Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

The Earl's Mansion, Yingchun Courtyard.

Since entering the East Mansion, Musk Moon has been a maidservant to Ying Chun, and she has been coming and going in Ying Chun's courtyard every day. The sisters have long been used to it.

Musk Moon is poised and generous, witty in speech, and has a good rapport with others. She gets along well with people in daily life and speaks and laughs without restraint.

Everyone was somewhat surprised to see her enter the room wearing the same palace flower. Xiangyun and the others all looked at Baochai with curiosity in their eyes.

Musk Moon saw that all the girls in the room were wearing palace flowers in their hair, and the style of the flowers was the same as the ones she wore.

Yingchun laughed and said, "Your palace flower looks very familiar. We just got it, and you're already wearing it."

Musk Moon blushed slightly, touched the palace flower in her hair, and said, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that Miss Bao was also bringing palace flowers over."

Just now, Sister Xiren sent Chunyan to deliver a message, saying that she received palace flowers from Miss Bao, and she is very grateful for Miss Bao's kindness.

She usually stays in the courtyard and rarely goes out, so these beautiful palace flowers are just sitting there idly.

Then she asked Chunyan to bring it to me. I saw that the palace flowers were pretty, so I put them on. I felt a little embarrassed in front of Miss Bao.

Baochai laughed and said, "You're being too polite. Since I gave it to Xiren, it's her own now. She can give it to whomever she wants."

She's a sensible person, which is why she had someone give it to you. It's a good thing; these palace flowers suit you well and look beautiful on you."

Baochai thought that Xiren had just received the palace flowers and had given them to Sheyue so quickly, even though it was out of affection between her and Sheyue.

But there must be other reasons as well. Because Xiren served Baoyu diligently, she was always highly regarded by her aunt.

Perhaps she overheard rumors from her aunt and knew that her aunt harbored deep resentment towards her, and that she was the only one in Baoyu's room to receive palace flowers.

Perhaps she was worried that her aunt would become suspicious of her, which was also possible; she hadn't originally thought about it so carefully.

Baochai didn't care much about Xiren giving the palace flowers to Sheyue. She felt that the proper etiquette in Baoyu's room had been fulfilled, and other minor details didn't matter.

……

The Earl's Mansion, the small courtyard on the south slope.

Inside the main hall's Buddhist shrine, before the Guanyin statue, sandalwood incense smoke swirls, and Buddhist chants are murmured, light and devout.

Miaoyu sat cross-legged on the futon, holding prayer beads in her hand and chanting scriptures. After each recitation of a mantra, she would strike the chime with a small hammer, producing a clear and melodious sound.

The sound of the chime is like heavenly music, lingering endlessly in the Buddhist hall, seemingly able to cleanse all the darkness and ambiguity of the world.

After the chime sounded more than twenty times, Miaoyu's daily practice came to an end. She opened her beautiful eyes, put down the chime hammer, and put her prayer beads back around her neck.

My gaze involuntarily drifted to the earthen vase placed in front of the Guanyin statue, inside which was a graceful red plum blossom.

The flowers are fiery red, the stamens are bright yellow, the branches are horizontal and the fragrance is intoxicating.

In the quiet Buddhist hall, this red plum blossom is the most eye-catching and vibrant, like a compassionate vessel sailing across the shallow, lifeless waters.

Miaoyu's bright eyes clearly reflected the elegant red plum blossoms, and she couldn't help but recall the figure of Jia Cong reaching out to pick plum blossoms in the plum grove that day.

The tranquil state of mind she had cultivated through chanting and reciting mantras was momentarily disrupted. She closed her eyes, clutched the prayer beads in front of her chest, and tried to calm herself down.

He opened his eyes a moment later and saw a peach wood life tablet next to the earthen vase, placed in front of the Guanyin statue, with Jia Cong's birth date and time engraved on it.

She gazed silently at the fate tablet, the cool composure in her eyes gradually fading away with a gentler gaze...

She reached for the sound hammer and struck the chime, hoping to dispel her delusions, cleanse her mind of demons, and return to clarity.

