Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 140 Someone from the Palace, the Emperor's Order

Faced with Miaoyu's tone and expression as if asking for help, Hui Chen remained silent in embarrassment.

Hui Chen would not dare to offend a close relative like Yuan Qingsang.

After a moment of silence, Hui Chen said awkwardly, "Now that things have come to this, I have no good way to deal with it. The only thing I can do is to take you to see him and see what his intentions are. If he really has evil thoughts about you, we can think of a way. He won't kidnap you today."

Miaoyu subconsciously said: "How can the host be like this? I don't want to meet such a person!"

Hui Chen became more and more embarrassed, and his tone was begging: "I know this is not right, but if you avoid him today, he will be furious and force you to see him, and you will have no way to avoid him. He will also abolish my position as abbot and take away my certificate of ordination."

Miaoyu looked worried and hesitant.

She knew Hui Chen was right and she had no choice but to meet that domineering grandfather.

She respected and was grateful to Hui Chen, and believed that she was the one who caused today's disaster, and did not want to implicate Hui Chen.

Thinking of this, Miaoyu sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it! I will go with the abbot to see him and see what he wants! If he really has evil thoughts about me and forces me to do it, the worst that can happen is that I will die!"

Hui Chen sighed, "Alas, your master left a last word before his death, saying that you should not return home, but stay here quietly, and there will be consequences for you in the future. That's why you haven't returned home yet."

"Your master is very good at performing innate divine numbers. You and I both expected that the result she predicted would be good. But we didn't expect that we would suddenly encounter such a disaster today. Could it be that the result your master predicted would be bad?"

Miaoyu lowered her head in silence.

"I know you have a noble character, but the person you are going to meet now is a noble and tyrannical duke, who may have evil thoughts about you."

"You must remember to lower your attitude and don't show your superiority, which will make him angry. Suffer some grievances and lower your attitude. Even if he has evil thoughts about you, we can beg him sincerely, and perhaps he will let it go and stop harassing you."

"..."

Hui Chen gave Miaoyu some earnest advice before leading her from the backyard to the front yard.

……

……

Less than a quarter of an hour after Hui Chen left, Yuan Qingsang was already extremely impatient. He led several servants and attempted to break into the backyard, but was stopped by two nuns.

As Hui Chen and Miao Yu walked out of the backyard, they happened to see Yuan Qingsang and several of his servants confronting two nuns. Yuan Qingsang angrily slapped one of the nuns and scolded, "How dare you! How dare you, a lowly nun, stop my father-in-law!"

After he finished scolding, he found Hui Chen walking towards him, followed by a beautiful nun with untied hair. She was the beauty he had met outside the Muni Temple before. His eyes suddenly brightened and he was secretly delighted.

Miaoyu was already feeling uneasy, and now she witnessed Yuan Qingsang beating someone up, which made her feel terrified. She thought to herself that this father-in-law was truly a tyrannical person.

Hui Chen was angry when he saw his nun being beaten, but he didn't dare to show his anger. He stepped forward and asked respectfully, "What is the meaning of this action, my dear master?"

Yuan Qingsang did not respond immediately, but examined Miaoyu carefully before saying to Hui Chen, "You have been gone for so long and neglected me. I am a father-in-law and have so many important things to do. I don't have the time to waste here."

Hui Chen was helpless and did not dare to entangle. He glanced at Miaoyu and said to Yuan Qingsang, "This is Miaoyu."

Yuan Qingsang stared at Miaoyu and said with a smile, "Yes, it's her."

Miaoyu lowered her head, not because she was shy, but because she didn't want to look Yuan Qingsang in the face, let alone greet him.

Seeing Miaoyu's cold attitude, Yuan Qingsang snorted unhappily.

Hui Chen said, "My dear lord, what do you want to ask Miaoyu? She is right here, please enlighten me."

Yuan Qing said in a sarcastic tone, "Why don't you invite me in to talk? Are you going to let me stand outside in the snow and cold wind?"

