Chapter 57: Treasure Mirror: We are all destined to be together.
Cong Ying thought the Prince of Jin was visiting Xuandu Temple to pay homage to his deceased wife, whose name was unknown. However, when Xie Xuanlan asked about it, the Prince of Jin replied, "The Master of the Crimson Cloud Crown has returned from visiting the immortals and invited me to a conversation today."
Cong Ying was immediately surprised: "The Crown Master is back?"
The carriage stopped outside the mountain gate. Sure enough, the Crimson Cloud Clan Master and the Taoist Priest Taixiao were already waiting. The Crimson Cloud Clan Master's celestial demeanor remained unchanged, his spirit only growing clearer. However, the Taoist Priest Taixiao's face, tanned to a charcoal hue, looked even more like a charlatan. Upon seeing the three of them, he smiled maliciously, shaking his head as he recited, "Yin and Yang, twin fishes, swim against the tides of time; the calamities of love are like a net, the path difficult to traverse. Having leaped the Dragon Gate, one should chase the sun, but instead, climbing the laurel tree, one falls into the dusty hook."
The King of Jin's face changed slightly when he heard this, but he remained silent. Xie Xuanlan scoffed, "What kind of curse are you mumbling about?"
Cong Ying tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to be careful with his words and actions, and then he stepped forward to greet the Master of the Jiangxia Crown.
The master smiled and said to her, "I've heard about the bandits at Guikuzhang buying young girls. Thank you for taking care of the girls at Xiguan and stopping their robbery."
Cong Ying didn't dare claim any credit for herself: "I am weak and powerless, and I rely entirely on Mr. Xie Sangong and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."
The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown ignored the two men and said to Cong Ying, "Come with me. I have a treasure to give you."
Xie Xuanlan and Prince Jin were about to follow, but were stopped by Taoist Taixiao, who held them both with his arms. His eyes flickered as he sized them up, saying, "I, too, have treasures to offer you two. Follow me, follow me."
Cong Ying followed the abbot to the monastery behind Sanqing Temple, and took the sandalwood box from her hand. Inside was actually half a bronze mirror.
A perfectly good bronze mirror, severed by some divine weapon, its edges as neat as a polished blade. Now, Cong Ying saw only half. She picked up the mirror and examined it. Its texture felt heavy, as if it were made of bronze infused with mercury and cinnabar. On the back, a Tai Chi image of two fish had once been depicted, but now only a single, solitary fish remained.
She carefully read the ancient characters on the back of the mirror: "Shi...jian..."
"This mirror is called the Mirror of Reflection," said the Lady of the Crimson Cloud Crown. "I found it overseas. It's said to be a former possession of the Queen Mother of the West, lost when she was invited to a banquet hosted by the First Emperor. It has the magical power to illuminate past and present lives. The moment I saw it, I knew it was destined for you. I'm giving it to you today. Please don't discard it."
Cong Ying looked at herself in the mirror curiously. The bronze mirror had lost its luster and only reflected half of her face in a furry manner.
Although Cong Ying found these vague legends about past and present lives interesting, she didn't take them seriously. She simply felt that the treasured mirror was an extremely rare antique, and since the owner had traveled thousands of miles from overseas to bring it back, she treasured it very much, storing it in a box and holding it in her arms.
She asked in confusion, "Why is this treasure mirror only half-full?"
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master said, "The rest will naturally be in the hands of other destined people."
The other two lucky individuals, Prince Jin and Xie Xuanlan, also each received half a bronze mirror. However, the parts they received were exactly the same, light and pliable, only half the weight of Cong Ying's precious mirror.
Xie Xuanlan asked, "I don't use the mirror to put on my makeup, so why are you giving me this thing?"
He was only anxious to find Congying, and treated the half mirror as if it were scrap metal, tossing it up and down carelessly. "Besides, why do both the King of Jin and I have one? Are you just handing it out to everyone you meet?"