The sound of the chime was still light and melodious, but it had lost some of its ethereal mystery and gained more of a lingering tenderness and infatuation.

……

In Miaoyu's bedroom, Zhishao was sitting by the bed sewing clothes. When she saw Miaoyu enter the room, she gently touched the Buddhist beads on her chest with her slender hand, looking somewhat bewildered.

Zhi Shao asked, "Senior Sister, have you finished your homework in the Buddhist hall?"

Miaoyu said, "I've recited the incantation more than halfway through, and I'm feeling a bit tired. Get up and walk around a bit. Are you making clothes for Yuzhang again?"

Zhi Shao said, "The first snow has already fallen, and the weather will get colder and colder. Making it as soon as possible will allow Third Master to change into his clothes."

Miaoyu walked to the clothes rack, took down another unfinished garment, which bore the stitches of both Miaoyu and Zhishao.

He said, "I'll help you finish it. The Muni Temple is almost finished with the renovations, and our master will be moving away soon. Then I won't be able to help you anymore."

Zhi Shao smiled serenely and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Miaoyu sat on a chair by the south window, picked up a needle and thread to sew clothes, and after just a few stitches, her previously chaotic thoughts strangely calmed down.

The tranquility and serenity she felt while sewing clothes was just like in previous years when she was free from worries, devoutly worshipping Buddha and entrusting herself to him when she chanted sutras and mantras before him.

Zhi Shao glanced at Miao Yu, who was completely absorbed in her work, and couldn't help but smile slightly before focusing her attention back on the needlework.

……

The two were each threading a needle when they suddenly heard a voice from outside: "Is Sister Zhishao inside?"

Zhi Shao put down the clothes in her hand and hurriedly walked out of the room. She saw that it was Ying Chun's maid Xiu Ju and smiled, "So it's Sister Xiu Ju. How did you find your way here?"

Xiuju smiled and said, "Miss Bao sent a box of palace flowers, saying they were for use in the palace. She picked out two and asked me to give them to Sister Zhishao."

Zhi Shao took the brocade box from Xiu Ju's hand, opened it to find two exquisite palace flowers, and said with a smile, "What delicate palace flowers! Please thank your young lady for me."

After Xiuju left, Zhishao returned to the room, opened the brocade box with a smile, took out a palace flower, and put it on her cloud-like hair in front of the dressing mirror.

Seeing her junior sister adorning herself in front of the mirror, Miaoyu suddenly felt a pang of envy and said, "Such exquisite palace flowers, they look like the finest gauze piles from the palace."

Zhi Shao smiled and said, "Although Senior Sister practices Buddhism in the Buddhist hall every day and rarely leaves the house, it is clear that you are very knowledgeable. You were able to tell the origin of this palace flower at a glance."

Just now, Xiuju also mentioned that these were flowers used in the palace, a gift from Miss Xue Jiabao of the West Mansion. She guessed that because her family were imperial merchants, they had the convenience of obtaining such palace flowers.

Miaoyu smiled slightly and said, "What kind of insight is this? I just saw my family members wearing it when I was a child. I was young then and I was very envious."

I inquired a little further, and my family told me the story behind it. Although many years have passed, I've never forgotten it.

Zhi Shao laughed and said, "I knew that Senior Sister must come from a noble family, otherwise how could she have been raised to be such a person?"

Miaoyu said, "That's not entirely true. You mentioned to me that Yuzhang said you came from a humble background and your parents were all ordinary people."

But you are so outstanding, no wonder Yu Zhang couldn't forget you and searched all over Jiangnan for you even after being separated for several years.

This shows that a person's character is largely determined by fate, and has little to do with their family background.

Zhi Shao sensed that her senior sister was being evasive and knew that she didn't want to talk about her family's origins, so she naturally didn't ask any further questions.

He smiled and said, "When you were little, you envied your family members for wearing palace flowers. Now that you've fulfilled your wish, I have another one here. Please try it on."

I've never seen my senior sister wear flowers before. Let my junior sister see how rare it is.

