Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 258 Brother and Sister
Xie Yuyan and Master Zhiyuan were talking in the main hall, while Xie Zishao pulled the young novice monk aside and asked him all sorts of questions.

The two men surnamed Xie made the entire Baode Temple lively.

Has the master mentioned me recently?

"Does the master still perform his morning prayers at the same time every day?"

"Without me in the temple, Master, are you resting a little late?"

These questions were beyond the novice monk's ability to answer.

This benefactor Xie didn't leave for long, so... Master couldn't possibly mention him. If he did, it would be because... he was truly relieved to have seen the person off the mountain.

After all, Benefactor Xie often mentioned "becoming a monk".

Whether those two words would frighten others is hard to say, but they certainly made Master and the others tremble with fear.

If a master has a disciple like that, even if he doesn't rub tung oil on his hair often, his hair won't grow. They certainly shouldn't have a junior brother like that.

When Xie was recuperating in the temple, he struggled to get up to listen to the morning prayers, but... he would fall asleep after a short while. When he was there, his master did go to bed earlier, because if the lamps were blew out late, he would keep talking to his master.

At first, his master was very willing to help him resolve his doubts and enlighten him, but... Xie had too many worries in his heart, and he could never finish talking about them, especially his schemes against the Xie family, one after another, one after another...

It is indeed extremely powerful, but it should not be discussed in front of the Buddha.

The young novice monk kept his eyes closed and his mind focused, fiddling with the prayer beads in his hands, enduring the agonizing wait. Finally, the main hall doors opened, and Master Zhiyuan and Xie Yuyan walked out one after the other.

Xie Zishao looked at the two of them with delight. He saw that his tenth sister was full of energy, while Master Zhiyuan, who was usually upright, was slightly hunched over and seemed more serene than usual.

Xie Yuyan looked at Master Zhiyuan: "When Seventh Master Xie was injured, it was thanks to Master Zhiyuan's care that I was able to recover..."

Xie Zishao immediately chimed in, "The master also prepared a meditation room for me, so that I would have a place to rest whenever I come to the temple."

The young novice's expression almost changed. This wasn't the meditation room they had prepared; it was clearly a room that this benefactor Xie had donated himself, and he had taken one for himself.

They were truly afraid that one day, this benefactor Xie would come to the abbot with a wine jar to seek his guidance.

"Amitabha." Master Zhiyuan put his hands together and looked at the two benefactors Xie. Everyone in this world has their own destiny, just like these two... like biological siblings.

Fortunately, the two of them can now go down the mountain together.

Just as Master Zhiyuan was about to make an excuse to leave, he saw Yan Sui running over breathlessly: "Master, Lord Wang is here."

Mother Yu slightly raised her eyes.

Master Zhiyuan gently stroked the smooth Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

The two of them did indeed meet at the temple again.

He had been wondering before whether the incident in Daming Prefecture was something the two of them had planned in the meditation room of the temple.

The matter in Daming Prefecture should be almost settled. What will these two do next?
Wang Yan was an imperial envoy sent by the court. Since he had come to Baode Temple, there was no reason not to see him. Zhiyuan had no choice but to order, "Follow me to greet him."

A moment later, the group met in the temple courtyard.

Besides Wang Yan, there was also Xu En, the Palace Attendant.

Wang Yan introduced Master Zhiyuan: "This is Magistrate Xu, sent by the government to Daming Prefecture. Hearing that I came to ask for Baode Temple, Magistrate Xu also came to see the people who have come down from the mountain."

The people Wang Yan was referring to were refugees hiding in the mountains.

Those people were brought to Daming Prefecture by Wang Yan and temporarily settled in Baode Temple.

When Xu En heard that Wang Yan had come to visit the refugees, and also wanted to temporarily escape the burden of paperwork, he immediately suggested going along.

“Amitabha,” Master Zhiyuan said, “those benefactors live in the coalfields behind the mountain.”

