Chapter 1266: One Battle Secures the Southwest (Part 3) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Qingshui Temple was built on a hillside in the suburbs.
Initially, it was just an abandoned nunnery hidden in the mountains and forests. Later, it was bought and renovated by the matriarch of the Cui family and used for religious practice and to take in homeless women and abandoned children. Some unscrupulous people once thought that Qingshui Nunnery was the kind of wild nunnery where people devoutly worshipped Buddha during the day and talked about love and sex at night. They regarded the nuns in the nunnery as wild nuns who engaged in love and sex, and actually went up the mountain to harass them in the middle of the night.
To allow his mother-in-law to focus on her spiritual practice, Cui Zhi arranged for someone to look after her.
However, he soon realized that he had gone to great lengths.
His mother-in-law, who practices vegetarianism and chants Buddhist prayers, has a number of ruthless methods.
They caught the scoundrels who tried to climb over the wall and molest the nun, and ordered them to be tortured, crippled, and thrown out of the nunnery. The years that had etched their marks on her face hadn't softened her expression much; she glanced at the men on the ground as if they were just a few breathing lumps of rotting flesh: "You should be grateful you met this humble nun now. If it had been ten or twenty years earlier, I would have torn you apart by five horses and sliced you into thirty-six thousand pieces!"
After several such incidents, everyone in Tianqing County knew that there was a nunnery with a Rakshasa in charge. When desperate women from the surrounding area came to seek refuge there, their husbands' and their own families would have to think twice before messing with them. No fools dared to disturb the nuns' quiet practice anymore.
Kiyomizu-an almost never receives male guests.
The reason I say "almost" is because when Cui Mi and Cui Xiong were young, they would visit their maternal grandmother and stay for a few days. However, when they grew to be teenagers, they stopped going. Each time they came, they would meet their grandmother at the small house at the foot of the mountain and enjoy family time together.
Even Cui Zhi, his son-in-law, had only gone up the mountain three times, each time waiting at a teahouse for pilgrims a mile outside Qingshui Temple. On his fourth trip up the mountain, this man, who couldn't lose his composure even if the sky collapsed and the earth crumbled, suddenly felt weak.
The mountain path was littered with footprints, and everywhere you looked were withered branches and fallen leaves.
Continue walking uphill along the mountain path.
The only way was blocked, with simple barricades blocking the way.
Cui Zhi keenly noticed the arrows aimed at his vitals in the shadows. He raised his hand and ordered his attendants to stop: "Cui Zhishan of the Cui family, please come out and meet us, hero. We have no ill intentions. We are here to bring down the mountain to bring our female relatives who are practicing asceticism back home. We beg your understanding."
Upon hearing the name "Cui family," a commotion arose in the distance.
Before long, a dozen or so heads emerged from the ground, behind trees, and beside rocks. They carefully observed and, only after confirming that Cui Zhi hadn't overstepped his bounds and launched a forceful attack, did they send their steward to negotiate with him. The steward hesitated, scrutinizing Cui Zhi's appearance, and tentatively asked, "Are you...the son-in-law?"
Coincidentally, the person in charge was the steward of Cui Zhi's brother-in-law's household.
Because Cui Zhi rarely showed up, the steward had only seen him a few times.
I'm not quite sure, let me look at it more closely.
Cui Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
Since it was his brother-in-law's men guarding this place, his mother-in-law on the mountain should be safe. The manager breathed a sigh of relief and turned to instruct the others to move the barricades. Cui Zhi ordered half of his men to stay behind and help with the defense, while the rest were taken up the mountain.
On the way, I asked the manager about the situation.
He was mainly criticizing his own brother-in-law.
Hadn't he already instructed him to act according to circumstances, and to bring his family to him or the Cui family mansion if things went wrong? No matter how turbulent the outside world was, he could always protect them. Cui Zhi rarely spoke harshly to outsiders, let alone his own family.
It's clear he was really angry this time!
