Noble Lady

She stepped back.

"Xue Xiaoyu, do you know something?"

Xue Chenyu took out a letter from her sleeve, which was addressed to Miss Xue herself.

But Du Jingyuan recognized it at a glance; it was Chen Mingxuan's handwriting.

"...Why did he write to you?"

Xue Chenyu sighed, "You'll know if you take a look yourself."

Du Jingyuan hesitated for a moment but still didn't answer.

"This letter isn't addressed to me, so I won't read it. You should tell me."

Xue Chenyu didn't argue with her in vain and told Du Jingyuan the contents of the letter.

Probably, he thought over and over again that if he canceled the engagement, it would harm the eldest daughter of the general's mansion and cause her to be criticized for no reason; if he did not cancel the engagement, he would be sorry for Du Jingyuan.

He was in a dilemma and couldn't have the best of both worlds, so he decided to become a monk.

He thought that if he became a monk, the reputation of the eldest daughter of the general's mansion would not be damaged, and Du Jingyuan would be able to find someone to marry in the future.

Du Jingyuan's face turned green after hearing this. "This damn nerd, let him think it over carefully, and this is the result he came up with?"

"Does he think that just because he becomes a monk he can live without disappointing anyone? What a fool."

Xue Chenyu said with a smile, "You shouldn't say these things to me, you should say them to him."

Du Jingyuan: “…”

……

Two days later.

When Xue Chenyu, Du Jingyuan and their group arrived at Qinglong Temple, the afternoon sun was shining brightly.

The warm winter sun shines on our bodies, making us feel warm.

"Your idea is really good. If it weren't for that set of excuses, Madam Du would probably not let me go out." Du Jingyuan looked at the mountain gate and spoke with emotion.

Xue Chenyu smiled but said nothing.

Du Jingyuan couldn't wait to climb the stairs, but Xue Chenyu stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the light and shadows cast from the sky, and what came to his mind was the scene of the day he was assassinated.

Yuzhu stood in front of her, blocked the bandit's first knife for her, and then fell in a pool of blood.

Immediately afterwards, she herself was stabbed and fell in a pool of blood.

"It's a pity that there is no such warm sunshine when the first snow falls." Xue Chenyu blurted out.

She never expected that she would be in such a state of mind when she revisited the old place.

She has been able to let go of the memory of her death in her previous life. Perhaps it is because He Minzhi no longer means anything to her and is just an insignificant stranger.

It may also be because she will never foolishly accept an invitation from He Minzhi again, and that fatal situation will never happen again.

At this moment, her mood suddenly brightened.

"Xue Xiaoyu, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up."

She suddenly came to her senses and saw Du Jingyuan waving at her from above.

"Here I come." Xue Chenyu lifted her skirt and strode after him.

The winter forest and the Zen temple are quiet and peaceful.

Because it was not the first or fifteenth day of the lunar month, there were not too many pilgrims burning incense and worshipping Buddha. Xue Chenyu and Du Jingyuan, two ladies from wealthy families, and their maids stood out particularly.

The young monks from the temple quickly came over to greet them.

"I want to see the abbot." Du Jingyuan didn't even give the little monk a chance to speak, and said straight to the point.

The young novice monk was only twelve or thirteen years old, but he acted like an adult, pretending to be serious and saying, "The abbot is meeting guests, so it's not convenient."

Du Jingyuan said unhappily, "Why? Other pilgrims are pilgrims, but we are not. Do you think we are unwilling to donate merit?"

Why does it sound a bit unreasonable?

Xue Chenyu smiled but said nothing.

The young monk from Qinglong Temple touched his bald head, which was red from the cold, and finally revealed the distressed expression that was expected of his age. "Please forgive me, my two benefactors. The guest that the abbot is meeting was already scheduled."

"If you two wish to see him, I can wait until the guest leaves and then inform you."

"No, I want to see the abbot now!" Du Jingyuan was firm.

The little monk was at a loss.

