Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Gusu, Xuanmu Mountain, Panxiang Temple.

Outside the corridor of Master Xiushan's Zen room, mountain sparrows were singing, green trees were shady, and flower shadows were swaying.

Under the eaves of the Zen temple, there are wind chimes covered with copper rust. When the summer breeze blows, the sound of ding-dong is like the chanting of Sanskrit.

Miaoyu was squatting beside a green clay medicine stove outside the corridor. The charcoal fire in the stove was bright red, and white smoke was coming out of the medicine cup above.

She wore a Miaochang bun on her head, a moon-white jacket with plain sleeves, and a long vest with paddy field blue satin trim on the outside. Around her slender waist was an autumn-scented silk sash, and below her waist was a ink-white satin skirt. A silver silk fly was inserted into the silk sash behind her slender waist.

In the afternoon, the breeze from the corridor blew a wisp of her hair from the temple, together with the thousands of silver threads on the whisk at her waist, floating in the wind, like a myriad of entangled sorrows.

She quietly watched the medicine simmering in the fire. Her body was slender and frail, her waist was thin and about to break, and her beautiful and cold face could not hide her haggardness.

When the smoke became thick and the medicine foam overflowed from the medicine cup, Miaoyu took a thick piece of white cloth, wrapped the handle of the medicine cup, gently lifted it up, and poured the dark brown medicine soup into the bowl.

He placed the medicine soup in the bowl towards the mountain breeze and blew it for a while, then took a sip himself. When he felt that it was no longer hot, he brought it into Master Xiushan's meditation room.

"Master, the medicine is ready. Drink it while it's hot. Senior Sister Jingxuan has gone to Jinling to invite a famous doctor for you. When she prescribes a good prescription, your illness will be cured."

Master Xiushan sighed, "In fact, there is no need to be so fussy. It is rare for a person to live to be seventy. I will be seventy next year, and I have lived long enough. Life and death are in the hands of God. What is there to be unhappy about?

You have to do everything yourself, you have been very busy lately."

Miaoyu said, "These things are not that hard. I received a letter from Jinghui the day before yesterday. She is coming south to see Master. Master should be happy."

Speaking of Jinghui, Miaoyu, who has always been cold and aloof, also showed a pretty smile on her face, with joy hinted at the corners of her eyebrows and eyes, which made her have a unique and moving charm.

Jinghui was Zhishao's Buddhist name at the time. At that time, Master Xiushan brought Zhishao back to Panxiang Temple. Miaoyu and Zhishao practiced together and were as close as sisters and had a very deep affection for each other.

She regarded Zhishao as her closest relative besides her master. When Zhishao followed Jia Cong back to the capital, Miaoyu was very reluctant to let her go.

Zhishao had been gone for two years and now she was coming back to visit her and her master. Miaoyu was naturally very happy.

……

When Master Xiushan saw Miaoyu mention Zhishao, a pretty and charming look appeared on her face. The Buddhist and Zen look of the past quietly disappeared, and she sighed slightly in her heart.

This disciple of mine has been practicing Taoism to cure diseases since he was young, and his fate is pitiful. He was born with a very high level of understanding. Although he has a cold temperament, he is warm-hearted inside.

Half in the Buddha's heart, half attached to the world of mortals, the sky is not empty, and a quiet wisdom can make her happy. If she encounters other entanglements and twists and turns, how can she see through them?

And I am old now, so I can't stay with her for a few more years.

"My teacher has spent his entire life studying the innate numbers. I know my own destiny very well, without the need for a famous doctor to check it. I still have some unfulfilled wishes, and when I return them, my life will be complete."

Miaoyu felt sad when she heard this. She wondered what unfulfilled wishes the master had and why he said such unlucky words.

She had been weak since childhood and almost died. Only by becoming a Taoist and practicing Buddhism could she cure her illness and protect herself.

At the age of four, he began to follow Master Xiushan to practice Buddhism, which made his mind clear, empty, quiet and wonderful. He suppressed his anger and ignorance and realized the Three Jewels.

But she was still young after all, and it was natural for her to have a sweet heart. After ten years of loneliness in the Zen room, she suddenly had a close junior sister like Jinghui to accompany her, which made her understand the warmth and kindness of the world.

