0132 The Golden-Clad Swordsman (Part 5)

"Miss!" A-Jian clearly recognized it too, and her voice immediately rose, "That's Madam Liu's carriage! Is she...is she going out of the city? Is she going to Xiangji Temple to have an auspicious date chosen?"

She was extremely anxious, and her body temperature caused the toxins in her body to be released, making her limbs increasingly weak.

She opened her mouth, but tears fell first: "It's all my fault. If I hadn't failed to do what you asked me to do, things wouldn't have turned out like this... What if Madam Liu comes to ask for the wedding date and she actually agrees?"

"Don't worry, I'll take you back first."

"girl!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this myself." Shu Fu lowered her voice, calm but firm.

A-Jian stopped crying and stared blankly at Shu-Fu. She saw that the girl's eyes were dark and bright, seemingly calm, but beneath them seemed to lie the power of a storm.

Seeing those eyes calmed her down.

"Alright," A-Jian breathed out, her voice trembling. "Take care, Miss. I'll cover for you in the manor."

Shu Fu followed the same method she used when she left home that morning, and climbed over the wall to send A Jian back to the mansion.

Seeing her leave, turning back every few steps, Shu Fu finally felt relieved. She jumped down from the wall and rushed towards Anshanfang without stopping.

She wants to rent a horse.

Madam Liu left the city by carriage, which was ahead of her. If she hadn't chased after her on horseback, there would have been no chance of catching up.

Shu Fu rented the fastest horse in Anshan Ward, led it out of Anhua Gate, mounted it in one smooth motion, and rode off towards Chongnan Mountain.

Along the way, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and hawks soared high, but she had no time to look at them. She only hoped that the foal under her could run faster and faster.

After speeding for an unknown amount of time, Shu Fu finally caught a glimpse of the towering, dark green mountains.

She dismounted and led her horse to a tea stall at the foot of the mountain, where she saw a man sitting casually under the shade of a canopy, gulping down a bowl of cold tea.

It's the Liang family's coachman; it seems Madam Liang has already gone up the mountain.

Shu Fu's heart sank. She squeezed the reins tightly, subtly leading the horse away from the coachman, and found the tea stall behind it. She took out half a string of coins from her narrow sleeve and handed it to the tea server.

“I want to go to Xiangji Temple to worship Buddha, but this horse is having trouble going up the mountain. Could you please look after it for me, Mr. Lao?”

The tea vendor, seeing that she was beautiful and spoke pleasantly, and considering that it was common for monks to leave their carriages and horses at the tea stall when they came up the mountain, waved his hand dismissively and agreed.

After entrusting the horse to her care, Shu Fu headed up the mountain. Just as she reached the foot of the mountain, two slender and tall young men carried a sedan chair over.

"Young lady, are you going up the mountain? The mountain road is long and winding; why not hire a sedan chair for your journey?"

Shu Fu glanced at the sedan chair and thought that Madam Liu was, after all, a pampered official's wife, and probably wouldn't walk up the mountain road herself; she had most likely hired a sedan chair.

To ensure the comfort of the passengers, the sedan chair bearers would not rush the journey and would mostly walk and sway as they went up the mountain.

She breathed a sigh of relief, took out the remaining half string of coins from her sleeve, and handed them to the two boys with a slight smile.

"Thank you all. I am sincere and will go up the mountain by myself. But I don't know if there is a shorter route to Xiangji Temple besides the one I am on now?"

One of the young men glanced at her, blushed, took the money, and said hesitantly, "I do have some, but the road is rugged and difficult to travel. Do you really want to go, young lady?"

Shu Fu's eyes brightened, and she nodded several times, saying, "Yes, please tell me, young man."

The boy had no choice but to give her directions.

Following the man's directions, Shu Fu arrived at the bottom of another mountain path. Looking up, she saw the blue mist rising into the clouds. She immediately lowered her head, tied her skirt into a way that would make walking easier, and without saying a word, she started climbing the mountain.

Xiangji Temple is located halfway up Chongnan Mountain. The secluded path is surrounded by lush trees. The sunlight shines coldly on the green pines, making it even harder to tell the time of day.

She pushed through the clouds and mist, her palms and ankles scratched by the dense foliage, leaving tiny bloody marks, yet she dared not stop, for fear of falling even half a step behind Madam Liu.

Fortunately, when she arrived at Xiangji Temple, there were no sedan chairs parked outside the mountain gate. She pursed her lips, the dry, hot smell of blood spreading in her mouth. Without hesitation, she stepped inside.

