siblings, even sisters, all aimed to persuade, yet none could sway Su Yaoqi from his decision to join the monastery.

When Hao Yun arrived, Su Yaoqi was packing his clothes. A monk needs nothing else to bring along.

Duke Su had already personally visited the Fahua Temple and arranged with Master Xu Yun for Su Yaoqi to become a disciple after joining the temple.

Seeing his brother-in-law, Su Yaoqi greeted him casually.

Hao Yun leaned against the doorframe, looking at him with a half-smile, "Has Little Four truly seen through the world?"

Su Yaoqi simply smiled without speaking. Perhaps he hadn’t renounced the world but rather had never entered it.

Noting his silence, Hao Yun wasn’t upset, "I heard you went out to play with Song Wei and them a few days ago."

"Do you have something to say, brother-in-law? The carriage is waiting outside, and I’m pressed for time."

"I want to know, what exactly did that married couple say to you?"

Having once experienced Song Wei’s eloquence, Hao Yun knew Little Four’s pure nature might have been swayed by that couple.

Su Yaoqi replied earnestly, "Mr. Song said he hopes I’ll never change my original intention."

"So just because of that, you chose to join the monastery?"

"Please, brother-in-law, be cautious with words." Su Yaoqi weighed the bundle in his hand and then strapped it over his shoulder, walking towards him, "I’m joining the monastery merely to follow my heart, unrelated to anyone else."

"But clearly, you haven’t let go of everything." Hao Yun couldn’t believe someone born into wealth and privilege could easily forsake worldly joys.

In that moment, he felt envious of Su Yaoqi. Despite having a good upbringing, he chose not to enjoy the luxury and instead to join the monastery?

"You’re not me, so how can you say I haven’t let go?"

Su Yaoqi didn’t wish to elaborate further and stepped out of his courtyard.