Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 405: How to be Clean

Jia Lian was at a loss for the moment and had to send people out to look for him everywhere. He stayed in Zidan Castle for another two days, but when he saw that there was no trace of Baoyu anywhere, he went back to write back to Jia Zheng.

Li Weijian rode back home early in the morning, and Daiyu immediately presented him with a letter from Jinling. Li Weijian only glanced at it and frowned, thinking that his uncle Li Shouzhong was seriously ill!

Daiyu and others tried to comfort him, but Li Weijian sighed and shook his head, saying, "I had expected this. Uncle's health has been getting worse over the years. It's lucky that he could delay until today."

At that moment, he sent someone to Changle Palace to inform his elder brother Li Xinchong, and at the same time he went to the inner court to ask for leave. Now the Prime Minister of the inner court, Prince Zhongyong, was ill, and usually Li Weijian and other assistant ministers were in charge of the inner court affairs, so this leave had to be submitted to the emperor.

After submitting the leave application, Li Weijian received no reply for a while, so he went home and told people to pack their bags. At noon, Li Xinchong returned, looking very unhappy.

After much difficulty, he finally got close to the prince, but his father was seriously ill at this time. If his father died, he might have to mourn for three years. He didn't know if he would have the chance to return to the Zhanshi Mansion in the future. It would be strange if Li Xinchong's face was good. But filial piety was more important than heaven, so Li Xinchong had to suppress his criticism in his heart.

Seeing that Li Weijian could not leave for the time being, Li Xinchong did not want to stay with Li Weijian, so he simply took two servants and returned to Nanjing on a ship the next day.

Another day passed before the emperor approved Li Weijian's request for leave to return to Nanjing to visit the patient. And out of consideration for Li Weijian's kindness, he sent two imperial doctors south to examine Li Shouzhong.

The next day, Li Weijian and his family set off south, leaving only the housekeeper Wu Haiping to take care of the affairs of the Bo Mansion. Let's not talk about them for now.

But that day Baoyu escaped from Zitan Fort with the help of Xiren. The two of them walked north with Cui'er at night. When they could no longer run, the three of them found a cave to hide in.

Xiren waited on Baoyu to sleep, thinking about it in her heart, but the more she thought, the clearer it became. Her mother was dead, her brother and sister-in-law were not tolerant, and she was sent away by Baoyu once. I am afraid that she will not be as good as the big maids like Sheyue when she returns to Rongfu. After two years, she might be married to the boy.

I saved Baoyu today, and seeing that he felt so sorry for me after hearing about my story, why don't I take this opportunity to get close to him? There's no need for anything else, as long as I get pregnant, whether it's a child or a girl, I'll have a foundation for survival in Rongfu.

The more she thought about it, the more right it seemed. Xiren made up her mind. After taking a short nap, she got up and saw Cui'er and Baoyu were sleeping soundly. She gently woke Baoyu up.

"Master Bao, let's go now."

Baoyu said in confusion: "Go? Where to go? I'll go call Cui'er."

Xiren hurriedly stopped him and whispered, "This place is not far from Cui'er's home, she can go back by herself. We should not stay with Cui'er any longer, lest those thieves follow the map to find Cui'er and then reveal our whereabouts."

Baoyu thought about it and it made sense, but he had never been out on his own since he was a child, so he was a little confused and asked, "But where are we going?"

Xiren said, "There is Miyun ahead, and there are markets nearby. I took some gold and silver from Zitan Fort before I left. Let's exchange the silver and hide in a nearby village. After the storm has passed, we can look for the government. Isn't that a good idea?"

Baoyu was surprised and asked, "Why did you let the news spread?"

Xiren threatened, "Master Bao, you don't know that Jiang Yuhan is known as a chivalrous man. Besides the thieves, there are also many government officials who come and go. We are unfamiliar with the place. If we rashly report to the authorities, the thieves may find out where we are.

If I hide for a long time, Jiang Yuhan and those villains will be worried and might take the money and run away. Only now can I return to the capital."

Baoyu thought about it for a while, clasped his hands and praised: "It is said that you are very careful and prudent. Now it seems that you are comparable to Zhuge Liang in the modern era. Let's deal with it like this."

The two of them got up, left Cui'er behind and headed north. At daybreak, they were indeed near Miyun. It was also a coincidence that the market was open that day. Xiren exchanged some silver and bought ordinary clothes for the two of them. After a brief inspection, she led Baoyu to the northwest.

By evening, the two men could no longer walk, and suddenly they heard the faint sound of a bell. They followed the sound and found a temple in the mountains.

Baoyu looked around and saw the three characters "Zhitong Temple" written on the plaque. This Buddhist temple only had two entrances and a small front, but he could still hear the sound of Buddhist chanting from inside.

The two men went forward and knocked on the door, and soon a young monk opened it.

