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

Chapter 20 Xiuyan Visits Miaoyu

Let’s talk about Zilingzhou.

This place is located in the southwest of the Grand View Garden. It is a waterside pavilion not far from the Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Yingchun and Xing Furen's niece Xing Yanyan live here.

In the evening, Yingchun came out from the old lady's house and just returned to Zilingzhou, but saw Xieyan walking out of the house, followed by a maid holding a lantern in her hand, indicating that they were going out at night.

"Where are you going, sister?" Yingchun asked.

"Second sister."

Xiuyan stopped and smiled at her, "There might be chaos outside tomorrow. I'm a little nervous. I want to go to Longcui Temple and talk to Miaoyu for a while."

Yingchun listened and remained silent for a long while. Xiuyan guessed something and asked her, "Second sister, did you hear anything when you came back from the old lady's room?"

Yingchun sighed softly, "I just heard that the court is no longer negotiating peace. The emperor has ordered a fight against the rebel army. There's nothing we can do right now, but wait."

Xing Xiuyan had always known that the second young lady of the Jia family was a gentle and kind person who never showed much. It was rare to see her with a look of sadness between her brows.

Xiu Ju, the maidservant following Yingchun, said, "I guess it's because the bandits were asking for too much, wanting to take away a lot of the city's treasures, that the court scolded them and gave up the idea of ​​peace! I heard that all those bandits were from the countryside, poor as hell, and bachelors who couldn't afford to marry wives. They just robbed any woman they saw..."

"Embroidered orange."

Yingchun held her hand and stopped her from talking nonsense.

The maid Si Qi rolled her eyes at Xiu Ju and said with a smile, "Stop cursing! Everyone is flatteringly calling the guy outside the city the Qian Wang, and you're still calling him a thief. Wait until they get into the city and hear you cursing, and see how Qian Wang's men will deal with you!"

Xiu Ju wanted to retort, but she was really afraid of the bandits outside the city, so she had to shut up in disappointment.

Xiu Yan smiled and said, "Second sister, I'm going to go first. I'll come back and talk to you later."

Yingchun nodded, said goodbye to her and went into the house.

After she sat down, Xiu Ju poured her tea. When she touched the teapot, it was cold without a trace of warmth. She immediately became annoyed and shouted outside, "I didn't know there were so many grandmas and ladies in this house. They have never touched water and are more precious than young ladies. They don't even know to change the tea when it's cold. I'll tell you to go out and become young ladies somewhere else when I tell you to. You don't have to stay in this house and suffer the humiliation!"

There were a few maids, old women and wives outside who heard it, but they pretended to be deaf and dumb and didn't say a word.

Seeing this, Yingchun stood up and poured tea, saying, "There's chaos and turmoil right now, and people's minds are distracted, worrying about this and that. It's okay for me to drink some cold water, so don't blame them."

These words made Xiu Ju stamp her feet in anxiety. Si Qi also said, "The young lady is usually good-tempered, and these wives and servants are getting more and more complacent. It's okay if they don't serve her attentively, but I'm most afraid that the slaves will become more and more rampant and uncontrollable."

As he spoke, he picked up the teapot and went outside, shouting, "Come here and change the tea for the young lady. She usually comes back from the old lady's room at this time. You guys don't remember it, and I don't remember the day either. I took the teapot and went to talk to the lady, saying that the young lady usually drinks this cold water!"

Hearing her yelling like that, the maids were finally frightened. They came out with an apologetic smile and took the teapot from her hand to change the water.

Si Qi finally calmed down a little and turned to go into the house. He saw the second girl Yingchun, who was already reading a Taoist scripture silently under the window. She did not ask much about what had just happened.

Si Qi could only sigh and go into the house with Xiu Ju to sit and chat.

……

At dusk, Xing Xiuyan walked to the gate of Longcui Temple and saw several little nuns and Taoist priests laughing and playing among the red plum blossoms, completely unaware of the war outside.

When Xiu Yan saw this, she realized that the red plum blossoms in Longcui Temple had already bloomed. Last year when the Grand View Garden was just completed, everyone came together to appreciate the plum blossoms, but this year they were not in the mood.

"Miss Xing is here!"

