Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 173: Unparalleled Perfect Method

The inner courtyard of Panxiang Temple.

Miaoyu was reciting scriptures while counting beads in the Zen room. The afternoon sun shone through the window lattice, drawing a path of light with dust dancing in the dim Zen room.

The bright sunlight shone on her, reflecting a strange glow. Her face was soft, her nose was thin and straight, her lips were red, her eyes were quietly closed, her black eyelashes were delicate and curled, and she looked like Guanyin in her vivid and charming appearance.

Suddenly she heard footsteps outside the door. She opened her eyes and without looking she could tell it was the footsteps of her junior sister Jinghui.

These days, that man tried various ways to get close to Jinghui, and Jinghui became closer and closer to him.

The master did not try to intervene, saying that this was Jinghui's fate and that the birth and death of all things were determined by heaven, so he allowed her to continue her association with the man named Jia.

Miaoyu sighed slightly, got up and went to Jinghui's room.

When I entered the room, I found that the originally simple and plain Zen room had completely changed.

In addition to Buddhist scriptures and wooden fish, there is also a Misty Green Ru Kiln vase on the incense table, with a beautiful red plum blossom in it. Although Buddhism renounces sensual pleasures, the red plum blossom in the Zen room is quite eye-catching.

Next to the vase were two adorable Huishan clay Fuwa dolls, and in the middle of the incense table was an exquisite jewelry box containing hairpins and hairpins for the daughter's family.

Neatly stacked on the stool were a snow-blue satin embroidered cross-collared long jacket, a white cotton horse-faced skirt embroidered with plum and bamboo leaves, and a pair of light red embroidered flower shoes, all of which were very delicate and elegant.

Miaoyu frowned when she saw them. These were clothes and hairpins for ordinary girls. How could Jinghui, a nun, use these things?

Jinghui had a nice meditation room, but now it is almost becoming her daughter's boudoir, which is filled with the scent of rouge.

That person must have bought these items and given them to Jinghui, and was trying to please her in various ways all day long in order to take her away.

Although Jinghui doesn't use these things.

But seeing it arranged so neatly, it is obvious that he is also moved.

Jinghui saw Miaoyu coming in, opened an exquisite food box, and said with a smile: "Sister, here are some fresh Zhen'er cakes. Would you like to try them? Don't you like them too?"

Miaoyu asked curiously, "It looks like it's just out of the oven at an old shop on Leyu Street. How come there's something like this so early in the morning?"

Jinghui blushed when she heard this.

Miaoyu changed her mind and realized that Yinglian had brought such a food box into the inner courtyard this morning. That man must have gone out early in the morning to buy it. He had really put in a lot of effort to please Jinghui.

When Miaoyu was young and sickly, she had no choice but to join a Buddhist temple to ward off evil. Her parents were still alive at that time. Although she lived in the nunnery for a long time, her parents often came to visit her and each time brought her a lot of clothes and food.

Among them was the Zhen'er cake that she had loved to eat since childhood, so although she became a nun at a young age, she still lived a life of well-fed and well-clothed like a rich lady.

It was not until her parents passed away five years ago that she was cut off from all family ties in this world. Since then, she has truly been able to live with the Buddha forever.

Two years ago, the master saved Jinghui. She finally had a fellow apprentice sister of the same age to accompany her, and her life became bright again. But now, she is about to leave.

Since that man loves Jinghui so much, it might be a good idea for my junior sister to follow him.

But from then on she was the only one left to accompany her master. Thinking of this, Miaoyu felt a little lost. The piece of Zhen'er cake that Jinghui stuffed into her mouth should have been sweet and crispy, but it seemed bland.

Suddenly I saw a newly written calligraphy on the table beside the bed. The brushwork was vivid, the characters were ancient and elegant, and the style was interesting and spirited. It was an outstanding piece of calligraphy.

I went into the mountains to look for old friends and ask the master for advice on logic.

What can I do about my uncontrollable longing for you? My heart is as pure as ice and I am ready to help you.

I once worried that my love would harm my monastic life, and I was afraid of leaving the city when I went into the mountains.

In the world, there is a dual-quantity method, and if you live up to it, you will live up to the law.

