Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 259: The Fairy-like Nun

Yue Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw a narrow path leading up the mountain hidden in the woods.

Two nuns with long hair walked out from the mural, giving a sense of otherworldly fairies walking out of the mural. At first glance, one would think that they seemed otherworldly.

The people around them all retreated, and many people along the way bowed and saluted to the two of them with great respect, which made Yue Ling feel even more strange.

A little nun at the back seemed to have noticed Yue Ling's unusual gaze. She turned around and met Yue Ling's eyes. She frowned and then turned back and walked down the mountain.

Xiang Ling waved her hand in front of Yue Ling and whispered, "So the Marquis likes this?"

"Huh? What?"

Yue Ling came back to his senses and said helplessly, "How did it get to this point?"

Xiangling said seriously, "It is rumored that the masters of the noble families always have some unusual habits. Perhaps it is because ordinary women have too many pleasures and have lost interest. People with different status like this are the most sought after."

"It seems that it is not uncommon to like female masters."

Yue Ling pinched Xiang Ling's face and scolded her, "You know a lot. On the way back, if you pass by a tailor's shop, go get yourself a set of Zen clothes. Remember to shorten the chest and skirt and pants. The clothes should be made of translucent silk. It will cheer me up tonight."

Xiangling's legs went weak and she almost stumbled. She smiled awkwardly and looked at Yue Ling with a flattering look.

"Really? That's too embarrassing. I can't do it... Or should I wait for Sister Zijuan to come and I'll prepare one for her?"

Yue Ling nodded, "That's fine, you're right, it can help to liven up the atmosphere. It's no fun to keep pushing it back and forth."

Suzhou's silk weaving industry is thriving. If Yue Ling depicts maid outfits, college-style clothes, and other such clothing of later generations, they can probably be reproduced.

If that's the case, then... it really is quite unique.

It seemed as if Yue Ling had opened a new door unintentionally.

After regaining his composure, Yue Ling coughed lightly to hide his guilty conscience, and said to Xiang Ling, "I saw those two people just now, not because of their looks, but because they were somewhat different from others."

Xiangling nodded in agreement. "She is indeed unique and pretty. She looks at least like Miss Lin and Miss Xue."

Yue Ling curled his lips, "Not only do they look good, but the two of them are cultivating with their hair intact. The little nun behind has hair intact, which shows that she has not yet fulfilled her worldly ties, but the female master in the lead also has hair intact. Can she still accept disciples like this? I don't know the rules of the temple here."

Xiangling also shook her head. Although she was from Gusu, she left home when she was young, so how could she know the customs of Gusu temples?

Yue Ling stopped another fellow villager and asked casually.

"Brother, it's really strange that the two female masters came down from the mountain. I wonder where they came from?"

The man who was stopped saw that Yue Ling was dressed very decently and behaved very appropriately, so he became a little more friendly and introduced, "These two are nuns who practice in Panxiang Temple on the top of the mountain. In fact, we locals don't know much about Panxiang Temple. Panxiang Temple rarely opens its gates, and more than half of the nuns are nuns who usually don't accept incense from pilgrims."

"No need for incense, no wonder she is so pure and elegant."

The man said, "That's not entirely true. Female nuns usually go deep into the inner houses of wealthy families and preach to the women in the inner houses. The money they can earn is much more than the incense donations from pilgrims. Otherwise, how can such a large temple continue to exist?"

"If we talk about pure and elegant, the two you just saw are somewhat special. I have never seen these two female masters come down the mountain before. They are unfamiliar faces. Rumor has it that there is a patriarch in the temple who is ill in bed, and they came down the mountain to do good deeds on his behalf and accumulate blessings."

"These days they have been chanting sutras and praying for poor families in the city. They are two masters who do good deeds, so they are respected by people."

Yue Ling nodded repeatedly, "No wonder."

The man smiled and said, "It's good that you know this, young master. Many playboys who wanted to take advantage of those two masters were severely punished."

"If you like this, why not go to Juxing Tower in the city. The girls there are clingy and good at acting, and there are all kinds of them."

You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. As they were talking, the topic was led off track by this person.

Yue Ling waved his sleeves helplessly and walked away with Xiangling, whose cheeks were flushed.

Along the way, Yue Ling couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "You really can't underestimate the business acumen of this world. A nun who just came down from the mountain is cosplaying in a brothel. You should make the money."