Miaoyu frowned and said, "Nonsense, I am a nun, how can I wear palace flowers? What kind of appearance would that make me look like?"

Zhi Shao smiled and said, "Senior Sister wears her hair to cultivate, her worldly ties are not yet severed. Whether she is in the world or in the world, it is all for cultivation."

Now we're in the inner room, just the two of us. My senior sister is only showing it to me, and no one else can see it. I will never tell my master.

Adorned with palace flowers, her heart is pure and serene. Senior Sister, your cultivation is profound; why should you be bound by worldly desires?

Miaoyu glanced at Zhishao and said with a smile, "Your master taught you Zen principles, but you're using them to distort the sect's rules. Be careful of the sect's rules."

Zhi Shao stuck out her fragrant tongue, looked at the beautiful palace flowers in the box, and thought of Miao Yu in her youth, a fine person who spent her life in Buddhist robes and with plain hair, and felt a pang of pity in her heart.

She said resentfully, "If Senior Sister doesn't want to wear it, fine, it's just that Junior Sister is too unlucky to have the chance to see it."

Miaoyu's heart softened, and she bit her cherry lips slightly, looking at the exquisite palace flowers in the box, she suddenly felt a little excited.

He said, "Look at you, there's no need to sound so pitiful. If you want to see it, I'll wear it. Go and close the door tightly."

I'll take it off after I've shown it to you, and you're not allowed to tell anyone else, or I'll get angry.

……

Zhi Shao couldn't help but chuckle when she heard what she said was funny. She quickly went over to close the door and bolted it shut.

Then he pulled Miaoyu to sit down in front of the dressing mirror and personally helped her remove her Miaochang bun. He saw that her beautiful hair was tied into a bun, making her look very elegant and lovely.

According to Zhi Shao, it would be best to help her senior sister restyle her hair, draw her eyebrows and paint her lips, and then adorn her with palace flowers; that would be true beauty.

However, if I dare to cause such trouble, my senior sister will most likely really turn on me...

Zhi Shao took the pale purple palace flower from the brocade box and carefully placed it in Miao Yu's hair ornament while looking in the dressing mirror.

At this moment, the bright sunlight outside the window streamed into the room through the window frame, illuminating Miaoyu's beautiful, jade-like face.

Apart from a wooden hairpin, she wore no other ornaments in her hair. The pale purple palace flower was lifelike, its petals elegantly unfurled, seemingly blooming in the sunlight.

The palace flowers were beautiful and delicate, complementing Miaoyu's simple and elegant hairstyle and her graceful and refined face, like a black and white ink painting, instantly adding brilliant colors.

Zhi Shao couldn't help but exclaim, "Senior Sister, you look so beautiful wearing the palace flower! I'm so glad I asked you to wear it, otherwise I would never have seen you wear it in my life, what a pity!"

Zhi Shao approached the bronze mirror. Both sisters wore palace flowers in their hair, looking equally beautiful and charming. The twin flowers complemented each other, making them exceptionally dazzling.

Miaoyu began practicing Buddhism at the age of four, wearing her hair in a traditional style and bidding farewell to worldly makeup. She herself had no recollection of ever wearing flowers.

Miaoyu stared intently at the bronze mirror and saw herself wearing palace flowers, looking stunningly beautiful and incomparably gorgeous, as if she had become a completely different person, no longer resembling a nun with hair.

Her pretty face flushed red, her heart pounded uncontrollably, as if shaken by the image in the mirror, her thoughts becoming hazy and lost in reverie.

I suddenly remembered the elegant red plum tree enshrined in front of the Guanyin statue in Futang, and the birth date and time plaque in front of the Buddha...

Miaoyu silently closed her eyes, not daring to face the scene in the mirror, as if looking at it for too long would cause her to sink into an abyss from which she would never be able to extricate herself.

She gently removed the palace flower from her hair, then opened her eyes. The radiant beauty reflected in the bronze mirror seemed to have faded instantly.

Zhi Shao said with some regret, "Senior sister, why did you pick the flower? Don't you know how beautiful you looked wearing it?"