The person in charge couldn't help but feel sorry for their own parents.
It's not that I don't want to leave, but that I simply can't.
The government sent people to guard all the key roads, and no one was allowed to leave. The head of the family could only rely on the government's connections. However, before the results were in, the newly taken-in women of the nunnery suddenly fell ill. They carried the plague and infected several others. In just two days, more than a dozen people fell ill, and the remaining nuns were filled with fear.
It was only a matter of time before the disease broke out.
If we ignore them now, they will surely die.
"How could so many people be infected with the plague?"
The steward lowered his voice: "At the beginning of the year, the situation was bad. Many families couldn't even get a meal a day. The abbot of the temple had people give alms for two whole months. After that, the temple ran out of food and had to stop. But the common people dumped all their burdens on us."
The nunnery was crowded with people and their opinions varied, and that's when the plague sneaked in.
Given the abbot's temperament, it's impossible for him to abandon these people.
Although many people were infected with the plague, the temple had a good stockpile of medicinal herbs, which was enough to keep them afloat. Just as the situation was starting to improve, a cult uprising broke out down the mountain, with people burning, killing, and looting everywhere. The steward said with lingering fear, "I heard that they even smashed up the government offices."
Cui Zhi then inquired about his brother-in-law's family.
"The mistress and all the young men and women have been sent to a safe place. The head of the household is worried about the old lady, so he led people back to guard the nunnery..." The steward's tired and old voice was tinged with a barely perceptible sob. Cui Zhi thought of the arrangements at the foot of the mountain and involuntarily tightened the reins. An ominous premonition haunted his heart like a vengeful ghost.
"How is the abbot?"
He passed away four days ago.
This news hit him like a bolt from the blue.
A constant buzzing in his ears nearly prevented him from hearing the steward say that Cui Hui had managed to see the abbot one last time. As they spoke, the desolate Qingshui Nunnery came into view, its side hall converted into a simple mourning hall. Cui Zhi stumbled, almost tripping over the threshold, only managing to steady himself by bracing himself against the doorframe. Cui Hui, who hadn't expected to see someone he shouldn't be here, showed surprise in his numb eyes.
"Five grams..."
His lips moved, uttering two words.
Cui Hui wore mourning clothes and kept vigil for his birth mother.
Her emotions had calmed down considerably in the past few days, and she didn't even stop Cui Zhi from kneeling beside her: "How did you end up here?"
"I received news that Tianqing County is under siege, and I'm worried about you and Mother... Why did Mother pass away? Was it from the plague?" Cui Zhi couldn't help but ask about his mother-in-law's cause of death. He had just inquired with the steward, but the steward was also vague, so Cui Zhi could only ask Cui Hui.
He had considered many possibilities.
Perhaps he died of illness, or perhaps his time had come...
"My mother was killed by a villain."
Cui Zhi suddenly looked over.
Where is the villain?
Cui Hui's numb and lifeless eyes welled up with hot tears: "The thugs heard that the nunnery had been providing alms for two months and taking in many refugees, so they assumed that there was surplus food in the nunnery. Some bandits took advantage of the chaos and targeted the women in the nunnery, so they brought people to rob it."
As the abbot's mother, she naturally wouldn't sit idly by.
The bandit leader, having only managed to procure a meager amount of food from the entire Qingshui Nunnery, was enraged and wanted to kill to vent his anger. His mother intervened, and the bandit leader, surprised by the old nun's surprisingly skillful fighting, failed to kill her after several rounds. Furthermore, some of his companions had received a meal from the Qingshui Nunnery, and fearing that a massacre would incur the wrath of the crowd, he devised a compromise: "I've never been to school and can't read many characters, but I've heard you bald monks chanting about Buddha cutting his own flesh to feed eagles… Hehehe, how about this: if you commit suicide here, I'll spare everyone here…"
The abbot naturally wouldn't agree.
