Chapter 138: Conversation in the Ancestral Hall, Buddhist verses

When the ancestral hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion was built, a person who understood Feng Shui was specially invited to look at it.

The ancestral hall was built in the southwest corner of the Prime Minister's Mansion, facing south, with mountains behind and water next to it, and the left and right sides complement each other, with four forces balanced, to bless the prosperity of future generations and protect the prosperity of the Nangong family.

When it was getting dark, Jiang Ning had dinner and made an excuse to sleep. After the maid Xiaoru left, she avoided people and climbed up the rockery on the side of the ancestral hall, and climbed in through the narrow window.

The two servants who were ordered to guard the door knew nothing.

Nangong Muyan knelt upright in front of the incense table, holding a pen in his hand and constantly copying something. He was not surprised by Jiang Ning's arrival.

During the day, Nangong Muyan was taken away by Nangong Ya. Jiang Ning wanted to follow him to watch the fun, but was invited back to his own yard by Jin Yao.

Thinking that she would have to come again at night, Jiang Ning simply went back to her room to sleep and rest her energy. When it was almost night, she climbed through the window and entered the ancestral hall.

"What are you doing?"

Jiang Ning walked to Nangong Muyan and picked up a piece of paper. On it were written something like "Private wishes should be repaid, private favors should be repaid", "Diligence but not thrift, wealth will come from luxury", etc. She was confused.

Nangong Muyan's hands kept moving, and she replied calmly: "I have to copy the Nangong family's family rules and regulations a hundred times."

"Didn't he beat you?"

"He did. He beat me with thirty-one lashes. He wanted to continue beating me, but was called away by Old Zhong. It sounded like he had some official business."

Nangong Muyan dipped a little in ink and continued: "Before leaving, he asked me to copy the family rules, and said that I had to stay here for a month to apologize to our ancestors."

"Heh!" Jiang Ning chuckled, her eyes full of sarcasm.

Nangong Muyan raised her head and glanced at her, with a playful smile on her face: "Third sister seems to be dissatisfied with the severity of this punishment..."

Jiang Ning pulled a cushion and sat next to Nangong Muyan, and asked her: "Do you know how big a mistake Nangong Muyan made?"

"Tell me about it." Nangong Muyan replied with a smile.

"There's nothing much to say. Anyway, I came back to kill her, but she hanged herself before I could even start. And that ended up attracting you here..."

Jiang Ning became irritated whenever she thought about this, feeling as if she had been fooled.

"I'm really sorry," Nangong Muyan paused, turned to look at Jiang Ning, and smiled: "Although you don't seem to want to see me, I'm still very happy to see you, hehe..."

Jiang Ning knew what kind of personality this person in front of her had, so she didn't take it seriously and started talking about the main purpose of her visit: "What's the matter with the blood lotus on your chest?"

"I don't know, it seems to be born with me."

When it comes to business, Nangong Muyan's smile faded a bit, and his expression was a little serious: "That's not a birthmark, sometimes I can even feel that it has some kind of attraction to me. So when I heard about the blood lotus, I asked you to get it, just to see if there is any connection between the two."

"Why haven't I seen your pattern?"

Jiang Ning was very curious. In her previous life, she had seen Nangong Muyan wearing low-cut skirts or suspenders many times, and she didn't have the impression that there was no lotus on her chest.

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Ning saw Nangong Muyan looking at her like a fool: "Have you forgotten that there is something called concealer in the world?"

Jiang Ning: "..."

Really forgot.

"I saw a lot of lotus before I died, what about you?" After a while, Jiang Ning heard Nangong Muyan ask this again.

"Yeah, I saw it too."

Jiang Ning replied, lowering her eyes in thought.

She was originally worried that she and Nangong Muyan were both resurrected and came to this world, so would the other people who were present at the time also come?

At least now it seems that there is no such concern. Nangong Muyan was related to the blood lotus because she was related to it, and she was related to it because she swallowed the blood lotus seed. They both had a strange connection with the "blood lotus".

She had space, but what about Nangong Muyan?

Jiang Ning couldn't help but look at Nangong Muyan, and happened to meet her gaze.

"When Nangong Ya hit me, I roughly learned from him what this man had done before, cutting off hands and feet, disfiguring, poisoning, and selling to a small mountain village..."

Nangong Muyan said faintly, her eyes full of affection locked tightly on Jiang Ning's face, not missing a single expression of hers: "You hadn't come at that time, right? Then when did you come? It should be after Nangong Ling died, right? But even if Nangong Ling died, how come there is no trace of her injuries here? It's really strange..."

Jiang Ning looked at Nangong Muyan frankly, with a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were cold.

This woman is very smart and knows her very well. Lying in front of her is deceiving oneself.

The two of them stood in silence for a long time. After a while, Nangong Muyan smiled, retracted her gaze, and continued to copy the family rules: "Forget it, you are so old, it is normal to have your own little secrets, I won't worry about it, just be my daughter."

"Are you so open-minded?" Jiang Ning expressed disbelief.

Nangong Muyan put the filled paper away, picked up a blank paper and started writing again, then slowly said: "What I taught you before were all murderous things, so this time I will teach you something good."

Jiang Ning sat up straight unconsciously.

Nangong Muyan opened her mouth slowly, but unexpectedly recited a Buddhist verse:

"In spring, there are flowers, in autumn, there is the moon,

in summer, there are cool breezes, and in winter, there are snows.

If you have no worries in your mind,

then it is a good time in the world."

Under the dim candlelight, Nangong Muyan knelt upright, holding a pen in her hand and writing seriously. When she recited this Buddhist verse, her eyes were always on the tip of the pen. Her voice was neither hurried nor slow, which actually made Jiang Ning think of the phrase "quiet and good years".

Jiang Ning raised her eyebrows and looked at the leisurely and quiet Nangong Muyan, the rebellion in her heart could not be shaken off: "Do you really want to put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha?"

Nangong Muyan laughed again: "No, I just want to say that you should live your own life well in the future and don't worry about anything."

Before Jiang Ning said anything, Nangong Muyan continued: "But considering that I have raised you for so long, I still have to say a few words. People like us can't really put down the butcher knife. Having a knife in your hand and not using it is different from not having a knife in your hand. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Jiang Ning's eyes flashed, she thought so too.

The ancestral hall was quiet for a while. Jiang Ning looked at Nangong Muyan who had filled another piece of paper with writing and asked curiously, "You don't know Nangong Muyan's handwriting. Aren't you afraid that others will find out if you copy it like this?"

Nangong Muyan put down his pen and pressed his aching fingers. Then, under Jiang Ning's gaze, he rolled up his sleeves.

On his snow-white arm, three or four bright red whip marks were clearly visible. The skin was broken and bleeding, but the wound was too shallow and had already scabbed over.

"When he hit me, I deliberately blocked it with my arm a few times, and I also deliberately wrote the words a little distorted, so that it makes sense that the words I wrote are different from before."

Nangong Muyan put down his sleeves and smiled at Jiang Ning: "Even if he is suspicious, so what? Can he think that the core inside this skin has changed?"

"Besides, I've been locked up here for a month, and people look at each other with new eyes after three days of absence. When I go out after a month, it's understandable that my temperament has changed a lot, not to mention that I'm changing for the better. In the future, I will be a good daughter who is well-behaved, sensible, caring and considerate. What else can he be dissatisfied with?"

Jiang Ning found that she was worrying too much. The problem she could consider, the woman in front of her would only consider it more thoroughly than her.

"Then just take your time copying."

Having said that, Jiang Ning stood up and climbed out again from the window she came in through.