Chapter 53 Daughter of Gold
"Young lady, are you here to see the abbot again?" If she remembered correctly, she had come to see the abbot last time.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and nodded seriously: "Mm."
I originally planned to ask the Bodhisattva for Xiao Liulang's blessing, but the Bodhisattva is so stingy, he only grants his blessing if you kowtow and kneel like that.
The lady hurriedly said, "Then you should go quickly. The abbot is in the temple. If you go too late, he will have already gone down the mountain."
The abbot has been going down the mountain more often lately, supposedly because a family in town wants to adopt a child from the temple.
Gu Jiao glanced at her, as if to say, "Can you walk by yourself? Don't fall down again, or no one will be there to save you."
The lady understood Gu Jiao's gaze and said gently with a smile, "I was just tired and a little dizzy, but I'm fine now, and there are only a few steps left."
Gu Jiao asked, "Do you often feel dizzy? Is it more in the morning or at night? Is it more on an empty stomach or after a meal?"
The lady was taken aback by her barrage of questions, but still answered politely, "I get more dizzy in the morning, right after I wake up, and if I don't eat anything, I also feel dizzy."
Gu Jiao said "Oh," and took a piece of sesame candy from her purse and gave it to her: "Eat more candy."
After giving the candy to the lady, Gu Jiao went to find the abbot.
This was Gu Jiao's second visit to the temple. Many of the young monks still remembered her and, knowing she had come to buy the mountain, led her to the abbot's meditation room.
As luck would have it, the abbot had just finished receiving a guest, who came out of the abbot's meditation room and brushed past Gu Jiao.
He was a young man in his early thirties, with a handsome appearance and luxurious clothes.
This was the second worshipper Gu Jiao saw at the temple.
"Is it young benefactor Gu?" came the abbot's gentle voice from inside the meditation room.
Gu Jiao hummed in agreement and stepped into the meditation room.
To Gu Jiao's surprise, there were several bald little monks sitting in the meditation room. They were all four, five, or six years old, with chubby faces and mischievous yet innocent eyes.
With the same bald head and the same clothes, Gu Jiao suddenly felt like she had face blindness.
The young monks stared wide-eyed at Gu Jiao.
Although this was Gu Jiao's second visit to the temple, the last time the young monks hadn't even had a chance to see her before she was scolded and chased away by that lady's maid.
Therefore, strictly speaking, this was the first meeting between the two parties.
The little monks' eyes widened in surprise.
After a long while, she covered her mouth with her little hand and whispered something, thinking she was being very quiet.
Wow! She has a flower on her face!
Why does she have hair (flowers) on her face?
Why don't we have it?
"I want to have flowers too!"
The little monks kept saying "fa fa," but Gu Jiao still understood that it meant "flower."
So, did they think the birthmark on her face was actually a flower?
"Did you draw the flower yourself?" a young monk asked.
Yeah, it was drawn on me when I was born, and it can't be washed off. Aren't you envious? Aren't you jealous?
Gu Jiao watched the group of curious little monks with a leisurely air.
The abbot cleared his throat and said to the young monks, "Go find Brother Jingchen first."
The young monks seemed reluctant to leave, but since their senior brother Jingchen must have been quite charming, after hesitating for a while, they still ran out to find him.
A string of young monks stepped over the threshold one by one, until the last one fell down with a thud.
Gu Jiao immediately recognized him. She didn't recognize his face, but looking at his clumsy little face, wasn't he the little dumpling who had bumped into her thigh last time?
Gu Jiao tried to move him again, but he quickly got up, giving Gu Jiao no chance to reach out her claws.
Gu Jiao pouted regretfully.
The abbot gestured for Gu Jiao to sit down.
After sitting down, Gu Jiao drank a few sips of bitter tea. Thinking of the young man who had come out of the meditation room, she asked the abbot, "Was that a pilgrim just now? Or was he like me, here to buy the mountain?"
The abbot smiled gently and said, "He's not here to buy the mountain; he's here to adopt a child."
Gu Jiao looked on with disbelief.
The abbot explained, "The young monks in the temple are all orphans. Sometimes, kind families will come and adopt them."
"Oh." For some reason, Gu Jiao thought of that silly little wrestler. He was so silly, no one would want him, right? After all, there were so many clever little monks competing with him.
The abbot said, "I have discussed the matter of buying the mountain with my junior brother. He said that if young benefactor Gu is sincere in wanting to buy it, the temple can sell it here, but the price will be a little higher than before."
"How much was it before?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Two hundred and forty-nine taels," Abbot Fang Zhan said.
"And now?" Gu Jiao asked again.
"Two hundred and fifty taels," the abbot replied.
Gu Jiao's lips twitched: I seriously suspect your junior brother is subtly criticizing me!
The abbot noticed Gu Jiao's dissatisfaction and also felt that the price was indeed outrageously high. However, the temple's finances had always been managed by his junior brother, and whatever price he set was the price. Even he, the abbot, had no right to interfere.
The abbot said, "If young benefactor Gu finds it too expensive, you can consider other mountains."
Gu Jiao asked, "Does your temple have other mountains?"
The abbot honestly replied, "No, that's all."
Gu Jiao's lips twitched again: "..."
Gu Jiao didn't have enough money to buy the mountain, but she hadn't received her consultation fee from the young master of the hot spring resort.
That house call came at a high price; three vials of adrenaline were used, and the only boxes of heart failure medication were all reserved for the young master.
She decided to ask the second employer for more consultation fees!
When Gu Jiao came down the mountain, the lady had already left, and the carriage was gone too.
Gu Jiao didn't inquire about her whereabouts and went down the mountain to the town.
When she arrived at Huichuntang, she found an extremely luxurious carriage parked in front of the hall, a type of carriage that would never have been seen in town before.
What's wrong with me today? I keep seeing luxury cars. Is this a reminder that... I should buy a carriage too?
Shopkeeper Wang was very polite to Gu Jiao and personally welcomed her in: "Miss Gu, what brings you here? Please sit down and I'll make you some tea."
Gu Jiao said calmly, "No need for tea, I'm here to collect my consultation fee."
"Huh?" Manager Wang was taken aback. "What consultation fee?"
Gu Jiao looked at him and said, "The consultation fee from the hot spring resort, wasn't it used to treat the young master of the Marquis's mansion? Where's the consultation fee?"
Mentioning this, Manager Wang grinned from ear to ear: "Miss Gu, you've come at just the right time! See that carriage outside? It's from the Marquis's residence! Last time, the Second Master was too nervous and forgot to ask them for the consultation fee. I bet they've come to deliver the fee!"
So it was a carriage from the Marquis's residence; no wonder it was so luxurious.
"The second boss is in the accounting office. Do you want to go see him?" Manager Wang asked with a smile.
"No need, I'll go find him after the people from the Marquis's residence have settled the bill." Gu Jiao said, then turned and went to the side room behind the main hall.
No sooner had she left than the curtain of her carriage was lifted.
First, a well-dressed maid jumped down, and then a young girl dressed in blue with a dark blue veil gracefully walked down, supported by the maid.
The switched-at-birth heiress makes her appearance.
(End of this chapter)
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