Chapter 72 The Immortal in the Hermitage (15) I seem to have seen him before.

She examined several garments; they were just ordinary monk's robes and undergarments, nothing special, except for a white tube top embroidered with a pink magnolia flower. Jiu Li had learned Suzhou embroidery from Madam Feng since childhood, but she hadn't practiced much, so her needlework wasn't very good. However, she could still appreciate it. It's like poetry and painting; the words are the same, the stitches are the same, but everyone has their own style of arrangement and use, resulting in different charms in the embroidered pieces.

She picked up the tube top and looked at it for a while, then asked Yu Qi for the Qilin sachet to compare for a moment, and said, "The Qilin and the magnolia on the underwear were embroidered by the same person. It should be Ci Lian herself who embroidered it. No wonder she looked a little strange when she saw this sachet that day."

Xu Bai nodded and said, "It's likely that Ci Lian personally gave this Qilin sachet to the murderer. She saw the sachet yesterday and found out who killed Yi, which is why she was silenced."

Jiuli put down her bodice, took out her screen, and asked Jingzhen, "Abbot, is this Master Cilian originally from Suzhou?"

Jingzhen nodded, and Huixin continued, "Cilian's original surname was Yu. She was the daughter of a county magistrate in Suzhou. When she was seventeen, her father suffered a misfortune, and her whole family was implicated. That year, my master and I traveled to Suzhou and happened to see the yamen selling off the female members of the Yu family. My master saw that she was pitiful and bought her."

Yu Qi asked, "Is it the Yu family of Changshu County?"

"Indeed, sir, you also know the Yu family?"

"I'm also from Suzhou." It was quite a coincidence that he happened to be passing by when the government was selling off members of the Yu family that year.

He turned and smiled at Jiuli. Jiuli vaguely remembered that when she was ten years old, she had pestered Yuqi to go to the city with her to treat patients. They stayed at someone's house for two days and were feeling bored. One day, when Yuqi had some free time, she begged him to take her to the market. So Yuqi led her and Du Zhong to the market, where there were mules, horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks for sale. They happened to see a stage crowded with people, and Jiuli thought there was a play going on, so she insisted on squeezing to the front to see what was going on.

To her surprise, when she squeezed to the front, she saw four or five young women kneeling on the platform. The oldest was no more than twenty years old, and the youngest looked about her age. Each of them had disheveled hair and drooping heads, with a wooden sign stuck behind their necks, indicating their numbers, just like the mules, horses, cattle, and sheep. Jiu Li immediately understood that this was a human market, a place for selling people.

Jiuli tugged at Yu Qi's sleeve and asked, "Why did you sell them?"

Yu Qi pointed them out to her, "Look at those people in official robes, they're probably family members who trafficked prisoners."

"Why should one person's family be implicated when one breaks the law?"

Yu Qi chuckled, "There's also a saying: 'When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.'"

Jiuli pursed her lips, feeling that he was too cold-hearted, and pointed to the young girl in the middle and said: "Why don't you buy this sister? Look at her, she is very pretty even though she is disheveled. I like good-looking people the most. Buy her and take her home to play with me. She can be Du Zhong's grandmother in the future."

Du Zhong blushed and angrily shoved her, causing her to stumble a few steps to the side. Immediately, a crowd of people squeezed in, forming a screen that separated her from them. She had no choice but to push her way to the other side to find them.

As she squeezed and pushed her way through the crowd, someone suddenly bent down with a kind smile and said, "Amitabha, little girl, there are so many people here, why are you squeezing in?"

Jiuli looked up and saw two nuns, one older and one younger. The older one was about thirty years old, thin, and was smiling at her with her narrow eyes. She was dizzy from the stench of sweat in the crowd, and she frowned and covered her mouth and nose, not having time to say anything.

The nun took her hand and said, "Don't get hurt in the crowd. Come, come with me outside." As she spoke, she led her hand and slowly squeezed her out of the crowd, then said, "I'll take you to look for your family on the street."

Although the old lady in the family wasn't very superstitious, she would occasionally eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers. Jiuli trusted these monks, and since she couldn't see Yu Qi and the others when she looked back, she had no choice but to follow her. But after walking only a few steps, she heard Yu Qi calling from behind. She turned around, looked, and laughed, "My uncle is over there!" She then broke free from the nun's hand and ran towards him.