Baoyu said, "Young Master, we are in trouble. We would like to stay in your temple for a while. We would like to offer incense and oil to worship the Buddha."

The young monk was very surprised and said, "Zhitong Temple is remote and few people come to worship Buddha. Please wait a moment, I will go and tell the master."

After a while, the young monk came with an old monk. Although Baoyu did not like the Four Books and Five Classics, he was quite interested in miscellaneous books and Buddhist and Taoist teachings. After a conversation with the old monk, the old monk smiled and said, "Young master, you are very intelligent. Since you are in trouble, you might as well stay in my humble temple for the time being."

Xiren presented another two taels of silver, which the old monk refused at first but then accepted with a smile. The two of them stayed in Zhitong Temple from then on.

A few days passed in a flash. One day, Xiren said she wanted to go down the mountain to sweep the place. Baoyu wanted to go with her, but Xiren stopped him and said, "Second Master, you can't run as fast as I do. What if you run into those thieves?"

Baoyu immediately laughed and said, "Sure enough, a scholar is useless." After a pause, he said, "Yes, I am not even a scholar, I am just a parasite."

Xiren smiled, picked up her bag and went down the mountain to search. In the afternoon, Xiren returned in a hurry with a pale face. When she entered the room, she said to Baoyu: "Second Master, I just saw the thief searching everywhere in the market. I saw that the situation was not good and hurried back."

Baoyu panicked and said, "What should we do? This place may not be safe. Let's run for our lives!"

Xiren said hurriedly, "I took a detour back, but I didn't see anyone following me. Besides, this place is remote, and I don't think they will find us in a short time. We'd better stay here for a while."

Baoyu was at a loss in panic, so he just followed Xiren's advice. That night, Xiren pretended to have a nightmare and rolled around on the other side of the kang, talking nonsense. Baoyu was awakened and hurried over to check.

When Xiren was woken up, she saw that it was Baoyu and immediately cried and threw herself into his arms: "Wuwu, Second Master, I just dreamed that a thief came to me and chopped me with a knife. I was protecting Second Master and the knife pierced my chest, wuwuwu..."

Baoyu hurriedly said, "Dreams are always the opposite of what they actually are. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. The thief can't find you."

The two of them hugged each other for a long time. When Xiren stopped crying, they looked into each other's eyes. Baoyu suddenly had an idea. Just as he was about to bend down, he saw Xiren turn her head and said, "Oh no, I have been given to Jiang Yuhan by the Second Master. I am no longer clean."

Baoyu said, "You are very clear-minded and saved my life, so how can you be unclean?"

After some persuasion, the two of them succeeded in getting married. When the matter was settled, Baoyu thought to himself that although Xiren had many thoughts, she was sincere to him, so it would be better to keep her by his side in the future. …………………………………………………………

Guazhou Ferry.

It was already April, and the weather in the south of the Yangtze River was gradually getting hotter. In the inn, the sound of retching could be heard faintly, and then Zijuan came out with an enamel tray.

Li Weijian ran into him and asked hurriedly, "How is my sister?"

Zijuan smiled and said, "The young lady has some morning sickness, Fourth Master, don't worry. The doctor just said that it will be fine after this month."

Li Weijian frowned and said, "It has to be this time. I should have let you stay in the capital."

As they were talking, Daiyu, who had just rinsed her mouth, had heard what Li Weijian had said in the morning. When she saw him come in, she said, "My uncle is not feeling well, maybe... when my fourth brother reports his mourning period, maybe I will have to go to Jinling with him, but I'm afraid it will be even more inconvenient then."

Li Weijian thought about it and agreed, so he sat down and said, "If my sister can't bear it, just rest for two days at Guazhou Ferry. There's no need to rush."

Daiyu shook her head and said no.

Li Weijian continued, "Yes, Baoqin just came back and bought some bayberries. I sent someone to kill them with salt water and remove the worms before giving them to my sister to eat."

Daiyu's mouth immediately began to drool. She laughed and said, "How strange! I am not usually a greedy person, but now my mouth is drooling when I hear about bayberry."

Xueyan smiled and said, "Miss, this is what the young master wants to eat. It is said that sour boys are spicy girls. This time, the young lady will definitely give birth to a young master."

Li Weijian was afraid that Daiyu would feel psychologically burdened, so he said, "It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl. As long as it's born by my sister, I'll treasure it."

As they were talking, Zijuan passed on a message from outside: "Aunt Xing is here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xing Xiuyan came in with a frown on her face. After greeting, she said to Li Weijian, "Master, Madam, I was just shopping in the market when I saw Miaoyu."

"Miaoyu?" Li Weijian and Daiyu looked at each other and said, "I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence."

Xing Xiuyan still frowned and said, "It's just that Miaoyu was surrounded by several monks. Miaoyu kept shouting and was soon swept away by the monks. Master, Miaoyu is both my teacher and friend. Although she is aloof, she has done me a favor. I know that Master doesn't like Miaoyu, but please save her for my sake!"

