Chapter 52
Lao Ben had fled in panic, and Han Yun was very happy. He was so happy that he wanted to take Yueming out to play in the street. What was the point of going back so early?
He instructed Feng Xiaosai, "Go take the box from under the table and help Ai Ye and the others take it to Miss Yueming's yard."
Thinking of what was in the box, Yueming quickly stopped him: "No, no, just let little Lahu get it."
Han Yunkai waved his fan and looked at her with a half-smile: "Don't worry, I'm not so short-sighted as to even steal a girl's money."
This person is really annoying. Yueming pursed her lips and said nothing.
Feng Xiaosai loaded the boxes onto the carriage, and Yun Kai waved at them: "You go back to the mansion first, I'll take Miss Yueming for a walk."
This guy has been thinking about taking her out to play since morning. She wants to see what he wants to take her to play.
Han Yunkai led Yueming forward a few steps, then suddenly turned back to Feng Xiaochong and said, "By the way, put the boxes away and take these two girls to your father to learn some etiquette."
Yueming paused and looked at him in surprise.
Han Yunkai smiled at her and said, "Don't assume that all the young masters and gentlemen in Yunxiang City are as good-tempered as I am. If you continue to protect them like this, they will get you into trouble sooner or later. It's not a pity if they die, but what about your reputation and your father's reputation?"
Yueming couldn't refute it. She had already realized that something was wrong and wanted to teach them a lesson in private. After hearing Han Yunkai's words, she immediately thought. How should she teach them a lesson? Ai Ye and Ye Hu knew Yun Xiang's rules better than she did.
She said to Ai Ye and Ye Hu, "You two were really rude today. You were so disrespectful to Master Lao Ben. Go back and learn the rules from the housekeeper."
Since Yueming had spoken, how could Ai Ye and Ye Hu dare to say no? They just agreed.
Yueming thought for a moment, then said to Feng Xiaochong seriously, "If you want to teach them the rules, teach them well, but don't hit them."
Feng Xiaosai bowed and said, "Don't worry, Miss Yueming. The Second Young Master only wants to teach the two sisters the etiquette of dealing with people and serving the master. They are both smart people and will definitely learn it in no time. There is no need to use the golden bamboo stick."
When Ai Ye and Ye Hu heard Jin Zhu Tiao's words, they couldn't help but shudder. Yue Ming was speechless. If he didn't want to hit her, then he wouldn't hit her. Why did he bring out a beating tool to scare her?
The master and servant have always been in cahoots with each other. Han Yunkai just gave Feng Xiaosai a look and did it without even asking.
Yunkai was getting impatient. It was just a lesson in etiquette, so why was Lan Yueming making such a scene? He pulled Yueming away, who was about to say a few more words, and urged him, "Hurry up, hurry up, or it'll be dinner time."
Yueming thought Han Yunkai took her just for a stroll, but unexpectedly he led her all the way to Tinglai's house next to Guanfo Temple.
Master Tinglai's youngest son is going to study at the Guanfo Temple, and the funeral ceremony is being rehearsed intensively. Hanyun brings Yueming to see something new.
When the housekeeper of Master Tinglai saw the second young master coming with Yueming, he hurriedly bowed.
Yun Kai asked him, "Is Second Uncle here?"
The housekeeper rubbed his waist and said, "The master has gone to the Buddhist temple to discuss the tribute with the Buddha. Is there anything you want to discuss with the master? Otherwise, I will go to the official Buddhist temple to call the master back."
Yun Kai waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. It's not a big deal. Yin Tai told me yesterday that Ji Lai is studying at the Guan Buddhist Temple. My father and eldest brother might not be able to make it back in time to attend the funeral. He asked me to see if Second Uncle has anything for me to do."
The housekeeper smiled and said, "This isn't the first time the mansion has sent the young master to the official Buddhist temple. We can just follow the old rules. How could this bother you?"
Yun Kai also laughed: "I am just using chicken feathers as a token of authority to come out and play. You can just focus on your own things and don't worry about me. I will take Miss Lan out to play for a while and then go back."
The housekeeper apologized profusely and asked a clever servant to accompany Yunkai and Yueming to watch Guochen's dance rehearsal.
In the open space in the backyard of Grandpa Tinglai's house, a group of dancers wearing white deer costumes and carrying butterfly frames were rehearsing. When they saw Yunkai, they all knelt down to salute.
Yueming has become indifferent to the fact that Yunxiang's common people often kneel down. From dodging and being awkward at the beginning to standing steadily now, it is a huge leap.
The servant had the servants show Yunkai and Yueming a seat and serve them tea. He then asked attentively, "Second Young Master, would you like a Kinnara or a Duangada first?"
Yunkai lowered his head and asked Yueming, "What do you want to see?"