Miaoyu's face was still flushed, and she smiled as she said, "I told you that I would take it off after I showed it to you, but you still want me to keep wearing it."

Zhi Shao sighed softly, "I just feel that it's a real pity that someone like Senior Sister is like this."

Although Zhi Shao's words were somewhat inarticulate, Miao Yu understood her meaning. She put the palace flower into the brocade box and placed it in Zhi Shao's hand.

She said softly, "My master once told me that everyone has their own destiny. Living in seclusion with a Buddhist lamp is destiny, and so is being deeply grateful for kindness and affection."

If it is destined to be so, do not refuse or abandon it; accepting fate from heaven is the greatest virtue.

I was born with my own destiny, so I'll just accept whatever comes my way. You can wear this palace flower; it's as if I'm wearing it too.

Upon hearing Miaoyu's last words, Zhi Shao suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in her heart...

……

The Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong's Courtyard.

As dusk falls, lanterns on the eaves of the courtyard's covered walkway are lit one by one, their warm yellow light gently cascading down.

Inside the main room, Zhi Shao, Wu'er, Ping'er, Qingwen, Yinglian, and others sat around the table, their eyes constantly glancing towards the courtyard gate.

Lingguan entered the courtyard with two maids, each carrying several food boxes. When she entered the main room, Jia Cong was nowhere to be seen.

He said, "It's past the time to leave the office, why hasn't Third Master returned home yet? Could something have happened?"

Wu'er said, "Third Master has traveled all over the country and seen all kinds of situations. There must be nothing wrong. He must be busy with yamen affairs and has been delayed in leaving the yamen."

Lingguan said, "Then I'll take the rice and dishes back to the kitchen and put them on the steamer so that Third Master can have something hot to eat when he comes back."

Zhi Shao said, "It's already dark. Third Master must be busy with yamen affairs. Judging from the situation, he will probably be late returning home."

"Just the portion for Third Master is fine. Let's start eating first. Everyone's been busy all day, so let's eat and rest early."

Ping'er said, "It's my turn to be on night duty tonight. I'll wait for Third Master to come back and then serve him dinner."

Everyone agreed with his reasoning and started eating. However, with Jia Cong absent, they were all somewhat distracted while eating.

After a hasty dinner, it was already completely dark outside, but Jia Cong still hadn't returned home.

Zhi Shao, Wu'er, Ping'er, and the others sat in the main room, warming themselves by the fire and chatting.

Although they were concerned about Jia Cong, it was not uncommon for him to return home late from his official duties, so they were not overly worried.

When it was past midnight and Jia Cong still hadn't returned, everyone had no choice but to disperse and go back to their rooms to rest.

As Zhi Shao recalled the last words Miao Yu had spoken in her room, a hint of melancholy crossed her face, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Since it wasn't her turn to be on night duty tonight, and considering that her master and senior sister would be returning to Muni Monastery in a few days, she returned to the small courtyard on the south slope.

She was also worried about Jia Cong, so she went outside the courtyard and instructed the night watchwoman to go to the south slope to deliver a message to her as soon as the Third Master entered the inner courtyard, so that she could feel at ease at night.

Lingguan had the kitchen bring out a steamer basket of hot water, placed Jia Cong's food inside, and put it next to the incense burner in the main room.

I would come over every 15 minutes to replace the hot water to prevent the food in the steamer from getting cold.

Ping'er entered the main bedroom, lit the candles, and did some needlework in her spare time. She then felt her eyes were a little sore.

She rubbed her eyes, turned the candlelight brighter, and gently pushed open the door, peering into the empty courtyard. The night had grown even deeper...

……

In the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City, at the workshop of the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Works.

Although night had fallen, the workshop was brightly lit inside and out, and the surrounding guard towers were heavily guarded. A hundred paces away from the workshop, there were densely packed tents of the Imperial Guards.

With the twelfth lunar month approaching, there was less than a month left before Emperor Jia Zhao ordered the production of five hundred breech-loading guns.