Li Weijian glanced at Daiyu, stood up and nodded, saying: "Although I don't like Miaoyu's personality, I don't want to see her fall into the hands of thieves. Don't worry, I will go and rescue her right away."

He stood up and walked out, feeling extremely puzzled as to how Miaoyu ended up at Guazhou Ferry.

He didn't know that Miaoyu had left Jia's house and went to Suzhou first. Because her parents were dead, the family property was divided up by the side branches of the Chang family. Miaoyu had nowhere to stay. Suddenly she remembered that her uncle was in Changshu, so she led two maids to Changshu.

They went straight to Changshu, found their uncle, and stayed in a nunnery. There were a few nuns in the nunnery. Suddenly, they heard that a beautiful sister had arrived, so they all went to greet her with a smile. However, Miaoyu was aloof and arrogant, and ordinary people looked down on her. She treated them coldly, which made the nuns angry and unwilling to pay attention to her.

Sometimes, the ladies of the wealthy families in the area would come to the nunnery to worship the gods. When they heard that a rich lady with extraordinary temperament had come to the nunnery to practice Buddhism, they all came to visit her, but she sneered at them and refused to meet them. She was annoyed for a while and ordered them to leave. From then on, the wives of the local officials thought she was too noble and stopped visiting her.

Many local young men heard about Miaoyu's stunning appearance and elegant demeanor, and came to see her, but were persuaded to go back by the old nun. When the young men had free time, they gathered together to drink and have fun, and they all spread the word about Miaoyu's demeanor, discussed her background and appearance, and were all envious.

There is a young man here named Chen Yejun. He has a wealthy family and his relatives and friends are all officials. He has outstanding character and good morals. He is not like those vulgar and reckless playboys. His literary talent is also first-class. Many young ladies of officials want to marry him, but unfortunately he is too proud and has not taken a fancy to any of them yet.

Suddenly, she heard that Miaoyu was in the nunnery, so she picked up her pen and wrote three poems, and sent a servant to deliver them to the nunnery. The old nun was reluctant to keep the poems, and seeing that Miaoyu was old and still had her hair untied, it was obvious that she had not yet finished her earthly ties, so she lied and said that the poems were hers and gave them to Miaoyu for her to examine.

Miaoyu read it and immediately praised it, "It is indeed a good poem, a truly excellent work. Is this poem really written by Master Uncle?"

The old nun said, "I don't know how to do anything. This is a piece of work specially made by the most famous playboy in the area for the young lady to see."

Miaoyu's face changed immediately. She suddenly remembered that she was now living under someone else's roof and it was not easy for her to get angry, so she just sent the old nun away and told her not to bring any poems from outside to her in the future.

Just as she was about to lie down, a man suddenly came in and bowed from a distance, saying, "I have come to ask Miss for advice on how to write poetry and prose."

Miaoyu stood up and saw that he was a handsome young man, no worse than Baoyu. Thinking of Baoyu, Miaoyu suddenly felt heartbroken and immediately scolded him with a fierce face, "It's really rude to enter the women's hall without permission. Don't make such a fuss."

Just as Chen Yejun was about to say something, he was pushed out by the old nun.

Chen Yejun fell in love with Miaoyu when he returned home, and arranged to marry her in a sedan chair carried by eight men. But another playboy in Changshu Prefecture also liked Miaoyu and wanted to marry her, which caused rumors.

When Miaoyu learned about this, she hurriedly said goodbye to the old nun, took her belongings and hurriedly left the place to escape the love affair. At that moment, she remembered her other sister and disciple who had a master in Guazhou, so she went to Guazhou several days later.

Who knew that there was a Red Lotus Temple near Guazhou Ferry? The monks in the temple were all lewd and perverted. They would kidnap or drug girls while they were staying overnight to bring many pretty girls to the temple for the monks and pilgrims to enjoy.

As soon as Miaoyu arrived at Guazhou Ferry, she was spotted by an old monk. That day, Miaoyu led two maids to the market to buy something, and suddenly she was surrounded by a 67-year-old old monk with cloudy eyes and rough skin and flesh, led by four or five strong disciples.

The two started quarreling, and Miaoyu said angrily, "You have committed a great sin by robbing a good girl in broad daylight. If the Buddha knows about this, he will punish you and you will never be reborn. You will be reborn as pigs and dogs in the future."

The old monk stared at Miaoyu and chanted the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, don't listen to her instigation, she stole the relics from our temple, we are only here to ask for them, not to rob a good girl."

The two sides argued and argued endlessly, and when a group of monks surrounded them and were about to start violence, Miaoyu's maid suddenly had an idea and threw the copper coins in her purse all over the place, then took Miaoyu and ran away.

(End of this chapter)