Chapter 61 The Immortal in the Hermitage (Part 4) Qinglian Temple.
The bamboo on the roof rustled, and Jiu Li suddenly heard a familiar voice drifting on the wind. Though it wasn't clear, she couldn't be mistaken. That slow, faint laughter contained a chilling majesty. Who else could it be but Guan Youjun!
Could it be such a coincidence that Guan Youjun is also at Qinglian Temple? She got up to leave, but the old lady said, "Don't wander around, we'll be eating soon."
"We won't go far; we'll just stroll around in this courtyard."
Grandma Wei, fearing she would get lost, quickly told Wei Hong to follow. The two left the house and followed the corridor to the west corridor. Before they even reached it, they heard Guan Youjun's voice. One of the two rooms in the west wing had its door open. Jiuli went to the door and looked inside. Sure enough, Guan Youjun and her maid were sitting inside, talking with a slightly older woman. The woman also had two maids with her and a child of about six or seven years old. Judging from her accent, she wasn't from Nanjing.
Youjun spotted a familiar figure standing in front of the door. Upon closer inspection, she recognized Jiuli and stood up in surprise. "Little Fish, what are you doing here?"
Jiuli pointed to the house to the north, "I came with the old lady to offer incense. What a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet my aunt here."
Youjun spoke a few more words with the woman, then came out with her mother's makeup, saying, "Lead me to pay my respects to the old lady."
Jiuli had no choice but to lead her over. She entered the door, greeted the old lady, and the old lady introduced her to the Wei family. She returned the greeting with a smile.
Old Mrs. Wei looked her over and sighed, "I've often heard of Miss Guan's reputation. Everyone says how amazing she is. I only thought she looked like a demon, but I never expected her to be such a beauty! It's truly remarkable that a young lady can run such a large business! Miss Guan, are you here to offer incense at Qinglian Temple today?"
Youjun smiled and sat down at the round table. "I'm here to see someone off. It's a business friend of mine from Changzhou. His young master has been frail for many years. He happened to hear in Changzhou that the Bodhisattva here is very efficacious. My friend happened to be here to do some business, so his wife and young master came along to pray for peace at this temple. My friend has other business to attend to, so he asked me to take this lady and young master to the temple for a few days today."
Grandma Wei nodded and said, "That's right. Don't underestimate Qinglian Temple just because it's small and its incense isn't as plentiful as those Buddhist temples. It's truly extremely efficacious!"
“That’s right. My mother also chants Buddhist scriptures at home, and Abbot Jingzhen of Qinglian Temple occasionally visits my home. I’ve heard this before, but I’m usually busy and don’t have much time to come and worship Buddha.”
“Miss Guan is no ordinary woman; managing such a large operation naturally keeps her busy.”
Amidst the laughter and conversation, Youjun noticed Wei Hong and Jiuli sitting together. Wei Hong kept stealing glances at Jiuli, his face flushed. She began to understand what was going on. Could it be that the Yu family had, for some reason, abandoned their hopes for the Qi family and instead turned their attention to the Wei family? The winds of change had shifted far too quickly; if she hadn't witnessed it today, she wouldn't have known.
Just then, a little nun of about twelve or thirteen years old came in and said that the vegetarian meal was ready and invited everyone to eat in the dining hall in front. Since they had met here, the old lady naturally invited Youjun to eat with her. Youjun went to that room and called over Madam Gu from Changzhou and her young son.
Meanwhile, since the old lady and Jiuli were not at home for lunch, Fengqiao and Axiang ate their meals at the front shop. There was also a soup simmering in the kitchen, and even Yuqing took her food to the back kitchen to tend the fire. Only Yuqi, Duzhong, and Xiuzhi were at the table, making the lunch exceptionally quiet.
Halfway through the meal, Yuqing brought in the simmered soup and placed it specifically in front of Yuqi. Yuqi glanced at the soup bowl and asked, "Why is there only one bowl?"
The three of them laughed in unison, "We won't eat, you can eat yours."
Seeing the three men's restrained smiles, Yu Qi suddenly remembered that for some reason, there had been soup with every meal for the past few days, and he was the only one eating it. Since he wasn't picky about food and drink, he hadn't paid much attention the first couple of days. Now, sensing something was amiss, he picked up the bowl and took a sip. It was pigeon soup, and he could taste sea cucumber and deer antler in it—both excellent for tonifying the kidneys, strengthening yang, and consolidating essence. Why was he being given this specifically?
As for why the old lady suddenly wanted to go to the temple to burn incense, even Jiuli had been willing to say a few words to him these past two days. He thought for a moment and figured out the clue. He put down his bowl and stood up. "Zhong'er, come with me."
Du Zhong's heart tightened at the call, but he dared not disobey him and followed him back into the room. "Master, is there something you need me to do?"
Yu Qi snorted coldly, walked straight to the desk in the small study, sat down, spread his arms wide, gripped the edge of the desk, and looked at him, "Who said I'm sick?"