Hui Chen was depressed, thinking that it was obvious that you had a short temper, as you ran out of the house and beat up the nun in our nunnery. He also thought that this man was truly a brutal person, and how could the old loyal and upright prince, who was such a heroic prince with both talent and virtue, give birth to such a eldest son?
Hui Chen had no choice but to accompany Yuan Qingsang into the main hall. Miaoyu hated and was afraid of Yuan Qingsang and wanted to turn around and leave, but she had to follow him into the main hall.

This main room is where Muni Temple receives guests. It has a quiet environment, elegant furnishings, and curling smoke. Hui Chen often discusses Zen and Buddhist scriptures with guests here on weekdays.

However, today, the arrival of Yuan Qingsang, an uninvited guest, made the atmosphere in this hall become eerie.

Yuan Qingsang sat down, crossed his legs, and said to Miaoyu, "Pour some tea!"

When Miaoyu heard this, she was filled with shame and anger.

She was aloof and proud. Even at the age of nineteen, she had never personally poured tea for any man. Even when her father was alive, she did not enjoy such treatment, because she had been a nun with her hair uncut since she was young and her father died early.

Moreover, she has always regarded drinking tea as an elegant thing, and the tea utensils and even the water used for brewing tea are extremely exquisite.

To her, Yuan Qingsang asking her to pour tea in an imperative tone was already a great offense and insult.

Miaoyu lowered her head and eyebrows, remained motionless, pretending not to hear.

Seeing this, Yuan Qingsang looked gloomy: "What? Could it be that I asked you to pour tea, but you still don't want to? Are you resisting?"

Hui Chen hurriedly said respectfully, "Please forgive me, my dear lord. Miaoyu has never poured tea for you. She is not good at this kind of thing. I will pour tea for you on her behalf."

She was about to start, but Yuan Qingsang interrupted her: "Who wants to drink the tea you pour? I want her to pour it for me!"

Hui Chen complained bitterly in his heart, and walked to Miaoyu, giving her a pleading look. Miaoyu felt extremely wronged, and faced with Hui Chen's pleading look and Yuan Qingsang's angry look, she hesitated for a while before gritting her teeth and pouring tea. As she poured, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked like she was about to cry.

With tears in her eyes, Miaoyu walked towards Yuan Qingsang holding a cup of tea. Her aggrieved and angry look yet she had to obey made Yuan Qingsang more moved and he enjoyed it.

Miaoyu came to Yuan Qingsang, and Yuan Qingsang reached out and picked up the teacup from the tea tray. In the process, he looked Miaoyu up and down, admiring her, which made Miaoyu feel cold all over.

Miaoyu hurriedly turned around and walked away, standing behind Huichen.

Yuan Qingsang raised the corner of his mouth and smiled playfully. He did not drink the tea, but put down the teacup and said to Hui Chen, "Ms. Miaoyu is very beautiful and young. It's a pity for her to become a nun."

"It is her good fortune that she met me today. Let her return to secular life and follow me from now on. I will not treat her badly. I will not treat the Muni Temple badly either. I am willing to donate a thousand taels of silver to provide funds for the incense."

Even though Hui Chen and Miao Yu had anticipated that Yuan Qingsang might have evil thoughts, they were both stunned when they heard Yuan Qingsang's direct and rude words.

Miaoyu felt ashamed and angry, and also felt it was ridiculous.

Hui Chen was not surprised.

Hui Chen is in her fifties and has been a nun for forty years. She knows that all kinds of strange things can happen in this group of nuns. For example, there are nuns who elope with men, men who spend a lot of money to buy nuns, and powerful people who use their power to seize nuns.

Although he was not surprised by this, Hui Chen still felt that Yuan Qingsang, the father-in-law, was really domineering.

He was a nobleman, and the eldest son of the old loyal prince, such a noble and wealthy man, yet he demanded Miaoyu so arrogantly and was only willing to pay one thousand taels of silver to Muniyuan.

Seeing Hui Chen in a daze, Miaoyu couldn't help herself and was the first to speak, with a resolute look: "I don't want to!"

Yuan Qingsang's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he said in a deep voice: "It is your good fortune that this father-in-law has taken a fancy to you. How can you resist? You have to do this even if you don't want to!"