A conflict broke out between the two sides, and the abbot was seriously injured while protecting his disciples.
When the monks saw that their abbot was injured, they fought back fiercely until villagers who had previously been cared for by the temple came to their aid. These bandits were a motley crew who only dared to act arrogantly because of their numbers, and seeing this, they began to back down.
The abbot was too badly injured and held on for two days until he saw Cui Hui.
He hurriedly gave his last words and then passed away.
Even on her deathbed, she didn't forget to comfort her daughter, saying that this was a happy death: "...Your great-grandfather and his family had been thieves for generations, and I, your mother, had also shed blood I shouldn't have. My life should have been taken by heaven long ago... To live to this age, surrounded by children and grandchildren, enjoying the joys of family life... Hehehe, it's only because heaven was blind..."
A bandit is a bandit.
There is no such thing as justice or injustice.
She grew up in a bandit stronghold; what could she possibly know about good and bad?
In her youth, she and her father killed many people, some innocent and some not. At the time, she didn't think much of it, but after retiring from banditry and starting her own family, those seemingly ordinary scenes became nightmares that haunted her in the dead of night. She was both hopeful that she might be an exception and anxious that some unseen retribution might come. Time flew by, and just as her daughter was growing up and she had almost forgotten her fears, the bandit stronghold was burned to the ground, and her children were forced to wander from place to place.
It's retribution.
A person like her shouldn't have a good end.
When she hated Cui Xiao for deceiving and causing the deaths of the entire village, wasn't she also shirking her responsibility? Her daughter's misfortune and the deaths of the uncles and aunts in the village were retribution for the killings of that year. She should atone with her death, but she couldn't let go of her two children.
Watching her children get married and her grandchildren be born one by one, a long-forgotten fear invaded her every nightmare. She tried her best to eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and do good deeds, hoping only to offset even the slightest bit of her sins and ensure that her descendants could live a peaceful and prosperous life. Seeing her daughter and son-in-law divorce and her daughter wandering alone in a foreign land, her remorse deepened.
This thought was haunting her, and she couldn't break free from it.
It was the karmic retribution for the evil deeds she committed that brought misfortune upon her descendants.
Cui Hui never imagined that his mother harbored such deep resentment, a resentment she had never been able to let go of all these years. No, at least she found peace before she passed away.
Although there were casualties at the nunnery, she managed to save most of them through her desperate efforts. The medicinal herbs Cui Hui brought could save even more lives, which would at least somewhat ease her conscience regarding the blood debts of the past. Cui Hui kept whispering assurances in her mother's ear: "It's enough. This is absolutely enough to cleanse our family's sins. If it's not enough, I'll save enough for the rest of my life... If my generation isn't enough, we have our grandchildren, and in the future, our great-grandchildren... Our descendants will eventually be able to pay off the debt."
Cui Hui said this simply so that his mother could pass away in peace.
"Zhishan, this batch of medicinal herbs..."
“Keep it. Why say these things in front of Mother’s spirit?”
Cui Hui pursed her lips tightly.
Her taking away the medicinal herbs was no small matter, and it was normal for Cui Zhi to argue with her. Now, however, he remained silent, leaving Cui Zhi bewildered. Cui Zhi ordered someone to bring pen, ink, a letter, and mourning clothes for his son-in-law: "Besides these, did Mother have any other instructions before she passed away?"
Cui Hui said, "And there are some instructions."
It's nothing more than some wishes for peace and safety.
Almost everyone was taken care of.
Including her father.
After keeping vigil all day, Cui Hui told Cui Zhi to eat something, and the couple sat silently outside the side hall. Cui Hui had many things to say, but in the end, only two dry sentences remained: "The war is of utmost importance. How can you, as a high-ranking official of the king, linger outside? Just leave some people behind; I'll keep an eye on things here… If we delay any longer, it won't be good for you, for the Cui family…"
Cui Zhi burned the copied scriptures one by one.
"If it's not good, then it's not good."
