After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 138 Xiuyan Miaoyu
Since she was already set to enter the palace, Xiuyan didn't take it too seriously. Tomorrow, she would just deal with whatever came her way.

She had something else on her mind.

In the afternoon, she went to Longcui Nunnery. When she arrived at the gate, she saw a slender woman dressed in a gray monk's robe, who was none other than Miaoyu of Longcui Nunnery.

Xiuyan stood there watching her. Miaoyu was sweeping the floor with a broom, her expression indifferent. It had rained last night, knocking down many plums. Miaoyu slowly swept the plums and fallen leaves together.

She showed no signs of impatience or worry, as if she were truly a hermit living in seclusion in the Grand View Garden. The dramatic changes of dynasties and the extermination of families outside were none of her concern; she simply guarded her small plot of land, the Green Bamboo Nunnery.

Xiuyan knew, however, that Miaoyu's worldly ties were not yet severed, and that her heart was not truly as calm as still water.

Otherwise, why would she keep her hair so black?
Xiuyan looked over and saw that Miaoyu was not wearing a monk's hat. Her hair was tied up and held in place with a hairpin made of plum blossom branches. She was wearing a gray monk's robe, which fluttered lightly with her hand movements, clinging to her slender figure and revealing her graceful curves.

If she were to be made a concubine...

"Why are you here?" Miaoyu looked up and saw her, and asked casually.

The two were good friends, but they seemed more distant than most people. Miaoyu would talk and laugh in front of Baochai, Daiyu and others, but she didn't laugh much in front of Xiuyan.

Xiuyan smiled and said, "I have something to tell you."

Miaoyu lowered her head and continued sweeping the floor: "Since you came to the Jia family, all you've talked to me about are trivial matters of the mortal world. What's there to say? If you're feeling bored, just stand here and wait for me to finish sweeping before we talk. Out of consideration for our past relationship, I'll try to comfort you."

Xiuyan said, "I'm going to the palace tomorrow."

Miaoyu glanced at her and, unusually, smiled in front of her: "Congratulations on that."

Xiuyan knew that she was speaking from the heart, and couldn't help but sigh for her: "I was worried that you would also enter the palace, so I came to tell you."

Miaoyu's elegant and serene face showed a slight furrow in her brows as she looked at her with a puzzled expression. She nodded and said, "Wait a moment."

So she turned back and called a young maid from the nunnery to continue sweeping. Then she led Xiuyan into the back room of Longcui Nunnery, where the two sat down and Miaoyu made tea for her.

Seeing that even after she sat down, Xiuyan could still clearly see her exquisite figure and slender waist beneath her monk's robes, she couldn't help but feel puzzled and said to her:
"I heard from Sister-in-law Zhu, who has been to the palace, that the Emperor wants to summon you to the palace to become the abbot of the temple there."

Miaoyu paused in her tea-making, then sneered, "The palace gates are deep and mysterious, and inside there are countless emperors and concubines, and in the future, many princes and princesses will be added, all using their royal power to oppress people. Why should I bother to make a fool of myself?"

Xiuyan knew that she was proud and aloof. When she came to the Jia family before, she had to be invited by Lady Wang before she would come.

“But if the emperor really issues an edict, and you don’t go, you will be disobeying the imperial decree.”

Xiuyan looked at Miaoyu brewing tea and spoke slowly.

Miaoyu lowered her head and fiddled with the stove, boiling the snow water from last year, her thoughts unknown.

After a while, he asked her, "Has the emperor issued an edict summoning me to the palace?"

"Not yet. There's a Baoling Palace in the Imperial Garden. When the Emperor was touring the garden, he said that the palace was short of an abbot and that you would be a perfect fit."

Miaoyu asked, "How did he know about me?"

Could the emperor, while strolling in the garden, have happened to think of her?

Xiuyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "I heard that when the manor submitted the list of young girls to the palace, your name was also written on it."

After she finished speaking, she worried that Miaoyu would get angry, after all, she was a nun who had left home to practice Buddhism, although she practiced while still keeping her hair.

To everyone's surprise, Miaoyu remained calm and did not get angry.

Xiuyan laughed and said, "It seems I was overthinking it."

Miaoyu has an eccentric temperament, but she is extremely cultured.

So he said, "Tomorrow I will go to the palace, and if I have the opportunity to see the emperor, I will plead for you."