Hui Chen said carefully with a bitter face: "Please forgive me, sir. It is not my fault for being so rude. I have just informed you of Miaoyu's background. She is not a nun of this temple. I cannot make the decision for her."

"Moreover, Miaoyu has converted to Buddhism since she was young and has practiced Buddhism for more than ten years. She is committed to Buddhism, so why would she suddenly return to secular life? I beg you to understand my feelings and have mercy on those who have left home. You are a noble family, and if you force me to do this, it will also affect your reputation."

Yuan Qingsang stood up angrily and glared at Hui Chen: "I have made up my mind on this matter. There is no reason to change it. There is no need to talk nonsense. Let Miaoyu come with me now. Here is a silver note of one thousand taels!"

He took out a silver note worth one thousand taels from his pocket.

Hui Chen and Miao Yu were both terrified.

Hui Chen had previously told Miaoyu that even if Yuan Qingsang really had evil thoughts about her, if she begged him sincerely, perhaps he would let it go and stop harassing her. To take another step, even if Yuan Qingsang insisted on harassing her, he would not have abducted Miaoyu today.

And now, this tyrannical and domineering father-in-law was so eager to take Miaoyu away on the spot that it was tantamount to kidnapping.

How can this be good?

Miaoyu gnashed her teeth, her face filled with shame and anger, and stared at Yuan Qingsang with deathly eyes: "This is absolutely not possible, I will never return to secular life, and I will never go with you!"

She had already made up her mind to die, and was ready to commit suicide if the other party used force.

Yuan Qingsang was furious. He picked up the teacup and threw it violently. With a "bang", the teacup shattered, porcelain pieces scattered, and tea splashed everywhere. He said sternly: "I must take you away today. If you resist again, don't blame me for being cruel!"

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely awkward, tense, and on the verge of a showdown.

At this time, a nun hurried to the door. She was puzzled and surprised when she saw the scene in the hall, but she didn't care about the situation and said to Hui Chen: "Master, someone has come from the palace with the emperor's order."

After hearing this, Hui Chen and Yuan Qingsang were both surprised.

There is actually an imperial decree from the emperor coming to the Muni Temple?
Hui Chen asked anxiously, "Did the envoy clearly state what the message was?"

The nun said, "I didn't say that. Let the abbot take the order."

Hui Chen looked at Yuan Qingsang.

Yuan Qingsang became nervous, he knew that what he did in Muni Temple today was an evil act. At this moment, someone from the palace came to issue an imperial decree to Muni Temple. If the emperor knew about his evil deeds today, it might be bad.

He was afraid that Hui Chen would complain to the people from the palace, and he was also curious about what the imperial decree was.

He threatened Hui Chen, "I will receive the imperial edict with you. Remember, you must not disclose what happened just now. Just say that I came here today to donate money for incense. Otherwise, I will not forgive you!"

Hui Chen nodded, took the opportunity to let Miaoyu retreat, and hurriedly ordered people to set up the incense table, and then he and Yuan Qingsang welcomed the visitors from the palace into the main hall.

The people who came were a group of guards and eunuchs, led by the imperial guard Su Yin and the eunuch Geng Mao.

Su Yin was a little surprised to see Yuan Qingsang here, but he didn't bother to greet him. He walked to the back of the hall with Geng Mao and stood facing south.

Geng Mao did not disobey the imperial edict, but just announced: "The emperor has ordered: the empress dowager is devoted to Buddhism and worships Buddha with piety, and wants to invite nuns to live in the Grand Buddha Hall of Yuanzhao Garden. I heard that Master Huichen of Muni Temple is very proficient in Buddhism, so I invite Master Huichen to live in the Grand Buddha Hall of Yuanzhao Garden as the abbot, and select female nuns from Muni Temple to accompany her."

Hui Chen was suddenly surprised. This was a happy event sent from heaven.

The current emperor actually asked her to be the abbot of the Grand Buddha Hall in Yuanzhao Garden?

And let her select a nun from the Muni Temple to accompany her?
(End of this chapter)