Du Jingyuan obviously knew where the abbot of Qinglong Temple's meditation room was, so she rushed in regardless of the consequences.

The young monk could only stop them, but he did not dare to offend the female pilgrim, and he was so embarrassed that he almost cried.

In dispute.

The door of the abbot's meditation room opened.

The abbot came out first, and the young monk hurried forward to apologize, "Master, these donors must see you, I, I can't stop them. ..."

"It's alright," the abbot with flowing white beard said slowly, "Please come over, donors."

After hearing what the abbot said, Du Jingyuan did not hesitate any longer and took two steps forward.

Xue Chenyu was not in a hurry and followed slowly.

at this time.

The abbot's guest in the Zen room slowly walked out.

It was Chen Mingxuan who had changed out of his official robes and was wearing a green scholar's robe and had his hair tied up with a turban.

"Chen, Ming, Xuan."

He was also stunned when he saw Du Jingyuan, "...Du, Miss Du, why are you..." here?

As he spoke, he saw Xue Chenyu slowly following behind Du Jingyuan, and his eyes dimmed slightly. Did Miss Xue tell Miss Du?

"Dear donors, if you have anything to discuss, you may come and sit in the meditation room."

"Thank you, Abbot, but that's not necessary." Du Jingyuan said decisively, "I just have something to say to Master Chen, and I'll be leaving after that."

Chen Mingxuan straightened his back involuntarily when he heard this. "You, tell me."

The abbot was also a sensible person. Although it was his own meditation room, he still took the little monk away.

Xue Chenyu also led Yuzhu, Xiahe, Weng Xuemei and Dujuan a little further away.

Leaving behind Du Jingyuan and Chen Mingxuan.

"Master Chen, I just came here to tell you that it's impossible to avoid offending or disappointing both sides. The moment you agreed to the marriage and then wavered, you were destined to choose between your own preferences and the interests of your family."

"If you are a man, fulfill your engagement. Don't let an innocent girl become infamous because of you and be criticized by the world."

She said this in a casual manner, but Chen Mingxuan's eyes turned red. "What about you?"

Don't you care about me at all?

Du Jingyuan, whose sleeve was pulled by him, sighed helplessly, "I am free, but you are not."

"Moreover, you said you've never met the general's daughter and that you only have responsibilities towards her; but how can you be sure that your kindness to me isn't due to that little favor you once showed me?"

Chen Mingxuan didn't speak for a long time.

Du Jingyuan pulled back her sleeves and said earnestly, "I don't want to hurt an innocent person because of me. I hope Lord Chen feels the same way."

After saying that, she walked away.

After walking a few steps, he turned his head and smiled faintly, "By the way, Master Chen, when you encounter a problem that cannot be solved, you resort to extreme means like becoming a monk to escape the problem. This is truly not what a real man should do."

After saying that, he walked towards Xue Chenyu and left together.

"Using such an extreme method as becoming a monk to escape problems is really not what a real man should do." This sentence undoubtedly caused an uproar in Chen Mingxuan's heart.

He thought this was a win-win solution, but it turned out to be just an escape?

He still didn't call out to Du Jingyuan, but just looked at the direction she left without moving for a long time.

……

"Of course, Du Jingyuan, you're quite good at bluffing people now."

Xia He and Weng Xuemei told Xue Chenyu everything about the conversation between Du Jingyuan and Chen Mingxuan.

Du Jingyuan felt her face burning. "...Don't make fun of me. If I hadn't said that at the time, what if he really regretted the engagement?"

"Don't worry, if he really dares to break off the engagement, Miss Chen San and I will help you find a better candidate. The dowry promised to you will still be yours."

“…Who said dowry?”

"That means I only like Chen Mingxuan."

"Xue Xiaoyu, you..."

Du Jingyuan was so angry that she felt inferior in an instant when she met Xue Chenyu's teasing eyes.

At this moment, she no longer had the nerve to argue with Xue Chenyu. She covered her burning cheeks and wished she could bury her head in the blanket in the carriage.