Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian was fully aware of Miaoyu's concerns.

In fact, he didn't necessarily want to bring Miaoyu into his household and make her an ordinary woman.

For a rare and extraordinary woman like Miaoyu to forcibly enter the mortal world and mingle with ordinary, uncouth people, arguing and quarreling, would be a waste of her talent and a disgrace to the world.

A woman like her should be kept in a quiet, peaceful, and dignified ancient temple.

In other words, her personality, which couldn't bear even the slightest grievance, was not suited to the hustle and bustle of the world.

Jia Lian was not without self-awareness. He knew that with his current position, protecting Miaoyu's safety was not a problem, but it was unrealistic to expect her to be completely free from the mental oppression of Wang Xifeng and others.

Therefore, the safest approach is to let her stay in the nunnery for the time being and bring her out when the time is right.

The reason for mentioning this was simply to let Miaoyu know that he was not the kind of person who only wanted to play with her feelings and body.

Of course, if Miaoyu herself were willing to leave the monastic life and return home with him, Jia Lian wouldn't refuse, but he would have to devise a detailed and proper protection plan for her. This woman might be even more delicate than Daiyu; if she suffered any grievances in the Jia household and became depressed, he would regret it deeply.

Now that he saw that she was truly unwilling to return to secular life, Jia Lian decided to proceed according to his earlier plan.

Holding Miaoyu in his arms, he inquired about her parents and why she had come to Suzhou...

In fact, Jia Lian had already sent people to find out most of these things before he met Abbess Jingci, otherwise he wouldn't have known so accurately that Miaoyu had arrived at the Muni Temple and that her master was seriously ill.

As expected, when Miaoyu heard Jia Lian's question, all the pain and grievances that had been building up in her heart surged up. She couldn't care about anything else and hid in Jia Lian's arms, telling him about the changes in her family and seeking comfort.

It turns out that the year after she met Jia Lian, which was the year Jia Lian went to the border, Miaoyu's father was convicted of corruption by the court because of his failure in the political struggle, which angered the emperor.

Her parents committed suicide out of fear of punishment, their family property was confiscated, and her family members either died or scattered.

The once grand Suzhou mansion vanished in an instant.

Miaoyu escaped this calamity because she had long since entered the Buddhist order.

However, her father's old enemies seemed unwilling to let her go. Fortunately, they had relatives and friends who secretly helped them escape to the capital.

Miaoyu, along with her master and a few servants, went to the capital and moved into the Muni Monastery.

Only three or four months have passed.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh. Even he had no way to interfere in such matters.

Therefore, Jia Lian became even more determined to himself that he must be careful in every step he takes in his future official career, and never let the Jia family follow in the footsteps of Miaoyu's family.

He gently comforted Miaoyu for half a day, and then asked Xing Xiuyan a question.

Jia Lian had some premonition about the fate of Miaoyu's family, so he specifically instructed Xiuyan to write to him for help if anything happened, but for some reason there was no response.

"The Xing family moved away from our temple the year you left Suzhou."

She told me that you gave her family money so they would have enough for their travel expenses. Her father didn't want to do hard labor anymore, so he took them to stay with powerful relatives...

Miaoyu explained casually.

Xing Xiuyan was Miaoyu's only friend, which is why Miaoyu was somewhat concerned about her whereabouts.

Jia Lian suddenly realized why he hadn't received any news about the changes in Miaoyu's family. However, he didn't know where the Xing family had gone to seek refuge with powerful relatives.

Logically, the most powerful relative in their family should be Madam Xing, but the Xing family clearly did not go to the capital.

However, there's no need to worry. If nothing unexpected happens, the Xing family will most likely still come to rely on Madam Xing after the Grand View Garden is completed. So as long as Madam Xing doesn't die, we'll see them again in the future.

Miaoyu was surprised to find that after telling Jia Lian about her sorrows and hearing his words of comfort, she felt less sad.

Then I realized that I had been so calmly in Jia Lian's arms for so long.

She hadn't realized how absurd and embarrassing her words were, but now she quickly stood up and said to Jia Lian, "You should go. If you stay any longer, they'll become suspicious..."

If she were a highly accomplished monk, it wouldn't be a problem for her to discuss Taoism with Jia Lian all night.

However, she was still a young woman, and it was not appropriate for a young man like Jia Lian to spend the night in their nunnery!

If we don't go out soon, Master Jingci and the others will probably send someone to check on the situation.

