Union

Chapter 162 Going and Returning

Yunying gazed at the Second Master with a wistful look.

Are you afraid she'll run into the wall?

Are you serious?

She was a little dizzy, otherwise she wouldn't have plunged her head into him.

He got the benefits and is now acting all innocent. Isn't that a bit too arrogant?

Yunying's eyes were full of resentment. When the Second Master saw this, he couldn't help but pull her into his arms and laugh heartily.

"Don't look at me like that, like I'm a doormat."

Yunying was furious upon hearing the Second Master's words. Wasn't she practically his punching bag in front of him? He had gotten the better of her and was now acting innocent, even mocking her—was this any way to behave?

Yunying turned her head away, ignoring the Second Master.

The second master got excited and said, "Yunying, say something to me."

Yunying said, "You're so annoying, can you stay away from me?"

Her response was met with an even more arrogant burst of wild laughter from the Second Master.

Yunying realized that after the Second Master's divorce, he had become more unrestrained and was letting himself go.

Although the young man's unrestrained and arrogant demeanor was handsome and captivating, this was a temple. His carefree attitude might disturb the Bodhisattva.

Whether Second Master was afraid or not, Yunying was quite afraid. She especially didn't want to be the center of attention; that would make her feel like she was going to die.

She couldn't take it anymore and patted the second master on the back a few times, "Keep your voice down, don't..."

She didn't say anything more because she didn't know which switch she had touched, and the Second Master gasped in pain.

Yunying, acting on instinct, followed the force of the previous slap and reached out again. Then, she clearly felt that the Second Master's body tensed up, and his previous smile vanished, replaced by a faint pain.

Yunying's expression immediately changed, and she became flustered. "What's wrong? What happened to your back? Are you injured? Did I touch your wound?"

Second Master quickly said, "He's not injured, he just laughed too hard and strained a muscle. It's fine now. Ouch, Yunying, are you taking revenge for someone else...?"

Yunying silently withdrew her mischievous finger. "Didn't you say you just strained a muscle? You lied to me and said you weren't injured. You were clearly hurt."

Second Master paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, "You've become clever now."

Yunying slapped his hand away.

If the pain was that bad, his back injury must be quite severe. With such a serious wound, instead of taking good care of himself, he rode his horse to find her in the freezing cold.

Thinking about how he didn't know how to cherish himself, Yunying suddenly became extremely angry.

When one is extremely angry, one's mind seems to become sharp.

Yunying thought to herself, who would dare to lay a hand on him, the young master of the Duke's mansion? There were only a handful of people like that.

Then think about how he got divorced during the Lunar New Year. It sounds easy, but look at how this has caused such a huge uproar. How could this matter be resolved with just a few words?
The games and calculations involved are countless.

Was he beaten because of this incident?
Things I hadn't thought of before, I've now thought of everywhere.

And whenever I think about his divorce, I know it's partly due to his estrangement from Lin Shuqing and their mutual dislike, but was she really innocent and successfully disappeared from the scene?
not really.

Like Lin Shuqing, she was deeply sinful.

Tears welled up in Yunying's eyes, and her eyes quickly reddened.

Seeing this, Chen Yanzhou could no longer maintain his calm and collected demeanor and became flustered again.

"Don't cry, Yunying. This has nothing to do with you. Ancestor, please stop crying. So many people are watching. I, your Second Master, also have my pride."

Perhaps it was because the Second Master's tone was too obsequious, and his current sorrowful expression was too comical, that Yunying stopped crying and started laughing, unable to feel sad anymore.

If you think about it carefully, things have already come to this point, so what's the use of crying like this?
If crying were useful, she could emulate Meng Jiangnu and cry the Great Wall down, but crying is useless.

Since it was useless, she decided not to waste her energy.

Yunying quickly wiped away her tears and asked the Second Master, "Is the injury serious? When exactly did it happen? Has the wound scabbed over yet?"

Second Master wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said softly, "It's not serious. Several days have passed, and the scab has already formed. It's just that new flesh is growing now, and the wound is a little itchy."

Yunying didn't believe her. "You're lying to me again."

"What should I do? I don't want you to worry. I can't tell you that I was beaten so badly that my skin was torn open, and that I haven't had a proper rest these past few days. Not only have the wounds not healed, but they've also become infected."