Later, Jia Cong came and Jinghui became Zhishao, and the two of them stayed away from her from then on.

A heart full of anger and ignorance, stirring up trouble, no matter how much I chant the Buddha's name day and night, I can no longer find peace.

Seeing Miaoyu in a trance, Master Xiushan sighed and said, "Master's unfulfilled wish is to go to the Muni Temple in the capital once in her lifetime and read the ancient palm leaf scriptures treasured in the temple."

"When Jinghui comes back, we will stay in the courtyard for a while and then go to Shenjing together."

When Miaoyu heard this, her heart began to beat fast and she didn't know whether she was happy or sad.

When she returned to her meditation room, her mind was still wavering, so she knelt on the cushion, opened a copy of "The Buddha Speaks of the Five Aggregates Are Empty", and recited silently.

The elegant and extraordinary writing style in the scriptures seems to fill the eyes and stir the soul.

This copy of "The Sutra on the Emptiness of the Five Aggregates" was copied by Jia Cong and given to Master Xiushan. Miaoyu often copied the calligraphy from the sutra, and Master Xiushan gave it to her when she saw that she liked it.

……

The first day of August, the fourteenth year of Jiazhao.

The third day of August is Grandmother Jia’s birthday, and from the first day of August, Rongguo Mansion begins to prepare for the birthday banquet.

Although the Ningguo Mansion was confiscated and the titles were stripped off last year, the Ningrong Jia family was severely damaged, but this year Jia Cong was conferred the hereditary title of Weiyuan Earl by the emperor for his victory in wiping out the Jurchens.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Rong family, which had already shown signs of decline, seemed to have regained vitality and vigor because of Jia Cong's ennoblement.

Therefore, there was an endless stream of guests coming to the mansion to celebrate the birthday. High-ranking officials from various families in the capital, old relatives and old friends were all present. The atmosphere was filled with joy and flowers, and the momentum was even better than in previous years.

However, few people who are not involved in the game can see the real foundation of the Jia family's rise.

Just like when Emperor Jia Zhao hinted to the clan house and pressured the Rongguo Mansion to replace the crown prince, he increased the differences between Jia Cong and his family, established a new clan in the Jia family and suppressed the old clan, so as to use the imperial power.

Even Duke Chen Yi of Qi, who was involved in this method of weighing the pros and cons of a monarch with a cold and aloof heart, thought that it was because Emperor Jia Zhao was ungrateful and valued his title, and did not think too deeply about it.

Other people who were outside the matter were even less able to see the emperor's sinister intentions. Later, Emperor Jiazhao actually conferred the hereditary title of Weiyuan Earl on Jia Cong.

First suppressed and then promoted, and bestowed with great grace, while making everyone envious, they were increasingly blinded by the superficial glory, and only felt that the Jia family, with two titles, was rising again.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Jiazhao restructured the Ningguo Mansion and gave it to Jia Cong. The hereditary inheritance and the establishment of a new household almost completely separated Jia Cong from the Rongguo Mansion.

Others might be able to see the deeper meaning behind this, but Jia Cong, as a person in power, knew the emperor's intentions very well.

Since the establishment of the mansion, he refused Lady Jia's request to place Youshi in the palace and send household slaves to distinguish the boundaries between the east and west mansions.

Even when he later brought Yingchun into the mansion, he registered her in the clan register as the eldest daughter of an earl's mansion. The distinction was clear and no one could find fault with it.

It was a vague statement to Emperor Jiazhao.

Apart from his daily business in the yamen, Jia Cong did not socialize much with the old nobles of the four kings and eight dukes. Even when Prince Beijing invited him several times, he declined with various reasons.

He is a reincarnated person, born with the intention of being isolated and a bystander. Naturally, he sees the connections between people more clearly than others, and is even more unwilling to get into entanglements and troubles because of taking sides.

Others thought that Jia Cong was still young and inexperienced in the ways of the world, or that he was talented and famous but had a cold personality.

Only Emperor Jia Zhao in the palace knew the reason, which was that Jia Cong had understood his intentions.

