Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 257 Xuanmu Panxiang Temple

"Liu Xianglian?"

The head guard's eyes sparkled as he asked in surprise, "Is it the son of the Duke of Liguo in the capital? The one who once duelled with Marquis Anjing in the Prince Kang's mansion?"

Yue Ling was stunned when he heard the voice. He didn't expect that Liu Xianglian was actually quite famous and there were people in Gusu who had heard of his name.

"Exactly."

The man asked again: "I heard that you tested swords in the capital and defeated all the young people in the capital without losing a single one, but you were defeated by Marquis Anjing."

"Is An Jinghou's martial arts really that amazing?"

Yue Ling was even more confused. "So Liu Xianglian is such a good fighter? I thought he was about the same level as Zhao Hao."

He replied in person: "Marquis An Jing's martial arts have indeed reached the pinnacle. I'm afraid he is even better than some of the martial arts masters who have been famous for a long time."

The head guard sighed and said, "It would be nice to see him when I have the chance. I wonder if I can see him when Marquis Anjing goes south this time."

Yue Ling's pupils suddenly shrank, but his face remained calm, as if he didn't hear what the guard said.

Pulling the stunned Xiangling, Yue Ling whispered: "Let's go, let's go and rest first."

……

Outside the city of Gusu, there is a mountain in the southwest called Xuanmu.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a Buddhist temple, Sheng'en Temple. The previous emperor once stopped here and wrote an inscription when he went south. Since then, it has become very popular and is the most popular temple in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The constant flow of incense at Sheng'en Temple has obscured the fact that there is another temple on Xuanmu Mountain.

Panxiang Temple is located deep in the mountains, hidden by thousands of ancient trees, and the way down the mountain is not easy to find. The most amazing thing is the plum blossoms on the peaks, along with the ancient pines and bamboos, which are scattered and lush.

This is a rare, secluded and elegant place in the world. If someone goes up the mountain, it is not for the incense burning at Panxiang Temple, but to rest among the trees and flowers, read the books they brought with them, and enjoy their leisure time.

There are not many monks in Panxiang Temple. The nun has a master and a disciple, both of whom are generally aloof and arrogant, and have even fewer interactions with others.

There was a thatched roof, earthen walls, hibiscus fence and bamboo windows. On the bed in the room, an old nun was lying sick, looking at her disciples, her heart deeply saddened.

"Leave early before the city finds out your background, and never come back again."

"If you leave, where else can you go?"

The old nun coughed heavily a few times and took out a letter from under her pillow. "I have an old acquaintance in the Muni Temple outside the capital. You can go visit her and hand this letter to the abbess. She will take you in."

Beside the bed stood a young girl, wearing a moon-white jacket with plain sleeves, a long vest with paddy green satin trim, a silk ribbon of autumn fragrance color, and a white silk skirt with light ink painting around her waist.

This extraordinary temperament, coupled with her jade-like and pure appearance, really makes her look like a fairy.

His voice was still clear and ethereal, but mixed with his own persistence, "I want to stay with Master and take care of him while he recovers from his illness."

The old nun frowned painfully and said, "Are you going to accompany me? Don't think I don't know that you are going down the mountain. They are so powerful among the mortals. How can a little nun like you fight against them?"

"You used to practice Buddhism with your hair uncut, but now you have shaved your head and are free from all worries."

Miaoyu stood up from the couch, her eyes showing no emotion, and said calmly: "This matter is not over yet, I am worried, how can I enter the Buddhist world?"

The old nun sighed and said, "Forget it, you go first."

When the old nun was in good health, we tried to persuade her again and again, but now that she is bedridden, it is even more difficult to persuade her.

But what could a little nun like her do in the murder case of a prefect, a fourth-rank official in the court?
What's more, the murder was an unjust death, and the person who did it was capable enough to control the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. No matter what she did, she would probably only lose her life in the end.

It's like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Miaoyu placed another pot of tea on the bedside, walked out of the door, and bowed to her master again.

The death of her father was a great blow to her. Although she had come to the mountains to practice since she was young and had never returned home, and even the Zhu family didn't know that there was such a young lady like her, she had never stopped exchanging letters with her parents.

A big reason why Panxiang Temple, which had not been very popular, could survive for so long was because of Miaoyu.

After being wrongfully imprisoned, her father sent his confidant to deliver a letter to Miaoyu, with only eight words "there is something wrong with the accounts, there is fraud in the farmland" to prove his innocence.

Before he died, he didn't want his beloved daughter to misunderstand him.