Xu En was somewhat surprised: "The coalfield?"

"Exactly." Xu En had read through many files yesterday and knew a bit about the affairs of Daming Prefecture: "The coal mine that the temple and the Yang family were mining together?"

As he spoke, Xu En looked at the people behind Master Zhiyuan.

He had noticed the two people earlier, especially the woman. She looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, but she had a calm and composed demeanor that resembled someone mentioned in the case file.

That Yang Xie family.

“Indeed,” Master Zhiyuan said, turning to look at Xie Yuyan. “This is Benefactor Xie, who runs a coal mine in the temple.”

really.

Xu En and Xie Yuyan looked at each other. The sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, perhaps because she was in charge of the family, naturally had a kind of composure and dignity.

It's truly remarkable that she's so young. It's just a pity that she was kidnapped and sold to Daming Prefecture and then forced into a ghost marriage. But strangely, there seems to be no sadness about her ordeal on her.

As Xu En was sizing up Xie Yuyan, he heard Wang Yan's voice beside him: "This is Xie Zishao, from the Xie family of Daming Prefecture, and is Xie Chongjun's illegitimate son."

Xie Zishao sought justice for his mother by suing Xie Chongjun and the Xie family. He was the one who found much of the evidence against the Xie family and handed it over to the imperial court.

Xu En nodded, and Xie Zishao stepped forward to greet Xu En.

Xu En asked, "Are you two here to inspect the coalfield?" As he spoke, his gaze fell on Xie Yuyan.

Xie Yuyan said, "No, we came for the Buddhist ceremony at the temple."

Upon hearing the words "Dharma Assembly," the monk Zhiyuan barely managed to suppress a sigh.

Before Xu En could continue speaking, Wang Yan asked, "Baode Temple is going to hold a Dharma assembly? When?"

When the group met this time, Wang Yan appeared humble, but in reality, he kept everyone at arm's length, not even glancing at Xie Yuyan.

It was as if Xu En didn't speak to Xie Yuyan and Xie Zishao, and he wouldn't even ask them why they were there. He maintained a faint distance from everyone.

Xie Yuyan did not respond, but looked at the monk Zhiyuan.

Zhiyuan put his hands together and said, "On the second day of the second lunar month, our temple will hold a Dharma assembly for the reconstruction of the main hall."

Xu En said, "Rebuilding the main hall is a good thing. If I have time, I will come to attend the ceremony."

Zhiyuan chanted the Buddha's name again.

Wang Yan didn't say whether he would come or not, but said, "Since we're here at the temple, let's pay our respects to the Buddha first."

Xu En said, "That's how it should be."

The main hall had been burned down, so people could only temporarily go to the east side hall to worship Buddha. The young monks handed three sticks of incense to each of them.

Despite being a military general, Xu En was quite devout in his Buddhist practice, appearing exceptionally pious before the Three Buddhas before him. Xie Yuyan, on the other hand, was much more casual, as she was very familiar with these clay sculptures, so much so that she didn't need to hide anything from them when plotting.

He placed the incense into the incense burner and then stepped aside.

Soon Wang Yan also came over.

He seemed to pass by her casually, but as he spread his sleeves, he opened his palm, revealing what appeared to be a furry thing in his hand.

Before Xie Yuyan could see clearly, Wang Yan had already withdrawn his hand. He raised his head, his eyebrows relaxed, but his gaze was exceptionally deep, making him look very noble, as if his actions just now were merely Xie Yuyan's illusion.

Xu En couldn't figure out Wang Yan's temperament, so he tentatively suggested in a consultative tone, "Shall we go and take a look at the coal mine behind the mountain now?"

Wang Yan nodded and said calmly, "I'll trouble the abbot to arrange for a young novice to lead the way."

After saying this, Wang Yan seemed to remember something and looked at Xie Yuyan and Xie Zishao: "If you two are not in a hurry to leave, you can come with us."

(End of this chapter)