Author Archives: Thingyan

Lin Ning Side Story: Catching a Husband

Chen Kang had that familiar dream again.

Three years ago, not long after his father died, he had the dream for the first time.

In the dream, he was a little older, seemingly going to the prefectural city to take the examination. But at the entrance of an inn, someone stole his money pouch.

Without money, he could not stay at the inn. He crouched blankly in a corner and nearly had his luggage stolen by a blind-eyed beggar.

While they were arguing, a fairy-like ge’er helped him.

That fairy-like ge’er was beautiful, covered in an air of wealth and nobility, yet unlike other wealthy ge’er, he did not carry any prideful distance. Instead, he was approachable, even carrying a little warmth and kindness.

Chen Kang heard him mutter softly,

“Tsk, he’s strangely good-looking. I’ll just count this as me rescuing a beauty.”

The fairy-like ge’er found him an inn, paid his room fees until the exam ended, left him some silver for food, and then left.

Only after finishing the exam did Chen Kang unexpectedly discover that the ge’er was from the magistrate’s household.

Magistrate Lin had brought several servants and was watching every student who had passed the exam, seemingly considering catching a son-in-law beneath the榜 list. But that had nothing to do with Chen Kang.

He had failed.

Holding the small amount of silver the fairy-like ge’er had given him, he returned to the village in disgrace.

Then the dream ended.

After waking, Chen Kang thought to himself that he was becoming like those sour scholars who loved dreaming. His learning was not particularly good, but every day he fantasized about being favored by some rich young lady, beautiful fox spirit, or alluring ghost.

His own dream was even more useless. He did not even dare dream of interacting more with the fairy-like ge’er. Once he failed the exam, he simply returned home in shame.

He sighed, went out to carry water, and on the road met the village matchmaker.

When the matchmaker saw him, her eyes shifted guiltily, and she pretended not to see him before quickly leaving.

Before his father died, he had asked the matchmaker to arrange a marriage for him. But just as things were nearly settled, his father fell gravely ill. The illness not only drained all the family’s money, but his father could not be saved either.

After that, the other family never sent word again.

Seeing the matchmaker act this way now, Chen Kang understood even more clearly. Originally, he felt a little bitter about it, but when he remembered last night’s dream, that bitterness somehow faded away.

Unexpectedly, the next night, he had the exact same dream again.

By the third time, Chen Kang sensed something was wrong.

In front of the inn, he clenched his money pouch tightly. At the same time, he felt another force tugging it outward. He turned his head and came face-to-face with the thief.

The thief had not expected to be caught red-handed. He pulled out a knife and viciously stabbed at him.

Chen Kang woke with a start in the middle of the night.

This time, he had not even seen the fairy-like ge’er.

Had he been stabbed to death by that thief in the dream?

Still shaken, Chen Kang touched his chest and abdomen. They did not hurt.

When he fell asleep again, he had no more dreams that night.

Several days later, he had the familiar dream again.

This time, Chen Kang decisively changed inns. As a result, he was not robbed and safely settled in. But because he had not been robbed, the fairy-like ge’er naturally did not come rescue him either.

Standing by the road, he watched the fairy-like ge’er walk past with several friends, chatting and laughing. But perhaps it was his imagination, Chen Kang felt the fairy-like ge’er’s gaze quickly sweep across his face.

Chen Kang touched his face and suddenly remembered that in his first dream, the fairy-like ge’er had said he was strangely good-looking.

During the exam, the questions were exactly the same.

He failed again.

After the exam results were posted, he secretly followed Magistrate Lin from a distance. He saw Magistrate Lin happily patting a young man on the shoulder, unable to hide the smile on his face. Perhaps he had caught a satisfactory ge’er-son-in-law.

Chen Kang felt a little sour inside.

At dawn, he lay in bed and listened to the increasingly loud rooster calls outside. Then he turned over, got up, and wrote down the examination questions from the dream.

He did not know whether repeatedly having this dream meant he had become entangled with some beautiful ghost or spirit.

But if…

If he could change the fate of his money pouch being stolen, could he also change the outcome of the imperial examination?

If he passed, would he have a chance to be caught as a son-in-law by Magistrate Lin?

He knew very well that in reality, he absolutely did not have the fortune to marry into the magistrate’s household.

But in a dream, could he not at least try once?

…

There were three hundred sixty-five days in a year, and Chen Kang dreamed that dream for three hundred of them.

He studied bitterly, took the questions, and visited nearby xiucai scholars. He also went to the county school to ask teachers for guidance.

Finally, at the end of the second year, he barely passed in the dream.

Excited, he raised both arms and shouted,

“I passed! I passed!”

Then he quietly edged toward Magistrate Lin and his servants.

But Magistrate Lin did not look at him.

Before long, he was caught by some merchant family and even had a large red flower hung around his neck.

Chen Kang woke up in anger on the spot.

Why didn’t they catch him?!

Was his exam result still not good enough??

In the middle of the night, Chen Kang lit the oil lamp and started studying again.

By the third year, his ranking was already quite good, but Magistrate Lin still did not come catch him.

So this time, Chen Kang did not take the examination. Instead, he went all over the prefectural city asking around, only to learn that Magistrate Lin was not catching a son-in-law at all.

Magistrate Lin was concerned about how his clan nephew had done in the exam.

In another dream, Chen Kang decided to recommend himself.

…

Yet when his three-year mourning period finally ended and he truly set out for the exam, he discovered that Haozhou Prefecture was exactly the same as in his dream.

From far away, Chen Kang looked at the familiar thief lingering sneakily near the inn entrance, as well as the obvious shape of the knife in his pocket. Shocked, he turned and ran.

This dream…

It was not merely a dream?

And after entering Haozhou Prefecture, he never had that dream again.

At the place where he had first been robbed in the dream, he saw the fairy-like ge’er he had long yearned for walking past with friends, chatting and laughing.

Chen Kang took a deep breath and bought himself an outfit perfectly suited to that fairy-like ge’er’s tastes.

Before leaving home, he had already caught Magistrate Lin’s eye in the dream and had met the fairy-like ge’er several times. Through daily accumulation, he had more or less learned what the fairy-like ge’er liked.

If he had known all of this could become real, he should have asked Magistrate Lin for more scholarly guidance in the dream…

When the exam began, he opened the test paper and saw the familiar questions. He let out a deep breath of relief.

…

Magistrate Lin chased after Lin Ning while nagging him.

“Just go meet him. Your father already caught him and brought him here… Besides, do you think I don’t know you? You’ll most likely be satisfied with this boy. He’s handsome!”

Magistrate Lin had noticed that boy in the examination hall.

He had not paid much attention to the exam paper, but the young man truly had an excellent appearance. More importantly, he looked clean and energetic.

The examination cubicles had terrible conditions, cramped and stuffy. Even a healthy person would wilt after staying there for a day. Yet this boy was one of the few who still looked pale, clean, and fresh when handing in his paper.

Everyone in the Lin family valued appearances.

Magistrate Lin had looked at him several extra times then and thought that if Lin Ning saw him, he might very well take a liking to him.

Only, the boy did not look especially young. With a tongsheng title and such good looks, he probably already had an engagement.

Magistrate Lin was not the sort of person who would make his ge’er fight another person for a husband or become a co-wife. So he merely looked a few more times and sighed inwardly, without actually trying to catch him.