Miaoyu said calmly, "You don't need to make a fuss. The emperor may not even remember me. You just go to the palace and enjoy your wealth and honor."

Xiuyan laughed and said, "What wealth or status do I have to speak of? Besides, even if I did have wealth and status, I wouldn't be happy." Miaoyu also laughed and said, "That's really strange. You've always been someone who's been through thick and thin in this mortal world. You have wealth and status to enjoy, yet you're not happy?"

Xiuyan shook her head gently and said, "These days, I have been observing the Jia family, the Wang family, and the Shi family with a cold eye. Which of them was not extremely wealthy before? But in the blink of an eye, they have all vanished. The masters and young masters have been punished to do corvée labor, and the young ladies in the mansions are heartbroken. Although I am not as detached as you, I have also become indifferent. I only wish to live a good life."

Miaoyu looked at her clothes and frowned, saying, "Are you going to wear these clothes to the palace tomorrow?"

Xiuyan said yes.

Miaoyu sneered, "Your aunt is too harsh on you. She's such a snob. You gave her two taels of your monthly allowance and half of your rations. She benefited from your kindness, but now she won't even give you a single piece of clothing!"

Xiuyan lowered her head and said nothing. Even though she was indifferent to wealth and fame, she was still bothered by these trivial matters.

Miaoyu said, "Since you are going to the palace with Miss Lin tomorrow, ask your second sister for some clothes and jewelry to wear first."

Xiuyan looked at her old clothes with embarrassment, thought for a while, and said, "Second sister is an honest person, and she will definitely lend me the clothes if I ask. But her maids and servants are not easy to deal with. They say some sarcastic things. Her clothes size is not the same as mine. If word gets out, my aunt will talk about it. It will be a troublesome matter."

“I think that although they are old clothes, they are still good, and it may not be unacceptable to wear them into the palace.”

Xiuyan smiled.

Upon hearing this, Miaoyu could only sigh and say, "It's a pity that I usually wear paddy field clothes and I'm taller than you, so they don't fit you."

Xiuyan glanced at her chest, then looked down at her own, and said with a smile, "Miaoyu, your figure is better than mine. If I wore this, it would look too big on me."

Miaoyu blushed slightly, a rare occurrence, and rolled her eyes at her.

Xiuyan covered her mouth and laughed; it was rare to see her roll her eyes like that.

After sitting for a while, Xiuyan took her leave.

That evening, as expected, no one brought her clothes. When she got up the next day, Xiuyan put on her best round-necked robe embroidered with magnolia branches, a light red long skirt, and wore the jade pendant that Tanchun had given her earlier. She did some hair styling, said goodbye to Yingchun, and went out to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Upon entering, they saw that Daiyu had just finished dressing up and was not dressed up in a particularly elaborate manner.

Xueyan looked at her and said with a smile, "Miss Xing didn't dress up much when she entered the palace."

Zijuan knew that Xing Xiuyan's family was poor, and that saying this would arouse suspicion, so she quickly said to her, "Go and tell Miss Yun that Miss Xing has come to our place."

Xueyan has gone.

Daiyu, being observant, understood the implication in Zijuan's words. She glanced at Xiuyan discreetly and realized that Xiuyan didn't have many precious jewelry pieces to adorn herself with when she entered the palace. She felt a pang of guilt, realizing she hadn't thought of that yesterday, and now it was too late to find her any jewelry.

Baochai was a very observant person, but she never thought of it, perhaps because she was too busy managing the household and forgot.

"Sister Lin, are there any rules that I should pay special attention to when entering the palace?" Xiuyan asked with a smile.

Looking at her expression, Daiyu noticed that she didn't seem nervous or uneasy like others entering the palace for the first time; instead, she seemed to be indifferent and detached.

She often spent time with Miaoyu, who was of noble character, but perhaps not as ethereal as Miss Xing.

Thinking of this, Daiyu smiled and said, "There's nothing else wrong in the palace, but you should be careful, that emperor is a..."

It's hard to say about her.

"What is it?" Xiuyan asked.

Daiyu could only vaguely say, "He's domineering. He hugs and kisses any pretty girl he sees. You have to be careful."

"……what?"

Xiuyan was stunned.

Is Sister Lin telling a joke?
(End of this chapter)