Chapter 27 The Ambiguous Heartless Man
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The carriage swayed and drove quite a distance, and the imposing stone lions at the entrance of the Lin residence were nowhere to be seen.
She remembered the task Lin Zhaoheng had given her: to fetch a bowl of thin porridge and bring it back to him.
Lin Xihe found it strange that the name of Shushi Nunnery sounded so familiar, even though she had only been here for a short time.
What's so special about a nunnery?
The old woman in the carriage was emaciated, but insisted on traveling with them. Lin Xihe forced two soft cushions on the old woman, as if to say, "If you don't use them, I'll jump off the carriage." Under her coercion, the old woman had no choice but to use them.
Lin Xihe then kept the last cushion for herself, muttering, "I can't take it anymore, my tailbone is falling apart."
"Miss, we're almost there, it will only take half an hour."
"..."
It takes so long to walk thirty miles.
She misses the subway and taxis terribly.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on in the rain. Shushi Temple is located halfway up Yueling Mountain. In earlier years, there wasn't even a decent mountain road.
The nuns in the nunnery lived a life of quiet contemplation.
The mountain road seemed much smoother, and the ride was not as bumpy as in previous years. Lin Xihe lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and leaned over to take a closer look. She saw that the road surface was smooth and the gravel along the roadside had been carefully cleared away.
The old woman said that a nun in the temple broke her ribs after falling down the mountain in the rain. After that, the government suddenly repaired the official road to make it easier for the nun to go down the mountain to distribute porridge.
As the slanting rain wafted in, Lin Xihe could see Shushi Temple not far away, shrouded in rain and mist on the mountain.
The mountain wasn't high, and the road wasn't steep, so finding the healing flower stone shouldn't be difficult. She asked the herbalist and got the exact location of the flower stone.
The carriage stopped in front of the temple.
The old woman got out of the carriage, and for some reason, she seemed much more energetic, walking with a brisk pace. She only said a few words, and the young nun warmly opened the temple gate.
Lin Xihe came to another conclusion: the old nanny and the young nuns in the nunnery were very familiar with each other.
The maids and nannies skillfully helped Lin Xihe into the nunnery.
"?" No, she went up the mountain to mine, not to worship Buddha!
Rain soaked the young lady's embroidered shoes, and the little nun led the group to the side room.
The air was filled with the smell of earth and a hint of sandalwood. Lin Xihe sniffed, but couldn't smell the aroma of cooking rice porridge.
The young nun explained that the roads were slippery on rainy days, and the abbot was worried that people receiving porridge would fall, so he waited until the rain stopped before distributing the porridge.
"Amitabha." Lin Xihe put her hands together and bowed respectfully.
Upon returning to the room, she sprawled out onto the couch.
Lin Xihe: "My dad was still thinking about the porridge here. I even prepared the bowl, but I didn't see a single grain of rice."
Along the way, Qingwu remained silent as she massaged her master's legs.
The old nanny brought over a bowl of vegetarian noodles.
"Qingwu, aren't you going to eat?" Judging by the maid's size, she must be hungry after such a long and bumpy journey.
"Miss, I'm not hungry."
Lin Xihe, with a noodle still hanging from the corner of her mouth, muttered, "Are you really on a diet? You're muscular, not fat!"
"..."
With darkness falling, going up the mountain now would be suicide.
Lin Xihe had no choice but to quickly wash up and collapse onto the bed, thinking that at least she could sleep.
In the eyes of her personal maid, the young lady was resting too early today. You see, back in the Lin family, this mistress used to stay up all night every day, often giving Qingwu the feeling that "the young lady likes to fight the King of Hell one-on-one."
The candlelight flickered, making one's mind wander.
Lin Xihe folded a handkerchief into a strip and wrapped it around her face, making a makeshift eye mask.
What could she do? She couldn't exactly stay awake and ask the nuns to do square dancing, could she?
"Knock knock knock," three knocks on the door.
The young nun from before stood at the door: "Benefactor, the abbess is holding evening prayers. Please come over."
Qingwu looked back at the young lady who was sleeping sprawled out on the couch and could only say, "Little Master, my young lady has already retired for the night."
It was only the hour of You (5-7 PM).
The nun and the maidservant exchanged an awkward glance.
The young nun rolled up her sleeves: How am I supposed to explain this to my abbot? He'll punish me.
The maid pouted: If I tell the young lady to get up, she'll beat me.
Who will take responsibility for this?
Their eyes met in the night, neither giving way to the other.
Until a loud snore came from inside the room: "zZZZ..."
In the main hall, Guanyin has a kind and benevolent expression.
