The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

With a young monk leading the way and Tingyue by her side, Qi Yunli wasn't worried that any villains would dare to commit evil deeds in the vast Cibei Temple.

She walked all the way to the temple gate, but saw no one waiting outside.

"Strange, they were just here a moment ago." The monk's expression was sincere, not like he was lying.

There were young monks sweeping the temple courtyard, so the monk who was leading the way went over to ask if they had seen anyone waiting at the gate.

Just then, Qi Yunli's arm was grabbed.

"Li'er, I'm your aunt Zhao. Do you remember me? When your mother was alive, we even visited the county magistrate together. Oh my, you've grown into such a graceful young woman!"

Zhao's shrill voice rang in my ears. She was wearing a faded coarse cloth shirt, her sideburns were a little disheveled, but she was desperately trying to lean her neck towards Qi Yunli.

Qi Yunli remembered her; at the end of the year before last, the one who seized the family property the most was this Zhao.

She glanced at them coldly, feeling disgusted and repulsed, but remained silent.

"Now that you've moved into the Marquis's mansion and become a noble person, rising to great heights, you mustn't forget your elders!" Madam Zhao smiled, her eyes narrowing.

The other was Zhao's husband, who, disregarding the difference between men and women, grabbed Qi Yunli's wrist with considerable force.

"Look at the fabric I'm wearing now, it feels so smooth, it's probably worth a lot of money!"

Qi Yunli calmly took the opportunity to pull her hand away, her wrist turning red from being gripped so tightly, and said without any emotion:

"Uncle and Aunt have come from afar; you must be tired from your journey. However, today the Marquis's residence is celebrating Guanyin's birthday, so perhaps you should come another day."

"If I come another day, will I be able to see you again?"

The Zhao couple were unwilling to comply. They had been brainwashed by a letter, and now, seeing Qi Yunli dressed like a young lady from a wealthy family, they were even more enraged.

Zhao stepped forward, standing on either side of Qi Fu, forcefully blocking Qi Yunli's path, shouting shrilly:

"Girl, we're proper relatives. Now that you have money, how can you abandon us? Your uncle and I aren't in good health, and we have three children starving. Can you really bear to watch us starve to death?"

"Yes, Li'er, please be kind and help us out. It doesn't have to be much, just a few hundred taels of silver to help me find a job, and we'll stop bothering you at the Marquis's residence! We'll never bother you again!"

The two women chatted back and forth, spitting as they spoke, attracting the attention of many monks. A passing servant from the Marquis's mansion, seeing that they were relatives of the young lady, dared not approach and stood at a distance whispering among himself.

Qi Yunli frowned. These two were determined to cling to her. If she couldn't completely give up on them, there would definitely be endless trouble in the future.

But why, by such a coincidence, did the two of them come to the Marquis's residence on such a solemn day when they were to offer incense at the Cibei Temple? They had never set foot in the capital before, so how could they have known that the Marquis's residence would be offering incense at the Cibei Temple on this day?

In any case, we can only deal with them for now and find another opportunity to cut off their greed in the future.

"I left in a hurry today, and I'm afraid I can't come up with several hundred taels of silver. If you two uncles and aunts are really in trouble, I can give you some loose silver. You can come to the Marquis's residence to find me again tomorrow."

After saying that, Qi Yunli was about to take out some silver from her sleeve.

The two, driven by insatiable greed, exchanged a glance.

Just as the letter said, this girl really does have money! She looks much richer than when her parents were still alive.

"Girl, if you don't come up with several hundred taels today, we're not leaving this temple!"

Zhao was a peasant woman, but her wrist strength was also astonishing. The two of them grabbed Qi Yunli's elbows from the left and right.

"Now that we're here before Guanyin Bodhisattva, let everyone be the judge. You have no parents, so we are your elders. Now that you have money, you've become ungrateful!"

Seeing that her master was unable to move, Tingyue became very anxious and looked for a hard wooden stick nearby, intending to knock them both unconscious.

Tingyue's two blows did indeed injure the other party, but even with blood flowing from his forehead, the other party refused to let go of Qi Yunli.

"Your maid injured us, so you have to pay for her medicine!" Zhao's eyes were now only on money.

