Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Four or five miles outside the West Gate, there is a famous temple in the capital called "Muni Temple".

Abbess Jingci was highly accomplished in Buddhism and cultivated relationships with prominent figures from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, earning her the respect of high-ranking families in the capital. Consequently, the Muni Temple was a place of constant pilgrimage for wealthy and influential families from the capital, making it a thriving center of worship.

At this moment, deep within the Muni Monastery, in a secluded nunnery, Miaoyu, dressed in a magnificent robe, sat alone by the window, lost in thought as she gazed at the moon.

More than a year has passed, and she, in the prime of her life, has grown into an even more graceful and beautiful woman, like a celestial being descended to earth.

However, the beautiful fairy's state of mind at this moment was completely different from her aloof and stunning appearance.

For more than a year, she would involuntarily recall the lecherous rogue who had taken liberties with her at Panxiang Temple, his handsome and imposing figure, his face that seemed both affectionate and roguish, yet secretly stirred her heart.

Especially after her family's downfall, she followed her master from Suzhou to the capital, and this feeling intensified, making her irritable. She could only barely suppress it by using the Buddhist "calming mantra".

After arriving in the capital, she learned that the man had not lied to her; he was indeed a member of the prestigious Jia family and of extraordinary status.

However, she soon heard that the heartbreaker, the unfaithful man, had been sent by the emperor to the border to lead troops into battle...

How perilous it is to face the enemy at the border!

At the time, she was extremely worried about this, almost to the point of losing her appetite. Then, to her great horror, she discovered that her level of concern for the other person was even less than that for her master, who couldn't withstand the hardships of the journey and fell ill as soon as they arrived in the capital!

This made her feel extremely ashamed and lost.

Fortunately, she soon heard that Jia Lian had returned to the capital safely. Not only that, but he had also won military merits on the battlefield and was promised a high-ranking official position and a great reward by the emperor, which made her secretly happy.

Just as she was hesitating about whether to contact the other party or find a way to let them know she existed and see how they would react, she heard that her father had passed away and he was busy with funeral arrangements, with no free time every day.

By now, his father's funeral arrangements should be almost complete...

Miaoyu thought to herself.

Looking up at the green branches faintly visible in the moonlight, Miaoyu lowered her head again.

She knew she was foolish and stupid. The other party came from a noble family, had a prestigious status, and a bright future. Why would he waste his energy on a lowly Buddhist disciple like her?

Given his character, he must have had no shortage of female companions. The things he said and did that day were nothing more than seeking novelty and excitement, treating himself like a pretty face for amusement, just like any other dissolute young man in the world.

Otherwise, why has he remained silent and never come to see me?

It's clear that she had long forgotten about me. It's pitiful that I was young and naive, easily deceived by evil people, which led to this pointless and vain longing.

Miaoyu felt a surge of hatred in her heart and cursed the unfaithful scoundrel mercilessly.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of running and making noise outside the courtyard. Miaoyu, whose eyebrows were very well-groomed and beautiful, frowned slightly. Just then, she saw a maid coming from the other side, so she beckoned her over to ask what was going on.

"Miss, there is a family who need Buddhist female disciples to keep vigil and perform rituals for their funeral, so they came to their Muni Temple to hire disciples."

"It will only take two days in total. The abbess said that all the young disciples in the monastery should go to the front courtyard for the distinguished person to choose from. Once selected, the monastery will give each of them a separate reward of eight hundred coins..."

Upon hearing this, Miaoyu felt extremely disgusted.

Ever since arriving at Muni-in, the famous temple in the capital that her master had described, she felt that the people here were incredibly vulgar and crude. It wasn't just one or two; everyone from top to bottom was like that, even the head nun.

The entire Muni Monastery was filled with a secular atmosphere, lacking the tranquility and seclusion that a Buddhist nunnery should have.

The temple was poorly constructed and, apart from its large size, had no other merits.

Compared to her Panxiang Temple, it was practically a thatched hut or a doghouse.

Nowadays, a dignified abbess is actually making her disciples eagerly choose others just to earn a few taels of silver. Is this the proper conduct of a high-ranking Buddhist nun?

After inwardly scoffing and looking down on her, Miaoyu had no intention of inquiring any further.