Jia Cong did not leave work on time today. He waited for all the workshops to finish their construction work for the day, gathered the main staff of the workshops, and put the completed firearms into the warehouse for inventory.

The workshop and warehouse were important places, and the walls were lit with pine resin torches, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.

The warehouse was filled with many long wooden crates, which covered most of the warehouse floor. The crates were filled with newly made breech-loading muskets.

This is a special warehouse for storing finished firearms, and nighttime lighting is only permitted here.

The special warehouse for storing guns, ammunition, and gunpowder is strictly prohibited from open flames at night unless there are special circumstances.

The main officials and the heads of the various workshops stood in the storeroom, all with serious expressions and excited faces.

Leading the group were Jia Cong, the director of the Firearms Department, and Liu Shizhen, the deputy director.

Qian Huai, the workshop manager, was leading two minor officials from the Ministry of Works to count the number of newly manufactured breech-loading guns in the boxes.

After three rounds of verification and counting, each item was registered and calculated to confirm that the quantity was correct, and the person counting the items signed and sealed the document.

The steward, Qian Huai, stepped forward and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, after several counts, the new breech-loading muskets have now been completed, totaling 482."

Currently, each workshop has sufficient spare parts in stock, and the remaining eighteen breech-loading muskets can be assembled and tested within three days.

Based on the current time, the workshop completed the production of five hundred breech-loading rifles a full half-month ahead of the deadline set by the imperial edict.

The foremen of each workshop present were all skilled craftsmen carefully selected from various places. After years of training in the workshops, they are now all master craftsmen of various firearms under Jia Cong's command.

Jia Cong's concept for breech-loading guns, along with the related construction drawings, was remarkably advanced for its time.

These skilled craftsmen are needed to conduct countless verifications and practices before the technology can be put into practice to the greatest extent possible.

These brand-new breech-loading muskets were not only the result of Jia Cong's ingenious ideas, but also the culmination of the hard work of these master firearms craftsmen.

Now that the results are finally in sight, everyone is naturally overjoyed.

Jia Cong said, "Steward Guo, send a letter to the Ministry of War in four days, requesting Minister Gu to send people to inspect and count the firearms, and then seal them up immediately, awaiting imperial decree for distribution."

Over the next three days, in addition to completing the assembly and packing of the remaining thirty-three breech-loading rifles.

Personnel were assigned from each workshop to inspect other incoming firearms to ensure their performance was satisfactory.

The task of constructing 500 breech-loading rifles must be completed. No work station can slacken its pace; construction must continue at a rapid pace until the end of the year.

Deputy Supervisor Liu is in charge of calculating the required materials and labor. I will immediately request permission from His Majesty, and then coordinate with the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue to secure them.

Liu Shizhen, Qian Huai, and the master craftsmen from each workshop who were present all accepted the order.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "After the successful test firing of the prototype gun, we will be able to complete the production of 500 breech-loading guns in less than half a year."

This achievement is the result of the dedication and hard work of everyone in the workshop, including the masters and craftsmen.

The Ministry of War has completed the inventory and verification of the firearms. I will immediately submit this report to His Majesty to request commendations for my colleagues!

After all the tasks were assigned, everyone dispersed. Jia Cong kept Liu Shizhen behind and instructed him on various matters, urging him to ensure their implementation.

Before the end of the year, strengthen control measures inside and outside the workshop to prevent any unauthorized personnel from leaving.

He sent a message to the imperial guards guarding the workshop, ordering them to strengthen their defenses within a five-mile radius of the workshop. Jia Cong also petitioned the emperor to send an additional five hundred imperial guards to guard the workshop.

Now, war is imminent at the border of the nine regions. The remnant Mongol delegation has entered the capital to negotiate peace, and more than a thousand delegation members are stationed in the northern suburbs of the capital.

Moreover, the camp of the Mongol delegation stationed north of the city was only ten miles away from the firearms workshop.

Although the workshop was heavily guarded, the current situation was quite sensitive. Emperor Jia Zhao placed great hopes on the breech-loading musket, forcing Jia Cong to be extra cautious. (End of Chapter)