The Second Master spoke in a teasing tone, clearly joking, but Yunying was certain it was true.

His wound must not have healed properly, which is why he tensed up in pain when she slapped him.

"Come on, let's stop shopping and go back to our room. I'll take a look at your wound."

Yunying pulled the Second Master back, but Chen Yanzhou refused. His wound was bleeding profusely, and it would frighten her further.

He said, "Good Yunying, please stop torturing me. The dressing was just changed last night, and I can't just take the gauze off now. To be honest, with blood on the skin, it will hurt quite a bit to tear it off."

Yunying: "..."

Okay, you don't need to describe it anymore. It made her scalp tingle and she couldn't help but tremble.

In the end, they naturally didn't return the way they came.

The two followed the main road and the flow of people towards several grand halls.

Because of the temple fair, there have been many more people visiting the temple these past few days.

In addition, Linghui Temple was already a popular place of worship, which has led to a bustling scene with people coming and going.

Not only were all the main halls packed with worshippers, but even the monks who interpret fortune sticks had extremely long queues.

The two walked by, and the Second Master glanced at them a few more times. Perhaps finding it interesting, he decided to take Yunying over to see as well.

Yunying refused to go over.

Unable to bear the Second Master's nagging any longer, Yunying finally told the truth. "I queued up and even got to the head monk, but I didn't draw a fortune stick."

Why don't you ask?

"It feels like praying is useless. If praying to gods and Buddhas were effective, scholars wouldn't need to study anymore; they could just wait to become the top scholar. Ordinary people wouldn't need to farm; they could just come here every day to pray for a good harvest..."

There's no such thing as a free lunch.
She didn't want to work hard, only to reap without sowing. But why would God give away free lunches? Yunying had her own twisted logic, and Second Master couldn't help but laugh when he heard her rambling on. "Drawing a fortune stick is just for psychological comfort. As for whether the fortune stick is real or not, if you think it's real, then it's real; if you think it's not real, then it can be fake."

In short, it's just a way to kill time and have some fun, why take it so seriously?
Second Master's eyes were full of smiles, but Yunying stubbornly pulled him away, urging him to leave this place quickly.

She couldn't very well tell the Second Master that she didn't go to draw lots because she was worried that the senior monk would see through her background.

Isn't that how it's always portrayed in TV dramas?
That great monk could foresee the past and future, and could see through the secrets of heaven at a glance. She was an outsider, and was already afraid of this, yet she still rushed to get close to him. She wasn't stupid.

Yunying pulled the Second Master away to another place.

It was quite a coincidence that the Second Master ran into an acquaintance after only taking a few steps.

The acquaintance was a friend of the Second Master, with a refined and elegant appearance, exuding a certain scholarly charm. However, he was somewhat thin, and his face was a little gloomy, as if he had something on his mind.

The second master introduced the person to Yunying, "This is my classmate and friend. He comes from the Duke of Xuan's mansion and is the second grandson of the current Duke of Xuan."

Yunying curtsied in greeting, and then the Second Master introduced her to Gu Yuanxi, saying, "This is Yunying."

As for more details, the Second Master didn't say. But he held Yunying's hand tightly from beginning to end, making it clear what kind of relationship the two had.

If Gu Yuanxi hadn't been preoccupied with worldly affairs, he would have made a few gossipy remarks upon seeing his good friend leading a beautiful woman through a temple.

But not now. He has important matters to attend to and is too busy to inquire about his brother's relationship issues.

Although he was also very curious and wanted to tease his brother, he wondered if he was too promiscuous or if he had been hurt too badly. He had just divorced his first wife and now had a beautiful woman by his side.

But he was too busy to deal with his grandmother's pressure to get married, and he also had to go to temples to donate money for incense and oil, and light eternal lamps for his mother and the toddler whose identity he didn't know was either a younger brother or a younger sister. So he didn't have time to joke with his friends.

Even so, Gu Yuanxi was genuinely curious about Yunying, the exceptionally beautiful girl who was currently accompanying his friend.

He sized up Yun Ying a few more times. Perhaps beautiful girls all have similarities, because Gu Yuanxi felt that the girl in front of him looked quite familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

He couldn't quite place where he had seen it before.

Gu Yuanxi had to go to other temples later, so he hurriedly said goodbye to the two of them and left with his servant.