Who would have expected that after the results were posted, this boy did not go look at the list and instead came over to Magistrate Lin himself.

“This boy is named Chen Kang. He’s one year younger than you. His family is from a village below, farmers for generations, so he won’t look down on us for being newly rich from poor origins…”

“He was once being discussed for marriage, but it happened to coincide with the death of an elder in his family, requiring him to observe mourning, so it was dropped. The marriage had never been formally settled.”

But Magistrate Lin did not simply believe one-sided words.

“I checked his household registration. He truly has not married. If you take a liking to him, I’ll send someone to his village to investigate further. I doubt he’d dare deceive me…”

“This time he passed the examination, twenty-sixth in Haozhou Prefecture, ranked even higher than Xiao Song. I’ve read his essay. Though not brilliantly talented, it is practical, cautious, and thorough.”

“The key point is, his appearance will definitely suit your tastes!”

“Why do you make me sound so lustful?”

Lin Ning pretended to be annoyed, but inwardly he had already begun to stir with interest.

This person’s conditions really did sound quite good. Most importantly, even his father said he was handsome. Just how handsome was he?

Lin Ning cleared his throat and said somewhat coyly,

“Since you already caught him and brought him here, we shouldn’t make him come for nothing. I’ll first look at him from behind the screen. If he truly is good-looking, we can talk about meeting. If not, send him back.”

Unexpectedly, he really was very handsome.

His father had not deceived him.

Lin Ning sneakily hid behind the screen and peeked out.

Who would have thought that the man seemed to know he would be there watching? Chen Kang raised his head and smiled brightly at him.

Lin Ning sucked in a sharp breath and abruptly retreated three large steps.

Handsome.

Truly handsome.

Those peach blossom eyes, that high straight nose, that smooth jawline, and that outfit, not luxurious but clean, simple, and elegant.

Every detail struck Lin Ning’s heart perfectly.

He could not resist and peeked out again.

As a result, Chen Kang once again seemed to know he would look back. He obediently sat there watching him, waiting for him to come look.

Lin Ning did not know that Chen Kang had already experienced this scene more than thirty times in his dreams…

When Lin Ning would turn back to look at him, what appearance of his would make Lin Ning smile, every move had long been carved into Chen Kang’s heart.

“How was he?”

After leaving the main hall, Magistrate Lin hurriedly grabbed his ge’er and asked.

Lin Ning coughed lightly.

“He’s alright… He is quite good-looking.”

His scholarly title was good too. His family members were simple. It seemed he had no reason to refuse.

Lin Ning turned his head and glanced back again.

“Why do I feel like… I’ve seen him somewhere before?”

Magistrate Lin himself had grown up with his fulang in the same village as childhood sweethearts, so he did not want his own ge’er to have a blind marriage.

He frequently invited Chen Kang over and also called Song Kaiji along. On the surface, it seemed like he intended to take Chen Kang as a student and discuss scholarship together, but in reality, he was creating more opportunities for Chen Kang and Lin Ning to spend time together.

Yet after meeting a few times, Lin Ning felt increasingly strange.

Chen Kang was very good. Everything about him seemed perfectly suited to Lin Ning’s heart.

But some of that goodness was a little too coincidental.

The moment Lin Ning was about to drink water, Chen Kang had already handed the cup to him.

Before a flower falling from the tree could land in his hair, Chen Kang had already raised his hand, ready to brush it away.

Every time Lin Ning looked toward him, Chen Kang always happened to turn back at exactly the right moment.

Lin Ning was confused.

But Chen Kang was anxious.

Because he was about to “show his true form.”

Before coming to Haozhou Prefecture, his dream had stopped on this day.

Magistrate Lin invited him to the estate, and he chatted about scholarship with Magistrate Lin’s clan nephew. Magistrate Lin had not been very satisfied, neither with Chen Kang nor with his nephew. He thought Chen Kang’s learning was too rigid and his nephew too unmotivated.

Afterward, in the little garden, Chen Kang met Lin Ning, who had brought a group of maids and attendants along.

Of course, they could not possibly be allowed to be alone, one unmarried man and one unmarried ge’er.

They spoke for a while beneath an osmanthus tree by the pond, and then the dream ended.

Now Chen Kang suspected that his beautiful dream was about to end too.

From this point forward, he would know nothing about the future. Reality was not like a dream, where he could try again the next night.

He was afraid the fairy-like ge’er would not like the real him at all.

“You… you really don’t seem like a farm boy. How do you do everything so thoughtfully?”

Looking at the stone Chen Kang had kicked aside in advance, Lin Ning tugged at his fingers.

But his father had indeed sent people to Chen Kang’s village to investigate. Chen Kang had grown up in that village from childhood to adulthood. Before this, the farthest place he had ever gone was the county town to study.

Chen Kang scratched his head, not knowing how to answer.

In the dream, Lin Ning had never said this to him.

Lin Ning bit his lip.

He felt some things should be said clearly first.

He seemed to like Chen Kang a little.

Or at least, Chen Kang’s face.

Fortunately, only a little.

He did not want things to become like his little uncle, with such problems exploding only after marriage.

While he only liked him a little, it was better to say it now.

“Our family also used to live in the village. I was already fairly grown when my father passed the juren exam. All told, I’ve only been an official-family ge’er for a few years.”

“There are some things I may not do as thoroughly or properly as you…”

Chen Kang snapped back to himself and hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head.

“No, no, no. In my heart, you are the best fairy-like ge’er!”

He showed a rare moment of panic, even seeming a little silly. But the words he spoke were sincere, and that made Lin Ning’s face feel even hotter than Chen Kang’s usual thoughtfulness.

Chen Kang took a deep breath and quietly tugged at Lin Ning’s sleeve.

“Actually, I’m not clever either. Passing the xiucai exam was purely luck. In the future… I probably won’t be able to pass higher exams.”

He knew in his heart that he had only passed, and even ranked decently, largely because Heaven had revealed the questions to him. In the first dream, he had failed completely.

“I’m very stupid. The reason you think I’m thoughtful is… because I secretly practiced it dozens or even hundreds of times…”

But he did not want to give up.

“But I want to beg you to give me a chance. In the future, I’ll keep learning, keep practicing. I… I…”

“I truly like you.”

He looked into Lin Ning’s eyes, wanting to hold his hand but not daring to.

He truly wanted to beg Lin Ning.

Please save me, alright?

Could you “rescue the beauty” one more time?

At this moment, although Chen Kang had become clumsy, he seemed to have broken free from a shell of excessive thoughtfulness. He appeared much more alive, and the faint unease in Lin Ning’s heart dispersed considerably.

This time, flowers from the tree were blown down by the wind, rustling as they fell onto Lin Ning’s head.

Chen Kang failed to brush them away in advance. Instead, he hurriedly and carefully helped him remove them.

Lin Ning turned his head aside and smoothed the slightly disheveled hair at his temples.

Then he said softly,

“Then… then let’s try.”

Finding a perfectly flawless, thoughtful marriage and partner was not easy.

But if there was a great deal of sincerity and love, then it was worth trying.

Full Text End

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Lian Ou Side Story: Finale

Because of what happened to Lian Ou, the old Lian family became the first household in Lantang Village to split the family while the parents were still alive and both brothers were present.

