Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 406: How Can You Be Clean If You Want to Be Clean (Continued)
Miaoyu and her two maids took advantage of the crowd and squeezed into the crowd and disappeared.

The old monk shouted angrily: "Don't let her run away, disciples, hurry up and catch her!"

The monks hurried to chase him. Miaoyu and the maidservant were sweating profusely, and they quickly hid in the depths of the alley. When they poked their heads out and saw that no one was chasing them, they all breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The thief didn't catch up with us, let's go back to the nunnery."

The three of them hurriedly took a detour to the east.

On the other side, the monks searched all the alleys, but did not see Miaoyu and the two maids. They hurried back to the temple and reported to the old monk, "Master, I have been looking for a long time but couldn't find anyone, so I had to come back."

The old monk said, "Sit down and have some tea first, and then we can discuss it."

So the monks wiped their sweat, served tea and sat down. One monk said, "After what happened to Miaoyu, I'm afraid she may not dare to leave the nunnery again. If time goes on, she might run away."

The old monk thought, "This month Mr. Zhang came to our temple to spend the night with Yan'er. I charged him fifty taels of silver, but he thought it was too much, saying that there are not many good-looking people here. He also said that he had already set his eyes on a woman, Miaoyu, who was a nun with hair uncut. She was very charming and beautiful, like a fairy, and it was hard to find such a woman in the world. He was so obsessed with her that he lost his appetite and fell in love with her. Today, I met this woman, and she is really as beautiful as a fairy. I am also out of my mind."

After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh.

The monks said, "Master, just catch her again and let him play with her for a few days, and then let him spend a few nights with us disciples. Such a top-quality treasure is hard to come by, so we disciples should have a taste of her."

The old monk shook his head and said, "I don't know the rules. Since Master has chosen it, I will keep it for Master alone. I'd better give up the idea. I will have to rely on it as a treasure pot and a money tree in the future."

All the disciples said, "Master is already old, but he still wants to monopolize such a beautiful girl and not let us disciples get involved. It's okay for us, but I'm afraid they won't be happy when they come back."

The old monk said, "What can they do when they come back? They still have to obey the master. Let's send a few more people to her nunnery tonight and capture her. Let's see if she has any good-looking girls and capture them all. We always have the same few girls here, and business is slow."

Suddenly someone pushed the door open and said, "The old bald donkey is staying in the meditation room. I'm not satisfied with this guy, change him to a better one!"

After saying that, he pushed a woman into the room.

The woman bared her chest and said, "Master has changed his mind and will no longer care about Yan'er."

A merchant with a puffed-out chest came in, pushed Yan'er with his hand and said, "I can't even see you're disgusted, how can you still have the mind to play that? If there's nothing good here, I'll go to Hongxiangyuan to find it. It's really disappointing to come here and find nothing to spoil your mood!"

The old monk smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. Just make do with it for now. In two days, we will have a new lady in our temple. She is prettier than Chang'e in the Moon Palace. I guarantee you will be satisfied."

The merchant said, "Old bald donkey, don't tell me you are lying, I will come back in a few days."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The old monk angrily scolded: "You are an ungrateful old fellow. You have a big appetite. No matter how good the food is, you will throw it away in just two or three days."

So he discussed with his disciples about going to the nunnery to arrest people at night, and they muttered to each other for a long time.

Meanwhile, Miaoyu and her maid fled back to the nunnery, but an old nun had already met them. She closed the door and was still trembling with fear, thinking to herself, "We can't stay here any longer. Let's leave and go somewhere else tomorrow."

He recited the Zen Daily Chant. After dinner, he lit incense and worshipped the Buddha, and then told the nun to go and rest. He drew the curtain, sat cross-legged on the Zen bed, closed his eyes and breathed in and out, and fell asleep in a trance.

Suddenly in the dream, she saw a sedan chair carried by eight people coming to pick her up. Miaoyu was wearing a bright red phoenix coronet and bridal robe. She bowed to heaven and earth. The man in the bridal chamber lifted up her veil. Miaoyu looked up and saw that the man looked like Baoyu at one moment and Chen Yejun at another.

The groom was about to force himself on her, but Miaoyu's ears were hot and her heart was beating fast, and she was at a loss for words. Suddenly, she saw the man's face turned into the old monk in the daytime. Miaoyu woke up with a startled cry, and then she realized it was just a dream.

Miaoyu was stunned for a while, and then she burst into tears. She couldn't help thinking to herself, if she had known that the outside world was so dangerous, she would have stayed in the Jia family. After all, Baoyu was better than the old monk.

While she was thinking, she suddenly heard a sound outside the window and felt a fragrance coming in. Her hands and feet became numb and she could not move. She could not speak and became even more anxious. Then she saw several monks coming in with bags. At this time, Miaoyu understood what was going on, but she could not move. The monk picked up Miaoyu and put her in the bag. Then he went to the wall behind the garden, built a ladder, climbed up the wall, and jumped out. He left two others to go to the Zen room next door to catch the two maids.

