The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 352: Seeking Peace, Where is the Peace?

| Longcui Temple |

Jia Tanchun, the Third Young Lady, carefully folded up her sleeves to reveal her white bright wrist. Then she picked the writing brush made of brownish rabbit hair and wrote a poem named "Xijiang River Moon" on the paper.

Seeing that the ink was full, thick, and condensed without dispersing, there was a faint fragrance that filled her nose. As Tanchun poured some warm water into the pen wash, she praised and said, "I heard you have a unique fragrance, but I didn't expect you even to have such expertise in ink making.”

“My Master is an expert in this field. I just learned a little bit, and now, relying solely on the willingness to use good materials, I have managed to pile up a few pieces that are worth using.”

Miaoyu said it with disapproval and then went up to look at Jia Tanchun's calligraphy carefully. After a while, she suddenly shook her head and said, "How can you get more and more angry when you have been to my temple recently?"

Jia Tanchun's action of washing her pen stagnated, and then she laughed as if nothing had happened, "Yesterday, I went to watch a play in the Qingxu Temple and it was noisy all day and my mind has become impetuous."

Miaoyu let out a secret sigh when she didn't want to express her feelings, so she stopped asking any further questions.

In Rongguo Mansion, Jia Xichun, the Fourth Young Lady, contacted Miaoyu most, followed by Daiyu, Baochai, and others, while Jia Tanchun and her were at most nodding acquaintances and had little contact in the past.

It wasn't until after the ”Five Ghosts Nightmare” incident when Concubine Zhao was imprisoned in a small ancestral hall to recite scriptures and atone for her sins that Tanchun suddenly became interested in the Longcui Temple, coming and going almost every day, and gradually getting to know Miaoyu.

Speaking of it, it was really difficult for her. Her biological mother did such a thing; not only did Mrs. Wang's attitude became much more distant, but the people below also increasingly took her for granted. Tanchun was also a strong person who refused to show timidity in front of others.

Thinking about these things, Miaoyu couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. She took out a wooden fish made of vermilion lacquer and red sandalwood from the closet, sat cross-legged on the bright yellow futon, and said, "I want to recite the ”Peace Mantra” for 30 minutes. Do you want to join me?”

“Of course...”

“Is Abbess Miaoyu inside?”

Jia Yingchun was waiting for the answer when she suddenly heard a woman shouting at the top of her throat outside, and she was a bit surprised. "Why are there laymen coming to this temple?”

Miaoyu also furrowed her brows and calmly got up. She took a brush and went out. Seeing the woman probing outside, she folded her hands and said, "What do you want calling me out?”

“I dare not be unrespectful.”

The Old Lady quickly returned a salute, rubbing her hands and jokingly saying, "How would I give you any advice? It's Lord Sun from the Central Judicial Office who sent someone to say that the merits you have calculated in advance are about to be born.”

When it came to words such as ”merit” and ”birth,” the woman was frightened, obviously thinking it was something about gods and ghosts.

However, upon hearing this, Miaoyu immediately realized that it must be the lecherous nuns in the house arrest center who were about to give birth!

In an instant, the image of Smart Child holding the stillborn fetus and forcefully delivering it to her arms appeared in her mind. Her originally calm face suddenly became mixed.

After finally suppressing the urge to vomit, Miaoyu reluctantly bowed to the woman and said, "Thank you, benefactor, for coming to summon the message.”

“I dare not, I dare not.”

The Old Lady shook her two hands like a fan and saw that Miaoyu had no further orders, so she obediently bid farewell and left.

When the woman came out of the courtyard, Jia Tanchun came out of the Buddhist hall, looked at Miaoyu's troubled face, and whispered, "Why don't you go? Taking care of those dirty children, how can you stand it when you are such a person who loves peace?"

Who knew that upon hearing her words, Miaoyu became firm in her heart and shook her head decisively, saying, "False compassion is at least tainted with the word ”compassion.” If I can't even achieve this false compassion, what kind of Buddha would I practice? What kind of path would I seek?”

As she spoke, she resolutely turned back and tidied up her belongings, hurriedly leaving Longcui Temple.

Jia Tanchun watched her go away from the door and looked back at the Longcui Temple. “Even if one is committed to Buddhism, how could there be any purity to speak of? After all, we still have to live in this mortal world.”