They had only walked a few steps when Cunhui walked past them carrying a stack of trays.

"Second Miss!" The little monk happily strolled up to her when he saw her.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the girl was panting heavily, her cheeks were slightly pale, her black hair was damp and foggy covering her face, and her lips, which were almost colorless at first, gradually regained their delicate red color after she stopped breathing.

Cunhui was stunned. She quickly put the tray down and ran over, asking, "Second Miss, what happened? Why do you look so disheveled?"

Shu Fu let out a half-breath, her body drenched in sweat and weak, barely managing to stand.

She calmed herself down and said in a softer voice, "Cunhui, I've come back this time because I have something important to do."

"What's up?"

Shu Fu looked down at him, not casually dismissing him just because he was a child. Instead, she pondered for a while, then bowed and said to him, "If you want to hear it, I will tell you, but you must promise me that you will never tell anyone after you hear it."

Cunhui nodded quickly.

"...It's related to my own marriage. A lady will be coming to the temple later to pray and draw lots, and then she'll ask your abbot to set an auspicious date. She'll then be going to my house to ask for the date. But the lady's son is not a good person, and I don't want to be his wife, so I came here to see if there's any room for negotiation."

Cunhui was only eight years old and only vaguely understood some things. She didn't understand that it was just a matter of dissolving a marriage, and her parents could have made the decision themselves. Why did she have to run around doing all the work?

But he enjoyed being with Shufu and naturally supported her decision, so he simply asked, "What does the Second Miss plan to do?"

“This lady comes from a family of scholars and has always been a devout Buddhist. She always seeks guidance from Buddha before undertaking any major event. So I think I can stop her in this matter. Even if I can't get her to break off the engagement directly, I can at least stall her for the time being.”

"Second Miss is thinking..."

Shu Fu squatted down, tilted her head slightly, and looked directly at Cun Hui: "Please tell me which temple I should go to to ask for a marriage fortune slip. I want to pick the worst possible one for her!"

Cunhui was taken aback, but immediately replied, "This is easy, Second Miss, please leave it to me!"

Shuf refused almost without thinking: "No way!"

"Why!" Cunhui said, feeling quite aggrieved.

Shu Fu patiently and earnestly said, "You are a young monk in the temple, the most devout disciple under Guanyin. You shouldn't be involved in this kind of thing. Otherwise, will you dare to chant sutras in front of the Bodhisattva in the future? Besides, if you are accidentally exposed in the future, what will your master and fellow disciples think of you? Will they slander you behind your back, ostracize you, and blame you for ruining someone else's marriage?"

Cunhui pouted: "My senior brothers are so good to me, they would never ostracize me... Besides, the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are the most benevolent beings, the Venerable Ones have compassion for all under heaven, they would not stand by and watch a young lady fall into a pit of fire. If I were to sit idly by and watch you, Second Miss, suffer injustice, that would be a violation of the teachings!"

"Moreover—" the little monk changed the subject, "Does the Second Miss know how to arrange the fortune slips? Does she know what kind of fortune slip is the worst? Does she know how to make that lady get the worst fortune slip?"

After being bombarded with these questions, Shu Fu indeed hesitated.

Taking the opportunity, Cunhui raised her head and said decisively, "Therefore—Second Miss definitely needs my help!"

When Shu Fu saw his sincere face, for some reason, what came to mind was Luo Shi's face, hidden in the shadows, cold and hard as frost.

Even a young monk she'd only met a few times was willing to help her so much, yet her birth mother…

The girl took a breath and couldn't help but rub her face against her knees, thankfully managing not to cry out.

"You didn't really need to go to such lengths to help me," she said sullenly.

“Second Miss, sincerity begets sincerity,” Cunhui also squatted down, raised her small hand, and gently patted Shufu’s shoulder. “Second Miss treats me sincerely, and I also want to treat Second Miss sincerely.”

“We’ve only met three times. The first time you led the way for me, the second time you preached to me, and the third time I gave you rock candy hawthorn berries. How could that be considered insincere…”

Cunhui stood up and pulled her up as well, and said seriously, "But—many, many benefactors promised to send me this and that, but in the end only the Second Miss truly remembered this matter."

"Just like just now, if the Second Miss asked me to do something as soon as she saw me, I would really have to weigh whether I was willing to help. But since the Second Miss is genuinely afraid of getting involved, I would also genuinely want to help the Second Miss."