There was a nun in the nunnery. She suddenly heard a noise in the quiet room in front. It was already the end of the Yin hour. Thinking of getting up early to make tea for her master, she got up and went to the front to look around. Suddenly she saw that the door of the quiet room where Miaoyu was was wide open. There was no one inside. The meditation rooms on both sides were also open, and there was no trace of the two maids.

The nun started to scream. A young nun came and looked around. She found the ladder on the wall and shouted, "Could it be that the thieves have caught him?"

............................................................

At the beginning of the morning, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Zijuan asked "who?" and the person outside answered, "Miss Zijuan, it's me. Something has changed with what the master asked me to do!"

Zijuan put on her clothes and hurried to open the door. Seeing that it was Ding Rusong, she whispered, "The master hasn't gotten up yet."

Ding Rusong lowered his voice and immediately told the story of the nunnery. Yesterday, Li Weijian had ordered the Ding brothers to search the nunnery. Because it was getting late, they left someone outside to watch over it. Unexpectedly, they saw several monks climbing over the wall with a ladder at night and kidnapping Miaoyu and two maids.

Seeing that the monks had returned to Honglian Temple, Ding Rushong hurried back to report the news.

Zijuan frowned upon hearing this and said, "How dare that thief Baldy be so bold! Wait a moment, I will go and inform the master."

As they were talking, they hurried into the inner room and saw Li Weijian sleeping soundly with Daiyu in his arms. Zijuan went forward and gently pushed him, and Li Weijian woke up. Zijuan hurriedly told him what she had just heard.

Li Weijian nodded, stood up and put on his clothes. When he saw Daiyu waking up, he said, "Miaoyu has been kidnapped by a monk. I will go and deal with her," and then he strode out.

"Master." Ding Rushong followed Li Weijian out.

Li Weijian asked, "How far is Honglian Temple from Guazhou Ferry?"

"It's only three or four miles, and we can get there in a moment on horseback."

Li Weijian was surprised and asked, "Where do these monks get the courage?"

Ding Rusong said, "It's just collusion between the upper and lower levels. I guess the monks from the Red Lotus Temple kidnapped women for their own pleasure and also went around soliciting customers. I'm afraid they even have to share some of the money they earned with the local officials."

Li Weijian paused and said, "If that's the case, it's not a good idea to disturb the place... they are really a nest of snakes and rats."

Ding Rusong said, "Since you can't bear to see this, just kill them all." Li Weijian thought for a moment and said, "Let's go over and take a look first."

He then led seven or eight guards, with Ding Rushong as the guide, and the group rode on horseback. In less than a moment, they arrived outside the Honglian Temple.

Catching a glimpse of a group of people waiting, Ding Rufeng, who had been waiting, hurried over to greet them.

After everyone discussed it for a while, Li Weijian waved his hand, and the guards gathered around. Some of the more agile ones threw their flying claws up, climbed up the wall and landed inside the temple, unbolted the door and opened it. More than 20 people entered in silence, heading for the back hall with candlelight.

Miaoyu and the two maids were captured and brought to the temple. The old monk ordered his men to untie the ropes and release the three from the bag.

When Miaoyu and the maid saw seven or eight monks and an old monk standing in the room, who was the strong man they had seen during the day, they were so frightened that they were stunned and cursed, "Don't do this evil villain! The gods and heavens will not be able to kill you evil disciples!"

The old monk laughed and said, "You are still stubborn even at this time. Take you to the meditation room and let me teach you a lesson. If you don't obey, I will spank you."

Two disciples carried Miaoyu to the inner room, while six other monks laughed and tore the clothes of the two maids. The old monk threw Miaoyu onto the meditation bed and tried to insult her with a smile. Poor Miaoyu cursed and could not move.

The old monk had just torn Miaoyu's clothes off, pried open her teeth and fed her a pill. He was about to untie his own clothes when he heard a disciple outside shouting, "Who are you?"

boom--

There was a loud bang, followed by screams. The old monk was startled and did not even bother to pick up his clothes, but ran out to see what was going on.

Then he saw a group of people rushing in from the back hall. The leader was wearing a green shirt and a net scarf on his head, and the musket in his hand was emitting green smoke. The remaining dozen people swung their swords and hacked at random, knocking seven or eight disciples to the ground in the blink of an eye.

The old monk trembled and said, "You, what are you going to do! You are recklessly using weapons in front of the Buddha. Aren't you afraid of the consequences?"

Li Weijian tilted his head to glance at the old monk, then raised his hand and fired two shots.

bang bang-

The old monk was shot in the legs and fell to the ground screaming. Li Weijian walked forward and said, "A good temple has been turned into a place of filth and dirt. How dare you mention Buddha?"

The old monk was so frightened that he dared not refute. He only begged, "Please let me go, sir. There is still 6,000 taels of silver in the temple. I know where it is hidden. If you are willing to let me go, I will give it to you in full."

