Buddhist Temple Scandal (Part 2)
The faint flame in the incense burner became the only source of light and heat in this cold cage. Qingdai carefully protected it, as if guarding her last hope. Su Qingyue, using the dim light, continued to examine every corner of the Buddhist hall, her mind racing, assessing every available resource.
"Miss, please move closer to warm up." Qingdai pushed the incense burner towards Su Qingyue's feet, while she herself kept rubbing her hands because she was cold.
Su Qingyue didn't refuse; she needed to maintain her body temperature and clear thinking. While warming herself, she disassembled the old futons and collected the remaining dry straw. "Keep these; they'll keep them under me to keep out the cold at night."
As the master and servant were busy, the chains outside the door rattled again. A rough maid with an expressionless face entered, carrying a food box. She placed the box on the ground by the door without a word, turned and left, locking the door again.
Qingdai hurriedly went over and picked up the food box. Upon opening it, she found only two cold, rock-hard steamed buns and a small dish of dark, sour-smelling pickled vegetables. There wasn't even a bowl of hot soup.
"Are they... are they trying to freeze or starve us to death?" Qingdai's voice trembled with anger.
Su Qingyue glanced at it, her expression unchanged. "As expected." She picked up a cold steamed bun, broke it in half, and gave half to Qingdai. "Eat it. It's important to conserve your energy. Remember our current situation; this is not the time to be stubborn."
She nibbled on the dry, hard steamed bun, finding it tasteless, but the food in her stomach did make her feel a little warmer. Survival first—this was a principle ingrained in her very being.
Night fell completely, plunging the Buddhist hall into darkness, save for the flickering, eerie shadows cast by the dying embers of the incense burner on the walls. The wind howled, whistling strangely through the cracks in the doors and windows. A chill, like a venomous snake, coiled around every limb and bone.
Qingdai clung tightly to Su Qingyue, her body trembling slightly from the cold and fear. "Miss... I'm scared..."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Su Qingyue's voice rang out calmly in the darkness. "It's just a bit colder and darker. Compared to people's hearts, these things are nothing." She reached out and patted Qingdai's back, conveying silent strength. She recalled the wilderness survival shows she had watched in modern times. Compared to those truly desperate situations, at least here there was a roof over one's head to shelter from the wind and rain. Mindset is the key to success or failure.
She directed Qingdai to spread the collected dried grass thickly in a corner behind the Buddha statue, a place that offered some shelter from the wind. The two huddled together there, relying on each other's body heat and the faint embers of fire to barely ward off the chill of the long night. Su Qingyue even whispered some adapted inspirational stories and jokes to Qingdai, trying to dispel the fear in her heart.
That night was exceptionally long.
The second day, the third day… it was the same. Cold food, biting cold, endless darkness. Su Qingxue would occasionally come to the door and make sarcastic remarks, but Su Qingyue ignored them all, as steadfast as a rock. She even began to actually copy those fragile scriptures, writing with extreme care and precision, her handwriting neat and without a single mistake or damage.
She is waiting, and she is preparing.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, the opportunity finally arrived.
The maid who delivered the meal had barely left when the door to the Buddhist hall opened again. This time, Su Qingxue and her personal maid, Caidie, entered. Su Qingxue was wearing a thick fox fur coat, carrying a hand warmer, and her face wore undisguised smugness and provocation.
"Third sister, have you made any progress these past few days of rest?" She paced back and forth, her gaze sweeping over the neatly copied scriptures in front of Su Qingyue. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, quickly replaced by malice. "It seems you're quite relaxed, sister. You've copied these scriptures with utmost care. But... simply copying scriptures might not be enough to show your sincerity, would it?"
She gave a wink, and Cai Die immediately understood. She took out a large, unlit candle from her sleeve and stepped forward with a fake smile: "Third Miss, it's dark in front of the Buddha. The Eldest Miss specially brought you a candle to light the way at night so you can concentrate on your worship."
As she spoke, Cai Die was about to place the candle into the lamp holder on the offering table. However, just as she approached the table and her arm seemingly casually brushed against the stack of scriptures, something unexpected happened!
A small, hard pebble slipped silently from her sleeve and landed precisely on the corner of the table where the oil lamp had long since dried up! At the same time, she deliberately "lost her footing" in the candle, and with the base of the thick candle, she slammed it down hard onto the stack of sutra pages that Su Qingyue had just copied, the ink still wet!
This series of actions was swift and covert. If successful, the oil lamp would tip over and the candle would be extinguished, not only soiling and damaging the scriptures but also potentially igniting the paper! At that point, Su Qingyue's charges of "damaging her grandmother's belongings" and "disrespecting gods and Buddhas" would be confirmed!
