Chapter 162: Use the Sleeping Powder Again, Past Events in Fuling Temple The imperial examination
was on March 11, and Jiang Ning planned to leave for Beijing on March 5.
Everything was arranged, as long as Lan Xu nodded in agreement.
"Mom, come back to the capital with me." Jiang Ning said this sentence countless times.
"Ling'er," Lan Xu smiled helplessly, looking at Jiang Ning with loving eyes: "Don't persuade me anymore, go back by yourself, live a good life with Liu Juren, I will pray for you in Qushui City."
Jiang Ning wanted to say something, Lan Xu took her hand and said from the bottom of her heart: "This period of time is the happiest time of my life, I will die without regrets!"
Jiang Ning shut up, saying nothing more, she could only take action.
But the person in front of her was her mother after all. Jiang Ning always felt that it was a bit unrighteous to knock her out. After thinking about it, she suddenly remembered that she still had a few packets of sleeping powder on her.
At that time, the old doctor sold her five packets at once. He used two packets on Liu Mingan, and there were three packets left, just right.
On the fifth day of the New Year, after breakfast, Jiang Ning brought a cup of tea to Lan Xu.
The two had agreed yesterday that they would not sell osmanthus cakes today, but go to the temple to chant sutras. Lan Xu happily agreed.
"Mom, come and have a cup of tea. I brought back tea leaves from the capital." Jiang Ning lied with his eyes closed.
"Okay."
Lan Xu didn't doubt it and drank the cup. Although she felt that the tea had no fragrance at all and was very bitter, when she thought that it was brought by Jiang Ning, she immediately lost all thoughts and slowly drank the whole glass of water.
Lan Xu told herself in her heart that she couldn't taste the tea. It must be because the wild boars were not used to eating fine bran, not the tea!
Jiang Ning watched Lan Xu drink the water and smiled softly.
Three packets of medicine powder were mixed in together. The bitterness should be very obvious, but Lan Xu didn't doubt it at all.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Lan Xu fell asleep on the table, and Jiang Ning immediately began to rummage through the boxes and drawers to pack.
There were still a lot of things for the two of them, but it didn't make sense to have nothing in their hands. Jiang Ning thought about it, symbolically picked up two bundles and hung them on his arm, and put the rest in the space.
After packing, Jiang Ning bent down and carried Lan Xu on his back, locked the door, and walked towards the pier.
Along the way, people looked at her sideways, but Jiang Ning pretended not to notice. When people came to her curiously and asked her about it after she got on the boat, Jiang Ning took out the words she had prepared in the morning.
"My mother has a strange disease. She always falls into a coma for a long time for no reason and cannot be woken up no matter how hard we call her. I took her to the capital this time to see a doctor for her."
These words were earnest, and Jiang Ning looked like a weak woman, but she took on such a responsibility, which was really touching and admirable.
Lan Xu woke up on the second night on the boat. The power of the three packs of sleeping powder was still strong. She slept for two days and one night. When she woke up, she found herself lying in a strange place. The whole place was shaking violently. She didn't react for a while.
"Mom, you're awake. Come and have a drink of water."
Jiang Ning's voice rang out from the side. Then Lan Xu was helped up by her, half leaning against the head of the bed, and a glass of water was passed to her lips.
The water was added with spiritual spring water, which was sweet and refreshing. After drinking a glass of water, Lan Xu's brain, which had been drowsy for a long time, suddenly became clear, and then she realized that something was wrong.
"Ling'er, where is this?" Lan Xu looked around, which was completely unfamiliar, and felt a little uneasy.
"This is on the boat. We can reach the Golden City tomorrow, and then take a carriage to the capital." Jiang Ning replied with a smile.
"Ling'er!" Lan Xu was instantly emotional and looked at Jiang Ning with disapproval.
Jiang Ning didn't wait for her to say anything and spoke first: "Mom, I'm going to marry Liu Ming'an this year. I hope that when I pay my second respects to my parents, it will be to you."
Lan Xu's eyes trembled suddenly, and then she heard Jiang Ning continue: "Don't mothers have to comb their hair and say blessings when a daughter gets married? Mom, you don't want to see me getting married with disheveled hair, do you?"
The knot in Lan Xu's eyes was obvious. Every word of Jiang Ning touched her heart. How could she remain indifferent?
"But I swore... Ling'er, if a person doesn't keep his word, he is no different from an animal. Besides, if I go back, what if, what if I run into someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion again, I..."
Lan Xu's eyes turned red as she spoke. Jiang Ning quickly comforted her, "Mom, it's okay, don't think about the past..."
After everyone calmed down a little, Jiang Ning made a decision, "Beijing, as the name suggests, only the four districts and eight streets in the city are considered the capital. Mom, go to the suburbs of Beijing, go to Fuling Temple, live there, this way it won't be considered a violation of the oath, and you will definitely not run into someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion."
"But this, this..."
Lan Xu wanted to say that this behavior was like deceiving herself, but Jiang Ning interrupted her: "Fu Ling'an has been very kind to both of us mother and daughter. For so many years, don't you want to go and see how those nuns of the past are doing?"
Lan Xu finally compromised.
One day later, the passenger ship stopped at Jinzhi City. The two rested in the city for a night. The next day, they got on a carriage and said they were going to Fu Ling'an.
Fu Ling'an was built by a woman in Beijing many years ago.
It is said that the woman was from a wealthy family. One day, she was fishing near the coast with her husband and son. Suddenly, they encountered a storm and the mast was overturned. The father and son tried their best to send her onto a piece of driftwood, but they were swallowed by the surging waves and their bodies were gone.
In the blink of an eye, she was the only one left in such a big family. This devastating disaster made her want to die, but when she thought about how the father and son had tried their best to save her life, she felt that she could not die.
In the end, the woman was disheartened and sold her family property to build the Fuling Temple on a mountain outside Beijing.
Lan Xu stopped talking here and pointed to a mountain not far away and told Jiang Ning: "Ling'er, this is it."
Fuling Temple was built halfway up the mountain, and the nuns inside did not make a living by begging. There were fields at the foot of the mountain, and various fruits and vegetables were planted in the mountains, all managed by the nuns. This place was more like a self-sufficient paradise.
"Actually, the women here are not real nuns. Every woman who comes here has her own miserable life. They are not devoted to Buddhism. In addition to beating wooden fish and chanting scriptures, they also have to do a lot of farm work on weekdays to support themselves. This place just provides these women with a place to escape from the world."
Lan Xu said to Jiang Ning as she walked up the mountain along the path: "I came here when I was sixteen. They didn't ask any reasons and just let me in. No one asked me anything after that."
Jiang Ning was surprised. This Fuling Temple turned out to be a women's shelter. It tolerated everyone's unbearable past and provided them with a safe haven under the name of becoming a monk.
Women understand women, and women redeem women.
In such a feudal and backward era, this strong and vigorous female power shocked Jiang Ning.