It could not exactly be called a blessing in disguise, but after escaping the eldest branch and the increasingly deranged Wang-shi, Miao Hexiang’s family all breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang family’s nephew was not sent to the authorities. He paid compensation and was beaten according to village rules, breaking one leg. Afterward, he lay in bed for several months, dragging things out and unable to stand.

Because of this, Wang-shi’s elder brother and sister-in-law also looked at her with nothing but anger and disgust. Her relationship with her maiden family was essentially broken.

Lian Ou did not need to worry about any of these things. He obediently hid at home for two months, waiting for the storm to pass.

After all, there were still some loose-tongued people in the village gossiping about him. Some had sons who had never been able to reach high enough to marry Lian Ou, so now they kicked him while he was down for satisfaction. Others were simply gossipy by nature, loving to discuss every household’s affairs without caring whether the person involved lived or died.

Yet after hiding from the rumors for two months, Lian Ou discovered that Miao Hexiang no longer allowed him to go sell at the temple fair.

Lian Ou grew anxious.

“Mother, how would people in Miaoqian Village know about our village’s matters? Nobody will spread it randomly. And even if they do, I’m not afraid. I don’t want to marry anymore. In the future, I still need to make stall-selling into a proper livelihood. Are you really going to have my brother support me for the rest of my life?”

Even now, when Miao Hexiang thought back to that day, lingering fear remained.

Over the past two months, she had thought a great deal and discussed it with Miao Chunlei too. Now she said,

“It’s not that I won’t let you make a living. But your Chunlei Auntie, Qing-ge’er, and I have all discussed it. Setting up a stall still can’t compare to working in a shop.”

“Back then we were careless. Your brother escorted you only twice and then stopped, which let that Wang bastard find an opening. But your brother also can’t abandon field work every day just to take you there and bring you back.”

Miao Hexiang scraped the end of her needle lightly against her hair.

“You’ve already trained yourself well at the stall. Qing-ge’er told me too. Right now he’s heavily pregnant and doesn’t have the energy, but once the child in his belly is born, he’ll send you to work in his county shop. It’ll be safe and respectable.”

“After a couple years, once this matter fades, maybe we can even find you a good husband’s family in the county.”

Lian Ou felt anxious.

Why had the conversation turned to his marriage again?

He had not seen Huiming for two months. Earlier, the Lian family had carried gifts to Miaoqian Village to thank Huiming, but they had not let him go.

Now they wanted to send him to the county shop…

For the first time, Lian Ou truly did not want to go to the county, did not want to be ambitious.

“Mother, I already said I don’t want to marry anymore… Because of that incident, I feel sick whenever I see men now. I… I don’t want to go to the county either.”

He leaned against Miao Hexiang’s knees and whispered guiltily,

“If I go to the county, how could I stay beside Mother every day?”

Miao Hexiang felt sweet and comforted from being coaxed by her own ge’er.

But in her view, saying a ge’er would not marry was only acceptable if there was no other choice. If he could marry, especially into a good family, then marrying was still best.

“You were just frightened. You’ll recover after some time.”

For a young ge’er, having a home, having a man who knew warmth and cold and could be relied upon, then giving birth to children and living lively days, that was what counted as complete.

She stroked Lian Ou’s head and said,

“Right now, if you go to Miaoqian Village, I truly can’t rest easy. Our family and the old Wang family have become enemies now. If they block you again on the road, your father and I won’t even have a place to cry.”

“If you find home too boring, go to Qing-ge’er’s place and keep him company. The county magistrate’s young son often comes to play with Qing-ge’er. You and Rong-jie can accompany the young master around the nearby mountains, pick fruit, and play around.”

Now Lian Ou could no longer find any excuse and could only reluctantly agree.

But after accompanying Lin Ning up the mountain a few times with Lian Rong, he unexpectedly saw Huiming.

Lian Rong widened her eyes at him.

“Master, why are you in our village?”

Lian Ou’s face felt a little hot.

Everyone knew Huiming had saved him. Even if he exchanged a few words with Huiming, it should not be anything strange.

But in front of Lin Ning and the others, he truly could not say a single word. He only let his eyes circle over Huiming several times.

Huiming’s throat felt a little dry.

“I… came to gather some medicinal herbs. I heard this kind of herb grows near your village.”

His basket did indeed hold several medicinal plants.

Lian Rong wanted to help him search, but after looking at the plants a few times, she scratched her head in confusion.

Did their village have this kind of thing nearby?

“No matter,” Huiming said calmly. “If you have matters to attend to, go ahead. I’ll search by myself.”

“Oh, oh…”

Lian Rong answered. After hesitating, she still said,

“Master, if you can’t find it, maybe go look somewhere else. Our village might not have it. I’ve never seen it before. If you get tired, you can come to our house to rest and drink some water.”

She pointed toward the foot of the mountain.

“There, that new house on the west side is ours!”

Huiming nodded but did not leave.

Once they had walked far away, Lian Rong said,

“Ge, why didn’t you talk to Master?”

Lian Ou gave two little hums and did not answer.

Lin Ning, however, looked back several times.

“Don’t say, that master is actually quite good-looking. What a pity he’s a monk.”

Isn’t that right?

Lian Ou secretly thought the same.

It was a pity he was a monk.

…If only he were not.

After that, whenever they went up the mountain to play, they ran into Huiming seven out of ten times.

Lian Rong was truly full of questions.

What medicinal herbs did their village have that she had never seen before?

Lian Ou leaned against a tree to rest. Some leaves had piled up near the roots. He quietly searched through them and felt a small jar.

He hid it inside his sleeve and brought it home.

Lately, Huiming often sent him things like this. Sometimes it was scented balm for his hands, sometimes a small pair of scissors for trimming nails, sometimes little trinkets that were useless but pretty.

This time, it was a small jar of honey.

He dipped a fingertip in and put it in his mouth.

The sweetness sank straight into his heart.

Only later did he learn that the hot water the temple provided to vendors did not contain honey. Only his and Lian Rong’s bowls had it.

These days continued until the day Shen Qing gave birth.

Zhao Youwei brought villagers to make trouble. Lian Rong went to the county to ask Lin Ning for reinforcements, and halfway there she ran into Huiming.

“I was so tired then I could barely breathe, and I didn’t explain clearly. Master thought something had happened to you again.”

Lian Rong knew nothing and grinned foolishly.

“He must’ve been thinking, why does our family have so many problems?”

Lian Ou rolled his eyes at her and pierced the blister on her foot in one swift motion.

Lian Rong cried out and hissed in pain.

“Hurry and sleep. Aren’t you tired after running all day? You still have energy to think about this and that?”

He applied medicine to Lian Rong’s foot, then stuffed her entirely into the quilt and tucked her in properly.

“I’m not sleepy at all.”

Perhaps too many things had happened that day. Although her body was tired, her mind was unusually excited.

Lian Rong rolled twice inside the quilt and lowered her voice.

“Ge, Qing-ge’s baby is so ugly and wrinkled. What do you think Qing-ge’s husband looks like? Qing-ge wouldn’t choose someone ugly, right…”

“You hurry up and shut your mouth. Is that something you should say? Newborn babies are all red and wrinkled. They look better once they grow. When you were just born, you were even uglier than that!”

“Really?”

Hearing this, Lian Rong became somewhat happy.

Her Qing-ge was so good-looking. If he had an ugly child, she truly would feel sad.

