Chapter Thirty-Five: The Naive Boy
A group of people rushed in, and five or six of them went straight to Madam Shen's table, reaching out their hands and shouting.
"Old Lady Shen..."
"Madam Shen..."
"The Prime Minister's wife..."
A robust daughter-in-law stepped forward from behind Madam Shen and said loudly, "Come one by one, don't push and shove, or you might hurt my old lady. If you don't get one, come back early next time."
In contrast, the number of people receiving scriptures from the other elderly ladies appeared quite small. However, these ladies were all very cultured people; they still handed over the scriptures with smiles and said "Amitabha." The people who received the scriptures also nodded and bowed, saying "Amitabha."
Seeing that the old lady's smile was somewhat stiff, Ruan Bi sighed inwardly, wondering why she, a woman at the height of her fame, would participate in the sutra donation ceremony with her. Little did she know that the sutra donation ceremony at Tianqing Temple wasn't something anyone could simply attend. Unless one came from a prestigious family or was blessed with both fortune and longevity, the presiding monk would politely decline. Withdrawing from the ceremony was easy, but participating again later would be difficult. Therefore, although the old lady was very unhappy, she was unwilling to withdraw.
At this moment, a poorly dressed old woman helped a pregnant young woman push through the crowd and walked up to Madam Shen, saying, "Old Madam Shen, please let my daughter touch your hand and receive some good fortune."
Everyone was stunned by these words, including the elderly ladies who had given the scriptures and the common people who had received them. They stared at the mother and daughter in disbelief. The Great Zhou Dynasty was strictly hierarchical, with a clear distinction between the noble and the lowly. If a commoner accidentally bumped into the hem of a nobleman's robe on the street, he would have to kowtow and beg for forgiveness, let alone touch his hand?
Madam Shen was also encountering such a thing for the first time, and was quite surprised. After a moment of contemplation, she said gently, "Young lady, all the main halls of Tianqing Temple enshrine Bodhisattvas. Since your daughter is pregnant, it would be best for her to touch the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva in the East Hall."
The old woman pleaded, "I already prayed to Guanyin Bodhisattva a while ago. She appeared in my daughter's dream and said that if she touched the hand of Old Lady Shen, she would definitely have a son. My daughter has already given birth to three daughters. If she can't have a son this time, her in-laws will kick her out. I beg Old Lady Shen to let my daughter touch her hand so that she can have some good fortune and give birth to a big, healthy boy." As she spoke, she let go of the young woman's hand, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed three times.
Old Madam Shen had many proud moments in her life, such as marrying Prime Minister Shen, her second son becoming Prime Minister Shen, and giving birth to three sons. She often heard words of praise like "Bodhisattva" and "good fortune," but this was the first time someone had asked to touch her hand as if she were a deity. Even though she managed to restrain herself, a faint sense of pride welled up inside her. However, the Shen family's favor was too great, and it wasn't wise to flaunt it excessively. She looked at the old woman's wrinkled face and hesitated.
An elderly woman standing next to Madam Shen said with a smile, "Madam Shen, she's a daughter-in-law, so it's alright to let her touch her."
Other elderly ladies chimed in, "Poor thing, she's already had three daughters. If she has another one, how will she survive? Old Madam Shen, please grant her wish."
Chen also whispered from the side, "Grandma, I think she's quite pitiful..."
Madam Shen finally relented, hesitantly extending her right hand and softly saying, "My daughter, I wish you a son soon." She was used to a life of luxury, and her hands were well-maintained, fair and smooth, without a single age spot. Apart from a large jade ring on her ring finger, she wore no other adornments.
The young woman tremblingly reached out and gently touched it, then withdrew as if electrocuted, choking back tears as she said, "Thank you so much, Old Lady Shen."
The old woman kowtowed three more times on the ground, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Elder Shen, thank you, Elder Shen."
Those around her exclaimed in admiration, "Madam Shen truly has the heart of a bodhisattva."
Some people looked at the young wife with envy.
Upon seeing the hand-touching scene, Madam Ruan felt as if her eyes were being pierced by needles, her heart was being gnawed by insects, her blood was flowing backward, and she almost couldn't even hold onto the smile on her lips.
Ruan Bi, however, harbored suspicions. It wasn't that she had noticed anything unusual, but rather that she was always skeptical of anything too extraordinary. Was it a coincidence, or a deliberate arrangement? To be asked to touch someone's hand in front of so many people, as if it were a divine act, was certainly a wonderful thing, but it was far too ostentatious…
Lost in thought, he felt a push on his arm. Turning his head to look at Xiuzhi, he saw her gesturing towards the door.
Ruan Bi looked over and saw a young servant in blue peeking in at the door; he looked quite familiar. After a moment's thought, wasn't that Anping, Gu Xiaobai's personal servant? If he was there, then Gu Xiaobai, the plague god, must be there too. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous. This young master was not only lawless but also lacked any sense of propriety; when his temper flared, he was capable of anything, regardless of the situation.
After a while, seeing that Gu Xiaobai hadn't come in, and Anping, who had been peeking in from the doorway, had also disappeared, Ruan Bi felt a little relieved. A little while later, a group of people, young and old, suddenly rushed in through the doorway and went straight to Old Madam Ruan, shouting and yelling.
"Madam Ruan, give me a copy."
"Old Lady Ruan, please give me a Buddhist scripture."
The old lady was stunned, Ruan Bi was stunned, and the other old ladies were stunned as well.