Last time, when Jia Cong saw that Jinghui could now read poetry, he wrote this calligraphy for her. However, this short poem contained a lingering meaning, so Jinghui was embarrassed to hang it up, so she just took it out to enjoy it from time to time.

Miaoyu was in a trance, and felt that every word seemed to touch her heart. She felt resentful towards Jia Cong because he wanted to take Jinghui away, but in fact, she was just drifting in life, feeling sad and lost.

The master often said that the birth and death of karma are all determined by heaven, but for me, my anger and ignorance have not been eliminated, and my desires have not been emptied.

However, God is cruel and there is no way to have the best of both worlds.

……

The sun was setting, and when Jia Cong returned to his residence, he ran into Xing Xiuyan, who lived in the opposite yard.

She was one year younger than Yinglian. Although her clothes were shabby, she had a pretty face and a graceful and charming air.

Seeing that she was holding a delicate pink silk flower in her hair, Jia Cong smiled and said, "This silk flower is really beautiful."

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said, "I bought it from that peddler. He's a good man. I only had seven cents on me, but he was willing to sell it to me."

Jia Cong looked back and saw a peddler wearing a felt hat carrying a load and leaving. He frowned slightly.

He had bought this kind of pink silk hairpin as a gift for Jinghui, and it cost twenty cents each. So why would the peddler buy it for Xing Xiuyan for only seven cents?

Jia Cong smiled and said, "This hairpin doesn't look cheap."

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said, "Who said it wasn't? My mother and I saw it at a rouge shop in the south of the city last time. It cost twenty cents a piece. It was thanks to Young Master Jia's good words."

The Xing family was in a difficult financial situation, otherwise they would not have come to Shenjing to seek refuge with Madam Xing.

Xing Xiuyan, a little girl, couldn't afford such expensive hairpins, but now she got one for no apparent reason, which was somewhat of a pleasant surprise.

Jia Cong was stunned: "What does this have to do with my lyrics?"

"Just now I was studying in the inner courtyard of the temple, and Yinglian was copying your poem Man Jiang Hong. I came back and was still reciting it, and I happened to meet the peddler.

I wanted to see his hairpins, but he said the lyrics were good and asked me if I knew the person who wrote the lyrics. He also sold me the hairpins. I told him that it was not because of his good lyrics that I got the hairpins.

Jia Cong was shocked that a peddler also understood the elegance of poetry and sold a twenty-cent hairpin for only seven cents. It was only because the girl did not understand the depth of the matter that she was unaware of it.

That day when he took Yinglian to Leyu Street, he noticed that he was being spied on by a man in a felt hat. He felt that the man looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember who he was at the moment.

After he came back, he remembered that when he went to Zhujiang Tower for a banquet that day, this man was sitting next to Ruan Hongcheng, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites in the capital. At that time, he was dealing with Ruan Hongcheng's verbal difficulties, so he didn't pay much attention to this person.

After the banquet, Yang Hongbin told him that the man was Cui Bowang, the officer of Jinling Guard, and his brother Cui Boling was a trusted captain of Zou Huaiyi, who was shot dead on the spot by Zou Huaiyi during an arrest in Zou's mansion.

Cui Bowang had a grudge against him for killing his brother, and Yang Hongbin had reminded him to keep an eye on him.

Now that he has arrived in Gusu, this person has also appeared in Gusu. Jia Cong does not think this is a coincidence.

The Jinling Water Conservancy Bureau case involved a wide range of people, and many were thrown into prison.

However, there are also many fish that slip through the net. There are always some people who receive the information in advance through various channels and flee for fear of crime. The Court of Inquisition and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are still searching for them in various states in the south of the Yangtze River.

Jia Cong felt a little uneasy that night. The candle in the room was lit for most of the night. Before going to bed, he put the scimitar he carried with him within reach.

It was not until the fifth watch that the candle in the house burned out and woke him up.

Seeing that the bamboo charcoal in the brazier had burned out and the room had become cold, he got up and went to refill it with charcoal.

I could hear a gentle sound of footsteps on the snow in the yard, which was hard to detect unless I listened carefully.

In the past, only Jinghui would come to the yard at this time, because she was used to getting up early, and many times she would bring bamboo charcoal at this time.

But the cautious footsteps were obviously not from Jinghui.

(End of this chapter)