Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 117 Let go
Xie Yuyan didn't speak, but stepped forward and looked at the two magnificent chestnut horses. He reached out and touched the neck of one of them. The chestnut horse didn't flinch, clearly indicating that it wasn't fierce.

Sang Dian stopped asking questions and handed the reins directly to Xie Yuyan. Just now, Madam Xie looked like she knew how to ride.

Mother Yu hurriedly asked someone to bring a footstool, and Xie Yuyan turned to look at Sang Dian.

For some reason, under such gazes, Sang Dian subconsciously bent his knees forward, assumed a half-horse stance, and lowered his hands with palms facing upwards.

Xie Yuyan kicked up the hem of her skirt, used Sang Dian's hand for leverage, and nimbly leaped onto the horse's back.

Pulling on the reins, Xie Yuyan looked at the surprised Zhang Shi: "Mother, walk slowly, no need to rush."

Having said that, he spurred his horse and headed down the mountain.

Zhang watched Xie Yuyan's retreating figure and murmured, "I wonder what else Ayan can do."

"What good fortune did our family accumulate to be able to marry such a daughter-in-law?"

Madam Yu smiled and said, "My lady, you are kind-hearted, so you will naturally be rewarded." The saying "good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished" is particularly apt in the Yang family.

“Let’s go,” Zhang said, “Don’t keep Ayan waiting.”

They couldn't ride in a carriage, and they couldn't ride horses, so they had to walk. Zhang recalled Xie Yuyan's nimble movements as he mounted his horse; how skilled he must have been to do that.

"I now truly believe that Ayan's background is extraordinary."

Zhang was not worried at all; on the contrary, she was happy for Xie Yuyan. Who wouldn't want to find their family? Whether or not to stay with the Yang family would be entirely up to Yuyan herself.

……

Wang Yan watched from afar as Xie Yuyan rode her horse to the foot of the mountain. This showed she truly knew how to ride, not just the rudimentary skills learned by women on a spring outing. What family's women could master riding like this?

Even if he asked her about these things, she wouldn't tell him the truth.

There are still too many questions.

Where did she come from? What has she encountered over the years? Why did she return here? What is she here to do?
Will you leave again? When will you leave?

She appeared calm on the surface, but she harbored deep-seated convictions; otherwise, she wouldn't have acted so decisively. Utilizing He Tan's identity and purpose, she precisely targeted the Yang and Xie families.

She said it was for doing business in Daming Prefecture, but that's not true. A businessman wouldn't have such great ambitions.

It's unlikely that the method of smelting iron with coke was offered by a craftsman just to swindle seven thousand strings of cash.

She put a lot of effort into making lotus root charcoal from the very beginning, perhaps for this very reason.

In order to present the coke-based iron smelting process to the public in a logical and reasonable way.

Ancient books from the previous dynasty did indeed record the use of coke in iron smelting, but they made no mention of using kilns to produce coke. She deliberately focused on coke-based iron smelting, then used the coal from Sanhe Village as a pretext. This led everyone to believe that the high-quality coke was solely due to the superior quality of the coal used for its production. Consequently, no one would question why she would use kilns to produce coke.

Before they left Daming Prefecture, she had already used the Yang family's kiln to fire coke, but she didn't reveal a word to them about it.

She never considered relying on them to achieve her goals.

She understood the political situation of the Liang Dynasty and knew that the current court would keep the Salt and Iron Bureau firmly under its control, and no one would dare to tamper with it.

Whether or not the Salt and Iron Bureau had members of the Wang family, they would not have concealed this matter.

The Great Liang Dynasty was able to use coal to produce coke for iron smelting, which greatly benefited weapons and armor. In other words, whoever was in charge, this matter would reach the highest levels of government.

It would be better if we didn't bear the imprint of the He or Wang families, so that we wouldn't get caught up in the power struggle between the two parties.

During the debates in the Yanhe Palace, everyone tries their best to conceal their true intentions to avoid being caught off guard in the political struggle. At that point, regardless of whether the advice is good or not, it will be met with unanimous attack and opposition from the opposing side.

