Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 420 Miracle
Madam Gao watched as the reliquary was about to be taken away.

"and many more."

Madam Gao was in a great hurry, and her voice was low and hoarse as she spoke hastily. The person holding the relic box did not pay attention and continued to move forward.

"Wait," Madam Gao stopped her again, taking a few quick steps to the reliquary. "This...this...is this the reliquary? Could you please not move it yet? I want to take a closer look..."

The servant, unaware of what was going on, looked at Xie Yuyan with a blank expression.

Xie Yuyan stepped forward: "What's wrong, Madam?"

Madam Gao's heart was pounding in her throat, and her daughter-in-law, Madam Sun, beside her also realized what was happening, her eyes filled with astonishment.

Madam Gao finally managed to calm herself down: "Where did this reliquary come from?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuyan replied without hesitation, "This was made in our porcelain kiln. I brought it with me when I came to Bianjing."

Mrs. Gao then asked, "Has it always been kept here?"

"The pavilion was repaired before we moved here," Xie Yuyan thought for a moment, "which is only two or three days in total."

Madam Gao instinctively gripped the handkerchief tighter: "Did you take it to Yunqi Temple?"

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "No."

Madam Gao couldn't take her eyes off the reliquary; she wanted to reach out and touch it, but her hands trembled uncontrollably.

“Madam,” Xie Yuyan said, “you…”

Madam Gao finally reached out and grabbed Xie Yuyan's hand: "My lady, could you leave this reliquary here... so I can take it back... I'll use it for a while..."

Xie Yuyan gestured for Mama Yu to take the relic box, and then said, "Why don't we go inside and talk about it?"

Madam Gao nodded repeatedly when she saw that the items had not been taken away.

The group sat down again.

Mother Yu placed the reliquary on the table, and Madam Gao stared at it intently, her eyes slightly red.

Xie Yuyan tentatively said, "This reliquary is supposed to be a Buddhist burial container. Although it does not contain the relics of eminent monks, I enshrined it at Baode Temple after it was made."

"The reason I brought Bianjing this time is because the imperial court needs more porcelain styles from the kilns to be sent to the border markets. This tricolor reliquary is one of the best shapes that our kiln masters have made."

"Therefore, we will not sell this porcelain. After the selection of porcelain, I will donate it to Baode Temple. This was agreed upon with Abbot Zhiyuan of Baode Temple long ago."

As Madam Gao listened to these words, she felt even more that the reliquary was extraordinary, especially the tricolor colors, which were particularly vibrant and seemed to emit a faint halo when exposed to sunlight.

Madam Gao was almost certain that it was the object Jingxuan had mentioned.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?
It is not only a lotus-covered reliquary, but it was also once enshrined in a temple.

Madam Gao hurriedly said, "I don't want to buy it... I know I can't buy it... I just want to borrow it to take a look."

At this point, Madam Gao thought for a moment and said, "It won't delay your affairs, madam. I can offer money as collateral."

“Madam, there’s no need for this,” Xie Yuyan said after a moment’s thought. “Seeing how anxious you are, I wonder what you intend to do with this reliquary?”

Madam Gao hesitated, unsure whether to speak or not. She said with some difficulty, "It's not that I'm hiding it from you, Madam, but there are some things I'm still unsure about."

Xie Yuyan nodded: "I can only lend it to you for two days. After two days, bring it to the South City Wharf to return it."

Madam Gao's face immediately lit up with joy.

Xie Yuyan continued, "Please make sure to store it carefully, Madam."

Madam Gao repeatedly replied, "I will be extra careful and dare not make any mistakes."

After speaking, Xie Yuyan looked at the reliquary again before getting up and walking outside.

Madam Gao immediately rose to see her off, saying, "I still don't know your name, Madam."

“My surname is Xie,” Xie Yuyan said, “and my husband’s family is the Yang family of Yong’an Ward, Daming Prefecture.”

Xie Yuyan boarded the carriage.

Even after walking quite a distance, Madam Yu was still thinking about the expression on Madam Gao's face. In fact, the relic box had indeed helped the Shen family.

If it weren't for Jingxuan, Shen Si Niangzi's affair wouldn't have been exposed. However, Mama Yu also wondered how the eldest daughter-in-law knew about these things. Perhaps the eldest daughter-in-law had remembered the past, or perhaps it was Lord Wang who found out about this case.

However, in other people's eyes, neither Lord Wang nor Madam Wang had much to do with this case.

……

Whether it was because of what Jingxuan said or because the reliquary was so well made, Madam Gao felt that the reliquary in front of her was even more extraordinary. She dared not touch it easily. She had someone fetch a sandalwood box from the mansion, lined it with a lot of silk, and carefully wrapped the reliquary before putting it in the wooden box and sending it onto the carriage.

Looking at the sandalwood box, Madam Sun asked, "Mother, are you planning to show this to that nun?"

Madam Gao nodded; she just wanted to find out, in case it was true.
Madam Sun continued, "Wouldn't it be inappropriate to take the relic box to the prison?"

“Of course we can’t send her to jail,” Madam Gao thought for a moment. “Didn’t the master go to the Ministry of Justice? Let’s call him out and ask them to make an exception and bring the nun to the backyard for identification.”

Having made up her mind, Madam Gao did not delay and instructed the coachman to head straight for the Ministry of Justice.

The servants of the Shen family brought Shen Chongzhen out of the Ministry of Justice, and Madam Gao then told them about the relic box.

"If it is true, we must properly enshrine this reliquary."

Madam Gao couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart. If it could be confirmed that it was a manifestation of Buddha, it would convince her that Fourth Sister hadn't been suffering all along. Now, whenever she closes her eyes, she has wild thoughts, wondering how scared and how much pain Fourth Sister must have felt when she was harmed, and how much she must have hoped that they could find her and save her.

Her fourth aunt was most afraid of pain.

Shen Chongzhen knew exactly what his wife was thinking, and so did he. So he solemnly picked up the sandalwood box and walked firmly toward the Ministry of Justice.

……

Jingxuan remained huddled in a corner of the prison, answering whatever the interrogating officials asked her without any intention of struggling. For her, receiving an immediate verdict would be a relief.

"You, come out."

Jingxuan stared blankly out of the prison, but did not move. The jailer became impatient and went in to drag her away, but Jingxuan did not struggle, and the jailer did whatever he wanted to her.

In a daze, I realized that I had been taken out of the prison, walked for a while, and then thrown into a room.

Jingxuan kept her head down, not looking at her surroundings, and remained huddled on the ground.

"You said you've seen a reliquary."

A voice sounded above her head, but Jingxuan didn't pay any attention.

But the man continued, "Look, isn't this the one?"

Jingxuan raised her eyes blankly and looked ahead.

On the table was a tricolor reliquary.

The lid is upturned and openwork on all four sides. There is a crouching lion at the bottom of each of the four corners of the box. There is a door in the middle of the box, and a guardian stands on both sides of the door.

Jingxuan's slightly unfocused gaze suddenly widened, her breath almost stopped, and then her face contorted as she suddenly knelt up from the ground.

Strange sounds uncontrollably escaped her throat, and then she began to kowtow, chanting Buddhist mantras as she did so: "Amitabha..."

Jingxuan slammed her head against the ground with all her might, and blood flowed freely in no time.

As she spoke, she began to repeat it over and over.

"May I sever all evil deeds, and may I cultivate all good deeds..."

"Your disciple was wrong, please forgive me, Buddha, please forgive me..."

There are still some tonight