Miaoyu saw this and burst into tears.

She had suffered from many illnesses since childhood, and even selling many substitutes was not enough. Only when she went to a Buddhist temple to practice Buddhism did her condition improve.

Therefore, I have been practicing with my hair uncut all the time, and it has been thirteen years to this day.

"Are you going down the mountain today? How is your master's condition?"

Another sound of oriole singing was heard, and a girl of about the same age as Miaoyu, wearing clothes that had just been washed white, was accompanying Miaoyu.

Miaoyu looked back and said, "Master's body is still not very useful. We still have to go down the mountain. We can't stop."

The girl didn't say much. She moved a chair as usual, took off Miaoyu's bun, and combed her hair.

As soon as the hairpin was pulled, three thousand strands of black hair fell like a waterfall to the waist, extremely smooth.

The young girl looked at him with envy and said, "It's a pity for such a pretty face to live in seclusion in this temple."

Miaoyu was in no mood to joke with the girl, so she replied calmly, "You are not much worse than me."

The young girl added, "You haven't finished your worldly ties yet, so why don't you just leave Buddhism? Now you're neither a monk nor a layman, what have you become?"

"Nowadays, people have to comb their hair and dress like neither man nor woman."

Miaoyu said in distress: "You know my difficulties. There is a master in the temple, and my father needs to be vindicated and buried in peace."

"Now that you've done all this, what are you going to do?"

The girl asked casually, and Miaoyu really thought about it. In the past, she just focused on the things in front of her and never thought about living to see everything over.

"Perhaps you will follow Master's advice and go to the capital. What about you? Don't you have relatives in the capital? Why don't you follow your parents there?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know. Your father's problem is too difficult. We need some help. There's only so much we can do."

"You are also cultivating your life, so finding a good marriage and using your husband's family to do what you want, isn't that just right?"

Miaoyu couldn't help but roll her eyes, "If you were me, would you do this?"

The girl shook her head, "No."

"Then you still..."

The girl finally inserted the hairpin, fixed her hair bun, and put a cap on Miaoyu. "I'm just giving you an idea. If there is someone who can really do something for you, are you willing to marry him?"

Miaoyu pondered for a moment, shook her head and said, "What unrealistic things you say."

"It's just a small talk, tell me what you want to say."

Miaoyu was annoyed by the girl's nagging and said casually, "If there is really someone who can clear my father's name, then why shouldn't I give myself to him? I'm afraid such a person hasn't been born yet."

The girl nodded and smiled: "Well, this makes me more like a secular person, with flesh and blood."

Miaoyu was helpless and said, "I am a cultivator with my hair untied. I am also a cultivator. How can I have feelings for a man?"

People who practice cultivation have pure hearts and few desires. Miaoyu absolutely does not believe that she can have a relationship with the opposite sex. "Everyone has his own fate. Who can say for sure?"

Miaoyu twitched her lips and said disdainfully, "Okay, it's your turn. Come sit in the front."

The girl responded to Miaoyu's words and sat on the chair. "The plum blossom snow water is almost finished. What shall we drink from now on?"

Miaoyu replied: "Then pick some dew to drink."

"Where are we going today?"

"County Wu, I have some clues about my father's matter."

……

Shen's House,

In a secluded courtyard, Yue Ling and Xiang Ling were the only two people left in the room.

Xiangling leaned into Yue Ling's arms and sobbed softly, saying, "My Lord, I never thought that this would happen. If I have made you angry, I apologize to you."

Yue Ling patted her back and said, "Okay, the fault is not yours, so stop crying."

Yue Ling gently wiped the tears from Xiangling's eyes and rubbed her head, taking care of her as lovingly as if she were a porcelain doll.

Xiangling's heart was filled with tenderness. She looked up at Yue Ling eagerly, bit her lip and said, "My Lord, why don't you take me away? I won't be here anymore."

Yue Ling was startled. "You just met mother, are you leaving now?"

Xiangling nodded and said, "Mother has seen me, and she is a very nice person. She is also very happy to see me, so she must be relieved."

"It's just that I'm being ungrateful to let the Marquis stay in this room and suffer the wrath of these people."

Yue Ling smiled calmly, "These are all trivial matters, but now we really have a reason not to leave."

Xiangling didn't understand what Yue Ling said and looked at him with confusion.

Yue Ling tapped the rouge mole on her forehead and explained, "The guard just let it slip that I was going south. My going south is a top secret. No one will know about it in advance except those around me and the high-ranking ministers in the court."