……

Early in the morning, dozens of banquets were set up for male guests outside the second gate of the Jia Mansion, and more than a dozen banquets were set up for female guests in the large flower hall inside the second gate.

Accompanied by Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng, Grandmother Jia showed up at the banquet for female guests. She also said a few nice words to the distinguished royal relatives, princesses, and governors at the table, and then left the banquet.

This is also a normal thing. After all, Lady Jia is of a higher generation and is old. It is difficult for her to sit for a long time and it is impossible for her to accompany the guests throughout a banquet. These things are the responsibilities of Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng.

However, some sharp-eyed women could still see that Lady Jia seemed to be in a bad mood today. As for the real reason, they naturally didn't know.

According to the custom of previous years, on the first day of August, a banquet was held to entertain the royal family, the prince consort, the four princes, the eight dukes, the governors of the various cabinets and the relatives of the imperial edicts, etc.

On the second day of August, invite all officials and officials, imperial edicts, close friends and wives of the capital, elderly relatives of the Wang, Shi, and Xue families, relatives and guests of the twelve branches of the Jinling clan;
It was not until the third day of August that the people in Rongguo Mansion held a birthday banquet for the old lady.

But this year, the family birthday banquet was moved forward from the third day of the eighth month in previous years to the first day of the eighth month.

After today's lunch, Jia Cong will set off south in compliance with the imperial order and will miss Jia's mother's birthday on August 3rd.

The reason was that all the plans made by all parties before going south had been completed and all should not be postponed any further. Moreover, he would have to stay in Gusu for two days when he passed through it.

The day before yesterday, Guo Lin had sent an important official to liaise with Jia Cong on matters concerning the Nanjing affairs of the Imperial Chariot Service. Jia Cong replied to the palace and set off south on August 2nd.

Since ancient times, the affairs of heaven, earth, the emperor, parents and teachers have been put before the affairs of the family. When Lady Jia heard this, although she was unhappy, she didn't say anything.

Jia Zheng decided to move the family dinner that was supposed to be on the third day of the New Year forward to today, so that Jia Cong could congratulate Lady Jia on her birthday in advance and it could also be considered as a practice for him before his departure.

Jia Cong also followed all the etiquette at home and brought Zhishao and Yinglian to toast to Lady Jia and wish her a happy birthday.

……

When the lunch was over, Daiyu, Yingchun, Tanchun, Baochai and other sisters accompanied them to the west corner gate of the Earl's mansion.

Jia Cong and Zhi Shao's luggage and carriage for the journey south were ready and waiting there early in the morning.

Yuanyang also went with them, bringing clothes and letters with her, and asked Jia Cong to take them back to the old house in Xinglongfang, Jinling, and hand them over to his father Jin Cai.

Seeing Daiyu's face was a little gloomy, Jia Cong smiled and said, "I will definitely go to see my uncle on my sister's behalf when I go south this time. I originally wanted to ask Zhang Shipeng, a famous doctor in the capital, to go south with me.

He is the most skilled doctor I know. If he were to treat my uncle's illness, it would definitely be safe. Unfortunately, he is away on a long journey, so I will definitely find another way. Sister, just relax."

A few days ago, he heard Daiyu say that Lin Ruhai had been in poor health this year, so he began to pay attention to it.

In the original trajectory, Lin Ruhai's death had a great impact on Lin Daiyu's fate. In this era, women without the protection of their parents would have a fate like drifting catkins in the wind.

Moreover, Zhishao's master, Master Xiushan, is now old and has been ill for a long time.

Now that he knew these things, he naturally had to find a way to resolve them.

Yesterday, Jia Cong and Jiang Liu went to Huaxi Village to look for Zhang Shipeng. The medicine boy of the Zhang family said that Zhang Shipeng went south to visit a friend and would not return to the capital for two months.

Tanchun was very sharp-minded and paid attention to everything. She asked, "Third brother, the miracle doctor who cured the old lady last time was named Zhang Youshi, and his name is very similar to Zhang Shipeng's."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Third sister has a good memory. Zhang Shipeng is Zhang Youshi's elder brother. Zhang Youshi's medical skills were taught by his elder brother."

On that occasion, many officials in the court received a hint from Emperor Jia Zhao and presented sacrifices with great fanfare to welcome the spirit tablet of Jia Cong's biological mother Du Jinniang into the ancestral temple.