If he had an ugly husband, she would also feel sad.

Even though it was Qing-ge’s business and had nothing to do with her, she would still meddlesomely feel sad.

Lian Ou: “………”

However, at that time, they had not expected to see Qing-ge’er’s husband so soon.

He was a tall man, half his body covered in blood, carried down the mountain on Shen Qing’s back.

Shen Qing ran too fast for them to see the man’s face clearly. They only saw a furry head.

Like the head of someone whose shaved hair had only recently begun growing back…

Lian Rong stood at the courtyard entrance, her eyes wide with shock.

“T-this… Qing-ge’s husband is a monk? A monk who returned to secular life? Why is his hair like that?”

The word “monk” struck Lian Ou’s heart hard.

Miao Hexiang slapped the back of Lian Rong’s head.

“What nonsense are you saying? Control that mouth of yours!”

But whether because this idle comment was overheard or because someone else thought the same thing as Lian Rong, the rumor that Shen Qing’s husband was a monk who had returned to secular life truly spread.

The story became vivid and detailed.

They said the monk had betrayed Buddhism for Shen Qing, but his sect would not allow it. He had his legs broken by an old monk, was expelled from his order, and clung to his final breath just to see Shen Qing one last time…

They said that although this love was not tolerated by the world, it was still moving enough to touch heaven and earth…

Shen Qing was guarding the unconscious Song Kaiwu and had no energy to handle outside rumors, so the story spread just like that. Even Huiming in Miaoqian Village heard it.

That night, Huiming knelt in the main hall for the entire night.

The next day, he secretly packed the money he had saved over the years and went to Lantang Village.

Shishu watched his sneaking figure and sighed.

“That boy can’t be kept.”

The abbot did not even open his eyes.

“Weren’t you the one who said as long as he doesn’t return to his birth parents, if he finds some girl or ge’er, starts a family, and has a few children, you’d be happier than anyone?”

“Of course I’m willing.”

Shishu chuckled twice.

“Anyway, if he leaves, no one will take over your work, so you can just keep doing it for a few more years. What does that have to do with me?”

Then he leaned over and patted the abbot’s shoulder.

“Say, that one from their village, whatever temple he came from, wasn’t he too ruthless? Breaking someone’s legs… Isn’t it just returning to secular life and getting married? How big of a deal is that? When the time comes, just lecture him a little. Don’t make things hard for the child.”

The abbot could no longer tolerate it and drove this chatterbox out.

“Do I need you to tell me?”

In this temple, every single person hoped Huiming would live well.

They hoped that ge’er and his family could accept Huiming.

They hoped that people like them, once abandoned and without families, could once again have a home, and family who would accompany them for life.

End of Lian Ou Side Story

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Lian Ou Side Story 5

Some things were clearly wrong according to reason, but emotions could not be controlled.

Huiming recited scriptures for three days and went hungry for three days before finally reaching enlightenment.

He simply was not suited to being a monk.

The Buddhist teachings passed through his mouth again and again, but his heart could not settle. He could not let go of that beautiful little ge’er. He could not let go of the lively temple fair. He could not let go of the strings of copper coins and bright silver he had earned…

When Shishu said he should take over as abbot, Huiming was not actually resistant in his heart. To him, the identity of abbot was more like a responsibility, one that meant leading everyone in the temple toward a better life.

As long as he shouldered that responsibility, why insist on where his heart belonged, or who lived within it?

From the moment he was born, his life had never belonged to him.

He was abandoned by his parents, picked up by his master, raised in the temple, and became a monk just like that. Then, because he led the temple toward prosperity, his master chose him as the next abbot.

Since his body already belonged to this path, let his heart be free now and then.

Lian Ou clearly sensed that Huiming’s attitude toward him had changed greatly recently.

When the sky was only just beginning to brighten, he would arrive at the stall with Lian Rong, dew clinging to them and the cold dampness of late night chilling his fingertips. Before long, a bowl of hot water would be placed beside his hand, just the right temperature to drink, warm but not scalding.

Sometimes it was delivered by a little novice monk.

Sometimes…

Huiming actually delivered it himself, secretly looked at him, and even smiled at him!

Had this monk gone mad?

Lian Ou’s heart beat like a drum.

As one of the best-looking ge’er in Lantang Village, plenty of men had openly or secretly shown him favor. He normally would not lose his composure over a few bowls of hot water and a smile.

But Huiming, he…

He was a monk!

The forbidden feeling brought by that identity made Lian Ou’s heart race every time Huiming looked over. It raced so fast that he could no longer tell whether it was because of Huiming’s status as a monk or because of Huiming himself.

Whenever Huiming’s eyes looked at him, they were always so bright…

Clearly he was a monk. How could he have such a gaze?

It was not the sort of look village men gave him, with a little drooling desire and lust mixed in. Instead, it was full of everyday warmth. Looking into it felt like seeing a small courtyard, with cooking smoke drifting from the kitchen window, a great pot of white rice simmering on the stove, and when the lid lifted, the whole room filled with the fragrance of rice.

It felt like two people watching summer night stars together, watching winter snow fall together, snow landing on their hair and turning it white…

It was a gaze that made people feel especially at peace, one they wanted to sink into.

Lian Ou hurriedly turned his head away, then carefully looked around, afraid someone might notice and gossip.

This world was always harsher toward ge’er. If anyone discovered something, whether or not they would gossip that Huiming the monk had broken his vows was uncertain, but they would definitely drown Lian Ou in spit, saying he was shameless and had seduced a monk.

After several times, however, he also noticed that whenever Huiming delivered things or secretly looked at him, he always did it away from others.

This… this at least counted as him knowing propriety.

Lian Ou held the hot water and took a small sip. Half his body warmed.

He was in a bad mood today and had no heart to weave anything. His family had been arguing endlessly lately. The conflict between the eldest branch and the second branch was growing deeper and deeper, and recently the fire seemed faintly ready to spread onto him.

Lian Rong sat beside him, also holding hot water. After smacking her lips twice, she said,

“Is this water a little sweet? Did they put sugar or honey in it? These monks really have money.”

Lian Ou ignored her.

She glanced at Lian Ou, who was holding his bowl in a daze, then leaned closer.

“Ge, don’t worry. Nai will never agree to marry you to Eldest Aunt’s nephew. You’re so capable now. I secretly heard Ye and Nai say the other day that they want to find you a good marriage in the county so you can become the fulang of a rich family.”

Hearing this, Lian Ou felt even more uncomfortable.

Awkwardly, he said,

“I know Ye and Nai won’t agree to Eldest Aunt’s… What? Don’t talk nonsense. You’re always the quickest with your mouth. What rich family fulang? If others hear that, they’ll say we’re frivolous. Did you learn nothing from last time?”

Thinking of what happened last time, then looking at the red marks on Lian Ou’s neck that had not fully healed, Lian Rong immediately wilted and behaved herself for most of the day.

When they closed the stall in the afternoon, she even eagerly offered to take Lian Ou’s basket to Huiming for safekeeping.

Lian Ou pinched one side of the basket. His lips moved twice before he finally let go.

“…Go.”

When Huiming saw Lian Rong come over, his gaze immediately looked behind her. Not seeing Lian Ou, he looked a little disappointed.

Lian Rong followed his gaze and looked back too, asking curiously,

“Master, what are you looking at?”