As soon as the words fell, not only Li Weijian, but even Ding Rufeng, who had just found a suitable person, laughed and said to everyone, "I'm afraid this thief bald man doesn't know who our master is."

Li Weijian glanced at the old monk and said nothing. He stood with his hands behind his back and waited for a while. Several monks were killed and the back hall was immediately covered with blood. The two maids could not move at this time. They cried naked but did not dare to speak loudly for fear of provoking these killers.

Li Weijian saw this and gave Ding Rufeng a look, who then took off some monk's robes and covered the two maids with them. When the two maids saw this, one of them, who was brave enough, hurriedly said, "Gentlemen, my daughter is still in the inner room. Please help her."

After some begging, no one moved. Suddenly, Ding Rusong came running from behind, entered the room and said, "I searched for a while and finally found a secret passage in the back room. There are about ten girls locked up down there. Some new girls said that they were raped as soon as they came in, and those who were disobedient were beaten or scolded. They could only serve customers obediently after a few days. If they got sick, they were buried in the back mountain without any medical treatment. The girls said that at least seven or eight girls were buried in the back mountain in the past six months."

Li Weijian sighed, looked at the old monk and said, "It would be fine if you wanted to be a kidnapper or a brothel owner, but you are so evil. How can I forgive you?"

Seeing that money could not move the crowd, the old monk hurriedly said, "The Yangzhou Tongpan and the old monk—"

boom--

The revolver was emitting green smoke, and the old monk was hit between the eyebrows. His body fell backwards and he died.

Li Weijian put his gun back into the holster, reached out and called Ding Rusong over, and ordered him: "You go to Yangzhou Prefecture immediately, bring my name card, and say that my concubine was abducted by a group of lewd monks. I came to your house, but these evil monks refused to confess and even resisted with weapons. Remember this!"

Ding Rusong said, "Remember this. I'll go right away."

Ding Rushong hurried out to report to the authorities in Yangzhou. The people below were very smart and found swords and knives and put them in the hands of the dead bodies.

Suddenly, there was a charming sound coming from the inner room. Li Weijian stepped over the old monk's body and entered. He saw Miaoyu's clothes half-undressed under the gauze curtain, and her body was twisting and turning like a maggot.

When Li Weijian came near, Miaoyu was burning with desire, but there was still a trace of clarity in her mind. Seeing that it was Li Weijian, she was surprised and secretly relieved, thinking that she was saved this time. Then she felt shy. How could she be innocent if she was seen naked like this?
A wave of lustful thoughts came to her mind again, and she wished that Li Weijian would rush over to her and make things happen for her. Last night's dream flashed before her eyes again, but the groom's face was no longer Baoyu, Chen Yejun, or the old monk, but Li Weijian.

Just thinking about this, Miaoyu felt as if she was intoxicated. Suddenly, her body trembled, her cherry lips slightly parted, and she let out a sweet hum, full of emotions and inexpressible love and grievances.

Li Weijian frowned slightly, sighed, covered him with the quilt, turned around and walked two steps, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to say, "How can you be clean if you want to be clean?"

Li Weijian left. Lying on the bed, Miaoyu felt as if struck by lightning. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she became lustful again. She felt that the feeling she had just experienced was so heartbreaking that she thought she had lived in vain for the past twenty years.

Li Weijian waited in the back hall, and after about two hours, the Yangzhou prefect, the prosecutor, and others all arrived. Not to mention that Li Weijian was a super-class earl, even the title of the assistant minister of the inner court was not someone Yangzhou could afford to provoke.

The prefect knew that the magistrate would go to the Red Lotus Temple to burn incense from time to time, so he scolded the magistrate. It would be fine if he harmed an ordinary girl, but he was so blind that he actually set his sights on Li Caishen! This is really a birthday star hanging himself - he is too proud to live!

As soon as they entered the palace, the prefect complained repeatedly, and the prosecutor was even more trembling. Li Weijian was a good talker, and he knew that the county magistrate was better off handling the matter, so he just explained the reasons, and the prefect said, "What did you do wrong? This kind of thief must be executed as soon as possible."

Li Weijian said, "It's just that I have to go back to Nanjing this time. My uncle is seriously ill, so I'm afraid I can't delay."

The prefect was still thinking, but the prosecutor was clear-headed and said hurriedly, "If you trust me, just leave this matter to me."

Li Weijian agreed and said with a smile, "That's perfect."

Without going into how the prefect and the prosecutor made the Honglian Temple case an ironclad case, it is said that Xing Xiuyan received the message and took two maids in a carriage to the Honglian Temple.

When they entered the back hall, they smelled a pungent smell of blood. When they entered the inner room, they saw Miaoyu's condition. Xing Xiuyan felt mixed emotions, but she didn't show it on her face. She went forward to help Miaoyu put on her clothes.

Miaoyu's drug effect had mostly worn off by now, and although her body was numb, she could still move a little. As she stood up, she threw herself into Xing Xiuyan's arms and said, "I, I am no longer innocent, wuwuwu——"

(End of this chapter)