Chapter 38 Laba Offering Scripture
On the day of Laba Festival, Du Heng got up an hour earlier than usual because he had promised his sister that she would escort the women in the family to Bodhi Temple. After his usual morning reading in the study, he went to the garden to relax and refresh his mind.
The clear spring followed him silently all the way. When he was near the garden gate, Du Heng suddenly stopped.
He looked towards the side yard, frowning slightly: "Why did the sweeper only sweep half of the snow?"
Qingquan was stunned, followed the young man's gaze, then looked in the direction they came from, and suddenly realized something.
It snowed last night.
Since it was normal for the young master to go to the garden every morning, the maids who were responsible for sweeping the garden had their own ideas and would clean the path leading to the garden before dawn. As for those places that the young master did not usually go, such as the path leading to the side courtyard, they were naturally put aside and even ignored.
The servants were very familiar with this practice of treating relatives and friends with different degrees of closeness, but today they ran into a snag.
Du Heng said coldly, "We have to leave at noon. Second Aunt and the others are probably already up. Hurry and have someone clear the way. Don't delay."
Qingquan responded and was about to turn around to call someone when he was stopped by him again.
"Not only this road, but also the road to the library opposite needs to be swept clean."
Su Ying was awakened by the rustling sound of snow being swept outside. She had to leave for Bodhi Temple at Chen, and her aunt had agreed last night before she left that she could get up at Mao.
I remember my aunt told the little girl that if it snowed, there was no need to rush to sweep the snow, so as not to make too much noise and disturb people's sleep.
But the sound of sweeping and cleaning was quite hurried. Su Ying wondered in her heart, could it be that her aunt asked the little girl to get up early to clean because she was going to the temple to offer scriptures today?
She thought about it and nodded secretly. Today she was offering the scriptures to Buddha, so they had to be spotless. It would be inappropriate if the hem of her skirt got stained with snow water.
After washing up, she went to her aunt's room.
But as soon as he went out, he saw the little girl holding a broom, yawning and about to clean the snow in the yard, as if she had just woken up.
Su Ying paused, a look of suspicion appeared in her eyes, and she went out of the yard to check.
There was no trace of fallen snow in the center of the path outside the courtyard, only piles of swept snow on both sides. In the distance, an old woman was bending over and talking to someone with a broom as tall as a person.
Su Ying leaned forward and saw that it was Qingquan who was talking to the old woman. He nodded and said something, and then the old woman turned east and went to the library. Qingquan went west and entered the garden.
There was a vague answer in her mind, ready to come out, but then she heard Xiu Yu's voice behind her: "Miss cousin, the madam is calling you!"
Without thinking too much, she returned to her aunt's room.
"Why did you run outside?"
Rong quickly made Su Ying sit down at the dining table and said, "After breakfast, put on your clothes and jewelry, and then follow me to the main courtyard."
Her aunt was right to remind her that today's scripture offering ceremony was more important than anything else, so Su Ying put what she had just seen behind her.
Half an hour before noon, Su Ying helped Rong go to the main courtyard.
Before she even entered the old lady's main hall, she heard Wanyi's giggles, which also made Su Ying feel happy. During her time at the Du Mansion, despite the pressure from Cheng Shi and the old lady's probing, she felt much more relaxed and at ease compared to the two years she had been on high alert at the Su family. More importantly, with her aunt, someone who truly cared for her, by her side, Su Ying felt warm in her heart, no matter how cold the winter in the capital might be.
Thinking of this, she held her aunt's hand tighter. Rong felt her niece's closeness and thought she was a little nervous, so she smiled and patted her hand to comfort her.
After paying her respects to the old lady, Rong took her seat, while Su Ying was pulled aside by Wanyi. The two sisters whispered to each other, and their affectionate appearance made the old lady smile.
Cheng arrived at the main hall a quarter before noon. Not long after she sat down, a maid came to report that all the carriages and horses were ready, waiting for the mistress to give the order.
Cheng looked at her mother-in-law respectfully, waiting for her signal. Seeing the old lady nod slightly, she understood and stood up. Rong followed suit, and the two of them, one on each side, supported her mother-in-law out of the main courtyard.
Seeing the elders stand up, Wanyi and Su Ying also put away their smiles. They followed them out of the main courtyard and went towards the hanging flower gate.
Outside the Chuihua Gate, three carriages were lined up side by side, but in the front, a man as tall as a pine tree was riding on a tall horse, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
The fallen snow on the ground had long since been swept away, but the eaves were still covered in white. Du Heng, now dressed in a dark blue-gray cloak with dark patterns and a white jade hair crown, was riding a horse. From a distance, he seemed enveloped in the morning light, yet also silhouetted against the snow on the eaves. This contrast between light and darkness gave Su Ying the illusion of looking up to a towering figure.
Wanyi seemed to notice that Sister Ying'er beside her had paused, so she whispered in her ear, "Although brother cannot enter the temple, he will escort us all the way to the mountain gate."
Su Ying nodded after hearing this. At this moment, Wanyi was looking at her brother with admiration in her eyes, with a look of pride on her face that came from being protected and pampered.
For a moment, Su Ying felt a twinge of envy for Wanyi. She envied Wanyi for having such a brother, one who not only protected her but also held her in his palm. At the same time, she also unconsciously felt a different kind of anticipation.
As Wanyi had predicted, Du Heng discontinued his companionship after the carriage stopped outside the mountain gate. As a sign of respect for the Buddhist community, they also disembarked and walked inside.
The ceremony of offering scriptures is much simpler than imagined. Just as the old lady said before, it is based on the word "respect".
After entering the temple, the monk in charge of reception led everyone to the water room to wash their hands and faces. Afterwards, the old lady and other elders were invited to the side hall to worship Buddha.
Su Ying and Wan Yi waited outside the main hall, along with the other five selected women, as their names were called and they were allowed in one by one. Once inside, each of them held up a copy of the sutra and presented it before the Buddha.
After the sutras were finished, bells and drums rang out, fish chimes rang out in unison, and the monks lowered their heads, clasped their hands together, and chanted in unison, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere. After about an hour, the abbot bowed and the monks left the hall in a solemn manner.
After the women of each family finished worshipping Buddha in the side hall, they moved to the dining hall to sit for a while and wait for their children.
The Du family had been in mourning for the past three years, and although they had sent scriptures to the temple, they had rarely interacted with other people. This scripture offering also gave Cheng an opportunity to return to the circle of women from the imperial families in the capital.
"Madam Du, it's been a long time since we last met. You're still in such good health!"
Cheng and Rong had just helped their mother-in-law to take a seat when they saw a lady in elegant clothes coming over with a smile on her face.
"Mrs. Xu."
Cheng looked carefully and saw that the person coming was none other than Jiang, the wife of Lord Xu, the Minister of Rites. Thinking back to the past, when her husband was alive, she was Lord Xu's subordinate. Now that she hadn't seen him for three years, the past seemed like just yesterday, and she couldn't help but feel mixed emotions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