Seeing that Miaoyu was finally no longer a ruffled hen and had stopped crying, Jia Lian noticed that her beautiful, slender face, with its exquisitely detailed features, still had a touch of tear-streaked beauty. Coupled with her graceful figure at the tender age of sixteen, Jia Lian couldn't bear to leave her.

He finally realized that without momentary pleasure, there could be no lasting peace and security. So he lowered his head and kissed Miaoyu's forehead again, and said to her in her shy manner, "Don't worry, even if you don't come back with me, I will always protect you."

You can stay here and relax. I'll come to see you whenever I have time.

Moreover, it won't be long before I find you a wonderful new place where you can move in and be the master of your own home, no longer having to endure this feeling of being a dependent.

Upon hearing this, Miaoyu was at a loss for words. She wanted to refuse, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Her body and chastity have been taken by Jia Lian, and now she is all alone and helpless.

With her family gone and her master seriously ill and beyond cure, she really didn't know who else to rely on besides Jia Lian.

Jia Lian could roughly guess what she was thinking. Seeing this, he touched her cheek, rubbed her ear with his thumb, and said gently, "Your father is gone, but you still have me. From now on, I will take care of you."

Miaoyu had never heard such embarrassing words before, and her pride prevented her from feigning emotion.

Therefore, she slapped Jia Lian's hand away, feigning anger, and said, "Who needs your care? I'm actually doing better without you, you despicable scoundrel!"

After saying this, he checked his clothes and found nothing suspicious before quickly leaving Jia Lian's side.

She stopped a few steps from the door, took a deep breath, regained her composure, and walked out calmly.

He glanced at the two girls guarding the door, but only briefly. He thought they were inferior to him, so he didn't pay them much attention and walked back with light steps.

Aqi and Aqin ignored Miaoyu, but when Jia Lian came out, they both looked at him with strange eyes.

Although they didn't dare to peek inside, based on their female intuition and understanding of Jia Lian, they felt that their master and that beautiful woman who was neither a monk nor a Taoist priest had been inside for so long, it didn't seem like they were simply discussing scriptures and doctrines.

Jia Lian pretended not to see their gazes. When he saw the two old nuns bowing and coming forward, Jia Lian bowed and said, "Immortal Master Miaoyu's spirit writing skills are extraordinary and her Zen teachings are profound. She has resolved my confusion for many years."

I wish to donate 100,000 incense money to your temple to express my gratitude to the Immortal Master Miaoyu for enlightening me.

Furthermore, I have already formally taken Master Miaoyu as my Daoist master. In the future, when Master Miaoyu has free time, I would like to invite her to my Rongguo Mansion to preach and expound the Dharma on my behalf.

Therefore, please convey to Abbess Jingci that she should serve Immortal Master Miaoyu well on my behalf. If this is done, I will donate incense money to your temple every year thereafter.

Jia Lian had long noticed that the Muni Monastery was quite pragmatic from top to bottom, and not at all pedantic.

So he was more direct, using the title "This Lord" to reveal his identity. In this way, he simply let them know that Miaoyu had him as a respected follower, so that they would naturally not dare to disrespect Miaoyu in the future.

Sure enough, the two old nuns beamed with joy upon hearing this.

Ten thousand coins for incense oil is nearly one hundred taels of silver! And this is just the amount that Miaoyu got Jia Lian to hand over in just one visit…

Moreover, how could Miaoyu, at such a young age, have the ability to make someone as noble as Jia Lian become her Daoist master? This is quite remarkable. For Jia Lian, given his status, to be willing to take a nun as his master can only mean that he truly admires Miaoyu.

As expected, Master Miaoyu was extraordinary; they had seen it long ago. No wonder the abbess insisted on keeping them in the temple despite everyone's objections...

Jia Lian left some money for incense and was about to leave when Abbess Jingci actually came out to see him off.

Jia Lian repeated those words in front of Jingci, which immediately made Miaoyu's name resound throughout the Muni Temple.

In the Buddhist community, it is quite a legendary event that a single debate could win over a noble person and lead them to become a disciple of the immortal.

Previously, only Master Jingci possessed such abilities at Muni-in.

Now, there's another one, Miaoyu.

At this moment, no one wanted to drive away the unconventional and eccentric Miaoyu. The reason was simple: as long as Miaoyu stayed in their courtyard, she would surely bring them a hefty sum of money from offerings!

Only Miaoyu, upon hearing their rumors, showed neither sadness nor joy on the surface, but felt extremely embarrassed inside.

She knew Jia Lian was saying this to help her, but why did he have to say something like asking her to be his disciple?

I'm so embarrassed!