“Why are you so angry, Dignitary?” Leng Changxi cast a glance at Hui An, who was frozen with fear and did not dare to continue to slap. He stood still, feeling terrified. The eyes of Leng Changxi were as cold as those of Asura.
Being hit sharply by Hui An, Jie Chen rolled over several times and finally stopped by the feet of Qin Yunuan, who was pulled away by Maner and Tong in a hurry. She saw that Jie Chen opened his eyes widely and tried to say something with his hands holding the jaw. He stared at her in a begging way, like he was giving her a hint or just impressing his resentment.
Qin Yunuan knew that his jaw was dislocated by Hui An, so that he would shut up.
“Drag him out and lock him in the wood-shed. His punishment will be released later,” said Hui An.
Inside the hall, the cone incense was still burning quietly, and occasionally, some ashes dropped off and scattered into the hot air. It took a long time for Hui An to calm down. He lowered his head and made an apology to Qin Yunuan. “Please excuse us, Miss Qin. It was my lack of rule that resulted in this matter. I don’t know what had led to his irreverence, but I will surely find it out. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Although the Buddha’s tears are not real, it might be true that Qin Yunuan had brought troubles to the Qin family.” Li Weijun insisted with uncertainty. She did not expect that Hui An would give up so soon. After all, on her way to the temple, she was so confident that they would make it.
“Why are you so obsessed with the family matters of sister Yunuan, Miss Li? Do you know anything, I guess?” Fang Ziying snorted coldly.
That was true. The abnormal persistence of Li Weijun had attracted other people’s attention. Everyone else was examining her, except one person— that Childe in blue. Instead, he persuaded her gently, “Knock it off, Weijun.”
Qin Yunuan raised her eyebrows slightly. It seemed that they had a special relationship.
Li Weijun lost her tongue and presence of mind. She was just an inexperienced young girl who was not scheming enough. Such a bad choice showed that Dou Qing’e was getting sort of desperate.
Meanwhile, Hui An had preserved himself by betraying his disciple Jie Chen, which was worthwhile for him. As he was drawing a long sigh, Leng Changxi gave an oral instruction coldly. “To find out the truth, you have to go to the bottom of this matter. Dignitary Hui An has to deal with the affairs of the temple, so he may not have enough energy to investigate. Leng Wu, stays there and assists Dignitary Hui An to reveal the whole truth.” The words “reveal the whole truth” shot Hui An in the heart like arrows and he looked up fearfully. “Do you have any problems, Dignitary Hui An?” Leng Changxi asked abruptly.
Hui An did not dare to say too much. He knew Leng Changxi was a High General and also a favorite of the emperor. “I have no problem.” He answered, with sweats trickling down his forehead.
Inevitably, people were unpleasant as the praying ceremony ended up in a haste. At present, they all went back to their own room, ready to take a rest.
Maner was loosening Qin Yunuan’s hair when Lvliu pushed the door open and came in. “Third Miss, I had borrowed four Buddhist scriptures Madam asked for from the Sutra Collection Pavilion.” She reported.
Lvliu appeared to be a little bit exhausted. It could tell from her eyes that she was worried about something. Qin Yunuan looked up with a smile and took the Buddhist scriptures from her. “That’s great. Mother had specially reminded me to borrow the scriptures before taking off. But Maner and Tong were slack in their work and borrowed the wrong books. They are not as considerate as you are.”
“You are very modest, Third Miss. Your servant girls are not only helpful, but also good at catching bad people.” Lvliu said sarcastically.
Although she said this in a low voice, everyone had heard what she said clearly. The faces of Maner and Tong turned red at those words. It seemed that they were trying to control their tempers.
“You are right, sister Lvliu.” Qin Yunuan untied her hair band leisurely and loosened her chignon. Her hair was brilliantly black and soft, like the waterfall pouring down or the waterweeds dancing along with the waves, which made her face with light make-up look smarter and more attractive. “If it were not for their prompt discovery of Jie Chen’s evil doing, I could not explain myself away even if I have a thousand mouths. Is that right, Lvliu?”
Qin Yunuan combed her long hair and looked at Lvliu who was annoyed. She did not believe that she had nothing to do with this matter. But right now, her father, the head of the family, had not returned to the Royal City and they were still under the control of Dou Qing’e. Or else, she would definitely reveal the true nature of these treacherous villains.
However, Lvliu was also a tough person. “It was very admirable for two servant girls to protect their Miss out of loyalty. But you’d better keep the ethics and rites in your mind, Third Miss. Do not do anything indiscreet at the Buddha Dharma Sermon later.” She said this with her neck straightened up, and then left after making a curtsey.
“Bah, what an arrogant maidservant! How dare she speak to you in this way.” Tong was a candid person. She stamped her foot and said angrily, “She just took advantage of Grand Madam and assumed great airs. She showed no respect to you, Miss.”
Qin Yunuan raised her hand slowly and poured herself a cup of hot tea. The fragrance of the tea was diffused all around and her lips had sweet perfumes. “That’s just what people said: a dog bites on the strength of its master’s position.”
