Chapter 36 The Face of the Crescent Moon: Soul Exchange, Resurrection, or Possession of a Corpse...
Le Jin remained silent.
What was the motivation behind this almost neurotic behavior?
[In the original book, the female supporting character, having repeatedly failed to win Meng Shutai's affections, vented her resentment on his younger brother, Meng Cizhang, thus earning the title of "wicked sister-in-law."]
...
In other words, she had just thanked the person for saving Le Zhao and Bao Yin, and then she had to destroy the benefactor's things, which was mean and vicious to the person.
Le Jin's vision went black, as if she was about to fall straight down in the next second.
Is this something a normal person would do?
She looked embarrassed and helpless, staring at the doll in Meng Cizhang's hand, and tentatively asked with a forced smile, "...Did you make this wood carving yourself?"
At this moment, Le Jin could only hope that the doll wasn't anything precious and that she could make up for it if she broke it.
"Um."
The doll turned over in his hands. "I carved it all out myself, piece by piece. I ruined so much wood before I finally got this one."
It was a wooden carving about the length of an adult's hand, depicting a slender figure. The lines on the back were smooth and powerful, conveying a sense of determination. The belt was meticulously carved, the hem of the robe fluttering in the wind, while the front…
There is no front view.
"You only carved half of this doll?"
"No, I carved a silhouette."
Meng Cizhang lowered his head and stroked the lines of the doll's body. "It's a back view that's very important to me."
"That man saved me, he saved my brother, but he is dead."
Meng Cizhang pushed up the silver-rimmed eye mask on his face with his fingers. "He was a good man. I don't want to forget him."
People with disabilities are most afraid of being disliked for their disabilities. Even though he is the young master of the Meng family, he is blind in one eye and is half-blind, unlike others who have both eyes.
As he grew older, the shrinkage of his eyes even led to the abnormality of the muscles in half of his face. He felt that his face became more and more terrifying, especially in contrast to his brother's handsome and beautiful appearance. He looked like a monster.
At times like these, he would always remember that there was once someone who gently cared for his disability and comforted his pain.
"I know that person; Young Master Meng told me about him. May I take a look at the item?"
A pale hand was stretched out in front of Meng Cizhang, and Le Jin pleaded with him softly.
She hadn't expected that her past action would be remembered by him for so long, and she suddenly felt a pang of grievance at finally being seen. Since her return, apart from Meng Shutai, that hypocritical madman, she hadn't seen anyone else care about Jiu'an, not even Jiang Yingyun.
It would be a lie to say I'm not heartbroken. Who wants to watch their life's imprint vanish like a drop of water disappearing into the water?
Fortunately, there was still Meng Cizhang.
Seeing him caress the wood carving, Le Jin told a little lie: "I used to play with wood carving when I was a child. I can tell at a glance whether your carving is good or not."
This wood carving was originally intended for her, so it's only right that she can dispose of it as she sees fit.
Moreover, since there was no rule about how the wood carving had to be damaged, it's acceptable for her to damage it out of kindness.
Meng Cizhang gave her the wood carving with some skepticism.
"Oh! Look here, how could you carve it like that? It's clearly crooked!" She turned and ran into the house, hurriedly grabbing a small knife from the fruit plate and stabbing it into the wood carving. "Let me fix it for you..."
"Hey! You need a special knife to carve wood!"
Meng Cizhang rushed in to stop them, but he was too slow; a long scratch had already been made on the doll's body.
Okay, let's just make do and get the job done.
Before Meng Cizhang could react, Le Jin dropped the doll, grabbed him, and quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I broke it."
The speed of the event was completely unexpected by Meng Cizhang; it seemed as if his sister-in-law had taken the doll just to deliberately make that mark.
He seemed to be frozen in place, staring blankly at Le Jin.
Feeling guilty for doing something wrong, Le Jin rubbed Meng Cizhang's stiff arm like she was petting a cat, half-coaxing and half-persuading, "Okay, okay, let's carve a new one?"
The memorial service was ruined just like that. Meng Cizhang was originally quite unhappy, but his sister-in-law sweetly coaxed him, and even his unhappiness was reduced. He grumbled in a sticky, whiny voice, "It's too late... The memorial service is almost over, and my brother is about to go back to his residence."
Le Jin pulled him outside, confidently saying, "We'll make it! We'll make it!"
In any case, the sentiment behind a gift is more important. Now that she knew his feelings, she didn't care about the gift itself. She would be happy even if Meng Cizhang gave her a piece of wood for free.
——
On the Wenshu Pavilion of Huayan Temple, Meng Shutai opened the window and looked out. The abbot, Huizang, was behind him, introducing the layout of the temple buildings and pointing out several open spaces near Huayan Temple.