Taoist Taixiao said sternly, "How could it be possible! This bronze mirror is a rare treasure, and you two are destined to be together."
Xie Xuanlan felt a chill upon hearing this and threw the bronze mirror back into Taoist Taixiao's arms. "Screw your destined one, me and him?! Only husband and wife in this world hold half of a bronze mirror each. You, old Taoist Hu Chai, are disgusting."
Taoist Taixiao frantically caught the treasure mirror and angrily pointed at Xie Xuanlan and yelled at him for a long time. However, knowing that Xie Xuanlan was disrespectful to the gods and Buddhas, he was afraid that he might wield a knife and attack him, so he didn't dare to really scold him. In the end, he could only stomp his foot at Prince Jin: "Look at him!"
The King of Jin was no longer surprised by this and didn't bother to pay attention. He just carefully examined the half of the bronze mirror in his hand and asked Taoist Taixiao, "What do the words '照' and '宝' on the back of this bronze mirror mean?"
"This mirror is called the Mirror of the World," Taoist Taixiao recounted the story and legend of this mirror, as his junior sister, the Crimson Cloud Crown Master, had said. Xie Xuanlan scoffed, but Prince Jin, thoughtful, took the half Xie Xuanlan had discarded and examined it, discovering it wasn't the half that belonged to the Mirror of the World, but was identical to his own.
He already had a guess in his mind, and said to Taoist Taixiao, "Since Xie San doesn't want them, I'll keep both."
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Cong Ying originally came to discuss something with Senior Sister Yiyun, but unfortunately she had gone down the mountain to buy yellow paper and cinnabar for the crown master and had not returned yet.
Congying and the Lady of the Jiangxia Crown sat for a while in a pavilion beside a tallow tree, listening to her stories of strange things at sea. After a while, a young lady came forward to serve tea, and brought a plate of fresh pickled bamboo shoots and a jar of roasted chestnuts especially for Congying.
The young nun said, "If it weren't for Sister Ying's rescue, who knows how many of us sisters would have been tragically killed by bandits. Our monastery is poor, and we sisters have nothing to give you. I pickled some new bamboo shoots myself, please try them, Sister Ying. These roasted chestnuts are for Sister He."
Cong Ying tasted a piece of bamboo shoot and found it fresh and crisp, with just the right amount of sweet and salty. She quickly finished the bamboo shoot on the plate with her tea. She rarely ate greedily, and seeing the host and the young lady smiling, she felt a little embarrassed.
The young nun said proudly, "I knew Sister Ying would like it, so I brought you another jar."
Cong Ying asked, "Could you tell me the recipe so I can pickle some myself when I get home?"
The young nun said, "This recipe is one I learned from the lay Buddhist Mingyuan Tang when I was reading Mingyuan Tang Miscellaneous Notes. I put slightly less salt and vinegar in it than his recipe. You can try it, sister!"
As expected, she carried a jar of pickled bamboo shoots onto Cong Ying's carriage. Xie Xuanlan quickly jumped up and took the seat opposite the pickled bamboo shoots. The two of them and one jar filled the carriage, so Prince Jin had no place to sit.
Xie Xuanlan raised his eyebrows and said proudly, "How can a dignified prince squeeze into a shabby carriage with my wife and me? I will go back to the city and ask the ceremonial guards of the Prince of Jin's Mansion to come and pick up Your Highness. That would be proper etiquette. No need to thank me!"
Prince Jin stood with his hands behind his back with the Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown and looked away coldly.
After watching the carriage leave, Prince Jin and Lady Crimson Cloud Crown returned to Linshan Pavilion. The tea set that Ying had used to drink from had not yet been washed. Prince Jin picked up the teacup she had used and gently turned it between his fingers, wondering what he was thinking.
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master flicked her whisk and asked him, "It's been a while since we last met. Thank you, Third Young Master. Have you gotten what you wished for?"