The elderly abbot knelt before the Buddha statue, his prayer beads moving continuously.
The young nun stepped forward and whispered a few words in her ear, her delicate eyebrows furrowing together.
"Very well, Benefactor Lin has had a long journey. It was my oversight." As she spoke, her eyes swept over the woman sitting on the futon.
The woman's eyes were red-rimmed, her lips were pursed, and the prayer beads in her hands were already in disarray. She had actually seen the people from the Lin family arrive. The maids and servants escorted a young lady to a side room.
"Huixin, go and rest," the abbot said.
"Evening classes haven't started yet..."
Abbot: "Since your mind is already in turmoil, go and tidy it up. You are entitled to rest today; there is no need for further words."
Huixin bowed down to Guanyin, knelt respectfully, and withdrew amidst the chanting.
From the shadows of the main hall, the old nanny rushed forward: "Madam!"
In the past, Huixin would not have paid attention to the old name, but the situation is different today.
She practiced Buddhism at Shushi Nunnery for many years while still keeping her hair, and remained a lay Buddhist.
A few days ago, news came from an old acquaintance of the Lin family that her daughter had died.
Huixin wanted to go with her daughter, but Huici stopped her, and the two embraced and wept bitterly. The thought of death was suppressed, and she made up her mind to become a nun.
Who knew that on the day of the porridge distribution, she would run into that damned Lin Zhaoheng. That scoundrel disguised himself as a refugee and mingled in the porridge-begging line. Afraid that Huixin wouldn't see him, he waved and shouted at her, "Our He'er is awake! She can talk! She can call me 'Daddy'!"
Wisdom sees nothing.
Who would believe the words of a faithless man?
Her lotus is gone, and she cannot live alone.
After serving the porridge, Lin Zhaoheng not only didn't leave, but also boldly tugged at her sleeve: "Madam... come back to the manor with me and see He'er for one last time, just one last time."
Huixin, expressionless, turned the wooden bucket of porridge upside down and placed it on Lin Zhaoheng's head.
"Apricot Yellow." Huixin changed the old nanny's maiden name.
The old nanny called out "Madam" in a trembling voice, but Zhihui was displeased and quickly changed her address to her Buddhist name.
"Where is He'er buried?" Huixin bit her lip, each word stained with tears.
Unable to contain her excitement, the old woman exclaimed repeatedly, "She's alive! She's alive! In the side room! Miss is in the side room!"
"?" Huixin didn't quite understand. She thought the visitor was Lin Zhirou, the second young lady of the Lin family.
The old nanny was a maid from Huixin's maternal family. Otherwise, Huixin would have really kicked her out. Having lived in the Lin residence for so long, even the old nanny had picked up Lin Zhaoheng's disgusting ways, and her ability to spout off so readily had become increasingly adept.
Seeing that Huixin didn't believe her, the old nanny hardened her heart, disregarded social hierarchy, grabbed the Buddhist beads on Huixin's wrist, and led her towards the side room.
The candlelight flickered, and the girl on the couch twitched her nose slightly.
Huixin tiptoed, not daring to wake her.
A plain cloth was draped over her eyes, covering her bright and mischievous eyes.
That appearance could never be that of the second young lady of the Lin family.
Huixin recognized her daughter at a glance.
She leaned against the edge of the couch, her gaze greedily tracing her daughter's features. From the delicate tip of her nose to the slightly upturned peaks of her lips, she looked at even her tiny earlobes over and over again.
With each confirmed point, the emptiness in Huixin's chest was filled a little more, and surging emotions overwhelmed her.
It was her He'er.
Alive, breathing.
The girl on the couch stirred, raised her hand to scratch her neck, and uttered a muttered word: "Stone lion..."
Huixin leaned closer to listen.
"Candied hawthorn..." she muttered, then smacked her lips.
Huixin: "Are you hungry?"
She remembered that Lin Xihe's least favorite food was candied hawthorn; the little girl disliked sourness. Now that she's grown into a young woman, how come even her tastes have changed?
"Madam, please have some tea." Qingwu brought over the tea.
Huixin didn't drink. She tucked the blanket around Lin Xihe, squeezed her fingers, and then left the room.
The sound of rain drowned out their conversation.
"Madam...Master Huixin," Qingwu changed her address.
Huixin: "What does He'er mean by the stone lion and candied hawthorn?"
Thinking back to the argument between Miss and that Second Young Master Wen a few days ago, she got so angry that she called him a "stone lion".
Qingwu quickly filtered out the word "scold" from her lips and replied respectfully, "Miss and Young Master Wen were just joking."
Huixin: "A short preface?"