Her methods were remarkably similar; in other words, she knew how the prime ministers and high-ranking officials acted.

She chose the fastest route to promote coal in Daliang. So, what kind of person could do that?
"The person you were waiting for has arrived."

A gentle voice came from behind him. Wang Yan turned his head and saw a thin-faced monk wearing a tattered robe standing beside him.

“She’s here to see you,” Wang Yan said calmly, “to help your dilapidated temple get through this crisis.”

Monk Zhiyuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he didn't care about these things.

There are people who want to donate money to temples, but...

Zhiyuan said slowly and deliberately: "A senior monk can perform rituals, but he doesn't do business."

Wang Yan did not try to dissuade him. This monk was different from ordinary monks; it would not be easy to sway his mind. But since Xie Yuyan had set his sights on Baode Temple, he was sure he could achieve his goal.

Wang Yan remained silent, but Zhiyuan said, "It seems that you have completely let go of that matter."

Wang Yan once put down his books and visited temples and Taoist monasteries. It was through this that he met Zhiyuan. Although Wang Yan never explicitly asked Zhiyuan whether there were really immortals in the world, Zhiyuan knew his inner conflict and advised him with Buddhist words: "Dependent origination is emptiness."

Everyone's opportunities and losses are the result of a convergence of causes and conditions, and cannot be forced.

Continuing to waste time like this is pointless; it's better to let go of everything and seek nature.

The arising and ceasing of things are inherently free processes. In his view, once that event was over, it had already ceased to exist, and no one can defy cause and effect.

As Xie Yuyan drew closer, Wang Yan looked up and their eyes met when she stepped into the temple.

“You’re right, Venerable Monk,” Wang Yan said. “All things arise from causes and conditions, and are empty of inherent existence. But the existence of all phenomena must have their own causes and conditions for arising.”

"To reap a result, one must first sow a cause."

"Dependent origination and emptiness are not explained like that," Zhiyuan sighed and shook his head as he listened. He clearly saw that Benefactor Wang's brows were relaxed, as if he had been liberated, so why did he seem to be even more deeply entangled?

Xie Yuyan did not enter the main hall, but went straight up to the high platform. The person she wanted to see was here, so she was exempt from the step of entering the temple to burn incense.

Zhiyuan looked at Wang Yan, who was the second person he had met who was so direct and made no attempt to hide his intentions. With that thought in mind, Zhiyuan and Xie Yuyan exchanged Buddhist greetings.

"What brings you to the temple today, benefactor?"

Zhiyuan led the two forward and asked Xie Yuyan.

As far as Xie Yuyan's eyes fell, there were only overgrown monks' quarters. She did not answer Zhiyuan's question, but instead asked, "Aren't there any devout men and women donating money to repair the temple?"

Zhiyuan smiled slightly: "Yes, but most of the money is used to help refugees and ordinary people. This year there is a drought in the west and floods in the south. After winter comes, there will be more refugees. There is a shortage of rice and clothing. How can we afford to repair the roof?"

As soon as Zhiyuan finished speaking, the sound of a baby crying rang out.

“There are also some babies abandoned in the mountains that have been taken in by the temple.”

Xie Yuyan looked at Zhiyuan: "What does the temple use to feed these children?"

Zhiyuan said, "It's goat milk brought by devout men and women."

Xie Yuyan nodded, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "However, judging from the crying just now, I'm afraid the baby will still have to endure hunger."

Upon hearing this, Zhiyuan blushed and said with a look of shame, "It is all because this humble monk's cultivation is insufficient, and I am unable to bring blessings to all living beings."

Whenever the monks said this, the devout men and women would always persuade them that they had already done their best.

Xie Yuyan nodded: "Then what should we do? How does the abbot intend to cultivate himself and accumulate more merit? If dozens more refugees come to the temple, should the abbot drive them away, or share some of the infants' food with them?"

(End of this chapter)