……

Wu County,

By the stream, two nuns were walking along the road in a hurry, not paying any attention to the surrounding scenery, as if they were in a hurry.

"Sister, where are we going? We have never been here before."

"Just walk first, and then you can bump into someone."

After hearing this, Xing Xiuyan stopped talking and continued walking in front of Miaoyu without looking away.

Not long after, the two ran into a group of people wearing the uniform of the Shen family's security guards, who were washing and chatting by the river.

"Second Brother Song, you are so unlucky. How come you bumped into a cold-faced man when you made a move? It's really unlucky. Not only did you not get any money, but you also got beaten up for nothing."

"The bruises from those two blows will take you a while to heal."

The man called Song Erlang was gritting his teeth in pain, and only after the cold stream water splashed on his face did he feel a little better.

He knew best how hard the punches and kicks hit him.

Not only does it take a while to recover, but now he even has difficulty moving and his hands and feet don't have much strength.

If I hadn't drunk so much yesterday and had a hangover all night, I really don't know how I would have been able to sleep at night.

"Son of a bitch, stop making sarcastic remarks here. If it weren't for that bastard from the Shen family, would I be in such trouble today?"

"I should beat him up again to vent my anger."

Others persuaded him, "Forget it. After all, we are still eating other people's food. If we don't give that kid face, we should at least give some face to Shen Yishu. We need to be able to get by."

"Once we have finished our work, we should leave. Don't put up with this humiliation then."

Song Erlang sneered, "Find a group of brothers to show that Liu family Erlang how powerful he is? So what if you have four kings and eight dukes? If you are a gangster, you go home and complain when you suffer a loss. It's better for you to stay at home and drink milk."

Everyone around couldn't stop laughing.

After taking off his clothes, Song Erlang couldn't help but grit his teeth and gasp for air. His body was in great pain again, probably because the kick had broken several ribs.

Now I can wash myself in the water, which will at least be a cold compress. I can apply some medicine on my wounds when I come back. "You guys go back first. I'll wash myself carefully here."

"Okay, Brother Song, please be careful with your steps."

The guards of the Shen family scattered and walked towards the farm. Song Erlang, with his upper body naked, slowly moved towards the water.

Being drunk and feeling unwell, it was difficult for Song Erlang to move a step. His breathing became heavier and veins appeared on his forehead.

It would be best if he had someone to serve him right now, but as a wanderer, it is common for him to get bruised and injured. If he asks a few brothers to serve him when something happens, he will be laughed at.

He is not the young master of a wealthy family, and he is not a spoiled child.

Leaning into the water, Song Erlang closed his eyes and sighed, "It would be nice if I had two maids to serve me. I also want to live the life of a wealthy landlord."

He didn't know if God really heard his wish, but when he opened his eyes again, two girls really appeared in front of Song Erlang, but they were nuns wearing Zen robes.

Song Erlang was not obsessed with lust. He looked at the two men and asked in confusion, "Why are you two masters here spying on me taking a bath instead of going to the village to chant Buddhist scriptures?"

In an instant, two people took out a hemp rope from behind, wrapped it around Song Erlang's neck, and strangled him fiercely.

No answer was given, but the behavior gave a more powerful answer.

Song Erlang's face was filled with fear. He had never had any connection with Buddhist temples, but now these two nuns seemed to have no other thoughts and were determined to take his life.

It was already difficult to move underwater, and his legs were weak. It took a lot of effort for an adult man to stand up on the slippery riverbed.

After all, he had more experience in fighting. As long as he could stand up and keep his body steady, there was no way Song Erlang would be easily killed by two little girls.

With his hands tightly gripping the hemp rope, Song Erlang was about to shout and throw the little girl away, but he was suddenly hit hard on the back.

Among them was a little girl who let go of her hand, picked up a stone slab from the river, and when the opportunity arose, she hit Song Erlang hard on the back, right where he was injured. The pain almost made Song Erlang faint.

He immediately leaned forward and fell into the water.

When he wanted to call for help, the two of them had already pressed his head under the water, forced him to gulp down several gulps of water, and he could no longer stammer.

The poor guy had been wandering the world for many years, but he never expected to capsize in such a ditch today. He was actually tricked by two little girls.

Due to his old injury and his lack of strength due to being drunk, the bubbles on the water surface soon stopped. The big man no longer struggled and his eyes rolled up due to suffocation.

