Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 366 Zhuangzi at the foot of the back mountain
On the mountainside of the back mountain of Hanshan Mountain,
There is a mountain spring with water flowing down. The water flows down to form a small lake at the foot of the back mountain. It is surrounded by fine farmland. Surrounding the lake are various large villages.

Of course, all Zhuangzi here have their own owners.

The Zhuangzi around Hanshan Temple and the land all belong to the Hanshan Temple. The Zhuangzi is full of servants, who farm for the monks to make a living. At first glance, the Zhuangzi is not small. The houses inside are next to each other and full of people. There are naturally many people and servants.

Zhang Jinyu looked at the fields. Many servants were working in the fields, but in the woods on the edge of the fields, the monks sitting on the edge of the field were drinking water and lying there. It was inevitable that they were a little disgusted. The monks were so arrogant now.

Ahead, the soldiers are opening the way,
Soon we arrived at the entrance of Zhuangzi. I wanted to go in and take a look, but as soon as I moved my feet, I heard an arrogant voice asking;

"Any noble person who comes here, please stay. Zhuangzi of Hanshan Temple does not see any visitors."

Zhang Jinyu looked over in search of the voice, and saw a man wearing bright yellow Zen clothes and many monks wearing short robes blocking the middle of the road. They were all strong and strong, holding long sticks, and looked unkind. He looks more arrogant than himself.

"Everyone feels like a human being now. Why, there are still places that I can't enter. That's weird. What does Zhuangzi say?"

When the deacon of Hanshan Temple's Luohan Hall saw the person in front of him claiming to be this lord, his heart skipped a beat, fearing that he was a descendant of an honorable noble. He immediately changed his face and replied with a smile;
"The noble man should calm down. It's because Zhuangzi is dirty inside and he is afraid of staining the noble man's eyes, so he stopped the noble man."

Seeing the monk in front of him open his eyes and tell lies, he whipped it, and then asked the personal guards behind him to pull down all the monks here.
"Yingbyon, let the brothers wake up these blind people,"

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Behind him, a large number of soldiers from the Pioneer Battalion immediately gathered around. The deacon was sweating and said the Buddha's name;

"Amitabha, Lord Marquis, we are monks. Aren't you afraid that Lord Buddha will blame us if we treat you like this?"

Looking at the sweaty monk's face and his sincere expression, Zhang Jinyu was a little amused. Where was the arrogance he had just shown.

"That's right. Buddha really needs to clean up his family. Buddhism is a pure Buddhism. It emphasizes that the four elements are empty and the six roots are pure and inactive. It saves the world. I think he is pretending to be a gangster. Pull him down and beat him hard. "

After saying that, he waved his hands to the soldiers behind him, and the brothers from the vanguard battalion immediately pounced on him. When the monk saw the armored men on the opposite side, he did not dare to move, so he had to capture them without restraint.

Then they were dragged to the side of the road and lined up. They took out whips and started beating them. But the monks were stubborn and remained silent without moving.

Zhang Jinyu ignored him and continued to lead people to Zhuangzi.

This place is just an ordinary village. It must not have been that big before. The outline of the foundation can still be seen on the ground. It must have been expanded later when there were more people.

Many of the servants were wearing patched clothes, their faces full of vicissitudes of life, and the women and children were not dressed decently. They were all working in their own homes. Seeing Zhang Jinyu and the others coming here, they all looked over curiously.

The Xing family lives in a large courtyard at the north end of Zhuangzi. Seeing how old the house is, they must have lived here for many years.

today,

The head of the Xing family, Xing Zhong, went out to work in the fields early. Only his wife, Yu, made a living at home sewing to supplement the family income. The younger daughter had to go up the mountain to talk to Master Miaoyu almost every few days.

in the yard,
Xing Xiuyan's mother, Mrs. Yu, mended a piece of clothing in the yard, folded it and put it away, and then began to collect firewood in the yard, apparently preparing for cooking.