Despite her stunned expression, the old lady didn't stop, handing out books one by one, saying "Amitabha" in prayer. The remaining fifteen or sixteen books were snatched up in the blink of an eye.
The group of people received the scriptures, tucked them into their pockets, left the main gate of Tianqing Temple, turned right, and circled around the wall to the sparsely populated back area. Sure enough, they saw the young master who had given them the scriptures sitting by the wall, holding a horsewhip in one hand and idly waving it, with a servant in blue standing beside him.
The group of people walked over happily and handed the book to Gu Xiaobai.
Gu Xiaobai glanced at it and winked at Anping.
Anping clapped his hands and said, "Come here and collect your reward money. Let's make this clear first: did you take the scriptures from the Ruan family? If you took scriptures from other families to pass off as your own, be careful, my young master might get angry and whip you twenty times."
The group of people said in unison, "We wouldn't dare lie to the young master; it was indeed taken from the Ruan family."
Anping took out a purse hanging from his waist, pulled out some copper coins, and gave each person three hundred coins. The people took the money, bowed and thanked him, and left.
When they reached the last old man with slightly graying hair, Anping had no more copper coins. He took out a tael or two of silver and threw it to him, saying, "The extra is a reward from my young master for you to buy wine."
The old man bowed and thanked him, then glanced at Gu Xiaobai, who was intently playing with his whip, and dared not approach to ask. Instead, he asked Anping with a shy face, "Young master, if the Ruan family gives you more scriptures next time, will you still go to collect them?"
Anping gave him a serious look and said, "Oh, so you've gotten addicted to the sweetness?"
The old man said with a forced smile, "Young master, you flatter me. I have no choice; this is how I make a living."
Anping asked curiously, "You can actually make a living from this?"
The old man said, "Young master, you don't know, you can sell the scriptures you receive. The most precious ones are the scriptures given by Madam Shen. She is in poor health and can only give away scriptures a maximum of four times a year. Not only do bookstores want them, but many wealthy families are also eager to buy them. A single copy can sell for two hundred coins, and some have even sold for three hundred coins."
Gu Xiaobai found it fascinating, stopped playing with his whip, and asked, "What about Old Madam Ruan's?"
The old man held up two fingers and said, "The Ruan family's books are worthless, twenty coins a book, at most thirty coins."
Gu Xiaobai asked, puzzled, "How can there be such a big difference?"
The old man said, "Young Master, you don't know, but ever since Duke Ruan Wenxiao passed away, the Ruan family of Jingxi has lost its reputation. The current head of the family, although holding the position of a third-rank vice minister, is said to be a conciliatory person. It's been five or six years, and he hasn't even managed to become a candidate minister. So how can Old Madam Ruan compare to Old Madam Shen? She married the Prime Minister and gave birth to the Prime Minister. Few people in our Great Zhou Dynasty have such good fortune."
Gu Xiaobai scoffed and said, "How many truly fortunate people have you ever met? You're short-sighted."
Anping chimed in, unconvinced: "That's right, that's right. When it comes to good fortune, my family's matriarch and madam are much more fortunate than Madam Shen."
The old man was a resident near Tianqing Temple. He made a living by welcoming distinguished guests who came to offer incense. Naturally, he was very shrewd and quick-witted. He put on a smile and said, "I was wrong. You can tell at a glance that the young master is very noble. His family must be very distinguished as well."
Gu Xiaobai raised his eyebrows dismissively, stood up, stretched, and said to Anping, "This is boring, let's go."
The old man, emboldened, asked again, "Young master, would you like to go and collect the scriptures from the Ruan family again next time?"
Anping snapped at him, annoyed: "Take it if you want, don't take it if you don't."
Gu Xiaobai said generously, "Take it, keep it, and I'll send him over to settle things with you when the young master comes."
The old man nodded and bowed again to express his gratitude before leaving with a broad smile.
Anping grumbled unhappily, "Young Master, even if you don't send someone to collect these scriptures, they will all be distributed. It's a waste of five taels of silver."
"It's my money that's being wasted, why are you so upset? Stop nagging, get the horse, let's go back to the manor for dinner." Gu Xiaobai said as he walked along the corner of the wall toward the gate of Tianqing Temple. Sa Lu Zi and the other servants were still waiting for him outside the gate of Tianqing Temple.
As they approached the main gate, a group of people emerged, led by Old Madam Ruan, with Ruan Bi, wearing a veiled hat, supporting her arm. Gu Xiaobai quickly turned and hid behind a corner of the wall.
Anping asked in bewilderment, "My young master, you did this just to please the Fifth Miss, right? Why is she hiding again now?"
"Can you please stop making such a fuss?"
"Is the young master too shy?"
Gu Xiaobai struck him hard with the riding crop and said, "Are you looking for death? If you dare to yell again, I'll make you go empty the chamber pot and clean the toilet."
"Young Master, I was wrong." Anping nudged him and said, "Young Master, they're gone."
Gu Xiaobai said "Oh," peeked out, and saw Ruan Bi looking this way. He quickly pulled back and smacked Anping again: "You little brat, how dare you lie to the young master?"
Anping covered her mouth and laughed. After a while, she nudged him and said, "This time he's really leaving."
Gu Xiaobai hesitated for a moment before peeking out again, and sure enough, he saw the carriage slowly start to move.
Inside the carriage, Ruan Bi turned her head to look out the window and saw Gu Xiaobai peeking out from the corner. She wondered what kind of wicked idea this plague god Gu was up to now.
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