Yueming wanted to see everything. These people were dressed in colorful clothes, which looked very lively. After a while, she pointed at a long-necked deer head.
Yun Kai nodded while holding the tea and said to the servant, "Young lady wants to see Jiaduo, let them bring some snacks."
As soon as the elephant-foot drums and gongs sounded, two teams of actors wearing divine deer props began to roll and chase each other on the birthplace to the sound of the music.
Yueming watched it for a while and thought it looked like the lion dance on the streets during the Spring Festival. After watching it for a while, he felt that it was not very interesting and quietly asked Yunkai: "Why is the neck of this deer so long? Is it a giraffe?"
Yunkai explained: "This is not actually a deer, but a ferocious beast that looks very much like a deer."
It wasn't a giraffe. What kind of animal was this with a long neck and a small head? Yueming felt she had definitely seen it before, but she just couldn't remember it. She tilted her head and racked her brains for a long time, then suddenly clapped her hands. She excitedly said to Yunkai, "I remember what this is. It's an alpaca, right?"
Rare clouds clear.......
Distracted by Yueming's bizarre train of thought, Yunkai watched the dancing creature more and more like the Suri alpacas he'd seen in American illustrated magazines. The more he watched, the funnier it became. Worried he might burst out laughing, he quickly beckoned the servant over and instructed, "Young lady, if you don't like it, let them do the butterfly dance."
Leaving Tinglai's house, Yueming smacked her lips and said, "You guys are really different from us Han people. Isn't it enough to just send your children to school? You go to all this trouble, even making a sedan chair, chanting scriptures, singing and dancing." Then she tilted her head and looked at Yunkai: "Were you like this back then?"
Yunkai nodded. "For Dai men, studying in a Buddhist temple is just a side job. Cultivation is the ultimate goal. Doing good to others will increase your virtues, and your virtues will make you immortal." Seeing Yueming looking at him with a half-smile, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's with that expression?"
Yueming straightened his face and said, "I thought that since you've studied abroad and have seen a lot, you would be eager to escape this circle and live a so-called civilized life. I didn't expect that you are such a rule-abiding person."
Yun Kai was stunned for a moment, then looked at Yue Ming with a sly smile. He said with emotion, "Of course I like the civilized life in the West, but where a person grows up leaves a mark on them. It's like you grew up in Kunming, so why don't you like Yun Xiang? Is it really because there's no electricity, no wide, smooth roads, and no theaters to watch movies? It's just because this isn't home."
As they were talking, dark clouds gathered overhead, and before they could react, raindrops as big as beans began to pound down. Even returning to the Grand Master's residence would have gotten them soaked, so Yunkai pulled Yueming under the nearest thatched roof to take shelter.
Looking at the mountains in the distance, where the sun was shining brightly, he consoled Yueming, saying, "This should be the rain that has turned to the mountains. It will stop soon."
The thatched hut's walls were built with earth, and Yueming didn't dare get too close, fearing the dust would rub off on his clothes. The straw-covered eaves were low and narrow, and soon their legs were drenched by the rain dripping down the eaves. Yunkai lifted the wide hem of his trousers and tucked them around his waist, not feeling the discomfort of his wet feet. But seeing the muddy rain trickling down Yueming's slender white calves, he felt a mixture of inexplicable emotions. Some reluctance, some nervousness, and some reluctance. He couldn't say which was more pressing, he couldn't say.
The sky gradually darkened, and the rain intensified. It wasn't like the kind of rain he'd just described, a rolling downpour that would stop soon. The downpour, accompanied by a strong wind, toppled the plum tree next to the thatched cottage, sending half-ripe plums scattering across the ground. The wind also made Yueming hunch his shoulders. Though he felt the cold, he was too embarrassed to say a word.
Seeing her, Leng Yunkai wanted to take off his shirt and put it on her, but he was only wearing one piece of clothing, and if he gave it to her, he would be shirtless. Remembering the last time by the pond, she scolded him for being skinny and shameless, his hands hesitated to unbutton the buttons.
Next to him was the wall of Guanfo Temple, but it was still quite a distance from here to the main entrance. He would have to walk a long way to get to the temple to avoid the rain! Suddenly, he noticed a small corner door in the wall that seemed to be ajar. He recalled the general layout of the temple, pointed to the door, and excitedly patted Yueming's shoulder.
"Lan Yueming, do you see that door? Inside is the back hall of the Buddhist temple. The rain is too heavy. Hiding here is not much better than going out in the rain. Let's run quickly and go through the small door to the back hall to take shelter from the rain."
Yueming's lips were purple from the wind, and she nodded hurriedly when she heard about a better place to hide from the rain. Yunkai saw her face was pale from the cold, and fearing she'd caught the gonorrhea again, he took off his headband and spread it across her face like a scarf, leaving only her eyes exposed. He then put his arm around Yueming's shoulders, shielding her against his chest, and rushed out into the rain.