It had been a long time since anyone had addressed him by his former identity. Prince Jin felt a deep sense of regret, lowering his head and offering a wry smile. "What do you mean by fulfilling your wish?"
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master said, "You were so insistent back then. Didn't you think clearly about what you were asking for? And now you're asking me, a stranger?"
Prince Jin said, "I once prayed for Ah Ying to live in my presence, but thanks to your unskilled senior brother, I am now not even qualified to ride with her. I can only cherish the traces she left behind as a solace."
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master thought to herself, "How could Heaven be manipulated by him? He brought this upon himself." After some thought, she decided there was no need to provoke this lunatic, so she calmly asked, "What are you planning next? Do you intend to rob this Third Young Master Xie of his fortune? If I hadn't stopped you just now, I think you were planning to drag him off the carriage and take his place."
When her thoughts were exposed, Prince Jin showed no shame and said calmly, "It was originally mine. Is that what you call stealing?"
He sipped the cold tea from the cup, carefully searching for the scent left by the firefly. It was a light, almost imperceptible fragrance. Perhaps she was in a good mood while drinking the tea, and her teeth bit the grooves on the rim of the cup when she smiled, causing the aroma to linger in the tea.
He couldn't help but think of her shyly covering her face with a fan. Although the heat on her face had faded, her earlobes couldn't hide the redness that was dripping from them. Her lips were even more red and lustrous, the look he had once deeply loved, the look of being pampered and moisturized.
She must have been halfway there by now. What was Xie Xuanlan doing in her car?
"She's a little too indulgent towards Xie San." Prince Jin frowned slightly. "They haven't even gotten married yet, and she's so indulgent... Xie San isn't the type to be attentive. I'm afraid she'll swallow her pride and suffer for him in the future."
The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown did not agree with him, but instead said, "Compared to this time in her previous life, she is in a much better mood."
King Jin lowered his eyes. In his previous life...
She was cautious, restrained, polite, and almost cold, so much so that he did not dare to hope for her affection.
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master reminded her, "Your efforts were not in vain. They both have a deep affection for each other. In this life, she chose Third Young Master Xie on her own initiative, not because of worldly pressures."
"I understand. It's precisely because she wants to do it that I won't compete with her..."
Prince Jin's thin lips suddenly lifted slightly, and he looked at the Master of the Crimson Cloud Crown and said, "Master, you seem quite partial to Xie San. Don't you claim to be a recluse, unconcerned with worldly matters?"
Being looked at by such deep, cold, ruthless and heartless eyes, the Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown felt a chill all over his body.
There are some things that, if it were a normal person, she wouldn't have to remind him, but the person in front of her was Xie Xuanlan. She still remembered his evil deeds of committing suicide in front of her and leading the emperor's personal soldiers to massacre the people in Xuandu Temple. Although she didn't want to provoke him, she had to warn him.
She said, "Although you are a person in a dream, the dream and this world are reversed. If Xie San dies in this life, you will lose your origin and will be swallowed by the way of heaven."
Xie Xuanlan coughed twice and said, "I am not a long-lived person, so I am not afraid of death."
The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown shook his head: "Everyone is mortal, but the Devouring of Heaven will erase you, as if you never existed. No one will remember you, including Jiang Congying."
The teacup that Prince Jin was turning on his fingertips paused slightly.
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On the return journey, only Xie Xuanlan and Cong Ying were left in the carriage, and the Third Young Master Xie became refreshed again.
The young man was at the age of affection, full of vigor and vitality. Seeing Cong Ying sitting gracefully, smiling slightly, he couldn't help but think of the sweet taste he had tasted on the road. He half-closed his eyes, as if taking a rest, but his eyes were always fixed on her lips, which were moistened by the clear tea. He saw her red lips and pearly teeth opening and closing slightly, and his throat rolled again and again, not listening to a word.
But Ying came up to him and asked, "Sanlang, are you asleep?"
Just a few words as gentle as orchid, and the blood in his body immediately rushed down, and he suddenly raised his eyelids.