Du Zhong just kept looking around, "What illness? Who said that? You're sick? How come I didn't know?"
Yu Qi's face was gloomy. "If you didn't think I was sick, why did the old lady suddenly think of burning incense and praying to Buddha? And why have you been brewing nourishing soups for me these past few days? If you don't tell the truth, I'll just assume it's you. Did I teach you to diagnose someone as sick without even taking their pulse? Go kneel down in the courtyard."
Du Zhong immediately knelt down before the table with a thud, "It wasn't me! It was Uncle Fengqiao!"
"Does Toyohashi have nothing better to do than worry about these things?"
"He prescribed medicinal cuisine! The illness was mentioned by Brother Zhang."
"Zhang Da? What does he know?"
Du Zhong lowered his head. "He said that Master, the reason you haven't married is probably because of your poor health. I didn't believe it at first! But then I thought about it, and it's better to believe it than not. We're all concerned about Master, so—"
Yu Qi was both angry and amused. "So you told the whole family that I have a disease?"
He hurriedly shook his hands, "It wasn't me! I spoke to Xiaoyuer first, and Xiaoyuer said that this matter needed to be discussed with an older man, so I told Uncle Fengqiao, who then told Aunt Qing, and Aunt Qing then told the old lady."
"Well, that's great! Even the rats in this house probably know the master is ill! Even Jiuli suspects he's unwell; no wonder she hasn't been arguing with him much these past few days, and her gaze towards him suddenly carries a hint of heartache and sympathy." Thinking of this, Yu Qi's brow furrowed with anger. "I think you've developed some great skills! Whether someone is sick or not, you don't even need to observe, listen, ask, or feel the pulse; you can tell just by counting on your fingers! Since you have such abilities, why do you need me as your teacher?"
Du Zhong was so frightened that he quickly kowtowed twice, "Master, I know I was wrong! Please don't send me away!"
Yu Qi couldn't really kick him out. After a long silence, he said, "You'll kneel in the sun today and copy the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' five times. You're not allowed to get up until you finish copying it, and you're not allowed to eat dinner!"
Du Zhong had no choice but to return to his room, obediently take paper and ink, kneel down in the courtyard, and bury himself in copying books while cursing Zhang Da a hundred and twenty times. He was hoping that Jiu Li would return home soon so that he could plead for him.
Jiuli sneezed as soon as she picked up her bowl, suspecting the forest breeze was a bit chilly. She then noticed twelve vegetarian dishes on the table, and everyone began to eat, chatting and laughing. The old lady and Madam Gu, after a few bites, exclaimed that it was incredible; the vegetarian food in the dining hall was comparable to that of a restaurant, perfectly prepared in terms of color, aroma, and taste.
What's remarkable is how exquisitely it's prepared, unlike the ordinary vegetarian meals at temples, which are merely for filling one's stomach. Jiu Li originally only wanted to fill her stomach quickly, but she was pleasantly surprised by the meal and couldn't help but smile broadly. Wei Hong, sitting next to her, noticed that she liked the fresh pickled lotus root slices, so he picked up quite a few for her and said with a smile, "The vegetarian meals are also a specialty of Qinglian Temple, but this is a special meal prepared by a private kitchen, which is made with extra incense money. The meals prepared by the public kitchen are slightly inferior to this."
"Is the main stove for those pilgrims who don't pay extra?" Jiu Li asked.
He nodded and pointed to the food on the servants' table for her to see, "The vegetables are all the same, just not prepared in such a refined way."
Jiuli chuckled casually, "Don't temples always say that all beings are equal? How come they still treat people differently based on their status?"
Just then, a young monk who was serving guests walked in and heard this. He said, "If you want equality for all beings, then don't pay extra to have something else made, or you can just go eat at that table yourself."
Jiuli turned her head and saw that the nun seemed to be about the same age as her, with a face like a silver plate, red lips and white teeth, and a bright red beauty mark between her eyebrows. Her expression was arrogant and pretty. She hadn't expected that someone would hear her muttering those words. Since she was talking about someone behind their back, she couldn't say anything back.
The woman with the shrewish makeup couldn't stand the nun's rudeness. She sneered at the table, "The worshippers pay extra for extra dishes. Isn't this the rule you set up here first? Our girl didn't say anything wrong, so why are you being so fierce?"
The nun turned around, about to scold someone, when another nun walked in and gently rebuked her, "Jingyue, don't be rude."
The one who entered was none other than Huixin, the beautiful young nun whom Jiuli had glimpsed in the monks' quarters. Jingzhen remembered that she was the head nun and would succeed as abbot. Sure enough, Jingyue, though still showing some resentment, dared not argue with Niangzhuang anymore. She simply walked up to Huixin and asked, "Senior Sister, is Cilian feeling better? I got two ounces of bird's nest; I wanted to ask Yi to cook her some porridge." As she spoke, she showed her a paper package.
Huixin frowned slightly. "Where did you get this?"