Maner stroked her chest and said, “I really didn’t expect that Lvliu would do such things. If we had not found out her intention and followed her secretly, we would not have seen her meeting with Jie Chen, and then the rumors that you were a hoodoo would have been spread out in the Royal City. Grand Madam was really cold-hearted.”
Qin Yunuan shook her head and said, “Dou Qing’e is a detail-minded person. Now that she failed this time, she would come out with a better plan. Besides, have you noticed the reaction of Lvliu? She was calm and hurried and even a little confident. I’m afraid that this is not the end.”
“Please rest assured, Third Miss,” Maner said confidently, “We will be more careful and make no mistakes.”
Tong also looked at her and nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken. Qin Yunuan knew about their loyalty very well in her previous life. Now, the two faithful girls were busy helping her again. Thinking about this, Qin Yunuan held their hands tightly and made a firm promise to them. “I will never let anyone hurt any of you, ever.”
During the break, Maner and Tong guarded the door for Qin Yunuan in turns. During the period between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the Misses woke up one after another. Qin Yunuan also called Maner and Tong to help her change dresses and comb hair.
Hardly had Qin Yunuan hold her hair with a hairpin when Fang Ziying showed up with her servant girls. “Well, well. Who’s this beautiful girl? Oops, it’s my sister Yunuan.” She joked at her as soon as she came in.
Qin Yunuan, who was amused by Fang Ziying, covered her smile with a handkerchief and said to her, “You are getting more and more smooth-tongued, sister Fang. Tell me, do you learn this from any young master?”
“That was not sweet talk.” Fang Ziying ordered her servant girl to bring her a seat. She sat beside Qin Yunuan and then said to her, “They all take Qin Yunzhuang as the No.1 beauty in the Royal City, but I like you more than her. You have delicate features as well as simple and elegant bearings. Speaking of Childe…” Fang Ziying took the brocade box handed over by the servant girl and continued speaking with a sly grin. “Actually, I was entrusted by a young master to bring something for you.”
“It’s ‘The Lotus Sutra’.” Qin Yunuan stroked the delicately packed manuscript in the brocade box. Its spine was as smooth as silk. From the vigorous handwriting of ‘The Lotus Sutra’ on the dark blue cover, it could tell that the calligraphy was written by Dignitary Hui Neng. “It was the manuscript of Dignitary Hui Neng. How precious it is! Who gave it to you?”
“Well, you do like it. I was worrying that he might have chosen the wrong gift when he asked me to give it to you in order to make amends.” It seemed that Fang Ziying was teasing Qin Yunuan. She took a sip of the tea served by the maid and then said with a smile. “Who could it be? It’s the young master in blue who had spoken for you at the Great Buddhist’s Hall.”
“We only met once and have no further contact. Why would he make amends by sending me a gift?” Qin Yunuan frowned and tried to figure out what was going on.
“Oh, silly girl. He wasn’t doing it for himself. He was making amends for his sister’s wrong-doing.” Fang Ziying said with her eyes widened. “Don’t you know that the young master in blue is the third legal son of the Li family? He is Li Weijun’s third brother, Li Jiaxuan.”
“He’s from the Li Family.” Qin Yunuan murmured. All of a sudden, she felt that the manuscript became a hot potato that made her mentally disturbed. From the crying Buddha statue, she had learned a lesson about how hard it was to guard herself against the evil plots. Hui An must have something to do with Dou Qing’e. And she had no idea how Dignitary Hui Neng was. Right now, she was not on her own turf.
Fang Ziying was not aware of Qin Yunuan’s worries. “It is said that the nine sons of the dragon differed from each other. I think Li Jiaxuan was very different from Li Weijun in their characters. He is upright and polite, but she is…. Alas. I just heard that Li Weijun was getting closer to Qin Yunzhuang these days. You’d better be more careful in your family, sister Yunuan.” She sighed.
“I know that.” Qin Yunuan forced a smile and patted Fang Ziying’s knee. Maner came to her side instantly as Qin Yunuan cast a glance at the manuscript on the table. “Please allow me to keep the manuscript for you, Third Miss.” Maner was a smart girl. If Lvliu saw the scripture, then Dou Qing’e would know it as well.
“Come on. The Buddha Dharma Sermon is about to start. We need to hurry up.” Fang Ziying took hold of Qin Yunuan’s arm and they went out of the room together.
There were eighteen arhats at the Arhats Hall in the Wan’an Temple. They had different facial expressions and postures. Some of them were lying and the others looked angry. However, they all looked serious and dignified, which made people feel peaceful and solemn as soon as they entered the Arhats Hall.
Qin Yunuan and Fang Ziying came early. There were only a couple of people there, and Leng Changxi was one of them. Under the plum tree in the courtyard, he stood still by himself like a stone sculpture, looking lonesome and icy.
“General Leng.” This was the first time Qin Yunuan had initiated a conversation with Leng Changxi. Her voice was a bit dry and unapproachable, but it still made his heart thumped. “What?” He turned his head leisurely and answered in a voice as smooth as the lake surface. The enthusiasm bubbling up inside him was concealed completely by himself.