Su Qingyue, who had been on high alert, had been waiting for this moment!
Just as the butterfly's elbow was about to knock over the oil lamp and the candle was about to touch the scripture, Su Qingyue moved! Her hand, which she had been keeping under the table because of the cold, suddenly rose, and in her hand she held the cover of the most worn-out scripture with its damaged edges! With a skillful flick of her wrist, she used the hard edge of the cover to precisely block the butterfly's elbow from hitting the oil lamp!
"Ouch!" Cai Die felt a numbness in her elbow, the force dissipated, and she lost her balance. The pebble that had been aimed at the oil lamp veered off course, grazing the lamp base before landing on the ground. The candle she was pressing down with her other hand also slipped from the impact, its bottom edge grazing the edge of the scripture page, leaving only a shallow, crooked wax mark on the top blank page, without causing extensive damage or ignition!
Everything happened in an instant.
Su Qingxue's smug smile froze.
Butterfly staggered, regained her balance, and her face turned deathly pale.
Su Qingyue quickly withdrew her hand, picked up the sutra page with the wax mark, and showed just the right amount of "panic" and "confusion" on her face: "Sister Caidie, what... what are you doing? This candle... how could you be so careless? It almost ruined the sutra!" She showed the shallow mark, her tone filled with lingering fear.
"You!" Su Qingxue reacted, her eyebrows furrowing in anger as she pointed at Su Qingyue, "It was clearly your own carelessness!"
"I didn't mean to?" Su Qingyue raised her eyes, her gaze sharp and cold as she looked at Su Qingxue. "Sister, look closely. The direction and force of these wax marks clearly indicate that they were made by pressing hard from the outside in. I was sitting here copying scriptures, and my hand was in this position," she gestured, "How could such marks be made? It was Sister Caidie who slipped when she was putting the candles in..."
She paused, her gaze shifting to the inconspicuous pebble on the ground, her tone becoming more meaningful: "Moreover, it seems something flew by just now, almost knocking over the oil lamp. In this tranquil Buddhist hall, could there be... someone else?"
Su Qingxue and Caidie's expressions instantly became incredibly varied. Their trap had not only been easily seen through, but they had also been outmaneuvered! The pebbles and wax marks had become evidence of their malicious intentions!
"You...you're spouting nonsense!" Su Qingxue was furious.
"Whether it's slander or not, I know in my heart." Su Qingyue's tone was calm, but carried an undeniable power. "This scripture is a relic of my grandmother. If it is really damaged, it will not be difficult to find out who was standing in this position and who did it. However, at that time, it will probably not be as simple as just resting."
She gently placed the sutra page with its faint marks back in its place, as if putting down something insignificant, yet also as if dropping a bombshell. "If you have nothing else to do, sister, I will continue copying sutras and meditating, so I won't see you off any further."
Su Qingxue's chest heaved violently as she glared at Su Qingyue, her eyes seeming to want to devour her alive. She never expected that in this desperate situation, Su Qingyue would not only not break down and beg for mercy, but would instead be so calm and sharp, easily thwarting her vicious scheme and putting her on the defensive!
Continuing to cause trouble will do you no good.
"Let's go!" Su Qingxue spat out the three words through gritted teeth, glared fiercely at Cai Die, and turned to leave angrily. Cai Die hurriedly picked up the candles and pebbles on the ground and slunk after her.
The door to the Buddhist hall was slammed shut and locked again.
Darkness returned, but the atmosphere was completely different.
Only then did Qingdai dare to catch her breath, patting her chest, still shaken but also incredibly excited: "Miss! You're amazing! How did you know they would do something bad? That was so close!"
Su Qingyue looked at the tightly closed door, a cold smile curving her lips. "A cornered dog will jump over the wall." She had long anticipated that Su Qingxue would lose her temper and take action herself, so she had maintained the highest level of vigilance. The cover of that tattered scripture was the "shield" she had prepared in advance.
"After this commotion, they shouldn't dare to use such underhanded tactics openly again for a while." Su Qingyue sat back down on the straw mat in the corner, her expression returning to calm. "We can at least have some peace and quiet for a few days."
She gazed at the narrow, gray patch of sky outside the skylight. The turmoil at the Buddhist temple seemed to have ended with her temporary victory. But only she knew the dangers that lay beneath. The struggle with these women of the inner quarters was fraught with peril, no less than a war without gunfire.
However, after this battle, she became even more convinced that as long as she remained calm and made good use of her wisdom and knowledge, she might not necessarily lose even in this seemingly hopeless cage.
In the days to come, she needed to think about how to leave this Buddhist temple, and... how to face the wider and more complex world after she left.
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