"But in Suzhou, a mere guard could know the inside story. I'm afraid the situation is much more serious than I initially thought."

Xiangling was startled when she heard that, and shrank back into Yue Ling's arms.

Yue Ling patted her gently to comfort her, "However, they didn't recognize my appearance, and it's all right. And with Sister Lin and the others in the capital as cover, no one should know that I'm already in Suzhou."

"This matter has nothing to do with you. Just stay with your mother for the time being. When things are clear, I will take you away."

"There's something wrong with the Shen family."

Xiangling nodded slightly and agreed.

Breaking free from Yue Ling's arms, Xiang Ling said shyly, "There is only one bed here. I'll go make it."

Yue Ling teased, "Have you thought it through? Do you want to make amends for me?"

Xiangling blushed and moaned, "Besides this, I have nothing else to repay the Marquis..."

Yue Ling nodded, "You are much more sensible than Zijuan. I have to call her over and over again."

Xiangling's cheeks became even hotter. The words from Yue Ling's mouth were not really compliments to a girl.

To Xiangling, it sounded more like she was behaving in a dissolute and improper way.

Xiangling closed her eyes tightly, then unbuttoned her clothes, revealing her peach-colored tube top.

Yue Ling was no longer polite. After the first time, she was labeled as his woman and could no longer be treated as a little maid.

"My Lord, please don't move. Let me serve you..."

Yue Ling spread out her arms and let the little girl do what she wanted to her. After removing the complicated clothes on her upper body, she began to sniff her chest.

"How come it feels like you've become much more skilled after just the second time?"

Xiangling is really not stupid. She has a quick learning ability. No wonder she can learn poetry.

When she was learning poetry, she was a fool, and now she seems to be no less so. Should we say that Xiangling's character is really similar to Qin Keqing? They are both in the same position.

Xiangling stuck out her tongue and licked it all over, then raised her head and said shyly, "There were books like this in the old room. I found them by accident when I was tidying up the young lady's bookshelf, so I wrote them down."

Yue Ling was stunned and asked, "Sister Lin?"

Xiangling hurriedly shook her head, "No, it's Miss Xue."

Yue Ling couldn't help but laugh and said, "So that's how it is. Xue Baochai is indeed well-versed in both ancient and modern times, and has a wide range of knowledge and insight. It seems that she has a very wide range of interests."

Yue Ling was not surprised that it was Xue Baochai. With her knowledge, she should know everything.

What's more, it is something as simple as the relationship between men and women.

The "Xuannv Jing", "Su Nu Jing" and "Dong Xuan Zi Thirty-six Postures" circulating in the world all come with detailed pictures and texts, and it is not difficult to show them one hundred and eight postures.

Xiangling blushed and said, "What is the Marquis thinking about? It seems that he is even more angry than before..."

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, "I'm not thinking about anything, just do your thing."

Outside the courtyard gate, Feng, who loved her daughter dearly, came in person to bring some food to Xiangling before dark, so that they would have someone to help them at night.

But before entering the courtyard, I heard rapid breathing coming from the room.

We have all been through this, how could we not know what’s going on?

Feng retreated with a helpless look on her face, secretly complaining in her heart, "How could such a pretty girl like a lotus be such a foolish and resentful woman behind her back? It's only dusk now, and she's already shamelessly doing this. It's really disgraceful."

This was at someone else's house. According to what they said, they had been together for several years, so who knows what they must have become. They must have done everything.

Feng felt her face burning, "They are so inseparable, no wonder they won't separate."

After placing the food box on the table near the courtyard gate, Feng returned the same way she came.

In the inner house, Shen Fengshi was staying beside the sickbed with a sad face. Seeing her son just turning his arm back with a face as pale as paper, she felt grief-stricken in her heart.

"How can an outsider vent his anger in this courtyard? My son, why are you so miserable?"

Looking at Shen Yishu who was calmly drinking tea, Shen Fengshi was even more sad. "Even if you don't want to cause trouble, you should send him away first. But you watched your son being bullied. What kind of father are you?"

Shen Yishu sighed and said, "That young man has a great background. The guard said he is a descendant of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes of the capital. The Four Kings and Eight Dukes are not people that we can afford to offend in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, even if they are from a branch family."

"Now is a stormy time, it is better to do less than more."

"He was spoiled by you, and now he has suffered the disaster. Let him remember this lesson for a long time."

Shen Feng was stunned and repeated in a low voice, "Four kings and eight dukes? What about him?"

Shen Yishu said, "Let him stay here for now. When he wants to leave, we will send him off."

(End of this chapter)