Chapter 36: The Han Clan of Yidu

"Decree to Suppress the Earthly Domain?! What could that mean?"

Du Yuan desperately wanted to study what this truly was. Unfortunately, the sensation of the world spinning around him grew increasingly intense. To avoid collapsing, he stumbled back a few steps and sat down, leaning against the wall. Whether it was from settling down or some other reason, although Du Yuan still felt unwell, the suffocating sensation that he might pass out at any moment had eased. At the very least, his breathing had become much smoother, and his vision began to clear.

He looked toward the broken idol with a mixture of shock and suspicion. Before he could ponder further, he heard voices from outside the temple:

"Second Brother, we've traveled this road a few times now. How come I don't remember there being a temple here?"

"What of it? Do you even know how long this road is? Besides, this temple is so remote, it's perfectly normal that we didn't notice it before."

"Heh, you're right, Second Brother. It's just that I can't help but feel a bit scared. It's dark now, and a dilapidated temple in the middle of the wilderness is truly unsettling."

"Don't be a coward. There are two grown men here. Besides, would you rather sleep out in the wild?"

The two men walked into the ruined temple as they spoke and immediately noticed Du Yuan sitting against the wall.

"Second Brother, look, there's someone here."

The two men glanced at Du Yuan in turn, then both raised their eyebrows. There were no villages or shops for miles, so it wasn't strange to find someone staying here. It was just that this person looked neither like a beggar nor a monk. He looked rather odd.

However, the man leading them didn't overthink it; he simply cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, brother!"

Without waiting for Du Yuan's response, he turned to his companion and said, "See what I told you? There's someone here, so what is there to be afraid of?"

The companion scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. The two did not sit near Du Yuan but found another spot to rest. From their conversation, they planned to sit for a while before finding some firewood for light.

Not long after they sat down, the one who had been more timid suddenly pointed toward the entrance and exclaimed, "Oh! Who are you?"

"What?"

The lead man hurriedly stood up to look. Through the dim twilight, he saw a warrior holding a blade standing at the entrance. The man was tall and imposing with a cold expression, and most strikingly, he wore a long saber at his waist. It was terrifying! Because the stranger remained silent, both men worried they had encountered bandits.

Fortunately, after the warrior scanned the temple, a voice from outside called out:

"What's the situation?"

The warrior immediately turned and said, "Nothing much inside, just two or three travelers resting."

"Wait there."

Before long, Du Yuan heard more noise from outside. This time, there were clearly many people, and most had steady, heavy footsteps. This reminded Du Yuan of the family guards Qian Youcai had brought.

*Are these people from a noble clan again?*

"My Lady, this subordinate is incompetent for miscalculating our schedule. Now, we must ask you to humble yourself by resting in this small temple."

"It is of no consequence; you have never traveled this road before."

The first voice was steady and powerful, clearly that of a man skilled in martial arts. The latter sounded like a noblewoman.

"Thank you for your understanding, My Lady. This subordinate will now drive those travelers away."

Hearing that they intended to chase them out, the two men stood up timidly, preparing to leave on their own. The warrior at the entrance stepped aside, clearly satisfied with the commoners' submissiveness. However, a moment later, he looked with impatience at Du Yuan, who remained seated.

*Is this person deaf? And what is he—a monk or a beggar?*

"Why drive them away? Does the Han clan of Yidu have such a practice?"

"But My Lady, your status is noble; how can you share a space with mere commoners?"

"Silence! All people under heaven are subjects of the Emperor. How can there be a distinction of high or low?"

"This subordinate spoke out of turn! I apologize!"

Despite her words, the two men were clearly eager to leave. The Han clan of Yidu was a famous noble family throughout the province. They not only had a patriarch serving as a Vice Minister in the Secretariat, but also countless descendants holding posts across the land. They were a genuine high-ranking aristocratic family, worlds apart from peasants like them.

"Second Brother, it, it’s the Han clan of Yidu, the ones who produced a Vice Minister in the Secretariat! Let’s go, let’s go quickly!"

They didn't really understand what a Vice Minister of the Secretariat was, knowing of them only because locals often bragged about the area's prominent clans. But they knew it was a position close to the Emperor, and they knew the gap between the nobility and the poor.

"How dare we leave? The noble lady hasn't given the word yet!"

The trembling conversation of the two men reached Du Yuan’s ears, helping him roughly understand the background of these people while making him even more curious about the composition of this dynasty. *How can there be a Nine-Rank System and noble clans coexisting with the Three Departments and Six Ministries and a Cabinet?*

While he was lost in thought, the woman stepped into the temple.

She wore a large silk cloak trimmed with gold, and the golden phoenix hairpin on her cloud-like bun swayed slightly with her steps. The agarwood scent from her clothes overwhelmed the incense burner held by her maid. She was quite beautiful; though she appeared to be in her early thirties, she possessed a charm that a naive young girl lacked.

However, Du Yuan’s attention was not on her beauty, but on the phoenix hairpin. It did not wobble left and right or flutter wildly, but remained perfectly steady, moving only with her steps. Indeed, the netizens were right: apart from adorning the woman’s beauty, the greatest utility of such ornaments was to ensure the wearer did not lose their composure, demonstrating their upbringing.

Having finally seen a proper noblewoman, Du Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly—the period drama creators of his world were truly incompetent. They had the form but not the substance; they were just fooling the audience!

As Du Yuan studied the phoenix hairpin, the woman's phoenix-like eyes scanned the two cowering men before landing on him. A strange look flickered in her gaze. It was not the awe the commoners usually felt toward her, nor the greed seen in the eyes of the so-called minor nobles.

It was...

After frowning at Du Yuan, who remained seated on the ground, she found a precise description for it.

It was a gaze of condescension—a gaze of scrutiny!

The woman was taken aback. She was a noble lady from a prestigious family, and he was nothing but a filthy monk. Even their current positions placed her on higher ground, so why did it feel like this monk was the one scrutinizing and looking down on everything?

*This monk... is not ordinary.*

"Give this master some food. As a renunciant, he does not eat meat, so take my box of pastries and give it to him. The ones the County Lady of Fenyang gave me before our departure."

"And prepare a meal with wine for the other two. You need not be nervous. Once you have arranged the night watch, you may all rest in the temple."

"As you command."

After receiving the order, the warrior waved his hand, and immediately, attendants brought in screens, bedding, and incense burners. Within moments, they had partitioned off a private lodging area for the woman.

Du Yuan received the box of pastries.

"Here you go, great monk. This is a rare delicacy that even we don't usually get to eat!"

Looking at the maid who delivered the pastries, Du Yuan smiled: "This Daoist is not a monk."

This piqued the woman’s curiosity: "Oh? If you are not a monk, are you a Daoist?"

Du Yuan nodded: "Indeed. And, My Lady, since you are borrowing a god's temple for the night, why not offer a stick of incense to the master of the house?"