“…Nothing. You’re going back this early?”

Lian Rong nodded.

“It’s getting cold now, and it gets dark early. It’s safer for us to go home earlier.”

Huiming felt that he should restrain himself a little lately.

At first, he only wanted to let his heart be free a little and secretly like the person hidden inside it.

But feelings poured from the eyes even when the mouth was covered. He simply could not endure it or hide it. He just wanted to see Lian Ou. Even one more glance felt satisfying.

Just once.

One last time…

After putting away Lian Ou’s needlework basket, he secretly followed Lian Rong’s footsteps.

For countless days and nights afterward, Huiming would be grateful that he had not followed the rules so strictly that day.

In the small woods leading to Lantang Village, he saw Lian Ou being dragged deeper into the forest by a man covering his mouth.

Lian Rong saw from far away and charged over like a little firecracker, only to be kicked over and sent rolling several times before collapsing motionless on the ground.

Huiming did not remember what he was thinking at that moment.

Perhaps the human mind had some protective mechanism that made people forget things too painful to recall.

By the time his senses returned, the man was already lying on the ground wailing, his face swollen red and purple.

Lian Ou desperately hugged Huiming’s arm.

“Stop hitting him. Don’t… don’t hit him so hard. If you beat him to death and have to pay with your life, it won’t be worth it!”

Just now, Huiming had rushed over like a madman and beaten Wang-shi’s nephew directly in the head and face.

People said not to hit the face when fighting. Lian Ou had seen Qing-ge’er hit people before. He always picked fleshy places on the body, ensuring no vital areas were injured while making it hurt terribly.

Who hit people like Huiming did?

There was no technique at all.

Qing-ge’er had once said there were temples and other points on the head and face where one punch could kill a person!

Lian Ou tugged at Huiming several times.

Actually, with Lian Ou’s little strength, how could he possibly move Huiming? Yet bit by bit, Huiming’s senses still returned through Lian Ou’s pulling.

Only then did he stop.

He then kicked the man’s legs hard several more times, untied the man’s belt, and bound his hands and feet with it.

The man fainted from pain.

Huiming casually threw him aside, then turned and pulled Lian Ou into his arms.

Lian Ou’s entire body stiffened.

This was different from when Wang-shi’s nephew had grabbed him from behind and dragged him toward the forest.

Back then, Lian Ou had only felt disgust. The man’s smell made him want to vomit, and his skin felt slimy and sinister like a snake. Lian Ou only wanted to escape.

But now, enclosed in Huiming’s embrace, he smelled faint sandalwood and soapberry. Warm and dry. Protecting him completely.

So safe…

He should have pushed him away.

But he also greedily clung to that brief warmth.

After several breaths, Lian Ou finally patted Huiming lightly and stammered,

“Let go of me… My… my clothes are torn… and my sister…”

Only then did Huiming realize the man had torn Lian Ou’s clothing, revealing a small patch of shoulder and a brightly colored undergarment.

He only looked once before no longer daring to look. Turning around, he took off his monk robe and wrapped Lian Ou tightly in it.

Lian Rong had been kicked once. Her injuries were not serious, but after rolling several times, she was dizzy and had not seen her brother’s “private affair.”

Huiming pointed at Wang-shi’s nephew.

“What should be done with him?”

If the crime had been something like stealing chickens or dogs, Huiming naturally would have dragged the person straight to the village head without another word. Sending him to the authorities would not have been impossible either.

But this involved Lian Ou’s chastity and reputation, which made things difficult.

If they dragged the man to the village head and exposed the matter, Lian Ou might instead be forced to marry him.

Such things were not unheard of in surrounding villages.

You were already touched by someone and no longer clean. If you didn’t marry him, who else would willingly become the cuckold?

But even if they did not send him over, would this man stay silent?

Lian Ou understood very clearly.

This man had come to the woods to block him precisely for the sake of forcing a marriage. Even if they let him go, within half a day he would spread the story himself, completely ruining Lian Ou’s reputation.

Gritting his teeth, Lian Ou thought for a long while, then tightened the robe draped over him.

“Send him to the village head.”

“If my reputation is ruined, then so be it. Even if I never marry in my life, I will not let him go!”

He lowered his head and looked at the hem of the gray monk robe.

“…I have skills. I can support myself. If I don’t marry, then I don’t marry…”

He quietly glanced at Huiming, then turned his head away.

“I don’t really want to marry anyway.”

Huiming helped him carry the Wang family boy to Lantang Village, then took his leave.

Although he desperately wanted to stay beside Lian Ou, he still had to avoid suspicion. He hid at a distance and secretly watched.

Trying to stain a ge’er’s innocence was an extremely serious matter in the village.

Lian Ou and Lian Rong threw themselves into Miao Hexiang’s arms and cried loudly enough to shake the heavens.

Lian Rong was purely frightened and in pain. Lian Ou, the actual victim, had already calmed down somewhat after being comforted by Huiming. Half of his crying came from belated grievance, and half was pretense.

Miao Hexiang thanked Huiming, then hugged her ge’er and daughter and cried too, cursing Wang-shi’s entire family as she wept.

Old Man Lian and Old Madam Lian’s faces were ashen.

Their first reaction was to blame Lian Ou for making a scene.

How was he supposed to marry high now?

When something like this happened in other families, didn’t they all try desperately to hide and suppress it?

Only these children, after spending so much time around Qing-ge’er, had developed such strong tempers.

But when they turned and saw Wang-shi lowering her head as if enduring scolding while a hint of a smile curved her lips, their anger faded.

Even if Lian Ou had not exposed it, the Wang family would have made trouble anyway. Lian Ou had no chance of marrying high anymore.

For the first time, Wang-shi was cursed by Miao Hexiang without talking back. She did not take it to heart either.

Only after Miao Hexiang finished cursing and crying did she speak leisurely.

“Father, Mother, no matter how we say it, my nephew was indeed in the wrong. But now that things have already become like this, I think we should settle the marriage between Ou-ge’er and that boy.”

“I originally told you about this match before, but you insisted on blocking it. Now that the two younger ones have gotten into trouble themselves, if we don’t become in-laws, both families will lose face…”

She was certain Lian Ou had no other choice.

Of course, even if Lian Ou failed to marry high and angrily chose to marry low into some other village rather than marry her nephew, that was not impossible.

In that case, she would have her nephew go to that family’s door every day and say he had already taken Lian Ou’s body.

She could guarantee that whenever Lian Ou found a match, they would ruin it.

Miao Hexiang was so furious she wanted to hit someone.

Suddenly, Lian Ou pulled himself out of her arms. Tears still hung on his face, but his expression was solemn as he spoke to Old Man Lian, Old Madam Lian, his father, and his mother.

“Ye, Nai, Father, Mother, even if I have to hang myself from a beam, I will not marry the Wang family boy!”

“I can’t endure this life for even one more day. They even dare use such schemes. Are you still human?”

“If he had touched me today, I wouldn’t want to live anymore. I would immediately jump into the river!”

“I don’t care about reputation anymore. I don’t care whether I marry or not. I’ll never marry for the rest of my life. I’ll go to the temple and become a monk too if I have to!”

“I refuse to let them off like this. Today the Wang family and the village must give me justice, or else I’ll report this to the authorities!”