When several little nuns and Taoist priests saw her, they all came over to greet her. Xiu Yan found that they were only eleven or twelve years old. They were specially bought from Jiangnan when this family temple was built. Therefore, they were all very lively. They usually ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures. They lived with Miaoyu in this quiet Buddhist temple.

Compared to the chaos and war outside, Longcui Temple is a safe place to stay.

They usually had homework morning and night, but today they had a day off. "I'm going to talk to your master. No need to go in and report. Go play."

Xiu Yan said this as she walked up the steps and entered Longcui Temple.

When I arrived at the East Zen Hall, I didn't see anyone there. I asked a nanny and found out that Miaoyu was not in the Zen Hall chanting sutras tonight, but in the backyard and had not come out all afternoon.

Miaoyu was in charge of the Rongcui Temple. Once she slacked off, all the nuns, Taoist nuns and maids in the temple followed suit and stopped reciting the sutras.

The Qianwang army outside the city finally affected this quiet Buddhist place.

Xiu Yan was thinking about this when she entered the backyard. In the west ear room, she saw the little maid who usually served Miaoyu. She was wearing a monk's hat and holding her long hair together. She was sitting idly on the corridor. She stood up quickly when she saw her coming.

"Is Miaoyu in there?"

Xiu Yan asked, and when the little girl said yes, she walked to the door and knocked gently.

A voice came from inside the room: "Dinner is outside, you can go."

Xiu Yan smiled and said, "Someone is coming."

"Is it Baoyu? Tell him that he doesn't want to see you. Let him go back and don't come to the nunnery so late at night!"

"They are the troublesome people in the world who come to see the weird people." Xiu Yan answered with a smile.

There was silence inside the door for a while before a woman's cold voice could be heard: "So it's you. Since you are a mortal, why do you bother to disturb my peace?"

Xing Xiyan pushed the door open and went in. She saw a beautiful woman in a plain dress sitting on a cushion. She was copying Buddhist scriptures with her head down. She had not put on any makeup. Her jet-black hair hung down behind her head, just covering her slender waist that could be held in one hand. She was kneeling on the cushion, with her plump buttocks sitting on her legs, pressing her dress into a round and full shape.

Miaoyu is a nun who practices Buddhism with her hair uncut. She always wears a loose monk's robe. Her beautiful female curves can only be seen in the inner courtyard.

Xiu Yan laughed and said, "You are copying Buddhist scriptures again."

Miaoyu copied the Buddhist scriptures stroke by stroke, sneeringly replying, "I became a nun to cultivate my spiritual cultivation. What else can I do but copy Buddhist scriptures? You studied with me, and yet you don't even understand this."

Xiu Yan said, "I don't understand nuns, but I do understand you. You only hide away to copy Buddhist scriptures when you're troubled. And you're hiding here alone again today, so it's obvious that you're feeling a little depressed and unhappy."

Miaoyu finally stopped writing and looked at her: "Did you come here just to expose my shortcomings?"

Xing Xiuyan has known her for ten years. Xiuyan's family rented a house in the temple and was a neighbor of Miaoyu. When Xiuyan was young, it was Miaoyu who taught her to read and write. The two of them were both teacher and friend.

It was because Xiu Yan knew her character that she came to her Longcui Temple in the evening to talk to her.

There is no need to find any topic, just say something casually and Miaoyu will feel much better.

Although her face was still cold and her temperament was as weird as ever.

After talking to her for a while, Xing Xiuyan sipped her tea and sighed softly, "My family came to the capital to seek refuge with my aunt. We thought we were blessed to live in this garden and enjoy a peaceful life. But who knew that war would follow us to the capital as well. Now I am worried about this and don't know what tomorrow will bring."

Miaoyu said calmly, "What else can I do? If the enemy army enters the city, I will cut off my hair. How can they still harass a nun like me? If I can't stay in the capital, I will go back to Suzhou."

Xing Xiyan looked at Miaoyu's long black hair hanging down behind her head and felt envious for a moment. She wanted to pick it up to have a look, but Miaoyu pushed her away.

"If you come to the nunnery and practice diligently, you can also have hair like mine."

Miaoyu finally laughed.

Xiu Yan also smiled and sat for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

(End of this chapter)