The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 19 I'll Wait for You for a Year

The interview with Yao Zongsi ended in this way, which was beyond Shang Mingshu's expectations.

The two of them had no other interactions. Yao Zongsi was not in good health, so they left after the agreement was reached.

Shang Mingshu walked outside and reached a door with exquisite brick carvings and lotus flowers when she heard a sharp sound.

"Madam Lin, I heard you were discussing marriage with Second Master Cheng? What went wrong with your Lin family's business that your parents wanted you to marry off to a scoundrel like Second Master Cheng, who's opportunistic and suddenly rich?"

Shang Mingshu was familiar with this voice. It was Fang Degui's youngest daughter, who always followed Shi Qingyu and served her.

Fang Degui has been extremely anxious these days. The entire city is filled with nursery rhymes about his wealth and cruelty. His past methods were indeed not very upright. Except for a few families who were of the same ilk as him, everyone avoided him.

Some people would rather go to a pawnshop farther away than look for him, and his reputation has spread to the towns and villages below the capital.

Fang Xuyun is still following Shi Qingyu as his lackey, full of arrogance. Doesn't he know the difficulties at home?

"Madam Fang, where did you hear this gossip? The Cheng family and the Lin family have always had business dealings. How could you make up a rumor that Uncle Lin and Mr. Cheng were planning a marriage when they met? If you keep talking nonsense, I will risk my dignity to go to your house and ask Madam Fang if she has been gossiping behind your back. Otherwise, how could she have raised a young lady like you?" Shang Zishu has always been fierce.

"How could I be lying? Everyone in the alley knows our relationship. Shang Er, who do you think you are? How dare you, a slut born to a singing girl, go to see my mother..."

"Snapped--"

"Shang Zishu, if you dare to hit me, I will fight you!"

"Madam Fang, why did you hit someone? How could you hit someone?"

"Lin Yuanyuan, you bitch, let me go, Qingyu, help me!"

Shang Mingshu turned around, leaned against the Chuilian Gate with a round fan in her hand, and looked lazily at the chaotic battlefield.

The four young ladies each brought a maid, and only seven of the eight people were fighting each other. Shi Qingyu, with her three-inch golden lotus feet, hid far away.

Shang Zishu learned martial arts with Shang Mingshu when she was young. Although she gave up halfway, her physique was not comparable to that of an ordinary woman. She traveled in the mountains all year round and her strength was not inferior to that of an ordinary man.

Lin Yuanyuan is plump and fair, and Fang Xuyun is thin. Even though Shi Qingyu's maid knows some basic martial arts, two fists are no match for four hands. Lin Yuanyuan and her two maids overwhelm Shi Qingyu's maid, leaving her unable to fight back.

Shang Zishu was enough to deal with Fang Xuyun, and she was beaten until she cried loudly.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Shi Qingyu lost all restraint and shouted at the top of his voice: "Someone's been beaten to death, someone's been beaten to death——"

Shang Mingshu did not stop her. In the Taoist temple, a public place, she still stood at the foot of the Chuilian Gate without taking a step forward.

Oh wow, there are quite a lot of people.

The temple master came first with a group of Taoist priests, followed by Shi Guangchao and two servants. Shang Mingshu never expected that Cheng She and Cheng Mian were also there.

Cheng Mian's gaze passed through the winding corridors and the hazy sunlight, and fell on the elegant girl whose wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, like flowing clouds.

She was dressed in light purple, like the faint mist in the sky, with her hair tied up with a plain white jade hairpin, and a few strands of black hair fell on her cheeks. She walked silently and slowly out of the halo. To Cheng Mian, she was like a fairy concubine who had taken off her jade jade and came to the world.

"Master." Shang Mingshu walked slowly to the temple master and bowed gracefully.

Cheng Mian finally came to his senses, averting his gaze as if startled, and strode after his brother. "Ladies, this is a place of quiet cultivation. You should understand the natural way and abandon anger. If you allow anger to drive you to fight, it will not only damage your reputation and demeanor, but also disturb the tranquility of the temple." The temple master suppressed his anger, his face stern, and made way. "Ladies, if you have any grievances, please leave the temple and settle them privately."