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

Lian Ou Side Story 4

It was inconvenient for young ge’er and little girls to enter the temple, so Huiming led Lian Ou and Lian Rong to the southern side gate instead. He sent a little monk to the side room to fetch medicine, then took a basin himself and went to draw warm water so Lian Ou could clean the wound.

Lian Rong hugged Lian Ou’s leg and cried loudly enough to shake the heavens.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t spoken recklessly, Gege wouldn’t have been hit, wu wu wu… Ge, does it hurt…?”

Miao Hexiang could be considered one of the more indulgent parents in the village. Usually she did not restrain Lian Rong’s temperament much, which had spoiled her somewhat into being careless about seniority. But usually in the village, on account of the old Lian family’s face, even if the little girl had a sharp tongue, adults would at most scold her a couple times. At worst, they might pat her head or slap her bottom twice.

This was the first time someone had struck so harshly.

Seeing Lian Rong cry until snot and tears covered her face, Lian Ou felt both exasperated and amused. He sighed helplessly.

“Now you know, don’t you? Not everyone is like the villagers back home. No matter what happens there, people usually won’t truly use such harsh hands. Look at what happens outside. Who’s going to indulge you? From now on, restrain that mouth of yours.”

At the end, he poked Lian Rong’s forehead with one finger.

After saying that, he turned his head and saw that Huiming had returned with water at some point. He was also holding a clean cloth towel, thoughtfully watching the siblings speak.

For some reason, Lian Ou’s face reddened. He felt terribly embarrassed that Huiming had seen him scolding his younger sister.

He awkwardly accepted the items from Huiming’s hands.

“Thank you… Master.”

After hesitating, he added softly,

“This time, although our words were a little sharp, they really were the ones who struck first. They were also the ones trying to force a sale…”

Lian Ou nervously clutched the cloth towel in his hands.

“Master… can you not drive us away?”

His voice was low and humble, soft and weak, completely different from when he had just been lecturing his sister.

Huiming instantly looked away.

“I know you’re not to blame. However…”

He looked toward Lian Rong.

“Your brother is right. In the future, you should still be more careful with your words. You are doing business. Some customers are difficult, but you inevitably have to swallow some anger. Harmony brings wealth.”

With tears still in her eyes, Lian Rong nodded.

Lian Ou hurriedly said they understood.

Huiming said no more and merely sat to the side.

Lian Ou’s injury was under his ear and along his neck, a place he could not see himself. Lian Rong sniffled while dipping the cloth into water and wiping the wound for him.

“Hiss.”

The moment warm water touched the wound, a sharp burning pain flared. Lian Ou sucked in a breath and slapped Lian Rong several times.

“Gentle, gentle, be gentle…”

Off to the side, Huiming, who had been staring at the ground the whole time, quietly turned his back.

After the wound was cleaned, they applied the ointment the little monk brought over.

The ointment had been made by the temple monks themselves. Lian Ou did not know what herbs were used, but it felt cool and soothing when applied.

By the time everything was properly taken care of, Huiming had vanished somewhere. Lian Ou could only thank the little monk.

The little monk waved his hand.

“Patron, there’s no need to be polite. You can take this jar of ointment back and use it. It was prepared by our shishu. It doesn’t scar easily.”

“How can I accept that?”

Lian Ou was rather surprised.

But the little monk said,

“It’s fine. Senior Brother Huiming specifically instructed me. Also, carrying your basket for knot-making back and forth every day is troublesome. Our temple fair will continue for several more days. If you don’t mind, you can also leave the basket in our temple for safekeeping.”

“This… this…”

Lian Ou was truly a bit stunned.

He had been setting up a stall for some time now and had chatted a little with the surrounding vendors. He knew very well that the temple did not offer storage services.

If every stall were allowed to store things there, it would certainly be convenient, especially for those selling food. But then this little temple would not have enough space to hold everything.

A thought suddenly stirred in Lian Ou’s heart.

“This was also something your Senior Brother Huiming instructed?”

The little monk looked perfectly innocent.

“Yes.”

That evening when he returned home, the Lian family was naturally heartbroken after seeing Lian Ou’s injury.

Lian Shi blamed himself even more. If he had obediently accompanied his younger siblings, no one would have dared lay hands on them.

“Tomorrow I’ll go with you. If we run into that old hag again, I’ll break her legs!”

Lian Ou waved his hand.

“The masters at the temple already drove them away and won’t allow people from their village to attend the temple fair. It’s nothing serious. It doesn’t even hurt now.”

Miao Hexiang was terribly distressed. She cleaned the wound again and reapplied medicine, then took the little medicine jar and examined it.

“Where did this medicine come from? It smells quite nice, full of herbal fragrance. But is it suitable for this kind of wound?”

“The temple master gave it to me, so it shouldn’t be bad.”

Lian Ou took the medicine jar back and held it in his hands, looking at it again and again.

Deep into the quiet night, Lian Ou tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

He felt he was overthinking things. The man was a master from the temple. What did it mean for him to speculate about a monk like this?

But Lian Ou was one of the best-looking ge’er in Lantang Village. Since childhood, countless boys had openly or secretly tried to curry favor with him.

When it came to such matters, he was naturally a little sensitive.

Besides, this master… was not very skilled at hiding things.

If Lian Ou softened his voice just slightly, Huiming’s eyes would not know where to look. If he said just a few more words, the tips of Huiming’s ears would turn red.

Any more than that, and the man would no longer be able to bear it and would avoid him.

After testing it out, Lian Ou had gotten his answer.

Then he felt there was something wrong with himself.

Why test a monk?

Even after knowing the answer, what could he do besides satisfy his curiosity?

Now look what had happened. Not only did Huiming feel uncomfortable looking at him, even when Lian Ou glanced at Huiming a few more times, he himself felt rather uncomfortable too.

Fortunately, the Mid-Autumn Festival would soon pass, and the temple fair would end.

Once they no longer saw each other, that awkwardness would probably be washed away by time.

Lian Ou played with the cord in his hands. His skills were growing more and more practiced and refined, and the flawed pieces became fewer and fewer.

In the future, perhaps coming once a month or once every two months would be enough.

However, two days before Mid-Autumn Festival, the wealthy woman who had hit Lian Ou was escorted over by her village head and clan elders to apologize.

The day after the incident, the temple had forbidden anyone from their village to set up stalls at the fair.

That woman’s family was well-off and somewhat respectable in their village, so at first she was unwilling to lower her head. But she could not endure the fact that the entire village had been implicated. People took turns going to her door to curse her out. After hiding for a day, she was finally dragged over today to admit fault.

Lian Ou did not move closer. He only stood on tiptoe behind the crowd to watch the excitement.

Who would have expected that after Huiming exchanged a few words with the village head, too far away for Lian Ou to hear clearly, he suddenly looked in Lian Ou’s direction.

Their gazes happened to meet.

Immediately afterward, Huiming actually brought the people over.

“Apologize to him. From now on, your family is also forbidden from going near his stall.”

Huiming pointed at Lian Ou.

Then he took out a mandarin duck knot.

It was precisely the one that had fallen to the ground during the fight that day, been stepped on several times, stained with dirt, and ruined in appearance.

“Pay compensation.”

The woman bit her lower lip in humiliation and refused to apologize to Lian Ou. She did, however, pull a few coins from her purse and toss them onto the stall before pushing through the crowd and running away.

