Three days passed quickly.
Three days later, early in the morning, Ren Wanyun prepared everything and asked her maid, Xianglan, to tell Shen Miao some things. Before leaving, everyone went to Rongjing Hall.
Old Madam Shen said something with a serious expression. She wanted everyone to follow the rules. Although it was famous, usually she did not go to the Wolong Temple because it was located in a remote area.
Shen Qing, on the other hand, looked extremely happy. She said that she would definitely worship devoutly for Old Madam Shen and Shen Yuanbai. Hearing that, Old Madam Shen was more amiable towards her.
Before leaving this time, they brought some guards with them. Shen Miao stood in front of the carriage and did not move for a long time. Seeing this, Ren Wanyun frowned and asked, “Fifth Miss, what are you waiting for?”
“I just feel that we need more guards. To prevent any accidents, Second Aunt, why don’t you get more guards to come along?”
Ren Wanyun frowned. She did not expect Shen Miao to make such a request at this time. However, everything was settled today. Ren Wanyun smiled and said, “Fifth Miss, I’ve already arranged enough guards to come with us. We can’t take all the guards of the Shen family away. If there are too many people, it will be more inconvenient. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Shen Miao shook her head firmly.
Seeing this, Shen Yue and Shen Qing did not say anything. Shen Qing was unhappy and said, “Our Shen family is not a royal family. How grand does Fifth Sister want this outing to be?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Miao glanced at her. That glance made Shen Qing suddenly feel a chill run down her spine.
“Let’s add two more.” Shen Miao pointed at the two guards by the door. “They’ll do.”
Seeing that Shen Miao only wanted to bring two more people, Ren Wanyun heaved a sigh of relief. She did not want to waste too much time on this matter. Adding two more guards wouldn’t make a huge difference anyway, so she said, “Fifth Sister, you’re really… Forget it. What can I say? Do as you please.” She instructed Xianglan, who was beside her, “Go and get those two guards over to come with us.”
“Thank you, Second Aunt.” Shen Miao smiled.
……
After getting into the carriage, Shen Qing deliberately did not speak to Shen Miao. Although Shen Yue spoke to Shen Miao, she was mostly just asking questions. Shen Miao could not be bothered to answer her. On the other hand, Ren Wanyun was in a good mood along the way. She brought up what happened back when Shen Miao was little and talked like they were very close. If it happened in her previous life, Shen Miao would probably be attached to this kind-looking second aunt of hers. However, now that she looked at this woman, everything she did was hypocritic and ugly. In front of her, who was used to seeing all kinds of people, she was really not good enough.
They set off in the morning and arrived at their destination, the Yangjing Peak, in the evening.
Wolong Temple was located halfway up Yangjing Peak. The mountain was tall and the valley was deep. If one walked here in spring, there would be birdsong and fragrant flowers everywhere. The leaves were lush, and the scenery was pleasant. However, it was already early autumn, and the vegetation was withered, making it look a little desolate.
Because Yangjing Peak was too far from the capital, the road to the Wolong Temple was not easy to walk on. Therefore, other than devout believers, most people wouldn’t choose to come here. When Shen Miao and the others got off the carriage and arrived at the entrance of the Wolong Temple, they saw that outside the huge temple, there was only a young monk sweeping the floor.
“It’s quiet here.” Shen Yue chuckled.
Shen Qing sniffled, as if she wanted to complain. Suddenly, she thought of something and stopped herself.
Ren Wanyun said, “I heard that the Buddha here is very efficient. When you burn incense, you have to be sincere.”
When the young monk saw them, he stood up to welcome them. Other than the servants who were moving things down the carriage, Ren Wanyun and the others followed the monk into the temple.
The more they walked into the temple, the more they felt that the Wolong Temple was really sparsely populated. There were not many monks, let alone devotees. However, the temple was spacious, so it felt empty. If they stayed at night, it would probably be a little scary.
When they saw the abbot, he assigned rooms for them. The girls each had a room, and they were very close to each other. When it was Shen Miao’s turn, a middle-aged monk beside the abbot said, “I’m really sorry, but there are no more rooms for you in the southern pavilion. If you don’t mind, how about staying in the northern pavilion?”
Everyone looked at her. Shen Miao smiled. “I’m sorry, I mind very much.”
“Fifth Miss.” Ren Wanyun reprimanded softly, “We are in a temple. Don’t be so willful.”
“It’s just a little strange.” Shen Miao continued, “It doesn’t look like there are a lot of visitors. Why is the pavilion full?”
The middle-aged monk frowned. He had probably never seen such an arrogant lady before. However, Shen Miao was not like those unruly ladies who made a fuss.
“Young lady, although there aren’t many visitors, there are many monks in the temple.” The old abbot smiled and explained to Shen Miao.
“But I’m really afraid to stay alone. What should I do?” she asked.
“This…” Ren Wanyun was still comforting her.” Fifth Miss, just make do with this one night. If Buddha sees your sincerity, he will answer your prayer.”
If it were in the past, when Shen Miao heard this, she would have been convinced. After all, she used to be amenable to persuasion but not coercion.
But now, it was a little different.
Ren Wanyun also felt a headache coming on. For some reason, the current Shen Miao was getting more and more annoying. In the past, Shen Miao would believe whatever she said and was very easy to coax. But today, Shen Miao went against her whenever she could.
“How about this?” Shen Miao smiled and said, “Auntie, can you stay in the north pavilion with me? I’ll feel more at ease with someone accompanying me.”