“Lady, Lady!”

She sighed faintly and headed back to the Qiushuang Pavilion. Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, she saw a close maid, the attendant, hurriedly welcoming her. She said hastily, "Hurry and go back to take a look. The Third Master is asking you to rescue the Concubine. The maidservant casually said a few words, and he messed up all the things in our room, unable to stop.”

Tanchun stomped her feet angrily upon hearing the words and said angrily, "This bastard who bullies the weak and fears the strong dares not say a word in front of the Master and Wife, but only comes to bully me.”

As she spoke, she turned and ran towards the nearby bushes.

In the inexplicable gaze of the attendant, Tanchun broke a thorn and held it in her hand. She saw blood and felt as though a wooden thorn had nearly pierced her bright white palm. She gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "Let's go! I will let Jia Huan know today, what is a sister like a mother.”

Not to mention how Jia Huan broke out in the Qiushuang Pavilion.

Miaoyu arrived at the gate of the Central Judicial Office by carriage, and the little nun who was waiting to be ordered to accompany came forward to report her identity. However, a petty official had already welcomed her and raised his voice, saying, "Is it Abbess Miaoyu from Longcui Temple who has arrived? My Lord has instructed me that if you arrive, you can go directly to the house arrest center and wait.”

Upon hearing these words, Miaoyu instructed the carriage driver to detour to the back street of the government office, and when she entered the house arrest center, she saw four great monks guarding a kind-hearted old monk, reciting scriptures in a corner.

Miaoyu looked at the great monk with some familiarity but couldn't remember who he was for a moment.

While hesitating whether to come forward and say hello, she suddenly saw the bamboo curtain of the neighboring gatehouse being lifted. Sun Shaozong came out from inside and raised his chin at the old monk, explaining, "That's Liaochi, Master of Fayuan Temple. You should have heard of his name too.”

Liaochi, Master of Fayuan Temple, was a famously accomplished monk in the Capital, and Miaoyu naturally knew about it.

But seeing Sun Shaozong's calm and gentle demeanor, as if his sharp and harsh comments were not from his mouth, Miaoyu couldn't help but sarcastically say, "If it weren't for the arrival of Liaochi Master, I might not have been fortunate to see you being respectful here, right?”

She was right this time; how could Sun Shaozong personally come to visit the house arrest center for the news of premature birth due to a promiscuous woman?

The reason he appeared here was due to the face of an idiot monk.

After being exposed by her as a ”snob,” Sun Shaozong was not angry either. He only smiled slightly and said, “I haven't seen you for many days, Abbess; you have gained some self-awareness.”

This was satirizing that Miaoyu's identity was not enough, and it was not worth his personal welcoming.

If it were in the past, Miaoyu would have continued to confront him with a few sharp words. However, she only gave a cold snort and asked, "I wonder where the mother is now? What's the danger?”

“Well, they have already been moved to the hall, and two more midwives have been invited. Is there any danger at the moment, it's still…”

“It’s born; it's born.”

As Sun Shaozong was speaking here, he saw a large and round female prisoner running out of the hall, shouting at the top of her voice, "She has given birth to a girl.”

"Amitābha."

After hearing that a baby girl was born, Master Liaochi recited the Buddhist name and slowly got up from the ground. He led his four disciples to the two of them. He first saluted Sun Shaozong and then smiled at Miaoyu, saying, "Are you Miaoyu, the Buddhist nun of Longcui Temple?”

“Yes, I am.”

Miaoyu pretended to be a nun in front of others, but in front of Master Liaochi, she obediently called herself ”little girl.”

"Amitābha."

Master Liaochi recited the Buddhist name again and said solemnly, "You have great compassion. If you can take care of this child, I will feel at ease. But all sentient beings have their aspirations, and you don’t need to force the child to become a monk or a nun in the future. Just guide her to be upright and follow fate.”

“I will sincerely follow your teachings, Master Liaochi.”

Miaoyu respectfully responded.

Sun Shaozong, on the other hand, couldn't help but mutter, “Before Taoist Zhang proposed to adopt a child, why didn't Fayuan Temple come forward and take care of everything?”

However, he also had a ”greatly benefited” look on his face, and Miaoyu respectfully sent Liaochi Master out before turning back to inquire about the situation of the promiscuous nun and the baby girl.