Jingyue smiled, biting her lip. "It was Master Zhao who just left who saw me off."
Huixin gazed calmly at her face, "How can you accept such an expensive gift from a worshipper? Return it to him when he comes to offer incense another day."
Jingyue put her hands behind her back, lowered her head, and swayed from side to side. "I said I didn't want it, but he said it wasn't worth much, stuffed it into my hands, and left." Then, she raised her head and smiled tentatively, "Senior sister, Cilian hasn't eaten properly for several days. Why don't we save it to make porridge for her?"
Huixin paused for a moment, then smiled gently at her, "Alright." She glanced around the dining hall, "Where's Liaoyi?"
Jingyue was also puzzled, "I don't know, I didn't see her in the kitchen either."
Huixin then said, "Then give the bird's nest to the junior sisters and have them cook it."
Jingyue hesitated again, then whispered a few words in her ear. Jiuli guessed that she was worried about the precious bird's nest and didn't trust her junior sisters. The two left the dining hall, probably to find the Master Liaoyi they had mentioned.
Grandma Wei smiled and said, "This Liaoyi is the head cook of this canteen. Don't let her young age fool you, she cooks excellent vegetarian meals. She cooked all the dishes on our table herself. I can tell just by tasting them. Every time I come, I pay extra to have her cook vegetarian meals for me."
Youjun smiled without saying a word. Seeing that Jiuli was still turning her head to look at the door, she called softly, "Fish, aren't you going to eat? What are you looking at?"
Jiuli turned around and smiled, "I think these two masters are really good-looking. With such good looks, why would they want to become nuns?"
Grandma Wei said, "That Huixin was an abandoned baby that Master Jingzhen picked up at the temple gate. You don't know, some poor people can't afford to raise their children and are reluctant to sell them, so they abandon them at the temple gate. They figure that monks are kind-hearted and will always give the children a bite to eat. Huixin was raised by Master Jingzhen himself."
"What about Jingyue?"
Grandma Wei shook her head. "I last came here during the first month of the lunar year. I didn't see her then. I guess she's a new disciple of Master Jingzhen. Sigh, she's a girl from a poor family, otherwise who would be willing to send her here to be a nun?"
Jiuli thought to herself that Jingyue was about the same age as her, perhaps even a year or two younger, yet she would be spending her life alone with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, truly pitiful. Of course, she was born into a wealthy family in the mortal world and could not escape it. She felt that the years in this mountain temple were utterly meaningless, the stone bodhisattvas could not laugh, and she could not even wear a beautiful dress. She could not possibly endure such a life of hardship.
She shook her head and picked up her bowl to eat again.
Youjun vaguely heard her sigh, and looked at her with amusement, "You silly girl, what strange things are you thinking about now?"
She chuckled. "I was just wondering how such a young girl could endure the loneliness of the mountains and forests?"
Youjun was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "How do you know they're lonely? The mountains and forests have their own liveliness." After saying that, she looked at the two young nuns who were going in and out to collect the dishes, "Look, there are so many people here. The senior and junior nuns discuss scriptures and preach together every day. How could they be lonely?"
After finishing their meal, they all became familiar with each other. Everyone said they were leaving, but Madam Gu wanted to stay at the temple for a few more days. So she and her maid accompanied the guest master Jingyue to see everyone off at the door.
The old lady was a kind-hearted person. Because she got along well with Madam Gu, she pulled her aside and said that her family owned a pharmacy and her son was a doctor with a certain reputation. She suggested that if Madam Gu didn't mind, she could bring her son over in a couple of days to take a look at her child. Madam Gu naturally agreed without hesitation and thanked her profusely as she boarded her carriage.
Jiuli followed behind, glancing over to see Jingyue looking at her with disdain. She thought that the nun was probably still angry about what she had said in the dining hall earlier, so she smiled in a friendly manner and said, "It's really hard on you, little nun, to see us out in this hot sun."
Jingyue snorted lightly, her nose crooked, and said lazily, "You're welcome. It's your fault for offering so much incense money."
She turned her head to the side, the beauty mark on her forehead shining brightly in the sunlight. Jiu Li secretly admired her, thinking, "What a little beauty, just a bit too temperamental." Realizing she was making a fool of herself, she pursed her lips and remained silent. After a while, she noticed Jing Yue glancing at her again, and asked curiously, "Why are you always looking at me?"
Jingyue was simply jealous because she thought the other woman was about the same age as her and that she herself was not much less beautiful than her. Yet the other woman was born with good fortune, presumably from a wealthy family, and dressed so exquisitely! She couldn't help but feel envious, and being somewhat arrogant, she naturally refused to tell Jiuli the truth.
She rolled her eyes at Jiuli and whispered, "You look like a pretty but useless pampered young lady. Let me tell you, the Bodhisattva won't bless someone like you. All the incense you burn today will be for nothing!"
After saying that, she turned around, tilted her head back, and walked away, leaving Jiu Li completely bewildered.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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