To her surprise, the maidservant didn't leave. Instead, she stood on the outer veranda and leaned closer to her, saying, "Does Miss know which household in the capital has come to hire someone?"

"I don't care which company it is, just stop gossiping outside. If you have nothing better to do, go and reheat the tea stove."

Miaoyu disdained playing riddles with the maid. After speaking, she got up to take a look at her master, then came back to make a cup of tea and end this boring day.

The maidservant chuckled and said, "I'll tell you, Miss, that the people who came are from the Rongguo Mansion in the capital..."

Miaoyu suddenly stopped and turned to look at the maid.

Seeing her fawning expression, I knew that she knew about the Rongguo Mansion in the capital that I had sent people outside to inquire about.

Perhaps, at this very moment, she's harboring some truly despicable thoughts...

Out of modesty, and also to avoid giving the maid any reason to overthink, she pretended to be nonchalant and scolded, "So what if it's the Rongguo Mansion in the capital? What does it have to do with me? If you also want to earn those few hundred coins, I'll have your hair shaved off and make you go with them, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, the maid was startled and quickly waved her hand in refusal.

Just kidding, she has no desire to become a nun. Besides, the young lady treats them very well, so why would she care so much about a mere few hundred coins?

I thought that since Miss often had people inquire about the Rongguo Mansion, she would be interested in this, so I deliberately told her. Who knew that Miss would get angry?

"Please forgive me, Miss. It's not that I'm just curious, but they really have a distinguished guest here tonight. I heard it's the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion who came in person, and even the abbess highly regards him and personally went to receive him..."

"What? Who are you talking about?"

The maid was about to make a joke and go to boil water when she was startled by the sudden change in the mistress's expression.

"That's right, it's the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion... Oh dear, I didn't quite catch whether it was the eldest or the second son, but he's a very distinguished person, everyone in their courtyard is talking about it..."

"What, Miss, do you really know anyone from the Rongguo Mansion?"

Miaoyu sat down silently, ignoring the maid. The maid stood there for a while, looking suspicious, before tactfully leaving.

Miaoyu then revealed a complex expression.

She was almost 80-90% certain that the person who came was the villain who had harassed her that day!

Why did he come here? Was it a coincidence? Was he really just here to select a few nuns to chant sutras and keep watch for his father, and that's why he happened to be here, without actually knowing where she was?

That's true. I'm just a nobody, and I quietly sought refuge here. How could someone of his status possibly know of my existence?

Should I go see him...?

But if what I think is true, and he doesn't care about me, wouldn't it be presumptuous of me to go out like this and humiliate myself?

But what if he really came looking for himself...?

Just as her heart was fluttering and she was wavering between two options, her maidservant rushed over and said to her, "Miss, the abbess has sent someone to invite you out for a visit."

Miaoyu forced down her trembling heart and asked, "What did she want me to do?"

"A young nobleman has arrived. His father has just passed away. Hearing that the young lady's master is proficient in the art of innate divination, he wishes to ask him to perform spirit writing and divination for his father."

However, the nun is currently ill. When the young man heard that the young lady was the nun's direct disciple, he said that inviting the young lady would be the same.

The abbess has already agreed.

As the old woman spoke, fearing that Miaoyu might be unwilling to help due to her temper, she quickly said, "Miss, you have received the true teachings of the abbess. Now we are staying here. Although we have the personal relationship and friendship between the abbess and the people in charge, the people below are still quite disliked by us."

If you can help them with this favor today and show them your abilities, they will surely have nothing to say in the future and will naturally respect you even more.

Miaoyu's master and Abbess Jingci had a platonic relationship, which is why she thought of coming to the capital to seek refuge with them.

However, with so many disciples under Abbess Jingci, it was inevitable that some snobbish and opportunistic individuals would try to sabotage things. Of course, most of these people simply disapproved of their behavior…

After all, a lay disciple who practices Buddhism with hair still intact is already disliked enough in a nunnery, let alone Miaoyu who is accompanied by several maids and nannies! This would be considered heresy in any temple or nunnery.

The old woman's worries were unnecessary. Although Miaoyu's mind was racing, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She took a deep breath and quietly said, "I understand."

……