I was about to go to the water tank to get some water to wash vegetables. When I looked up, I saw many noble people gathered outside the door, and my daughter was among them. I was scared, and my hand softened, and the bucket fell to the ground.

"Dear gentlemen, what are you doing? My daughter has offended me a lot. Please forgive us for being a poor family."

Said sincerely,

Mrs. Wang quickly glanced at the yard. It was an ordinary farmer, with almost nothing. She was also wearing a patched skirt. It looked like she had worn it for a long time. The house was also ventilated. She couldn't believe it. This was Mrs. Xing. Where my brother lives, even the servants in the Duke's Mansion have a much better life than them.

Zhang Jinyu looked at it and saw that Xing Xiuyan was not telling lies. He couldn't pretend to be so when he spoke on weekdays.

"Don't be alarmed, is Xing Xiuyan's mother inside?"

"Yes, yes, the commoner woman is Xing Xiuyan's mother, Mrs. Yu. May I ask what your orders are?"

Mrs. Yu hurriedly opened the door and asked with an anxious look on her face.

Zhang Jinyu looked at the woman in front of him, fearful and wary, but she said it differently,
"I dare to ask, this is the home of Mrs. Xing's eldest brother Xing Zhong in Rongguo Mansion."

Mrs. Yu was also confused. What was the Duke's mansion and what was his wife? He was from a small family.

"You are?"

Xing Xiuyan hurried over and pulled the corner of her mother's clothes. The two returned to the yard. Xing Xiuyan whispered;

"Mom, they are high-ranking officials from the capital, and they know my aunt. The Duke's residence is my aunt's husband's family."

When Mrs. Yu heard her daughter's explanation, she understood. Her face, which was still looking better, suddenly turned cold.

"What is the Duke's Mansion? I'm afraid it's not a liar. I've never seen it. Where did it come from?"

"mother"

Mrs. Yu shook off Xing Xiuyan's hand, rushed over angrily, and said;
"I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place. A commoner woman doesn't know any wife from the Duke's mansion. A commoner woman is just a poor person and can't reach any noble person." After saying this, he was about to close the wooden door. How could Zhang Jinyu be willing to stretch out his hand? Stop him and give him good advice;

"Aunt, please don't. It's not a bad thing for me to come here. We have something to discuss, and it's about your daughter and husband."

In desperation, Zhang Jinyu got close to her, and her aunt even shouted out. Mrs. Yu had no choice but to hesitate, but since her husband was not around, she couldn't make the decision, so she still refused.

"Thank you for your kindness. The civilian woman's husband is not here and she doesn't dare to make the decision. You should please come back."

It’s no wonder Mrs. Yu is cautious and has repeatedly pushed back. Her daughter has grown more and more beautiful over the years. Recently, matchmakers from all over the country have stepped on the threshold. However, her husband has always disagreed and said that he would make plans with his sister when he has the opportunity.

Although Mrs. Yu didn't know that sister and had never seen her, her husband couldn't lie to her. He said it very well. She married the Duke of Guo and became the wife of the royal family. She was very rich and noble, but for the sake of her daughter, Mrs. Yu also He didn't meet with the matchmaker in the village again, which caused a lot of sarcastic comments.

When I suddenly heard someone coming from the capital whom I still knew, I felt suddenly and at a loss, so the first thing I thought of was to shirk it.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't, so he used silver to clear the way, took out ten taels of silver ingots from his pocket and handed them over.

"Auntie, I really don't mean any harm. These ten taels of silver are a greeting gift. It's a good idea to say something."

Looking at the white silver, Mrs. Yu had never seen such snow-white silver before. She felt a little moved and reached out to take the silver.
After groping hard, it seemed to be true. I felt happy and opened the door.

"What a rare visitor. I didn't expect to see my sister-in-law's relatives. Is she okay?"

Seeing Yu's face change so quickly, Zhang Jinyu was confused as to whether he was alone or not.

