0017 Nine-flowered Botanical (Part 4)
The Shu family carriage traveled all the way to the foot of Chongnan Mountain. Granny Li helped Luo Shi down from the carriage first, and then went to the carriages of the young ladies to announce: "We have arrived at the foot of the mountain. Madam said that in order to show our sincerity, the young ladies will have to walk up the long steps together."
Shu Wei and Shu Yin had no objections, and Shu Fu, considering that her sprain had almost healed, also readily agreed.
Inside the abbot's room at Xiangji Temple, a lean and vigorous white-browed monk was sitting quietly, sipping tea, while another tall monk sat to his side.
“Master, the invitation from Madam Shu a few days ago said she would be coming to pay her respects today. She should be arriving soon. Should we send a few people to the mountain gate to greet her?” the tall monk asked respectfully.
Although Xiangji Temple is open to the general public, it is special for noblewomen to visit and worship there.
The white-browed monk, who was also the abbot of the temple, pondered for a moment and said, "Very well, go and inform your supervising uncle to take Cunhui to greet them. Don't let your young and impetuous junior brothers get too close. The Shu family is all women on this trip, so don't offend our distinguished guests."
The tall monk bowed his head and agreed.
The four members of the Shu family, mother and daughters, walked up the mountain, enjoying the spring scenery along the way, and were not too tired.
When they finally arrived at the gate of Xiangji Temple, the abbot, Changming, had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing the group arrive, he put his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant as a greeting.
Standing beside him was none other than the young monk Cunhui, who will turn eight this year.
The little monk was no more than half a person's height, but he was fair-skinned, chubby, and had a lovable, simple-minded appearance. His two eyes, like two perfectly round grapes, darted around and finally landed on Shufu, revealing obvious joy.
"Second Miss has come to pay her respects today too!" Cunhui was overjoyed and took two steps forward.
Changming frowned and quickly gave a low shout. Cunhui pitifully shrank back, but her eyes were fixed on Shufu, constantly looking at her.
While Luo Shi and Changming were talking, Shu Fu secretly winked at Cun Hui and pointed with her eyes to the long box that A Jian was holding.
Cunhui was delighted and happily followed the group.
The group first went to the main hall to add incense money, then each prayed and drew lots. Finally, Luo said that she had already made an appointment with Abbot Changxin to have her lots interpreted, and sent her sisters off to kill time.
The monk in charge of receiving guests then led them to a clean meditation room in the backyard and instructed his fellow monks to prepare a vegetarian meal.
Seeing this opportunity, Shu Fu and Cun Hui walked to the back of the crowd and handed him the box containing rock sugar hawthorn fruit.
Cunhui tasted one and was immediately overjoyed by its sweet and sour flavor, her eyes welling up with tears: "Second Miss is such a kind person. None of the female benefactors who promised to bring me things to amuse me have ever kept their promises like Second Miss."
Zhan Yaoguang, who was hiding in the trees in the distance, saw that the so-called "Cunhui" was just a small child and couldn't help but feel ashamed of his impulsiveness.
The boy rested his hands behind his head, leaning back on the thick treetop, gazing through the deep and light green leaves at the azure sky.
But Afu is so wonderful, will she really like him? Like he likes her?
...
The three Shufu sisters entered the meditation room and sat for a short while before a monk entered carrying a food box.
"I've long heard that the vegetarian food at Xiangji Temple is exceptional, and I'm sure I'll have to try it today," Shu Wei said.
Upon hearing this, the young monk serving the meal smiled and said, "What you say is true, my humble temple dares not boast, but when it comes to vegetarian food, even the Great Ci'en Temple, which was built by order of the Emperor, cannot compare."
"The rice you all use is made by soaking glutinous rice in the juice of the Nan Zhu wood for one or two hours, then steaming it over water until cooked, and then sun-drying it until it is hard. When you want to use it, you just need to boil it in water to get this delicious food. It will also have the effect of nourishing your complexion."
Shu Yin took a bite: "It is indeed sweet and refreshing, but why do I taste a peach blossom fragrance?"
"Perhaps it's because the temple dried the rice under the peach trees, and it absorbed the fragrance of the peach blossoms, which makes it quite unique," the monk replied, lowering his eyes. At the same time, he was pouring tea for Shu Fu, and casually said to her, "Speaking of which, the peach blossoms on the back mountain are in full bloom right now. Stepping into that grove is like stepping into the clouds of Tiantai Mountain. Would you like to go to the back mountain to take a look, Second Miss?"
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent.
Shu Wei lowered her eyes, her fingers constantly stroking the edge of the teacup.
She couldn't help but scoff inwardly. This monk's methods were far too obvious. There were clearly three girls sitting in the room, yet he only called out to that one. His intentions were obvious at a glance.
It's unclear whether this was due to his own impure thoughts or being instigated by someone else...
Shu Yin also sensed something, but she knew she was too weak and powerless to get involved, so she kept quiet and focused on eating the food on the table.
Shu Fu noticed the monk's nervous movements and feigned surprise: "Is it really true? I love peach blossoms the most, and I'm going to take a good look at them today!"
After saying this, he didn't even want to eat the delicious food on the table. He stood up and followed the monk outside.
The two walked out together. While the monk was leading the way and not paying attention, Shu Fu turned her head and whispered a few words to A Jian. Upon hearing this, A Jian's expression turned serious, and she turned and left without saying a word.
Seeing A-Jian run far away, Shu Fu felt half relieved.
Shu Fu could sense what Shu Wei and Shu Yin could sense, but unlike Shu Yin's attitude of not daring to cause trouble, Shu Fu preferred to face difficulties head-on, after all, there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days.
However, she did not rush forward recklessly. She had already instructed A-Jian to go to Abbot Changxin's place to inform her mother about this matter, and she believed that her mother would arrive with people soon.
Even if Mother doesn't make it in time...
Shufu's heart suddenly beat two beats faster.
As she expected, Zhan Yaoguang must be sitting in one of the nearby trees right now.
He even found her boudoir without anyone noticing and sneaked in without alerting a single person. Climbing a tree was a piece of cake for him.
Shu Fu pondered this for a while, relaxed a little, and entered the peach blossom forest with the monk.
Sure enough, once inside the peach blossom forest, the monk, taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain, disappeared without a trace.
Shu Fu called the monk twice but received no response. So she forced herself to calm down, carefully observed her surroundings to make sure that no traps had been set up, and then cautiously walked forward a little further.
A few steps later, she vaguely saw a figure with its back to her on the forest path ahead, gazing alone at the fallen petals. Shu Fu felt the figure looked somewhat familiar, and alarm bells immediately went off in her mind. She abruptly stopped in her tracks.
The figure turned around at the sound and met Shu Fu's gaze.
"It's you?" Shufu was astonished.
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