Seeing that she had succeeded, Miaoyu said, "Just hold him like this for now, don't let others find out. I'll go get some water grass and tie it around his neck, so that you won't see any traces of the hemp rope."

Xing Xiuyan said with a bitter face: "If you had told me in advance that you were going to do this, I would definitely not have come with you. This is a serious crime of murder. Do you want me to go to jail with you?"

Miaoyu frowned and said, "Do you think they are good people? They are all bandits from all over the country, and they have killed many people. If you kill him, you are getting rid of harm to the people."

"If our identities were not inappropriate, we should go to the government to collect a reward."

Xing Xiuyan still had a bitter face. "I thought we were doing good deeds and accumulating virtue by just chanting sutras and praying for the villagers, but it turns out we have to do it ourselves?"

Miaoyu had no time to care about Xing Xiuyan's feelings. She quickly dealt with the scene and turned the intentional murder into an accidental death.

The water plants were entangled around Song Erlang's neck. He looked like a drunk man who slipped and fell into the river, and then was unlucky enough to be entangled by the water plants at the bottom of the water.

"Let's go, let's hide first. Let's dry the clothes first."

Hiding in the shade of a tree, Xing Xiuyan stared at her hands blankly, feeling that she would have a nightmare tonight.

Lips moving, Xing Xiuyan couldn't help but ask: "Sister, you haven't told me yet, why do you have to kill him? You can't really be killing him for the people, right? If we have to do this every day when we go down the mountain in the future, let alone whether we can beat the thieves, I won't go down the mountain with you."

Miaoyu raised her head and said coquettishly, "Even if you are stupid, I am not. Today's matter is only this once. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we won't come here again in the future."

"So what is sister doing this for?"

Miaoyu said, "We have been working around these days and have heard some news. The Shen family is probably not clean and has dealings with the aristocratic Xu family."

Xing Xiuyan was startled and responded, "Is it the bank that investigated your father's corruption, Xu's Bank?"

Miaoyu nodded. "The Xu family not only owns a silver shop, but is also a major silk weaver. Once they switch from rice to mulberry, they will definitely be the one to benefit the most. So when my father left me the message that 'the accounts are false', I suspect that the Lin family teamed up with the officials of the Secretariat to falsify the accounts and frame my father."

"The Lin family is very tight-lipped. We went in a few times but could only talk to the women. We had no chance. The Shen family has dealings with the Lin family. If we can steal their accounts, we will definitely find out something fishy."

Xing Xiuyan nodded repeatedly, thinking that Miaoyu's words made a lot of sense.

"Okay, I'll help you this last time. If it still doesn't work this time, I advise you to give up. Let's go to Beijing together and stay away from here."

Miaoyu rubbed Xing Xiuyan's head and comforted her, "Thank you. If this matter still fails, I will listen to you and go to Beijing."

Even after going to Beijing, Miaoyu would not forget her father's affairs. She just thought that if she could get to know some high-ranking officials in Beijing, she might have a chance to clear her father's name.

Xing Xiuyan sighed deeply. She was usually a dignified and steady person, and she would never dare to do such a ridiculous thing as what she did today even in her dreams.

But things had to be done, and she couldn't help but help Miaoyu.

No wonder Miaoyu wanted to take her down the mountain. It would indeed be easier to do things with a helper.

"Forget it. You are half my master after all."

Xing Xiuyan raised her head again and asked Xiang Miaoyu: "What should we do next?"

Miaoyu whispered a few words in her ear, and Xing Xiuyan's pupils dilated.

"Then you have to be careful. Once we are discovered, won't we all be in trouble?"

Miaoyu held Xing Xiuyan's hand and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. Even if something happens, I will take care of it and will never drag you down."

Xing Xiuyan's eyes were red and she sobbed softly, "Is this matter so important? I don't want to see you get into trouble."

Miaoyu stood up and shook her Zen robe. "You said that I am of noble character, like a monk but not a monk, like a layman but not a layman. I have nothing to refute. After I have fulfilled this wish, I should also become a monk and enter the Buddhist monastery."

Miaoyu smiled and said, "In the future, I will pray for you all day long and bless you to have a good marriage."

Xing Xiuyan glanced at him and said, "At this critical moment, you still have the mind to tease me. I really don't know what to say to you. If your prayers are useful, why not bless yourself with a good marriage first..."

　Chapter 21 is under review and has been released
　　
　
(End of this chapter)