With a cold expression, Huiming turned to the village head.

“This is unacceptable. Your village still cannot…”

The village head’s face filled with panic. He was about to have someone catch the woman again when Lian Ou hurriedly said,

“Forget it, forget it.”

Having that woman apologize to him already made him feel terribly embarrassed.

But after speaking, he immediately regretted it a little.

What right did he have to interfere with how Huiming managed the temple fair?

Would he ruin Huiming’s rules?

Huiming glanced at him.

“Since the injured party says to forget it, then this will be the only exception.”

The village head let out a huge breath of relief.

Lian Ou also let out a breath of relief.

After the crowd dispersed, Lian Ou thanked Huiming.

Fights and scuffles were common in the countryside. He had seen people double down and refuse to admit fault. He had seen people beg for mercy. He had seen people muddle through and never mention right or wrong again.

But an apology?

Lian Ou had almost never seen one, let alone experienced it.

Everyone cared deeply about face. Asking them to apologize was like asking for their lives.

Now, thanks to Huiming, Lian Ou had nearly experienced it once.

Huiming shook his head, indicating there was no need to mind it, then handed the damaged mandarin duck knot to Lian Ou.

Lian Ou did not know what impulse struck him. Since he felt grateful to Huiming, he wanted to repay him somehow, so he said,

“No need. She already compensated me. If not for you, she wouldn’t have paid at all. Why don’t I give this to you instead…”

After saying that, Lian Ou lowered his head and belatedly noticed the mandarin duck pattern.

A few days ago, he would not have thought anything of it. At most, he would have felt the style was unsuitable and changed it for Huiming.

But now, he had only recently tested Huiming and already formed a guess in his heart, so things suddenly became awkward. Even his ears turned red.

Huiming looked at Lian Ou’s expression and stood there for a long while holding the mandarin duck knot.

In the end, he shook his head and gently placed it back on the stall before turning around and returning to the temple.

“Senior Brother?”

A dozing little monk in the courtyard rubbed his eyes and looked at the sky.

It was still early. Usually Senior Brother watched over the temple fair matters.

Huiming swept past him like the wind, leaving only one sentence behind.

“No need to call me for dinner. I’m going to the main hall to recite scriptures.”

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

Lian Ou Side Story 3

After reciting scriptures in the main hall for over an hour, Huiming began to regret it.

He was hungry.

People truly could not skip meals…

But at this hour, if he went to the dining hall now, he could forget about zongzi and eight-treasure rice. Those half-grown boys had definitely already cleaned everything out.

After hesitating for a while, Huiming sighed and stood up, planning to head to the kitchen and see whether there were leftover plain steamed buns and pickled vegetables he could make do with.

The moment he turned around, however, he saw a half-gray-haired monk enter the main hall. The man had apparently been standing behind him watching for quite some time.

Huiming froze, then awkwardly knelt back down and called out, “Shishu.”

Their little temple actually housed quite a few people, but relationships there were simple.

Very few monks genuinely devoted themselves to Buddhist teachings. Most of the younger monks and novice monks were abandoned infants from nearby villages, ranked among each other according to the order they had been picked up.

Huiming himself was no different.

He had been abandoned at the temple gate as a child. Though recorded under the abbot’s name as a disciple, in truth his shifu and shishu had all taken turns raising him, acting as both father and mother.

In difficult years, when they picked up sickly children, the monks would shamelessly carry them into nearby villages, begging nursing mothers to spare some milk just to keep them alive.

Back then the temple had not been as wealthy as it was now, and they could not even afford compensation. Some women were kind enough to help. Others did not even produce enough milk for their own babies. Whether abandoned children survived depended entirely on fate.

Because of this, Huiming and his fellow disciples respected their masters and uncles deeply.

It was only after Huiming grew older and proved clever that he established the temple fair, gradually improving life in the temple. In recent years, even the younger novice monks had finally been properly raised.

Shishu carried a tray holding half a bowl of eight-treasure rice, two steamed buns, and a small dish of braised soybeans with pickled greens.

He urged Huiming out of the main hall to sit on the steps outside.

“Eat. You can’t go without food just because you’ve got worries. This isn’t like usual. The temple fair lasts until after the Fifth Month Festival. There are still many days left.”

Huiming grinned.

“Shishu still treats me best.”

Without any politeness, he immediately started eating.

Shishu did not ask what troubled him. Instead, he rubbed Huiming’s bald head the same way he had when Huiming was small.

“Shouldn’t I dote on you? In this temple, you’re the most capable one, the sharpest-minded. Without you, we’d still be swallowing bran and wild greens. Little Nine and Little Eleven probably wouldn’t even have survived.”

“I discussed it with your shifu. He’s getting old now. He still cares about temple matters, but he no longer has the energy to manage them.”

“Next year, we plan to hand the temple affairs over to you. Your senior brothers can help from the side, and your shifu will guide you for another year or two. Then the position of abbot can be passed on to you.”

“We old fellows can finally enjoy some peace.”

Huiming still had food in his mouth. Hearing this, his eyes widened so much the rice nearly fell out.

“Shishu, I…”

Shishu waved a hand.

“Don’t refuse. If not you, then who?”

“Take the temple fair for example. Your shifu and I could never learn something like that. We can chant scriptures, sure, but we don’t have the brains for this sort of thing. This temple can’t function without you.”

Huiming slowly chewed the food in his mouth.

Originally he had gone to recite scriptures to calm his emotions. Now he became even quieter.

After a long while, he finally nodded.

The sweet eight-treasure rice had long since turned bland and tasteless from being chewed too long.

Shishu patted his shoulder again.

This time it was no longer the touch used on a child, but the gesture of placing a household’s burden onto the shoulders of its pillar.

“You eat. I’ll go talk with your shifu.”

The abbot was meditating in his Zen room.

Seeing Shishu arrive, he sighed softly.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t pressure the child like this. He never willingly chose to become a monk. Over the years he’s earned so much money for the temple already. That should count as repaying our kindness.”

“If he truly could live the life of an ordinary person…”

Shishu’s face immediately darkened.

“That depends on what kind of life it is. That family, are they good people?”

All the children in the temple had been abandoned at the gates.

The monks never knew which family abandoned which child, but the parents themselves certainly knew.

Especially since there were no children in the temple around Huiming’s age, it became even easier to identify him.

Ever since Huiming took charge of the temple fair, one family had started showing up.

At first they sought out the abbot and Shishu, crying about how they had once been too poor to survive and only then abandoned the child.

Later they secretly sought Huiming out several times too, clinging and pestering him.

Earlier that day, Shishu had seen the couple arrive at the temple fair again, shrinking nervously in a corner while trying to find a chance to speak with Huiming.

Then Huiming had immediately gone into the main hall to recite scriptures.

What other worries could he possibly have?

“That boy’s secretly saved up quite a bit of money over the years. I’m not blaming him for saving money. He earned it himself. We’re the ones who benefited from it.”

“But does that family suddenly want to acknowledge him because their conscience awakened?”

“Isn’t it because of the money in his pocket?”

The temple fair had run for so many years. Everyone knew the temple was wealthy now. Everyone knew Huiming had money.

Shishu grew more and more indignant.

“Once they coax all his savings away, what kind of life will he still have? He’d be better off staying here in the temple.”