This made Lady Jia feel so ashamed that she fell ill. It was then that Jia Lian asked Zhang Youshi to treat her. After taking a few doses of medicine, the disease was cured. Otherwise, Lady Jia would have died of anger.

Therefore, many people in the Jia family still remember Zhang Youshi, who turned the tide, and his miraculous medical skills.

However, Jia Cong heard from Zhang Youshi that his medical skills were taught by his brother, and he had only learned 50% to 60% of his brother's skills.

Later, Jia Cong witnessed with his own eyes Zhang Shipeng treating Feng's severed finger, and his medical skills were truly extraordinary.

When Daiyu learned that Jia Cong knew such a famous doctor, a look of joy appeared on her face, but when she heard that the person was not in the capital, she became worried.

Jia Cong comforted her, "Sister, don't worry too much. According to what my uncle wrote in his letter, although he is not feeling well, it is not a chronic disease and should not be a big deal for now.

After I go south, I will hire a famous local doctor to treat my uncle and ask him to write a detailed medical record. Even if he cannot cure my uncle's illness, he can rely on this detailed medical record.

I can try to send him back to the capital within three days, and then I will ask Doctor Zhang to diagnose him based on the case. Although I cannot personally observe, smell, ask and feel the patient, with Doctor Zhang's medical skills, he will surely be able to identify the cause of the disease."

Daiyu listened to his careful consideration, her eyes moist with gratitude and attachment, she bowed to him and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. I hope you can go back soon."

……

The reason why Jia Cong said this was because two female disciples, Ai Li, went to the south of the Yangtze River and set up Feiyuxin stations in Jinling and Yangzhou according to Jia Cong's arrangement.

As long as we can get Lin Ruhai's detailed medical records and send a message via Feiyu, no matter whether it is Jinling or Shenjing, it will be received within three days and nothing will be delayed.

During this period, he exchanged information with the Jinling Xinchun, and the efficiency and speed of Feiyu messaging were significantly demonstrated. Before faster means of communication appeared, it was bound to play a significant role.

A few days ago, he even brought Ellie to his house and let her get acquainted with Yingchun. If there was any information needed to be delivered at home, Yingchun would give the letter to Ellie to send.

If anything urgent happened in the mansion, he would be able to find out within three days even if he was far away in Nanjing.

When he brought Ai Li into the mansion, he happened to meet Shi Xiangyun.

Xiangyun, who is a big mouth, quickly told Jia Cong what he said, that Ai Li was his bodyguard, and joked with her sisters, making Jia Cong feel a little embarrassed.

Although she was telling the truth, her sisters didn't quite believe her. Daiyu pursed her lips in disdain, and the other sisters looked at her with ambiguous mockery.

Fortunately, Ellie is pretty, cool, and generous, without any shyness of an ordinary girl, and is quite popular.

Sisters such as Daiyu, Yingchun, Tanchun, etc., were confined to a large mansion all year round. Apart from the daughters of wealthy families who came to visit them, they seldom saw women from outside the house.

I have never seen a woman as heroic and beautiful as Ellie. Her big blue eyes can fascinate people. Everyone likes this unique girl.

Daiyu was also very curious about the saber that she never left behind, and she touched it curiously.

Probably because she was a girl who never stepped out of the house, the most common thing she saw was scissors. Even kitchen knives were rarely seen, and such a rare thing as a Chaska saber was unheard of.

……

During the past two years, sisters such as Daiyu, Yingchun, and Tanchun have begun to get used to Jia Cong's frequent business trips away. Even Baochai has experienced his trip to Liaodong.

Therefore, although such a farewell was reluctant, it was not sad, because Jia Cong would be able to return to the capital after just two months of separation.

After a new rain yesterday, the sky is clear and the distant mountains are green.

Jia Cong helped Zhishao into the carriage, said goodbye to the sisters in the corner gate, and the carriage drove towards the ferry crossing west of Liuyang River.

There were four clerks from the Firearms Department and fifteen firearms guards from the Fifth Army Battalion waiting at the dock to accompany him south to Nanjing. (End of this chapter)