Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 170 The River Covers the Beautiful Soul

Jia Cong rushed into the guest room following the sound, not caring about the surprised or horrified looks of the people in the room.

He stepped forward and grabbed Jinghui's hand, saying excitedly: "Zhishao, it turns out you are not dead. That's great. It's me! I'm here to find you!"

Jinghui was so frightened that her face turned pale. She looked at her in horror, and the pair of silver flower twisted wire bracelets on her hands fell to the ground with a clink.

This scene frightened everyone present.

The cold-faced nun's expression changed drastically, and even the old nun who was sitting quietly stood up suddenly.

The nun on duty outside the door rushed over to pull Jia Cong away, and shouted: "This young man is so unreasonable. Men are not allowed to enter the back hall of the nunnery. You broke in without permission and pulled him like this. How can you be so unreasonable?"

The cold-looking nun with long hair pulled the frightened Jinghui behind her.

She saw that Jia Cong was dressed in luxurious clothes and had a handsome appearance, but he was so frivolous to Jinghui just now, and a look of disgust appeared in her eyes.

She had seen many young men from wealthy families who looked rich and beautiful, but most of them were frivolous, dirty, extravagant, and absurd.

The old nun said, "Miaoyu, take Jinghui back to the inner room first."

Seeing Miaoyu walking quickly out of the guest room with Jinghui as if she were avoiding a snake or scorpion, Jia Cong could not bear to let her go and rushed forward to chase after her.

Then I heard the old nun behind me say in a deep voice: "Buddhism is solemn, please be patient!"

The old nun looked old, but there seemed to be a magical power in her words that could calm people. Jia Cong felt a chill in his heart, and his mind gradually calmed down.

In short, he has found Zhishao, which is a great thing. They have been separated for two years, so there is no need to rush.

Moreover, Zhishao seemed not to recognize him at all. What was going on? Since Zhishao was cultivating immortality in this temple with her hair uncut, the reason must be attributed to this old nun.

"Did Master take your disciples to Jinling Da Ci'en Temple to pray for the spirit in the main hall four days ago?"

"That's right, benefactor, did you recognize my disciple Jinghui from before?"

"She was a maid that I grew up with. Something happened to her two years ago. I thought she was no longer alive, but I don't know why she ended up here. Can you tell me the reason, Master?"

The old nun's eyes lit up and she asked, "May I ask where you are from, benefactor? I wonder what happened to your maid?"

"I am Jia Cong, a young man from the Rongguo Mansion in Shenjing. My maid is called Zhishao. She was forced by villains to jump into the Liuyang River. That day was January 19th of the tenth year of Jiazhao. I don't know how she got to the temple."

The old nun was shocked. The young man's maid jumped into the Liuyang River, and the time was just right. She brought her disciple Miaoyu to the north to the capital that year, and they returned on this day. She also saved Jinghui in the Liuyang River.

She was old and experienced, and was well versed in the innate divine numbers. She had just seen that Jia Cong was sincere to Jinghui, and his words and actions were genuine, without any hypocrisy.

This young man had an elegant demeanor and a look of wisdom in his eyes. He was no ordinary person. The time and place also matched. It was very likely that Jinghui was his maid who jumped into the river.

"Master, Zhishao and I grew up together. I am the person she is closest to and most familiar with. But when we met just now, she seemed to not recognize me at all. Why is that?"

The old nun said, "Two years ago, I went north to the capital. The day I returned was January 19, the tenth year of Jiazhao. I was sailing at night on the Liuyang River and accidentally saved Jinghui.

It was a great luck that she was saved at that time, but she had been drowning for too long and her heart, meridians and consciousness had suffered severe damage.

Moreover, his pulse was disordered and his qi and blood were flowing backwards, which must have been due to extreme shock, anger, and grief before he fell into the water.

At that time, she was obsessed every day and couldn't even speak. I took her back to the temple and let her rest for several months. She could then speak, but she didn't remember anything that happened before.

Every time I recited the sutras, she would sit there and listen. I thought that she had cut off her past, her five senses were empty, and her mind was free, so I accepted her as my disciple.”

Jia Cong felt a pain in his heart. He could imagine how much suffering Zhishao had endured. It was a blessing from heaven that she was able to survive.

She drowned for too long, causing severe damage to her heart, meridians and consciousness. Was it because of the long drowning, excessive lack of oxygen to the brain, damage to brain tissue, and stimulation that caused her to forget the past?