Yueming followed him blankly, the mist and rain making it impossible to tell which way was which. Her nose was filled with the scent of hair oil from her bun, the faint scent of Han Yunkai's sweat, and the cool, fishy smell of the rain.
She ran frantically, her heart pounding like a drum. She partly understood this feeling, partly not. Although the school was strict, young girls had no secrets. She had also read many of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly novels circulating among her female classmates. She knew exactly what she was feeling at the moment; she just couldn't understand why Han Yunkai had to do it.
Yunkai kicked open the half-closed door and climbed the stairs to the back hall. Yueming untied the turban wrapped around her head. Han Yunkai had protected her well. Except for the hem of her skirt, which was very wet, everything else was fine. She wrung out the turban and handed it to Han Yunkai: "Wipe it off quickly, you're all soaked."
Although his bangs were still dripping with water, Yun Kai brushed them off nonchalantly and said to Yue Ming, "Wipe it yourself. Don't get sick again later."
Yueming pressed his shoulder and said to him, "Lower your head."
Yunkai lowered his head obediently, his turban covering his head and rubbing it gently. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yueming's body wrapped in a damp skirt, revealing every detail from her calves to her waist and hips. He closed his eyes, not daring to look, but the faint rose scent of Yueming's body was unforgettable, even with his eyes closed.
The turban was only effective to keep his hair dry. Yueming wiped for a long time and finally gave up and returned the turban to him: "I can't wipe it dry anymore."
Yun Kai didn't care. He just wiped the cloth on his body and threw it on a table.
Yueming twisted the raindrops from her skirt while looking around the dim back hall and asked curiously, "Why is there no Buddha statue here?"
Yun Kai felt for the matches on his body and wanted to light the half-burned candle on the table, but the rubber of the candle was already wet, and after a few matches, not even a spark came out.
Afraid that she would be scared by the darkness in the room, Yun Kai took her hand and walked to the back of the stage, opened several wooden boxes lined up at the foot of the stage, took out a mask and handed it to her.
"This used to be the main hall. Later, when the Guanfo Temple was expanded and the gate was rebuilt, the main hall was moved to the front, and this place became abandoned. It was used to store some Buddhist utensils for donations."
Yueming examined the white mask in her hand curiously. It was clearly used for worshipping Buddha and praying for blessings during funerals, but the eyebrows and eyes on this mask were very mysterious. Although the eyebrows and eyes were curved in a smile, it did not make people happy.
She placed the mask on his face, finding it to be a perfect match for Yun Kai. Although he wore a smile, he wasn't a very approachable person. His indifference towards the lower classes wasn't as obvious as Lao Ben's, but it was evident deep down.
Yunkai let the mask approach until it was completely attached to his face. He looked at Yueming through the mask's eyes. In the dim light, her face was unusually bright, gleaming like a pearl from a broken clam. He could also see the subtle changes on Yueming's face.
He asked hoarsely, "What's wrong? What did you see?"
Yueming murmured, "I'm a little afraid of it, but I also want to touch it?"
Yun Kai keenly sensed that something was about to change. He encouraged Yue Ming, "He won't hurt you. If you don't believe me, touch his eyes."
Yueming was bewitched. She stretched out her fingers and slowly moved them closer to the eyes behind the mask. Yunkai closed his eyes and waited for the slender fingers to touch his eyelids.
"Who is it?" A shout from the door made Yunkai open his eyes suddenly, and also scared Yueming so much that he retracted his hand.
He walked out of the stage, holding Yueming's hand. He took off his mask in front of the monk standing at the door and said coldly, "Go find me two umbrellas."
On the way back, the rain had subsided. Yunkai and Yueming each held an umbrella and walked slowly down the road. The cool air seemed to sober them up, and the ambiguous atmosphere behind the stage in the hall was blown away by the breeze. Neither of them dared to speak any more along the way.
Yunkai sent Yueming to the gate of her yard and reminded her, "Remember to take a hot bath when you go back, don't catch a cold."
Yueming nodded: "If you have a cold, ask Feng Xiaosai to come and get medicine from me. I have Western medicine here."
Yunkai smiled helplessly. This kid couldn't even say anything auspicious.
Yueming stared at his messy hair and slapped his forehead: "Oh, you forgot your bun in the back hall."
"It's okay, I still have some."
There was nothing more to say. Yueming bit her lip and handed him the umbrella: "Then I'll go in."
Yun Kai nodded: "Go in quickly."
Watching her courtyard door close, Yun Kai turned back to his own courtyard. He sneezed a few times while taking a bath and couldn't help but pinch his nose and mutter, "Could it be that Lan Yueming's bad mouth really came true?"
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