Seeing that the two of them were bleeding but still clinging to their master, Tingyue panicked even more, not knowing what to do. Qi Yunli gave her a look, signaling her to go back to the meditation room to find help.

The monks of Cibei Temple finally realized something was wrong and tried to tear the three of them apart, but the two Zhaos were like mad dogs, cursing at everyone they saw. They even picked up a large stone from the ground and held it in their hands, throwing it at any monk who came near.

The monks were vegetarians, and none of them were strong enough to fight against this mountain couple.

Moreover, both of them were bleeding from their heads, and the monks had no say in the matter, so they dared not make any rash moves. They were only thinking about not hurting their pilgrim, Qi Yunli.

"Let's talk this out, let's talk this out." One of the monks, wearing a red kasaya, appeared to have some authority.

Zhao laughed and said, "Ah Li, you've been living a life of luxury in the Marquis's mansion. It seems the people there treat you well. It's alright if you can't come up with a hundred taels of silver; the people in the Marquis's mansion can."

Then the two of them actually shouted at the mountain gate, grabbed Qi Yunli, and called out the name of Marquis Dingyuan.

The monks turned pale upon hearing this; they knew they had offended Marquis Dingyuan and his group, and the temple would never be able to stay open again.

The monks quickly surrounded the two men and blocked them from entering the mountain gate.

Qi Yunli felt disgusted and angry. She thought that if she had money, she would definitely buy a bodyguard with martial arts skills to keep by her side, so that if a fly flew by, she could swat it to death.

His thoughts were in turmoil when suddenly a tall, slender figure walked up from the foot of the mountain and blocked the Zhao couple's path. He was dressed in a blue robe and had an upright and righteous appearance.

"To forcibly abduct a woman in broad daylight, on a sacred Buddhist ground—what kind of behavior is this!"

The monks nearby had already taken sticks and surrounded the Zhao couple.

"Who are you?"

Although Zhao wasn't very discerning, she could still tell the quality of clothes. The man's blue robe wasn't smooth, and he looked like he was only slightly better off than them, but certainly not as wealthy as the Marquis's mansion.

"I am a pilgrim who went up the mountain to offer incense."

Zhao said, "I advise you not to meddle in our affairs. We are this girl's aunt and uncle; it's not your place to interfere."

"But it's even more inappropriate for Uncle and Aunt to hold onto this woman like this. If you two are truly elders, how can you force yourselves to do family matters in a Buddhist temple? You should be more respectful in front of the Bodhisattva, instead of bullying others by taking advantage of your power." Shen Junshan was not afraid at all.

Qi Yunli: "They just want to extort money from us."

"Extortion?" Zhao was struck where it hurt. "We came to the capital to find our relatives and ask for help, but he's ungrateful!"

Seeing that the two were being unreasonable, Shen Junshan didn't want to say anything more and simply stepped forward and pulled their wrists apart.

Seeing this, Zhao showed no mercy, and the two pounced at the same time, extending their sharp-fingered hands. A shrew's rage is truly terrifying.

Upon seeing this, the sweeping monk quickly shielded Qi Yunli behind him. The other monks who had rushed over upon hearing the news did not hesitate either. Holding wooden sticks, they swarmed forward, surrounded the couple, and pressed them down.

"Murder! The Marquis's family is bullying poor relatives! The monks are beating people!" Zhao's cries were shrill and piercing.

The sight of the roadside attracted pilgrims who stopped to look around, puzzled by what they saw. Some were so frightened that they stopped offering incense and hurried down the mountain.

The monks quickly ended the chaos by virtue of their numerical advantage. After the chaos, a group of people came from the temple.

The head of the household, the old lady, was accompanied by Wei Jun and Wei Ruowei.

The old lady sighed, "We're still too late. I'm sorry that Ah Li had to suffer."

She watched from afar as a male pilgrim stood up for Ah Li. "I must thank that pilgrim properly later."

Wei Ruowei stared at the man's face; it looked strangely familiar.

"I've seen that man before. He seems to be an official in the court. He was also present at the banquets that Ah Li and I attended on those two occasions."

With no outsiders present, the old lady couldn't help but ask, "Last time, Li'er told me that she had someone she liked. I wonder if it's this man?"

sweetheart?

Wei Jun's gaze turned cold.