“Young Master Meng, Huayan Temple has stood for a hundred years, and all its temples and shrines are already established and cannot be expanded or moved. If His Majesty wishes to build a pagoda within the temple to enshrine the relics, I am afraid it will not be possible. The best location for the pagoda is outside the temple.”
"However... if it is built outside the temple, then who will be in charge of supervising the pagoda is a problem."
"No rush. His Majesty has only given the order. I will first clarify the situation of Huayan Temple in the next few days. We will discuss the construction with you in detail after I return to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue."
Meng Shutai spoke coldly, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the window, his gaze falling on his own Zen temple.
What is she doing? Is she sleeping? Is she properly covered with a blanket?
Meng Shutai looked up at the blazing sun and guessed that there wasn't one.
Thinking of the little leg she kicked out because she felt hot, a slight smile crept onto his lips.
Knowing she likes to stay cool, he put ice in the room around the house so she could be properly covered with a thin blanket and avoid the wind. But as soon as he left, she would definitely throw the blanket away.
Meng Shutai knew perfectly well that Le Jin didn't want to listen to him.
But that's what he likes.
He enjoyed watching Le Jin harboring secret thoughts and acting foolishly in front of him.
He would let her play by herself for a while, and then return without making a sound, where he would see her pretending to be happy despite her panic.
Meng Shutai narrowed his phoenix eyes, as if he were seeing Le Jin's two-faced and treacherous face right in front of him, which he found quite endearing.
He had never found anything in this world lovable, but Le Jin was one of them.
With his fingertips tapping out a slow rhythm on the window frame, Meng Shutai suddenly turned around and glanced at Huizang.
"Master, are there any strange things in the world?"
Huizang asked in surprise, "What strange thing is it that Young Master Meng is talking about?"
"Such as..." Meng Shutai looked again at the quiet Zen temple in the distance and voiced his strange conjecture, "Soul exchange, resurrection, or possession of another's body? The physical body is still the same, but the inside is completely new, and the temperament and habits are also very different. Is there such a strange thing?"
Huizang was eighty years old. His cloudy eyes darted around under his drooping eyelids, and a glint of light flashed as he recalled the many strange things he had heard and seen in his life.
"I suppose so. I've even heard that there's a strange method at the birthplace of the Buddha's relics that can captivate people's souls and control them like puppets, without the victim even realizing it."
"It is evident how many strange and astonishing things happen in the world! There are also Buddhists who are enlightened by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and undergo a complete transformation, turning their karmic physical bodies into pure Dharma bodies."
"Is it really that miraculous?"
Yes.
The roof ridge of the Manjushri Pavilion soars like a boat, carrying rows of vermilion carved windows that seem to fly towards some distant cloud, wave, or sea. The people inside the windows are confined within red frames, staring motionlessly into the distance, as if they were merely soulless paper cutouts.
But Meng Shutai's paper-cut flower condensed into thought and drifted toward Le Jin.
What exactly is the source of her strangeness?
She had poor handwriting, lacked the education of someone from a wealthy family, and preferred eating to drinking. She was spoiled and domineering but always kept to a minimum, never truly dominating or harming anyone. Even her lust was lustful in name only; she only dared to glance at him longingly on ordinary days…
This is completely different from the Shuzhou Lejin he found.
Meng Shutai didn't care about the original Le Jin; he was only worried that if the one he was raising now ran away one day, he wouldn't be able to find such a fun little thing again.
He lowered his eyes in worry when suddenly two figures ran out of the temple and caught his attention.
The first one, with her flowing skirt and graceful figure, was none other than Yue Jin. The second one, tall and slender, wearing silver eye protection… was Meng Cizhang?
They ran along the road, one after the other, as if they were going somewhere. They held hands tightly.
Not only were all the promises she made to him before leaving lies, but she also secretly ran away with someone else...
Meng Shutai's long eyelashes trembled, his eyes dark and unfathomable. He enjoyed playing mind games with Le Jin; she could deceive him, coax him, and even hit him. Meng Shutai was willing to play the "weakling"—it brought him joy.
But it can only be the two of them.
He would be unhappy if Le Jin got distracted.
When I'm unhappy, I want to play pranks on people.
——
On the wide white stone-paved road, Le Jin held Meng Cizhang's wrist and ran towards Madam Zhang.
Although Mrs. Zhang owns a winery, business people have many connections and she can definitely help them find the right timber.
"real?"
"Yes. And Mrs. Zhang is very kind, as is Mrs. Wu. I'll introduce you two."
Meng Cizhang didn't reply, but simply raised his hand to touch the cold eye patch.
When Le Jin turned around and saw his action, she immediately understood what he was thinking.
What teenager doesn't love beauty? It's a natural feeling.
"Oh, it's alright."
