There were other worshippers behind them, and Wei Shuwan tried to quietly remind them in a low voice, but Cai Die became a little annoyed: "What, he doesn't care? But he is an omnipotent Bodhisattva, how can he not even do such a small thing and have to shirk responsibility to others?"
The hall was filled with worshippers, including many devout believers. Hearing someone making a fuss, a woman said unhappily, "This is a sacred Buddhist site. Please behave yourselves!"
Wei Shuwan felt that she had already been humiliated enough today, so she quickly got up and pulled Cai Die to go out. However, Cai Die was unwilling to give up and struggled to break free while saying anxiously, "I just put in two pieces of silver. Since he can't work, I have to at least get the silver back!"
Wei Shuwan couldn't hold on to Cai Die, who broke free and turned to pounce on the donation box, shaking it vigorously as if she wanted to flip it over and pour out all the money inside!
Wei Shuwan hadn't expected that her reminders outside the temple would have no effect at all. Frustrated, she rubbed her forehead, thinking to herself that if she had known this would happen, she should have obediently gone to the Prince's mansion to mix incense for Li Qingchen today.
Having likely heard the commotion inside the hall, Ziqiao and Miaoxiang quickly entered. After consulting with Wei Shuwan, they went to pull Caidie back. The four of them then left the Buddhist hall in a disheveled state under the angry gazes of more than a dozen worshippers.
The two maids pulled Cai Die to a secluded corner before letting go. Wei Shuwan glared at Cai Die with fury in her eyes: "Sister, are you crazy? How dare you rob the temple of its incense money?"
Cai Die said indignantly, "I didn't steal any incense money. I just took back the money I had put in. And you, why didn't you say so earlier that he didn't care about marriage? If you had said so earlier, would I have wasted that money?"
Wei Shuwan rarely bowed her head to anyone in words, but today she felt as if she had to admit defeat. It wasn't that she couldn't win the argument, but rather that she couldn't get through to them, like a scholar encountering a soldier, or Yu Boya encountering the Bull Demon King.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a clear and familiar voice drifted from the other side of the wall:
“Master, in recent years my family has been plagued by misfortunes. First, my family fell into poverty because of my father. After seeking refuge with relatives, I was implicated and imprisoned. During that time, I was poisoned and almost died in prison. Now, although I have survived by the skin of my teeth, I have been kicked out of the house by my relatives who have abandoned me. I have nowhere to live.”
At this point, the young woman wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes and continued with difficulty, "Furthermore, my own marriage prospects have been repeatedly thwarted. I wonder if the master has any way to resolve this?"
The dignified master sighed heavily, with a compassionate air, and then pointed out a clear path: "Your life has been full of hardships, which is truly lamentable. If you wish to break free from this misfortune, you must perform one good deed every day and persist for forty-nine days to usher in a turning point."
"Do one good deed every day...for example?"
“Amitabha Buddha, from small acts like giving porridge or rice to help people in need, to large acts like saving lives and relieving people from danger, all can create good karma.”
The young lady seemed to understand something, stood up, bowed, thanked her, and then turned and left with her maid Caizhu.
Meanwhile, Cai Die, who was perched on the shoulders of two maids and watching this scene from the top of the wall, opened her mouth to call out to Wei Shuyao, but was stopped by Wei Shuwan, who was also perched on the top of the wall, who covered her mouth with her hand.
Wei Shuwan gestured, and Ziqiao and Miaoxiang put the two of them down. Wei Shuwan dusted off the dirt on her body, but Caidie was unhappy: "Why did Third Sister stop me from calling Fourth Sister? Even if their eldest branch has left the Wei family mansion, they are still members of the Wei family. How can we pretend not to see them when we happen to meet them outside?"
When Cai Die said this, she couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Even though she, who grew up in the countryside, didn't have much affection for the Wei family, she was still related to the eldest branch by blood. The second branch was the real outsider. How could an outsider prevent the Wei family from recognizing each other?
Wei Shuwan was also somewhat displeased: "If we had really run into each other face to face, I naturally wouldn't have stopped you, but this is in a temple, and we were just climbing over someone's wall. Do you think we haven't made a fool of ourselves enough today? Do you have to make everyone come and laugh at us?"
Hearing that there was some truth to it, Cai Die suppressed her temper and compromised, saying, "Then even if we don't call her through the wall, can't we go out and chase after her now?"
"Whatever you want." With that, Wei Shuwan walked ahead.
Cai Die immediately followed and headed towards the gate of Luoyun Temple.
Despite their efforts to find her, Wei Shuwan and Caidie did not see Wei Shuyao again on their way down the mountain. It wasn't until they reached the mountain gate and asked their own groom who was waiting there that they learned that Wei Shuyao had indeed passed through this place not long ago.
"Did she ride in a carriage?" Wei Shuwan urged.
The coachman shook his head and pointed in a certain direction: "Fourth Miss went to the market over there after she went down the mountain."
On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, there are markets at the foot of the mountain. Although they are not as grand as the temple fairs during the New Year, they still attract many people to visit and have fun, making it a very lively place.
Seeing that the Cai Die sisters were very close and insisted on meeting Wei Shu Yao, Wei Shu Wan couldn't be the bad guy, so she instructed the coachman, "Follow the direction Fourth Sister went."
Having said that, he boarded the carriage and headed towards the market.
Wei Shuyao had her own reasons for coming to the market after praying to Buddha. Caizhu whispered to her, "Miss, Master and Madam are still waiting for us to go back to the inn."
“I know, but didn’t you hear the master say that I need to do a good deed every day to turn the tide? If I go back to the inn like this, how will I have a chance to do good deeds?”
If you want to do good deeds, you should go to places with many pedestrians.
The master and servant walked through the bustling streets, searching around, intending to find a beggar and buy him some steamed buns and dumplings. This was the most cost-effective act of kindness that Wei Shuyao had come up with after thinking for a long time.
Despite the large number of people, they walked for a long time without seeing any beggars. The master and servant were somewhat discouraged and stopped in front of a tavern.
"Girl, why don't we try another method?" Caizhu advised.
Wei Shuyao was at a loss: "But besides beggars, who else can be dismissed with just a few coins?"
No sooner had these words been spoken than a figure suddenly rushed out from the tavern next to them. If Wei Shuyao and Caizhu hadn't dodged quickly, the person would have pounced on them!
Wei Shuyao was startled. She clutched her chest and turned to look at the man who had rushed out. She saw that he was already on the ground with bruises on his face, as if he had just been beaten.
At that moment, two burly, shirtless men rushed out of the door, grabbed the man by the shoulder and collar, and lifted him up, shouting, "You didn't even bother to ask around the neighborhood before daring to come here and freeload?!"
The man's eyes were so swollen he could only open them a tiny slit, and his voice was weak: "I...I'm not freeloading...I have money..."
"Where's the silver?!"
"It was stolen by a thief..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