"Master, will Zhishao recover and remember the past?"

The old Niwei sighed, "I have tried many methods such as acupuncture and herbal medicine over the years, but none of them worked."

"People who drown too much suffer from this kind of soul-losing disease. It has existed since ancient times and is not rare. Some people can recover, but some people can never recover." The old nun saw Jia Cong's face full of sorrow, looked at him thoughtfully, and said, "Jinghui has a kind heart, is smart and beautiful, and although she has been doomed, she is not a person with a miserable fate."

……

Jinling, Xinglongfang, the old residence of the Jia family.

Wu'er received a letter from Jin Cai's family sent to the inner courtyard, saying that it was sent by Master Cong from Gusu.

When I opened it, I was shocked, and then I was inexplicably surprised.

Last time, the Third Master said that he saw someone who looked exactly like Zhishao in the Da Ci'en Temple. At that time, Wu'er thought it was just a person with a similar appearance and couldn't believe that it was really Zhishao.

But now the Third Master said in his letter that he had really found Zhishao in Panxiang Temple in Gusu. It turned out that after she jumped into the river that year, she was rescued by the abbess of the temple.

But now Zhishao no longer remembers what happened in the past, and there is no way to bring her back immediately.

……

There are four or five vacant small courtyards separated by a wall in the inner courtyard of Panxiang Temple, which are also the temple properties of Panxiang Temple.

Normally, they rent the house to outsiders or locals with poor financial conditions for living at a low price. This not only allows them to collect some money from donations, but also helps them out in need.

Recently, a young man took a fancy to the neatest courtyard on the east side. He paid double the rent, asked the person living there to vacate the house, and moved in himself with a maid.

Because in Zhishao's eyes, Jia Cong is now a stranger, and he cannot take her away for the time being. As the incident happened suddenly, the abbess of Panxiang Temple, Master Xiushan, still has doubts about this matter.

So Jia Cong temporarily took Yinglian with him and rented a house in the temple to live in.

From the day she moved in, Yinglian would go to the inner courtyard to talk to Jinghui every day.

Yinglian has a gentle and pleasant personality, is delicate and lovely, and is very popular. Even the abbess of Panxiang Temple, Master Xiushan, looks at her differently.

Miaoyu was very disgusted with Jia Cong because of his frivolous behavior towards Jinghui that day, but she was very attracted to the pretty girl beside him.

Yinglian went to the inner courtyard several times, but Miaoyu did not restrict her. She just recited scriptures and read books in the room every day, allowing Yinglian to go in and out to talk to Jinghui.

Although Jinghui can no longer remember the past and is sometimes a little taciturn, she still has the meticulous and affectionate personality she used to have.

In this way, over the past few days, the delicate and innocent Yinglian became very familiar with Jinghui. Sometimes she did not return to the courtyard where Jia Cong lived at night, but stayed in Jinghui's room.

During this period, a girl named Xing often came to the backyard and followed Miaoyu to read and write.

Yinglian heard from Jinghui that Miss Xing's family had also rented a house in the temple and had lived there for many years.

When Jia Cong learned about this girl named Xing Xiuyan, he was also surprised and marveled at the magic of fate in the world.

However, Suzhou is a very special place. Daiyu, Yinglian and Miaoyu are all from Suzhou, and this is the origin of the story of the Dream of the Red Chamber.

Finally one day, Yinglian brought Jinghui to the courtyard where Jia Cong lived.

Jinghui still remembered clearly what Jia Cong did in the guest room that day, and she felt a little nervous when she saw him again.

However, Jia Cong did not make her feel scary, and he even seemed inexplicably friendly to her. Even she herself found it strange, but she could not figure out the reason.

The abbess of Panxiang Temple, Master Xiushan, is well versed in medicine and psychology. Jia Cong listened to her advice and decided not to bring up the old matter in front of Jinghui for the time being.

In order to avoid causing mental distress to Jinghui and achieve twice the result with half the effort, we should just treat her normally when we usually get along.

Even so, Jia Cong was satisfied when he thought of the dead Zhishao, who was now resurrected before his eyes. No matter how alienated and unfamiliar she was to him, he was content to accept it.

Naturally, she was careful with her words and actions. After several interactions, Jinghui completely let down her guard against Jia Cong.

She gradually got used to the fact that this always gentle Mr. Jia often appeared by her side.

(End of this chapter)