The snow on the top of Qinglian Temple Mountain has not yet melted.
The north wind howled, and there were no pilgrims to be seen along the way.
Xiangyang and Xiangsong arrived at the solemn and majestic hall. The gates were tightly closed.
After knocking on the door for quite a while, a young novice monk finally opened it.
If it weren't for the fact that this is a sacred Buddhist site, the two of them would have already scaled the wall and entered.
The main hall was empty, with only the faint scent of incense and candles remaining in the air.
"Young monk, is Master Huiyuan here?"
The young novice monk ushered the two into the side hall meditation room, poured them two cups of plain tea, and put his hands together, saying, "Please wait a moment, benefactors, this humble monk will go and inform them."
Watching the young novice monk leave, Xiangyang walked to the window, pushed open the half-closed window, and looked at the layers of buildings in the distance.
"Boss, do you think our master has lost his mind? He has Miss Jiang in his heart, but he sent us to invite Master Huiyuan. He doesn't even go to Miss Jiang to fawn over her. Even if he prays to the Bodhisattva, it won't help!"
“Superficial. Master’s vision is far-sighted. How could you and I possibly see through it? Stop talking nonsense and sit down for some tea.”
It's colder up in the mountains than down there. With the windows open, the cold wind quickly carried away all the warmth from the house.
I closed the window facing the sun, sat cross-legged on the futon, and drank tea.
After the two had drunk half a pot of tea, the young novice monk was nowhere to be seen.
In the backyard of a temple far from the main hall, several young monks were surrounding two sleeping children.
The two children had rosy cheeks and looked to be about two or three years old.
He wore a light blue cloth hat, and his temples were bald.
Master Huiyuan reached out and touched the foreheads of the two children, then tucked the blankets in a little more.
"The fever has subsided. To prevent coughing later, quickly prepare the herbal soup. We'll feed it to him when he wakes up."
The young monks responded in unison, "Yes, Master, don't worry, we will take good care of our junior brother."
Master Huiyuan instructed a young novice monk beside him, “Touch your forehead again in a quarter of an hour. Keep the charcoal fire away from the bed. Go and fetch a basin of water and put it in the room. The air is too dry, which is not good for the body’s recovery from cleansing itself of worldly dust and dust.”
After the young novice monk left, Master Huiyuan gave instructions to the person in charge of the two children's meals.
"The herbal medicine is bitter, so remember to prepare candied fruit. Cook some white fungus soup every day, and also make soup with frozen pears. It will take several days to recover."
“Master, don’t worry. Junior Brother is just having his first winter on the mountain and he’s not used to it yet, but he’ll get used to it.”
"Master, the Embroidered Uniform Guard requests an audience," the young novice monk reported from outside the courtyard.
"Who told you to bring them here?" Master Huiyuan asked in an unhappy tone, and strode out.
The young novice monk who delivered the message quickly replied, "Disciple will remember Master's teachings. How could I bring people here? They are waiting in the meditation room in the side hall ahead."
Master Huiyuan turned back and looked deeply into the house, then walked through a grove of trees with the young novice monk, and climbed the steps to the front hall on the mountain.
...
The Su residence.
Sunlight streamed down from the treetops in front of the gate, casting dappled shadows on the fallen leaves on the ground, much like the gate itself.
Caiyan walked back and forth under the tree, making the dry branches crunch under her feet.
Her eyes were anxious, and she kept looking up at the alley entrance.
Caiyan had just returned from the street when she heard that someone had lost their life because of eating barbecue.
Seeing her son-in-law fawning over Jiang Jiaojiao every day made her feel uneasy.
Although the son-in-law did not indulge in nightly revelry with the young mistress, he also did not invite her to Tingxue Pavilion to meet him again in the past two days.
A moment later, a familiar figure appeared at the alley entrance, and Caiyan ran towards it, lifting her skirt.
"Young master, you're finally back."
Just as Caiyan was about to throw herself into his arms, Su Peng turned aside and glanced at the gate of the mansion.
He said righteously, "Yan'er, if you act so blatantly, the young mistress will be in trouble if she sees you like this."
Caiyan had expected her fiancé to give her a warm hug, but instead she was disappointed, and a pang of sadness rose in her heart.
Before the novelty wore off, her son-in-law had already grown tired of her. How was she going to live with herself from now on?
"Young master, I've heard about barbecue..."
"Enough, stop jumping to conclusions. The government has already announced that the person died of a sudden illness, and it has nothing to do with barbecue."
Caiyan was interrupted by Su Peng before she could finish speaking.
"I, this servant was worried that the young master would waste his efforts. I heard the rumors and that's why I rushed here to wait."
Caiyan felt extremely wronged. She glanced at Su Peng with resentful eyes and quickly lowered her gaze, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Caiyan pressed her lips tightly together, letting the tears fall.
Her delicate, tear-streaked face softened Su Peng's heart.
"Yan'er, I know you mean well. Quickly wipe away your tears, don't let the young mistress see."
Su Peng stepped forward and whispered in Caiyan's ear, "Yan'er, be good. I miss you terribly. Let's go in and have lunch. See you at Tingxue Pavilion later."
After saying that, he acted as if nothing had happened and strode towards home.
Caiyan stopped crying and started laughing, quickly raising her sleeve to press her cheeks.
The son-in-law hasn't forgotten her; there's hope for the future.
As soon as Caiyan saw her son-in-law walk through the gate, she hurriedly ran back and went straight to the kitchen.
The Su family's meals were simple, sometimes consisting of one meat dish and one vegetable dish, and sometimes just one vegetable dish.
Today I'll just have braised tofu.
Qin's personal maid had already prepared the meal, and Caiyan divided the food for the two of them and sent it to the courtyard where Jiang Jiaojiao lived.
Su Peng took the food and handed it to Jiang Jiaojiao, speaking gently, "Wife, eat quickly. This weather is so cold even though it's not snowing. Wife, go to bed early and take a nap."
She then turned to Caiyan and said coldly, "What are you still standing there for? I asked you to help with the work. You don't need to serve me here today. Go do what you're supposed to do!"
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