“It’s not that I insist on keeping him as a monk. If he found some caring girl or ge’er to marry, had a couple children, and lived a good life, I’d be happier than anyone.”

“But parents who could abandon him back then aren’t worth anything at all!”

“This child never had parents to love him growing up. Of course he longs for parental affection. I’m afraid a few soft words will fool him. I’d rather play the villain myself!”

The abbot frowned.

“You’re a monk. Watch your language.”

Shishu shut his mouth.

Watch his language?

He himself had been abandoned at the temple gate too. He did not know who his parents were.

He possessed no Buddhist wisdom whatsoever.

After studying Buddhist teachings for a lifetime, he still had not learned them properly, nor attained peace.

He simply hated parents like that.

And he simply pitied the children he had raised himself.

The next day when Lian Ou came again, Huiming was nowhere to be seen.

Though he himself had not appeared, he had not broken his promise either. He sent a little novice monk to receive them and gave the siblings, who had arrived bright and early, an exceptionally good stall location.

By the time the Fifth Month Festival ended, most of the decorative knots in the little bundle had sold. They had earned quite a tidy sum.

Lian Ou was especially happy. Carrying the money pouch, he went to settle accounts with Shen Qing, his little face flushed with excitement.

“Every first and fifteenth day of the month there’s a temple fair. Even though they only last one day instead of several during major festivals, it’s perfect for clearing out the flawed pieces I make. From now on I’m going every month!”

Now that his hands had become much more practiced, fatigue was unavoidable.

Shen Qing did not really care about the small profits.

Still, seeing that after just a few days of setting up stalls, Lian Ou seemed entirely different, speaking louder, standing straighter, even daring to meet people’s eyes while talking, he felt quite pleased.

So he encouraged him even more to make his own decisions and also taught him how to keep accounts.

“You decide for yourself. But calculate your time carefully too. Running a stall takes an entire day. Don’t end up earning less than you would from working at home. That would be more loss than gain.”

Lian Ou tilted his head thoughtfully.

“I can bring my work over there. Business isn’t constant anyway. When there are no customers, I can keep making knots. And when customers come, Rong-jie can help receive them.”

Shen Qing gave the same answer as always.

“You decide for yourself.”

Lian Ou calculated things carefully on his own and felt there was no problem.

After returning home, he found a little basket to hold scissors and thread. Next time he brought it along.

Decorative knotting was fairly complicated. By now he counted as skilled labor. His fingers flew so quickly others could not even see the process before a knot was finished. He was not afraid anyone would steal the technique.

Working while minding the stall saved a great deal of time.

Unexpectedly though, it also led to trouble.

Mid-Autumn Festival was another major celebration.

Starting from the tenth day of the eighth month, Miaoqian Village grew lively again.

Lian Ou still arrived early as always, found the novice monk, secured a good stall position, and continued working while minding the stall.

But a wealthy-looking village woman, dressed rather extravagantly by countryside standards and clearly from a rich household, became fixated on a pair of mandarin duck knots Lian Ou was currently weaving.

Naturally, Lian Ou refused.

“All these knots are made for my employer. Our employer owns Cuihua Shop in the northern district of the county town, right beside the blooming sausage shop.”

“If Auntie wants mandarin duck knots, there are ready-made ones in the shop.”

“The items here at my stall all have flaws and can’t be sold in the shop, so my employer lets me clear them out at the market.”

“The one in my hands is a good piece. I can’t sell it.”

The items sold in the county shop and the countryside temple fair were obviously priced differently.

If the woman truly wanted to buy from the county shop, she would already have done so.

So the wealthy auntie said,

“You child are too rigid. Once the item’s in your hands, if you don’t say whether it’s good or flawed, how would your employer know?”

“I’ll give you ten extra copper coins. Make me a pair of matching red mandarin duck knots. You can secretly keep the extra ten coins for yourself, can’t you?”

Lian Ou did not want to argue with her further.

After rummaging through his stall for a while, he found two flawed mandarin duck knots.

“If Auntie really wants them, you can take these.”

The wealthy auntie rolled her eyes disdainfully.

“My family is marrying off a daughter. How could we use flawed goods? What if her married life turns unlucky later?”

“You just make me a pair of bright red ones. Red means flourishing fortune. I should be thanking you.”

“Then Auntie can go buy them in the county town. I only sell flawed pieces here.”

“How can you be this stubborn?”

“I’ll give you fifteen extra coins, alright? How much can your employer possibly pay you? Those bosses are all black-hearted anyway. If you can take advantage, why not take advantage…”

She could insult anything else, but once she dragged Shen Qing into it, Lian Rong exploded like a little firecracker.

“Who are you calling black-hearted? My Qing-ge isn’t black-hearted at all! You’re the greedy one! You don’t want to spend proper money but still want good stuff. Dream on!”

“We already said we won’t sell it! Are you forcing a cow to drink water by shoving its head down?”

Lian Ou’s expression darkened too. He tossed the half-finished mandarin duck knot into his basket and stood up.

“We’re not doing this business anymore.”

The wealthy auntie had wasted so much effort arguing, only for this ge’er and little girl to remain stubborn as rocks in a latrine pit. The surrounding vendors had already begun watching the spectacle.

Unable to save face anymore, she glared furiously at Lian Rong.

“Who are you calling names, little brat? Watch your mouth!”

By the time Huiming arrived, Lian Ou was shielding Lian Rong. One side of his face already bore a slap mark, and two bloody scratches ran across his neck.

“What is going on here?!”

Huiming’s face turned black.

Nearby spectators quickly explained the situation.

“She came with her sisters-in-law. Four or five grown women surrounding one ge’er and an eight- or nine-year-old girl and beating them.”

“Whether the business deal works out or not is another matter, but hitting children really isn’t human.”

The wealthy woman argued back,

“That little brat started mouthing off first!”

“But the kid wasn’t wrong! You wanted to pay street-stall prices for county-shop goods. Isn’t that greed?”

“If the child spoke badly, you could’ve scolded her back. Why hit people?”

…

Huiming signaled with his eyes.

Several junior monks immediately surrounded the wealthy woman’s family with monk staffs, driving them away.

The temple fair had operated for many years now. Troublemakers had appeared before, and procedures for handling them were already established.

First the offenders would be expelled.

Starting the next day, nobody from their village would be allowed to set up stalls at the fair.

Only when the village head personally brought the troublemakers to apologize and guarantee proper punishment according to village rules would the matter be considered resolved.

Their temple housed forty or fifty grown men young and old. With staffs in hand, who were they supposed to fear?

Meanwhile, Lian Ou nervously covered his neck, terrified Huiming would chase him away too and forbid him from setting up stalls anymore.

He feared disappointing Qing-ge.

Huiming bent down and picked up the mandarin duck knot that had been stepped on during the scuffle. Brushing dirt off it, he handed it back to Lian Ou.

His gaze swept once over the hand covering Lian Ou’s neck.

Then again.

“It’s hot weather. If the wound’s broken open, it needs treatment quickly. Come with me. Our temple has medicinal herbs.”

The burning sting on his neck hurt terribly, and Lian Ou truly was frightened.

If the woman’s fingernails had not been clean, the wound might really rot.

In these times, nobody knew what tiny illness or injury might suddenly take a person’s life.

He answered softly and obediently followed behind Huiming, still uneasy.

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

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