Earlier than Shen Miao expected, the next day, Mo Qing arrived at the gatehouse of the Shen Mansion to serve as a guard. Shen Miao had previously asked Shuangjiang to give the gatehouse some money, claiming that he was Shuangjiang's distant cousin. Since the guards were divided into several ranks, and Mo Qing was to be the outermost guard, he stayed without much hesitation.
Time quickly came to three days later.
Three days later, early in the morning, Ren Wanyun had already arranged everything and asked Xianglan, the maid beside her, to come and instruct Shen Miao on some matters. Before setting off, everyone went to Rongjing Hall.
Old Madam Shen spoke solemnly, perhaps urging everyone to follow the rules. They usually didn't go to Wolong Temple for incense, simply because it was a bit more remote. Although it was also famous, its incense couldn't compare to the prosperity of the nearby city. But for some reason, this time they chose to go to a more distant place instead of a nearby one.
Shen Qing seemed extremely happy, and said with a clear face that he would definitely pay homage to the Buddha along with Old Lady Shen and Shen Yuanbo. Old Lady Shen was naturally pleased to hear this, and her attitude towards Shen Qing also softened a lot.
This time, he also brought some personal guards with him to protect the safety of the young lady from the Shen Mansion. Shen Miao stood in front of the carriage, but was hesitant to move. Seeing this, Ren Wanyun frowned and asked, "Why don't you leave, Fifth Sister?"
“I just feel that the guards are a little weak. To prevent any accidents, Second Aunt might as well send more guards to follow.” Shen Miao said.
Ren Wanyun frowned. She hadn't expected Shen Miao to raise this question at this time. But everything had already been arranged for today. Ren Wanyun smiled and said, "Fifth sister, we've brought quite a few people with us. We can't take all the guards from the Shen residence with us. Too many people would only make things more inconvenient. Let's just leave it this way."
Shen Miao however stubbornly shook her head without moving.
Seeing this, Shen Yue and Shen Qing didn't say anything. Shen Qing was unhappy and said, "Our Shen family is not a royal family. How much pomp and circumstance do you want, Fifth Sister? Uncle has never been so picky when he goes out."
She then took out the letter from Shen Qing and started talking. As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Miao glanced at her. That glance was light and flirtatious, but it made Shen Qing suddenly feel cold all over.
“Let’s add two more.” Shen Miao pointed at the two guards beside the gatehouse: “These are the ones who will do.”
Seeing that Shen Miao hadn't brought any more people, but only two more, Ren Wanyun breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to waste too much time on this matter. Two people wouldn't affect the overall situation, so she put on a look of embarrassment and said, "Fifth sister, you really are... Never mind. When has Second Aunt ever disagreed with you? It's up to you." She instructed Xianglan beside her, "Go and call those two servants over, and let them leave the city with us."
“Thank you, Second Aunt.” A smile appeared on Shen Miao’s lips.
Seeing that Ren Wanyun finally followed Shen Miao's idea, Shen Yue just looked at Shen Miao strangely, but Shen Qing stomped his feet fiercely, glared at Shen Miao, and turned away.
After boarding the carriage, Shen Qing deliberately avoided speaking to Shen Miao. Although Shen Yue spoke to her, her words were tentative. Shen Miao was too lazy to respond and spoke perfunctorily. Ren Wanyun, on the other hand, was in high spirits the entire way, exchanging childish conversation with Shen Miao, appearing to be extremely close. Normally, Shen Miao would have been filled with admiration for her seemingly kind Second Aunt, but now, looking at this woman, every move she made was filled with an ugly, pretentious air. In front of her, who was used to seeing all sorts of human affection in the harem, she was truly unworthy.
We set out in the morning and arrived at our destination, Yangjing Peak, in the evening.
Wolong Temple is located halfway up Yangjing Peak, amidst high mountains and deep valleys. A spring outing would be filled with birdsong, flowers, and lush foliage, creating a delightful scene. However, now that it's early autumn, the withered vegetation adds a touch of melancholy.
Because Yangjing Peak was too far from Dingjing City, and the road to Wolong Temple was not easy to walk to, people who came to burn incense on weekdays, except for those very pious ladies, generally did not come here. When Shen Miao and the others got off the carriage and arrived at the gate of Wolong Temple, they saw that outside the huge temple, there was only a young monk sweeping the floor outside, which seemed very deserted.
"It's quite quiet here." Shen Yue chuckled.
Shen Qing shrugged his nose, as if he wanted to complain, but suddenly he thought of something and suppressed his anger.
Ren Wanyun said, "Don't be fooled by the tranquility of this place. I've heard that the Buddha here is very effective. When you burn incense, be sure to be sincere."
When the young monk saw the people coming, he stood up to greet them. Except for the servants who were moving things under the carriage, Ren Wanyun and the others followed the young monk who led the way into the temple.
The further I walked into the temple, the more I realized how sparsely populated Wolong Temple truly was. There weren't many pilgrims, not even many monks. The temple itself was spacious, so it felt empty. Staying there at night would probably be a bit scary.
When they met the abbot, he divided the courtyards for them. Originally, each girl had a room, and they were very close together. When they arrived at Shen Miao's place, a middle-aged monk who was slightly younger than the abbot said, "I'm really sorry, there are no more rooms for girls in the south pavilion. If you don't mind, how about going to the north pavilion?"
Everyone looked at her, Shen Miao smiled: "I'm sorry, I mind it very much."
"Fifth sister," Ren Wanyun scolded softly, "This is a pure land of Buddhism. There's no room for you to act so willfully."
“It’s just a little strange,” Shen Miao remained unmoved, “The incense doesn’t seem to be very prosperous, so how come the pavilions are full of people?”
The middle-aged monk also frowned, probably because he had never seen such an arrogant young lady, who started to criticize the temple without any explanation. However, Shen Miao was not like those unruly young ladies who would make a fuss. Her reasonable attitude made people unable to respond.
“Young donor, you may not know that although there are not many pilgrims, there are many monks in the temple.” The old abbot smiled slightly and explained to Shen Miao.
"But I live alone and I'm really scared. What should I do?" she asked.
"This..." Ren Wanyun continued to comfort him, "Fifth sister, just bear with it for one night. If you can endure this one night, the Buddha will see your sincerity and burn incense tomorrow, and your wish will surely come true."
If it were in the past, Shen Miao would have been coaxed out of her mind by hearing these words. After all, she was a soft-hearted person, not to mention that she still had Fu Xiuyi in her heart. She was afraid that in order to fulfill the Buddha's wish for her and Fu Xiuyi to be together, she would also suffer this small loss.
But now, things are a little different.
Ren Wanyun was also having a headache. She didn't know why, but Shen Miao was becoming increasingly irritable. In the past, she believed everything she said and was easy to coax. But today, she had been making mistakes frequently. If she wasn't dealt with soon, the Shen Mansion would probably be even more troublesome in the future.
“How about this,” Shen Miao said with a smile, “Aunt, can you please come and live in the North Pavilion with me? I’ll feel more at ease with someone to accompany me.”
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