Qingwu nodded and added that the candied hawthorns were a treat that Miss Wen had given to the Second Young Master.
The young maid, single-handedly, managed to romanticize the relationship between the two mortal enemies to an excessively ambiguous degree.
Hui Xin comforted her, saying, "Xiao Xu has been a well-behaved child since he was little."
Qingwu's eyes widened: Is this a filter?
“He likes my He’er,” Huixin boldly guessed.
Hmm, I'd probably like her in my next life. Thinking about how she hadn't yet received her monthly allowance, Qingwu weighed the options and, against her conscience, said, "The Second Young Master seems to... care about Miss."
After all, for every insult the young lady hurled at him, he would retaliate with ten insults in return.
Huixin smiled and said, "I'll come again first thing tomorrow morning."
Huici, who had just finished her evening prayers, saw Huixin appear in her meditation room again and asked, "Why didn't you attend evening prayers?"
"I'm going to see my He'er."
Huixin couldn't help but confide in her best friend, and her beaming and joyful appearance also infected Huici.
Huici had cultivated her mind for many years, and although she remained calm, how could she, being a mortal, remain unmoved upon hearing that Lin Xihe had died and been reborn?
“Good fortune will surely follow great calamity. You have been reciting scriptures for many years, so it is only natural that the Bodhisattva will protect you, Benefactor Lin.”
Huixin felt a strong urge to return to the main hall and kowtow to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Huixin was overjoyed: "Just as we wished, Xiaoxu and He'er are childhood sweethearts and have a very close relationship."
"?" Now it was Huici's turn to be skeptical.
She knew her son; he always had a deadpan expression. A few days ago, when that boy learned she had abdominal pain, he sent someone to deliver medicine to warm her uterus, along with a handwritten letter.
The letter was to seek his mother's opinion: he wanted to annul his engagement with Lin Xihe.
This marriage was arranged by my mother and Mrs. Lin. If both sets of parents agree, then breaking off the engagement would be perfectly acceptable.
If they're already thinking about breaking off the engagement, how can they have such a deep affection for each other?
Seeing that Huici didn't believe her, Huixin was eager to provide evidence: "He'er even bought candied hawthorns for Xiaoxu!"
Huici shook her head, her tone quite certain: "Xiaoxu has never liked sour food since she was a child."
"Who said that? He clearly ate it all! There was only a bare bamboo skewer left! The maids and servants saw it all!" Huixin's voice suddenly rose.
Huici's usually placid face was now filled with seriousness: "Nonsense, I know my son's likes and dislikes best. He would never touch that sour fruit."
"You! Tomorrow, when my He'er wakes up, you will go and ask her yourself!"
The candlelight flickered rapidly as the two of them chatted back and forth, filling the quiet meditation room with the sounds of childish bickering.
.
Lin Xihe woke up hungry, her stomach feeling uncomfortably empty. Luckily, she hadn't transmigrated to a nunnery; otherwise, with only porridge and side dishes every day, her stomach would have been the first to rebel.
"Miss, it's still early, the morning lessons haven't started yet."
"..." She didn't come here to chant sutras!
Lin Xihe, without bothering to wash up, went straight to the point: "Why is it so quiet outside? Have the nuns stopped serving porridge?"
“I just asked, and the nearby refugees find it too cold to get up in the morning. Out of compassion, the nun changed the rules and moved the porridge distribution to the afternoon.”
Lin Xihe thought to herself: No wonder some people are beggars their whole lives; the root of the problem is laziness.
After finishing her vegetarian meal, the hardworking woman stood under the eaves. The air was so humid that it seemed as if water could be wrung out of it. She reached out and caught the water droplets falling from the eaves.
"Miss, are you really going up the mountain?" The rain has stopped, but the ground is still slippery.
As she spoke, Lin Xihe had already changed into a neat set of coarse cloth clothes, with her trouser legs tightly tied.
"Climb up! How will you know if you don't try?"
As if responding to her words, the sun parted the thick clouds and showered her with golden light.
Lin Xihe was radiant, her eyes sparkling: "Look, even God is helping me!"
Huixin skipped her morning class for the first time ever and hid in the kitchen to make dumplings—the food in the nunnery was simple, and dumplings with green vegetables and bamboo shoots were the most decent meal she could afford.
After finally finishing the task, she carried the dough dumplings to the back room.
The old nanny hesitated, "Miss, no..."
"Still sleeping?"
"Miss has gone to the back mountain."
Hui Xin was taken aback.
A young nun hurried from the front hall, put her palms together, and said, "The second young master of the Wen family is outside the mountain gate, requesting an audience."
wisdom:"……?"
Why is Huici's eldest son here?
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