The young Taoist was only seven or eight years old. When he saw Fu Xia take out the shiny, oily cherry pancakes wrapped in oiled paper, he was so tempted that he couldn't take his eyes off them.
"Well, alright then." After struggling for a moment, the young Taoist priest blushed and happily accepted the cherry pancake. "Benefactor Shen, please come down the mountain with me quickly."
Fu Xia carried the two bundles of firewood onto Shen Yunjiao's back, her tone slightly worried as she whispered in Shen Yunjiao's ear, "Can you carry this, Miss?"
"Don't worry," Shen Yunjiao nodded.
"Let's go." The little boy happily wrapped the oil paper and hid it in his clothes. He then picked up the bundle of firewood on the ground. "We have to hurry, or the cook will scold us later."
Going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard.
The mountain path is rugged, and even though steps have been built, they are sometimes wide and sometimes narrow. You have to be very careful when you step on them, because if you are not careful, you may fall down the steps.
As Shen Yunjiao walked slowly, she had to protect the firewood tied behind her. Before long, she was covered in sweat, and her back was soaked.
In contrast, the little Taoist boy, small as he was, carried a bundle of firewood on his back. He walked down the steps as if it were flat ground, moving with incredible speed. Before you knew it, he was gone.
When she finally came down the mountain, the young Taoist boy was already waiting impatiently below. "Benefactor Chen, we must hurry up and leave, don't delay."
Shen Yunjiao wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and smiled as she agreed.
They carried firewood and walked into Xuanqing Temple.
Shen Yunjiao had just noticed that there were many more young men in the temple today.
Logically speaking, most of the worshippers in the temple are women and children, and men usually come with their wives; it is extremely rare for them to come alone to worship.
Shen Yunjiao's heart skipped a beat, and she probably had a guess.
She deliberately slowed her pace.
After walking only a few steps, they heard a familiar voice from ahead, "Cousin, the vegetarian food at Xuanqing Temple is famous for its deliciousness. Since we're here, we definitely can't miss it."
You can tell it's Yan Shiman's voice just by listening to it.
Now that Yan Shiman has arrived, shouldn't Xiao Huaijin also be here—
"Benefactor Shen, hurry up, the cook is getting impatient." The young Taoist priest waved and urged from the alley to Shen Yunjiao's left.
Perhaps hearing the sound, Yan Shiman in front suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and stopped in his tracks.
The man beside him, dressed in a moon-white straight robe, also stopped and looked ahead in the direction Yan Shiman was looking.
Shen Yunjiao was carrying firewood on her back and was about to walk into the alley when she inadvertently looked up and saw two figures in front of her.
A gentle morning breeze caressed his face. The young man, dressed in casual clothes, had his white headband and dark hair fluttering in the wind, curling into a tender arc.
Shen Yunjiao remembered the feeling of touching that hair. Sometimes that person liked to bury their head in their neck, with their black hair falling into their palms.
Two short days apart felt like an eternity.
Xiao Huaijin's captivating gaze, though tinged with a cold light, seemed to convey only indifference on his handsome face.
Even though she knew beforehand that Xiao Huaijin would treat her like a stranger, Shen Yunjiao still felt a dull ache in her heart when she saw him looking at her with such a cold expression, as if he were looking at a completely unrelated object.
She gave him a deep look, then, urged by the young Taoist boy, turned into the alley.
This was the second time Xiao Huaijin had seen this woman.
The first time I saw her was in the cold pavilion of Feihua Palace. The woman was lying in my arms, her eyes closed, sleeping peacefully and obediently.
The Empress Dowager said that she originally came to see Chu Xiyue, but she actually sneaked into her own palace and even drugged her wine.
Xiao Huaijin hated women who would stop at nothing to get into his bed.
But when he faced Shen Yunjiao, he saw that her face was extremely pale, her waist-length hair was loose, and she looked particularly fragile in the empty hall.
Like a delicate flower, its petals would drift away with the slightest breeze.
Therefore, he took pity on her and asked his grandmother to spare her life.
He never expected to run into her a second time in just two days.
Xiao Huaijin paused, trying to look away, but his attention was drawn back to the firewood on her back.
How could she, so thin and frail, carry such heavy firewood?
Xiao Huaijin felt a growing sense of displeasure, and he didn't even understand where this negative emotion came from.
Bathed in the morning light, Xiao Huaijin couldn't help but look at the woman in front of him. She seemed to have stepped out of a painting. She wore a plain white silk dress, her skin was as white as snow, her figure was exquisite, and her almond-shaped eyes were as bright as spring waves. Below that were her full, red lips, like cherries.
Her hair, styled in a bun, was adorned only with a simple jade hairpin, without any other embellishments. She didn't even wear earrings, which only made her appear more refined and elegant, with fair skin and delicate features.
With such stunning beauty, it's no wonder she had such thoughts.
Xiao Huaijin's indifference deepened; she was nothing more than a low-class woman, her methods so shallow that he looked down on her.
However, when she saw him, she was so bold as not to even kneel and bow, and simply walked inside as if she didn't see him.
Did they give up because they couldn't gain any benefits from it?
Furthermore, who told her to tie the firewood in that way? Didn't she know that the hemp rope would make her already shapely figure look even more alluring?
Or did she dress up like that on purpose to seduce other worshippers in the temple?
Shen Yunjiao's figure disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Xiao Huaijin's inner irritability and depression intensified. He stood there silently, leaving Yan Shiman at a loss for what to do.
Urged on by the young Taoist, Shen Yunjiao hurried towards the end of the alley, where the kitchen was located behind the courtyard, where firewood was burned and the stove was lit.
A cook, as tall as a man, stood with her hands on her hips. Seeing Shen Yunjiao carrying firewood, she immediately started cursing, "Hurry up and work! If you delay the serving time, how many heads do you have to make up for it?"
In the past, Shen Yunjiao would never have tolerated these filthy people. She couldn't stand those who used their positions to ride roughshod over others.
But she heard familiar footsteps behind her.
So Shen Yunjiao silently unloaded the firewood from her back. When she put the firewood on the ground, she pretended to accidentally untie the rope binding it, and the firewood immediately scattered all over the ground.
"Excuse me." Shen Yunjiao immediately bent down, intending to gather the firewood and put it aside.
But the cook's face was very unpleasant. She poked Shen Yunjiao's shoulder with her fat fingers, pushed her to the ground, and cursed, "Is it so hard to ask you young ladies to do some work? Do you think I have time to sit here with you and gather firewood?"
The helper standing nearby said sarcastically, "Oh dear, Chef Ruan, you don't know, this newcomer is no ordinary person. I heard she's a young lady from the Shen family."
Qin Youran's maid, hiding in the kitchen courtyard, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle as she watched Shen Yunjiao being bullied so pitifully.
When she got up to pour water today, she overheard Shen Yunjiao wanting to go down the mountain with the Taoist boy to deliver firewood. She immediately ran ahead to the kitchen to find Cook Ruan. Cook Ruan was specially invited to the Taoist temple by Old Madam Qin to take care of Qin Youran, so she naturally obeyed the young lady's orders.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com