"Well, the eldest wife of Rongguo Mansion is living a good life and is very rich."

"Indeed, I heard that they are all married ladies, not like women of the common people, hey."

Mrs. Yu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. She looked back and saw that there were so many people that there was no room for them to sit in the house. She said with some embarrassment;

"Noble sir, it's really hard for a commoner woman to get along with you. There are so many of you, but a commoner woman can't entertain you. This"

Zhang Jinyu looked into the yard. There was an open-air firewood shed and a stove. The yard was not big. There were three wooden houses in the back, but they were clean and tidy. They must be good at living.

"Auntie, you don't have to be polite. I'm here to discuss livelihood issues with you and Xing Xiuyan's arrangements. No one else is going in."

When she heard that the person in front of her said she couldn't come in, Mrs. Yu felt at ease. After all, the distinguished guest was here, and she didn't have anything to entertain her, so she looked bad.

But I really couldn’t let people talk outside the door, so I gave in.
"Well, Lord Marquis, please come in with the women behind you. The yard is not big, but there are still some stools."

After getting out of the way, Mrs. Yu and Xing Xiuyan moved stools and chairs into the house. Lan Yue'er helped move them over and wiped them with brocade cloth. Mrs. Wang sat down and the others stood.

Zhang Jinyu spoke hurriedly,

"Auntie, there's no need to be busy. I'll leave as soon as I finish speaking."

"Master Hou, please tell me."

Mrs. Yu didn't dare to sit down and stood in the courtyard listening.

"I am here because I want Xing Xiuyan to follow Miaoyu as a maid. When Miaoyu makes up her mind, we can go to the capital together. Of course, aunties, you guys will also go over and help out and be a mother-in-law to protect the hospital. The palace will pay for it with money and so on. , I’m just asking my aunt to help take care of Miaoyu, don’t be careless.”

Zhang Jinyu couldn't explain it clearly, so she clicked it on the spot. Yu was pleasantly surprised that there was such a good thing, serving that girl Miaoyu, having such a good relationship, just staring at her, what does it mean? Miaoyu is a monk, could it be that...
"Master Marquis, I'd like to ask a few more questions. Master Miaoyu is a member of the Buddhist sect, who is the same as you?"

"Ahem, I belong to the Marquis Miaoyu. The capital is far away and I might not be able to take care of him, so I have to keep close friends around me."

Speaking of close friends, Zhang Jinyu looked over at Xing Xiuyan. The little girl was still standing there dumbly, looking over with curiosity in her eyes. Although it was an old and patched skirt, she felt comfortable all over her body, which is rare and valuable. .

It seems like she is Miaoyu's apprentice, she looks a bit similar, so what the hell.

Mrs. Yu was greatly surprised that Master Miaoyu found her husband so quickly. It was a pity that he was a god-like figure and became a monk.

"Yes, Lord Marquis, the commoner's wife has agreed. My daughter can work as a maid for Master Miaoyu. The commoner's wife and Xing Zhong will also help and keep an eye on the Marquis."

"Well, that's it. Find a time to move there. There are still my own soldiers guarding the temple. If you need anything, come to them. As for the money, here it is."

Zhang Jinyu took out a 1000 tael banknote and handed it over. When Yu saw the banknote, she took it with trembling hands.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hou, he's back. When Lao Xing comes back, he will go up the mountain overnight to serve Master Miaoyu. He will never break his promise."

"Okay, then I'll thank my aunt. I won't disturb you anymore and I'll take my leave."

It was inconvenient for Zhang Jinyu to stay longer, so she said goodbye and helped Mrs. Wang out of the yard to leave. As soon as she walked away, Ms. Yu hurriedly took the banknote and looked at it. It was from Sihai Bank. She looked at the ten taels of silver and said fiercely He took a bite in his mouth and it was true. The smile on Yu's face became brighter.
"Daughter, pack up and let's go up the mountain."

(End of this chapter)