These words made Cui Hui doubt whether the man beside him was real.
She never dreamed that these would be Cui Zhi's own words.
Cui Zhi seemed oblivious to the shock on her face: "When I heard the news, I was filled with worry that something might have happened to you. If the medicinal herbs are gone, they're gone. We're a large family with plenty of resources, we can raise more... If you're gone, can I just ask my parents-in-law for another one?"
Cui Hui looked as if he had seen a ghost: "Cui Zhishan?"
Could it be that someone is impersonating her to deceive her?
Cui Zhi looked at the bamboo slips and scriptures burning quietly in the charcoal brazier, as if murmuring, or perhaps saying to Cui Hui, "Let it be like this."
"What do you mean, 'just like this'?" Cui Hui asked, puzzled.
Cui Zhi did not explain to her.
The next day, Cui Zhi showed no sign of leaving.
From time to time, thugs tried to approach from the foot of the mountain, but they were all repelled by Cui Zhi's private troops, and the mountain regained a long-lost peace.
On the morning of the third day, more than two thousand people gathered at the foot of the mountain.
And there are increasingly more trends.
Upon inquiring, it was discovered that the Eternal Life Cult had infiltrated Tianqing County through an inside-outside attack. A plague had spread to a large number of Eternal Life Cult members in Tianqing County, and these people, having heard that a large quantity of medicinal herbs had been sent up the mountain a few days prior, had sent people to borrow them. Cui Zhi couldn't help but sneer.
"Borrow? What kind of borrowing is this?"
Cui Hui brought the medicinal herbs with the intention of aiding Tianqing County and helping to control the plague. She hoped the herbs would be useful to ordinary people; her concern was that these cultists might seize them for themselves. Looking at Cui Zhi's menacing eyes, she advised, "There aren't many strong fighters on the mountain. They outnumber us. If we anger them, I'm afraid..."
If possible, try to negotiate.
Cui Zhi looked at his attendants: "What did they say?"
These cult members were quite polite; they actually sent someone to negotiate. Cui Zhi suppressed his anger and decided to meet them first.
"Make them surrender their weapons and go up the mountain."
Those who go up the mountain cannot be brave warriors.
Whether a warrior surrenders his weapon or not is meaningless.
Within half an hour, the cult leader was invited up the mountain.
"A guest is one who has come from afar."
Cui Zhi met the man at the teahouse outside Qingshui Nunnery. The man was also a scholar, but judging from his appearance, he wasn't a treacherous person. He was the kind of "good-looking, honest man" who exuded a calm and upright aura, eliciting no aversion. He didn't seem like a fool; how could he have believed in the Eternal Life Cult? Cui Zhi raised his hand, gesturing for the man to sit down.
"A cup of light tea, please don't find it offensive, sir."
The scholar sat down.
The conversation began with a simple greeting: "May I ask your name?"
“Cui”.
The scholar said, "What a coincidence, my surname is also Cui."
Cui Zhixin twitched the corners of his mouth, thinking the other party was just using the usual tactics to win him over: "Without further ado, I do have a batch of medicinal herbs on hand. After discussing it with my wife, we plan to use them to treat the plague in the country. If you want the herbs, I won't agree, but if any patients need medicine, feel free to send them over. I will treat everyone equally!"
Treatment is fine, but borrowing medicinal herbs is unnecessary.
Who knows what these people are doing with those things?
The scholar was surprised that Cui Zhi was so easy to talk to, and his attitude softened a bit: "Lord Cui is kind and righteous, I thank you on behalf of everyone in the army."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the mourning clothes on Cui Zhi's body.
"Is there a funeral in your household?"
"My mother-in-law has just passed away."
The scholar sighed, "Please accept my condolences. I wonder where your father-in-law's body is laid to rest. If it is convenient, I will go and offer incense to express my condolences."
Cui Zhi did not object.
(ノДＴ)
Who swallowed my manuscript?
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