Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

When the lunch box was opened, there was a rich variety of dishes, the staple food being a few crispy and fragrant Hu pancakes.

"I don't know what Xuan Zang was thinking. He even reminded me to put enough oil in the Hu pancake, as if he was afraid that I would deduct a sip of oil from you." Wen Jiao said casually while looking at the pancake.

"I am unlucky as a father. I have little kinship with you and I don't even know what you like to eat. I only remember that when you were young, your family was poor and you craved the Hu Bing from Old Wang's shop in the West Market the most..."

Chen Guangrui was stunned, his emotions surging like an undercurrent beneath the ice.

No matter how ambitious you are, how full of plans you are, how unscrupulous you are, when you are finally in prison, the one who will remember the words you said casually when you wanted to harm him and give you a piece of sweet and soft cake is still the child you hated and even almost killed.

Chen Guangrui picked out the Hu pancake and munched on it. After finishing one, he started chewing another one. He chewed until he was almost choked to death. Tears welled up in his eyes: "Jiang Liuer, he is a good child."

How can a monk who has practiced for ten lifetimes be bad? If he sees a dying dog passing by, he will go from street to street to beg for a bowl of rice, not to mention that the dog is his own father.

Wen Jiao chuckled and said in a neutral tone, "That was also due to the good teaching of Monk Fa Ming from Jinshan Temple. It has nothing to do with you and me."

"Yes, he has nothing to do with you or me anymore." Chen Guangrui grabbed a handful of straw and let it slip through his fingers one by one. "Mantangjiao, I also had endless fantasies about our future. I know that a lady like you would either marry into a royal family or become a wife of a noble family. I came from a humble family, and it took me ten lifetimes to be lucky enough to marry you. But as a husband, how can I be inferior to my wife? That's why I have to show my manliness all the time, so that you won't look down on me."

"Oh, it's my fault." Wen Jiao said with a smile.

"After I passed the imperial examination, the emperor held a banquet for the successful candidates at Fengchi. I was at the front of the line. A maid brought up a golden plate filled with clear water. I saw that the water was crystal clear and the rose petals floating on the water were fragrant and lovely. I thought it was soup, so I took a sip and heard laughter in the room."

Chen Guangrui was trembling with pain, covering his face. "Everyone, the second and third place winners behind me, other Jinshi, palace maids, eunuchs, princes, oh, and the old emperor. Everyone is laughing at me. Yes, I was born in a poor family, lost my father when I was young, and was raised by my widowed mother who farmed and wove cloth. It was not until I became famous for my good studies that I was sponsored by a rich family and could afford to raise a book boy. I was ignorant and didn't know that it was water for washing hands. But I was also a dignified top scholar. I relied on my own top scorer, but because I didn't know the wealth of the royal family, I became a joke. I was laughed at as a country boy by the young masters of the same year, who knew my resentment?"

"No one knows, that's because you don't dare to get angry with those who laugh at you. When you return home, you can be sarcastic to your wife. Anyway, since she married you, she is lower than you and can be manipulated by you without worrying about offending any noble family that you can't afford to offend, right?" Wen Jiao's smile faded.

Chen Guangrui wiped away his tears: "I also know that you have been wronged by following me. I once thought that I would be devoted and diligent in my work, so that I could be granted a title of nobility and become a prime minister in the future, so that you don't have to rely on your family, and you can wear the clothes of a royal lady because of me. I want our son to be dressed in fine clothes, eat delicious food, ride a fine coat and a fat horse, enjoy all the wealth in the world, and be a rich and noble son who is not inferior to any son of aristocratic family. He will no longer be like me when I was young, living in poverty and being laughed at by a group of frivolous people in Wuling..."

"It's a pity that Mantang Jiao suffered a lot because of your injustice. And Jiang Liuer was destined to suffer a lot since he was born." Wen Jiao sighed.

If Chen Guangrui had not suppressed Yin Wenjiao because of being bullied elsewhere, how could she let herself and her husband be bullied by two boatmen? There would not have been all the disasters that followed. Perhaps Tang Seng was destined to go through the 81 trials in his ten reincarnations, so that he could ascend to the Leiyin Temple to seek the true scriptures and achieve the status of the Sandalwood Merit Buddha with infinite merits, instead of enjoying honor and being a carefree young man.

"If I had treated Jiang Liuer more kindly when we first met in Hongjiangkou, could I have stopped him from returning to Jinshan Temple, and our family would not have ended up in the situation we are in today?" Chen Guangrui murmured.

"If it happened again a thousand times, Jiang Liuer would choose to return to Buddhism. Just like you, you have been bullied by other young masters of noble families, but you only act like a real man in front of me. You don't think about the fifteen years of suffering I have suffered because of you. Instead, you only despise me for being a fallen woman with a good family background but no chastity. You think you have the leverage over me and can abuse me as you please." Wen Jiao punctured his delusion.

She recalled Yin Wenjiao's memories and said quietly, "Before she got married, Mantangjiao had also been looking forward to her future husband. He must be a gentle and considerate partner, a talented soulmate, and most importantly, he must be a responsible, upright, and ambitious man. He will protect me and not let me experience any ups and downs."

"If I could do it again, Mantangjiao would never throw that hydrangea to you again."

After that, she left proudly. Behind her, Chen Guangrui's laughter could be heard continuously. The more she listened, the more the corners of her lips that were originally raised could not help but tremble.

If the noble families had not accumulated most of the wealth and resources, the children of common people would have to struggle for many years and finally surpass their peers in literature and enter the officialdom, but find that they have only squeezed into their starting point and are still ridiculed because of their poor background.

If the country is peaceful and the people are prosperous, no one will take risks and kill for money.

If the imperial court's strict examination system does not allow for someone to impersonate someone else, and no one noticed for fifteen years...

So will the story of Yin Wenjiao and Chen Guangrui have a good ending?

Wen Jiao didn't dare to think too deeply about these things. If she did, she would only feel that life was really bitter.

In order to dispel the depression in her heart, Wen Jiao hummed a song "Tears Behind the Iron Window" to bid farewell to the ex-husband of this body: "Iron door, iron window, iron chain, I hold the iron window and look outside."

"Life outside is so wonderful. When will I return to my home?"

The next day, Chen Guangrui was sentenced to ten years in prison for his failed attempt to poison his son. In court, Chen Guangrui looked depressed, his eyes were blank, and he said nothing, like a walking corpse.

Six months later, Li Aman gave birth to Chen Guangrui's second son. She wrote his life story on a white silk handkerchief and stuffed it into the baby's swaddling clothes. Then, she placed the baby at the door of Mrs. Zhang's house. Mrs. Zhang was overjoyed to have a grandson, and her heart became much more open. She sent the maids away to marry, and she and the remaining old servants raised the child with the cart of pepper left by Chen Guangrui. Ten years later, Chen Guangrui was released from prison and named his son Chen Su. Soon after, he became a monk. Later, Chen Su passed the imperial examination and became a peace official. Mrs. Zhang also enjoyed her old age. This is a later story.