Chapter 8.1: People Coming
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n.o.body spoke for a while.
A forest of peach blossoms below, the roof above. The man’s gorgeous and beautiful appearance was enhanced by the beautiful scenery. His eyes locked on Jiang Lî.
His smiling expression had a hint of evil. However, it was unclear whether he was a friend or a foe.
At this moment, Tong’er, who had been stunned by his appearance, could not help but suspiciously ask, “…… Flower demon?”
This person looked as beautiful as a demon and his presence was too striking, which made one to be dazzled.
Jiang Lî had not yet spoken when unexpectedly, there were noises coming from outside. Jiang Lî was startled, and she raised her eyes once more towards the roof. However, the beautiful young man was no longer there. What remained was just the slight swaying of the peach blossom branch, giving the impression of an endless spring dream.1
Tong’er was equally surprised, she rubbed her eyes and said: “This servant couldn’t be dreaming, right?”
Jiang Lî replied: “It wasn’t a dream, but right now…..” She heard the sound of people chattering getting closer and closer and the corner of her mouth raised. She no longer thought about her initial suspicion and said: “Let’s go to the main hall to kneel.”
These days, although Tong’er had too many surprises and doubts, she still didn’t ask too many questions. Without hesitation, she followed Jiang Lî to kneel in front of the clay Buddha statue, the plate of fruits for the offering was also returned to the table. The two people had just knelt when they heard a burst of lively and excited chatter coming through from outside, along with someone knocking on the door of the nunnery.
The knocking sound startled the Buddhist nuns inside the nunnery. A person opened the door and the lanterns were also lit one by one. The voices from outside got louder and louder. Jiang Lî and Tong’er stayed calm and kept kneeling.
Carrying a portable lantern, a mama led the crowd into the main hall. As she entered the hall, she didn’t expect to see two people kneeling inside. After all, it was already quite late. She turned around and said: “Madam, there are still two nuns here.”
The people behind the mama stepped out one by one. There were madams and young misses, as well as a few males, all of them dressed elegantly. The madam whom the mama spoke to had fair skin with a gentle and graceful temperament. She walked forward and was stunned when she caught sight of Jiang Lî. She immediately shook her head and said, “She is not a nun, she is still keeping her hair. The person next to her should be her servant girl.”
Jiang Lî looked surprised at the incoming crowd. The long, black hair framing her small face made a sharp contrast, causing her complexion to appear paler. Her body wearing the grey Buddhist attire looked thin and weak. However, she exuded a gentle and peaceful aura. Although she seemed weak, yet sitting at the foot of the Buddha, she appeared clear and exquisite. When one looked at her, she looked extremely pure and tender, giving people a very good impression.
Perhaps pitying her young age, those madams spoke to her in a soft and pampering voice, “Young miss, it’s already late, why are you still here?”
Jiang Lî replied, “I made a mistake and the Head Nun ordered me to kneel here and meditate.”
The crowd of people were extremely astonished. Someone angrily said, “It’s already so late! What mistake was committed to make a young miss kneel here at these hours. What if the body is hurt? Don’t they teach the heart to be merciful? Why use this vicious way?”
Tong’er turned her eyeball and cleverly seizing the momentum, she promptly changed her expression. She said sorrowfully: “It’s this servant’s fault. Yesterday, this servant was not careful when carrying young miss’s vegetarian dish and dropped it. Then Head Nun Jing An ordered young miss and this servant to kneel in the main hall.” While wiping her tears she continued, “this servant does not mind, but our young miss, our young miss hasn’t eaten for a day!”
When these words came out, the group of people immediately felt indignant. They came to the temple to worship Buddha, naturally all the people’s heart here was benevolent. To see a young miss being bullied, it was inevitable that they became angry.
Another person said, “No wonder, no wonder there is such a scandal outside. It precisely is because of the malicious heart of that bewitching nun.”
“Correct.”
Jiang Lî looked around, not seeing any of the Buddhist nuns, she wondered, “Excuse me. Where are the temple nuns?”
Finished speaking, the group of people all exposed different expressions, seemingly embarra.s.sed.