Le Jin smiled, a smile that was both comforting and praising: "Women all love handsome young men. You're so good-looking, what's there to worry about? Let me tell you, the pastries at Madam Zhang's place are delicious! Let's hurry up and come back quickly, your brother wasn't going to let me go out..."
"You really think I'm...good-looking? You're not lying to me?"
Meng Cizhang stammered, his heart pounding with anxiety, like a fallen leaf on a lake, unsure when it would be swallowed by the deep waters.
Upon hearing this, Le Jin stopped, turned around, stared at him, and then frowned.
"W-what's wrong?"
Meng Cizhang looked at her, hands on her hips, as if she had a headache, and said to him, "In my hometown, this is called 'Versailles,' which means you're being hypocritical after getting a good deal."
Le Jin stepped forward and "threatened" him: "Don't say that again. I hate people like you the most..."
"But I'm half-blind..."
"He was a very handsome half-blind man!"
Le Jin blurted out, and Meng Cizhang's cheeks suddenly turned red. For a moment, neither of them was speechless.
Looking at the face before her that resembled that person by six or seven points, Le Jin suddenly understood why she was so determined at this moment: she actually quite liked Meng Shutai's looks, but before she could even praise him, he had given her a psychological trauma. And Meng Cizhang's face perfectly made up for that.
The older brother's face isn't something unattainable; there's only first place, no second. The younger brother has another one here, doesn't he?
Moreover, although Meng Cizhang was missing an eye, it was thanks to that eye that he had a more "waning moon, leaving blank space for contemplation" charm than Meng Shutai.
Le Jin looked at him, and for some reason, the tips of her ears turned red.
Actually, if you calculate their ages, she and Meng Cizhang are really the same age, in the prime of their youth, a time of naivety, the kind of life where youth campus novels take place...
Le Jin dared not think any further.
Both of them had a bunch of butterflies swirling in their minds as they arrived at Madam Zhang's door, half-asleep.
Le Jin looked into the courtyard and saw that both ladies were there, one embroidering and the other copying scriptures, looking very relaxed.
She smiled, revealing her teeth in the sun, and called out to the ladies, "Madam Zhang, Madam Wu, it's me!"
When Madam Wu was called, her brush trembled. She was startled to see that it was Le Jin. Her brows furrowed with worry for a moment, and she sighed, as if she was both ashamed and angry at Le Jin's lack of ambition.
Madam Zhang glanced at her, nudged her with her elbow, and shook her head slightly: "Don't be like that, Young Master Meng hasn't said anything yet."
After giving her instructions, she immediately put on a smile and beckoned to Le Jin, "Miss Le, come in quickly, the sun is scorching outside."
Le Jin happily agreed and was about to shake Meng Cizhang's wrist when she felt a strange unease. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Let's go."
Meng Cizhang's gaze followed Le Jin's waving hand, and finally he nodded blankly, gave a soft "hmm," and obediently followed her.
The two walked through the corridor to the two ladies. Le Jin then noticed that they were acting a little strange today, especially their eyes, which kept shifting between her and Meng Cizhang.
Le Jin looked down at herself. "What's wrong with me?"
Madam Wu finally sighed, put down her pen, and straightened her sleeves. "Lady Le, as wives, we may not expect to live in perfect harmony with our husbands, but shouldn't we at least remain faithful and steadfast to the end? But you..."
She ignored Madam Zhang tugging at her sleeve, telling her to stop talking, and after a slight pause, she continued, "How can you keep pulling one after another into your life? Meng Langjun is such a good man, how many more times do you want to break his heart?"
"What?!" Le Jin and Meng Cizhang exclaimed in unison.
She was under Meng Shutai's watch for a few days, how could everything have changed so drastically? How could Madam Wu and Madam Zhang know that Le Jin was amorous?
But that's not the biggest problem right now.
Looking at Madam Zhang in a panic and helplessness, Le Jin pointed to herself and Meng Cizhang and explained, "We're not in that kind of relationship..."
Madam Wu asked, "You're all experienced people, yet you come in acting like young girls. Do you think we don't know?"
No, no, no… Le Jin felt dizzy and disoriented, looking at the three faces in front of her waiting for her explanation, and even thought she was dreaming.
Could it be that her fever hasn't gotten better? Otherwise, what's the situation now?
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Author's Note: Good news: I finally understand Jinjiang's update rules!
Better news: This story will be updated daily after it becomes a paid novel! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
This is my first time writing a VIP post, I have no experience at all [laughing and crying emoji]. Turns out, once you become a VIP, you don't have to worry about having too many words and not getting on good rankings [cheers emoji][ ...]
Yesterday I said there would be two or three more chapters this week, but that doesn't count [starry-eyed]. Let's update daily!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I'll let everyone know in advance if there's a break in updates. [Applause]
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