Upon reaching her, Yu Qi solemnly straightened his face and asked, "Do you recognize either of them before you go with them?"

"I don't recognize you. That nun said she would take me to find you."

Yu Qi straightened up and glanced at the nun. The nun put her hands together in a gesture of respect from afar, then left with her disciple.

Could those two nuns, one tall and one short, be Jingzhen and Huixin before her eyes? Jiuli scrutinized the master and disciple repeatedly, feeling a slight sense of familiarity, but it had been seven years since then, and she was still young at the time, so her memory of their brief encounter was hazy. However, according to Huixin's description, they really did resemble the two of them.

Just then, Zhang Da dragged Granny Chen in. Upon seeing her, the nuns immediately pointed at her, accusing her of being the murderer. Granny Chen shook off them, straightened her clothes, glanced at the crowd, and laughed, "What a joke! Someone died in your temple, what does it have to do with me? I've never even seen this nun's face, why would I harm her?" Then, she casually pointed at a nun she had argued with, saying, "If I were to harm anyone, it would be you! You're the most annoying one. You better watch out, you might be the next one to die!"

The nun suddenly pointed at her, and she shivered. Who knows? First it was Liaoyi, then Cilian, both from the temple. It seems the murderer is targeting Qinglian Temple. Who knows who will be next? Everyone thought this, and for a moment they looked at each other, all feeling a little afraid.

Seeing that Granny Chen was being far too presumptuous and rude, Jingzhen couldn't help but turn cold as well. "Benefactor, the temple is filled with gods and Buddhas, and even government officials are here. How can you be so presumptuous and rude?"

Grandma Chen rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but Zhang Da grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You can't leave now. Explain what happened last night first."

The nuns started arguing again, "Yes! Did you poison the pot last night?! Explain yourself!"

Grandma Chen crossed her arms and said, "You accuse me of poisoning someone, do you have any evidence?"

Although Jiuli didn't believe she was the one who poisoned Jingyue, only she and her maid had been to the kitchen last night. The maid was obvious; when she arrived, Jingyue had just started a fire, and there wasn't even water in the pot yet. It would be immediately obvious if arsenic had been added—Jingyue wasn't blind. However, when Jiuli arrived, not only was there water in the pot, but she had also taken the pot and argued with Jingyue. According to Du Zhong, even if she didn't know Cilian, she was still suspected of trying to poison Jingyue.

Therefore, they had to order two constables to catch two rats and put them in cages. One cage contained the bottom of the porridge scraped from the pot, and the other contained Cilian's bowl for eating porridge. Before long, the rat that had the bowl filled died, while the rat that ate the bottom of the pot was unharmed. It was easy to tell that it was not poisoned by Granny Chen.

Grandma Chen was naturally pleased and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks to the nun. Jingzhen couldn't stand it and put her hands together, saying, "I think my Qinglian Temple is too small to entertain this grandma. Please go to another temple. I dare not accept the incense money that grandma brought. Please take it back to grandma."

Upon hearing this, the nuns, having received permission, vied to echo her plea to expel her. Even with a hundred mouths, Granny Chen couldn't out-argue them, and in her desperation, she revealed a defeated expression. At this moment, Xu Bai stepped forward to advise Jingzhen, "Abbot, Buddhism has always advocated opening the door of convenience. I see that Granny Chen only has two maids with her, and moving around would be inconvenient. Perhaps we should let them stay in the temple for now. I think that after causing so much trouble, Granny Chen will learn to be more careful with her words and actions in the future."

Although Granny Chen crossed her arms in protest, she didn't utter a word of rebuttal. Jingzhen glanced at her and could only agree, then stepped forward to persuade her, "There are many troubles right now, and everyone in the temple is frowning. I hope you will understand, Granny, and try to be more harmonious with everyone in the future."

Grandma Chen glanced at her sideways, reluctantly bowed to her, and said in a huff, "Don't worry, nun, from now on I'll only eat and drink in my own room, and I won't say another word to these unreasonable people here!" With that, she stormed off.