"Master, please calm down. It was my fault for being reckless. I shouldn't have heard someone insulting my deceased mother. I couldn't help myself and disturbed the gods. As a punishment, I will devoutly copy the scripture "The Great Compassionate Daochang to Eliminate Disasters, the Nine Netherworlds Repentance" and present it to you." Shang Zishu rushed to the front of the master.

She was tickled a few times by Fang Xuyun, and her clothes were neatly arranged. She admitted her fault, complained, and punished herself in one go. The abbot was recently performing a ritual for her deceased mother's birthday and had a lot of praise for Shang Zishu, a woman who knew etiquette and valued filial piety.

When Fang Xuyun heard that the reason she attacked was because someone insulted her deceased mother, she felt even more displeased with her.

He showed his lack of respect for the deceased, which showed his lack of upbringing. He ordered the two Taoist boys, "Send Madam Fang and Madam Shi out of the temple."

"Taoist Priest!"

The current emperor is devoted to practicing Taoism, and many people follow him. Fuqiu Temple is very important in the entire Huizhou Prefecture. If the master of Fuqiu Temple drives out the Taoist temple, especially the female lady, its reputation will be difficult to restore.

"Master, we shouldn't have provoked this trouble. We would like to apologize to Madam Shang and ask for forgiveness. We also hope that Master will consider our youth and ignorance and allow us to mend our ways." Shi Qingyu's voice was choked with sobs as he stopped the temple master and begged anxiously.

The abbot was a man of pure cultivation. He had just lost his temper. Shi Qingyu was humble, so he said, "You should apologize to Madam Shang and leave the mountain as soon as possible."

Shi Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were not kicked out of the Taoist temple, it would be fine. He forcefully dragged Fang Xuyun, who had an unwilling look on his face and resentment in his eyes, to apologize to Shang Zishu.

Shang Zishu didn't want to let the two off easily. She was about to become aggressive when she heard a light cough in her ear. She turned around and looked at Shang Mingshu, who was fanning herself and clearing her throat as if nothing had happened. She knew that her sister wanted her to quit while she was ahead.

She said stiffly, "Forget it. Just burn a stick of incense for my young lady and let this matter go."

The master of the temple felt that Shang Zishu's request was reasonable and that the matter had been resolved. He was also very satisfied and asked Cheng She whether he would leave with him.

Cheng She nodded in agreement. Cheng Mian tugged at his brother's sleeve and said, "Second brother, I want to have a few words with the Third Lady. Just a few words!"

Cheng She nodded and left with the abbot.

Shi Qingyu, supported by her maid, took Fang Xuyun to the front hall to burn incense for Shang Zishu's mother. Her eyes moved from Cheng Mian to Cheng She's tall and straight back as he walked away, and she did not look away for a long time.

Shang Mingshu took everything in and couldn't help raising her eyebrows: Oh, I seem to know some secret.

"Third Lady." Cheng Mian straightened the scarf on his head and smoothed the wrinkles on his sleeves, not daring to meet Shang Mingshu's clear eyes. "I will definitely try my best. You wait for me."

Shang Mingshu pursed her lips and smiled lightly, her eyebrows curved, her voice soft and sweet: "Okay, I'll wait for you, but only for one year."

"One year is enough, one year is enough!" Cheng Mian was so excited that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. His heart was beating like a drum. He wanted to say something more to let Sanniang know how much he liked her. Thousands of words were on his lips, and he was obviously eloquent in the academy.

The mouth that could talk eloquently to the headmaster and the inspector of education was now clumsy and disobedient.

Cheng Mian was so anxious that he slapped himself in anger.

Shang Mingshu was stunned by what she saw.

"Third, Third Madam... I... I don't know why, but when I see you, I have so much to say to you, but I don't know where to start..."

The young man's admiration was pure, sincere, and immature. Shang Mingshu covered her lips with her fan and said, "It's okay. There's a long way to go. You can talk slowly and I'll listen slowly."

(End of this chapter)