She reflected in his eyes like a cluster of fireworks blooming in his pupils, bright and dazzling, and also illuminating the deep color of his pupils. His concentrated gaze made his eyebrows and eyes reveal a stunning beauty. Zong Ying was stunned by his stare. Although she could see the smile in his eyes, she also instinctively sensed the danger of being at a loss.
She touched her face hesitantly: "What's wrong? Is there something on my face..."
Xie Xuanlan suddenly leaned forward, and Cong Ying was pressed between his chest and the wall of the compartment. He opened his eyes slightly in surprise.
She heard Xie Xuanlan whisper in her ear: "I want to kiss you, okay? You don't need to say anything, just nod your head."
He stared intently at the screen and dared not move.
I heard him sigh and asked again, "Then sit in my arms and let me hold you for a while?"
A buzzing sound came from Ying's ears, and half her body was numb from the shock. In her daze, she thought with regret: Zi Han refused jade, Yang Zhen refused gold, Liuxia Hui remained calm when a woman sat on his lap, Song Yu did not look at the neighbor's girl... The sages and gentlemen of the past could resist the temptation of beauty, so why couldn't she? Was she a hypocrite?
A wave of sadness suddenly filled Zong Ying's heart. She pushed Xie Xuanlan's face aside, picking up her silk fan and slapping him on the head, "You don't want to ride with me anymore, do you?"
Xie Xuanlan took a deep breath when he heard this, and immediately turned around and straightened himself up: "How could I think that? Si Niang, calm down."
The two of them calmed down for a while. Seeing that he was quietly and obediently hanging his head, Cong Ying couldn't help feeling pity for him. After thinking for a while, she opened the jar of pickled bamboo shoots that the little nun had given her, used a tea spoon to pick out a few slices, and asked him to taste it.
Xie Xuanlan tasted it and nodded: "My craftsmanship is not inferior to Yanxilou's."
He had cultivated a discerning palate through the use of exquisite delicacies, and Cong Ying was delighted by his affirmation, yet also felt a touch of melancholy. She said, "I copied the book 'Mingyuantang Miscellaneous Notes' for her, and I hadn't even remembered it included pickled bamboo shoots. She must have read every word carefully to have noticed these few words of the recipe. There are many girls as clever and studious as her in Xuandu Temple, but unfortunately...are they destined to be nuns their entire lives?"
After the incident of selling the adopted girl to bandits, the Crimson Cloud Crown Master would never give the girls up for adoption again. But how many people could the Xuandu Temple accommodate? Where would they go in the future?
Xie Xuanlan knew her kind heart and said to her, "In the future, Congshan Academy can accommodate some people."
Cong Ying said, "I'm afraid Wei Yin'er is a cautionary tale."
Not to mention that the noble ladies from aristocratic families would not be willing to condescend to study with them, Cong Ying was even more afraid that Xie would manipulate them and turn them into bait for profit. Otherwise, how could they be willing to provide them with food and clothing and teach them to read?
Since the fate of a group of girls was at stake, Cong Ying had to speculate about others with the greatest malice, but she didn't say it out loud for fear of hurting Xie Xuanlan's feelings.
Xie Xuanlan said, "There is actually another way, but... I'm afraid it's even more unrealistic."
Cong Ying tugged at the corner of his clothes: "Tell me about it?"
Xie Xuanlan held her hand. "Because of the imperial examination cheating case at the beginning of the year, the emperor sentenced my father and your lady to fifty lashes each and revoked your lady's authority to preside over the Spring Examination. However, he awarded her a piece of land east of the Imperial College. I originally thought she was going to build a teahouse or a tavern, but when I passed by a few days ago, I discovered she was planning to build a school."
A spring breeze seemed to blow through Ying's heart, stirring up ripples. "Like the girls' school in Xuzhou?"
Xie Xuanlan nodded: "It should be. But unfortunately, because of your grandfather, you can't follow her path."
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