It was past noon, so Xu Bai had no choice but to order the yamen runners to carry Ci Lian's body to the morgue, and everyone went to the dining hall for a meal. Because of the chaos in the morning, lunch was hastily prepared, and there was no time to cook a special meal. Yu Qi saw that Jiu Li and Du Zhong were not very willing to eat, so he didn't say anything on the spot. When he returned to his room, he called Du Zhong to come in with him, took out a silver ingot and gave it to Du Zhong, telling the two of them to go to a nearby restaurant to eat.

He further instructed, "You should just go out quietly, don't make a scene, lest people say that the Yu family is spoiled and too picky."

Du Zhong pondered these words. It wasn't that he was afraid people would think the Yu family was difficult to deal with; it was simply that he was afraid Xu Bai would overhear and follow along. He quickly smiled and gave a stern answer, "I understand, I understand. I won't even tell Brother Zhang."

If you walk two or three miles along the road to the right of Qinglian Temple, you will reach a main street with several restaurants. Du Zhonglai had his eye on one of them when he rode here yesterday, so he went into the next room, threw silver coins into the air, and called out to Jiuli, "Let's go eat on the main street ahead."

Jiuli disliked the lunch, so he only ate two bites before putting down his chopsticks. He came back, drank a bowl of Pu'er tea, and then drank it as if he hadn't eaten anything. Moreover, he hadn't eaten breakfast that day, so he was starving. When he saw the whole ingot of silver, he guessed that it was given by Yu Qi. He thought that he should spend his money to treat Xu Bai to a meal, but he couldn't let him get too angry.

Then he said, "Xu Bai didn't eat much for lunch either, let's invite him to come along."

Du Zhongqia caught the silver and said with a smile, "He's not in the house. I saw a yamen runner come looking for him when he came out of the dining hall. The two of them rode away on horseback. I guess there's something important going on at the yamen. Why don't we call Madam Gu? I don't think she's eaten much."

She then went to ask Madam Gu. Madam Gu had initially complained that the sun was too strong, but when Young Master Gu heard this, he insisted on eating something good. Madam Gu was worried that he was weak and might have been harmed by an acquaintance outside, so she only instructed the maid to take good care of him. She and Jiu Li went to eat, planning to bring back some good food and dishes afterward.

The three of them walked out of the temple and strolled slowly along the path on the right. Madam Gu shook her head and sighed, "Since Master Liaoyi died the day before yesterday, we haven't had a decent meal. I didn't expect Master Cilian to die today as well. Do you think Qinglian Temple is cursed with these successive deaths?"

Jiuli was the most skeptical of superstitions, so he just laughed it off. Suddenly, he heard laughter behind him. Jiuli turned around and saw that it was Granny Chen and her two maids. They were probably like them, having not eaten a good lunch and going to find a restaurant to eat at.

Madam Gu pulled Jiu Li aside and whispered, "Don't mess with someone as unreasonable as her, or she'll cause you trouble."

The three women stopped to let them go ahead. Grandma Chen approached without greeting them, only glancing at them with her nostrils before covering her head with her fan and talking to the maid as she walked ahead.

When they reached the street, Du Zhong saw that they had coincidentally entered the restaurant he was going to. He chuckled and said, "She does know her stuff. Yesterday, when I came here, Brother Zhang and I bought some plum juice from the stall in front of us. The vendor said that their food and drinks were the best on the whole street."

Jiuli glared at him, "You've even picked out a place to have a good meal beforehand."

"I'm not like you, I'm a man, and I've grown taller these past two years, so a vegetarian diet all the time won't be enough!"

Jiuli sneered, "Does Aunt Guo know that you're still just a greenhorn?"

Du Zhong abruptly stopped smiling and went into the restaurant first.

It was just past lunchtime, and there were only three or four tables of diners left in the large hall. The innkeeper was smiling and chatting with customers from behind the counter when he clearly heard Grandma Chen sitting at the table by the window. Without waiting for the waiter to announce the dishes or even looking at the menu, she ordered several dishes and then instructed, "Don't always use dried lotus leaves for your signature Lotus Fragrance Six Treasures. It's the season now, so please use fresh lotus leaves to steam it."

Du Zhong was puzzled. This Granny Chen was supposedly a newcomer, so how could she be more familiar with the dishes in this restaurant than some of the locals? Could it be that she had eaten here a couple of days ago?

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.