Meanwhile, Chen Yanzhou was about to take Yunying down the mountain for a stroll.

The sky was bright and the sun was blazing. Although it was winter, the lack of wind, rain, and snow made it feel as warm and cozy as spring.

Yunying had come to terms with it and was no longer opposed to walking in the sunlight with the Second Master.

Even though she was still very sensitive to other people's gazes, how could she walk with the Second Master if she couldn't even stand this little bit of attention?
They struggled for two years to get to where they are today. He took the step of divorce for her, so does she not even have the courage to walk with him in a crowd?

The two eventually descended the mountain and headed to the temple fair at the foot of the mountain.

The temple fair was in full swing, and people coming and going all had smiles on their faces.

During this time, some young noblemen and ladies from the capital recognized Chen Yanzhou and politely came forward to greet him.

The second master calmly and readily agreed, and even introduced Yunying to everyone.

As the two walked away, all sorts of rumors and gossip spread like wildfire behind them.

But so what?

People can say whatever they want.

After strolling around the temple fair, Yunying was sweating profusely, and she was actually glad that she hadn't put on makeup that day.

Nowadays, cosmetics don't resist smudging very well. Even a little sweat or water can cause the makeup to smudge. Just imagining it is a disaster.

At this moment, Yunying sincerely missed the cosmetics of her previous life. The makeup lasted all day without any damage, compared to now... let's not even mention it.

Since she had thought of cosmetics, Yunying wondered if she could try to work in that direction.
After all, in any era, women will go to any lengths to achieve beauty.

Yunying kept this matter in mind, planning to find some time to fuss about it later.

There is no shortage of good craftsmen now. The reason why there are no good products is simply that people's thinking is limited and they have not yet thought of aspects such as waterproofing and durability.

However, if a corresponding product is developed, it will definitely sell well.

With this on her mind, Yunying and the Second Master walked up to a stall.

The stalls sell brightly colored trinkets such as masks and sachets.

Masks have a wider appeal, especially a little fox mask that covers the upper half of the face, leaving only the area below the nose exposed. This creates a sense of mystery while also being aesthetically pleasing. Almost every little girl who walked around here had a little fox mask, which looked quite quirky and cute.

"Do you want a mask or a sachet?" Second Master couldn't help but laugh, assuming Yunying wanted both. Yunying was usually gentle, quiet, and very poised in public. But she was still a young girl, so it was understandable that she would like these little trinkets.

The second master picked and chose. The sachets were just so-so, but the masks... The second master picked up a sika deer mask and said to Yunying, "You wear this one. This one suits your face shape and looks better on you."

Yunying snapped out of her wandering thoughts, and the first thing she saw was a deer mask...

Honestly, she was only lost in thought for a moment, how did it all turn into talking about the deer mask?

She's almost twenty, and she's still buying masks. Isn't she sure people won't talk about her?

Yunying wanted to say she didn't want it, but it was eventually stuffed into her hand anyway.

The vendors selling things were also egging on the Second Master, urging him to buy one too, so he could make a pair with Yunying's.

Then, the second master, with his love-struck mind, actually bought another one...

"If you buy something, you have to wear it." Yunying acted like she didn't want to, but her hands betrayed her true feelings. When the Second Master wanted to put it on her, she handed him the mask, then tilted her head back and let him put it on her face.

With a mask on her face, it was as if she had gained a layer of armor; Yunying was no longer afraid of being stared at or spied on. When Second Master wanted to hold her hand and stroll around the temple fair, she didn't object and obediently let him lead her, walking from one end of the street to the other.

The two strolled around the temple fair, buying many small trinkets. When Yunying finally felt tired, they prepared to return to the temple.

It was at this moment that Gu Yuanxi squeezed through the crowd of people and reappeared in front of Yun Ying and Chen Yanzhou.

Chen Yanzhou looked surprised and said to his friend, "Didn't you say you were going to donate money to other temples? Why haven't you gone yet?"

Gu Yuanxi looked at Chen Yanzhou, then at Yunying, who was being led by the hand.

Yunying's almond-shaped eyes peeked out from behind the deer mask.

Her eyes were bright and clear, as pure as an icy spring on a snow-capped mountain. They were clean and transparent, without the slightest trace of worldly filth.

Of course, that's not important; what's important is the lower half of her face.

Ahhh, the New Year is almost here! Year after year, time really flies.